On a summer day, John was sitting on a beach in Hawaii with his parents. The six-year-old child suddenly said he was so lucky because he had so many toys to play with at home.
His surprised parents replied that he was lucky, since a lot of kids didn’t have any toys at all. “How can that be?” John said, confused, but then he said that he would like to get toys for those children. His parents naturally thought their son was just kidding. But as soon as they returned home, John began using his pocket money to buy toys for other kids and asking his friends to do the same. His parents responded by organizing pizza suppers for other families interested in helping other children that can’t afford to buy toys. John thought that he just wanted to cheer those kids up.
John’s parents started to find a place that would allow children as young as six and seven to volunteer. They finally find a day care center for disabled children to let John and his friends visit. They went and played with these kids, playing around the room as if they belonged there.
John and his friends named their work Kids Cheering Kids. John and his friends visited kids at some childcare centers, helping out with a party they organized. They also prepared a performance for children with disabilities. Their activities have drawn public concern.
The spirit of helping is as fresh as it was that day in Hawaii. “The whole purpose,”
John says, “is to make the kids feel better.”Why did John get toys for the children who didn’t have any toy at all?
| A．Because he wanted to make them happy. |
| B．Because he wanted to show off his toys. |
| C．Because he wanted to share his toys with them. |
| D．Because he wanted to make friends with them. |
What was John’s parents’ attitude towards his plan?
| A．Positive. | B．Critical. | C．Doubtful. | D．Puzzled. |
What do we learn about Kids Cheering Kids?
| A．It’s a children’s game enjoyed by John and his friends. |
| B．It’s a project started by John to help other kids. |
| C．It’s a program performed by John and his friends. |
| D．It’s an after-school activity planned by John’s friends. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．An unforgettable vacation | B．A valuable experience |
| C．Let kids cheer kids | D．Let kids learn to share |
After graduation I returned home to my small town in Indiana. I didn’t have a job yet. Mr. Hobbs, a friend of my father’s, owned a small shirt factory in town. Within the past five years it had grown from twenty to eighty workers. Mr. Hobbs was worried that his plant was getting too big and inefficient, so he asked me to come in on a short-term basis as a consultant.
I went to the plant and spent about a week looking around and making notes. I was really a mazed at what I saw.
Most curious of all, there was no quality control at all. No one inspected the final product of the factory. As a result some of the shirts that were put in boxes for shipment were missing one or two buttons, the collar, and even a sleeve sometimes!
The working conditions were poor. The tables where the workers sat were very high and uncomfortable. Except for a half hour at lunchtime, there were no breaks in the day to relieve the boring work. There was no music. The walls of the workrooms were a dull gray color. I was amazed that the workers hadn’t gone on strike.
Furthermore, the work flow was irregular. There was one especially absent-minded young man in the assembly（组装）line who sewed on buttons. After a while I recognized him as "Big Jim", who used to sit behind me in math class in high school. He was very slow and all the shifts were held up at his position. Workers beyond him in line on his shift had to wait with nothing to do; therefore, a great deal of time and efficiency were lost as Big Jim daydreamed while he worked. All week I wondered why he wasn’t fired.
After I made observations for a week, Mr. Hobbs asked me for an oral report of my findings.The shirts from Mr. Hobbs’ factory can be described as ____.
| A．of low quality | B．of high quality | C．fashionable | D．unfashionable |
Why did Mr. Hobbs ask the writer to the factory?
| A．The factory was too big. |
| B．The factory was not producing fast enough. |
| C．The factory was not big enough. |
| D．The writer was a college graduate. |
Which is not likely to happen in the factory?
| A．The workers will have more rest in the day. |
| B．Someone will examine the final product. |
| C．New machines will be bought. |
| D．The factory will be repainted. |
Big Jim may get fired mainly because ____.
| A．he was slow |
| B．he wasted much time |
| C．he was absent-minded |
| D．the work flow was irregular |
Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald
We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:
James Anthony, Drummoyne
James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.
As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”
Joe Bollen, Turranmurra
Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)
Maria Ieraci, Sydney
Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.
Ron Bennett, Sydney
Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?
| A．Joe’s | B．Maria’s | C．Ron’s | D．Jame’s |
The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.
| A．the spirit of the nation |
| B．the position of the country |
| C．the tradition of Britain |
| D．the expectations of the people |
What does the Union Jack refer to?
| A．the British flag |
| B．A former British ruler |
| C．group of stars |
| D．A former symbol of Australia |
Oscars organizers promised a new progress to this month’s Academy Awards to greet this year’s nominees (被提名人)．
After years of falling view that ended in last year’s 80th Oscars recording low view rate，the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has to make a fresh start for Hollywood’s yearly show.
The coproducers of the February 22 show，Bill Condon and Laurence Mark，have so far kept full details of their planned changes to the Oscars’ triedandtested method secret.
Oscars organizers have already made sure of one change by announcing Australian actor Hugh Jackman as the host of the show.
Among the changes reported to be considered are the decision to leave out the ceremony’s opening monologue(独白)．
The names of the invited on the awards night have also been kept secret while in earlier years the Academy made presenters to the ceremony public before weeks.
The NewYorkTimes reported on Monday that the producers are trying to improve the show by asking studios to provide scenes from films.
At the same time Ganis also advised nominees to give some thought to make their acceptance speeches memorable－and short.
“As for the acceptance speeches－you know what’s required，” Ganis said.“Be brief，be personal and be heartfelt.You_have_an_impressive_speech_total_of_45_seconds.”
This year’s Oscars are expected to be a great event. Many films will touch you，“Slumdog Millionaire”has 10 nominations，and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with 13.In the past the film with the most Oscar nominations is the one that has succeeded in box office.Oscars organizers want to improve the ceremony of Academy Awards because ________.
| A．the view rate of it is falling |
| B．the nominees don’t like to attend |
| C．people in Hollywood are against it |
| D．the 80th Oscars was best organized |
The Oscars’ triedandtested method ________.
| A．has been known by most of the actors |
| B．is kept a secret by now |
| C．is known only by hosts |
| D．hasn’t been decided at all |
From the underlined sentence we can learn ________.
| A．the winners must speak for 45 minutes |
| B．the speech of winners must be moving |
| C．the speech must be brief，impressive and moving |
| D．the speech of winners must be easily understood |
The main idea of the passage should be ________.
| A．Oscars leaders announce new film |
| B．films with most nominations |
| C．Oscars organizers are waiting for actors |
| D．Oscars leaders promise “brave，fresh”show |
For the people living in the Nile Basin，the river is their life. This 6,825 km waterway，whose watershed (流域) covers three million square kilometers，flows through mountains，woodlands，lakes and deserts. Its potential for fishing，tourism and shipping is great－but so are its challenges.
Water shortage，already serious in Egypt and Sudan，will soon influence several other countries in the watershed as well. Today，about 160 million people depend on the Nile River for their living. Within the next 25 years，the district’s population is expected to double，adding to the demand brought about by growth in industry and agriculture. The frequent drought adds to the urgency.
Water quality is also a problem. Precious soil is washed out to sea. Wastes from industry and agriculture create pollution. Higher concentrations of salt influence irrigated soils. Water-borne diseases remain unchecked. In areas where it’s hot and damp，hyacinths grow so fast that they choke off lakes，dams and other sections of the river，making it difficult for fishing and other businesses to move forward.
Native people along the narrow area of farmland have watched the sand move closer day by day. They’ve seen the river change course，and their only source of water thickened with mud. They’re very poor and have few choices.
But a new program，the Nile Basin Initiative(NBI)，is offering very practical assistance. The program is more than just a water-management project. It’s a plan for the social and economic development of a vast district: it concentrates on the needs of the poorest of the poor and the environment that supports them.
These are whole ecosystem problems，calling for united solutions (解决办法)．Half the Nile Basin’s countries are among the world’s poorest nations; yet，somehow，they must find the resources，skills and political will to overcome these challenges.What are the great challenges the Nile Basin faces?
| A．The development of shipping industry and over-fishing of native people. |
| B．Overfishing of native people and increasing population. |
| C．Water shortage and water quality. |
| D．Increasing population and tourism. |
The underlined word “hyacinths” in Paragraph 3 most probably refers to ________.
| A．plants | B．fish |
| C．rocks | D．salts |
The program NBI is mainly aimed at ________.
| A．preventing water pollution |
| B．changing the river course |
| C．improving living conditions of the poor |
| D．preventing land from becoming desert |
What would be the best title of this passage?
| A．People’s life in Egypt and Sudan |
| B．Frequent drought in Egypt and Sudan |
| C．The poorest countries in the Nile Basin |
| D．The ecosystem problems in the Nile Basin |
It looks like a scene from the thriller movie Jaws，but these photos of a huge shark swimming with swimmers were in fact taken in Britain. The amazing pictures，which showed that the basking shark (姥鲨) was swimming friendly with swimmers，were taken at Porthcurno beach，Cornwall，where the basking shark was swimming just yards off shore.
The single 14foot giant was feeding in the shallow waters off the scenic area，and quickly became curious about the swimmers and surfers sharing the water. Though it came within touching distance，the swimmers and surfers were in no danger. The large sharks are plankton (浮游生物) feeders－unlike the man－eating Great White from Jaws.
Beach-goer Rachel Hosken，who took the pictures，said that several basking sharks had been seen in the area.“It is one of the few I have ever seen around this year and it was great to see，” she said excitedly.“There are usually more of them by now，but for some reason there are fewer around than normal at this time of year. I think more have been spotted in deeper waters，but the particular one in the pictures seems to have taken a liking to this spot. I have seen it a few times.”
Known as the gentle giant of the sea，the basking shark is the second largest fish in the sea，only weighing lighter than the whale shark. They can grow to over 36 feet (11 meters) and weigh up to seven tons (7,000 kilograms) and feed on a diet of plankton and small fish. Basking sharks normally begin to appear in May and June.In the pictures taken by Rachel Hosken，we can infer that ________.
| A．swimmers and surfers were escaping |
| B．surfers were trying to frighten the basking shark |
| C．the basking shark was swimming far from swimmers |
| D．swimmers were not frightened by the basking shark |
Why didn’t the basking shark attack the swimmers or surfers?
| A．Because it was not hungry. |
| B．Because it was too far from them. |
| C．Because it isn’t a man-eating shark. |
| D．Because it enjoyed swimming with them. |
From what Rachel Hosken said we know that ________.
| A．most basking sharks swim deep in the sea |
| B．this basking shark has often appeared in that area |
| C．many basking sharks have been killed in that area |
| D．the basking shark doesn’t like being with other basking sharks |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．A giant basking shark appeared in Cornwall，Britain. |
| B．A giant basking shark tried to please the British people. |
| C．Swimmers and surfers were frightened by a giant basking shark. |
| D．Brave swimmers swam together with a giant basking shark. |