The Primary EFL Reading Competition for the students in Shaoguan city,China

1. ENGLISH READING COMPETITION for Upper Grade Students In Shaoguan Primary Schools 广东省韶关市小学高年级英语朗读竞赛 学生短文抽签准备 10 分钟就登台朗读

2. Poor Man Look at this man. What is he doing? He’s carrying a very big box. The box is full of big apples. He wants to put it on the back of his bike and take it home. Can he do that? No, I don’t think so. Why not? Because the box is too full and too heavy. Look! What’s wrong? He drops the box. Poor man! 0 1

3. Kate Kate is a new student. She is twelve. She is from America. She can speak English very well and she can speak a little Chinese. She is in Nanjing. Her parents are doctors. Kate is studying in a school near her home. She has classes from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, she often plays games with her Chinese friends. She loves China and her Chinese friends. 0 2

4. Can you find Bob? Hello, Betty. Please meet Bob at the station at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Go to the big clock. Carry a green bag and wear a white hat. He’s not very tall but quite fat. He has short black hair and brown eyes. He also has glasses. He likes wearing blue trousers and a red sweater, Can you find him, Betty? 0 3

5. My Room This is my room. Near the window there is a desk. I often do my homework at it. You can see some books, some flowers in a vase, a ruler and a pen. On the wall near the desk there is a picture of a cat. There is a clock above the end of my bed. I usually put my football under my bed. Of course there is a chair in front of the desk. I sit there and I can see the trees and roads outside. 0 4

6. What are they doing? The White family is at home. Mrs White is in the kitchen. She is cooking. Mr White is sitting in a chair and reading the newspaper. Tom and his friend Dick are cleaning the bicycle. Jane and her friend Mary are in Jane’s bedroom. They are listening to a tape. 0 5

7. Saying Goodbye Many people are waiting for the train. Some are reading newspapers and some are saying goodbye to their friends. Doctor Wang, Mr Li and Mr Chen are talking so happily that they don’t know the train is going to leave. Then the guard calls loudly, “The train is going to leave. Hurry up, please.” The three men hear the guard and two of them jump onto the train quickly before it moves. One is left behind. It is Dr Wang. He looks very sad. The guard comes to him and says, “Don’t feel bad. The next train will come in ten minutes.” “I know.” Dr Wang says, “But it is my train. My friends only come to say goodbye to me.” 0 6

8. The Sea What do you know about the sea? Some people have seen it, but others haven’t. The sea looks beautiful on a fine sunny day and it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it? Of course, the sea is very large. In the world there is more sea than land. If you swim in the sea, you know that the water is salty. Rivers take salt from the land into the sea. Some places of the sea are more salty than other places. Do you know the Dead Sea? Fish can’t live in it! 0 7

9. Our Class This is a picture of our class. There are fifty students in our class. You can see twenty-five boys and twenty-five girls. There is an American student in our class. Her name is Mary. Her English is very good. We all like her. She likes eating bread and cakes. She likes drinking milk and orange juice. We like eating rice and drinking tea. We are very happy together. 0 8

10. Never Late In the morning I get up at six. I wash my face and put on my clothes. Then I eat my breakfast with my family at six thirty. At six forty I go to school by bike. I am never late, but Tom is sometimes late and Mary is always late. They often run to school. 0 9

11. In the Classroom This is a classroom. You can see some girls, a boy and a teacher in it. The boy is Tom. He has golden hair and blue eyes. He is from America. He is a new pupil. The girls are Chinese. They can speak a little English. They are talking with Tom in English. Miss Li is writing something on the blackboard. 1 0

12. A Football Match It’s Sunday tomorrow. We are going to watch a football match. It’s between a Japanese team and a Chinese team. The football match is going to be at four o’clock in the afternoon. Our teachers Mr Li and Mr Wang are going to watch the football match with us. We are going there by bike. We think we can come back at about six in the evening. 1 1

13. My Parents My parents work in a shoe factory. They get up at five thirty. They first get breakfast ready. Then they go to work by bus. They work there from eight to five. They come home at about six and prepare supper for us. Mother washes clothes in the evening. Father often makes toys for us. They are busy all day. 1 2

14. One Dog or Two? One day a dog has a nice piece of meat for his dinner. He goes home happily with the meat in his mouth. On his way home, there is a stream. The water is still and clear. He stops to take a look at it. What does he see? There is a dog as big as himself and he has some meat in his mouth, too. “I’ll try to get it. What a feast I will have today!” He opens his mouth to get it, but just then his own piece falls into the stream. He goes sadly home. What does the dog have for dinner that day? 1 3

15. Jim’s Bedroom This is Jim’s bedroom. It’s new and nice. A bed and a chair are in it. A desk is on the floor. Some flowers are on it. A bookshelf is behind the bed. Some English books are on the bookshelf. A picture is on the wall. Some people are in the picture. The man is his father. The woman is his mother. Who is the boy? Do you know? 1 4

16. Daydream It’s a very nice day in October. The students are having a maths class. But Bob is looking out of the window and watching the clouds move across the blue sky. ”Boy,what a day to play football!” he thinks. Just then the bell rings and wakes him from his daydream. He closes his notebook sadly, stand up, and walks slowly to his next class. 1 5

17. A French Student A French student goes to London for his holiday. He knows a little English, but he can’t speak very well. One day he goes to a restaurant. He wants to have some eggs, but he can’t remember the English word for “egg”. He looks around and sees a picture of a hen. He shows the picture to the waiter. “What do you call her children?” he asks. “Chicks, sir.” “Very well,”says the French student. “Bring me two eggs and a cup of tea, please.” 1 6

18. Going to the zoo Today is Sunday. Bob is going to the zoo with his classmates. He puts on his new white T-shirt and yellow cap. He says goodbye to his parents and goes to the bus stop. The bus stop is near his home. He is going to meet his classmates there. The zoo is very far but a No.57 bus will take them right there. The children are going to see a lot of animals at the zoo and they are going to have a good time. 1 7

19. Mike and Tom Mike and Tom are in the same school. They are in the same grade, too. Mike has English classes in the morning, but Tom has English classes in the afternoon. After school, they play games. They often play basketball, play football, fly kites and ride bikes. They can jump, swim, and sing, too. They are good students. They love their school. 1 8

20. At Lunchtime It is eleven thirty. Deborah and her friends are not having lunch. They are having “morning coffee”. They are talking about their husbands. One of them is wearing a very strange hat. Frank is Deborah’s husband. He is eating in the factory now. He always eats there. A lot of men are standing in queue. They are waiting for their lunch. It’s raining outside. 1 9

21. Birds Birds live almost everywhere in the world. Many birds live in trees. They build their nests there. They lay their eggs in the nests. Baby birds do not have strong wings. They can’t fly with their parents. They just stay at home. Some birds make their nests in the fields. But others build their homes on the roofs or in the chimneys. Chickens are birds. They usually lie in chicken houses. Ducks and turkeys are birds, too. Some ducks and turkeys live in farmyards. But others live in the woods and fields. 2 0

22. A Nice Girl Li Ying likes English very much. She works hard. She reads English every morning. She likes speaking English. She often listens to the radio. She watches TV only on Saturday evening. Does she like dancing? No, she doesn’t. But she likes drawing and singing. Her parents like her. And all the teachers and her friends like her, too. 2 1

23. On Sunday It is Sunday today. The weather is fine. Mingming and Dongdong are in the park. It is a big park. They can see many people there. They come here to have a rest after a week’s hard work and study. Some boys are playing football on the grass. Some girls are singing and dancing. An old man is reading a newspaper under a big tree. A young woman and her little son are playing with a toy bus. How happy they are! 2 2

24. Mr Black Mr Black teaches us English this term. He is a tall man. He likes wearing a while shirt and black trousers. He speaks English very well. We like his lessons very much. His home is near the school. Sometimes Mr Black walks to his home. He has two little sons. They look the same. They often wear the same clothes. He loves to see them and play with them. Mr Black calls the two boys Da Mao and Xiao Mao. 2 3

25. A Clock and a Watch We can tell the time by a clock or by a watch. A clock is big; it is usually on the wall or on the table. A watch is small; we can put it in the pocket, or wear it on the wrist! A clock or a watch usually has a round face. It has two hands, a long one and a short one. Tom’s clock can speak and call him to get up every day. His watch has a picture of a lovely dog on the face. He likes it very much. 2 4

26. A Boxer and a Runner Once a great boxer, Tom Brown, goes to a restaurant for dinner. He takes off his coat and leaves it at the door, but he is afraid that somebody will take it. So he takes a piece of paper and writes on it:” The great boxer, Tom Brown, leaves his coat here. He will come back in a few minutes.” He puts the paper on his coat and goes to have his dinner. When he returns, his coat is not there, but he finds a piece of paper in its place. It says: ”A great runner takes away your coat, and he will not come back at all.” 2 5

27. Bill and Sue Bill and Sue are brother and sister. They are both middle school students and go to the same school. They go to Mr Zhang’s shop and see some nice rabbits. They love the rabbits very much, but they have no money to buy them. Sue has a good idea. She and Bill help their father pick apples on the farm every Saturday and Sunday. So their father gives them each a hundred dollars. Sue and Bill go to Mr Zhang’s shop. Each of them buys a rabbit. One is white and the other is black. They call the black rabbit Bunny and the white one Judy. They like them very much. 2 6

28. A Good Time Today is Sunday. It is a fine day. The sky is blue. Mr White is with his family. There are four people in his family. They are Mr White, Mrs White, May and Jim. They are walking on the bridge. There are some boats on the river. Mr and Mrs White are looking at them. May is not looking at the boats. She is looking at a big ship. Jim is looking at the birds in the sky. They have a good time. 2 7

29. Aunt Jane’s Birthday Aunt Jane’s birthday is coming. She will be 40 years old. Dad and Mum are going to take me to house. We are going to go there by train. We are leaving on Friday evening. And we are coming back on Sunday afternoon. The birthday party will be on Saturday. I am going to give my dear Aunt Jane a card. I am making it now. I am using my colour pencils to draw some nice flowers on the card. I am going to draw Aunt Jane a small cat on it, too. Because she likes cats. The card will be very nice. Dad says his sister will like it very much. 2 8

30. Mary and Her Sisters Mary has four sisters. They are Betty, Holly, Rose and Ann. Mary is the oldest of the five. Betty is thirteen years old. She is two years younger than Mary and one year older than Holly, Rose is nine and Ann is seven. Mary and Betty study in a middle school. Holly, Rose, and Ann study in a primary school. The primary school is near their home. They walk there. The middle school is very far. Mary and Betty go there by bus. 2 9

31. An Accident I walk very slowly with a big, heavy box in my hands. A boy runs very fast towards me. He is too fast. And he can’t stop. Oh, dear! My box drops to the floor and the books are everywhere. What can I do? I want to cry. The boy says, “Sorry.” And he helps me to pick up all the books. He then helps me to carry the box of books to our classroom. Who is he? He is my new classmate. His name is Jimmy and he is from England. We are good friends now. 3 0

32. Back to School It’s the first day of school. Tom wants to go back to school. He wants to see his friends. He wants to meet his new teacher. Tom gets up early in the morning. He washes and eats his breakfast. Then he rides his bike to school. He sees his friends on the playground. He plays hide-and-seek with them. In the classroom, Tom meets his new maths teacher. Her name is Mrs Green. Tom likes Mrs Green. She can speak English very well. He thinks she is a nice teacher. 3 1

33. Shirley and Tina There are twenty-one boys and nineteen girls in my class. Two of them are Americans. One is Shirley. The other is Tina. They are in the same school. They are in the same class, too. Where are they? They are on the playground. Shirley is wearing a yellow sweater and a blue skirt. Tina is wearing a white blouse and a pair of black trousers. Look! Shirley and Tina are playing games with their classmates. 3 2

34. About George George studies at the No.3 Primary School. There are about eight hundred students and fifty teachers in his school. George is in Class One, Grade Five. He likes English and music best. His English teacher is Mr Brown. He comes from England. He is a nice man. He can speak a little Chinese, but he doesn’t know how to write Chinese. He likes his work in China but he doesn’t like Chinese food. Mr Wu teaches George music. He can sing very well. He is George’s big friend. 3 3

35. In the Park There is a park near our school. We can see many trees and flowers there. Some flowers are red, and some are yellow. We can see a hill behind the park, too. At the foot of the hill we can see a river. There are some boats on it. Children like to go there. It is Monday today. There are many Young Pioneers in the park. Some are walking and singing. Some are dancing or playing games. Ann and her sister Kate are flying a kite. Tom and his brother Sam are throwing a frisbee. Their father and mother are sitting under the tree. All the family are having a good time. 3 4

36. Who Puts Ink on My Chair? Tom is seven. He goes to school every day. The school is near his home. So he goes there on foot and comes back home on time. But today he is late. His mother asks him, ”Why are you late today?” “ I am in the headmaster’s office.” “Why do you go to the headmaster’s office?” “ Because my teacher asks us a question in class, and nobody can answer it, but I can.” “It’s good to answer the teacher’s questions.” “But the question is ‘ Who puts ink on my chair?’” 3 5

37. A Dog for My Daughter We buy our daughter a little dog. There are not many children of her age and we think a dog would make her happy. We are right. They play together happily. Our daughter smiles and laughs a lot more. Both of them are very dirty. But the dog is easier to look after than my daughter. He always eats up all his food and we needn’t wash his clothes. My wife is also very happy because I don’t smoke any more. The dog doesn’t like the smell. 3 6

38. Streets of Water There is a city in the world. People do not drive cars in that city. It is called Venice. Venice is in Italy. There are no streets in Venice. But there are canals. The canals look like streets. There is much water in those canals. In Venice people ride about the city in boats. Your father and mother may ride in a bus to work. In Venice, fathers and mothers ride in boats. 3 7

39. A Beautiful Sunny Day It is a beautiful sunny day. There isn’t a cloud in the sky. Greg wants to have lunch at once. But we decide to have a swim first. After swimming, we have a picnic lunch under the trees. Then we lie in the sun for a while. In the afternoon it begins to get cloudy. At four o’clock, we have to go back because it starts to rain. 3 8

40. Mr Zhang Mr Zhang is now at his desk. He is busy writing something on a piece of paper. On the right side of his desk he has some flowers and some books. On his left side there is a light and a cup. He has a phone in the middle of his desk, too. Now Mrs Zhang is coming to him. She has a book in her hand. She’s going to give it to Mr Zhang. On the wall there is a map of China and two pictures. Mr Zhang likes those pictures very much. But his wife doesn’t like them at all. 3 9

41. Make Other People Happy In class the teacher asks a question, ”Do you often make others happy?” “Yes!” one boy answers loudly. “How nice, Sandy!” said the teacher who is very glad. ”And Sandy, would you like to tell us that happy thing?” ”All right. Every Sunday I go to my grandmother’s house. I often play with my grandmother for three hours. And when I say, “ ”Granny, I ‘m going home now.” she often says, “Well, I’m so glad.” 4 0

42. The Old Mouse An old lady has a cat. The cat is now very old. She cannot run fast, and she cannot bit. When the old cat sees a mouse, she jumps to it and catches it, but the mouse still gets out of her mouth and runs away. Then the old lady is very angry. She begins to beat the cat. The cat says to her, “Don’t beat me. Please be kind to me. When I was young, I gave you a lot of help.” 4 1

43. Two Shoes Lucy looks up from her book. The whole class is laughing at something. She turns around and asks Maureen what is funny. Maureen tries to explain, but she can’t stop laughing. Everyone is looking at Lucy’s feet. Lucy looks down at her feet and sees a red shoe on one foot and a green shoe on the other foot. Lucy’s face turns red. She runs out of the classroom at once. 4 2

44. The First Question One day after school the teacher says to his students, “Tomorrow morning, if anyone of you can answer my first question, he or she can go home early.” The next day, when the teacher comes into the classroom, he finds the blackboard very dirty. He is very angry and asks, “Who did it? Please stand up!” “It’s me,” says Bob. “Now, I can go home. Goodbye, sir! ” 4 3

45. The Farmer and the Snake It is a cold day in winter. A farmer finds a snake on the ground. It is nearly dead with cold. The farmer is a kind person. He brings it carefully to his house and put it near the fire. Soon the snake begins to move but it raises its head and tries to bite the farmer. “Oh,” says the farmer, “I save your life, but you thank me like this. You must die and the sooner the better.” Then he kills the snake with a stick. 4 4

46. A Careless Grandfather My name is Jane. My grandfather is very careless. He is a very clever man, but he never remembers little things. April 27th is my birthday. My grandfather says to me, “I’m going to your home, and give you a present!” I’m very excited. I wait for him all day, but he doesn’t come, so I phone him and ask why. He answers, “Sorry, I went to the other granddaughter’s house.” What a careless grandfather! 4 5

47. The Lu Xun Museum We are at the Lu Xun Museum, boys and girls. You know Lu Xun was a great writer and thinker. From the exhibits in the museum, I’m sure you will know more about Lu Xun. We will stay here for an hour and will leave at one thirty. The bus will be waiting for you in front of the museum. Please remember the bus number and be back on time. Don’t forget to close the windows before you leave the bus. 4 6

48. Looking for a Pen Pal My name is Bill Smith. I’m American and I’m a student in a middle school. I’m 13. My hobbies are music and football. My two sisters are students, too. We live in Washing, D. C. now. My mother is a teacher and my father is a manager of a small company. I’d like a pen pal from China or Japan. Please write to 101 West Street, Washington, D. C. ,921081, USA. 4 7

49. On a Bus The bus stops at the next stop. A mother and her child get on the bus and sit down. The conductor comes to them for the tickets. The mother says, “One ticket to the Children’s Park.” The conductor looks at the small child, then says to him, “How old are you, little boy?” The mother wants to speak, but the conductor stops her. The boy says, “Mother says I’m four years old at home and two on the bus.” All the other people laugh. 4 8

50. Cutting the Cake Dick is seven years old, and his sister Mary is five. Today their mother takes them to their grandma’s house and then she goes out. The children play for an hour, and then at four thirty their grandma takes Dick into the kitchen. She gives him a nice cake and a knife and says, ”Like a gentleman, give the bigger piece to the other.” Dick thinks about this for a moment. He says to Mary, you cut this cake, Mary. 4 9

51. Making a Telephone Call How do you make a telephone call in English? Do you know? Let me tell you. If you want to ask someone to come to the telephone, you cannot say,”Please ask Mr …to answer the telephone.” You should say, “May I speak to Mr …?” You cannot say, “Who are you?” If you want to tell the other one who you are, you should say, “This is …(speaking).” You cannot say, “I’m …” 5 0