Until recently, I hadn’t done much community service．In face, I did nothing to benefit anyone but myself．My selfishness and laziness were clear before I received an assignment from my teacher．Each student was required to complete 10 hours community service．To me, 10 hours was a huge amount of time to spend helping others．Volunterring, for me, has been a truly life – changing experience．
My mom suggested that I organize a food drive（募捐活动）in our development（新建筑宅区）and donate what I collected to a local shelter．Anything that would help finish the project seemed like a good idea, so I agreed．I made up flyers（传单）asking for donations and placed flyers at every house in my neighborhood．
I was getting ready to fetch the cans from my neighbor’s yards on the day of the food drive when all of a sudden it started to pour．Rain flooded the roads and wind blew hard, but I was determined to complete my task．My mom drove me around our development and I jumped out at every house to collect items people had put out．
When we finally arrived the shelter, I was a little nervous because I had never been there before．The woman in charge was extremely grateful for the donations and said that the world would be ganizing the food drive and delighted that my service to the community would make a difference in people’s lives．
As I was leaving the shelter, a man asked if I was the one who had brought all the food．I shyly nodded, and he said, “A round here, you are a hero．” From that point on, I made myself a promise that I would serve the community more often, even when it was not required．Through this school assignment, I have realized that caring for others is an important part of living and the world would be a completely different place if people all help those who are less fortunate．From the first paragraph we know the author ．
| A．was satisfied with the assignment of his teacher |
| B．was unwilling to do good things for others |
| C．thought it impossible for him to spend 10 hours helping others |
| D．didn’t realize his selfishness until he received the assignment |
The author decided to serve the community more often because ．
| A．he was treated as a big hero by his neighbors |
| B．he received gratitude from the woman in the shelter |
| C．he found what he did had an effect on people’s lives |
| D．he found the people in the shelter were warm – hearted |
The author wrote this passage in order to ．
| A．show his pity for those poor people |
| B．care about the future of the world |
| C．give advice on organizing a drive |
| D．expect more people to think of others |
A federal agency on Tuesday called for a ban on all cellphone use by drivers --- the most far-reaching recommendation up to now — saying its decision was based on a decade of investigations into distraction-related (与分散注意力有关的) accidents, as well as growing concerns that powerful mobile devices are giving drivers even more reasons to look away from the road.
As part of its recommendation, the National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to ban drivers from using hands-free devices, including wireless headsets. No state now has made laws to ban such activity, but the Board said that drivers faced serious risks from talking on wireless headsets, just as they do by taking a hand off the wheel to hold a phone to their ears.
However, the concern was heightened by increasingly powerful phones that people can use to send e-mails, watch movies and play games.
“Every year, new devices are being on sale.” she said. “People are attracted to update their Facebook page, to play music with cellphone, as if sitting at a desk. But they are driving a car.”
The agency based its recommendation on evidence from its investigation of numerous crashes in which electronic distraction was a major contributing factor.
Ms. Hersman said she understood that this recommendation would be unwelcome in some circles, given the number of drivers who talk and text. But she compared distracted driving to drunken driving and even smoking, which required wholesale cultural shifts to change behavior.
“It’s going to be very unpopular with some people.” she said. “We’re not here to win a popularity contest. We’re here to do the right thing. This is a difficult recommendation, but it’s the right recommendation and it is time.”
The agency’s recommendation is not required for states to adopt such a ban. And it won’t likely be agreed upon by state lawmakers who are unwillingly to anger those who have grown accustomed to using their device behind the wheel.
The ban also deserves attention because it is the first call by a federal agency to end the practice completely, rather than the partial ban that some lawmakers have put in place by allowing hands-free talking. The ban on all cellphone use by drivers was put forward ______.
| A．after a long discussion and recommendation |
| B．after about ten years’ investigation in it |
| C．because of the most powerful mobile devices |
| D．for the reason of heading away from the road |
We can know from the passage that ______.
| A．electronic distraction resulted in numerous crashes |
| B．numerous crashes were caused by drunk driving |
| C．electronic distraction contributed much to the ban |
| D．the recommendation was based on electronic distraction |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Cellphone Ban in Cars |
| B．Valuable Ban for Cellphones |
| C．Drivers Ban Cellphones |
| D．Cellphone Ban while Driving |
This column is part of a series on websites that are useful for English language learning．Activities for ESL Students
Includes various types of tests, exercises and puzzles designed to help people studying English as a second language （ESL）．The activities include grammar, vocabulary and idiom tests at easy, medium and difficult levels．The specially designed Chinese-English vocabulary tests can help Chinese memorize English words．
http://a4esl．org/
Interesting Things for ESL Students
Contains a comprehensive list of audio clips （听力剪辑） from the Special English programs of Voice of America （VOA）．The list covers news of all kinds on VOA．The listening and vocabulary exercises and the word list designed with the clips will help English learners improve listening ability and increase vocabulary．
http://www．manythings．org/voa/
World-English
This site provides a list of radio or TV channels offering English news clips．It includes the BBC radio program clips from England, CNN and ABC news clips from the US, and other news clips from other English-speaking countries．Click on the links and you will be taken to channels where you can listen to clips．This is a good way to practice listening．
http://www．world-english．org/listening．html
Listen to English
Offers a large number of materials for English learners to practice listening．The materials include business English, English literature, history, movies, and politics．Students can improve their English while enjoying the beauty of the English of literature, songs, movies, and news in different countries．
http://eleaston．corn/listen, htmlIf you want to test how well you are learning English, which website can you enter?
| A．http://a4esl．org/ |
| B．http://www．manythings．org/voa/ |
| C．http://www．world-english．org/listening．html |
| D．http://eleaston．com/listen, html |
According to this passage, you had better listen to clips of _______ programs to learn more English words．
| A．VOA | B．BBC | C．CNN | D．ABC |
How many of the four websites can you use to improve your English as well as to learn about recent news?
| A．One． | B．Two． | C．Three． | D．Four． |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage. The best title for the article is _______.
| A．When the Computer Is Down | B．The Most Frightening Words |
| C．The Computer of the Airport | D．Asking the Computer |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could sell a ticket. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could answer the passengers’ questions. |
| D．She could do nothing. |
Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
| A．Because it was easy down |
| B．Because it was very expensive. |
| C．Because it was not advanced enough. |
| D．Because it was not as big as the main computer. |
The last paragraph suggests that _______.
| A．a modern computer won’t be down. |
| B．computers can take the place of humans |
| C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
| D．there will be great changes in computers |
When we were very small, we realized that having friends was important.Some of us even had imaginary(想象中的)friends. The need for friends continued as we grew into our teens.Friends played a big part in forming our personalities(性格). As adults，it is still important for us to have friends.
True friends are people who like us though we made mistakes and who listen to us and tell us the truth. Friends support our decisions and tell us when we’re foolish. They laugh with us and share our sadness. They are our partners and share interests with us. They stimulate us when we are feeling down. They are people we aren’t afraid of telling our secret wishes to or what is really on our minds.
Friends are our supporters. When you can depend on friends, you feel safe and warm. Friends offer acceptance and emotional(情感的)support. At times, they also help with our everyday lives, cooking a meal, doing chores, or giving us a lift when we need one. Friends also are there to offer advice, an ear to listen, or a shoulder to cry on.
Friends also help us reduce stress. Not only do they listen to us when we feel stressed, but they also discuss what is stressing us. Sharing interests and doing activities with friends help us forget about problems at work or at home. For a short time, we can lose ourselves in a pleasant activity and perhaps laugh and breathe more easily.What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Reduce Stress |
| B．How to Make New Friends |
| C．The Importance of Friends |
| D．The Qualities of Good Friends |
The underlined word“stimulate” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.
| A．educate | B．encourage |
| C．surprise | D．dislike |
We can learn from the third paragraph that friends always________.
| A．laugh at us when we’re foolish |
| B．tell us other people’s secrets |
| C．share our sadness and interests |
| D．support us when we need help |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．people should make friends anytime |
| B．friends are people who allow you to cry |
| C．a friend helps you in many ways |
| D．good friends are always difficult to meet |
What is language for？Some people seem to think it’s for practising grammar rules and learninglists of words－the longer the lists，the better. That’s wrong. Language is for the exchange(交流)of ideas and information. It’s meaningless knowing all about a language if you can’t use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules，but they can’t speak correctly or fluently.They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Shaw once wrote，“Foreigners often speak English too correctly.” But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They’re English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule，it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong，becomes right. People not only make history，they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can’t make another people’s language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar，but they shouldn’t overdo(做过头)it. They should put communication(交际)first.Language is used to________.
| A．express oneself |
| B．practise grammar rules |
| C．talk with foreigners only |
| D．learn lists of words |
Generally，when an American or an Englishman speaks English，he or she________.
| A．never makes mistakes |
| B．often makes mistakes |
| C．can’t avoid making mistakes |
| D．always makes mistakes |
The sentence“Foreigners often speak English too correctly.”means that________.
| A．foreigners speak correct English |
| B．foreigners speak incorrect English |
| C．foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules |
| D．foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English |
When we speak a foreign language，we should________.
| A．speak in Chinese way |
| B．speak by the rules |
| C．speak to native speakers |
| D．not be afraid of making mistakes |