When Armida Armato’s daughter, Alexia, came home from school one day last year keen to go on a school trip to Ecuador, she wasn’t too sure how to feel. She was happy that her daughter could experience something she never did as a teen but was fearful of letting her travel to such a remote part of the world.
Alexia was 16 at the time, a student at Westwood High School. The school sponsored a humanitarian trip for 26 students and two teachers to spend 18 days living in a mountain village to build a one-room school. Even though Armato trusted her daughter, the other students and the teachers, she was worried about the side effects from the travel vaccines, possible accidents, and medical care.
Now that Alexia was home, Armato said she saw her daughter’s new maturity, greater confidence and independence. “This is the best thing I ever did,” Alexia said. “The experience was so eye-opening and life-changing. You’re with people who are not as lucky as you are. They live in very poor conditions but they’re so happy and outgoing. You say, ‘My God. I’m taking everything for granted back home.’”
She said they built a one-room school from scratch with no mechanical cement mixers. They used their hands, shovels and basic tools. She and another student lived with a local family in a small village about eight hours outside the capital, Quito. Despite the initial strangeness and knowing only basic Spanish, she said they grew very close and felt like a family.
Every year, groups of students at Montreal High School like Alexia pack their bags and fly off with classmates and teachers to developing countries where they volunteer for a variety of projects.
“Armato’s worries are very common among parents,” says Bill Nevin, a teacher at St. George’s High School. He organizes a humanitarian rip to India to the Sheela Bal Bhavan orphanage and says the three biggest fears families have are health, security and contact.
1.When hearing the news that her daughter would go on a school trip to Ecuador, Armato was____.
A. proud and happy B. supportive but concerned
C. fearful and nervous D. excited but puzzled
2.The underlined phrase “from scratch” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.
A. having great help B. using high technology
C. ending up in failure D. starting from the beginning
3.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Volunteering helps students grow and develop.
B. School trips make parents worried about their children.
C. Ecuador is the most attractive travel destination in the world.
D. Brave Alexia dreams to work in Ecuador one day.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Homestay UK/Great Britain
Here you will find a selection of homestay hosts and host families in the UK. If you want to learn more about the British host family of your choice, please click on information at www. Homestaybooking. Com. You will then see a personal introduction of the UK homestay host. If you don’t want to search yourself, just register for free and receive our matching recommendations.
Chika and Tara from London, the United Kingdom
Information about the homestay host
Chika is 28 years old. She is away from home most of the time. Tara is 18 years old. She is at home every day. They both speak English.
Chika and Tara’s guests can stay for at least 5 nights and up to a maximum of 365 nights. Chika and Tara have no children living at home. It is a non-smoking residence(住宅). No pets live in this household.
Information about the homestay accommodation
The accommodation is in London. The name of the neighborhood is Greenwich. The distance to the city center is 1.6km. The next access point to public transport is at 15 m distance.
Three guests can stay in Tara and Chika’s house at the same time. The following accommodation is generally available:
Single room with shared use of the family bathroom
*Size: 12.0 ㎡
*Facilities: desk, Internet access, mirror, hairdryer and wardrobe(衣橱)
*Price per night per person: ￡20.00 per night(one single)
Twin room with shared use of the family bathroom
*Size: 15.0 ㎡
*Facilities: TV, desk, Internet access, mirror, hairdryer and wordrobe
*Price per night per person:
￡20.00 per night(one guest)
￡17.00 per night(two guests)
The room charge includes the following services: Internet access, regular room cleaning, breakfast, free use of the washing machine.
Additional available service at an extra charge: Pick-up service(￡60.00 one-way); Lunch(￡6.00 per person per day); Dinner(￡6.00 per person per night)
Vegetarian(素食的) meals are available.
1.Chika and Tara’s house would be a good choice for _______.
A. a pet lover
B. a heavy smoker
C. a person who eats no meat
D. one who needs a one-night stay
2.What do we know about Chika and Tara’s house?
A. It lies in the center of the city.
B. It is not far away from Greenwich.
C. Public transport is convenient there.
D. The distance from the house to London is 1.6 km.
3.If Mary chooses a twin room and pick-up service(two-way), how much should she pay per day?
A. ￡140. B. ￡137. C. ￡80. D. ￡77
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
As many as 4 out of every 1,000 infants born today have permanent hearing loss. When parents learn that their child has hearing loss, they are faced with many difficult decisions. These decisions can include choosing therapies and schools, as well as finding financial help for hearing aids or cochlear implants (人工耳蜗).
Help Me Hear Foundation is a public charity that gives the gift of hearing to deaf children from families existing on very low incomes around the world. The foundation offers life-changing services for impoverished families, and provides real help for children with hearing impairment who may otherwise be left behind in schools or society due to their lack of hearing.
Help Me Hear Foundation believes that a child’s first years of development are critical. Being able to hear is vital to human, and Help Me Hear Foundation seeks to provide a positive lasting impression on society through its programs. Help Me Hear Foundation has many goals, including relieving the burden on communities with hearing-impaired infants and children, and strengthening the social structure of families and neighborhoods.
Recipients of Help Me Hear Foundation’s benefits receive state-of-the-art hearing devices that otherwise would cost thousands of dollars per child over the course of their lifetime. The Foundation raises money through donations for hearing aids and cochlear implants, which saves recipients and their families on average over $50,000 on related expenses.
The Foundation tries to be a transparent charity, and wants to be a catalyst for allowing deaf and hearing-impaired children to develop in a typical fashion alongside their peers.
Needy families can obtain information on specific services, and find out about deafness education by visiting the Help Me Hear Foundation’s website. The website offers helpful information on how hearing aids work, and how hearing aids ease many of the learning and language challenges that hearing-impaired children deal with on a daily basis.
1.Help Me Hear Foundation was probably set up to _____.
A. build schools for deaf children
B. research deaf children’s behavior
C. protect deaf children from being ignored
D. offer real help to poor deaf children
2.We learn from the text that _____.
A. the local government is in charge of the foundation
B. the work of the foundation depends on donations
C. even blind children can turn to the foundation
D. poor deaf African children cannot get help from the foundation
3.Visit the foundation’s website, and you will learn about _____.
A. the function of hearing aids
B. the specific services the foundation needs
C. the challenges that children face every day
D. the prices of a variety of hearing aids
4.For whom is the text most probably written?
A. Poor parents who have deaf children.
B. Doctors who want to improve skills.
C. Students who cannot see the blackboard clearly.
D. Teachers who have deaf children in their class.
5. The author writes the text mainly to _____.
A. tell how to avoid permanent hearing loss
B. explain how hard a life deaf children live
C. introduce Help Me Hear Foundation
D. advise people to give money to Help Me Hear Foundation
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want? Let’s face it. Thinking our life is good enough doesn’t come naturally to many people. When we have high expectations of everything in life we will run into disappointment. Only when we are aware that needs are different from desires can we live with satisfaction. Here are a few ideas to help you be happier with what you have and who you are.
Focus on what you are thankful for. Most people want things to be better than they are, or when things are going well, we forget to appreciate what we have. Learn to reflect on how much better things are than they could be. Focus on what you are thankful for. Write down 5 things you are grateful for right now.
When we hold onto regrets from decisions we have made, it can really poison our well-being. Many people regret something they can no longer change, which ends up holding them back from moving forward in a more positive manner. What happened in the past is done and gone, so work to stay present and be mindful of the current moment to find more joy and fulfillment.
When we use other people as the measuring stick for our personal success and quality of life we are likely to be less satisfied. Social comparisons can provide useful information when we try to learn from others, but they also hold our perspective in a discontented position. Compare yourself less with others so you can be satisfied more.
When you are focused on your big ambitions and future goals you might elide the daily pleasures that surround you. Learn to slow down and absorb the wonder and beauty around you. Stay present and focus on the task you’re undertaking at the moment. Don’t let the life pass you by because you’re always on the go and distracted by ambition.
Practice looking at life through the lens of contentment and it will become more natural.
1.How can we live with contentment?
A. To change our lifestyle.
B. To have a motivation in life.
C. To give less attention to what we are grateful for.
D. To realize the difference between needs and desires.
2.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?
A. Make wise decisions.
B. Know the present situation
C. Let go of regrets.
D. Remember the past.
3.The underlined word “elide”(in Paragraph 5) probably means “__”.
A. enjoy B. change C. create D. neglect
4.What should you do to put yourself in a good mood?
A. Make time for simple pleasures.
B. Learn from successful people.
C. Focus on your future goals.
D. Create chance to learn more.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Mary is digging in the ground for a photo, when along comes John. Seeing that there is no one in sight, John starts to scream. John’s angry mother rushes over and drives Mary away. Once his mum has gone, John helps himself to Mary’s potato.
We’ve all experienced similar annoying tricks when we were young—the brother who stole your ball and then got you into trouble by telling your parents you had hit him. But Mary and John are not humans. They’re African baboons(狒狒). __1._
John’s scream and his mother’s attack on Mary could have been a matter of chance, but John was later seen playing the same tricks on others. ___2.___
Studying behavior like this is complicated but scientists discovered apes(猿) clearly showed that they intended to cheat and knew when they themselves had been cheated. ___3.___ An ape was annoying him, so he tricked her into going away by pretending he had seen something interesting. When she found nothing, she “walked back, hit me over the head with her hand and ignored me for the rest of the day.”
Another way to decide whether an animal’s behavior is deliberate is to look for actions that are not normal for that animal. A zoo worker describes how an ape dealt with an enemy. “He slowly stole up behind the other ape, walking on tiptoe. When he got close to his enemy, he pushed him violently in the back, then ran indoors.” Wild apes do not normally walk on tiptoe. ___4.__ But looking at the many cases of deliberate trickery in apes, it is impossible to explain them all as simple copying.
It seems that trickery does play an important part in ape societies. ____5.__ Studying the intelligence of our closest relative could be the way to understand the development of human intelligence.
A. In most cases the animal probably doesn’t know it is cheating.
B. An amusing example of this comes from a psychologist working in Tanzania.
C. And playing tricks is as much a part of monkey behavior as it is of human behavior.
D. So the psychologists asked his colleagues if they had noticed this kind of trickery.
E. The ability of animals to cheat may be a better measure of their intelligence than their use of tools
F. This use of a third individual to achieve a goal is only one of the many tricks commonly used by baboons.
G. Of course it’s possible that it could have learnt from humans that such behavior works, without understanding why.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I am a mom of two young children whom we home-school. This that they are with me almost constantly. Whenever possible I will random acts of kindness; things like paying for the order behind me in the drive-thru lane, holding doors, etc. So, they are very with the concept and are, of course, to also do "nice" things for others.
Just a few days ago we stopped our local grocery store to pick up a few things which quickly turned into an entire cart load of stuff. We got into one of the two open checkout lanes and waited our . While waiting a young man came up behind us with only a few in his basket. I told him to go ahead of us as we were in no .
He seemed very pleasantly surprised and graciously . As he began putting his items on the belt the clerk began to her till tape so we had a fairly long wait in line. My kids were very behaved but they were still children; they asked questions, they talked , they moved around and they were generally very entertaining. (To me, anyway.)
I could see the young man watching and listening with a smile on his face.
We were putting our groceries on the when the clerk finished with order. What I didn't know was that he had heard my kids bubble gum. I had agreed they could have some. , he picked up a pack of bubble-gum and asked the clerk to ring it through twice before putting it back. He then told my kids that he bought their gum their mom was enough to let him go ahead in the queue.
The experience really drove home the that good begets(产生，引起) good for my lovely little kiddos（亲呢的称呼：小伙子）.
1.A．tells B. leaves C. means D. ensures
2.A. entertain B. serve C. function D. perform
3.A. important B. impressive C. suitable D. simple
4.A. satisfied B. occupied C. familiar D. pleased
5.A. supported B. taught C. encouraged D. supposed
6.A. near B. by C. with D. against
7.A. opportunity B. return C. turn D. time
8.A. fruit B. vegetables C. items D. sales
9.A. time B. hurry C. case D. sense
10.A. accepted B. collected C. carried D. agreed
11.A. change B. remove C. continue D. stop
12.A. badly B. poorly C. well D. ill
13.A. constantly B. immediatelyC. usually D. rudely
14.A. belt B. bench C. basket D. cart
15.A. her B. his C. their D. our
16.A. complain about B. allow for C. ask for D. concern about
17.A. So B. But C. Or D. For
18.A. when B. unless C. because D. until
19.A. happy B. helpful C. serious D. nice
20.A. idea B. reward C. chance D. instruction
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Joyce: What do you think of the lead teacher’s speech?
Caroline: I think it was _1.__ (interest).
Joyce: __2._ do I. I hear Mike is likely to win all the prizes in the exams this year.
Caroline: Yes, his teacher says so. He __3.__ (work) hard at his lessons every evening for months. He wants to go to Oxford University next year.
Joyce: I hope he will realize his goal.
Caroline: I hope so. _4. I think he works too hard. I hope he’ll go out and enjoy __5.__ for a change. How about your son Carl?
Joyce: Don’t mention him. Carl never starts studying.
Caroline: You’re joking. I heard that Carl _6.__ (win) the composition prize.
Joyce: You have made _7.__ mistake. That is White Carl. My son is Brown Carl. The whites live in the same community __8.__ we do. White Carl has always been so hard working. He wants to be a __9.__ (write). My son likes going to the concert. He only likes singing.
Caroline: _10.__ he practices singing, he will become a singer in the future.
Joyce: Not all people can become a singer. I don’t think he has the talent.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
第一节:短文改错(共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌写的文章.文中共有10处错误,每句中最多有两处.错误涉及一个单词的增加删除或修改.
The news which the English Entrance Examination will be reformed has caused a big “earthquake” in our country. Many people, included students, are for it. But there are also some people are against it. Then, is it better to do so or not? Personally, I think the reform has between advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it can reduce students’ learn burden and enable English to return back to its true function. On the other hand, it will cause students to spend less time on studying English and to attached less importance to English. If so, students will not have a good knowledge of English. What’s more, if students don’t have so a good ability, they will not be able to broaden our horizon and meet the future challenges.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假设你是李华，你的英国笔友Bob将于九月到你所在城市的建新华文学校学中文，来信请你在学校附近为他找一套住房。请根据图画提供的信息，写信介绍住房的情况，并告知住房面积为25平方米，月租500元。
注意：1. 词数：100左右。
2. 参考词汇：房租 rent (n.) 。
Dear Bob,
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析