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Several dollars equal nothing for some people, but make a difference for others. Steve has just lost his wife to cancer and everything they had is gone due to the treatment. He now lives in the shelter for the homeless. So we know each other.
Just like other homeless people, he didn’t think he needed anything. But once he mentioned to me he needed eye glasses. His voice hesitated a bit, he looked down, and it appeared like he thought such a request was just a dream. Too much to hope for? It was as if his wish were known by me only.
I submitted an application for him to a program that is supposed to provide a free eye examination and glasses. Three months later, I phoned to ask what was up with the appointment but they told me there was a cash flow problem until late summer.
Steve showed disappointment, thanked me and started to walk away. I said, “Hold on, I will figure out a way to get you an eye examination and glasses.” His face lit up a tiny bit. He had seen some of the things I have done for other people in our shelter and to me it looked like he might have a line of hope.
I took a picture of him and posted his picture and his story in the Twitter. In about 4 days, eight people from around the world donated $25 each and one person donated $40 and I made up the rest to get him an eye exam and glasses.
Steve picked up his glasses on Wednesday: May 11th, 2011. Today Steve has returned to a previous job he had in a nearby car wash. Because he now has glasses he will be able to see what he is doing while cleaning the vehicles. He is starting a second job at a pet center next week!
1.We can learn from the first two paragraphs that ______.
A. it took a long time to treat Steve’s wife
B. homeless people never ask for anything
C. Steve was too embarrassed to ask for help
D. the author and Steve have been friends for years
2. The program failed to satisfy Steve because ______.
A. it was already out of business
B. it had some trouble in finance
C. Steve didn’t submit the application himself
D. it’s not designed for people like Steve
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The program was closed three months ago.
B. Steve used to work as a salesman in a car factory.
C. Steve got $240 in total from kind-hearted people.
D. The author might be a volunteer in the shelter.
4.The best title for the passage is probably ______.
A. Money can sometimes talk
B. Small help can really count
C. Two heads are better than one
D. God helps those who help themselves
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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Amy Chua, a professor of law in Yale, nicknamed as Tiger Mother, has started a debate over Chinese-style parenting. Amy sets “10 Rules” for her two daughters. For instance, they’ve to get As in all subjects and play the piano or violin and practice hours every day.
There has been wide criticism(批评) across the US. “It’s kind of extreme,” said Jeffrey Seinfeld, a professor at New York University. “Children need parents who can guide them, not force them...”
Lawrence Solomon, a famous journalist for Canada’s Globe and Mail, has quoted statistics to show the failure of Chinese parenting. He writes that only 10 Chinese scientists outside the Chinese mainland have won the Nobel Prize in the past century. In contrast, American scientists have won more than 300 Nobel prizes, and Jews(犹太人), who take up only 1% of the world’s population, have got at least 180 (or almost one-fourth) of the prizes.
However, Amy’s strict rules help her daughters shine in their studies. The elder sister is known for her piano presentation at the Carnegie Hall, and the younger boasts an excellent academic record.
Besides, US statistics show that Chinese-Americans take up only 5% of the US population but 20% of the students in Ivy League schools（常春藤学校）.
Likewise, Chinese-Canadians take up more than one-third of the students in Canada’s two most famous universities, Toronto University and the University of British Columbia. Influenced by Confucius’ teachings, students from Korea and Japan are also excelling in academic fields.
Therefore, the Nobel Prize should not be taken as the yardstick of a country’s education. No culture or tradition, whether Eastern or Western, is better or worse. The same applies to Eastern and Western education systems. Both sides should stop using their concepts and criteria to judge the other. They should learn the good aspects of each other’s systems and clear the misunderstandings.
1.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. there’re about 720 Nobel Prizes in the 20th century
B. Jeffrey Seinfeld agrees children need pushing to succeed
C. Amy Chua’s parenting style is widely accepted across America
D. Western concepts should be adopted to judge all education systems
2.What does the author think of the Chinese-style parenting?
A. Valuable. B. Unreliable.
C. Unchangeable. D. Flexible.
3. The underlined word “yardstick” in the last paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A. yard B. footstep
C. standard D. chopsticks
4.How does this passage develop?
A. By inferring. B. By comparing.
C. By reasoning. D. By explaining.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Dangerous as they are, extreme sports remain appealing among many Australian young people! Camp Xtreme is the perfect test of your heart.
Kite Surfing
It’s the exciting mixture of kite, board and waves. The idea of using a kite to accelerate speed seems like a new challenge, yet the art of kite flying dates back to the 13th-century Chinese when it was used as a simple means of transport.
Catch a wind and you’re moving — up, down and across the surf. “It’s always exciting. You’d jump 5 feet or 35 feet. You never know if you’re going to go up in the air, and your heart is just going boom, boom, boom.”
Coasteering
It is by far the best activity and the event that everyone is still talking about. This is exploring the coastline without worrying about a coastal path or finding a rocky bay blocking your route. You climb, dive and swim from one place to another. With Coasteering, you don’t have to be able to swim as the wet suit and buoyancy(浮力) aid will keep you floating when you are in the water.
Sky Diving
Traditional parachuting(跳伞) doesn’t sound risky enough. So now sky diving is the name for jumping from a plane and listening to your heart beating heavily as you move fast towards earth before you open your parachute at the last moment.
Mountain Biking
It’s been around so long that bikers are no longer satisfied with just going up and down a mountain. Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough land, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but include features designed to improve strength and performance in rough areas.
For details, please call us on 1300-792-668 or click here: www.xtremecamp.com.au.
1.All the four extreme sports are mainly intended to test one’s _____.
A. heart beat B. physical health
C. potential strength D. courage
2.The underlined word in the second paragraph “it” refers to _____.
A. the kite B. kite surfing
C. kite flying D. the art of kites
3.Which of the following sports can be the most risky?
A. Kite surfing. B. Coasteering.
C. Sky diving. D. Mountain biking.
4.We can infer from the passage that _______.
A. kites were the main means of transport in China
B. swimming skills play a key role in Coasteering
C. parachuting is the least popular sports at present
D. mountain biking requires more than riding common bikes
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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“Image is everything.” An entire industry has been built upon the concept that image is everything, but an appealing image isn’t enough when there’s no substance behind it.
First of all, one should consider how important image is in selling products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. But if the product or service doesn’t live up to it, customers will be very dissatisfied. The recent scandal (丑闻) about the Arthur Andersen accounting firm showed that behind that image, it had unfair business practices under the table. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to its downfall.Similarly, personal consultants(顾问) can build up a very positive public image for politicians and movie stars in the view of the general commons. But once again, history is filled with examples of both that fell from grace (体面) like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind it, failure is close.
To conclude, it’s clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person. But image is only half of the equation(等式). What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself — the person or product must live up to that image or there’s little chance for long-term success.
1.The downfall of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm is due to ______.
A. its dishonesty in business
B. its bad management
C. its previous images
D. its poor service
2.Some famous people fall from grace because _____.
A. their images were not well built up
B. they failed to live up to their images
C. they felt much pressure from the public
D. they paid little attention to fame and fortune
3.The structure of the passage is probably .
(A: Argument P: Point C: Conclusion)
4.The author might support that______.
A. image is the basis of everything
B. truth and image are equally important
C. truth goes hand in hand with image
D. image holds the key to success
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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In recent years, temperatures in the polar areas are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth. As a result, the ice and the snow are melting at record-setting rates. One result is that sea levels are rising around the world, putting animals and people at risk.
A sheet of ice acts like a huge mirror, reflecting the sun’s energy. But ocean water, which is darker than ice, absorbs a lot of it. This causes the ocean to warm, which in turn speeds up ice melting and which leads to even more open waters. The cycle continues until all the ice is gone.
“As the ice melts, water flows into the oceans, making them less salty. That, along with warmer water temperatures, can harm the creatures that live in, under, and near the ice,” says zoologist Michael Stoddard. “Cold-adapted animals — including polar bears, foxes, hares, and seals — also need ice for travel and survival.”
“Most species of fish, sea spiders, and many other animals and plants that live in the waters of Antarctica don’t live anywhere else,” Stoddard says. “Many of them have special proteins in their bodies keeping them from freezing to death and have other adaptation to the cold that has yet to be explored.”
Therefore, experts are urging us to reconsider the way we live. The fuels that we burn in cars, power stations, and factories are largely to blame for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are trapping overmuch heat in our atmosphere. If we can produce fewer of these gases, we can help save the polar ice. “Even small things would make a difference, if everyone did them.” Michael Stoddard says, “That’s what we have to figure out in the near future to help save the polar ice and thus protect the oceans and us.”
1.The passage is mainly written to _____.
A. introduce the present situation of the polar areas
B. warn people against extreme weather
C. call on people to protect the oceans and humans
D. advertise for volunteers to protect the environment
2.Paragraph 2 mainly tells us about _______.
A. the ice’s functions
B. ocean’s quick growing
C. the cause of sea level rising
D. the ways of more waters
3. From the passage, we can know that _______.
A. most polar animals prefer to live in less salty water
B. some of the cold-adapted animals mainly feed on ice
C. many polar creatures have special proteins to keep alive
D. scientists still don’t know how polar creatures have adapted to the cold
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Polar bears are expanding at a high speed.
B. Experts advise people not to use fuels at all.
C. Wildlife worldwide is in the process of dying out.
D. Global warm is putting animals and humans at risk.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
First of all, one should consider how important image is in selling products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. But if the product or service doesn’t live up to it, customers will be very dissatisfied. The recent scandal (丑闻) about the Arthur Andersen accounting firm showed that behind that image, it had unfair business practices under the table. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to its downfall.