If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others?
Don’t listen to people who say that young people today often think only of themselves. It’s not true at all. More and more young people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.
| Alice Hamilton, 17 I’m going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths(小道) in the mountains. It’s going to be terrific(棒极了). I will spend the whole summer living in a tent(帐篷) and breathing the fresh mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the stars. It will be a nice sport, and I will be able to do something good at the same time! |
| Jason Moore, 18 This summer, I’ll volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to the poor. They’ll teach me what to do, so I am going to help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses. |
| Trish Anderson, 16 I’m going to teach children who have trouble in reading. I’ll work for a program called Reading For Life. Every day, I’m going to help children choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher, and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me. |
Young people in the USA volunteer to spend ____ helping others.
A. school holidays B. weekdays C. every morning.What does Alice volunteer to do in summer?
A. To sleep under the stars.
B. To spend the whole summer living in a tent
C. To help build new hiking paths in the mountains.From the passage, we know that Jason Moore _____.
A. likes reading B. is 18 years old C. isn’t very rich________ wants to be a teacher.
A. Alice Hamilton B. Jason Moore C. Trish AndersonWhich is the most possible title for this passage?
A. Reading for Life. B. The Forest Center C. Young American Volunteer.
Where has the Time gone? is the hottest song that has moved thousands of Chinese. Chinese parents give their children endless love and want nothing from them. However, sometimes, daughters and sons are too busy growing up and forget that their parents are getting older and older. What should we do? Let's have a look at a letter of a father's.
Dear son,
One day if you see me old and I am not myself, have patience and try to understand me. If I get dirty when eating.. ., if I cannot dress.. ., have patience. Remember the hours I spent teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I say the same things one thousand and one times, do not stop me and listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you one thousand and one times the same story until you get to sleep.
When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame me nor scold（责备） me. Remember when I had to chase you with a thousand excuses I made, in order that you wanted to bath.
When you see me meet something new, give me the necessary time and don't laugh at me. I taught you how to do so many things_ to eat well, to dress well... to face life.
If I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well when I need to and when not. When my legs do not allow me to walk, give me your hand the same way I did when you gave your first steps.
When sometimes I lose the memory during our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember. And if I cannot do it, do not become nervous because the most important thing is not my conversation but to be with you and to have you listen to me.
Yours,
FatherWhat do we know about the Chinese parents?
| A．They often get dirty when eating. |
| B．They often refuse to take a shower. |
| C．They often read stories to their children while sleeping. |
| D．They love their children too much and ask for nothing in return. |
According to the father, what should you do when your old parents lose the memory during your conversation?
| A．Go on talking with them. |
| B．Be with them and listen to them. |
| C．Make them calm down. |
| D．Leave them alone. |
Why does the writer write this passage?
| A．To show a father's love to his son. |
| B．To introduce the song, Where has the Time gone? |
| C．To show what we should do when our parents are old. |
| D．To complain that their children are too busy to look after them. |
Who does the writer write this passage to?
| A．Parents. | B．Daughters and sons. |
| C．Teachers. | D．Students. |
According to a recent survey, British teenagers are damaging（伤害） their health by not getting enough sleep because they are prevented from doing so by electronic gadgets (电子设备) in their bedrooms.
According to the Sleep Council, "junk sleep" could compete with eating unhealthy junk food as a main worrying lifestyle for parents of teenage children.
Among the l, 000 students aged 12 t0 16 who were tested in the survey, 30 percent just slept for 4 to 7 hours a day. Almost a quarter said they fell asleep, more than once a week, while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic gadgets.
"This is a quite worrying trend（潮流）”， said Dr Chris Idzikowski of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. "What we are seeing is the appearance of terrible junk sleep - sleep that is of neither the length（长度） nor the quality it should be."
Nearly each of the teenagers had a phone, music system or TV in his or her bedroom, with around two-thirds owning all three. Almost one in five of the teenage boys said the quality of their sleep had been influenced by leaving their TVs or computers on. The survey also found that 40 percent of youngsters felt tired each day, with girls aged 15 to 16 feeling the worst.
"Teenagers need to wake up to the fact that to perform（表现） well. They need to do something about their sleep. I'm shocked（震惊） that so few teenagers have noticed the close connection," said Idzikowski.Among the students tested in the survey, about_______ of them fell asleep while using their electronic gadgets.
| A．200 | B．250 | C．300 | D．400 |
Which of the following kinds of sleep is thought to be "junk sleep"?
| A．A long sleep of good quality. |
| B．A short but good sleep. |
| C．A sleep with many dreams. |
| D．A short sleep of low quality. |
The underlined part "the close connection" means the connection between_______.
| A．hard work and good performance |
| B．good feelings and good performance |
| C．good sleep and good performance |
| D．good sleep and good looks |
"I believe you're the right person to write an advice column（专栏）for the students called "Dear Amy!". Jenny, editor of the school newspaper, said to Andy, who finally agreed to accept the job if Jenny promised not to tell it to anyone else.
At first it wasn't too bad. Most of the letters he received were interesting and quite easy to answer. Then came a letter from a person named Joe.
"Dear Amy," it began, "I'm in real trouble. I've wanted to be a songwriter all my life, but my parents won't even let me take music lessons. I have a guitar, but they both get angry if I play. I've tried explaining, but they won't listen. I feel sad. Should I run away from home? Maybe that will make my parents agree." The letter signed（签名）"Joe".
Andy thought about this letter for a long time. Should he advise someone to run away from home?
Of course not. But didn't Joe have a right to be a songwriter if he wanted to? Andy thought hard, but couldn't think out a good answer. Andy couldn't sleep. He just worried about poor Joe.
At a bar a few days later, Eleanor, a girl in Andy's Maths class, sat down next to him and asked,
"What's wrong with you? You look a little worried."
"I guess I do," said Andy.
"If you got a problem, why don't you try writing to Amy about it?" asked Eleanor.
Andy sighed (叹气); but she continued, "in fact, I guess Dear Amy is rather busy with other problems. She still hasn't answered the phony letter I wrote her last week. You'd better read it – it may even make the most hard-hearted person cry! It was signed Joe, a songwriter."Andy might be_______.
| A．a Maths teacher |
| B．a songwriter |
| C．an editor of the school newspaper |
| D．a student in Jenny's school |
The underlined word "phony" perhaps means_______.
| A．unreal | B．sad |
| C．angry | D．impolite |
Who in fact wrote the letter?
| A．Joe. | B．Jenny. |
| C．Andy. | D．Eleanor. |
How did Andy feel at Eleanor's last words?
| A．Excited. . | B．Sad. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Worried. |
任务型阅读认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每空格1个单词。（本大题共10小题：每小题0.5分，满分5分）
In the deserts of North Africa and Saudi Arabia lives the smallest of all foxes with the largest of ears. This animal is the fennec fox.
Fennec foxes have ears that are 5 to 6 inches long. That’s big for an animal that weighs less than four pounds. Their ears help shed（去除）body heat. And, as you may have guessed, they also provide great hearing.
It’s also interesting to think about the hair of fennec foxes. Why would a fox that lives in the desert need a thick, fur coat? Actually, the desert isn’t always warm. During the nighttime, a desert can be terribly cold! A fennec fox’s fur keeps them warm during those desert nights. They also have long bushy tails that they use as a blanket. And the hair on their feet protects them from the hot sand in the daytime.
Fennec foxes live in small communities of dens（兽穴）.They spend most of the day sleeping in their dens, out of the hot sun. Then, when night comes, they come out in search of food. In addition to their great hearing, fennecs also use their great sense of smell and big eyes to track down dinner.
Like other foxes, fennecs are omnivores. This means they eat both meat and plants. They like eating birds, eggs, insects, snails, fruit and leaves best.
Fennec fox mothers have one to five babies at a time. The lifespan of a fennec fox is 10 to 12 years. The cream coloration of fennec foxes help them blend into their desert habitat. Still, they have to watch out for predators（捕食性动物）. These include caracals ( a type of wild cat ) , jackals, eagle owls, hyenas and humans. Humans catch them for their fur and to sell as pets. 
Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside. They often talked of opening their own store one day.
When Mary was in hospital with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious. Richard, who worked for a business company, expected to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her job.
They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry(产业). “We knew it had to be a specialty(专业) store because we couldn’t afford enough money,” says Mary. One idea came to her: She’d read somewhere that about 20 percent of books sold were mysteries, and many buyers spent more $300 a year on books. She and Richard were themselves mystery readers.
On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home. With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family’s money to start a shop. To pay the $100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from friends and from an bank.
The store only broke even in its first year, with only $120,000 in sales. But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract(吸引) buyers. The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and provided dinners for book clubs that met in the store. She also invited some writers to discuss their stories.
Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about $420,000 a year. After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales workers, Richard and Mary together earn about $34,000.
“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income(收入)” says Richard. “This has always been about a pleasant life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money.”When Mary was in hospital, the couple realized that ____.
| A．they had to put their plan into practice |
| B．health was more important than money |
| C．heart trouble was a serious illness |
| D．they both needed to stop working |
After Mary got well from her illness they began _____.
| A．to study how to open a bookstore |
| B．to buy and read more mystery books |
| C．to do market research on book business |
| D．to work harder to save money for the bookstore |
How did their bookstore do in the first year?
| A．They had to borrow money to keep it going. |
| B．They made just enough to pay all the costs. |
| C．They succeeded in making a lot of money. |
| D．They failed though they worked hard. |
According to Richard, the main purpose of opening the bookstore is _____.
| A．to pay for their children’s education |
| B．to get to know more writers |
| C．to set up more bookstores |
| D．to do what they like to do |