READING PRACTICE 7

 Miss Lin is a florist . She works in a flower shop _______ my house . There are many beautiful flowers sold _________ her shop . There are roses , carnations , lilies , orchids and many other flowers . Miss Lin sells her flowers ________ bouquets , vases and even in pots . I always buy flowers for my teachers ________ Miss Lin’s shop during Teachers’ Day . The flowers cost a bit more than normal days but I do not mind as Miss Lin always wraps them __________ beautifully for me . Key : near , at , in , from , up Aunt Rosie is very fond of flowers . She _______all kinds of flowers in her garden . There are roses , daisies , violets and many other kinds . Aunt Rosie _______after her plants well . She _________them every morning . She ________out the weeds so that her plants can grow well . Whenever Aunt Rosie visits her friends , she __________some flowers along . She always says , “ Flowers cheer people up “ Key : has , looks , waters , pulls , brings  The giraffe is a _________animal . It has long legs and an even longer ___________ . It uses its long neck to help it get the fresh , juicy ________at the top of a tree . The giraffe has two short stumps on top of its head . The giraffe is brownish orange in colour and has black ________on its skin . Its long legs are very powerful . A giraffe can run quite ___________ , especially when it is being chased . A giraffe is a harmless creature . Key : tall , neck , leaves , spots , fast  Christmas falls on the 25 th of December every ______ On that day , Christians all over the ________ celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ . Most people celebrate this festival by buying ________ for family members and friends . The streets are also very beautifully decorated with ________ , Christmas trees and lots of lights . Many children believe Santa Claus , a kind old _________ who lives in the North Pole , will give out presents on Christmas Day . Key : year , world , presents , bells , man  The male peacock __________ a colourful bird . Its body is mostly green and its tail feathers __________ full of pretty colours . Another colourful bird is the parrot . Although ___________ more common ones are usually white in colour , there are some species of parrots that are very colorful . The chameleon , on the other hand , is not a colourful reptile . However , it can change _________ colour to suit its surroundings . When it is among the leaves in a tree , __________ is seen as green . The chameleon changes its colour to avoid being by its enemies . Key : is , are , the , its , it  Fresh fruits and vegetables are very important __________ us . These food contain vitamin C that helps our wounds and broken bones to heal quickly . They ________ keep our gums and skin healthy . Before we cook vegetables , we should not soak them for too long ____________ else the vitamin C will be lost . Vegetables should not be cooked too long to prevent the loss ___________ vitamin too . Though fruits and vegetables can be preserved ___________cans and also be salted , eating fresh fruits and vegetables is still healthier . Key : to , also , or , of , in  Coconut trees grow in tropical countries . They are very ________ plants . Parts of a coconut tree can be made into everyday items . Its leaves can be used food __________ . Coconuts are filled with cool and refreshing __________ . We can grate the flesh of coconuts and squeeze out the milk . The ___________ is used to cook curry and desserts . We can also use the trunk of the coconut tree to make furniture like _________ and chairs . Key :useful , wrappers , juice, milk , tables  Rambutans , mangos teens and durians are _________ fruits in Singapore . They can be quite _________ when they are in season . The durian is the most popular and the most expensive . Many Singaporeans like to eat the durian . It is their favourite fruit . The durian ___________ is big and tall . It has small , green leaves and a straight trunk with many __________ . The flowers are large . The fruits are of different shapes and sizes . The durian has a hard , ___________rind . That is why the Malays call it “ durian “ which means a thorny fruit . Key : local , cheap , tree , branches , thorny  The banana plant can be used __________ more than one way . Besides eating the fruit _________ is very delicious , we can ________ use the other parts of the banana plant . The leaves can be made _________ food wrappers . They can also be made into roofs of at tap hoses . The stems ___________ the banana plants can sometimes be used as fences in villages . Key : in , which , also , into , of  All living things depend a lot on _________. Plants provide us with food and shelter . Many animals eat plants like grass and wheat . We , in turn , kill them for __________ . Green plants also provide us with _________, something that we breathe in to live . Plants also provide us with wood so that we can make them into materials for our __________ . Many animals like birds , squirrels and insects live in trees . Even animals in the sea need plants . Seaweed gives out oxygen so that there is oxygen in the water for the _________ and other 1 sea creatures . Seaweed is also food to some of these creatures . Key: plants , food , oxygen , house , fish  The mimosa is a common ________ that you can see in fields . It has small flowers and leaflets . It also has tiny thorns . However , it behaves quite strangely . When you touch the ______ of the mimosa plant , they shrink together and close up . This is why this plant is also known as the “ Touch- Me -Not “ plant. Another plant that behaves in an odd manner is the morning glory . Its flowers will close up in the late ________ when the sun is going down . In the morning , when the sun shines , the flowers will open up . Some of the flowers will ________ off when you press the base of the flowers . Many small children like to pluck the _______ and play with them by shooting the blooms at each other . Key: plant , leaves , evening , shoot , flowers  caves houses real false fierce knights news stories Dragons are not _________ . They are mythical creatures that can only be found in __________ and legends . In stories , these fire breathing dragons were very _________ . They lived in huge , dark _________. Most people were afraid of them . They usually caught young girls from villages . Brave soldiers and __________ had to fight with these dragons to rescue the young ladies . Key : real , stories , fierce , caves , knights  spins traps colour house has are eat flies A spider __________eight legs . Some spiders are poisonous while others are not . A spider _________ its web between leaves . It _________ insects in its sticky web . These trapped insects become food for the spider . A spider is either black or brown in colour . A black spider is normally a fighting spider while a brown one is a house spider . Key : has , spins , traps , are , eat  leaves caterpillars wings flowers flying beautiful food gardens One of the most ___________creatures in the world are butterflies . Butterflies have long , slim bodies and two pairs of colourful ________ . Butterflies can usually be seen flying among flowers ________ during daytime . They lay eggs and their young are caterpillars. Butterflies and _________ feed on different food. Caterpillars eat __________ while butterflies feed on the sweet liquid from flowers called nectar . Key : beautiful , wings , gardens , caterpillars , leaves  also which who some few many plenty very Many archaeologists have found the fossils of prehistoric animals _________ became extinct long ago . According to them , _________ of the bones , teeth , claws and even fur of these amazing creatures are found underground and in the rocks of the earth . Archaeologists have made camps in _________ parts of the world trying to uncover these fossils . These fossils are ______ valuable and they are _______ very educational . They tell us more about the creatures that roamed the earth long before man existed . Key : which , some , many , very , also  store stores is are has have lose loses The cactus ________ a weird looking plant . Its trunk is swollen with water or sap . It _________ very small leaves that are very sharp . Most cacti ________ found in the desert . A desert is a very dry place where it seldom rains so the cactus plant __________ as much water as it can . It does this to be able to survive during the months when rain is scarce . It has tiny leaves so that the plant _________ as little water as possible . Some miniature cactus plants are planted in pots indoors . They are usually brightly coloured . Key : is , has , are , stores , loses  sticky slippery unusual common leaves sweet bitter collect The pitcher plant is a very __________looking plant . It has leaves which look like small jugs . These _______ extend from the strong stalks of the plant . The leaves contain sap that is ________ smelling . Many insects crawl or fly into the jug-like leaves to _________ the syrupy liquid . However , once they get into the leaves , they get stuck as this liquid is very _________ . The insects then die in the sap . They become the pitcher plant’s meal . Key : unusual , leaves , sweet , collect , sticky  hairs skin colour smell edges part insect plant The Venus flytrap is another uncommon looking plant. Its leaf has two parts . The lower ________ looks like a blade while the upper part is round in shape . They come in a pair . The surface of the upper part is reddish in _________ , making it look like a tongue . There are sensitive _________ on the surface and there are also stiff hairs around the _________ . When an insect lands on the surface of the upper leaf , the leaf closes on the insect and feeds on it . After the plant has finished feeding on the ________ it has caught , the upper leaf opens up again and waits for its next victim . Key : part , colour , hairs , edges , insect 2  before later from and by be down up with Teak is one of the world’s hardest ________ strongest wood . Furniture made _______it will last for a very long time . Teak is found in many parts of the world . However , good quality teak can only ______found in the forested hills of Northern Thailand . To cut ______ the teak trees , forest officers choose and girdle the trees . A deep ring is cut around the trunk , causing the tree to die . Two years ________, when it is dry , the teak tree is cut down and sawn into logs . Key : and , from , be , down , later Mystery of Mystery of a Secret Script a Secret Script Chinese scholars study a tongue only women knew For at least a millennium , perhaps much longer , women in the western part of China ‘s Human province wrote to one another or kept diaries in Nushu , a secret language known only to them . “ With you gone , I feel so slowly , “ lamented a young woman in a poem to a girl-friend who had married and moved to her husband’s home . Other women expressed their bewilderment when their husbands left them to go to war , or sorrow over the death of loved ones . A few described their impressions of historical events like the Opium War with Britain in the 1840s and the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s . Today Nushu , which means women’s calligraphy , has all but disappeared and is known to only a handful of elderly women . In an effort to preserve the language , scholars in Beijing have been collecting examples and researching its origins . “ Nushu is important because it’s the unique language of women, “ says Chen Qiguang , a Beijing professor . In March , Chen , together with two other scholars , Zhou Shuoyi and Zhao Limi , will published a 900-page book titled A Collection of Nushu Texts , which include 400 examples and translations of the language . After five years of studying Nushu , scholars are still perplexed about its origins . Some think it dates back 2,000 years , Chen , noting that it contains elements of both ancient and modern Chinese , thinks it is more like 1,000 years old . With at least 2,000 characters , it is a fairly complex language , and whereas Chinese ideograms have different meanings , Nushu ideograms represent sounds . The women who knew Nushu apparently made no attempt to conceal it from men , who in any case probably regarded it as inferior to Chinese . Women were traditionally excluded from receiving an education and not taught to write Chinese . The use of Nushu declined in the 1950s when education opened up to women , and the Communists sought to root out feudal traditions , which included what they decided us “ the witches ‘ script . “ Although there are still a few elderly women who can speak the language , scholars know of only one living person who can write it ; she is Yang Huanyi , an 83- year-old peasant from Jiangjong county in Hunan . In hopes of keeping Nushu alive , a few young women in the region have now begun to learn it . BUTTERFLIES he butterfly is a marvel . It begins as an ugly caterpillar and turns into a work of art . T Caterpillars eat plants and cause damage to some crops but adult butterflies feed principally on a nectar from flowers and do not cause any harm . Some people collect butterflies for a hobby . There are collectors capture them with a net and put them in a jar that has poison in it . The dead butterflies are the mounted on a board . The sight of a butterfly floating from flower to flower on a warm sunny day brightens anyone’s heart . A butterfly ia a charming and gentle creature . When cold weather comes , some butterflies travel great distances to reach tropical climates . Butterflies are admired throughout the world because they are beautiful .They can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Flowers The rose , the national flower of England , is usually thought to be the most typically British flower . It has frequently been used in poetry as a symbol of romantic love . The violet is often seen as symbolizing modesty , and a shy retiring person can be called “ a shrinking violet “ The daisy is one of the most common British wild flowers and carries the association of summer 3 picnics and making daisy chains , by threading the stalk of one daisy through a slit made in the stalk of the next , and so on . Dandelions and buttercups have bright yellow petals and are also associated with the summer . Snowdrops , bluebells , daffodils and primroses are popular spring flowers, often found growing wild in woods . Honeysuckle is associated with typical country cottages , and wisteria with stately homes . Popular garden flowers include roses , pansies , lupines , dahlias , gladioli , chrysanthemums , asters , carnations , irises and wallflowers . Flowers are used at weddings and funerals and have certain connotations .For example, carnations , especially white ones , are often worn by men at weddings in the buttonholes of their jackets , and chrysanthemums and white lilies are associated with funerals . Rose , Daisy , Iris , Violet and Lily were popular as girl’s names in Victorian times , but are less common nowadays . Orchid Orchid is sovereign flowers that are enchantingly beautiful. Orchids usually grow on the trunks of very high, big trees, located on cliffs where it is humid and where sunlight is abundant. There are two groups of orchids, including aerial orchids (phong lan) and terrestrial orchids (dia lan). Aerial orchids usually have their roots anchored in high, big trees and their branches hang down from the tree trunks. They have very thin petals, but their colours are time enduring. Their scent is very mild, soft, and pure. Terrestrial orchids, on the contrary, have their roots anchored in the earth or a hollow in a rock where there is humus or litter. The terrestrial orchids, with varieties that include bach cap, to tam, hoang vu, anh kim, hac dinh, loan diem, etc., have bright colours and mild and flowing scents. Orchids come from the mountainous regions of the country, but because of their amiable beauty, they are present in all the famous flower villages on the plains. The Dalat Flower Garden is an almost complete collection of all of the precious and rare orchids of Vietnam. Five Senses ost of the creatures in the world possess the five senses of sight , hearing , touch , taste and smell . However , these senses are often more highly developed in one species than another . Birds have a highly developed sense of sight . For example , an eagle can spot a small lizard from high in the air . The lizard would be undetectable by a human being from the same distance . Animals that hunt by following a trail on the ground may have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell. For example , dogs see a blurred , gray world because they are nearsighted and can’t see colours . However , they can smell thousands of times better than human beings can . M Coral reefs oral reefs are beautiful gardens under the sea . The corals may look like branching trees , large domes , or flower blooms . Many see animals live among the corals . They paint the gardens bright shades of orange , yellow and purple . C Coral reefs are made of the skeletons of tiny sea animals called polyps . A polyp’s skeleton grows outside its body . When the polyp dies , the skeleton is left . Coral reefs are formed of billions and billions of these tiny skeletons . Coral reefs are found mostly in warm , shallow water . The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is the largest coral reef in the world . It is about 1,250 miles long . Our Earth Our Earth is one of nine planets revolving around the sun , a fairly small and ordinary star , which lies in the outer areas of the Milky Way Galaxy . There are about 250 billion stars in our galaxy , and billions of galaxies in universe . People have always wondered about the possibility of intelligent life forms on other planets . In recent years , this has become serious scientific speculation . Some scientists believe that there must be large numbers of stars with planets which could support living intelligent beings . Perhaps we shall never 4 known . The nearest star is 4.3 light years away . A light year is the distance covered by light ( travelling at almost 300,000 kilometers a second ) in one year . It would take the fastest Earth spacecraft about 40,000 years to reach the nearest star . For a number of years radio telescopes have been trying to pick up signals from outer space , so far without success . There are , however , millions of possible radio frequencies , and there is no reason why a completely alien civilization should not use a different type of communication , such as X-rays or even a type of wave we have not yet discovered . Suppose contact were made with beings 300 light years away . By the time we had sent our reply , and received their response the earth would be 600 years older . It would be an interesting , but rather slow moving conversation ! Elephants Elephants use their trunks the way people use their hands . At the end of the trunk are parts that act like fingers. These allow elephants to do wonderful things . They pick up their food –parts of trees or may be just a peanut . They use their trunks to drink water or to spray the water over their bodies to cool off. Because elephants do not see well , they use their trunks as “ eyes “ . They do not walk where their trunks cannot feel the ground . Carole , a twenty-two-year elephant at the Diego Wild Animal Park , paints with her trunk . At her trainer’s order , Carole swings a brush across a canvas . Her paintings are sold to make money for the park . What do people in your country think of bats ? Are they mean and scary creatures , or are they symbols of happiness and good luck ? In Western countries , many people have an unreasoned fear of bats . According to scientist Dr Sharon Horowitz , bats are beneficial and harmless mammals. Contrary to popular western myths , bats do not attack humans and are not blind . Though a few bats may be infected , they are not major carriers off rabies or give other dread diseases . Bats help natural plant life by pollinating plants , spreading seeds and eating insects . If you get rid of bats that eat overripe fruit , then fruit flies flourish and can destroy the fruit industry . According to Dr Sharon Horowitz , they make loving , trainable , and gentle pets . Not many people , however , are known to have bats as pets , and bats themselves prefer to avoid people . Leonardo da Vinci eonardo da Vinci lived in Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries . L He was a student in Florence , where he studied painting , sculpture and design . He began a lot of paintings , but didn’t finish many of them . His picture of the Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait in the world . Leonardo was interested in many things . He wanted to know about everything he saw . He examined the human body . He thought that the sun didn’t go round the earth . He wrote music . He designed a flying machine 400 years before the first one flew . Many people didn’t understand his ideas . It is difficult to think that one man could do so much . 5 . British wild flowers and carries the association of summer 3 picnics and making daisy chains , by threading the stalk of one daisy through a slit made in the stalk of the next , and so on . Dandelions. rabies or give other dread diseases . Bats help natural plant life by pollinating plants , spreading seeds and eating insects . If you get rid of bats that eat overripe fruit , then fruit