It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly(对行人友善的), too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization that aims to promote literacy(读书识字) and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles（类似） a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified（修饰） a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches (装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.” In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?
| A．It owns a yellow roof. |
| B．It protects book lovers from the sun. |
| C．It stands near a sidewalk. |
| D．It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations. |
Janey got the idea to build a library from __________.
| A．a report on a Wisconsin-based organization |
| B．a spring break with her family |
| C．a book sent by one of her neighbors |
| D．a visit to Brian Williams |
The library was built __________.
| A．by a ship supply company | B．on the basis of toy horses |
| C．with glass | D．like a mailbox |
The passage tells us that the borrowers__________.
| A．get paid to collect books for the library |
| B．receive thank-you notes for using the library |
| C．donate books to the library |
| D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21.
Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially-decorated “care huts”. They talked with them and gave massages (按摩）to patients kept in their beds.
“I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up,” said Deng Yetao , 20, a third-year student. “But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies. Their loneliness is worse than physical pains. ”
“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us. Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share. Instead of doing them a favor，I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson, ” said Mao Xiaohua ,another third-year student.
Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital.
Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programme. A total of 330,000 Beijing students from119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital. Many continue to offer services in their spare time. Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives.
Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt “the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness (昏迷）while he was holding his hands. Youth volunteers from Beijing University went to Songtang Hospital to __________.
| A．pay a visit to the aged |
| B．talk to the aged |
| C．show their love for the aged |
| D．help the aged out |
What the aged are most worried about is __________.
| A．loneliness | B．death |
| C．physical pains | D．wealth |
The underlined sentence probably means __________
| A．I taught myself a lesson by talking to them |
| B．I learned something important instead of only helping them |
| C．I only wanted to get something rather than do them a favor |
| D．I was glad to have given them a favor |
After reading the passage, we know __________
| A．the youth are fond of doing popular things |
| B．the second Global Youth Service Day is started by the Chinese government |
| C．91% of the aged in China are facing death |
| D．the volunteers are taking an active part in the activity |
Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers.
Their study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. “While coughing is not necessarily harmful (有害的），it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem，” said Professor Peter Barnes.
Ten healthy volunteers (志愿者） were given the-obromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicine are stopping coughs.
The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin need to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they need only slightly higher levels of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.
The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity (神经活动），which caused coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness. According to Professor Barnes, theobromine __________
| A．cannot be as effective as codeine |
| B．can be harmful to people's health |
| C．cannot be separated from chocolate |
| D．can be a more effective cure for coughs |
What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?
| A．Theobromine. | B．Codeine. | C．Capsaicin. | D．Placebo. |
We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment __________.
| A．were patients with bad coughs |
| B．were divided into three groups |
| C．received standard treatments |
| D．suffered little side effects |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Codeine： a new medicine |
| B．Chocolate may cure coughs |
| C．Cough treatment： a hard case |
| D．Theobromine can cause coughs |
Wugging, or Web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using every click . com , which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won't cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity—88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than 5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的）or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21-year-old recent university graduate, has used every click. com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA，for two years and has seen the “ wugging ” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you're at university you be-come more socially aware, but it's sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself，”says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny. ”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don't feel they have the means to do so. Students using the Web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money ,and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Every click. com works like any other search engine ,allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK's 170，000charities they would like to support through their clicks. Every click . com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005，every click. com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK. According to the passage, “wugging” is actually __________
| A．a website |
| B．a charity-related action |
| C．a school organization |
| D．a student movement |
In the case of charity, every click. com __________.
| A．frees students of the financial worries |
| B．receives much money from students |
| C．offers valuable information to students |
| D．praises students for their money-raising |
What does Beth Truman think of the “ wugging ”movement?
| A．It makes every click. com popular in the UK. |
| B．It becomes easy to do charity because of it. |
| C．It results in students' more social awareness. |
| D．It helps students to save money. |
From the passage, we can conclude that __________.
| A．most full time students do charity on the Inter-net every day |
| B．every click. com helps students pay for the college education |
| C．“ wugging ” is a win-win idea for both students and charities |
| D．every click. com is the most successful search engine in the UK |
What would be the BEST title for this passage?
| A．“Wugging"，a new popular term on the Internet |
| B．British people show strong interest in charity |
| C．More Britain charities benefit from the Internet |
| D．Students raise money for charity by “wugging” |
The meaning of the word “volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services”. There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage(垃圾)from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteers don't expect any kind of pay.
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine ,however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa's homes in Calcutta. The following is her story.
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school. We watched a video (录像）about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school ,I too wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks. ”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don't think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture (文化）that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world. "According to the text, a volunteer refers to a per-son who __________.
| A．is willing to help those in need without pay |
| B．can afford to travel to different places |
| C．has a strong wish to be successful |
| D．has made a big fortune in life |
Tracy started her work as a volunteer __________.
| A．after she met Mother Teresa |
| B．after she finished high school |
| C．when she was touring Calcutta |
| D．when she was working in a hospital |
Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
| A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa. |
| B．She had already had some experience. |
| C．She was asked by Mother Teresa's example. |
| D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa's example. |
What is Tracy's “new idea” (Paragraph 2) of being a volunteer?
| A．Going abroad to help the sick. |
| B．Working in Mother Teresa's home. |
| C．Doing simple things to help the poor. |
| D．Improving oneself through helping others. |
Scientists recently found three animal species living two miles below the surface of the Mediterra-nean Sea, where the super-salty waters don't have oxygen. They're multicellular (多细胞的），which means their bodies have many cells. They each are as small as a large grain of sand. But they are animals.
The most exciting thing about these creatures, say the scientists, is that they obviously don't need oxygen to live. What biologists know about life so far is that only single-celled living things can live in places that have no oxygen, and that multicellular organisms (有机物）can visit these places，but not live there. These newly found creatures could change that idea.
Finding animals down there was so surprising that the scientists couldn't believe it. “At first, we thought they were dead bodies, ” Roberto Danovaro ,a scientist at the Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona, Italy, told Science News. To find out whether the animals could actually live there, Danovaro and his colleagues brought up more samples from the ocean floor. Studying the animals in the new samples showed that they appeared to be alive.
The researchers did more tests, and found that some of the animals had eggs—which suggests they were reproducing. Also in the samples were old skins, suggesting that the animals had lived there long enough to grow. Finally, pictures taken showed that the insides of the animals appear to adapt to living in an environment that has no oxygen.
These clues suggest the animals don't need oxy-gen, but the evidence is indirect, which means that scientists still have not observed how the animals live without oxygen. This means more studies are needed, but the scientists think they're on the right track. And if they're right, biologists will need to rethink what they know about where animals live. What excited the scientists most is that __________.
| A．they found three animal species visit the salty water under the Mediterranean Sea |
| B．single-celled animals can live in super-salty waters |
| C．the tiny animals have many cells |
| D．three kinds of animals can live in places that have no oxygen |
The underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 means the scientists could think __________.
| A．only single-celled creatures don't need oxygen to live |
| B．multicellular animals can visit the super-salty waters |
| C．the newly found creatures can't live in the super-salty waters |
| D．multicellular animals can also live without oxy-gen besides single-celled ones |
Which of the following CAN'T be used to prove the newly found creatures can live in super-salty waters?
| A．Their dead bodies are found there. |
| B．Some in the samples have eggs. |
| C．Some old skins are found in the samples. |
| D．The pictures of their insides have been taken. |
More studies are needed to prove __________.
| A．where single-celled animals can live |
| B．how the newly found animals live without oxy-gen |
| C．whether the multicellular creatures can live underwater |
| D．why the super-salty waters have no oxygen |