If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others?
Don’t listen to people who say the young people today often think only of themselves. It’s not true at all. More and more people in the USA volunteer（自愿）to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.
Alice Hamilton, 17
I’m going to help the Forest Centre build new hiking paths in the mountains. It’s going to be terrific—I’ll spend the whole summer living in the tent and breathing the clean mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the stars, It’ll be a nice sport, and I’ll be able to do something good at the same time.
Jason Moore, 18
This summer, I’m going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They’ll teach me what to do, so I’ll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses.
Trish Anderson, 16
I’m going to teach kids who have trouble reading. I’ll work for a program called “Reading for Life”. Every day, I’m going to help kids choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.What does Alice volunteer to do in summer?
| A．To breathe the clean mountain air. |
| B．To spend the whole summer living in the tent. |
| C．To sleep under the stars. |
| D．To help build new hiking paths in the mountain. |
From the passage, we know that Special House Program helps____.
| A．children in poor families |
| B．workers who build houses |
| C．poor families that can’t afford(负担得起)houses |
| D．build hiking paths |
Which is the most possible title for this passage?
| A．Reading for Life | B．Special House Program |
| C．The Forest Centre | D．Young American volunteers |
Many people want to buy the newest gadget （小玩意），the fastest car and the most expensive watch ﹣but are these things really worth？
For some people，these things give them status（地位）．They're cool because they have a cool car，or they're better at the newest Xbox game．Lots of people say that buying new things makes them happy．They like having new，pretty， impressive things． The problem is that people don't stay happy，and the feeling you get when you buy something new disappears． For example，there's a new iPhone．You stop liking your old car． Your friend has Beats in a different color and they're so much nicer! Things get old and outdated，and someone else always has something better．
So，what can you buy and stay happy with？ A research suggests that the best thing to spend your extra（额外的）money on is doing things like traveling， learning to cook， speaking a language，skiing or surfing． What about going to the theater， eating at a Michelin star restaurant or climbing a mountain？
In the long term （从长远来看），people are happier with money they spend on activities than on things． You don't remember what shoes you wore，but you remember running the marathon! When you do new things or things you enjoy， you get life experience and memories． You can share them with people． Even if you don't enjoy the experience， you can learn something and often a little while later you see the good sides of it． At least， it's a story to tell﹣maybe even a funny one．
So forget about designer clothes and fancy gadgets ﹣a new skill or experience lasts longer!
（1）The first paragraph is mainly written to ．
A． introduce the background
B． come up with the question
C． explain the reason
D． give the result
（2）What does the underlined word "outdated" probably mean？
A． 新潮的
B． 消逝的
C． 显露的
D． 过时的
（3）Which is NOT the reason why people try to get designer clothes and fancy gadgets？
A． Getting status．
B． Having happiness．
C． Keeping away from pressure．
D． Having impressive things．
（4）According to the research， you should when you have extra money．
A． learn to cook and speak a language
B． climb a mountain and buy the fastest car
C． go to a theater and have the designer clothes
D． buy the most expensive watch and go traveling
（5）What is the best title of the passage？
A． What Makes People Happy
B． How to Spend Your Money
C． Follow Fashionable Ways of Life
D． Spend Money on Valuable Things
Everywhere you look，there's talk about exercise﹣from the importance of gym class to the latest trendy workout（流行的健身方式）to follow on social media． And as you know，being active is very important， because it's good for your physical health， as well as helps with your mental health by improving your mood and keeping your mind sharp． Here is what people said about it．
|
My friend and I try to exercise together． We dance to our favorite song or even enjoy a plank（平板支撑运动）contest． I think feeling strong is a good thing． ﹣Alan |
|
I know I should exercise more ，but I have no interest in it． ﹣﹣Bill |
|
Yoga（瑜伽）is the BEST way to exercise． I feel like everyone should try it． I take a class at the gym with my best friends，and it's so fun! ﹣Grace |
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My dad tells me to exercise outside for at least an hour each day in summer． I do as he says， and I always feel better after that． I believe I will go on． ﹣Kitty |
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In my spare time， I like reading instead of exercising． Every time I walk into the gym， I always feel nervous． ﹣Mary |
（1）How many people like exercising in the passage above？
A． One．
B． Two．
C． Three．
D． Four．
（2）In Grace's opinion，what kind of exercise should everyone take？
A． Plank．
B． Swimming．
C． Running．
D． Yoga．
（3）How does Mary feel when she is at the gym？
A． Upset．
B． Nervous．
C． Surprised．
D． Bored．
（4）Which statement is TRUE according to the passage above？
A． Exercise can only be good for our physical health．
B． Alan feels weak after he exercises with his friends．
C． Bill doesn't have any interest in exercise．
D． Kitty exercises at least two hours each day in summer．
（5）Where is the passage probably from？
A． A magazine．
B． A story﹣book．
C． A novel．
D． A notice．
Don't be too surprised if you see a car going down the road without a driver in Beijing these days．
（1） Last month， Baidu began to test its self﹣driving cars on open roads in Beijing．
（2） Since then， companies like Tesla， Uber and Baidu have been working to produce and test their own self﹣driving cars．
Self﹣driving cars are safer than regular cars． （3） They can remove the stress of driving and allow disabled or blind people to get around more easily．
（4） In one test， researchers pointed a laser pointer（激光棒） at the car's sensors（传感器） while it was moving． The car mistakenly thought that the laser beam was in its way and slowed down or changed the direction．
The software that is used to direct the cars may not be safe enough． （5） When we use our computers or smart phones，they sometimes crash（崩溃） without any reason． But if this happened to a self﹣driving car， the results could be deadly． Improvements to the software could be a solution to this problem．
A． At times， it may break down．
B． Self﹣driving cars began to develop in 2010．
C． It might be one of Baidu's self﹣driving cars．
D． But self﹣driving cars have their own problems as well．
E． And they are more environmentally friendly than regular cars．
When it comes to shopping for clothes， my mother and I have always disagreed on what fits me well． To me， if it zips， it fits． My mom， however， usually tells me I need a bigger size．
When I was a teenager， I wanted to dress like my friends， but my body size made it impossible． When mom told me something didn't suit me， or I needed a bigger size， all I heard was that my body was wrong．
To avoid arguments， we stopped going shopping together． This continued until I got engaged（订婚） last year and needed to buy some clothes． When I tried on a blouse， my mother looked at me， and I knew what was coming． "You need a bigger size，" she said．
There was no bigger size． I tried to hold back my tears（眼泪）． Maybe I could buy it alone， of course，but my mom is my favorite person to hang out with． The idea of looking for a wedding dress without her seemed just as scary as taking her with me．
And so the day came． As I tried on a simple white dress， I saw tears in my mom's eyes． "You look beautiful!" she told me． Nothing could have shocked me more．
This one didn't zip up at the back and I did actually need a bigger size， but my mother didn't say that． She just told me how beautiful I looked． In that moment， all the arguments in the past ended． We didn't buy a dress that day． We decided to see more．
A few weeks later， we found the perfect dress． We both loved it as soon as I put it on．
And during those few weeks， mom and I also found the perfect fit for our shopping relationship．
（1）What does the writer want to show in the first two paragraphs？
A． She likes the clothes with zippers while her mother doesn't agree with her．
B． In mom's opinion， her body is wrong and she is too fat to wear what she likes．
C． She really wants to dress like her friends， but her mom doesn't allow her to do so．
D． She and mom always disagree on what clothes fit her because of wrong understanding．
（2）How did the writer probably feel after she tried on the simple white dress？
A． Funny and surprised．
B． Shocked and sorry．
C． Proud and moved．
D． Excited and scary．
（3）What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mainly mean？
A． I couldn't shop for a wedding dress myself because my mom disagreed．
B． I felt kind of scary when I went shopping with my mother for a wedding dress．
C． I felt like shopping for a wedding dress with mom though she thought it was scary．
D． I wanted to shop for a wedding dress alone but I couldn't stand shopping without mom．
（4）Which is the best word to describe the perfect fit for their shopping relationship？
A． Missing．
B． Embarrassing．
C． Understanding．
D． Encouraging．
（5）What's the main idea of the text？
A． Praising makes the perfect fit for their shopping relationship．
B． Tears are the best way to end arguments between family members．
C． Love is everything in good communication between family members．
D． Better communication requires not only love but also a more suitable way．
In 1997， 12﹣year﹣old American girl Caitlin and 14﹣year﹣old Zimbabwean（津巴布韦人）Martin became pen friends through their schools． They didn't realize at that time how their handwritten letters would change their lives．
It all began as a school task． Everyone in Caitlin's class was supposed to choose a pen friend from another county． All the other kids picked counties like France or Germany， but Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic（异国风情的） and cool．
Martin lived with his family in one of Zimbabwe's worst slums（贫民窟） where they shared one room with another family． And a bed was their only piece of furniture．
When Caitlin's first letters reached Martin， they were simple and general． The two kids wrote about their favorite music and what they liked to do． But as Martin gradually revealed more about his life and his letters started arriving written on pieces of trash， Caitlin realized what the living conditions were like for Martin． Without telling her parents， she began sending money with her letters﹣ ＄ 20 at a time． While the money was not much to Caitlin， it meant more food for Martin's family and enabled him to pay his school fees．
It lasted six years from their first exchange of letters to Martin's arrival in the United States． With the help of the money from Caitlin's parents later on， Martin finished his university and got his MBA from Duke University．
Today， Caitlin and Martin aren't only best friends， but they also share their story in a book called I Will Always Write Back． They want to encourage readers to look beyond their own lives and do something kind for others， which might greatly influence their lives．
（1） is from Zimbabwe？
A． Duke
B． Caitlin
C． Martin
D． Frank
（2）What does the underlined word "revealed" mean in Chinese？
A．索要
B．透露
C．回顾
D．检索
（3）Which is the correct order of the following events？
a．They shared their story in a book．
b．Caitlin's first letters reached Martin．
c． Caitlin chose a pen friend from Zimbabwe．
d． Martin got his MBA from Duke University．
A． a﹣b﹣c﹣d
B． a﹣b﹣d﹣c
C． c﹣b﹣d﹣a
D． c﹣d﹣b﹣a
（4）According to the passage ， which of the following is not TRUE？
A． Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic and cool．
B． Martin lived a very hard life in one of the worst slums in Zimbabwe．
C． Martin's family could get more food with Caitlin's money in the letters．
D． They had kept writing to each other for five years before Martin arrived in the US．
（5）Which would be the best title for this passage？
A． The Two Pen Friends
B． The Power of Writing
C． The Special School Task
D． The Money in Letters