My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay, it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person could have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dream of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb (番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field--- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick. The writer’s first job was ___________.
| A．to stand down the fairway at the golf course |
| B．to watch over the sugar-cane plantation |
| C．to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields |
| D．to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them |
The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means __________.
| A．difficult |
| B．boring |
| C．interesting |
| D．unusual |
The writer learned that ________ from his first job.
| A．he should work for those who he liked most |
| B．he should work longer than what he was expected |
| C．he should never fail to say hello to his owner |
| D．he should show respect and faith to the people he worked for |
________ gave the writer self-esteem.
| A．Having a family of eight people |
| B．Owning his own golf course |
| C．Bringing money back home to help the family |
| D．Helping his father with the work on the plantation |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．He wanted to be a successful golfer. |
| B．He wanted to run a golf course near his house. |
| C．He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation. |
| D．He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick. |
Discover Nature Schools programs
Becoming Bears (Kindergarten-2 grade)
By becoming baby bears, children learn from their “parent” to survive the seasons. Kids will find safety in the spring and learn kinds of food bears eat during the summer, and then create a cave for winter hibernation(冬眠). After learning the skills needed to survive, students will go out of the cave as an independent black bear able to care for themselves. (1.5-2 hours)
Whose Clues? (3-5 grade)
Kids will discover how plants and animals use their special structures to survive. Through outdoor study of plants and animals, kids will recognize their special structures and learn how they enable species to eat, avoid their enemies and survive. Using what they have learned, kids will choose one species and tell how they survive in their living places. (3-4 hours)
Winged Wonders (3-5 grade)
Birds add color and sound to our world and play an important ecological (生态的) role. Students will learn the basics of birds, understand the role birds play in food chains and go bird watching using field guides and telescopes. Students will do hands-on activities. Students will use tools to build bird feeders, allowing them to attract birds at home.(3-4 hours)
Exploring Your Watershed (6-8 grade)
We all depend on clean water. Examining how our actions shape the waterways around us. Go on a hike to see first-hand some of the challenging water quality problems in a city. Students will test the water quality to determine the health of an ecosystem.
● Each program is taught for a class with at least 10 students.
● All programs include plenty of time outdoors. So please prepare proper clothing, sunscreen and
insect killers for children.
● To take part in a program , please email dcprograms@mdc.mo.gov.What can kids do at Becoming Bears?
| A．Watch bears’ performances. |
| B．Take care of bears |
| C．Dress up as baby bears to learn about bears. |
| D．Learn how to survive a bear attack. |
Kids who are interested in plants will choose______________.
| A．Winged Wonders | B．Exploring your Watershed |
| C．Becoming Bears | D．Whose Clues? |
According to the passage, all the four programs _____________.
| A．have the same teaching hours |
| B．have outdoor activities |
| C．are offered during summer holidays |
| D．are designed for primary school students |
Feel tired lately? Has a doctor said he can’t find anything wrong with you? Perhaps he sent you to a hospital, but all the advanced equipment there shows that there is nothing wrong with you.
Then , consider this: you might be in a state of sub - health （亚健康）.
Sub - health, also called the third state or gray state, is explained as a borderline state between health and disease.
According to the survey by the National Health Organization, Over 45 percent of sub - healthy people are middle-aged or elderly. The percentage is even higher among people who work in management positions as well as students around exam week.
Symptoms （征兆）include a shortage of energy, depression, slow reactions, insomnia （失眠）and poor memory , Other symptoms include shortness of breath, sweating and aching in the waist and legs.
The key to preventing and recovering from sub - health, according to some medical experts, is to form good living habits, ale mate work and rest, exercise regularly, and take part in open air activities.
As for meals, people are advised to eat less salt and sugar . They should also eat more fresh vegetables, fruits, fish because they are rich in nutritional elements - vitamins and trace elements - that are important to the body.
Nutrition experts point out that it is not good to eat too much at one meal because it may cause unhealthy changes in the digestive tract （消化道）. They also say that a balanced diet is very helpful in avoiding sub - health.When you are in a state of sub - health, you should________.
| A．stay home and keep silent |
| B．go to a doctor and buy some medicine |
| C．not consider it very serious |
| D．find out the reasons and relax yourself |
Middle - aged people may be easy to get sub - healthy because________.
| A．they have used up their energy |
| B．they have lost their living hopes |
| C．they have more pressure in life and work. |
| D．they have changed their way of life |
The key to preventing you from falling into a state of sub health is to________.
| A．keep on working regularly | B．go to sleep a bit earlier |
| C．form good living habits | D．take medicine if necessary |
As for food, experts suggested that________.
| A．we should never eat meat |
| B．we should have variety of food |
| C．we should eat less than usual |
| D．we should have meals without sugar |
The underlined word “alternate” in this passage is closest in meaning to________
| A．arrange by turns | B．cause to take place |
| C．make up for | D．keep away from |
We Are One--'Expo Through My Eyes'
Sharing increases your happiness. To celebrate the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, China Daily invites you to share what you’ve seen, heard and experienced at the 6-month international event or Expo-related stories in ENGLISH. Whether you are an Expo volunteer, a journalist, or a tourist, we’d like you to share with us your expo experience, as viewed through your eyes. So if you like, please join us today in sharing the joy!
Eligibility(适宜人选): Everyone
Topic: 2010 Shanghai World Expo
Language: ENGLISH Only
Length: No more than 1,000 words
Content: Stories accompanied(附有) by photos are encouraged.
Duration: May 1, 2010--October 31, 2010
How to submit your stories: Send your stories and photos to expo@chinadaily.com.cn
Why join us: In addition to(除……之外) the satisfaction of supporting our work.
- Your stories will come out on China Daily’s website;
- You will go in a lucky draw to win a prize. China Daily invites us .
| A．to celebrate the 2010 Shanghai World Expo |
| B．to support their work |
| C．to write Expo-related stories in English for them |
| D．to win a prize |
Who can take part in this activity?
| A．Everybody. | B．A tourist. | C．A journalist. | D．An Expo volunteer. |
What does the underlined word “submit” mean?
| A．撰稿 | B．呈交 | C．发表 | D．发送 |
Your story must not .
| A．be written in English | B．have any pictures |
| C．be less than 1000 words | D．be submitted after October 31, 2010. |
If your story is chosen by the editor, we can read it .
| A．in a magazine | B．in a storybook |
| C．on China Daily’s website | D．in the newspaper named China Daily |
Everyone likes living in a clean and comfortable environment. If the envionment(环境) are bad, it will affect（影响）our body, and make us not feel well. Sometimes we may be terribly ill. At that time we don’t want to work, and we have to stay in bed and rest at home. So the envrionment is very important to us.
It’s germs that makes us ill. There are germs everywhere, They are very small and you can’t find them with your own eyes, but you can see them with a microscope（显微镜）They are very small and there may be hundreds of them on a very small thing, Germs can always be found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope, we shall see them in it. Germs can also be found in air and dust（灰尘）. If you cut your finger, some of the dust from the floor may go into it, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs will go into all of your boby, and you will have pain everywhere.
To keep us healthy, we should try to our best to make our environment become cleaner and tidier. This needs us to act together.The writer tell us that________.
| A．we like working when we are ill |
| B．germs can’t live in the water. |
| C．we can’t feel ill if the environment is bad. |
| D．we feel well when the environment is good. |
Germs are________.
| A．very small things that you can’t see with your eyes. |
| B．the things that don’t effect people. |
| C．the things that you can find with your eyes. |
| D．the things that are very big. |
Where can germs be found? They can be found_________.
| A．on the small thing | B．in air and dust |
| C．only in dirty water | D．everywhere |
How will you feel if germs go into the finger that is cut?
| A．I will feel nothing. | B．I won’t mind. |
| C．I will feel tense. | D．I will feel painful. |
From the passage we know that________.
| A．environment doesn’t affect our life |
| B．we don’t need to improve our environment |
| C．germs may make us ill |
| D．if the environment is better, germs will be more. |
Once there was an old man in a town. He always forgot a lot of things. So his wife always had to say to him, “Don’t forget this!”
One day he went on a long trip alone. Before he left home, his wife said, “Now you have all these things. They are what you need for your trip. Take care of your things during the trip.” He went to the station, bought a ticket and got on the train with it.
About half an hour later, the conductor began to see the tickets. He came to the old man and said, “Will you please show me your ticket?” The old man looked for his ticket in all his pockets, but he could not find it. He was very worried. “I can’t find my ticket. I really bought a ticket before I got on the train.” said the old man.
“I believe you bought a ticket. All right, you don’t have to buy another one,” said the conductor kindly. “But how can I know where I’m going? I can’t remember my station!” the old man said sadly.The old man in the story was very ______.
| A．kind | B．poor | C．forgetful | D．sad |
Where is the ticket? _______
| A．The old man forgot to buy it. |
| B．The old man could not remember where it was. |
| C．The old man showed it to the conductor. |
| D．The old man’s wife took the ticket away. |
The old bought the ticket _____ he got on the train.
| A．after | B．before | C．as | D．when |
The conductor ______ the old man.
| A．didn’t believe | B．laughed at | C．believed | D．felt sorry for |
The old man was sad because _______
| A．he had to buy another ticket. |
| B．he lost all the things his wife gave him. |
| C．he did not know where he was. |
| D．he did not know where he should get off. |