When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching (紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three-year-old Meghan.
“We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing,” I said. “We’ll share what we have with them.”
I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.
“I’ll help you find something for the little girl when I’m done with this,” I said.
The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy’s flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on the top of other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said. “You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much. “
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. “Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy, too. “
Swallowing hard, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving what you value most.
Honest benevolence (善行) is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little
girl she doesn’t know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.
The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.
A slow smile spread across Brett’s face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars.
Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan’s gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.
Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.
It’s easy to give what we don’t want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn’t it? However, the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart.Why does the author give a detailed description of a particular picture in the Sunday newspaper?
| A．To create an atmosphere of fear and depression brought by the tornado. |
| B．To appeal to unconcerned people to donate for the poor families. |
| C．To show the helplessness and hopelessness of the family mentioned in the paper. |
| D．To stress what touched her and made her decide to help the hopeless family. |
Why did Brad and Brett also donate their favorite things finally?
| A．They were encouraged to donate some valuable things by the mother. |
| B．Meghan’s decision inspired them to donate their favorite things. |
| C．They also wanted to show generosity by giving away their valuable things. |
| D．Meghan’s gesture reminded them to replace their favorite things with new ones. |
By “swallowing hard”, the writer means that .
| A．she was deeply puzzled by what the little girl did |
| B．she had trouble persuading Meghan not to give away Lucy |
| C．she was greatly moved by Meghan’s unexpected decision |
| D．she was uncertain what consequences Meghan’s action would bring about |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．The Greatest Love | B．A Beautiful Heart |
| C．True Generosity | D．A Precious Gift |
Have you ever thought about what you would like to do after school? Perhaps one of these rather different jobs will suit you.
TASTER: Food companies need people to taste the products that they are making. So many kinds of no bad-tasting food are put onto the supermarket shelves. All tasters do all day is take small bites of food. They make notes of what tastes good and what tastes bad. It is not a job for those who would like to stay thin.
SNAKE MILKER: This involves taking the poison out of a snake’s teeth. You hold the snake over a glass and make it open its mouth very wide. The poison will then drip from the back of the teeth into the glass; this is known as milking the snake. You have to be very brave if you want to try this.
GOLF BALL HUNTER: You will spend your day diving into waterholes at different golf courses to hunt for lost golf balls. You could be picking up as many as 5,000 balls a day. Many golfers are willing to buy used golf balls and you could be making a lot of money.
CLOCK CLEANER: Every day you will be climbing to the top of the clock towers in the city. Your responsibilities will be to oil, wind and repair the clocks. This is not a job for someone who is afraid of heights. If you are a taster, you will .
| A．pick up golf balls | B．oil and repair the clocks |
| C．get some milk from snakes | D．try different kinds of food |
If you are afraid of heights, you’d better not choose the job as a .
| A．taster | B．snake milker | C．clock cleaner | D．golf ball hunter |
You can probably find this passage in a .
| A．newspaper | B．textbook | C．report | D．novel |
Happy birthday! Do birthday really make people happy? Of course they do．Birthday celebrate the day when we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggest another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others, as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old? That is a different story．
Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented（以年轻人为中心）American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”．
Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care, and housing．Some even experience age discrimination（歧视）．American sociologist Pat Moore once dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely--even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．
Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹）are “in”．Marketing experts are ready noticing this growing group of consumer．
Title: Different Opinions About 1._____________Old.
| Items / Aspects |
Descriptions / Details |
|
| General idea |
Growing older, being mature and 3.__________ |
|
| Positive attitude |
4. About ________ |
A wonderful process: children 5.__________ and learning new things, enjoying another birthday party |
| About the old |
Being respected by the young |
|
| 6. Being _______ as a source of experience and wisdom |
||
| Living happily in the “golden years” |
||
| 2.________ |
Never being young again |
|
| Feeling lonely in a youth-oriented culture |
||
| 7.___________ problem: personal income 8.___________ sharply |
||
| Health problem: suffering from poor nutrition and other diseases |
||
| Housing problems: poor and simple |
||
| 9._________ problems: being ill-treated --- experiencing age discrimination, cheating and robbery |
||
| Solution |
Improving 10._________________ benefits |
|
| The young caring for and respecting the old |
There is one foreign product the Japanese are buying faster than others and its popularity has caused an uneasy feeling among many Japanese.
That product is foreign words.
Gairaigo — words that come from outside － have been part of the Japanese language for centuries. Mostly borrowed from English and Chinese, these terms are often changed into forms no longer understood by native speakers.
But in the last few years the trickle (涓涓流水) of foreign words has become a flood, and people fear the increasing use of foreign words is making it hard for the Japanese to understand each other and could lead to many people forgetting the good qualities of traditional Japanese.
“The popularity of foreign words is part of the Japanese interest in anything new,”says University Lecturer and Writer Takashi Saito.”By using a foreign word you can make a subject seem new, which makes it easier for the media to pick up.”
“Experts often study abroad and use English terms when they speak with people in their own fields. Those terms are then included in government white papers,” said Muturo Kai, president of the National Language Research Institute.”Foreign words find their way easily into announcements made to the general public, when they should really be explained in Japanese.”
Against the flow of new words, many Japanese are turning back to the study of their own language. Saito’s Japanese to Be Read Aloud is one of many language books that are now flying off booksellers’ shelves.
“We were expecting to sell the books to young people,” said the writer, ”but it turns out they are more popular with the older generation, who seem uneasy about the future of Japanese.”What advantages do foreign words have over traditional Japanese terms?
| A．The ideas expressed in foreign words sound new. |
| B．Foreign words are best suited for announcements. |
| C．Foreign words make new subjects easier to understand. |
| D．The use of foreign words makes the media more popular. |
In the opinion of Takashi Saito, Japanese people ______.
| A．are good at learning foreign languages | B．are willing to learn about new things |
| C．trust the media | D．respect experts |
Which of the following plays an important part in the spread of foreign words?
| A．The media and government papers. | B．Best-selling Japanese textbooks. |
| C．The interest of young Japanese. | D．Foreign products and experts. |
The book Japanese to Be Read Aloud ______.
| A．sells very well in Japan |
| B．is supported by the government |
| C．is questioned by the old generation |
| D．causes misunderstanding among the readers |
I realized that I was getting cold, and felt it was probably time to go back to the apartment, so I put my collar up against the wind and began to walk back up the cold street. I managed to get some food from a vendor（小贩）, and walked on.
About twenty-five minutes later I knew that something was wrong. It was getting very, very cold, there were no streetlights, and the hill I was hoping to see on my right was nowhere in sight. There was almost no light except for mysterious red crosses shining from the tops of churches, and I was beginning to get worried. To cut a long story short, I had walked the wrong way from a crossroads, and had wandered miles in the wrong direction. My head was aching from the cold, and I couldn’t think straight. Turing around, I started back, and a long time later was outside the house I had set off from. It was at about that time I realized that I had a gate key but no house key. How happy I was when I found that the front door was open—my only piece of good luck that day. My apartment was of course locked, my head felt like it was about to explode, and my hands and feet were freezing.
I tried turning the handle. No luck. I tried another key from England. I wanted to avoid waking the family downstairs, so despite the fear of an early death from cold, I couldn’t break the door down. What would my hosts think? I pulled an ATM card from my pocket and forced it alongside the inside of the lock. I didn’t think it would work, but after fifteen minutes of trying, I heard a click. Another couple of minutes later the door was open. Relieved, I took off my clothes in the dark and got into bed. The purpose of the passage is mainly to .
| A．tell us how difficult it is living abroad |
| B．show us how terrible the weather was |
| C．tell us an unusual experience abroad |
| D．show us how afraid the author was |
What made the author find he had walked the wrong way?
| A．He didn’t see the house. |
| B．A vendor reminded him. |
| C．The street name reminded him. |
| D．He didn’t see the hill. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The front door was closed. |
| B．The house had many locks. |
| C．The author woke the hosts. |
| D．The author came from England. |
From the passage we can infer that the author was .
| A．careful | B．careless | C．excited | D．annoying |
Wilderness activity week, Finland
Set off on a really wild adventure to Finland, where night is a distant memory during the endless days of summer.
From your cottage, set high in the hills above Koli National Park, you can explore a perfect wilderness, and pull over at a lakeside beach whenever you like a dip（游泳）.
Seven-night breaks cost from ￡899 per adult, ￡699 per child, including flights, accommodation, some meals and a guide. The Adventure Company (0845 450 5311; www.adventurecompany. co. uk).
Horseriding in the Tarn France
Learn to ride, or perfect your horse-riding skills at Les Juliannes in the Tarn Valley. Activities include everything from show-jumping to hacking（骑马）through the rolling hills and medieval（中世纪的）villages. Between sessions, you can relax by the pool, cycle along the country lanes or roam the grounds. Guests stay at a rural 17th-century farmhouse.
Seven-night breaks cost from ￡658 per adult, ￡628 per child aged 12-15 years.￡553 for 10 to 11-year-olds and ￡423 for under-nines. Price includes return flights, transfers, half-board accommodation and ten hours’ riding, Inntravel（01653 617906；www. inntravel. co. uk）.
Learn to sail in Greece
Sunvil Sailing has live-aboard learn-to-sail breaks off the island of Lefkas that are designed for both the complete novice（新手）as well as those with a degree of sailing.
Seven-night breaks cost from ￡721pp in peak season, including return flights, transfers, live-aboard accommodation and tuition. Meals and dinner ashore are not included. Sunvil Sailing (020 8758 4780; www. sunvil. co. uk). If you want to have some experiences of country life in the past, you’d better go to .
| A．explore a perfect wilderness |
| B．stay for a few days in Finland |
| C．Horseriding in the Tarn, France |
| D． Learn to sail in Greece |
How much would a family of two adults and a ten-year-old boy pay altogether if they join in Horseriding in the Tarn, France?
| A．￡2030 | B．￡1316 | C．￡1869 | D．￡1211 |
If you join in Wilderness activity week, Finland, the most unusual thing you will see is.
| A．a national park |
| B．a cottage high in the hills |
| C．a perfect wilderness |
| D． summer days without night |
If you want to learn to sail in Greece, you can log on to to find more information.
| A．www. activitiesabroad. com |
| B．www. adventurecompany. co. uk |
| C．www. inntravel. co. uk |
| D．www. sunvil. co. uk |