Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy(识字) volunteer. When I began to know what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.
My first student Marie was a 44- year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn’t know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus timetable, she told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn’t always remember what she needs. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only know items by sight, so if the product had a different sign, she would not know it as the product she wanted.
As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence, which encouraged her to continue her studies. She began to make fast progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt.
At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.
As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.Marie didn’t go to the supermarket by bus because______.
A.she lived too close to the supermarket |
B.she wanted to stay fit through walking |
C.there were no bus stops in front of the supermarket |
D.she had no idea which bus to take to the supermarket |
What did the writer probably find when he was teaching Marie to read?
A.Marie learnt how to read really fast |
B.Marie had no gift for learning how to read |
C.It was hard for Marie to change her habits |
D.It was hard for Marie to build self-confidence |
We learn that in the end________.
A.Marie could read and became confident |
B.the writer chose to help Marie’s son to read too |
C.the writer decided to spend more time learning to read |
D.Marie thought she learnt more from the experience than the writer |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.The importance of learning to read |
B.The difficulties that a single mother faced |
C.The writer’s most unforgettable experience |
D.The writer’s experience as a literacy volunteer |
Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.
Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It's bad to all living things in the world.
Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, and they mustn't blow dirty smoke into the air.
We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and do not throw it on the ground. We can to go work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution. Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder without_____.
A.modern machines and medicine | B.cars and planes |
C.factories | D.rules |
According to the article, one of the biggest problems today is ______
A.water pollution | B.air pollution |
C.noise pollution | D.pollution |
Factories must clean their water ______.
A.before using it |
B.when using it |
C.after it is thrown away |
D.Before putting it into rivers or lakes |
What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow, orange, or red? If you do, you must be an active person who enjoys life. Do you like blue? If you do, then you are probably quiet, shy, and would rather follow than lead.
Colours do influence our moods. A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing(令人压抑的). There was a black bridge over the Thames River, near London. The number of people who killed themselves on that bridge used to be larger than on any other bridge in the area-until it was repainted green.
Light and bright colours make people not only happier but also more active. In the factory, the workers will work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black.Most people feel more ______in a yellow room than in a dark green one.
A. tired B. boredC. relaxedWhy did more people probably kill themselves on the black bridge than on any other bridge?
A. Because the bridge was too crowded.
B. Because people didn’t like the bridge.
C. Because the colour of the bridge was depressing.Which could be title for the passage?
A. Your Favourite Colour
B. The Secret of Colour
C. The Colour of a Bridge
What colour is your name? What colour is Wednesday? These questions might sound strange to most people, but some can answer right away. One person says her name is the colour red. For another person, Wednesday is blue. These people have a condition called synesthesia. This means they experience two senses at the same time. For these people, the senses of smell, sound, sight, touch, and taste are not separate (分开的).They might see and also hear colours, for example, or hear as well as feel sounds.
The most common form of synesthesia is to hear sounds as colours, A person with synesthesia might hear the number three as blue or the letter D as red. Someone might always see green upon hearing the word April. Another person might see different colours while listening to music. Some people also taste colours. To one person, beef might taste blue and to another, yellow. Some people experience feelings in colour. For example, one person with synesthesia reports feeling pain as the colour orange.
Another form of synesthesia is to experience sounds or tastes as shapes. Some people see music as squares and circles. Some people taste a sweet as a smooth ball. There are other forms of synesthesia, as well. For one man, different words have different tastes. Some words taste like pork;others taste like potatoes or eggs.
Synesthesia is not a common condition. Perhaps only one person in every 5,000 has it. For these people, the everyday world can be a colourful and interesting place.What is this passage mainly about?
A.An unusual condition. | B.People who like colour. |
C.The colour of pain. | D.Music and art. |
How many people probably have synesthesia?
A.Only 5,000 in the world. | B.One out of every 500. |
C.About 5 million. | D.One out of every 5,000. |
Which is the most common form of synesthesia?
A.Experiencing tastes as shapes. |
B.Experiencing sounds as colours, |
C.Experiencing words as tastes. |
D.Experiencing music as shapes, |
Which of the following is NOT an example of synesthesia?
A.Feeling pain in red. |
B.Tasting beef as green. |
C.Feeling warm in April. |
D.Seeing music as squares. |
It was the first day of class. Two of her new ESL (English as a Second Language) classmates wanted to know where Tara was from. They were both from Korea. Because Tara looked Korean, one of the women asked Tara, in English, if she was from Korea. Tara replied, "No, I'm not." Then the women took turns asking Tara if she was from Japan, or Thailand, or China. To each question, Tara answered them a simple no. Laughing, one woman said to the other, "She's not from anywhere!" The two went to their desks, talking to each other in Korean.
The next day, the teacher divided the students into groups of four. The students in each group asked introductory(介绍的)questions of each other. A student in Tara's group asked her, "Where are you from?" Tara answered that she was from Korea. The two women who had questioned Tara the day before were sitting only a few feet away. Both of them heard Tara's answer.
"Aha!" they both exclaimed, "You ARE from Korea!" Tara smiled and said yes. Then she apologized(道歉)to both of them for lying the day before. She told them that she had not wanted to get into a Korean conversation with them. It had been her experience that many ESL students continued to speak their mother language in ESL class, and Tara had not come to ESL class to practice her Korean. In her opinion, ESL students should try to speak English only.
"I agree." said Rose.
"You're 100 percent right." agreed Jenny, "Rose and I must stop speaking Korean to each other. Right,Rose?" Rose nodded,and then said something in Korean. All three women laughed.
The next half a year, Tara became friendly with both women, although she never spoke a word of Korean to them during class or break.The underlined word "exclaimed" in Paragraph 3 means " ".
A.cried in fear |
B.shouted in surprise |
C.screamed with joy |
D.announced with excitement |
According to the passage, we can infer(推断)that .
A.Tara said she was from Korea because she knew the student in her group was also from Korea |
B.Tara said she was from Korea because she wanted to make friends with the student in her group |
C.Tara said she wasn't from Korea because she didn't like Rose and Jenny and wasn't willing to speak Korean with them |
D.Tara said she wasn't from Korea because she didn't want Rose and Jenny to speak Korean with her the following days |
What can be the best title of this passage?
A.Let's Speak English | B.An ESL Class |
C.Don't Tell Lies | D.Three Korean Women |
People think of ice cream as an American food. Yet, ice cream really came from Asia. In the late 1200s Marco Polo, the great explorer, is said to have seen rich Asians eating dishes of ice. Camels had brought the ice from distant mountains. Before it was served, the ice had been flavored (调味)with fruits.
Marco Polo brought this new dish to Italy, In France cooks changed the ice recipe (配方)and made ice cream.
At first, cooks tried to keep the recipe a secret. They wanted it to be a special dish for rich people. By the late 1700s, though, ice cream was sold throughout Europe and America.
Some great Americans loved ice cream. George Washington was the first to buy a special machine for making it. When Thomas Jefferson returned from France, he brought an ice cream recipe home with him. Dolly Madison, wife of President James Madison, also liked ice cream, and she often served it at the White House. Actually, a famous brand (品牌)of ice cream was even named after her.
In the late 1800s, the ice cream industry began to grow. A way of keeping ice cream frozen had been found, so ice cream makers did not have to worry about ice cream melting(融化)anymore.When did ice cream become well-known in many countries?
A.In the 1200s. | B.In the 1500s, |
C.In the 1600s. | D.In the 1900s. |
Who do you think was the most important person in the history of ice cream?
A.Marco Polo. | B.Dolly Madison, |
C.Thomas Jefferson. | D.George Washington. |
Why can ice cream be sold everywhere today?
A.Because people can afford to buy it. |
B.Because there are many recipes for it, |
C.Because it is easy to keep it frozen. |
D.Because many people like ice cream. |