Difficult times often bring out the best in people. Many well-known people come to help those who are in trouble. And this was the case for basketball player Yao Ming. He hosted a television show in Shanghai and raised US $ 300,000 to help researchers (研究员) find a medical cure. Fund-raising, or charity, is an act of goodwill(好意) towards others.
Charities in the West have more ways. Look at a typical day for Ruth, a rich woman in the UK, for example. Ruth wakes up in the morning and collects her post. There’s a letter addressed to her with a picture of a half-dead, beaten(筋疲力尽的) horse. It’s from a charity asking Ruth to donate money to save the animals. She turns on the television, and sees a picture of a wide–eyed child dying of hunger in Africa with a request (请求) for money to help the child. The tickets for the charity shows often cost her a lot of money, but she doesn’t mind because most of the money is going to a charity that fights AIDS. She feels good about going because she’s helping the sick.
Edna, a little old lady, looks after a second-hand shop—a charity shop. Any profit (收益) it has made goes to a cancer(癌症) charity. Now that she doesn’t have to work, she has lots of time to offer her services for free.
For people like Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna, charity is a virtue (美德) that holds the same importance in life as faith and hope. “As you look back on your life, the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others,” said Scottish writer Henry Drummond.Yao Ming hosted a television show to _____.
A.make more money | B.raise money for his basket team |
C.make himself more famous | D.raise money for researchers to find a cure for SARS |
We can infer (推断)from the passage that _____.
A.Edna may not be a rich lady but she is willing to do something for others |
B.Ruth is angry because she has been asked to donate too much money |
C.Ruth leads a busy life and she feels very tired |
D.Yao Ming wants to be a television host |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Only Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna try their best to do things for charity. |
B.Ruth has given a lot of support to charity although she is not very rich. |
C.The writer hopes that more people can do things for charity. |
D.Edna is very rich because she has her own shop. |
One morning, Ruth received a letter with a picture of a horse in it because _____.
A.she lost her horse |
B.a charity wanted her to donate some money |
C.she loved horse very much |
D.she wanted to keep a horse as a pet |
The underlined(划线) part in the last paragraph probably means that _____.
A.what impresses people deeply is what they have done for others |
B.when you want to do something for others, you need stand out |
C.the moment you stand out, you can do something for others |
D.when you look back sometimes, you need stand out |
Mooncake Box Recycling (回收利用) Activity
People in Beijing throw away about two million mooncake boxes every year. These boxes weigh up to 750 tons and can fill up about a hundred 50-meter-long swimming pools. They are going to become garbage (垃圾).
Let’s have a green Mid-Autumn Festival this year!
Bring your mooncake boxes.
Show that you care!
Date: September 28, 2014 ~ October 14, 2014
Time: 9:00 am ~ 9:00 pm
Collection point: Sunshine Shopping Center
Please keep the mooncake boxes clean.
We will sell all mooncake boxes to recycling companies.
We will hold a tree-planting activity with the money collected.
Save Our Earth (Beijing)
An organization for environmental protection
Telephone: 2123 1234
Website: www.saveourearth.org
E-mail: info@saveourearth.org How many mooncake boxes do people in Beijing throw away every year?
A.About 1,000,000. | B.About 1,500,000. |
C.About 2,000,000. | D.About 1,300,000. |
How long will the Mooncake Box Recycling Activity last?
A.For one week. | B.For half a month. |
C.For 17 days. | D.For one month. |
Who will buy the mooncake boxes?
A.Recycling companies. |
B.Mooncake factories. |
C.Mooncake box companies. |
D.Sunshine Shopping Center. |
Which organization holds this activity?
A.Green Mid-Autumn Festival. |
B.Save Our Earth (Beijing). |
C.Save Ourselves (Beijing). |
D.Save Our Earth (Chengdu). |
With the development of science, more and more students don’t like taking notes by hand. Instead, they use digital (数码的) cameras to take pictures of the words that their teachers write on the blackboard or record what their teachers say in class.
The children might think there are too many notes to take or their teachers write or speak so fast that they can’t take more specific notes. They are trying to find ways to make things easier, so they use digital cameras. In fact, children are very clever to make use of technology (技术).
But do digital cameras really make taking notes easier?
Not really. Before you read notes from digital cameras, there are a lot of things you have to do. To begin with, you have to find a computer. Then you need to copy the photos into the computer. Next, you have to find a printer (打印机) to print the photos. Another thing is that you can’t hear the sound from the digital cameras clearly because there is usually lots of noise. You will have to listen to it slowly several times before you understand everything.
In fact, taking notes by hand has many advantages. For example, it can help you remember and understand what you are learning. In order to save time, you can choose the most important things or the things you don’t understand to write down. You don’t have to write down everything.
Don’t be afraid to take notes by hand. It’s really an effective (有效的) way. Why do more and more students take notes with digital cameras but not by hand?
A.Because they want to take right notes. |
B.Because their teachers want them to do so. |
C.Because they want to make taking notes easier. |
D.Because they always want to try new things. |
How many steps do the students need to read the notes from digital cameras?
A.Four. | B.Three. | C.Two. | D.One. |
The underlined word “noise” means “_____” in Chinese.
A.噪音 | B.音调 | C.口音 | D.录音 |
Which of the following is TRUE about taking notes?
A.You shouldn’t be afraid to write down everything. |
B.To save time, you should memorize instead of taking notes. |
C.You should write down all the words that your teachers write on the blackboard. |
D.You only need to write down what you don’t understand or some key words. |
What does the writer think is the best way to take notes?
A.By taking pictures of the words that teachers write. |
B.By recording what teachers say in class. |
C.By using a computer. |
D.By taking notes with your hand. |
How much money do you need every month, 500 yuan or 700 yuan? Some may need more to buy birthday presents, fast food, ice cream and comic books. But for Zhen Xing, 200 yuan is enough each month. “I only eat fried potato slices and rice,” said Zhen. “Meat is too expensive for me.”
Zhen, a 15-year-old girl, is a middle school student in Beijing. Every day, Zhen gets up at 5:30 am and rides her bike for 20 minutes to get to school. She studies hard, and even reads books during breaks! Her parents are migrant (移民) workers. They came to Beijing from a village in Henan two years ago. Her father now works as a cleaner and gets 1,200 yuan every month. Her mother has no job. Like many teenagers, Zhen has a lot of homework, but that is not all her work. During the week she helps her mom cook. On weekends, she helps wash clothes.
Zhen said she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. “I watched TV and found out there are many people with AIDS in China. They really need help,” said Zhen. But she was afraid of having to leave school. Zhen didn’t go to school for one year five years ago. Fortunately, now all the children can go to school for free in China. “I won’t worry a lot about it anymore,”said Zhen happily. “I’m trying my best to study hard to be a good student at present and a good doctor in the future.” Why does Zhen Xing only eat fried potato slices and rice instead of meat?
A.Because she wants to save money. |
B.Because meat is difficult to get. |
C.Because she likes eating fried potato slices and rice best. |
D.Because she thinks fried potato slices and rice are healthier than meat. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Zhen Xing has a part-time job and makes 200 yuan every month. |
B.Zhen Xing’s mother got 1,200 yuan every month. |
C.Zhen Xing can go to school for free now. |
D.Zhen Xing’s parents are both cleaners. |
Zhen Xing didn’t go to school for one year at the age of ______.
A.15. | B.14. | C.13. | D.10. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned according to the passage?
A.Worries. | B.Hobbies. |
C.School life. | D.Dreams. |
The passage mainly tells us _______.
A.how to spend money like Zhen Xing |
B.a girl from a rural area |
C.a girl’s hard but hopeful life |
D.Chinese education situation |
Maybe you’ve heard of many musical bands, but have you heard of Little Big Town, a country musical group? There are four members in this band, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet. They had a hard time when they began their band at first, but they didn’t give up. Now it becomes very popular.
“We take care of each other and we take care of the music,” Karen Fairchild once said after one of their shows. As a fan of this band, I once had a chance to hang out with the members of Little Big Town. We talked about their hard beginning. At that time, they even didn’t have their own stage.
Fairchild also told me how the four of them were together when they were in trouble. Not only did they stand together on stage but also in their daily life. For example, they were right there when Phillip Sweet was caring for his daughter for the first time. They encouraged Kimberly Schlapman when they found her husband passed away. At that time Kimberly was very sad to lose her husband. “When we have lived such a hard life together, it bonds (联系) us tightly,” Phillip Sweet said. “We find true happiness is the joy of doing what we do for a living. We love the hard beginning. We also love the wonderful future.” What is Little Big Town?
A.It’s a rock musical group. |
B.It’s a country musical group. |
C.It’s a small town. |
D.It’s a piece of music. |
Who is the writer of this passage?
A.He is a member of this band. |
B.He is a writer of lyrics. |
C.He is a fan of this band. |
D.He is the leader of the band. |
From the passage we know that ______.
A.five members are in the band |
B.the band had a good beginning |
C.Phillip Sweet has a son |
D.the members of the band are true friends |
The underlined phrase means “______” in Chinese.
A.传递 | B.去世 | C.停止 | D.失业 |
What does the writer want to tell us?
A.Starting a musical band is difficult. |
B.Starting a musical band can make money. |
C.Being together helps the band get over the hard time. |
D.Standing together on stage makes the band famous. |
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office a street urchin(顽童) was walking around a shining car. “Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.
Paul answered,“Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.”The boy was surprised.“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything. Boy, I wish…” He hesitated(犹豫).
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh, yes, I'd love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said,“Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again, “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled(残疾) brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
“There he is. Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it...then you can see for yourself all nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.The street urchin was very surprised when_______.
A.Paul received an expensive car |
B.Paul told him about the car |
C.he saw the shining car |
D.he was walking around the car |
From the story we can see the urchin _______.
A.wished to give his brother a car |
B.wanted Paul's brother to give him a car |
C.wished he could have a brother like Paul's |
D.wished Paul could be a brother like that |
The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house________.
A.to show his neighbors the big car |
B.to show he had a rich friend |
C.to let his brother meet Paul |
D.to let his brother know about his wish |
We can infer(推断) from the story that______.
A.Paul couldn't understand the urchin |
B.the urchin had a deep love for his brother |
C.the urchin wished to have a rich brother |
D.the urchin's wish came true in the end |
The best name of the story is ______.
A.Christmas Present |
B.Street Urchin |
C.Brother Like That |
D.An Unforgettable Holiday Ride |