This year is a leap year. Leap years are years with 366 days, instead of the usual 365. Leap years are necessary because the actual length of a year is 365.242 days, not 365 days, as commonly stated. Basically, leap years come every 4 years, and most years that can be evenly(平均地) divided by 4 have 366 days. This extra day is added to the calendar on February 29^th which is known as a leap day. Why leap is used here? Leap means jump.[來源:]

However, there is one exception to the leap year rule about century years. Century years are only considered as leap years if they are evenly divided by 400. Therefore, 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was a leap year.

A person who is born on February 29^th may be called a "leapling" or a "leap year baby". In non-leap years, some leaplings celebrate(慶祝) their birthday on either February 28^th or March 1^st. In England and Wales or in Hong Kong, a person born on February 29^th, 1996, will have legally(法律上) reached 18 years old on March 1^st, 2014. If he or she was born in the United States, Taiwan or New Zealand, his or her legally birthday will come a day earlier.

There is a popular custom in some countries that a woman may ask a man to marry her on February 29^th. If the man refuses, he then has to give the woman money or buy her a dress.

Since leap days are special days, people nowadays want to do something different within the 24 extra hours. Big jumps are the most popular ones.

Some salaried(領(lǐng)薪水的) workers want to get pay for their extra day’s work. But in my opinion, if you know why there is a leap day, you will get the answer to this problem.

1. The next leap year is          .

A. 2014                         B. 2016                       C. 2018

2. American boy Toby is a leapling. Next year he will probably to have his birthday party on       .

A. February 28^th                  B. February 29^th                C. March 1^st

3. Which picture is about popular custom on leap days?

A.                  B.              C.

4.. Many people like to have a big jump on leap days probably because         .

A. it’s a custom                  B. they are leaplings             C. leap means jump

5.We can learn from the passage that         .

A. 2100 will not be a leap year

B. every year leaplings celebrate their birthday on either February 28^th or March 1^st

C. it is necessary to pay the salaried workers for the leap day’s work

Mary Josephine Ray，the New Hampshire woman，who was the oldest person living in the United States，has died at age 114 years,294 days.She died yesterday at a nursing home in Westmoreland but was active until about two weeks before her death，her granddaughter Katherine Ray said.

“She just enjoyed life.She never thought of dying at all，”Kather­ine Ray said.“She was planning for her birthday party.”

Ray was the oldest person in the United States and the second oldest in the world，according to the Gerontology Research Group.She was also recorded as the oldest person ever to live in New Hampshire.

Ray was born on May 17,1895，in Bloomfield，Prince Edward Island，Canada.She moved to the United States at the age of 3.She lived for 60 years in Anson，Maine.She lived in Florida，Massachusetts and elsewhere in New Hampshire before she moved to Westmoreland in 2002 to be near her children.Ray’s husband，Walter，died in 1967.Survivors include 2 sons,8 grandchildren,13 great­grandchildren and 5 great­great grandchildren.

The oldest living American is now Neva Morris of Ames，Iowa，at age 114 years,216 days.The oldest person in the world is Japan’s Kama Chinen at age 114 years,301 days.Morris，the Iowa woman now believed to be the oldest US resident (居民)，lives at a care center.Only one of her four children，a son in Sioux City，is still alive.

6．What is the best title for this passage?

A．The oldest person in the US died at age 114.

B．The oldest person in the US died for no reason.

C．The oldest person in the US wanted to live longer.

D．The oldest person in the US was happy at a nursing home.

7．Which of the following statements about Mary Josephine Ray is WRONG?

A．She was born on May 17,1895，in Canada.

B．She died at the age of 114 years,294 days.

C．She was still very active in her last two weeks.

D．She was not at her own home when she died.

8．From what Katherine Ray said，we can learn Mary Josephine Ray________.

A．didn’t know how to enjoy life

B．didn’t like holding a birthday party

C．was afraid nobody would come to her birthday party

D．was not troubled by the thought of dying

9．What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

A．Mary Josephine Ray liked moving.

B．Mary Josephine Ray lived a very hard life.

C．Mary Josephine Ray had a very big family.

D．Mary Josephine Ray lived with her children until 2002.

10．According to the passage，who is the oldest person in the world?

A．Mary Josephine Ray.                           B．Neva Morris.

C．Kama Chinen.                                      D．Walter.

閱讀短文，回答問題
Do you know the pretty girl? Her name is Tian Wei. She was born on April 5, 1986. She was from Beijing. She had two big eyes and short hair. She was good at Chinese. And she loved writing.
She was unlucky. When she was in Grade 8, she was seriously ill. Her doctor said she would lose her life anytime. But she wasn't afraid of death. She kept on studying and writing. She died on August 13, 2007. She smiled till the end of her life.
Tian Wei had a great dream. She hoped that people could read her book in the bookshops. In March, 2009, her only book Hua Tian Ban Mu came out. it had more than 5(X) thousand words. In her book she said, " I'm always aching (疼痛). if possible, I'll let my right eye weep (哭泣) but the other one smile."
【小題1】What did Tian Wei do well in?
_____________________________.
【小題2】Did she love writing?
______________________________
【小題3】What happened to Tian Wei when she was in Grade 8?
_______________________________
【小題4】When did the book Hua Tian Ban Mu come out?
________________________________
【小題5】How many words did the book Hua Tian Ban Mu have?
_________________________________

Even though she’s quite young, Drew Barrymore can be a Hollywood legend (傳奇). She was born on February 22, 1975, in California. Being from a family that produced great actors, she quickly found her way into the spotlight (聚光燈).

When she was 11 months old, she made her first advertisement on TV. She made her first movie at the age of 2. Five years later, she acted Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s famous film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1982).

However, it wasn’t all roses and sunshine when Barrymore was growing up. She was drinking wine by the time she was 9, smoking marijuana (大麻) at 10.

Most kid stars in Hollywood fail to become stars as adults. And most of the time, once they’re out of the spotlight, they stay out. But Drew Barrymore doesn’t.

As she was growing older, Barrymore started to realize that life is more meaningful than dangerous actions in the films. She started to build a career in 1997. She has made a series of successful films since then, including Charlie’s Angels (2000) and 50 First Dates (2004).

“In my life, there is darkness and drama, and I have yet to explore some of that in my work life. I just want to challenge (挑戰(zhàn)) myself and prove that I can do more.”

Actually, anyone who’s not familiar with her disordered childhood might find it hard to believe she’s such a sweet person now. Like many of the characters she plays in her comedy, Drew is easy-going and laughs a lot. In 2007, she was on the cover of People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People issue.

“Life is very interesting … in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths,” Drew said.

1.Drew Barrymore made her first movie in          .

A. 1975                       B. 1977              C. 1979              D. 1982

2.Drew Barrymore can be a Hollywood legend mainly because           .

A. she was born form a family that produced great actors

B. she used to be a famous kid star in Hollywood

C. she always has roses and sunshine in her life

D. she didn’t give up even when she met difficulties

3.Which is the correct order of Drew Barrymore’s life?

①She made the film Charlie’s Angels.

②She is on the cover of People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People issue.

③ She started to drink wine and smoke marifuana.

④ She acted Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s famous film E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial.

A.①④②③                B.④②①                     ③C.④③②①                      D.①③②④

4.Which of the following chart can best describe Drew Barrymore’s career (till 2007) ?