The meaning of the word "volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means "one who offers his or her services.” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay.
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta（加尔各答）. The following is her story.
"I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school, we watched a video about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I also wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks."
"I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world."According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______.
| A．is willing to help those in need without pay |
| B．can afford to travel to different places |
| C．has a strong wish to be successful |
| D．has made a lot of money in life |
Tracy started her work as a volunteer ______.
| A．after she met Mother Teresa |
| B．after she finished high school |
| C．when she was touring Calcutta |
| D．when she was working in a hospital |
Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
| A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa. |
| B．She had already had some experience. |
| C．She was asked by Mother Teresa. |
| D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresas example. |
What is Tracysnew idea (Paragraph 2) of being a volunteer?
| A．Going abroad to help the sick. |
| B．Working in Mother Teresa’s home. |
| C．Doing simple things to help the poor. |
| D．Improving oneself through helping others. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Be a Volunteer. |
| B．The Life of Volunteer in India. |
| C．A Different Meaning of Volunteer. |
| D．Inspiration from Mother Teresa |
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How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children Hardcover: $ 34.90
In spite of millions of dollars spent on “educational research”, children are not taught the most basic skills of learning, even the most basic of these: how to use a dictionary. In fact, a search of educational books for children found no book that told them how to use a dictionary or that one should. Written for children at 8 to 12-year-olds, this fully illustrated book will teach your child:
* How to find words in a dictionary
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It includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What’s more, you’ll just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2006.Some information of the four books were illustrated in order to _________.
| A．help readers understand them | B．persuade readers to buy them |
| C．reduce the cost of them | D．make them suitable to different readers |
Which one is the book written for 8 to 12 years old to use a dictionary?
| A．Basic Study Manual | B．Study Skills for Life |
| C．Learning How to Learn | D．How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children |
If you buy the four books on April 1, 2006, you will have to pay _________ for them.
| A．$ 129.38 | B．$ 111.93 | C．$ 64.69 | D．$ 34.90 |
The purpose of the passage is to _________.
| A．introduce the four books to readers | B．help children to learn English |
| C．enrich students knowledge about nature | D．sell the four books to students |
One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying（陪伴）the older ones. Later, I discovered that I was completely wrong.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson, ” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation（绝望）, I called his girlfriend’s house. His girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, patient. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts — a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because________.
| A．she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter |
| B．she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend |
| C．the older children have always loved the younger ones |
| D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night |
Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that _________.
| A．her son had brought his girlfriend home |
| B．her son had left home with his girlfriend |
| C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son |
| D．she should have taken the children along with her |
“It was only part of the truth.” implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also _________.
| A．had their pictures taken | B．received some gifts |
| C．had a birthday party | D．showed off their best clothes |
Which is the best title of this passage?
| A．An Evening Out | B．Modern Teenagers |
| C．Mother and Children | D．A Precious Birthday Gift |
David: Where would you live if you could choose?
Jane: It’s very difficult to say.
David: What would you do if you lived in Paris?
Jane:
David: You’d soon get tired of it.
Jane: I wouldn’t live in New York. It is too noisy.
David: How about Los Angeles？
Jane:
David: It is said the sun shines every day in Los Angeles. I’d like to live there.
Jane:
David: I would also like to live in a city with a lot of good friends.
| A．I’d like to live there, too |
| B．And what about the United States? |
| C．Los Angeles wouldn’t be a bad idea. |
| D．Would you like to live alone? |
E. If I were very rich, I’d certainly choose Paris.
F. As a matter of fact, I’d live in any city where I had friends.
G. Oh, I’d have a house by the Seine, and I could enjoy the scenery.
London, Dec.17 (Xinhua) “Drivers on London Underground trains have started reading out sayings from great thinkers like Mahatma Gandhi , Frindrich Engels, and Albert Einstein in a bid to cheer up passengers ,” officials said. As well as the usual announcements urging passengers to “mind the steps” and warning of delays, the sayings such as “ an ounce ( 盎司) of action is worth a ton of theory” have taken the place of commercial ad in the underground carriages .
New York, Oct.8 (Xinhua) Once as a famous actor, now the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to abandon textbooks in favor of digital ones. He plans to launch this program in August next year when California’s high-school pupils will have access to online math and science text. But some teachers wonder whether his idea of getting rid of textbooks might end up costing more not less, with digital textbook going for $300.
Amsterdam, Nov.30 (Xinhua) A few cups of coffee a day may not only help to put off the disease—dementia(痴呆) but also can treat it, according to Dr. Arendash, who led the research. After giving mice with memory damage water containing caffeine, he found the mice developed better memories and quick thinking. The reason is that caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain and directly affects the disease process. He suggested people should drink five eight–ounce cups of ordinary coffee, two cups of strong ‘coffee shop’ coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks to get the same amount of 500 milligrams of caffeine.What’s the purpose of putting up sayings on the underground carriages in London?
| A．to help passengers to kill time. |
| B．to encourage passengers to learn. |
| C．to lift the spirits of passengers. |
| D．to make money as a commercial ad. |
What can we conclude from the second news?
| A．digital textbooks will replace traditional textbooks. |
| B．online math is already available to high-school pupils . |
| C．digital textbooks are convenient to carry anywhere. |
| D．Not all the teachers support their governor’s idea. |
Which of the following statements is true from the third news?
| A．The more coffee you drink, the less chance there will be for dementia. |
| B．Caffeine can make mice become more and more intelligent and energetic. |
| C．Caffeine can affect the process of the disease—dementia and treat it. |
| D．Caffeine is a safe drug for all the people for everyday use so enjoy it. |
Honey(蜂蜜)from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest(巢)and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper一a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax (蜂蜡) in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees’ nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?
| A．It's small in size. | B．It's hard to recognize. |
| C．It's covered with wax. | D．It's hidden in trees. |
What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．A bee. | B．A bird. | C．A beekeeper. | D．A honey seeker. |
The honey guide is special in the way____________。
| A．it gets its food | B．it goes to church |
| C．it sings in the forest | D．it reaches into bees' nests |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Wild Bees | B．Wax and Honey |
| C．Honey-Lover's Helper | D．Beekeeping in Africa |