It is said that more than four million people die each year from smoking. That number is frightening.

    Yet people around the world continue to smoke. In the United States, about forty-seven-million adults smoke. This year, more than 430,000 Americans died of diseases which have something to do with smoking. The American Cancer Society(美国癌症协会)says smoking harms the body greatly. It warns that smoking even a number of cigarettes is dangerous.

    How do students spend their spare time after finishing their homework？Here's a good example.

    Tim and Kerry Meek are both teachers.They live in the UK with their two daughters: eleven­year­old Amy and nine­year­old Ella.Recently，the Meek family has become the focus of the whole country after they completed 100 different outdoor activities in one year.

    The Meek couple didn't want their children to spend all their free time in front of the TV and become "couch potatoes"．So they set 100 tasks for the two girls to do outside and they took part in all the activities to encourage their daughters.

    Every holiday and weekend，whether it's sunny，rainy or snowy，the Meeks would set off to try the activities on their list，including hiking，sailing，climbing，skiing，and so on.The two little girls not only had a wonderful time，but also learned a lot of skills from the activities.They were even able to stand up in front of the whole school to give a talk for charity."Our friends spend a lot of their free time doing things which are harmful to their health. Luckily we'vehadthechancetoexperiencesomethingdifferent."

⑴题完成句子；⑵-⑶题简略回答问题；⑷题用自己的话总结文章主旨大意；⑸题将文中画线句子译成汉语。

To be a good tourist

    Nowadays, travelling is becoming an important part of our life. However, some people have bad habits when visiting places of interest.

    Some people often make loud noise that makes others feel uncomfortable. Some people don't realize the importance of protecting our environment. They throw rubbish everywhere. Some people like to take photos in wrong places, even in dangerous places. These are very rude and unwelcome in public.

    As a student, I think we should remember to do something to be a good tourist. First of all, we should throw rubbish in the dustbin instead of dropping it everywhere. Secondly, don't make too much noise, especially in some quiet places. It is not polite. Finally, we understand that many people like taking photos while travelling. It is fun. But we should take photos in proper places and always remember safety comes first.

    In a word, if all of us can try our best to be good tourists, I believe we can make a great difference to our environment and we can have more fun as well.

Information Card

    Basketball players are usually very tall. Because they need to put the ball into the basket. Other sports players may be shorter than them.

    Short people often have better balance (平衡) than tall people, so they don't fall over very often. In some sports the players must have good balance, for example, table tennis, they don't need to have long legs to run fast! Some of the fast runners in the world are not very tall. Some people are tall and some are short. The tallest man in the world is 2.41 meters tall. Today young people in many countries grow taller than their parents. This is because they eat better than their parents. Good food can help children grow.

根据短文内容，回答下列问题。

    What do you think of your Chinese? It's good or bad? If you think you are good at Chinese, you can take part in a ⑴_________. The competition is Chinese Characters Dictation Competition. ⑵ The competition has been popular among teenagers since(自从……以来) last summer.

    Today teenagers are using computers and smart phones. Many of them lose themselves in digital products such as electronic dictionaries and computers to help with their study. Overuse of these tools will make students too lazy to think and write. Some students even forget the hand writing of Chinese characters. Teachers and parents have been very worried about it. What can they do?

    Such worries ⑶_________ (bring) about the popular TV show, Chinese Characters Dictation Competition, where middle school students stand on the stage to write down Chinese characters. Over two hundred students from forty-six schools competed. 

    Chen Keyu, a Grade 8 boy beat the other competitors. Can you be the next winner?

    Some people succeed, while others may not. This is because some people have certain qualities, which others do not.

    The first thing you must remember is that in order to succeed, you must be optimistic (乐观的). If you do not expect to win, you will not try as hard as those who do expect to win. You also need to have a clear aim and a reason for doing something because motivation (动力) is a key to achieving success.

    Another quality that helps people succeed is creativity-thinking about things in a different way and wondering how others would do the same thing. Think about some successful people you know.

    Reading is another quality to success, as it will help you learn about how other people have achieved success. If you want to learn how to set up a successful business, you should read books about people like Bill Gates and Jerry Yang, who have achieved amazing success in their areas of business. Practicing is also important if you want to succeed because practice makes perfect.

    If you feel confident about what you do, this confidence will make other people believe in you as well.