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For John and Amy Cervantes, birthdays have always been a big deal — a welcome excuse to celebrate life. When their eldest son, Alex, turned three, in 2005, they invited 20 friends to a nearby park and hired a clown to paint faces and make balloon animals.
Not long after that, the couple were brainstorming ways to teach Alex about giving to others. “That’ s when a spark went off,” says Amy. “We wanted to do something that would have a strong effect on our community, that wasn’t already being  done, and that our young children could participate in. I started wondering what less fortunate kids do on their birthdays. The next day, we called a local shelter.” What they learned is that homeless children typically don’t do anything to celebrate. No cake. No gifts. No party.
Several weeks later, the family threw a party at the shelter for the children who had birthdays that month. They decorated, served cake, and led 50 kids in the uncertain situation. Alex helped fill and pass out goody bags and presents. Since that first party, the couple have turned their simple idea into Birthday Blessings, a nonprofit that hosts monthly parties at ten shelters in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. The group also delivers baby supplies to new moms in the shelters. And it considerately sends treats to elementary schools so homeless kids can celebrate their birthdays with friends.
To date, Birthday Blessings has thrown more than 500 parties and handed out over 22,000 favors to nearly 4,000 homeless children. The idea is spreading fast, with additional chapters set to start in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and northeast Indiana. Birthday Blessings is operated entirely by volunteers with Amy, a stay-at-home mom, in charge. John attempts his career as an investment adviser while setting up the group’s similar network and running its capital campaign. The charity will take almost anything — toys, baby items — as long as it’s not used. “These kids never get anything new,” John says. “It makes a big difference to them psychologically.”
Being part of this“labor of love,” as Amy puts it, is already making an impression on the boys. When Alex turned seven, his grandparents sent a birthday check. “The first thing he said when he opened it,” Amy recalls, “was that he wanted to give half to the birthday kids.”
63. “a spark went off,” in Para 2 is closest in meaning to_______ .
A. Something was burning        B. there was a little hope
C. they were excited.            D. some good idea flashed into their mind.
64. The couple held a party at the shelter because_____ .
A. The children had birthdays that month
B. They felt sympathy for the homeless children
C. They wanted to make good impression on the children
D. They wanted to show that they were generous and kind
65. From the passage we can learn_______ .
A. The homeless children typically receive gifts and eat cakes on their birthdays
B. The group carefully sends treats to all the children in elementary schools
C. Birthday Blessings has performed different activities to aid the homeless children.
D. The couple are responsible for their own community in North Carolina
66. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Labor of Love                B. Nonprofit Organization 
C. Warm-hearted Volunteers.      D. Fortunate Children

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Most recently, it’s very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews.Naturally, it’s easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us. We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them.As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me.So, I’ll let them fail.
I’ll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow.And failure with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc —will be part of growth for them.Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today.From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish.
It’s a small price to help them learn a skill they’ll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don’t accompany them on job interviews.
Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?

A.Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties.
B.Because they think they can help them on the questions.
C.Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews.
D.Because their kids strongly request them to do so.

According to the author, what is beneficial to kids’ development?

A.Sheltering them.
B.Keeping them safe.
C.Leaving them alone.
D.Blaming them.

Why does the author stress(强调) failure in kids’ life?

A.To make them stronger than other kids.
B.To help them grow in this tough world.
C.To help them develop all social skills.
D.To make them learn to compromise.

Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

A.Never Shelter Your Kids
B.Let Your Kids Fail
C.Be Eager to Grow Up
D.Live Without Parents

Maple Lane Bakery
At 8260 S. State Rd. Claypool, IN. (574) 566-2917, it offers a variety of cooked pies, cookies, and bread. With 20 years’ experience Maple Lane Bakery has specialized in the making of pies. The menu includes peach pie $7.19, berry pie $ 7.70, apple pie $7.19 and banana pie $6.99. Feel free to place an order at least 24 hours in advance.
Berry’s Cakes &Candy Shop
At 816 E. Winona Avenue Warsaw, IN. (574)269-1231, it specializes in cakes and offers cookies and candies. The chocolate cookies are sold at $8.99 a dozen. Betty’s Cakes &Candy Shop, started half a century ago, specializes in wedding cakes and birthday cakes. Buying a cake from Betty’s will not disappoint you as they are always excellent.
Crepes’ Quality Bakery
At 217 S. Cavin Street Ligonier, IN. (260)894-3024, this bakery with a history of over a century is located downtown Ligonier. It offers cookies and cupcakes, and specializes in rolls and bread. If you plan to buy cookies for the office or work area, you had better get there early as the building workers arrive just before 5:00am waiting for the doors to open.
Olympia Candy Kitchen
At 136 N. Main Street Goshen, IN. (574)533-5040, it has been welcoming visitors for almost a century in its unchanged location in downtown Goshen, Indiana. Its tradition began in 1912 when Greek Nicholas began making his own chocolates. Today this family-owned operation offers all kinds of candies and boxed candies.
If you need an order, you should call ahead of time to see if they can meet your request.
Which of the following pies is the most expensive?

A.Peach pie. B.Banana pie. C.Apple pie. D.Berry pie.

If you want to order a birthday cake, you are advised to call______.

A.(574)533-5040 B.(574)269-1231 C.(260)894-3024 D.(574)566-2917

Which of the following bakeries has the shortest history?

A.Crepes’ Quality Bakery
B.Betty’s Cake & Candy Shop
C.Olympia Candy Kitchen
D.Maple Lane Bakery

The author wrote this passage mainly to ______.

A.tell readers some travel information
B.persuade more people to eat pies
C.make the bakeries better known to readers
D.warn customers to order bakeries in advance

Suppose you want to buy some new clothes or a new TV. Or maybe you need some work done on your car. How can you find the best price without shopping all over town? Ads can help you. Ads can show you lots of prices. And you don’t have to go anywhere to see them. Just open a newspaper or magazine, and you’ll find plenty of ads.
The following is an ad about TV sets for sale. Please read it and answer the questions below.

How many different kinds of TV sets does the store advertise( 打广告) here ?

A.Four. B.Three. C.Two. D.Five.

Which of the following statements is true according to the advertisement?

A.You can buy any kind on July 14th.
B.The service time is9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Monday.
C.The larger the screen is, the higher the price will be.
D.The lowest price is a little more than 300.

Which is NOT mentioned in the advertisement?

A.The deadline(最后期限) of all the TV set sales.
B.The post code of the area where the store is.
C.The address of the store.
D.The name of the store.

What can ads do for us according to the passage?

A.They can help us cut down the prices before shopping.
B.They can show us plenty of prices after shopping all over town.
C.They can help us learn about the quality of the advertised things.
D.They can help us find the best price without shopping everywhere.

The Cost of Higher Education
Individuals (个人) should pay for their higher education.
A university education is of huge and direct benefit to the individual. Graduates earn more than non-graduates. Meanwhile, social mobility is ever more dependent on having a degree. However, only some people have it. So the individual, not the taxpayers, should pay for it. There are pressing calls on the resources (资源) of the government. Using taxpayers' money to help a small number of people to earn high incomes in the future is not one of them.
Full government funding (资助) is not very good for universities. Adam Smith worked in a Scottish university whose teachers lived off student fees. He knew and looked down upon 18th-century Oxford, where the academics lived comfortably off the income received from the government. Guaranteed salaries, Smith argued, were the enemy of hard work; and when the academics were lazy and incompetent, the students were similarly lazy.
If students have to pay for their education, they not only work harder, but also demand more from their teachers. And their teachers have to keep them satisfied. If that means taking teaching seriously, and giving less time to their own research interests, that is surely something to celebrate.
Many people believe that higher education should be free because it is good for the economy (经济). Many graduates clearly do contribute to national wealth, but so do all the businesses that invest (投资) and create jobs. If you believe that the government should pay for higher education because graduates are economically productive, you should also believe that the government should pay part of business costs. Anyone promising to create jobs should receive a gift of capital from the government to invest. Therefore, it is the individual, not the government, who should pay for their university education.
The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A.taxpayers B.pressing calls C.college graduates D.government resources

The author thinks that with full government funding ______.

A.teachers are less satisfied B.students are more demanding
C.students will become more competent D.teachers will spend less time on teaching

The author mentions businesses in Paragraph 5 in order to ______.

A.argue against free university education B.call on them to finance students' studies
C.encourage graduates to go into business D.show their contribution to higher education

Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in --- and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That's why slight differences in conversational style --- tiny little things like microseconds of pause --- can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems --- even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?

A.Betty was talkative. B.Betty was an interrupter.
C.Betty did not take her turn. D.Betty paid no attention to Sara.

According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?

A.Americans. B.Israelis. C.The British. D.The Finns.

We can learn from the passage that ______.

A.communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing
B.women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US
C.one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes
D.one should receive training to build up one's confidence

The underlined word "assertiveness" in the last paragraph probably means ______.

A.being willing to speak one's mind B.being able to increase one's power
C.being ready to make one's own judgment D.being quick to express one's ideas confidently

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