“Don't worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain.
Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.
On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon (泻湖) side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?
The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."
Then he added, “That's the way it is with every living organism.”
That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"
Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.Who has no problems according to the passage?
| A．The persons who are very famous. |
| B．The persons who have much money. |
| C．The persons who have been born. |
| D．The persons who are living in the cemeteries. |
In the writer's opinion, ________.
| A．problems bring us much trouble |
| B．problems have two sides, good or bad |
| C．we should try to stay away from any trouble |
| D．the fewer things we do, the less trouble we'll meet |
The reason why lagoon side of the reef has no life is _______.
| A．it hasn't got any sunlight |
| B．it has less energy than others |
| C．it never faces any challenge and tests |
| D．it has no work to do every day |
After reading this passage, we should ________.
| A．regard any problem as challenge |
| B．learn from the lagoon side |
| C．worry your problem |
| D．enter into cemeteries |
Across countryside, non-food crops are growing alongside wheat．Some are used in new alternatives（可供选择的事物） to plastics and other materials, but others will simply be burned．
Burning crops is becoming more popular because it is good for the planet．Doing so is also cheaper than burning fossil fuels．As more land is devoted to non-food crop production, the economics of crops for fuel are likely to become even more favorable．
Humans have been burning such biomass—organic materials from plants or animals— since they discovered fire．But that burning fossil fuels could have catastrophic consequences has brought biomass back into fashion．
Even allowing for emissions (排放) of carbon dioxide from fuel used in planting, harvesting, processing and transporting biomass fuel, replacing fossil fuel with biomass can typically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90 percent．
Power stations around the world are experimenting with forms of biomass to add to their coal or oil, with encouraging results. Indeed, power companies could profit by turning to biomass, especially when the subsidies (补助) many governments offer for using renewable energy are taken into account．
Farmers can benefit from growing biomass．In Europe, the reduction of subsidies for certain crops is exposing farmers to market forces．Instead of being paid for whatever they produce, farmers must seek a clear demand for their product．Many believe that the demand for alternatives to fossil fuels could be just such a driver．
But while biomass offers a variety of potential alternatives, the world's infrastructure (基础设施) has developed around burning fossil fuels to such a stage that switching to biomass involves a change in conception that many companies have not accepted．
Also, there are problems with using biomass．Although most coal-fired power stations could take a small amount of their fuel from biomass without significant adjustment, few are built to run on biomass alone．Burning some forms of biomass also causes environmental problems．Oils and waste can be smelly, while wood produces smoke unless burned properly．
The supply chains for fossil fuels are set up well, but those for biomass are just the beginning. Sources of supply for biomass rely on farm production and can therefore be less reliable. They are necessarily limited and it wouldn't make sense to turn a very large amount of valuable agricultural land away from food crops．But as the world adjusts to the need to control greenhouse gas emissions, these problems may receive more attention．What do we know about biomass?
| A．It is a useful way of burning crops． |
| B．It is plant and animal matter used to provide power． |
| C．It is a popular approach to fighting against pollution． |
| D．It is a new alternative to be used widely． |
What are the advantages of using biomass?
a．It gives off less greenhouse gases．
b．It helps farmers receive subsidies for what they produce．
c．It has met the clear demand for energy．
d．It has brought subsidies for some power companies．
e．It is cheaper than burning fossil fuels．
| A．a, b, c | B．b, c, d |
| C．c, d, e | D．a, d, e |
For coal-fired power stations, ______．
| A．more effective ways to use biomass have been tried |
| B．using renewable energy has become their daily task |
| C．burning biomass alone would require considerable changes |
| D．setting up dependable supply channels needs governments' support |
What is the author's attitude towards biomass fuels?
| A．Objective． | B．Doubtful． |
| C．Negative． | D．Defensive |
Nathan Phillips, who will formally begin his freshman year at the University of San Diego(USD) on Aug. 31, will arrive on campus in an unusual and philanthropic manner.
Phillips is expected to arrive between 5 p．m. and 6 p．m. Thursday on his bicycle, having pedaled 1,450 miles from Astoria, Ore.
Phillips combined his desire to complete a long bike ride before entering college with his interest in helping the children of Uganda.
He is raising funds for Invisible Children, a San Diegobased organization seeking to end conflicts annoying northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic and stop the use of children as soldiers.
Phillips had raised $1,540 before embarking Aug.11 and hopes to reach $2,000.
Phillips, who is from Redmond, Washington, visited Uganda during high school and worked in an orphanage(孤儿院) there. He was also inspired by a presentation by Invisible Children at his high school.
“I have been to Uganda and personally gotten to know some of the kids affected by the war，” Phillips said in a statement released by the university.“I would do anything to help these kids.”
Phillips' new roommate, Kyle Sharp, has joined him for the last 600 miles of the trip. Students and other members of the USD community are expected to join him for the last 13 miles.
“Nathan's passionate commitment(恪守承诺) to improving the lives of children more than 8,000 miles away resonates(共鸣) with USD's mission to prepare future leaders to change the world for the better，” Pamela Gray Payton, assistant vice president of public affairs at USD, said in a prepared statement.“We are delighted to have Nathan as a member of our campus community.”
Supporters from USD and Invisible Children will greet Phillips and his followers when they arrive in front of Founders Hall on campus. The public is invited as well.Which of the following statements about Nathan Phillips is TRUE?
| A．Nathan Phillips has been a freshman at the university. |
| B．Nathan Phillips is an American. |
| C．Nathan Phillips is an African. |
| D．Nathan Phillips likes riding a bike. |
Why does Nathan Phillips finish riding a bike for a long way before going into college?
| A．He travels to Uganda. |
| B．He practises riding a bike. |
| C．He raises money to help the children of Uganda. |
| D．He wants to take exercise. |
How much more money does Nathan Phillips expect to collect?
| A．$1,540. | B．$460. |
| C．$1460. | D．$2,540. |
Back those photos up
The images were striking. Homes on the East Coast were washed away by Superstorm Sandy. People were in tears, picking up faded photographs, among their only remaining possessions.
If that doesn’t move you to get serious about safekeeping your lifetime of memories, what will? The digital age offers tools never imaginable before—including one-click access to a lifetime of family photos.
Here is a brochure on how to back up your photos and save them online, where they can live forever and be accessible in good times and bad.
Scanning
The first step for those old photos is to scan them and save them to a digital format. Most printers come with scanners these days, so that’s an easy but extremely time-consuming step.
Storing the photos
With your scans in place, import the photos into your computer, and back them up.
You could make multiple copies of the disks and spread them to loved ones. Or you could choose external(外接的) hard drives or USB thumb drive, and add your photo and video collection from your computer.
Online backup
If you need lots of space, look at a pure online backup service, Caronite.
Caronite backs up 300 million files daily. Once you sign up, it starts to pick up everything you have on your hard drive. But photo collection on your computer’s main hard drive charges for $59 a year.
Cloud Storage
For folks who don’t need automatic backup, but instead want to take a more active approach, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft’s SkyDrive let you store files online by yourself, share and instantly access them. All offer free options—2GB of free storage for Dropbox, 5GB for Google and 7GB for SkyDrive. But if you want more, you need to pay.
Bottom Line
The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and easiest. But drives can fail. Online services are more expensive, but more secure. With more of us switching back and forth between our computers, such services are the best way to get access to our data from wherever we are.Why does the author mention Superstorm Sandy?
| A．To tell the background of the scanning photos. |
| B．To attract the readers’ interest in the backups. |
| C．To describe a severe natural disaster. |
| D．To win the readers’ sympathy. |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Scanning photos takes little time but costs a lot. |
| B．Caronite charges for backing up photos from hard drive. |
| C．Google Drive offers unlimited free photo storage on line. |
| D．The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and safest. |
Which of the following allows storing files automatically?
| A．Caronite. | B．Dropbox. |
| C．SkyDrive. | D．Flash drive. |
The main purpose of the passage is to _____.
| A．tell real stories about storage services |
| B．introduce some of the storage services |
| C．describe the functions of storage services |
| D．argue about the advantage of storage services |
His eyes nearly in tears from the crush of fellow travelers at Guangzhou's train station, Hong Tao said things were much better on Sunday, after days of waiting for a train to his home in Hubei province.
"I think it's fine today, and everything is going smoothly," the 28-year-old said. "I thought it would be really crowded but it has turned out to be OK."
Chinese authorities say they expect 1.3 million people to travel out of Guangzhou's train station over the next few days, as they rush to get home by Wednesday, the eve of Lunar New Year.
Hong's optimism may have been helped by the blue skies that emerged over Guangzhou on Sunday for the first time in a week.
Last week, a rare winter storm paralyzed China's transportation system as millions tried to get home to celebrate the holiday — the only chance for many migrant workers to see their families all year.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Friday that 95 percent of rail traffic had "returned to normal." But Guangzhou's train station remained packed with a backlog of hundreds of thousands of travelers hoping to get home for the holiday.
A young woman was stepped on in a stampede (人群蜂拥) at the train station Friday, and later died of her injuries, according to Xinhua. Video of the situation on Friday showed crowds of people screaming, elbowing each other, in some cases sobbing and collapsing in the rush to get a slot (狭缝，窄孔) on a train.
China Sunday announced it has organized over 300,000 People's Liberation Army forces to southern China in what it described as a "war on winter weather".
The government also announced a $700 million plan to help farmers whose crops have been destroyed.How many days is it from the day this article was made to the Lunar New Year?
| A．Two days. | B．Three days. |
| C．Four days. | D．Five days. |
What can we know about the weather condition of last week in Guangzhou?
| A．Sunny with blue sky. | B．Rainy for a whole week. |
| C．Heavily snowy. | D．Rainy first and snowy now. |
Why are there so many passengers in Guangzhou’s train station?
| A．Because the heavy snow stopped the passengers from leaving the station. |
| B．Because the passengers didn’t hope to leave the station right now. |
| C．Because the passengers hoped to leave for their hometown. |
| D．Because the holiday was coming near. |
Where is Hong Tao from?
| A．Shandong province. | B．Hubei province. |
| C．Guandong province. | D．Not mentioned. |
Here’s something to think about the next time you ask your teacher for help：trying hard to do schoolwork on your own can help you learn．According to a recent study，the more you try while you are learning new information，the better you can remember it later．
This might surprise you．When teachers are presenting new information，they often give students lots of help．But a new study shows this may not be the best way to support learning．“Don’t be too quick to get help when learning something new，”education expert Manu Kapur said．“Try to work on it yourself even if it means trying different ways．’’
Kapur came up with the idea that trying hard can lead to better learning．Then he tested it out on students in Singapore．He separated students into two groups．In the first group，students were asked to solve math problems with the teacher’s help．In the second group，students were asked to solve the same problems by helping one another，instead of getting help from the teacher．
With the teacher’s help，students in the first group were able to find the correct answers．Students in the second group did not solve the problems correctly．But they did come up with a lot of good ideas．
The students were then tested on what they had 1earned．The group without any help from a teacher scored much higher than the group who had help．Kapur said working to find the answers helped students understand the process(过程)，not just the solution．
Kapur’s advice for kids is to put a 1ot of effort(努力)into learning something new rather than going to your teacher for help．“Simply doing a little work or nothing at all won’t work.”says Kapur．“Try to solve a problem in as many ways as possible．’’What is the best title for the text?
| A．Work Your Mind |
| B．Practice Makes Perfect |
| C．The Best Way to Learn |
| D．Teachers’ Role in Schoolwork |
Manu Kapur holds that _______．
| A．it’s necessary for students to ask for teachers’ help |
| B．students should try to solve problems by themselves |
| C．students with teachers’ help have more good ideas |
| D．students in the first group are cleverer than those in the second group |
The author develops the text mainly by _________ ．
| A．presenting research findings |
| B．comparing different opinions |
| C．showing scientific information |
| D．setting down general rules |