What do you think is the most common illness? Do you get ill sometimes? We are lucky to live now because there are lots of medicines to make people better．

     The most common illness in the world is the cold．It often begins with a sore throat．Then you sneeze and your nose runs．You usually have a headache，too．Often you cough later．It's not a very bad illness but you can feel quite ill．   

     There isn't a cure(治愈)for a cold but you can take medicines to make you feel better．For instance aspirin(阿司匹林)can stop your headache．It is good to rest and to drink a lot of water，too．A doctor once said to me，“With the proper medicine a cold will last for seven，days．With no medicine it will go on for a whole week!”

     Where does our medicine come from? A long time ago people knew that some plants made them feel better．They ate the leaves，the roots，the I fruit or the seeds of those plants．For instance the juice of lemons makes a sore throat feel better．

     In modern times scientists have looked at these plants and found out which chemicals(化学物质)are in them．Many of our medicines today are made from those chemicals．   

     There are some illnesses which we can't cure yet．And nobody has found a cure for old age．But because of modern medicines most people now live longer than their grandparents．   

E

    Dick was 7 years old，and his sister，{#blank#}1{#/blank#}．One day their mother took them to their aunt's house to play．

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}，and then their aunt t ook Dick into the kitchen．She gave him a nice cake and a knife and said to him："{#blank#}3{#/blank#}．Cut this cake in half and give one of the pieces to your sister，but remember to do it like a gentleman (绅士)．"

    "Like a gentleman?" Dick asked．"{#blank#}4{#/blank#}?"

    "They always give the bigger piece to the other person，" answered his aunt．

"Oh，" said Dick． {#blank#}5{#/blank#}．Then he took the cake to his sister and said to her："Cut this cake in half，Catherine．"

    Careful and careless are as different as fire and water. But it is strange that quite a few scientists have both these qualities (品质 ). They are both careful and careless. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Once Newton invited a friend to dinner at home. When they were ready to eat, Newton left to get a bottle of wine (酒). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, Newton still didn't come back. At last his friend found Newton in his lab. When Newton was going to get the bottle of wine, he suddenly had a new idea for his experiment. So he quite forgot his friend and the dinner. Another time, Newton was leading a horse up a mountain, and he held the rein(缰绳) in his hand. While he was walking along, he kept thinking about problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, he found that the horse was gone.

    Einstein was another example. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. While waiting, he became lost in thought. It started to rain. The rain kept on for some time. When he took out a piece of paper to write something down, the paper was wet and then he knew that it was raining. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, he again forgot he was standing in the rain.

A. But after he put the paper into his pocket

B. But after his friend had waited for a long time

C. Once he was waiting for a friend at a bridge

D. Newton, the famous English scientist, was such a person

E. When he got to the top of the mountain

    Some students are going to some different places this weekend. Where are they going? Can you find their places they want to go?

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Sally: I have a pen pal in Wenchuan. Some days ago, I got a letter from her. She said she needed some school things. I bought some and I want to post them to her. So this weekend, where will I go? Do you know?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Ricky: I don't like weekends. For me, I have no weekends. My parents usually ask me to go to evening school to learn English and other subjects. I always feel tired. That's why I don't like weekends.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Barbara: I love weekends. I can do what I want to do. I want to go to a quiet place to study because Mid-term Exam（期中考试）is coming. I want to borrow（借）some books from that place and return（还）some to that place. Do you know where I want to go?

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Angle: This weekend will be an exciting one for me. My parents are going to take me to have something special in the place. It is said that we can try some Indian food. Isn't it interesting?

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Stella: I want to relax myself on weekends. This weekend, I want to do something different. I want to go to this place. There, you can see many kinds of animals there. And children like to go there with their parents.

A.   B.    C.

D.    E.

    When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework, you might notice that there is no letter E. Have you ever thought about why that is so?

    In the A, B, C, D and F grading system, the first four letters are typically considered passing grades. An F in this system simply stands for "fail". The word "fail" happens to start with the letter F, which seems to leave out the letter E.

    The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College. In 1897, they began to use the following grading scale;

    A: 95-100% (excellent)         B: 85-94% (good)      C: 76-84% (fair)

    D: 75%( nearly passed)         E: below 75% (failed)

    We can see the inclusion of E instead of F.

    Gradually, the letter grading system became more popular all over the US. However, many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F. There is no evidence(证据) to really support this, but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for "excellent".

    Why do we have letter grades? Well, part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during a time of great change for schools. As the 20th century began, growing cities and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms. Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy, fair and clear way to grade students.

    Today, more and more people think that letter grades don't fully show students' learning. However, as teachers try to improve grading methods, many parents continue to prefer the letter grades they got as kids, as they are familiar and easy for parents to understand. So while they might not be perfect, the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon.