Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. Das is in charge of a kitchen in Vrindaban. The town is about a three-hour drive from India’s capital, New Delhi. Das gets to work at 3:00 a.m. Thirty workers are already working to make tens of thousands of rounds of bread. It will be brought to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.
A Growing Problem
Going to school is difficult for more than 13 million children in India. They must go to work instead, or go hungry. That’s why India began the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world. A free lunch encourages children to come to school and gives them the energy they need for learning. The program began in the 1960s.
The kitchen in Vrindaban is run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is one of the lunch program’s biggest partners. “Just $11.50 can feed one child for an entire year,” said Madhu Sridhar, president of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Lunch Is Served!
The Akshaya Patra food truck arrives at Gopalgarh Primary School. Since the program started, the number of underweight children has gone down. The children get foods they need — as long as they finish what’s on their plates.The kitchen in Vrindaban supplies food to _____.
| A．the poor | B．the old |
| C．college students | D．school children |
Why is it difficult for children to go to school in India?
| A．Because there are not enough teachers. |
| B．Because there are not enough schools. |
| C．Because they have to work to make money. |
| D．Because their parents refuse to send them to school. |
Which of the following about the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is NOT true?
| A．It is run by Narasimha Das. |
| B．It has been carried out for about 50 years. |
| C．It is to encourage children to go to school. |
| D．It is the largest school-lunch program in the world. |
Taking the dog to the beach on a hot summer's day is a great way to relax. But not all beaches are dog friendly. So if you're looking to take your dog to the coast this summer, here's a few of the country's most dog-friendly beaches.
| Sunshine Beach Where: Noosa, Queensland Only a 10-minute drive from Noosa, Sunshine Beach also welcomes dogs with open paws. Once known as Golden Beach, its long white beaches make it a paradise for anyone who loves fishing, boating, surfing or just relaxing on the beach with family and friends. Restrictions (限定): Dogs can freely explore the shoreline from Noosa National Park to the path leading from Seaview Terrace. |
| Tallow Beach Where: Byron Bay, New South Wales With white sand that stretches (延伸) for miles, and clean, clear waters washing its shores, Byron certainly doesn't want for beautiful beaches — and Tallow Beach is no exception. This seven-kilometer-long beach stretches all the way to Broken Head Reserve. Restrictions: The beach's dog-friendly area starts near Jarman Street and stretches north to the outside of Arakwal National Park. |
| Muirs Beach Where: Coles Bay, Tasmania One of the few beaches that falls outside of Freycinet National Park, Muirs, is a great family beach that welcomes dogs, too. Compared to famous sheltered beaches of Freycinet, it is more open to the waves from the Tasman Sea, making it ideal for windsurfing. The beach itself is very long, so there is plenty of space to let your dog run free. Restrictions: Dog owners must respect the environment and use the poop bags provided at the entrance to the beach to get rid of any dog waste.Fines apply (运用). |
| Yorkeys Knob Beach Where: Queensland Located just 15 minutes from Cairns, Yorkeys Knob Beach is a great spot to relax with your dog. Named after a local fisherman called "Yorkey" who lived on the rocky hill (“knob”), this wonderful little beach is one of the best-kept secrets in Tropical North Queensland. It is ideal for swimming and snorkelling in the summer season. Restrictions: The southern end of the beach is the "dog off-chain" end where your dog is allowed to run free; dogs must be on a chain in all other areas of the beach. |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
| A．Tallow Beach is not popular in Byron Bay. |
| B．Beautiful beaches are not important in Byron Bay. |
| C．Tallow Beach is the most beautiful beach in Byron Bay. |
| D．Tallow Beach is one of the beautiful beaches in Byron Bay. |
On Muirs Beach, if people do not get rid of dog waste,.
| A．it’s just fine to let it be |
| B．they have to clean the beach |
| C．they’ll get punished by paying money |
| D．they have to provide poop bags at the entrance to the beach |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．All beaches welcome people together with their dogs. |
| B．Tallow Beach was named after a local fisherman. |
| C．Yorkeys Knob Beach is a good place for windsurfing. |
| D．Dogs can run free only on some of the beaches mentioned above. |
I am one of those people who are terrible at saying no. I take on too many projects at once, and spend too much of my time doing things I’d rather not be doing. I get stuff done, but it’s not always the best I can do, or the best way I could spend my time.
That’s why my newest goal, both as a professional and a person, is to be a quitter.
Being a quitter isn’t being someone who gives up, who doesn’t see important things through to the end. I desire to be the opposite of that. The quitter I want to be is someone who gets out when there’s no value in what he’s doing, or when that value comes at the expense of something more important.
We get involved in something, realize we don’t want to be a part of it, but keep on going. We say “Well, I’ve already invested so much time in this, I might as well stick it out.” A friend of mine once told me, “I knew I was an adult when I could stop reading a book, even after getting 500 pages into it.” Odd though it sounds, we all tend to do this.
I propose the opposite: quit as often as possible, regardless of project status or time invested. If you’re reading a book, and don’t like it, stop reading. Cut your losses, realize that the smartest thing to do is stop before your losses grow even more, and quit. Instead of reading an entire book you hate, read half of a bad one and half of a good one. Isn’t that a better use of your time?
Step back for a second. Let’s learn how to say “no” at the beginning, or in the middle, and free up more of our time to do the things we’d like to be doing, and the things actually worth doing.
Saying no is hard, and admitting a mistaken yes is even harder. But if we do both, we’ll start to make sure that we’re spending our time creating value, rather than increasing our losses. Let’s be quitters together.The author wants to be a quitter, because he/she.
| A．wishes to have more time for relaxation |
| B．hopes to improve his/her personality |
| C．expects to make more efficient use of his/her time |
| D．has found it hard to do several things at one time |
In what circumstances does the author suggest quitting is a good idea?
| A．When you know a task cannot be finished. |
| B．When you feel tired and need a rest. |
| C．When you meet with difficulties along the way. |
| D．When you realize what you are doing is not worth the time. |
The message the author tries to convey is to.
| A．learn to say no | B．create more value |
| C．live your life to the fullest | D．stop doing many things at a time |
A Nobel Prize is considered by most people one of the highest international honors a person can receive. As you know, the prizes were started by a Sweden called Sweden Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and lived from 1833 to 1896.
Alfred Nobel was a chemist and inventor. He made two important inventions, so he became very rich. Although he was rich, Nobel was not a happy man. He never married or had children. Also, he was a sick man in large part of his life. Nobel died at the age of sixty-three. When he died, he left a fund of $9,000,000. The money was to be used in giving prizes to those who made outstanding achievement in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and the promotion(促进)of the world peace.
The first Nobel Prize were given on December 10th,1901, five years after Nobel’s death. Many famous people all over the world have been given Nobel Prizes for their achievements. Albert Einstein was one of them.
Each prize has three parts. The first part is a gold medal. Second, a winner of a Nobel Prize is given a diploma saying that he has been given the prize. The third part of the prize is a large amount of money---about $40，000.
Often a prize is given to just one person, but not always. Sometimes a prize is shared. It might be given to two or more people who have worked together. It is also sometimes true that a prize is not given at all if there is no outstanding achievement. In 1972, for example, not a Nobel Prize was given. It is the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm that decides whether to give the prize or not. Most people think that Nobel Prize is ____ a person can receive.
| A．the highest honor in the world |
| B．one of the highest international honors |
| C．a higher honor than others |
| D．as high as any other honor |
Alfred Nobel who started the Nobel Prize was _____.
| A．a rich, happy and lucky man |
| B．a poor, unhappy and unlucky man |
| C．a poor, happy and lucky man |
| D．a rich unhappy and unlucky man |
A Nobel Prize is made up of ___.
| A．a gold medal and a large amount of money |
| B．a gold medal and a diploma |
| C．a gold medal and a diploma and a large amount of money |
| D．a diploma and a large amount of money |
A Nobel Prize is given to ___ each year.
| A．just one person | B．one person |
| C．not always one person | D．three persons |
When he died, Nobel left an amount of money ____.
| A．to his wife and children |
| B．to the university he used to study in |
| C．to his parents and his studies |
| D．to be spent on setting five prizes |
It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don’t understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways: that that they are too serious and too strict with their children; and they seldom give their children a free hand.
It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they are easy to forget how they themselves felt when young.
For example, young people like to act right away without much thinking. It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset by something unexpected.
When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success, if you ask before you really start doing it.
Young people often make their parents angry with their choices in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble; it is just that they feel cut off (隔绝)from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture of their own. And if their parents like their music of entertainment or clothes or their ways of speech, this will make young people especially happy.
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say “yes” to what you do. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control.
If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.This article is particularly written for ____.
| A．parents | B．both parents and their children |
| C．young people | D．teachers |
According to the text, young people tend to _____.
| A．ask for advice before they really start to do anything |
| B．doing things without thinking carefully ahead |
| C．be very strict with themselves |
| D．think in the same way as their parents do |
Young people like to have clothes, entertainment and music in their own way, because___.
| A．they want to make their parents angrily |
| B．they try to get their parents into trouble |
| C．they want to try on something new and look different from than older people |
| D．they know they are clever than the older people |
According to the text, young people want to make a new culture of their own, because ___.
| A．they don’t feel they belong to the world of older people |
| B．they do not want to get into trouble |
| C．they feel they are cleverer than the older people |
| D．they want to show they have grown up |
If a young man plans to control his own life, it’s better for him to ____.
| A．do everything according to his own wish |
| B．do everything the way his parents do |
| C．do everything under his parents’ control |
| D．do everything with a high sense of responsibility |
Can trees talk? Yes—but not in words. Scientists have reasons to believe that trees do communicate with each other. Not long ago, researchers learned some surprising things. First a willow tree(柳树) attacked in the woods by caterpillars(毛毛虫) changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that the caterpillars got tired of the leaves and stopped eating them. The even more astonishing, the tree sent out a special vapor — a signal causing its neighbors to change the chemistry of their own leaves and make them less tasty.
Communication, of course, doesn’t need to be always in words. We can talk to each other by smiling, raising our shoulders and moving our hands. We know that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements. Bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns that tell other bees where to find nectar(花蜜) for honey. So why shouldn’t trees have ways of sending messages?Why did Caterpillars stop eating the leaves of a willow tree? (No more than 15 words)
According to the passage, how do bees communicate with each other? (No more than 5 words)
What is the main idea of this passage? (No more than 5 words)