Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend. But some women show great interest in colorful beads（珠子）from Uganda made of recycled paper. The beads are sold by a nonprofit organization called BeadforLife.
BeadforLife began as a chance meeting between three American women on a trip to Uganda and a local jewelry maker. Millie Grace Akena was rolling paper beads near her home. She made paper beads as a hobby. But there was no real market in her country. 
Torkin Wakefield says she and her daughters Devin and Ginny brought some of the beads back home. Immediately people started admiring the beads. The three Americans started BeadforLife in 2004. Nearly 700 women have taken part.
The group says its beaders earn an average of more than 2,000 dollars a year in the program. This is five times what they earned before. The beads are sold across Uganda and in Boulder, Colorado. They are also sold online and at jewelry shows called bead parties. “Because they have meaning, because these are gifts that help people, when folks in America and beyond buy our beads, they feel a sense of generosity. They feel a direct connection, like they can really take part in getting rid of poverty.” Torkin said.
The jewelry costs between five and thirty dollars. BeadforLife reported sales in its last budget year of more that 3.5 million dollars. It says for every ten-dollar necklace sold, the beader gets two dollars and forty-three cents in money or materials. It says more than 90% of earnings are reinvested in community development projects in Uganda. Torkin Wakefield estimates that BeadforLi
fe has helped more than 8,000 people this way.
So what about Millie Grace Akena, the jewelry maker? Mrs Wakefield says she has gone on to organize a small group of women who work with her, and they sell their beads to a religious group. According to the passage, BeadforLife is an organization that ______.
| A．provides poor people worldwide with free education |
| B．mainly encourages people to learn to earn a living on their own |
| C．has attracted many businessmen to invest in beading |
| D．supports community development projects in Uganda |
When Torkin Wakefield brought the beads to America, ______.
| A．she didn’t know people would like them |
| B．she wanted to make a fortune out of them |
| C．people showed great interest in them at once |
| D．she was thinking of how to find investors |
According to Paragraph 4, the beads are popular because ______.
| A．people think buying them is a good way to help the poor |
| B．they are of good quality and can be kept for a long time |
| C．they symbolize the most important thing in people’s life |
| D．they look even more beautiful than diamonds |
Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?
A．Mrs Wakefield makes a great contribution to developing count ries. |
| B．BeadforLife makes beads out of recycled paper. |
| C．BeadforLife uses paper beads to improve people’s lives. |
| D．Mrs Wakefield’s career takes off thanks to paper beads. |
2011 Top Education News
| "Tiger Mother" became well known both in the US and China after the publication of the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, a professor of Yale University and a Chinese immigrant mother. In the book, Chua describes how she educates her two daughters in a strict "typical Chinese" way. |
The South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTC), became "China's first independent university"-the only university to recruit students through its independent exam rather than the National College Entrance Exam adopted by almost all public universities in China. |
| Wuhan schoolboy Huang Yibo, 13,known as the deputy chief of all Wuhan's young pioneers, became an overnight sensation after blogging about watching prime time news on China's Central Television since he was two years old and reading People's Daily since the age of seven because his father asked him to do so. |
The First Experimental Elementary School of Weiyang district in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, hit the headlines for requiring students with a poor performance to wear a green scarf, distinguishing them from the good performance of the red scarf, a symbol for the Young Pioneer organization. |
| Dong Fan, a professor from Beijing Normal University, the director of the university’s real estate research center, refused to see any of his students who do not possess 40 million yuan by the time they are 40. Dong said people who had received high-level education should be ashamed if they do not live a wealthy life. |
The No 4 classroom building on the campus of Tsinghua University, one of China's elite colleges, took on the name of a popular clothing company, the Hong Kong-based Jeanswest Clothing in May. A golden-colored plate bearing the name of the company was affixed on to the wall of the teaching building. |
How many pieces of the news above have something to do with family education?
| A．4 | B．3 | C．2 | D．5 |
Which of the following statements is True according to the news above?
| A．Tsinghua University became "China's first independent university". |
| B．Students caring about environmental protection will wear a green scarf. |
| C．“Tiger Mother” is famous for her book about how she educates her two daughters. |
| D．Huang Yibo began to read People's Daily at the age of two. |
We can infer from the news about Dong Fan that _______.
| A．he tends to measure success by money |
| B．he spares no efforts to help his students |
| C．he works hard |
| D．he is a professor of Yale University |
All the six pieces of news above deal with the subject of ______.
| A．education | B．parents | C．students | D．Schools |
One kind of female butterfly mates only once in its life -- and then closes its wings to avoid "harassment" when pursued by persistent and unwanted males, a Japanese researcher said.
Observations of the Small Copper Butterfly, a colourful orange and black butterfly, showed that some females closed their wings when males flew by, but only when they were males of their own species, said Jun-Ya Ide, an associate professor at Kurume Institute of Technology in Fukuoka, western Japan.
"When we looked into why, the males were courting the females. They do this very stubbornly, so the females sometimes try to get away -- or prefer to stay unobserved," he added.
Ide and his colleagues brought a model of a male butterfly near the females to test their reactions and found that young females that had yet to mate kept their wings open, but those that had already mated closed them.
Not only can the persistent attentions of unwanted suitors harm the delicate females, fleeing from them -- with the male often in pursuit -- uses up strength and can even shorten their lives, he added.
"Closing their wings makes them less visible, helping them avoid communication with their own species. We figured they were trying to avoid harassment by males," Ide said.What does the word “harassment”mean in the paragraph？
| A．attack | B．embarrassment |
| C．sexual invasion | D．threat |
Why some some females closed their wings when males flew by？
| A．because they close their wings to avoid "harassment" when pursued by persistent and unwanted males. |
| B．because the female butterfly mates only once in its life. |
| C．because they don’t like the male butterfly at all. |
| D．because they are afraid of the male butterfly. |
According the the passage, which is correct?
| A．The females closed their wings when males flew by. |
| B．Only the model of a male butterfly can make the young female butterflies to keep their wings open. |
| C．The female butterfly mates only once in its life |
| D．Not only can the persistent attentions of wanted suitors harm the delicate females, fleeing from them with the male often in pursuit -- uses up strength and can even shorten their lives. |
In a cold winter, a couple had to move out from the luxury villa because of bankruptcy. The husband worked day and night to support the family but with no care of his wife. So she thought, “he doesn't love me anymore, he just cares his business...not me”.
One day, she began to take a bath, he stopped her at the door, "Let me take it first, OK?" "Why not let me shower first," she asked. "I was tired, sweetie, you take it later, OK?" She was totally depressed.
On a morose day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer, a few words blurred her eyes...it was his diary:
Today, I was quite sad, she asked me why I was always taking the bath first, and I said to her, I was exhausted. She was unhappy, in her mind, I treated her not as well as usual, but how can I do? I wasn’t as rich as before! We moved to the small apartment, there was only a shower in such a freezing winter. But I found that if one person took the shower first, the room could get a little warm, so every time I rushed to the bathroom first. I was thinking that, when she took the shower, the room would get warmer, at least1℃, 2℃or 3℃
Now I can't give her comfortable life, bring her the luxury restaurant, buy expensive dresses for her, but at least, I can give her 1℃love.Why was the husband always taking the bath first?
| A．Because he was tired from work. |
| B．Because he wanted to get the bathroom warmer. |
| C．Because he didn’t love her anymore. |
| D．Because he treated his wife not as well as usual. |
What does the underlined word “bankruptcy” in the first paragraph probably mean?
| A．crash | B．failure | C．moving | D．diseases |
The best title of the passage may be ______.
A troubleB. Husband and wife
C. A romantic love story D.1 ℃love
The most famous statue-the Sphinx in Egypt has been damaged. The experts are trying to find out the cause to protect it.
As we all know, the Sphinx has the body of a lion and the face of a man. It was cut from limestone(石灰石) near Egypt's pyramids about 4, 500 years ago. Not long ago a large piece of stone fell from the Sphinx's right shoulder.
In order to protect the statue from more harm, a computer was placed on it to measure rainfall, wind speed and air temperature. The computer also measured the amount of water and air pollution, the direction of wind and the temperature of the statue itself. The effects of age, wind, water and pollution have greatly weakened the Sphinx. Sunlight, wind, water and pollution have been eroding the outside of the statue for centuries. The experts hope that the information from the computer will help protect it from more damage. They say the more they know about what is destroying the Sphinx, the more they can do to protect it.What does this passage mainly tell us?
| A．The reason why the Sphinx was set up. |
| B．The great importance of the Sphinx in Egyptian history. |
| C．The detailed(详尽的) course and cause of the damage to the Sphinx. |
| D．The experts are trying to find out the cause so as to protect the Sphinx. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Sphinx has completely fallen down. |
| B．The Sphinx is made of a kind of rock, which can be destroyed by wind, rain and so on. |
| C．The Sphinx is made of a kind of rock, which is hard enough not to be damaged by anything. |
| D．The Sphinx is in too poor condition to be protected. |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．The Sphinx is more than 4, 500 years old. |
| B．The advanced instruments(仪器)can help protect cultural relics. |
| C．Both the Sphinx and the pyramids are well known to the world. |
| D．From now on no damage will happen to the Sphinx. |
Friendship Day in India falls on the first Sunday of August every year. It is celebrated with many activities.
Young people in India spend the day with their closest friends and have fun together. Most youngsters in India plan a movie or have a meal with their friends. Many friends may go on a drive to tourist places or make a plan for camping. Some friends go to the supermarket to do some shopping. On Friendship Day, most stores offer discounted prices for customers and it is the perfect day to buy something for friends.
Some friends go to parties that are organized by many restaurants in order to attract youngsters. Such parties are very enjoyable. You can get food at a discounted price. Some friends just decide to meet up (碰头，相聚) at someone’s home and talk about their happy time. The time good friends spend sitting together and talking over a cup of coffee is precious and unforgettable.
Long-distance friends call up each other on this day and wish each other with warm feelings. Some of them even plan to meet up on this particular day. Yet some others plan a surprising visit just to see their friend gasp (喘息) in shock!
In 2009, Friendship Day in India falls on August 2nd. So don’t forget to celebrate it with your friends.When is Friendship Day celebrated in India?
| A．On August 2nd every year. |
| B．On the third weekend of August every year. |
| C．On August 1st every year. |
| D．On the first weekend of August every year. |
According to the text, which of the following is the most popular way that youngsters in India celebrate Friendship Day?
| A．Traveling with friends | B．Seeing a film with friends |
| C．Dancing with friends | D．Going shopping with friends. |
How many ways are discussed in Paragraph 3 that friends spend Friendship Day together?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
The underlined phrase “a surprising visit” in Paragraph 4 refers to “____”.
| A．a visit to a friend who hasn’t expected it |
| B．a visit to a friend who has dreamed of it for a long time |
| C．a visit to a friend who tries to avoid it |
| D．a visit to a friend who lives in a faraway place |