Chris Waddell wants to climb Kilimanjaro in a wheelchair; George Del Barrio wants to make a film in Cambodia; Jeff Edwards wants to write a book: they want you to fund their dreams.
A website called Kickstarter.com is making it possible for people like this to raise money from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars to fund anything that catches the imagination of Internet users with a little money to spare.
It worked for Emily Richmond, a 24-year-old living in Los Angeles who plans to sail solo around the world for two years. She's raised $ 8,142 from 148 people who'll receive gifts such as photos from the trip or a telephone call when she crosses the equator (赤道).
“This was a perfect learning experience for my daughter,” Landon Ray said, adding that he also dreamed of sailing the world himself.
Jason Bitner’s plan for $ 7,500 to pay for a film about the small Midwestern town of La Porte, was so popular that it raised $ 12,153. It's about a record of pictures by a photographer who died in 1971. About a third of his supporters were friends and family. Others include people of La Porte but also people from as far as Australia.
“It’s a creative marketplace,” said Jonathan Scott Chinn, who is collecting $16,500 to make a short film. “You’re given the opportunity to make yourself known, and if it’s really interesting, it’ll take off.”
Independent singer & songwriter Brad Skistimas, 26, has been using the Internet for eight years to promote his one-man band Five Times August. He used Kickstarter to raise $ 20,000 to help his new album Life As A Song.
“It’s a great way to get in touch with fans,” Skistimas said. “I was marketing to my own fans, so I said ‘If you want more music from me, now’s a great time to help me out’” .According to the text, Kickstarter. com is a website _______.
| A．to fund people travelling around the world |
| B．to collect money to realize special dreams |
| C．to help people deal with any trouble |
| D．to support its users to communicate online |
What do we know about Emily Richmond?
| A．She has finished her solo sail. |
| B．She has planned for two years. |
| C．Her solo sail needs about $ 8,142. |
| D．Her solo sail will last about two years. |
Emily Richmond's success showed that ________.
| A．one needs to attract interest when collecting money. |
| B．it is very easy to collect money |
| C．sending photos is good to thank supporters |
| D．it is a hard learning experience |
According to Brad Skistimas, Kickstarter. com is a good place _____.
| A．to make more music |
| B．to make a film about himself |
| C．to make an advertisement about him |
| D．to sell his new album Life As A Song |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Internet Is a Big Market |
| B．The Internet Is a Bank for Your Life |
| C．The Internet Helps Sell Your Products |
| D．The Internet Can Help Fund Your Dream |
In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their people has increased rapidly in recent years. Sadly, not everyone in these countries is so fortunate and many people in rich countries are homeless.
The reasons for homelessness are various, but poverty（贫穷）is undoubtedly one of the main causes. The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer have a roof over their heads. Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents this from happening, but not always.
Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them. Some are young people who, for one reason or another, have left home and have nowhere to live. Many of them have had a serious disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets. Sometimes they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a step-parent.
Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the general public refuse to give anything to beggars. Often they are moved on by the police, being accused （指控），whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging . There are many who disrespect homeless people.
Some cynics（愤世嫉俗的人）declare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead. But who would willingly choose to live in a shop doorway, under a bridge or in a cardboard box?According to the text, what causes some people to be homeless?
| A．Lack of money. |
| B．The increased standard of living. |
| C．No government help. |
| D．Agreement with their parents. |
It can be inferred from the text that________.
| A．the homeless are willing to live under a bridge or in a cardboard box |
| B．you will not find homeless people in countries with a high standard of living |
| C．the unemployed who receive help may still be among homeless |
| D．the mentally ill live on the streets because they want the company of other homeless people |
In paragraph 2 , “a roof over their heads ”most probably means _________.
| A．a cap | B．a car | C．a home | D．a covering |
The author thinks that the homeless people are _________.
| A．admirable | B．respectable |
| C．troublesome | D．Pitiful |
Reading is very important to help you learn English. To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English. This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability.
There are four parts in the book:
Part 1 is Messages: In this part somebody wants to send information in writing to somebody else. There is a test on timetable and a test on text messages.
Part 2 is People: In this part all the tests are about people. For example, there is an informal letter between friends. There is formal(正式的) English in biography(传记). There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as well as testing your reading.
Part 3 is Places: In this part, too, many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal. There is the informal English of a holiday postcard. There is also the formal English in a letter of complaint.
Part 4 is Things: You will find some descriptive(描写的) writing in this part. There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer.
You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do all the tests with a formal or informal text. I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it.We can find the introduction to a product in ___________.
| A．part 1 | B．Part 2 | C．Part 3 | D．Part 4 |
Which of the following is most probably written in informal English?
| A．A letter of complaint. |
| B．A letter of a friend |
| C．A computer handbook. |
| D．A story of a president. |
The passage is most probably written for _________.
| A．students | B．test designers |
| C．test-takers | D．teachers |
The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles(风格). It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians(古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn’t see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn’t stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.The aim of the mother’s plan was to _________.
| A．take them to visit the museum |
| B．introduce them to the world of art |
| C．ask them to read about artists |
| D．show them different painting styles |
What was the writer’s experience in the museum before the last visit?
| A．She came to feel her mother’s love. |
| B．She could understand the pictures of fat babies. |
| C．She liked many paintings. |
| D．She hardly enjoyed herself. |
What made the writer go through a change that summer?
| A．Artists in the Middle Ages. |
| B．A strange way of painting. |
| C．One of Mary’s paintings. |
| D．Her mother’s instruction. |
From the text, we can see _________.
| A．the importance of curiosity |
| B．the power of family education |
| C．the value of learning |
| D．the effect of art |
My family moved around a lot when I was growing up．In 2nd grade，I lived here in Washington D．C，where I made an amazing group of friends．I was upset when my parents told me we were moving again and I would have to leave all my best friends behind．
In 7th grade．we moved back to Washington D．C．And I could not have been more excited and I felt like I was finally home again．But things had changed．There were two new girls，who decided that they didn’t like me，which meant no one else could，not even all my former best friends．
And then one day during school，I opened my locker，only to find a note lying on the floor．The note said：Die．Nobody likes you．
My heart started beating faster and I felt the blood rushing to my face．I had no idea what to do．The note wasn’t signed and I had no idea who had written it，but I figured the new girls were behind it．I had to sit in class all day with my head down，wondering who else knew about this shame．I felt horrible and sure that nothing would ever be good again．
I decided that the perfect way to end all of this was with another note，left on the bathroom mirror at school．
It’s sad for someone to bully(欺负)other classmates to make themselves feel better or look cool．Bullying others is a way to impress others．It’s common，but that doesn’t mean it's okay．Looking cool is not worth making others feel bad．Obviously I’m very happy now，but it doesn’t mean I’11 ever forget about that note or how it made me feel．And to those of you that are current victims(目前的受害者) of bullying—know that you are NOT alone．It will get better．I promise．Why was the author unhappy when she left Washington D．C．?
A．She couldn’t adapt herself
B．She had to leave best friends．
C．She was growing up there．
D．She hated traveling a lot．When the author opened the locker，she felt .
| A．satisfied | B．cheerful | C．amused | D．ashamed |
In the end，the author turned things around ．
| A．under her teacher’s guide |
| B．by compromising to others |
| C．with her best friends’ help |
| D．through her own efforts |
What suggestion does the author give to the teenagers?
| A．Meet friends whenever possible． |
| B．Make efforts to fight back hard． |
| C．Be optimistic and let a thing slide． |
| D．Go on well with others． |
At thirteen, I was diagnosed（诊所）with kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, “Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”
She glanced down at me through her glasses, “you are no different from your classmates, young man.”
I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots（点）, which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class, being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?
I didn’t expect anything when I handled in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day-with an “A” on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words: “See what you can do when you keep trying?”The author didn’t finish the reading in class because .
| A．He was new to the class |
| B．He had an attention disorder |
| C．He was tired of literature |
| D．He wanted to take the task home |
What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?
| A．He made a great invention |
| B．He had good sight |
| C．He gave up reading |
| D．He learned a lot from school |
What was Mrs. Smith’s attitude to the author at the end of the story?
| A．Angry | B．Impatient | C．Encouraging | D．Awkward |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts. |
| B．It’s teachers’ responsibility to help students gain confidence. |
| C．Everyone needs help when faced with challenges. |
| D．The disabled should be treated with respect. |