Volunteering abroad is great. Not only do you travel to an exotic country, you also meet like-minded people, and at the end of it all you have something to put on your CV to impress employers with. But did you ever stop to think about how great it is for the people on the receiving end?
In this context, Daniela Papi has a point---foreigners rushing heroically to volunteer in a country they’ve never heard of are unlikely to make a difference. But turning volunteering camps into classrooms, as Papi seems to advocate in her article, risks throwing the baby out with the bath water by putting people off of volunteering.
Rather, learning should be a natural part of the experience, and the key to creating such an environment is positioning everyone as equals. In order for that to happen, volunteers need competent leaders who create an environment of equality:
When, a few years ago, I joined a group of international volunteers to help a small farming community in the Swiss Alps, we were all quite ignorant about the local conditions. But thanks to our group leader, it was both a helpful project for the locals and a fun and eye-opening experience for us.Before we had even traveled (at our own expense) to the mountaintop village, our group leader had spent time with the villagers preparing the project to make sure it would be of benefit to them. She arranged for us to help in different areas, ensuring that we always worked alongside locals rather than for them. It was never "us" and "them", but always "we", like a big family. As a result, conversation flowed and we learned a great deal just by casually talking to the locals as we worked.At the end, we left with a deep appreciation for the labor of love that goes into producing the food we eat every day一一an appreciation we could treasure ourselves and share with our peers.
Volunteering isn't about saving someone's life, or even about changing it. It's about touching a different world and reminding ourselves that there is much, much more to life than the daily routines we take for granted.With that knowledge, maybe, just maybe, we can go on to really change the world.
By Lukas ThibautFrom Paragraphs 1 and 2, we can learn that____in international volunteering.
A.foreigners are not welcome in some local communities |
B.blind enthusiasm fails to make the experience rewarding |
C.the author agrees with Daniela Papi's opinions |
D.international volunteering is actually a poor approach to education |
The underlined word "that" in Paragraph 3 refers to___,
A.a natural part of the experience |
B.the learning of volunteering |
C.creating such an environment |
D.positioning everyone as equals |
What contributed to the success of the author's volunteering project in the Alps?
A.The volunteers were quite familiar with Swiss farmers' lives. |
B.The volunteers worked in areas separated from the locals. |
C.The group leader ensured that the project would be beneficial to both sides. |
D.The group leader ensured that the volunteers got to know the local conditions. |
From the author's viewpoint, what should international volunteers avoid?
A.Placing themselves above the locals. |
B.Taking food for granted. |
C.Disrespecting others' labor. |
D.Being proud of volunteering. |
Which best describes the author's attitude toward international volunteering?
A.Objective. | B.Doubtful. |
C.Disapproving. | D.Supportive. |
Good health is the most valuable thing a person can have, but one cannot take good health for granted. It is important to remember that the body needs proper care in order to be healthy. There are three things that a person can do to help stay in good shape: eat right food ,get enough sleep, and exercise regularly.
Proper nutrition (营养) is important for good health. Your body cannot work well unless it receives the proper kind of “fuel”(燃料).Don't eat too much food with lots of sugar and fat. Eat plenty of foods high in protein (蛋白质) ,like meat, fish, eggs and nuts. Vegetables and fruits are very important because they provide necessary vitamins (维他命) and minerals. However, don't overeat. It is not helpful to be overweight.
Getting the proper amount of sleep is also important. If you don't get enough sleep, you feel tired and easily get angry. You have no energy. Over a long period of time a little a amount of sleep may even result in a change of personality (人的个性).Be sure to allow yourself from seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you do, your body will feel strong and refreshed, and your mind will be sharp.
Finally, get plenty of exercise. Exercise firms the body, strengthens the muscles, and prevents you from gaining weight. It also improves your heart and lungs. If you follow a regular exercise program, you will probably increase your life-span (寿命).Any kind of exercise is good. Most sports are excellent for keeping the body in good shapes: basketball, swimming, bicycling, running and so on are good examples. Sports are not only good for your body, but they are enjoyable and interesting, too.
If everybody, were to eat the right foods, get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly, the world would be a happier and healthier place. We would all live to be much older and wiser.According to the passage,_________
A.we should always keep fit |
B.if we were healthy, we could spend our days in doing things with less sleep |
C.one can eat a lot to stay in good shape |
D.one needn't take any exercise if he is healthy |
In order to keep good health, ___________ .
A.we should eat a lot of sweets |
B.one needs a large amount of fat |
C.people should eat according to the foods nutrition |
D.we must try to sleep now and then |
Eating more and sleeping less________.
A.can keep healthy | B.is no good for you |
C.gets you more energy | D.will keep your personality |
The writer explains ________in this passage.
A.how to eat |
B.the importance of doing exercise |
C.how to keep healthy |
D.what to eat |
The title of the article should be___________ .
A.Eating and Exercising |
B.How Vitamins Work in Man's Body |
C.Staying Healthy |
D.Sleeping Well |
I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare (兔子) and the tortoise (乌龟). At the end I said, “ Son, remember: Be slow and steady (镇定的), and that will win the race. Don’t you think there’s something to learn from the tortoise?”
Sonny opened his eyes wide, “Do you mean next time when I’m entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?”
I was shocked, “But the tortoise didn’t wish that the hare would fall asleep!”
“He must have wished that,” Sonny said, “Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did.”
“He didn’t have such a wish,” I insisted. “He won the race by perseverance (坚忍不拔的), by pushing on steadily.”
Sonny thought a while. “That’s a lie,” he said. “He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn’t happened to fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he’d never have won the race. That’s for sure.”
I gave up. Today’s children are not like what we used to be. They’re just hopeless.The writer argued (辩论)with his son because ______________.
A.he liked tortoises while his son liked hares |
B.they disagreed about whether the tortoise was foolish |
C.he tried to teach his son a moral (品德) lesson but the son had totally different opinion |
D.he liked the story of the hare and the tortoise while his son didn’t. |
Sonny believed that the tortoise ______________.
A.won the race by his own hard working |
B.took a risk (冒险) by agreeing to run a race |
C.was not given a fair chance in the race |
D.in fact did win the race luckily |
Billy, Tony and Sandy must be_______________.
A.boys who were unknown to Sonny’s father |
B.boys who Sonny has run races with before |
C.boys who Sonny has never raced with before |
D.boys who Sonny did not expect to race with again |
The writer thinks that his generation (一代人) ______________.
A.are cleverer than Sonny’s generation |
B.have the same ideas about life as Sonny’s generation |
C.are more hopeful than Sonny’s generation |
D.have different ideas about life from Sonny’s generation |
According to the passage, who do you think learnt a lesson?
A.The tortoise | B.Sonny |
C.The hare | D.Sonny’s father |
“Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. There was full of thick smoke.
I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.
I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly.
She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby.When the fire arose in the middle of the night, the author was _______.
A.at home | B.sleeping | C.sitting in bed | D.both A and B |
The author saved the baby _____.
A.because he was very brave. |
B.because he liked the baby very much. |
C.but he just happened to save it. |
D.because it was the Mayor’s baby. |
He ran in the wrong direction because he _______.
A.was a stranger there | B.could see nothing |
C.was not completely awake | D.Both A and C |
He put the bundle over his face and ran in order to ______.
A.save the baby | B.call for help |
C.protect his face | D.run quickly |
Form which group of words, we can learn the fire took place out of people’s surprise?
A.old and wooden house, a bundle |
B.crashed to, fell down |
C.terrible, half-awake |
D.bare feet, a borrowed man’s coat |
阅读下列短文,根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
In many parts of the world, cars play an important role in daily life and many societies would not exist without them. 1But this is the prediction made by a team of transport researchers who are taken seriously, not only by government but also by car manufacturers(制造商).
The Human Science and Advanced Technology Institute at Loughborough in the UK is part of an international research program. 2That will mean much saving, no accidents and better use of roads. The super-intelligent car of the 21st century will drive itself, 3. Instead,we will have a choice of cars and change them as frequently as we change our clothing.
According to Dr.David Davis,who leads the research team,these predictions are based on the rising cost of the car culture,which had blocked up our cities,polluted our air, and caused more deaths than both world wars put together.
Davis says,cars will be fitted with some intelligent devices(装置) to regulate(调节) the distance between one car and another. 4Computers are much safer drivers than people,so cars in a road train will be able to drive much closer together than cars driven by people.
By 2010,Dr.David Davis believes,car technology will give motorists a clear view of the road,whatever the weather conditions,by projecting an image(影像)of the road ahead on to the car’s windscreen. 5Cars will be connected by an electronic bar to the car in front to form “road-trains”. “The front vehicle in such a train burns the normal amount of fuel.” says Davis. “ But all the others in the train would burn about ten percent of the normal amount,and so produce about ten percent of the pollution.”
A.The team there believes that by 2030 all cars will be computerized. |
B.They believe that cars will become more important in 20 years. |
C.And it will not be owned by one individual. |
D.And by 2030, cars will travel in line, linked to each other electronically. |
E.So the idea that in 20 years’ time, no one will own cars may be hard to believe.
F.Every driver will use less fuel in the car he owns.
G.The car will automatically speed up, or slow down, to match the speed of the car in front.
The quest for success always begins with a target. As Berra once said , "you get to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
Too many people wander through life like sleepwalkers. Each day they follow familiar routines, never asking, "What am I doing with my life?"and they don't know what they're doing because they lack goals.
Goal-setting is a focus of the will to move in a certain direction. Begin with a clear conception of what you want. Write down your goals and date them---putting them into words clarifies them. Rather than concentrating on objects to acquire and possess, focus on fulfilling your desires to do, to produce, to contribute to goal-setting that yields the true sense of satisfaction we all need.
It’s important to visualize(想象)yourself accomplishing your goal. While losers visualize the penalties(不利) of failure, winners visualize the rewards of success. I’ve seen it among athletes, statistics contrasting air and highway safety, but it made no difference. I had read too many articles describing crash scenes and imagined these scenes vividly. I had programmed myself, without realizing it ,to stay off planes.
Then one summer I had the opportunity to fly on a private plane with friends to a resort; I didn’t want to miss out on a great vacation. So I spent two weeks imagining a smooth flight on a beautiful sunny day and an easy landing.
When the day arrived, I was eager to go . To everyone's surprise, I got on the plane and I loved every minute of it , and I still use the techniques I employed that day.According to the passage, if you want to be successful ,the first thing for you to do is to .
A.find the right methods | B.be careful about everything |
C.know your ability | D.have a clear goal |
The problem with the author before he overcame his fear of air travel is that .
A.he didn’t know air travel is safer than highway travel |
B.he couldn’t imagine himself accomplishing his goal |
C.he read too much about plane crashes and tried to avoid flying |
D.he wanted to take a private plane instead of a public one |
What would be the best title for this passage?
A.Defining Your Goal | B.Visualizing Reward of Success |
C.Overcoming the Fear of Air Travel | D.Sleepwalking Through life |