-
“Don’t you have any toys you want to share?” I asked my son during our church’s Christmas toy drive. “What about all those things in your closet you haven’t used in years?”
"I don’t have anything,” he said. “We’re so poor.”
We’re only “poor” because we refuse to buy him the phone he wants for Christmas, which would also require a monthly texting charge.
“You’re not so poor you have nothing to give,” I found myself saying to him, a phrase my mother often used on me.
At work the next day, one of my students said, “I didn’t spell your name right,” as she handed me a Christmas gift—a box of chocolates. No wonder she hadn’t spelled it right—I had only worked at the center for a couple of months, and my name is not easy to pronounce, even in English, which is this woman’s second language.
I hadn’t expected a gift—I worked at an adult education center, where we dealt with people who struggle economically. When I was hired, my boss told me she tries to keep snacks around the center and cooks “stone soup” once a week, where whoever can bring something in does, because “You will hear growling bellies here. They give their food to the children before they themselves eat.”
And yet these people, so grateful for a second chance at getting an education, unable to sometimes even afford the gas money to come in, manage to do something for us nearly every week. Some bring in food; others do chores around the center. They help and encourage one another, and us. They give what they are able to give.
1.Who does the education center intend to help?
A. Local people out of work.
B. Adult students unable to spell.
C. Immigrants on empty stomachs.
D. Poor people eager for education.
2.What can we learn from the text?
A. Students learn to do chores at the center.
B. The boy was unwilling to share his toys.
C. The center offers chocolate as a Christmas gift.
D. The author has high expectations of her students.
3.What may be the best title for the text?
A. Never Too Poor to Give
B. Never Too Late to Learn
C. A Second Chance to Seize
D. An Unexpected Gift to Treasure
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
Jumping off random cliffs(悬崖) into the sea is not clever. However, as a sport, coasteering uses local experts to help groups travel around the coast so they can then jump safely and have a lot of fun in the process. But coasteering is also so much more than cliff jumping.
A usual day’s coasteering will involve swimming, climbing, scrambling(攀岩) and cliff jumping. All trips begin with a safety brief and equipment check. You will be equipped with a helmet, wetsuit and life vest. You will need to wear some old sneakers you don’t mind getting wet.
From here it could be a short swim to the first jump site. Following an instructor, you swim through rock pools, around rough rocks and right up to the next jump spot. A brief climb and you’ll be standing on the edge wondering, “Why the hell did I agree to this?” Then, and to the yell of your friends, you’re leaping in, with a smile that’s guaranteed to last the rest of the day.
Coasteering is certainly more than cliff jumping. If ever a sport could claim to be confidence building, this is it. And it’s also a perfect activity for groups of friends or for adventurous families who want to explore the coast. Many companies offer daily trips, so even if you are on your own or a couple you can join in with a large group. Companies use trained guides with much knowledge of local tides and weather conditions. These people lead the show and are qualified lifesavers as well.
Coasteering is already popular around the UK. At least now you won’t have to ask “What is coasteering?” if someone you know gives it a go.
1.What is coasteering?
A. A daily sightseeing trip.
B. A non-expert guided diving.
C. A cliff and water based sport.
D. A group activity of climbing.
2.What is the benefit of coasteering?
A. Building confidence.
B. Developing independence.
C. Improving guiding skills.
D. Enriching lifesaving experience.
3.What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?
A. You felt scared and regretful.
B. You became totally tired.
C. You discovered your potential.
D. You gained complete relief.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A. To introduce coasteering.
B. To organize coasteering.
C. To advertise spots for coasteering.
D. To train coasteering-lovers.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
A guiding principle for master cellist Yo-Yo Ma is that “the intersection(交汇) of cultures is where new things appear.” Certainly his biography is an intersection of cultures. He was born to Chinese parents in Paris, France; both his parents were musicians. When he was seven, his family moved to the United States. Gifted for his age, Ma attended Juilliard, the world famous music institute. He then chose to earn a liberal arts degree at Harvard rather than focusing only on music.
Even in his earliest performing years, Yo-Yo Ma had a strong belief that it was important to share music with all kinds of people. Stories are told about how he once performed in the hallway of a large building for people who were unable to get tickets to his concert. He remained interested in making music accessible to diverse audiences and furthered his interest in different cultures when he visited the Bushmen of the Kalahari. He developed a vehicle to further these ideals when he founded the Silk Road Project.
As he has said, the Silk Road is a metaphor(隐喻) for a number of things: as the Internet of ancient times, the routes were used for trade, by religious people, adventurers, scientists, storytellers. Everything from algebra to Islam moved along the Silk Road. It’s the local-global thing. In the cultural world, you want to make sure that voices don’t get lost, that rich traditions continue to live, without becoming common.
This lesson explores the philosophy behind Yo-Yo Ma’s founding of the Silk Road Ensemble(乐团), his belief that the arts, and particularly music, can make the world better, and that through cooperation, one can both preserve tradition and shape cultural evolution. Students also explore their own attitudes toward the arts, writing reflective essays on how the arts have played a role in their own lives.
1.What do we learn about Yo-Yo Ma according to Paragraph 1?
A. He studied music in France.
B. He started his career in Harvard.
C. He showed great musical talent.
D. He earned a liberal arts degree in Julliard.
2.Which of the following can best replace the word “vehicle” in Paragraph 2?
A. Car. B. Medium.
C. Skill. D. Project.
3.What does Yo-Yo Ma think of the Silk Road?
A. The route is key to musical development.
B. It has significant influence on the world.
C. It simply helps with the spread of religions.
D. Traditions are passed on through the route.
4.Why did Yo-Yo Ma found the Silk Road Ensemble?
A. To foster cooperation in business.
B. To record the voices along the route.
C. To explore people’s attitude toward the arts.
D. To share music and promote cultural development.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
The Women’s Institute is urging supermarkets to do more to help consumers reduce their home food waste, after a survey of its own membership showed widespread confusion about “best before” and “use by” labeling(标签) on packaging.
Its new analysis of products on supermarket shelves found that “once-opened” instructions were often contradictory and often failed to make clear whether they were a guide to food safety or quality. Only 45% of 5,000 WI members surveyed understood that best-before dates were a sign of food quality, while 26% did not understand that the more important use-by dates were a decisive guide to food safety.
In its report on food waste, the WI said supermarkets were “potentially contributing to home food waste by leading customers to buy more food than they need, and giving conflicting and confusing on-pack information that leaves customers unsure about how long a product remains safe to eat in the home setting”. The 42-page report is part of the WI’s ongoing campaign to reduce food waste. To underline the point about conflicting information, it cites(引用) a can of Sainsbury’s own-brand sweetcorn advising consumers to eat it within one day of opening, while a similar tin from Waitrose gave consumers two days to finish it. Green Giant sweetcorn, however, has no specified date for eating once opened.
Marylyn Haines Evans, chair of the Women’s Institute’s public affairs said: “WI members are some of the more informed members of society about food and cookery, but they are still confused about food labelling and ‘once-opened’ information. So we would like supermarkets to extend the amount of time that consumers have to use a product in their homes by making all of their once-opened instructions on product packaging consistent, and completely remove once-opened instructions on products where food safety is not an issue.”
1.What mainly leads to food waste according to WI?
A. Poor quality of food.
B. Attractive packaging of products.
C. Competition among supermarkets.
D. Consumers’ confusion about on-pack information.
2.Which of the following can inform you of food safety?
A.
B. 
C.
D. 
3.Why are the three supermarkets mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A. To attract more consumers.
B. To compare their products.
C. To comment on their service.
D. To make WI’s report convincing.
4.What does Evans suggest supermarkets do about reducing food waste?
A. Extend life of a product.
B. Turn to well-informed WI members.
C. Give consistent once-opened instructions.
D. Remove instructions on product packaging.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
B. 
D. 