For decades，the San Francisco Bay area has been the heart of the computer technology industry．Many of the biggest technology companies have their headquarters in the area called Silicon Valley．But the area has not always been associated with charity(慈善)．
Now，a new generation of entrepreneurs(企业家)appears to be changing Silicon Valley．One example is Marc Benioff，a donor(捐赠者)，who has called on wealthy donors to give more to their communities．He also is the founder of Salesforce．com，a computer services company in San Francisco who has helped build a children’s hospital and given millions of dollars to non-profit organizations in the city．
Money from the technology industry has also started to change the face of charity．Benjamin Soskis writes about the history and ideas behind charity in America．His articles have appeared in The Atlantic magazine and a number of major publications．He says，traditionally，donors have given after they spent much of their lives building up wealth．Usually donors are in their 70s．But an increasing number of people appearing on the list of top donors are younger than 40 years of age．Benjamin Soskis says that is something new．“There’s a whole new model that’s appearing in which people give and accumulate at the same time．”
Some of the young donors on this year's top 50 list have started to change in the way people see charity．That is especially the case in the San Francisco area，where giving money and making money appear to be coming together．“I think it's fair to say that charity is now a part of the Silicon Valley identity．”What is true of Marc Benioff?
| A．He joined a non-profit organization． |
| B．He advised donors to build hospitals． |
| C．He made San Francisco a city of charity． |
| D．He set up the company of Salesforce．com． |
What is special about the donors of Silicon Valley?
| A．They prefer to give rather than make money． |
| B．They give after accumulating a lot of wealth． |
| C．They are much younger than the usual donors． |
| D．They donate more money to their communities． |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．The age of charity |
| B．The changing faces of charity |
| C．In search of new faces |
| D．From computer base to charity centre |
In the early part of the twentieth century, racism（种族歧视）was widespread in the United States. Many African Americans were not given equal opportunities in education or employment. Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an African American woman who gained fame as a concert singer in this climate of racism. She was born in Philadelphia and sang in church choirs during her childhood. When she asked for admission to a local music school in 1917, she was refused because she was black. Unable to attend music school, she began her career as a singer for religious activities. In 1929, she went to Europe to study voice and spent several years performing there. Her voice was widely praised throughout Europe. Then she returned to the US in 1935 and became a top concert singer after performing at Town Hall in New York City.
Racism again affected Anderson in 1939. When it was arranged to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution opposed（反对）it because of her color. She sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial for over 75 000 people. In 1955, Anderson became the first black soloist（独唱） to sing in the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The famous conductor Toscanini praised her voice as “heard only once in a hundred years”. She was a US delegate（代表）to the United Nations in 1958 and won the UN peace prize in 1977. Anderson eventually triumphed over racism.According to this passage, what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?
| A．She studied at a music school. |
| B．She sang for religious activities. |
| C．She sang at Town Hall in New York. |
| D．She studied voice in Europe. |
Toscanini thought that Marian Anderson_________. .
| A．had a very rare(稀有的) voice |
| B．sang occasionally in public |
| C．sang only once in many years |
| D．was seldom heard by people |
Anderson’s beautiful voice was first recognized________ .
A. at the Lincoln Memorial B. in Washington, DC.
C. in EuropeD. at the United NationsThis passage shows that Anderson finally defeated racism in the US by____.
| A．opposing the government | B．working for the United Nations |
| C．singing in the streets | D．working hard to perfect her art |
It’s obviously true that not all people like to work, but everyone likes to play. All over the world, men and women, young and old, enjoy recreational activities. So, beyond doubt, entertainment plays an important role in our daily lives. In modern society, there is a broad range of recreational activities—from online computer games to lovely picnics—that meet the needs of different groups of people. Therefore, it won’t be difficult for you to find some recreation to refresh your body and mind.
Recreational activities have a number of benefits, especially in this highly competitive society. They can help us relax, have fun and relieve stress. In fact, I believe there is no better way to get exercise and relieve stress than to take an active part in recreational activities. But can recreational activities do us harm? Of course they can. Let’s take TV as an example. There is no denying that TV offers access to the latest news and to useful knowledge, while providing us with entertainment. However, if we spend too much time watching TV, it will numb our mind and destroy our creativity, which is exactly the opposite of what we really want. What’s more, TV can also show some pornographic programs, which are absolutely unsuitable for us young students. So, just as the old saying goes, every coin has two sides, and watching TV is no exception.
As a student, I think recreational activities are very important for us. But this doesn’t mean we should take up whatever recreational activities are available. Instead, we should strike a balance between work and rest. We should have our own judgment, which means knowing what is good for us and what is not. And we should exercise self-control so as not to become addicted to them. I believe moderate recreational activity will benefit us in many ways and help us live a full, meaningful life.Why does entertainment play an important role in people’s daily lives?
| A．Because online computer games are popular with people. |
| B．Because entertainment can help people have fun instead of relieving stress. |
| C．Because people of all ages enjoy recreational activities. |
| D．Because it is easy and convenient to take up any recreational activity. |
Which of the following statements is not counted as the disadvantage of TV?
| A．People are addicted to watching TV. |
| B．TV provides people with the latest news. |
| C．Some programs are unsuitable for young students. |
| D．Spending too much time on it may destroy people’s creativity |
In the author’s opinion, what is the proper attitude to recreational activities?
| A．Spending as much time as we like watching TV. |
| B．Taking part in any recreational activities available. |
| C．Learning to control ourselves about entertainment. |
| D．Benefiting us by taking part in different activities. |
Just getting accepted to an American college or university does not guarantee that you will get a visa. And getting a visa just lets you arrive in the United States. It does not guarantee that an immigration officer will permit you to enter the country.
If you are requesting a visa for the first time, you will probably have to go to an American embassy or consulate（领事馆）. You will need to bring a government form sent to you by your American school that shows you have been accepted.
You will also need banking and tax records that show you have enough money to pay for your education. And be prepared to provide evidence that you will return to your home country after your studies end.
All of this is important in satisfying the requirements to get a visa. A consular official will also take your picture and your fingerprints.
Foreign students must contact their local embassy or consulate to request an interview and to get other information. This includes directions about how and where to pay the visa application charge. The cost is two hundred dollars.
You should apply for the visa as soon as you have been accepted to a school in the United States. The government needs time to perform a background investigation.
You cannot receive a visa more than one hundred twenty days before the start of your program. And if you are coming as a student for the first time, you cannot enter the country more than thirty days before classes begin.
Once you come to the United States, you can stay for the length of your period of study. Your school is required to provide the Department of Homeland Security with reports on your status as a student.What do you have to take to the American embassy if you request a visa for the first time?
A. A government form. B. Banking and tax records.
C. Pictures and fingerprints.D. Both A and B.When should you apply for a visa?
| A．The moment you have been accepted to a school in the US. |
| B．One hundred twenty days before you go to the US. |
| C．Thirty days before classes begin. |
| D．After the immigration officer permit you to enter the US. |
How much will you be charged for the visa application?
| A．Free of charge. | B．Two hundred dollars. |
| C．One hundred twenty dollars. | D．Thirty dollars. |
What may be the main idea of this passage?
| A．When to get a visa. |
| B．Some tips on how to get a visa. |
| C．How to enter the US. |
| D．Ways to be accepted by American universities. |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country; keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first –class roads, and other support facilities（配套设备）needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost.The underlined word “inhabitants” probably means _________.
| A．tourists | B．passengers |
| C．population | D．citizens |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT ___________.
| A．a bad effect on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists’ customs |
| C．over-crowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．the author doesn’t like tourism developing so fast |
| B．local people will benefit from tourist attraction |
| C．other parts of a country’s economy won’t benefit from tourism |
| D．we can’t build too many support facilities |
The author thinks it is good for local people to know that tourism will ___________.
| A．waste a lot of money |
| B．weaken their economy |
| C．help establish their customs |
| D．help improve their life |
Over the next 20 years, we are going to send more and better robots to Mars. Those robots will send back better pictures, maps, samples, and weather reports. There is a limit to what robots can tell us, though, so eventually we will have to send people to study the planet.
Before people can visit Mars, we need to invent a spaceship that can take us there. Mars is very far away. Depending on where Mars and Earth are in their orbits around the sun, it could take between six months to a year to get there.
The moon is much closer, and we were there, 25 years ago. Over the next 10 years, we are going to work on building a new spacecraft that can go to the moon. Using this craft, we will practice the skills we need to go to Mars.
Once we return to the moon, we are going to build a station so that people can live and work on the moon for months at a time. This is important so that we have a place to start from when we want to visit Mars, but it is also important because it gives us practice （实际经历）with living away from Earth.
By the time you are old enough to be an astronaut, we will have people spending months on the moon. By the time you are old enough to be a commander of a space mission, we will be taking trips to Mars. By the time your kids are old enough to be astronauts, we may have people living on Mars. Wouldn’t it be cool to get a postcard from someone who was building a house on Mars? Wouldn’t it be cooler if it was you who sent the postcard?We eventually have to send people on Mars because_________.
| A．robots could not send back pictures |
| B．robots can’t tell us all we want to know |
| C．robots are controlled by us humans |
| D．robots are no longer of any use to us |
A space station on the moon is important because_________.
| A．it gives us experience with living on other planets |
| B．people can plant crops in it |
| C．the new spacecraft can only land in it |
| D．it is a place for astronauts to have fun |
The author of the passage_________.
| A．thinks that trips to the moon are impossible |
| B．encourages all kids to become astronauts |
| C．hopes to receive a postcard from the moon |
| D．thinks people’s dream of living on Mars may come true |