Every evening, 15-year-old Rashida returns home from school, changes out of her uniform, and rushes to a neighboring farm to help her mother harvest vegetables. Her father is disabled, so the modest profit the two of them earn must cover food, clothing and other necessities for all seven children and their parents. Despite having precious little time to study, Rashida is one of the top students at her junior secondary school. But with so much responsibility on her small shoulders, she admits that it is sometimes hard for her to imagine a more promising future.
Last year, Rashida was invited to join 155 other girls at Camfed Ghana’s first Girls’ Career Camp, a program designed to inspire girls growing up in the country’s Northern Region to dream big, and to support them to pursue those dreams. “We organized this camp because we wanted to let girls know that even if they are struggling with poverty, their lives will not be defined by limitations,” says Dolores Dickson, Camfed Ghana’s Executive Director.
Over the course of five days, the camp led the junior and secondary school students through a range of experiences and career opportunities that were entirely new to them. Dr. Agnes Apusiga, a lecturer from the University of Development Studies, ran the workshop on goal-setting and career choices, describing the universities and training colleges in Ghana that could help them achieve their dreams. Participants then visited the University for Development Studies, where they toured the medical school and science labs. Another highlight was a workshop at the computer lab at Tamale Secondary School. Many of the girls had studied information technology from a book but had never before seen a computer.
“When the girls arrived at camp, they were not ambitious, because they didn’t have any idea what the world held for them,” says Eugenia Ayagiba, Project Officer with Camfed Ghana. “Many had scarcely traveled beyond their own villages.”
“I think the most important thing that happened at the camp is that we opened a window of hope for a group of girls coming from backgrounds of poverty,” says Eugenia. For Rashida, who has been laughed at in the past by her schoolmates because of her father’s disability, the experience was important. “She told one of the camp mentors(辅导员) that when she is at school, she often feels like a misfit, and she prefers to keep to herself,” says Eugenia. “But at the camp, it was different. She made friends with girls who have similar struggles. She took part in every single activity, every single game. On the last day, she said to her mentor, ‘The camp has challenged me to study hard. Now I see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.’
How many are there in Rashida’s family?
A.Seven | B.Eight | C.Nine | D.Ten |
According to the passage, Camfed Ghana’s first Girls’ Career Camp is .
A.a program to help poor girls to have ambition |
B.a program to help poor girl students to get university education |
C.a program to help poor girls to study hard |
D.a program to help the poor families |
Why did the camp lead the students to visit universities and training colleges?
A.To show they are better than their schools |
B.To encourage them to get good education. |
C.To show them what they are like |
D.To get them to touch the advanced equipment there |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Rashida has become friends with her mentors |
B.Rashida’s ment![]() |
C.Rashida was sad because of her father’s disability. |
D.Rashida has had her new dream since the camp |
The best title of the passage is ___________.
A.Poor Girls in Ghana | B.Girls’ Career Camp |
C.Camfed Ghana | D.Students in Ghana Dream Big |
Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States and Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes which will give them a head in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children are very skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.
64. Parents in China, according to this passage, ______.
A. are too strict with their children
B. are too rich to educate their children
C. have some problems in educating their children correctly
D. are too poor to educate their children
65. Generally speaking, children’s skills ______.
A. come from their parents
B. have nothing to do with their education
C. may be different from child to child
D. have something to do with their marks in the exams
66. The writer of this passage does not seem to be satisfied with ______.
A. the parents’ ideas of educating their children
B. the education system
C. children’s skills
D. children’s hobbies
67. Doing some cooking at home helps children ______.
A. learn how to serve their parents
B. learn how to become strong and fat
C. benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future
D. make their parents believe that they are clever
On August 27, 1783, the people of the village of Gomesse, in France, looked up into the sky and saw a strange and terrible animal. It was huge and round, flying down from the sky. It landed in the field just outside the village. It was clear to the people of Gomesse that they had to defend themselves. The animal was clearly some kind of terrible “spirit”. They were afraid of the spirit but they were also very brave. They rushed out into the field and fought the animal with knives and sticks and farming tools. The “spirit” made terrible noises, like an animal that can breathe only with great difficulty.
But that was not the worst thing. When the villagers cut into the spirit's skin, it gave off a horrible smell, and even after the villagers had cut the thing open, it still moved. Finally the villagers tied it to a horse. The horse ran through the fields and the “Spirit” was torn to pieces. What was the terrible spirit? The answer is that it was one of the first “hot air balloons”. Its skin was made of silk and a kind of rubber. The terrible smell was the hot air inside the balloon. When the air got out through the cuts in the skin, it also caused the horrible noises.
60. The terrible noises were made because ______.
A. the spirit could hardly breathe
B. the spirit wanted to frighten the villagers
C. the spirit was afraid of the villagers
D. hot air got out through the skin
61. The terrible smell was ______.
A. the smell of silk and rubber
B. the hot air inside the balloon.
C. the smell of burnt house
D. the smell of burnt crops
62. The spirit didn't stop moving until ______.
A. the hot air in it ran out completely
B. the villagers cut into its skin
C. the villagers cut it open
D. it gave off a horrible smell
63. The villagers tied the spirit to a horse ______.
A. shortly after they caught sight of the spirit
B. because it didn't stop moving though it was cut open.
C. after it was torn to pieces
D. because the villagers wanted to take it away
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
On October 16th 1987, southern Britain was hit by a hurricane, the worst storm to hit Britain since 1703.
Twenty years later, Britain is remembering the disaster known as The Great Storm. 15 million trees across the area were uprooted by the wind, and a wet autumn had made the ground very muddy (泥泞的).
The falling trees caused damage to buildings and vehicles, and blocked roads and railway lines, forcing everyone, from adults to schoolchildren to stay at home.
There were also blackouts across the area, as power lines were damaged by falling trees and flying debris (残骸). People used candles and flashlights (手电) for light, and gas stoves and open fires to cook food.
The storm lasted for 4 hours, and killed 18 lives. The bad weather caused so much damage mostly because of the fact that most people were completely unprepared, and be-cause many weather forecasters didn’t think it could cause a problem.
Earlier that week, weather forecasts had predicted severe (严重的) weather, but forecasters thought it would miss Britain and only affect the English Channel. A well-known weatherman, Michael Fish, ever said that the storm wouldn’t happen, though in fact he was talking about a hurricane in Florida at that time.
The unusual storm caused more than £1billion in dam-age, and hundreds of people were injured.
Could the same thing happen today in Britain? Well, as a result of climate change many people think that sudden and severe weather changes are more likely. However, technology has improved, and satellites give us a much more accurate(精确的)picture of future weather. If another Great Storm comes along, the British public will probably be warned earlier and have more time to prepare!
56. The bad weather in 1987 in Britain caused a lot of damage because ______.
A. it caused a great flood B. most people were not prepared
C. it happened in the summer D. there was no weather forecast
57. Which of the following was NOT one of the effects of The Great Storm?
A. There were a number of deaths and injuries. B. The electricity went out.
C. It hit Florida first. D. Roads and railway lines were blocked.
58. One week before The Great Storm, weather forecasts ______.
A. could not predict severe weather at all
B. had predicted the severe weather, but some weather forecasters thought it would miss Britain
C. showed that the terrible storm would not hit the English Channel
D. showed that The Great Storm would affect both England and Florida
59. We learn from the last paragraph that ______.
A. this kind of bad weather will not happen in Britain again
B. bad weather will happen more frequently in Britain now
C. people will be better prepared if there is bad weather in Britain now
D. bad weather may be stopped with the development of technology
Luggage
We ask you to keep a medium-sized suitcase per person, but a small holdall(手提箱) can also be taken onto the coach
Seats
Requests for particular seats can be made on most coach breaks(巴士旅游)when booking, but since seats are booked on a front come, first serve basic,early booking is advisable.When bookings are made with us,you will be offered the best seats that are available on the coach at that time.
Travel Documents
When you have paid your deposit(订金), we will send you all the necessary documents, so that you receive them in good time before the coach break leaving date Certain documents,for example,air or boat tickets, may have to be reserved保存 and your guide will then give them to you during the break.
Special Diets
If you require a special diet,you must inform us at the time of booking with a copy of the diet. This will be told to the hotels on your coach break. The hotels for certain coach breaks are tourist class and they may not have the equipment to deal with special diets. Any extra costs must be paid by yourself before leaving the hotel.
Accommodation(住宿)
On any coach break there are only a limited number of single rooms.When a single room is available,it may be subject to an extra charge and this will be shown on the brochure(小册子) page.
Entertainment
Some of our hotels arrange extra entertainment which could include music,dancing,films, etc. The nature and frequency (频率)of the entertainment presented is decided by the hotel and therefore not guaranteed and could be withdrawn (撤销)if there is a lack of demand or insufficient不足的 numbers in the hotel.
57. If you want to choose certain seats of the coach, you should
A. take little luggage B. avoid traveling in holidays
C. book your seats web in advance D. arrive early on the leaving date
58. What should you do if you need a special diet?
A. Bring your own food with you. B. Tell the organizer while booking.
C. Inform the hotel when you arrive. D. Pay extra money with the booking.
59. It may be necessary to pay extra for.
A. single rooms B. particular seats C. entertainment D. hand luggage
60. Where is the passage mostly taken from?
A. A fashion magazine. B. A business report.
C. A legal document. D. A travel brochure.
“Yes, I'll be ready at nine in the morning. Goodbye, dear, and thanks again. ”It had not been an easy telephone call for Mrs. Robson to make.Her daughter had been very kind,of course,and had immediately agreed to pick her up and drive her to the station,but Mrs. Robson hated to admit that she needed help.Since her husband had died ten years before,she had prided herself on her independence.She had continued to live in their little house, alone.
On the evening, however,she was standing at her living-room window,staring out at the SOLD notice in the small front garden . Her feelings were mixed.Of course,she was sad at the thought of leaving the house,as it was full of many memories.But at the same time she was looking forward to spending her last years near the sea,back in the little seaside town where she had been born. With the money from the sale of the house,she had bought a little flat there. She turned from the living room window,and looked mindedly at the walls. There was a small fish tank,with two goldfish in it. When asked why,her husband used to say,“It’s nice to have something alive in the room.’’Since he had passed away,she had always kept some goldfish,had always had “something alive in the room”.
The next morning,as her train was pulling out of the station,Mrs. Robson called to her daughter.“Kate,you won’t forget to collect the goldfish,will you? The children will love them. It’s…”,
“I know.” Kate interrupted gently. “It s nice to have something alive in the room.”
53. According to the passage,we know that Mrs. Robson____
A. was tired of living alone
B. was not liked by her daughter
C. did not like asking people for help
D. did not want to be visited by her daughter
54. Mrs. Robson was going to.
A. be in hospital B. 1ive with her daughter
C. travel abroad alone D. move to her hometown
55. The feelings of Mrs. Robson on her last night in the house were
A. sad and hopeful B. regretful and excited
C. sad and regretful D. excited and hopeful
56. From the last two paragraphs,we can know that Mrs. Robson.
A.enjoyed keeping pets at home
B.missed her husband very much
C.had the same hobby with her husband
D.was worried about her daughter’s bad memory