The whole world is helping tsunami (海啸) victims. Students in the U.S. are also taking part. A friend of mine suggested that we organize a relief effort for the victims. We are officers of the American Red Cross at Yale (I’m the chairperson). After sending a letter to the other members of the Red Cross, I received a large number of responses from students interested in helping.
We decided to organize a charity concert to raise money for tsunami-ravaged areas. All ticket earnings will go directly to our parent organization, the American Red Cross. Currently, we’re in the process of inviting Yale’s numerous song, dance, and chamber music groups to perform at the concert.
So far, we’ve had a great response from these groups and volunteers have continued to pour in with their ideas and feedback. When I checked my inbox this morning, I had 56 tsunami fundraiser-related emails waiting for me. Although, everyone is still on winter vacation and away from school, we have the Internet to link up Yalies from around the globe. We share ideas not on the latest video games, but on how best to provide help.
The Red Cross at Yale is not alone in its aid effort. Student organizations across campus are working hard to raise funds and provide help to those who need it.
Yale’s South Asian Society (SAS) and the Asian American Students Alliance (AASA), which is an umbrella organization for many other groups including the Sri Lankan Students Association, are organizing charity dinners.
The food will be donated（捐赠）by restaurants from around campus. Every last penny of the earnings will be donated to a non-profit organization providing aid to South Asia.
After some discussion with the SAS and AASA, our groups have decided to plan our two events together. Students can attend the benefit dinner then go to the charity concert. There is no doubt in my mind that both events will have a fantastic turnout.What does the writer mainly talk about in this passage?
| A．A charity concert to help tsunami victims. |
| B．The efforts of the American Red Cross at Yale to help tsunami victims. |
| C．The worldwide efforts to help tsunami victims. |
| D．What the Americans do to help tsunami victims. |
The author keeps in touch with Yalies to ______.
| A．ask them to offer help | B．inform them the latest news |
| C．ask them to join in the concert | D．ask them to work for the Red Cross |
What does “both events” refer to in the last paragraph?
A. SAS and AASA.
B. The Red Cross at Yale and the American Red Cross.
C. The benefit dinner and the charity concert.
D. Raising funds and providing help. Which of the following is NOT right?
| A．Students were taking an active part in the activity |
| B．The American Red Cross at Yale raised money for tsunami-ravaged areas by organizing a charity concert |
| C．Other organizations are working hard to raise funds and provide help to those who need it. |
| D．The tsunami happened in South America. |
“Don't worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain.
Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.
On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon (泻湖) side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?
The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."
Then he added, “That's the way it is with every living organism.”
That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"
Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.Who has no problems according to the passage?
| A．The persons who are very famous. |
| B．The persons who have much money. |
| C．The persons who have been born. |
| D．The persons who are living in the cemeteries. |
In the writer's opinion, ________.
| A．problems bring us much trouble |
| B．problems have two sides, good or bad |
| C．we should try to stay away from any trouble |
| D．the fewer things we do, the less trouble we'll meet |
The reason why lagoon side of the reef has no life is _______.
| A．it hasn't got any sunlight |
| B．it has less energy than others |
| C．it never faces any challenge and tests |
| D．it has no work to do every day |
After reading this passage, we should ________.
| A．regard any problem as challenge |
| B．learn from the lagoon side |
| C．worry your problem |
| D．enter into cemeteries |
Many songs, poems, and books have been written on love’s strong effect on people. The state of being in love has even been compared to being sick or mad. A study by Professor Semir Zeki of University College London has found that love does affect people’s brains by making them feel great.
Zeki studied young men and women who had recently fallen in love. He found that, when they were looking at photos of their loved ones, there was heightened activity in four areas of their brains. These areas deal with emotions, and one of them, in particular, is known to respond to drugs that cause feelings of great joy and excitement.
Interestingly, the study also found a lack of activity in two other areas of the brain when the volunteers looked at their lovers’ photographs. One of these areas is linked to feelings of sadness, while the other is often active in people suffering from depression. It seems love really can be uplifting.
The state of being in love, according to some scientists, may actually be good for your health. Although scientists know that being in love can make a person feel great, the exact influence of love on a person’s health is harder to determine. However, scientists say that people do need love in order to live healthy lives.
According to Dr. Thomas Lewis, people need to be in relationships because that is how we are designed. He says the brain can only maintain(保持) the overall stability of a person’s immune(免疫) system, bodily rhythms, and heart if it receives input(输入) from outside the body in the form of emotional connections with others.
Professor Antonio Damasio has a similar view. He says that love enriches a person’s imagination and creativity, and makes a person’s body work better. He also believes that love can even improve the body’s ability to fight against disease. Damasio’s wise words of advice are “ Choose love and you will live longer.”The main idea of this passage is __________.
| A．love can really cause people active |
| B．love has effect on songs and books |
| C．love is linked with emotion |
| D．love is what we need |
What does the underlined word “uplifting” mean? It means __________.
| A．inspiring | B．available | C．cold | D．mad |
From the passage we know__________.
| A．People write songs, poems and books to say love is the sweetest thing |
| B．nobody but Professor Semir Zeki has found love does affect people’s brains |
| C．being in love sometimes may make someone act as if he/ she were mad |
| D．love causes heightened activity in all areas of a person’s brains |
Which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Some scientists have the idea that love does good to people. |
| B．It is possible for scientists to decide how much influence love can give people. |
| C．People are born to be in need of getting on touch with each other. |
| D．A person’s health depends on partly on emotional connections with others. |
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| A．they lack confidence |
| B．they do exercise alone |
| C．they are under great pressure |
| D．they don’t get enough exercise |
From the text, we can learn that if you join the gym, _______ .
| A．you’ll lose weight safely but slowly |
| B．you’ll struggle with workout routines |
| C．you’ll be advised to pay attention to nutrition |
| D．you’ll be advised to have nothing in between workouts |
How much do a couple have to pay if they join the gym today?
| A．$800. | B．$500. | C．$900. | D．$1,000. |
This text is most probably taken from a ________ .
| A．newspaper | B．magazine |
| C．website | D．textbook |
No matter how well you understand a foreign language, misunderstanding still exists between native speakers and you. Here is such an example.
Three young Frenchmen were travelling in Britain. Though they had taken a few English lessons before their holiday, they were often in trouble because of their misunderstanding of English. One day they talked about their misfortunes (不幸) together.
The first Frenchman said, “I once heard someone shout ‘Look out’, I put my head out of a window and a bucket (一桶) of water fell on me.”
The second Frenchman said, “I was once in a ship and heard the captain shouted, ‘All hands on decks (甲板)’ I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them.”
The third Frenchman said, “I once called early on an English friend and the maid (女佣) who came to the door said, ‘He’s not up yet’ When I went again for him, she said, ‘He’s not down yet’. I said, ‘If he’s not up and he’s not down, where is he?’ She said, ‘He’s still upstairs now. When I told you he was not up I meant he had not got up yet, so he has not come downstairs by now’ ”Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Misunderstanding of English |
| B．Three Young Frenchmen |
| C．Misfortunes of Three Frenchmen |
| D．A Few English Lessons |
When someone is calling “look out” to you，he probably wants you to ______.
| A．put your head out of the window | B．go away |
| C．receive a bucket of water | D．be careful |
The sentence “All hands on decks” may mean ______.
| A．you should put your hands on the deck |
| B．everyone should get ready |
| C．someone walks over one’s hands |
| D．someone is making fun of a foreigner |
Hank Viscardi was born without legs. He had not legs but stumps(残肢)that could he fitted with a kind of special boots. People stared at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ (猿人) because his arms practically dragged on the ground.
Hank went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve. After graduating from school, he worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. He would soon have to use a wheel chair.
Hank felt himself getting cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs (假腿). Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror, for the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be-a full five feet eight inches tall. By this time he was already 26 years old.
Hank had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it.
When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs.Children laughed at Hank and called him ‘Ape Man’ because.
| A．he didn’t talk to them |
| B．he kept away from them |
| C．he couldn’t use his arms |
| D．his arms touched the ground while moving |
It can be inferred from the story that five feet eight inches tall is __.
| A．an average height for a fully grown person |
| B．too tall for an average person |
| C．too short for an average person |
| D．good enough for a disabled man |
The sentence “he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job” implies that the Red Cross.
| A．was only glad to give him a job |
| B．give him a job because he was a good soldier |
| C．was not willing to give him a job at first |
| D．gave him a job after he talked to someone whom he knew in the organization |
When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he.
| A．took some special training |
| B．did everything the other soldiers did |
| C．did some of the things the other soldiers did |
| D．did most of the things the other soldiers did |