Volunteering can help you deal with stress and problems, have more confidence, and introduce you to exciting new ideas and people. But what kind of volunteering should you do?
Firstly, think about what you enjoy. What are you interested in? What do you want to be when you grow up? For example, if you love animals, you can volunteer to care for abandoned(被遗弃的) pets or injured wildlife. If you want to grow up to be a doctor or a nurse, you can look for a youth volunteer program at a local hospital.
Secondly, think about what you’re good at. What skills do you have? What kinds of jobs do you do best? Try to find a volunteer position that will let you make the most of your strengths and talents. For example, if you’re a great speaker, then you could try educating others about a problem you care about. If you’re a cook, you might find a way to help feed hungry people in your area.
Thirdly, look for what your own community needs. What should be improved in your town, city, or school? What types of volunteer projects would do the most good? For example, if there are a lot of homeless people in your area, you could raise money to help them. If your town has empty areas filled with dirt or rubbish, you could organize or join a group to plant trees and flowers to make these areas more attractive.
The problems of the world, or even just of your community, might seem gigantic. Some people might even feel like there’s no point trying to do anything, since what they can contribute seems so small. But every person is important, and can do some good and make a difference. Like you!What is the text mainly about?
| A．How to be a good volunteer. |
| B．What we can do when we grow up. |
| C．What kind of volunteering one can do. |
| D．How to improve society by volunteering. |
The text does NOT mention _____ as a basis for volunteering.
| A．interests | B．abilities | C．people’s needs | D．what one gets in return |
The word “gigantic” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.
A. huge B. serious C. meaningless d. differentHow is the text mainly developed?
| A．Through reasoning. | B．Through similarities. |
| C．Through examples. | D．Through explanations. |
No one knows for sure when advertising first started. It is possible that it grew out of the discovery that some people did certain kinds of work better than others did them. That led to the concept of specialization, which means that people would specialize, or focus, on doing one specific job.
Let's take a man we'll call Mr. Fielder, for example. He did everything connected with farming. He planted seeds, tended the fields, and harvested and sold his crops. At the same time, he did many other jobs on the farm. However, he didn't make the bricks for his house, cut his trees into boards, make the plows(犁), or any of the other hundreds of things a farm needs. Instead, he got them from people who specialized in doing each of those things.
Suppose there was another man we shall call Mr. Plowright. Using what he knew about farming and working with iron, Mr. Plowright invented a plow that made farming easier. Mr. Plowright did not really like farming himself and wanted to specialize in making really good plows. Perhaps, he thought, other farmers will trade what they grow for one of my plows.
How did Mr. Plowright let people know what he was doing? Why, he advertised, of course. First he opened a shop and then he put up a sign outside the shop to attract customers. That sign may have been no more than a plow carved into a piece of wood and a simple arrow pointing to the shop door. It was probably all the information people needed to find Mr. Plowright and his really good plows.
Many historians believe that the first outdoor signs were used about five thousand years ago. Even before most people could read, they understood such signs. Shopkeepers would carve into stone, clay, or wood symbols for the products they had for sale.
A medium, in advertising talk, is the way you communicate your message. You might say that the first medium used in advertising was signs with symbols. The second medium was audio, or sound, although that term is not used exactly in the way we use it today. Originally, just the human voice and maybe some kind of simple instrument, such as a bell, were used to get people's attention.
A crier, in the historical sense, is not someone who weeps easily. It is someone, probably a man, with a voice loud enough to be heard over the other noises of a city. In ancient Egypt, shopkeepers might hire such a person to spread the news about their products. Often this earliest form of advertising involved a newly arrived ship loaded with goods. Perhaps the crier described the goods, explained where they came from, and praised their quality. His job was, in other words, not too different from a TV or radio commercial in today's world.What probably led to the start of advertising?
| A．The discovery of iron. |
| B．The specialization of labor. |
| C．The appearance of new jobs. |
| D．The development of farming techniques. |
To advertise his plows, Mr. Plowright ________.
| A．praised his plows in public |
| B．placed a sign outside the shop |
| C．hung an arrow pointing to the shop |
| D．showed his products to the customers |
The writer makes up the two stories of Mr. Fielder and Mr. Plowright in order to ________.
| A．explain the origin of advertising |
| B．predict the future of advertising |
| C．expose problems in advertising |
| D．provide suggestions for advertising |
In ancient Egypt, a crier was probably someone who ________.
| A．owned a ship |
| B．had the loudest voice |
| C．ran a shop selling goods to farmers |
| D．functioned like today's TV or radio commercial |
The last two paragraphs are mainly about ________.
| A．the history of advertising |
| B．the benefits of advertising |
| C．the early forms of advertising |
| D．the basic design of advertising |
When I was young I wanted to be a model，so when a national contest was staged，I convinced my parents to take me for an audition (试演)．I was selected and told I had potential.They said that for only $900 I could attend a weekend event which dozens of the most prestigious (有声望的) modeling agencies from around the world would attend.At 13，my hopes of fame and fortune clouded all judgement and I begged my parents to let me go.We have never been rich，but they saw my enthusiasm and agreed.
I imagined being signed by some famous model companies.For months，any boredom or disappointment I faced was pushed aside because I knew I would soon have the chance to be real model.I thought I would grace the covers of famous magazines!
Of course，I wasn't signed，but what hurt the most was being told that if I grew to 5′9″(about 1.75 metres) I could be a success.I prayed for a growth spurt (冲刺) because I could not imagine giving up my dream.I made an appointment with a local modeling agency and the agent demanded $500 for classes.$500 for a photo shoot，and $300 for other expenses.My parents only agreed after hours and hours of my begging.
The agency sent me out on a few auditions，but with every day I didn't receive a call，I grew more depressed.The_final_straw came in July after I had decided to focus on commercial modeling.There was an open call in New York City.We spent hours driving and another few hours waiting，only to be told that I was too short.I was devastated (极度不安的)．
Years later，I realized that the trip to New York was good as it made me notice I didn't actually love modeling，just the idea of it.I wanted to be special and I was innocently determined to reach an impossible goal.The experience has made me stronger and that will help me in the future.What's the main reason why the author wanted to be a model?
| A．She won a national contest. |
| B．She wanted to get reputation and wealth. |
| C．She was urged by some modeling agencies. |
| D．She had full potential to be a successful model. |
What's the author's parents' attitude toward her dream?
| A．Encouraging. | B．Worried. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Enthusiastic. |
What was it that made the author end her attempt to become a model?
| A．Her parents were strongly against it. |
| B．She realized that it was impossible for her. |
| C．Even a local modeling agency turned her down. |
| D．She realized that she didn't actually love the idea of modeling. |
The underlined phrase “The final straw” probably means ________.
| A．the last in a series of bad things that happen to make someone very upset，angry，etc... |
| B．the final result that she was admitted by the model company. |
| C．the final audition given by the agency. |
| D．the decision that she made at last not to be a model any more. |
What did the author learn from her experience of struggling to be a model?
| A．Where there's a will there's way. |
| B．Being a model is not that easy. |
| C．We should have our own judgement and should not just follow others. |
| D．We might set unpractical goals but the experience can help us grow. |
If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don't need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob(暴民). Who are they? Are they mobs? Don't be confused by their name. Actually, a flash mob is a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disappear.
They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks. The messages may be sent to friends, who send to more people. At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some activities such as exchanging books, coming together to look at the sky, waving their hands and yelling something at the top of their voice for 30 seconds. Then, they quickly disappear before the police can arrive. Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its place if the first one has been cancelled for any reason.
Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob gathered on June 3,2003. Wasik claimed that he created the flash mob as a social experiment designed to laugh at fashion seekers and stress the cultural atmosphere of wanting to be an insider or part of “the next big thing”．
Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing and magical, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. Undoubtedly, flash mob can serve as good political tools and have great potential, such as using to advertise a product.
The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.What is NOT the feature of the flash mob?
| A．It can get together quickly. |
| B．It can change its place freely. |
| C．It can do activities suddenly. |
| D．It can injure people seriously. |
How do flash mobs inform one another?
①By using the Internet.②By writing letters.③By yelling.④By waving hands.⑤By using mobile phones.
⑥By holding a meeting.
| A．③④ | B．①⑤ | C．②⑥ | D．⑤⑥ |
Why did Bill Wasik create the flash mob?
| A．To advertise some products. |
| B．To help people make friends. |
| C．To laugh at fashion seekers. |
| D．To create some memories. |
What can we learn about the flash mob from the passage?
| A．Bill Wasik organized the first successful flash mob in May, 2003. |
| B．People are encouraged to take a more active part in an activity. |
| C．Flash mobs tend to do something illegal for a short time. |
| D．Flash mob gathering can frighten all the people present. |
It's such a happylooking library, painted yellow, decorated with palmtree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it's pedestrianfriendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach Country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It's a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsinbased nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That's what we're going to do for our spring break！”
Son Austin, now a 10thgrader, didn't see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51yearold owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he'd built years earlier for daughter Abbie's toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library's final touches(装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book，” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they'd already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids' favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again，” said Janey, a stayathome mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing(补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project's best payoff, says Peter, are the thankyou notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.”In what way is the library “pedestrianfriendly”？
| A．It owns a yellow roof. |
| B．It stands near a sidewalk. |
| C．It protects book lovers from the sun. |
| D．It uses palmtree stickers as decorations. |
Janey got the idea to build a library from ________.
| A．a visit to Brian Williams |
| B．a spring break with her family |
| C．a book sent by one of her neighbors |
| D．a report on a Wisconsinbased organization |
The library was built ________.
| A．by a ship supply company |
| B．on the basis of toy horses |
| C．like a mailbox |
| D．with glass |
What can we infer from the signboard?
| A．It was made by a user of the library. |
| B．It marked a final touch to the library. |
| C．It aimed at making the library last long. |
| D．It indicated the library was a family property. |
The passage tells us that the users ________.
| A．donate books to the library |
| B．get paid to collect books for the library |
| C．receive thankyou notes for using the library |
| D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
When 19yearold Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the MakeAWish Foundation(基金会), nobody understood what she was talking about. But Sophia knew just how important MakeAWish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one of her best friends. We were interested in finding out more, so we went along to meet Sophia and listen to what she had to say.
Sophia told us that MakeAWish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980. “It's a charity(慈善机构) that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. MakeAWish helps children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true，” Sophia explained.
We asked Sophia how MakeAWish had first started. She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris, who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman. Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris's dream come true—so, with everybody's help, Chris, only seven years old at the time, had been a “policeman” for a day. “When people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too, and that was the beginning of MakeAWish，” explained Sophia.
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A MakeAWish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.Sophia found out about MakeAWish because her best friend had ________.
| A．benefited from it | B．volunteered to help it |
| C．dreamed about it | D．told the author about it |
According to Sophia, MakeAWish ________.
| A．is an international charity |
| B．was understood by nobody at first |
| C．raises money for very poor families |
| D．started by drawing the interest of the public |
What is said about Chris in Paragraph 3?
| A．He has been a policeman since he was seven. |
| B．He gave people the idea of starting MakeAWish. |
| C．He wanted people to help make his dream come true. |
| D．He was the first child MakeAWish helped after it had been set up. |
Which of the following is true about MakeAWish volunteers?
| A．They are important for making wishes come true. |
| B．They try to help children get over their illnesses. |
| C．They visit sick children to make them feel special. |
| D．They provide what is necessary to make MakeAWish popular. |