What is the hottest topic at your school recently? In Hangzhou Yongjin Middle School, it’s money. The school held an activity called “making money” last weekend. About 200 students of Senior 1 and Senior 2 were divided into 30 teams. They went out to make money by selling things. What did they choose to sell? Some sold newspapers; some chose bottled water; some sold environmentally friendly shopping bags and bamboo(竹子) baskets.
Hu Qing’s team decided to sell some useful books in front of the Children Activity Center. They thought parents would like to buy the books for their children. But unfortunately, they met urban management officers (城管). The officers asked them to leave. “We played hide-and-seek (捉迷藏) with the officers for the whole morning” said Hu. “Finally we had to give up.”
Wang Bing and her team sold ice cream in a square. They didn’t meet any officers. But few people were interested in what they were selling. The team then put up a board saying “For Country Kids”. It worked. More people came to their stall (小摊). A foreigner even gave them 100 yuan. “He didn’t want any change. He said he wanted to help the children,” said Wang. “We were touched.” Later that day they gave the 100 yuan and more to the “Project Hope” office.
Meng Zhaoxiang and his team were luckier. They sold all their cakes in four hours, spending 39.5 yuan and getting back 80 yuan. They made 40.5 yuan. “It was not easy to make the money,” said Meng. “Some people just looked. Others just tasted but didn’t buy. Now I know how hard it is for our parents to make money.”
86. In Hangzhou Yongjin Middle School, what the students talk more about is ________.
| A．the officers | B．the kind foreigner |
| C．the activity called “making money” | D．the money they made last weekend |
87. ________ took part in the activity.
| A．All the students | B．Some teachers |
| C．About 200 students of the three grades | D．Part of Junior 1 and Junior 2 students |
88. Hu Qing’s team finally gave up because ________.
| A．the parents didn’t like to buy the books |
| B．the Children Activity Center was too crowded |
| C．the officers didn’t allow them to sell anything there |
| D．the team played the game of the hide-and-seek the whole morning |
89. Why did more people come to Wang Bing’s stall at last?
| A．The team put up a magic board. | B．A foreigner came up and helped them. |
| C．The people liked to help country kids. | |
| D．The people were interested in their ice cream. |
90. According to the passage the students learn ________.
| A．it’s impossible for them to make money |
| B．it’s not easy for their parents to make money |
| C．it’s very important for them to make a living |
| D．it’s necessary for school to hold more activities in the future |
A British shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named “the Coupon(优惠券) Queen” has spent just £350 on a luxury(奢侈) Christmas for her and her family—but got £2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers.
Ms Mumford is a so-called “extreme couponer” and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate £1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital.
“It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about breaking the bank. I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misconception that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes(香水), a high-end coffee machine.” she explained.
She said “What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That’s what really inspired me.”
She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offers tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page.
“I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year.”What does “breaking the bank” in the third paragraph mean?
| A．Buying presents of low quality. |
| B．Breaking into the bank. |
| C．Spending more money than you have. |
| D．Taking out money from the bank. |
What really inspired Emma to help people save money?
| A．Her addiction to bargain-hunting. |
| B．The financial difficulties she shared with her ex-partner. |
| C．The poor situation people around her were going through. |
| D．Her experience of running an unsuccessful business. |
Which of the following can best describe Emma?
| A．Ambitious and creative. |
| B．Sensitive and determined. |
| C．Brave and lucky. |
| D．Careful and caring. |
How did Emma make the huge savings?
| A．She compared prices through websites. |
| B．She hunted out bargains in real shops. |
| C．She used coupons and offers worth £3,500. |
| D．She collected more Christmas presents than needed. |
If you want to cook something quickly, you heat it from both sides. That’s what’s happening to the West Antarctic ice sheet(南极洲西部冰盖). A new study reveals that the area under the ice sheet is far hotter than previously thought, fed by an unexpected flow of geothermal energy(地热能). While the CO2 we send out heats the atmosphere above the continent, earth is melting us ice from below.
If you were to drill (钻) deep at some place on the continents, you would find that the temperature increases about 25℃ for every kilometer deep into the hole on average. Scientists call this the geothermal gradient(地热梯度). Until recently, no one had drilled deeply enough through the West Antarctic ice to determine the geothermal gradient underground. For the new study, researchers drilled all the way through the ice and into the mud. They found that the geothermal gradient was about 200℃, which is several times the global average on continents. Few predicted this result, although it had been showed that the earth below the West Antarctic ice is unusually hot.
Even with the new discovery, though, we still don’t know exactly where the heat is coming from. One interesting possibility is volcanoes, which are under the ice. As recently as 2013, scientists were still discovering volcanoes under the ice in the area, and there may be many more.
Some people say that these volcanoes, rather than manmade climate change, are responsible for melting the area’s ice. While it’s true that heat coming from within the earth, including heat related to volcanoes, makes the melting faster, it is just one contributor to the loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet---not the main cause. Today’s study could help us understand how the whole system, including global warming, is melting the ice.What’s happening to the West Antarctic ice sheet?
| A．The ice sheet is getting hotter and hotter. |
| B．It is heated from below rather than from above. |
| C．The ice sheet is producing a new kind of energy. |
| D．It is melting from both sides. |
What can be learned from the second Paragraph?
| A．It was the first time that researchers had tried to measure geothermal gradients. |
| B．The geothermal gradient showed where the heat came from. |
| C．The result was beyond the researchers’ expectations. |
| D．Researchers never knew the earth under the West Antarctic ice was hot. |
The author would probably agree that ___.
| A．the new discovery is unhelpful without a certain conclusion |
| B．no volcano has been found to support the researchers’ idea |
| C．volcanoes are the most important reason for the melting of the ice |
| D．global warming is surely one reason for the melting of the ice |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The West Antarctic ice sheet is in danger. |
| B．Researchers are trying to stop global warming. |
| C．The West Antarctic ice sheet’s melting will bring terrible consequences. |
| D．It has been known how to stop the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet. |
The word dream is probably heard most frequently from people in show business, where everyone dreams of standing under the spotlight and being somebody. But the truth is that most end up being nobodies. Hong Kong director Derek Yee’s latest film“ I Am Somebody” shows respect for these unknown extras(群众演员)in the film industry.
In the film, Wan Guopeng, son of a woodcutter, comes a long way from the Northeast with only 1,000 yuan to the dream factory of the East to become an actor. In real life, when the young man was chosen by the director to play the leading role, he had only 20 yuan left but still hadn’t considered giving up.
Famous Hong Kong actor Tony Leung remembered that 30 years ago, he was a salesman but knew that it was not the kind of life he wanted to live. “Wan is exactly like me back then…Only when I was in an acting training course did I realize that what I wanted to be was an actor, not a star winning the best actor awards.”
Yee chose real nobodies to play themselves in the movie. Their strength was their deep understanding of the feelings of the characters they played. But the disadvantage was also obvious: They lacked acting skills. When emotional performances were needed, their expressions and moves seemed unnatural.
The entertainment industry might be the field with the most broken hearts and most efforts gone in vain. Here luck, opportunity and physical appearance are probably much more important than hard work.
In the film, Qin Peijun, a survivor from a coal mine collapse(煤矿坍塌), goes all out to take hold of every possibility to appear in the lens of the camera, even if only as an extra. However, it is obviously much harder for him to realize the dream of becoming a professional actor than for Wang Zhao, who is a lazy bone with a pretty face.
Some critical comments are directed at the sudden inversion(反转) in the last part of the film. The two leading actors’ happy endings seem to disagree with the film’s realistic style. But anyway, this movie is not a documentary but a way to reinforce(硬化) that every brave heart deserves to have their dreams realized. Which of the following can best describe Wan Guopeng?
| A．Determined. | B．Careful. |
| C．Intelligent. | D．Easy-going. |
Derek Yee chose real nobodies to play in the film because____.
| A．he respected these people |
| B．they knew well about the characters |
| C．he needed emotional performances |
| D．they asked for less money |
What does the underlined phrase “in vain” in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．Wrongly. | B．Secretly. |
| C．Without success. | D．Without consideration. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．It’s OK to be nobody. |
| B．It’s really hard to become a successful actor. |
| C．Live the dreams. |
| D．Be a person of dreams. |
Singer-songwriter Tori Kelly is close to a huge breakthrough. Her recent performances on the BET Awards shows have created a sensation（轰动）in pop music. You couldn’t call Kelly an overnight success. Sure she’s only 22.
The Southern Californian girl first appeared in public on the talent show “Star Search” when she was only 10. But her real appearance came from posting videos on YouTube. Eventually Kelly made her way to “American Idol”, and advanced through to Hollywood. But she did not make the Top 24. That loss encouraged her to write more of her own material, which eventually became part of her first album “Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly”.
“Even just releasing music in general is an achievement. I get to put out a whole album of songs that I just put my whole heart into, and people are responding really well to it,” she said. “It’s like the best feeling in the world because these are songs about my life. So it’s really cool to be able to do what I love.”
“Handmade Songs” sold well enough to reach the top 10 in a number of music charts（排行榜）.She followed that success with live performances at clubs in Los Angeles. Recently, Kelly excited audiences at the Billboard Music Awards with her performance of her song “Nobody Love”.
The singer-songwriter says that being within reach of her goal is amazing. “I think all the awards shows I have done so far have just been so surreal,” she said. “Like, I always dreamed of being on different awards shows, sitting at home on my sofa and watching. I think as a kid I just always put myself on that stage, and the fact that it’s actually happening, that I get to be a part of these shows is unbelievable.”
Kelly released her full-length album “Unbreakable Smile” in June, 2015. Her single “Should’ve been us” is also rising on the Billboard Hot 100.Tori Kelly is not an overnight success because_________.
| A．she often performs on the shows all around the world |
| B．she has released a lot of albums since she was ten |
| C．she has been working to be a pop star for over ten years |
| D．she has won many awards in the music world |
Which of the following is the first album of Tori Kelly?
| A．“Unbreakable Smile” |
| B．“Nobody Love” |
| C．“Should’ve Been Us ” |
| D．“Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly” |
The underlined word “surreal” in Paragraph 5 means______.
| A．impossible | B．dreamlike | C．unworthy | D．valuable |
It can be known from the passage that Tori Kelly_______.
| A．has a great gift for pop music |
| B．focuses on her career because she loves music |
| C．will change her profession soon. |
| D．will face more difficulties in the future. |
SAVE THE FROGS! Art Contest Time
The 2016 SAVE THE FROGS! Art Contest will run from April 1st through October 1st , 2016. Best of luck!
Introduction
The SAVE THE GROGS! Art Contest invites you to create your coolest frog artwork. The contest will call on people to pay more attention to the amphibian extinction(两栖动物灭绝)problem by getting people interested and to take part in it, and the artworks will be used on T-shirts, coffee cups, hats, cards and books to both publicize(宣传)our cause and raise money for SAVE THE FROGS! amphibian protection efforts. Between 2009 and 2015 we received more than 12 thousand pieces of frog artworks from 70 countries. We look forward to receiving your creation!
Who can enter?
Anybody! It is free to enter the contest, though we suggest all artworks include a few dollars to assist our frog-saving efforts!
Prizes The 1st Prize Winner will:
(1) Receive $100. (2)Receive a one-year SAVE THE FROGS! membership.
The 2nd and 3rd Place Artists will: Each receives a one-year SAVE THE FROGS! Membership.
Contest Rules
(1)The submitted(提交的)artwork must be your original creation!
(2)Your artwork should not be larger than 8.5”x11”（22cmX28cm）in size.
(3)You may submit up to three artworks
(4)All artworks must refer to SAVE THE FROGS! by including either the phrase “SAVE THE FROGS!” or “savethefrogs.com”, or both.
Please note that both “SAVE THE FROGS!” and “savethefrogs.com” are PLURAL, meaning the letter. “S” must appear at the end of the word “FROGS”.
Submissions
If your artwork was digitally(数码地) created, you should email your artwork to art @ savethefrogs.com
If your artwork is on paper or any other non-digital type, then mail your artwork to :
SAVE THE FORGS! Art Contest
P. O. Box 78758 Los Angeles, CA 90016 USA What do you know about the contest?
| A．It runs for seven months in 2016. |
| B．It aims to help protect amphibians. |
| C．It will publicize the artworks on TV. |
| D．It has been held as a national event. |
What should be noticed to take part in the contest?
| A．The smaller your artwork is the better. |
| B．The more artworks you submit, the better. |
| C．Do not miss the message “SAVE THE FORGS!”. |
| D．Do not copy others’ ideas or creations. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Submissions of artworks are based on types of creation. |
| B．Artworks are either digital pictures or drawings on paper. |
| C．Artworks will be given back after the contest. |
| D．The organization is in New York. |