In June 2008,Benita Grist was driving in her hometown of Mississauga as a passenger in the car ahead threw a paper cup out of the window.When Grist horned to express her displeasure, the passenger responded by throwing out a bag.
Instead of annoyed, she decided to do something about it.She organized a one woman litterawareness campaign.She started small,chatting with her neighbors about litter—and asking them to be more conscious of any tendencies they might have to litter.Soon,she noticed local families, kids and all—picking up litter around their homes.”I thought,that’s all it took—for me to open my mouth?” she says.”So I decided to knock on more doors.”
And she didn’t stop there.She approached people on the street,in malls,even in the waiting room before getting an X ray. Grist often started her appeal with something such as,”I hope you don’t think I’m crazy,but...” Yet she was buoyed by the positive response—so much so that in August 2008, she began to contact officials in various levels of government, companies and other institutions in an effort to reach a wider audience.
Through a local Mac’s Convenience Store,Grist managed to contact the company that produces content displayed on their in store monitors.That led to a public service announcement about litter that ran in almost 600 Mac’s stores in Ontario from November 2008 to June 2009. Grist continues to explore every opportunity she has to get the message out.Her grassroots campaign may be different,but she has begun to open people’s eyes about the problem of litter.And thanks to her efforts,in Mississauga,at least,they have begun to do just that. How did Benita Grist start her campaign?
| A．She chatted with her neighbors. | B．She quarreled with a stranger. |
| C．She went door to door,talking. | D．She talked to patients in hospital. |
The underlined word “buoyed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “-------”.
| A．inspired | B．discouraged | C．confused | D．disturbed |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Introduction to a one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| B．How Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| C．Why Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| D．Benita and the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
Sitting on a chair all day in school can make anyone want to move around. So, more and more teachers are letting students have a ball. By sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs , teachers find students’ posture(姿势) and attention improve.
Dottie Pownall, a fifth-grade teacher in West Virginia, USA, has been using balls as chairs since December 2008. “The students love them”, she says. Pownall took a survey(调查) of her students. She found that 80% of the students thought sitting on the balls helped them pay more attention to what they were learning.
The teacher, Pisa Witt, felt so strongly about the use of balls as chairs, she started Witt Fitt. This company encourages the use of the balls. And the company educates not only teachers but also students on how to use them. “Our products are used in 24 states, three provinces in Canada, Puerto Rico (波多黎各) and Japan,” says Witt, “ Research shows that sitting on the balls makes them sit up straighter（直的）. You can slouch(低头垂肩地坐)on a ball,” says Witt, “but it feels bad.” Because the students are moving, their blood (血液) increases. That carries more oxygen( 氧气) to the brain , so the kids have more energy and can pay attention longer.
“Besides, they’re fun.” says Pownall.What will happen if a student sits on a chair all day in school? The student will_________.
| A．pay more attention to his lessons | B．be fun |
| C．like to move around | D．sit up straighter |
How long has Dottie Pownall used the balls?
| A．About four years. | B．Only one year. |
| C．In 2008. | D．Since he was a fifth-grade teacher. |
In how many countries are the balls used as the students’ chairs?
| A．Four. | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．One. |
Teachers choose balls instead of chairs because sitting on balls helps the kids _________.
| A．improve the students’ posture and attention |
| B．slouch on the chairs |
| C．have fun |
| D．Both A and C are correct answers |
Which is better for kids to study in class, sitting on a chair or sitting on a ball?
| A．Sitting on a chair. | B．Sitting on a ball. |
| C．They are the same. | D．We don’t know. |
Human wants seem endless, When a starving man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat; when a manager gets a new sports car, he dreams of country clubs and pleasure boats dance into view.
The many wants of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of wants, another level appears.
The first and most basic level of wants is food. Once this want is satisfied, a second level of wants appears: clothing and some sort of shelter. By the end of World War II these wants were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a third level appeared. It included such items as cars and new houses.
By 1957 or 1958 this third level of wants was fairly well satisfied. Then in the late 1950s a fourth level of wants appeared: the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels mean physical satisfaction—the feeding, comfort, safety and transportation of the human body—this level means mental needs for recognition, achievement and happiness, It includes a variety of goods and services many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips, the best medical care and entertainment. Also included here are fancy foods and the latest styles in clothing.
On the fourth level, a greater percentage of consumers spending goes to services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of wants as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?
A fifth level probably would be wants that can be achieved by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes and crime. After filling our stomachs, our garages, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the health and safety to enjoy more fully the good things on the first three levels.According to the passage, man will begin to think about such needs as housing and clothing only when _______
| A．he has saved up enough money |
| B．he has grown dissatisfied with his simple shelter |
| C．he has satisfied his hunger |
| D．he has learned to build houses |
It can be inferred from the passage that by the end of World War II most Americans ______
| A．were very rich |
| B．were very poor |
| C．Had the good things on the first three levels |
| D．didn’t own cars |
Which of the following is NOT related to “physical satisfaction”?
| A．A successful career | B．A comfortable house |
| C．A good service | D．A family car |
Which is the main want of man on the fourth level?
| A．The more goods, the better |
| B．The more mental satisfaction, the better |
| C．The more “luxury” items, the better |
| D．The more earning, the better |
The author thinks that a fifth level______
| A．would be a little better than the fourth level |
| B．may be a lot more desirable than the first four |
| C．can be the last and most satisfying level |
| D．will come true if the government takes actions |
With only a click of the mouse, rumours（谣言）can be forwarded between microblogs（微博）very quickly. As an example, recently, sensitive netizens discovered that some photos displayed on microblogs describing Beijing’s June rainstorm had actually been fabricated.
Sina.com is one of the major Internet portals in China with hundreds and thousands of users, and a majority of celebrities and famous citizens have their microblog accounts on this portal. As recently as six months ago, the website decided to establish a specialized team to prove rumours and provide accurate information for its users. Tan Chao is in charge of the team.
“ Before I took the job, I usually couldn’t identify what information was real and what was fake. But during the process of identification, we discovered that a lot of information was false, including fake photos, fake news stories and rumours that had been spread through microblogs.”
It’s not just website portals which are taking on fact-checking responsibilities, but also a number of civic-minded netizens, who recently set up a Rumour Identification Federation on Sina.com’s microblog system to help netizens identify fake information online.
Dian Zizheng is the team leader of the federation. He says they’ve publicized more than 150 pieces which contradict rumours, which attracted more than 10 thousand visitors within two months.
“We live in an age of new media, so we can’t use the old methods to prove rumours. We can’t wait for the media to prove the facts with related administrative（行政） departments and then release a formal announcement. We can’t allow rumours to run wild and then deal with it, we need to fight rumours while they’re spreading. I think that this is the best way to deal with rumours nowadays.”
Some experts say this displays the advantages of the internet compared to other traditional media. The open platform allows information to be examined and clarified by netizens. But experts like Ding Wengguo,President of the Journalism and Communication College at the China University of Political Science and Law says this self-correction function of the Internet is still quite limited.
“It’s still quite different to tell which information is true in such an open environment by just reading a number of different opinions on the same issue. This is something which we need to pay attention to. If society is flooded with too much false information, and it’s allowed to spread in such a fast manner, then people will be suspicious（怀疑的） of all kinds of information including important information from authorities. It also worsens problems relating to social communications and mutual-understanding, which in turn harms society as a whole.”
Experts suggest that the government should react more quickly in the Internet age. Once a rumour begins to spread, administrative departments should make announcements as early as possible to drive away rumours before they lead to bad outcomes.Sina.com decided to found a specialized team to __________.
| A．prevent the spread of rumours on the Internet |
| B．advance the development of microblog |
| C．limit the number of microblog |
| D．urge the government to react quickly to the rumours |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．All the rumours have been spread through microblog. |
| B．Sina.com is the most popular internet portal in China. |
| C．Traditional media don’t prove rumours to spread. |
| D．The photos displayed on microblogs might have side effects. |
The underlined word “fabricated” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _________.
| A．made up | B．dug out | C．got round | D．given away |
What is the best way to prove rumors on microblogs?
| A．Shutting down the website immediately. |
| B．Substituting the Internet for traditional media. |
| C．Examining and checking while they are spreading . |
| D．Making announcements after they are spread. |
The writer cited Ding Wenguo’s words in Paragraph 8 to________.
| A．draw a conclusion | B．introduce a topic |
| C．support an argument | D．describe a scene |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards the rumours from microblogs according to the passage?
| A．Negative. | B．Sympathetic. | C．Supportive. | D．Changeable. |
Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this 17-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.
Justin Bieber was born in Straford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007,he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then,with the help of his mother, he uploaded videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.
Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contracted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta 7 months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.
In 2009,Justin Bieber released his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album（首张专辑）.The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0”in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when ________.
| A．he met with Scooter Braun |
| B．he released his debut album |
| C．he won second place in a competition |
| D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website |
It can be infered from the text that Justin Bieber ___________.
| A．owed his success to good luck |
| B．showed a gift for music when he was young |
| C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry |
| D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun |
What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time”according to the text?
| A．It is about love and was released in 2010. |
| B．It attracted the world’s attention after released. |
| C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. |
| D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success |
| B．Lucky boy-- Justin Bieber |
| C．What made Justin Bieber a singer |
| D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success |
The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived on the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which is a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen. What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?________.
| A．To seek help for Nauru’s problems. |
| B．To give a warning to other countries |
| C．To show the importance of money |
| D．To tell a heartbreaking story of a war. |
What was Nauru like before the Europeans came? ________.
| A．Rich and powerful | B．Modern and open |
| C．Peaceful and attractive | D．Greedy and aggressive |
The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from _______.
| A．soil pollution | B．phosphate overmining |
| C．farming activity | D．whale hunting |
Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem? ________.
| A．Its leaders misused the money |
| B．It spent too much repairing the island |
| C．Its phosphate mining cost much money |
| D．It lost millions of dollars in the civil war. |
What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?________.
| A．The phosphate mines were destroyed |
| B．The ecological damage is difficult to repair. |
| C．The island was abandoned by the Nauruans |
| D．The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously. |