A hobby can be almost anything that a person likes to do in his spare time. Hobbyists raise pets, watch birds, paint pictures, play the piano and grow flowers. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They collect everything from books to butterflies and from boxes to stamps.

    People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, friendship and relaxation. Hobbies help people relax after a long time of hard work, and provide a balance between work and play. Hobbies offer interesting activities for the old. Some hobbies can make a child grow as a person, develop his interest and help him learn new skills. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Doctors have found that hobbies are useful in helping patients recover from illness. Hobbies give patients who can't move around something to do, and provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves. Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up interesting hobbies. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In early times, most people were too busy making a living to have many hobbies. But some persons who had spare time did enjoy hobbies. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People today have more time than ever before for hobbies. Machines have now reduced much time that people must spend on their jobs.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry about what to do with their newly-found free time hours.

    Sir William Osler, a famous Canadian doctor expressed the value of hobbies by saying, “No man is really happy or safe without a hobby.”

A. More people retire(退休) at an earlier age than before.

B. Hobbies can also help a patient to keep healthy.

C. The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood.

D. They also go to concerts, climb mountains, go fishing, skate and swim.

E. Anyone, old or young, sick or well, rich or poor, can follow a good hobby, in spite of his age, health or money

F. As some hobbies have become less popular.

Monday, May 7, Sunny

    I had a pretty good time in Beijing last weekend with my parents and my brother.

    We went to Beijing by train on Friday night and got there on the morning of Saturday. We went to Tian'anmen Square first. There were many people there. We watched the national flag(国旗)go up. Then we went to the Palace Museum. My parents liked it very much, but I thought it was kind of boring. After lunch, we visited the Great Wall. When we got to the Great Wall, it started to rain. The rain made the mountains look very beautiful. We played on the Great Wall and took some photos. On Sunday morning, we visited a Beijing Hutong. Then after buying some things in Wangfujing Street in the afternoon, we went back home. We really enjoyed ourselves.

⑴题完成句子；(2)～(3)题简略回答问题；(4)题找出并写下全文的主题句；(5)题将文中画线句子译成汉语。

    In March 2016, a group of people walked into a theater in New Mexico, USA to watch the movie Finding Nemo. The movie first hit the big screen in 2003 and it was a great success. Now it came back! What was special about it this time? It was dubbed(配音)  in Navajo. That's the language spoken by the Navajo, one of the biggest Native American tribes(美国土著部落). This movie wasn't made just for fun, though. It was made to save a dying language.

    The number of people who speak Navajo is dropping. In 20 14, only about 164, 000 people spoke it at home. That was down from about 173, 000 in 2005.

    Like many other Native American languages, Navajo has been in trouble for a long time. In the 1800s, thousands of Native American kids were forced to attend boarding schools. They were allowed to speak only English there. Over the years, fewer people learned their native languages. Some of these languages have been lost forever.

    Today, many Navajo kids aren't good at speaking Navajo. Some people worry that if today's kids don't learn Navajo and pass it down, the language could disappear.

Information Card

    Hi, I'm Linda Smith. My first name's Linda, and my family name's Smith. I'm a 12-year-old middle school student. The cute girl is my sister, Mary Smith. She's 8 years old. These are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We're Americans, but we're not in the USA. We are in China now.

    Look! This is a photo of my room. It's very nice and clean. Here are some books on the desk. An eraser and three pencils are in the pencil box. What color is my schoolbag? It's black. You can see a Dog on my bed, but it's not mine. Its name's Pluto. It's my sister Mary's. Are those my dictionaries? No, they aren't. I borrowed (借) them from my teacher, Ms. Black. She teaches(教) me English at school.

    My room isn't big, but it always(总是) brings me happiness(带给我快乐). I love it.

    Instead of studying abroad during college, more and more Chinese teenagers have chosen to do so as early as in high school, Students from China make up about 42 per-cent of the international students at high schools in the US, according to the latest study by the Institute of International Education. So, what is the main attraction for Chinese high school students to study abroad? What is overseas life like？We interviewed several students. Have a look!

    Pan. 15. Moreau Catholic High School in San Francisco, California, US

    In the future, I want to go to college in the US. Studying in high school here will help me get used to college life in the future. Also, I want to improve my English

    Studying here is not easy. Instead of exams like in China, we have more projects in class. For example, we have to make a PPT about a historical figure and then design a creative item for that person, such as a painting.

    Zhao. 15. Unionville High School in Toronto, Canada

    For me, experience matters. It's good to have the experience of living in another country. Unlike other international students, my parents accompanied me, which makes my life here much easier.

    In Canada. I have more time to develop my interests. I can choose classes I like.

    However, taking the entrance examinations to high school and college at home would be great. It's a shame that I have no chance to do that.

    Zheng. 14. Walsh Jesuit High School in Cleveland, Ohio. US

    I want to try different cultures and education styles. Two years ago, I visited some famous universities in Boston, such as Harvard and MIT. The academic atmosphere(学术氛围) deeply impressed me. Every student seems to spare no effort on academics. I saw students doing morning exercise everywhere and I watched a football game. I found that school life in the US was colorful. So I decided to study in the US.