C
Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali(强碱) sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Bad water, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”---- the land of fire. Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.
Here nature created a lot of surprising scenes, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and variable(变化的) parts of Death Valley is the Devil’s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.
1. ______ is the lowest place in the desert.
A. Tomesha B. Death Valley C. Nevada D. Badwater
2. The present name of the valley comes from_______.
A. an Indian name B. the death of miners
C. the local people D. a National Movement
3. From the passage we can learn that______.
A. no one had ever known the desert before the miners
B. it’s still not easy to travel across the desert
C. people can find gas stations, cafes and hotels in the desert
D. people have changed the natural sight of the desert
4. Devil Golf Course is famous for______.
A. the frequent wind B. the colors of the sand
C. dream-like sights D. the sand sculptures
5. From the passage we can see that the writer_____ Death Valley.
A. appreciates B. is fearful of C. dislikes D. is tired of
The right to die
It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary(议会的) debates, Australia’s northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably sick patients who wish to die.
The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: "We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history."
The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage（通过）.
But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia - where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part, other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia(安乐死). In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.
Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death, probably by a deadly injection or pill, to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed(诊断) as terminally ill by two doctors. After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. "I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks," he says. This passage is mainly about ________.
| A．the development and function of euthanasia |
| B．the passage（通过）of a law on euthanasia and its worldwide influence. |
| C．some successful examples about euthanasia |
| D．conditions and procedures to perform euthanasia in Australia. |
What does “observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling” mean?
| A．Observers are taking a wait-and –see attitude towards the future of euthanasia. |
| B．There is a possibility of similar bills being passed in the US and Canada. |
| C．Observers are waiting to see the movement end up in failure. |
| D．The process of the bill taking effect may finally come to a stop. |
During a “cooling off” period, a patient will _________.
| A．wait for two doctors’ diagnosis |
| B．sign a certificate of request |
| C．think over his decision of euthanasia |
| D．turn to his doctors for more advice |
What’s the author’s attitude towards euthanasia?
| A．Hostile | B．doubtful | C．Favorable | D．Indifferent |
| Volunteers Mentors are needed Volunteer Centre Westminster is looking to recruit enthusiastic volunteer mentors. Mentoring training will be provided, support & supervision is in place For more information please contact Yohannes Hagos On 0207 087 4351 Email johnnes@volunteer.co.uk Mobile 07501227795 |
| Join Us for the ABC 2011 Challenge A 6 day Hike or Bike in South Africa. 21st-31st October in support of child burns victims. For more information check out our website www.abc2011 challenge.com To join our team and receive a free welcome pack email ABC2011@crippssears.com The Phoenix Burns Project Registered Charity No:NPO:57-154 PBO:930031313 |
| Volunteer for Advance and help us to Improve quality of care that older people receive in care homes. Advocacy in Barnet Volunteer Volunteer Advocate Advocacy in Barnet offers a free, independent and confidential advocacy service to all people over the age of 18 living in the Borough of Barnet. Advance-a voice for old people through Advocacy provides advocacy to older people living in care homes and other residential settings and accessing day centres on a weekly basis. Advance does this by recruiting volunteers over 50 years of age and training them to become advocates. To APPLY:www.advocacyinbarnet.org.uk or Heena/Janet-0208 201 3415 or heena@advocacyinbarnet.org.uk Next training round for introduction to Advocacy-end of August 2011 followed by one day trainings in Mental Capacity Act and Human Rights |
| Wanted: Volunteer Appropriate Adults to support Vulnerable Adults at Kingston Police Station Kingston Advocacy is currently looking for new volunteers to act as appropriate adults. Volunteers act as appropriate adults for vulnerable adults who come into contact with the police. The appropriate adults sit with the vulnerable person when they are being interviewed by the police to ensure that the interview is conducted fairly and to facilitate communication between the police and the vulnerable person. Unpaid Volunteers are required 7 days a week and the scheme operates from 0900hrs to 2330hrs. No Experience Necessary! We will provide you with preparation and support. Further information please contact Peter Pritchard, Scheme Coordinator Siddeley House, 50 Canbury Park Road Kinston upon Thames Surrey KT2 6LX Tel no: 0208 549 1028 Email: peter@kag.org.uk or rights@kag.org.uk Website: www.kag.org.uk |
Which of the following does NOT provide training?
| A．The ABC 2011 Challenge. | B．Advance. |
| C．The Volunteer Centre Westminster. | D．The Kingston Advocacy. |
We learn from the ads that Advance wants volunteers who ______.
| A．are over 18 years old | B．have relevant experience |
| C．can come to help every week | D．need only one day of training |
What kind of person might apply to Kingston Advocacy?
| A．One who hoped to be paid. |
| B．One interested in doing interviews. |
| C．One curious about police life. |
| D．One who can work late into the night. |
Annalisee Brasil, a 14-year-old girl, is one of the brightest kids of her generation. When Annalisee was 3, her mother Angi noticed that she was stringing together word cards into correct sentences. After the girl turned 6, her mother took her for an IQ text. Her IQ is above 145, placing the girl in the top 0.1% of the population. Annalisee should be the star pupil at school. She is witty and pretty, and it’s easy to imagine she would get along well at school. But Annalisee’s parents couldn’t find a school willing to take their daughter. So her mother homeschooled Annalisee.
But Angi felt something was missing in her daughter’s life. Annalisee didn’t have a rich social network of other kids. She had trouble getting along with others. She described herself as a “perfectionist” and said other students sometimes were jealous of her.
What’s needed is a new model for gifted education. That’s the idea behind the Davidson Academy of Nevada. At the academy, all the kids are skipping ahead quickly. However, the academy’s most important gift to its students is social, not academic. One of the main functions of the school is to provide a good social setting for the highly gifted.
Last year the school enrolled Annalisee, which has been good for her. She has made friends at the academy. She has also developed an interest in calculus(微积分) and biochemistry(生物化学). Socially, Annalisee is finally learning to get along with others. “It’s been interesting having to deal with that and getting used to the judgments of other kinds,” she said. “We get into arguments a lot, because we’re all really smart people with opinions, and it doesn’t always turn out that great. Sometimes I take things a little too personally.”
What is the passage mainly about?
Annalisee Brasil——the star pupil at school.
A smart girl who entered a proper school and benefited from gifted education.
A smart girl who had trouble getting along with others.
A girl who was too smart to find a suitable school.The word “perfectionist” in paragraph two probably means a person who _________.
| A．is smarter than others |
| B．is always favored by teachers |
| C．can do everything well and has strong demands |
| D．is accepted by others as a good leader |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．At the age of 3, Annalisee took an IQ test, in which she scored above 145. |
| B．Finding no school willing to take Annalisee, her father had to homschool her. |
| C．The Davidson Academy of Nevada emphasizes social gift more than academic gift. |
| D．After being enrolled by the academy, Annalisee enjoyed her school life without ant argument with her classmates. |
What can you infer from the passage?
| A．Annalisee has realized her problem and is gradually changing her attitude towards others. |
| B．One of the main functions of the gifted education is to provide a good social setting for the highly gifted. |
| C．Without the academy, Annalisee couldn’t have learnt so much. |
| D． Like Annalisee, many other smart kids also have the similar trouble. |
Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.
“Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”
Jonathan Ruppin, web editor of bookseller Foyles, says Mo’s win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary（富于幻想的）writer. “We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available,” Ruppin says. He made the comment after Mo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its century-long history.
As East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years. Hockx explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.”
University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says, “The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit （缺少）between China and its international counterparts — in particular, China knows incomparably（无比地）more about Europe and America than the other way round — and reading Chinese literature is an effective, simple means of solving that gap.”The underlined word “ignite” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.
| A．start out | B．burn up | C．set off | D．appeal to |
Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention mainly because ________.
| A．Chinese writers have been writing more and more books in English |
| B．the Chinese language has become the most widely used language in the world |
| C．the Chinese government attaches great importance to literature |
| D．the cultural communication between China and western countries has developed |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Chinese literature has spread with the development of China. |
| B．The Nobel Prize for Literature has a history of hundreds of years. |
| C．In the past, no Chinese writers were accepted outside China. |
| D．Foreigners know about China mainly by reading Mo Yan’s works. |
How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
| A．China knows more about Europe and America than before. |
| B．China knows more about Europe and America than they know about China. |
| C．China, Europe and America know one another more than before. |
| D．Compared with America, China knows more about Europe. |
Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, a nonprofit agency called Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.
The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me. Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby depending on the season.
She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy and overly demanding. Delores Clemens says, “that's not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he's going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Cuddle your baby. Hug him! And she started to do that. They just want a little cuddling and a little love. And it works!”
Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. Around three hundred fifty teenage mothers graduate from Covenant House's Mommy and Me class every year.
In class, with her baby son is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in seeking a more secure life.
The World Health Organization says the United States has forty-one births for every one thousand girls age fifteen to nineteen. That is higher than other developed countries, as well as some developing ones. By comparison, northern neighbor Canada has fourteen births and southern neighbor Mexico has eighty-two.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Parents who are a child’s first teachers. |
| B．A class where teens learn mothering and are mothered. |
| C．A nonprofit agency that offers a more secure life. |
| D．A kind teacher who help homeless young mothers. |
Covenant Houses’ Mommy and Me class is intended to _____.
| A．help homeless young mothers become good parents |
| B．provide homeless young mothers with a warm shelter |
| C．help mothers in New York be good parents |
| D．teach some parents how to love their children |
What can we know about Delores Clemens from the text?
| A．She has a mother of five and a grandmother. |
| B．She thinks a crying baby should be picked up and hugged. |
| C．She teaches advanced skills on how to be good mothers. |
| D．She is very glad for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. |
According to the World Health Organization, which country has the highest births for girls age fifteen to nineteen?
| A．Canada | B．the United States of America | C．Mexico | D．Britain |