Editor’s note: do you care about the environment (环境)? Have you ever wanted to help protect it ? Well read on, as this month we’re going to hear from overseas teens about what they do to help the environment.
I can’t remember when I started collecting litter(垃圾). But it was when I got tired of seeing litter near my home and realized that no one else was going to pick it up.
I live close to a forest in Ohio, America. I can walk there in three minutes!
I used to love going there to play with my dog. But one day there was so much litter there that I became very unhappy. I decided I had to clean up the forest. I wanted to feel happy going there again.
I made my first trip to clean the forest that afternoon. I took a big black rubbish bag with me. Ten minutes after starting to pick up litter, my bag was full! It had cans, bottles, broken glass and newspapers in it.
Since that first trip three years ago. I’ve gone to the forest four times a year to pick up litter. I’m often there for three hours. It makes me feel great to do something for the environment.
After each trip, I look at all the litter I’ve found. If any of it is recyclable(可回收的), I keep it.I can’t understand why people drop litter. But I will keep picking it up until they stop dropping it.
I know I am only doing a small bit to help the earth, but I still think it is important.When did the writer make the first trip to clean the forest?
| A．When he was ten years old. | B．Three years ago. |
| C．When he went to a forest. | D．When he was playing with his dog. |
What did he take when he went to the forest to pick up the litter?
| A．A book | B．A dog |
| C．A black car | D．big rubbish bag |
What were not mentioned in this passage?
| A．cans | B．bottles |
| C．broken glass | D．old books |
How many times has the writer gone to the forest a year to pick up litter?
| A．Three times | B．Four times |
| C．two times | D．Six times |
Why did the writer start collecting litter?
| A．To help the earth | B．To make some money |
| C．To help other people | D．To clean the forest |
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived there, I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture(家具) shop that had once been ，a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a special building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
In the early morning, she suddenly said,” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I pay you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I gave her a hug(拥抱). She held on me and said, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.
| A．show she was familiar with the city |
| B．see some places for the last time |
| C．let the driver earn more money |
| D．reach the destination on time |
The taxi driver did not get the money because he ______.
| A．wanted to give her a hand |
| B．shut off the meter by mistake |
| C．had received her payment already |
| D．was in a hurry to take other passengers |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．People should respect(尊重) each other. |
| C．An act of kindness can bring people great joy. |
| D．People should learn to enjoy our life. |
A teacher stood in front of his history class of twenty students just before handing out(分发) the final exam. His students sat quietly and waited for him to speak. “It’s been a pleasure teaching you this term,” he said. “You’ve all worked very hard, so I have a pleasant surprise for you. Everyone who chooses not to take the final exam will get a “B” for the course.” Most of the students jumped out of their seats. They thanked the teacher happily, and walked out of the classroom. Only a few students stayed. The teacher looked at them. “This is your last chance,” he said. “Does anyone else want to leave?” All the students there stayed in their seats and took out their pencils. The teacher smiled. “Congratulations (祝贺),” he said. “I’m glad to see you believe in yourselves. You all get ‘A’s.”This story most probably took place.
| A．at the end of the term |
| B．in the middle of the term |
| C．at the beginning of the term |
| D．at the beginning of the school year |
Why did some students stay in their seats?
| A．Because they were afraid to leave. |
| B．Because they wanted to take the exam. |
| C．Because they didn’t have anything to do. |
| D．Because the teacher told them to stay in their class. |
The teacher gave the students who stayed in the classroom “A”s because.
| A．they studied hard |
| B．the teacher liked them |
| C．they believed in themselves |
| D．they were cleverer than the other students |
There is an old saying in English, “Laughter is the best medicine”. Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to study laughter and the effects (作用) it has on the human body. They have found evidence(证据) that laughter really can improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate（率） and the rate of breathing. It also works several groups of muscles（肌肉） in the face, the stomach and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be helpful.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to make the effect of pain on the body less. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group which could bear the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can make pain less seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins (内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals which make both stress and pain less.
There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body’s immune(免疫) system that is the system which fights infection (感染). In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group served as the control group — in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells that is the cells which fight infection.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists (精神病学) in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce good effects similar to those caused by laughter.We learn from the first paragraph that laughter________.
| A．is good for one’s health |
| B．has strong effects to do with some illness |
| C．has been studied long since |
| D．has no effect on the body |
Doctors have found that laughter_________.
| A．keeps down blood pressure |
| B．has similar effects to physical exercise |
| C．decreases the heart rate |
| D．increases stress and pain |
Which of the following statements is NOT true of laughter according to the passage?
| A．It makes pain less. |
| B．It exercises the body. |
| C．It improves the body’s immune system. |
| D．It can cure cancer. |
The main idea of this passage is that _________.
| A．the doctors should learn how to make people laugh |
| B．there are several ways of studying the advantages of laughter |
| C．tests show that laughter can produce positive effects on human body |
| D．laughter and physical exercise have the same effects on human body |
Once there was a garden in front of a church gate . Every day a number of children p__ by the garden to go to school , so the flowers were picked from time to time .
That spring , the flowers of the garden were in full bloom ( 开花 ) . One early morning , the pastor ( 牧师 ) stood in the garden to w_____ for the children going to school . Soon , some of them came along . A little boy asked the pastor , “ Can I p_
_ a flower ?”
“ Which one do you want ?” the pastor asked k____ . The boy chose a tulip .
The pastor said ,“Very good . It b_____ to you now .However ,if you leave the flower here ,it can still bloom for several days ; if you pick it now , you can only play for a while . You are a s___
__ kid , so you choose by yourself .
The little boy t_____ for a while and said , “ Then I leave it here . I will come back to see it after school is over .”
On that day , more than 29 children a____ to leave the flowers in the garden . And they all came back to see their favorite flowers after school . However , n_
__ of them picked the flowers from then on .
That spring , the pastor left the whole garden to the people , but he had never l___ one .
That Easter day ( 复活节 ) I found out we were so poor . The minister brought us the money for the poor family , so we must be poor , I thought . I didn’t like being poor . Everyone there probably already knew we were poor ! I thought about school . I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class over 100 students . I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor .
We sat in silence for a long time . Then it got dark , and we went to bed . All that week ,we girls went to school and came home , and no one talked much . Finally , on Saturday , Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money . What did poor people do with the money ? We didn’t know . We didn’t want to go to the church on Sunday , but mom said we had to . Although it was a sunny day , we didn’t talk on the way . Mom started to sing , but no one joined in .
At church we had a speaker . He talked about how churches in Africa built schools and houses for the poor people , but they needed more money to buy foods . The speaker said ,“ Can’t we all give away some money to help those poor people ?” We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week .
Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope . She passed it to Darlene , Darlene gave it to me , and I put it into the offering .
When the offering was counted , the minister announced that it was a little over 500 dollars . The speaker was excited . He hadn’t expected such a large offering from our small church . He said ,＂ You must have some rich people in this church .” Suddenly it struck us ! We had given 420dollars of that “ little over 500 dollars .“
We were the rich family in the church ! Hadn’t the speaker said so ? From that day on , I’ve never been poor again .When the writer’s family was given the money for the poor , she probably felt ____________ .
| A．thankful | B．surprised |
| C．fair | D．embarrassed (难堪的 ) |
The mother decided to go to the church to ________________
| A．hang out with her kids |
| B．donate ( 捐赠 ) the money to poor people |
| C．cheer her kids up |
| D．show other people they were not poor |
What does the underlined word “announced” mean ?
| A．Spoke loudly in public |
| B．Made a hard decision |
| C．Host a good program |
| D．Discovered an exciting result |
Which of the statements is true ?
| A．The writer was born in an African country |
| B．The writer didn’t like going to school |
| C．The mother was helpful to others |
| D．he mother didn’t want the money given by others |
What can we learn from the article ?
| A．It’s not good to receive other’s money |
| B．Being poor ,you still can help |
| C．Churches are good places to learn |
| D．We should regard difficulties as challenges |