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Wild Blue is a none-of-a-kind, geography-oriented exploration and adventure center for children aged 3 through 10．Our mission is to immerse(使沉浸于)children and their families in experiences that relate to the people，places and natural elements of the wonderful planet we live on．All our programs are developed and led by our own world-class team of explorers and educators．The following is a brief introduction to some of our classes：
Global Kitchen
All over the world，people gather together to share meals．In this class, children will learn about the cuisine of a foreign country or region while they create a delicious snack． Recipes will be kid-friendly, and use ingredients(原料)from the country of origin．Your child will learn healthy，easy-to-create recipes he can bring home to share!
Documentary Filmmaking
This 50-minute video documentary film class is specially designed for our 6and 7 years old explorers．Classes will concentrate on the basics of visual storytelling and include subject discovery, story development, storyboard, filming，editing and presenting．Participants will work as a team to produce their own documentary, which will then be screened for friends and family at the course’s conclusion．
Exploring the Wonders of Earth
Designed specifically with our youngest explorers in mind, this semester-long program will expose your child to a wide variety of exciting scientific events that occur on our planet，from chocolate melting，to volcanoes erupting，to seeds sprouting．Through this course children will begin to develop an awareness of the science that makes the earth a marvelous place．
A World of Arts and Crafts
Whether you are seeking to simply extend your child’s time at Wild Blue or looking for a favorite pastime，we offer our own unique version of arts and crafts．Focusing on using found objects，this course encourages children to draw creative inspiration from cultures around the world．This course is available，upon request, as an additional class in your child’s schedule．
55. The passage is mainly about ______.
A. an interesting exploration to the outer space
B. various tips on how to explore
C. an exploration program designed for children
D. a vivid description to an exploring experience
56. In the “Global Kitchen” class, children will _____.
A. learn to create a delicious snack of his own country or region
B. focus on learning complex recipes
C. enjoy the food over the process of making
D. mainly use ingredients that are unpolluted and good to children’s health
57. Those who sign up for thedocumentary filmmaking class ．
A. should be children with advanced filmmaking ability
B. can do filmmaking with his partner as wellas his families
C. can work both individually or as a pair
D. will present their works in the end
58. If one parent intends to develop his child’s love for science, which course can he take?
A. Global Kitchen B. Documentary Filmmaking
C. Exploring the Wonders of Earth D. A World of Arts and Crafts
You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts. The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to. You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness. It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time.
Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer. They only feel glad when they make others feel bad. No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect.
When you communicate with positive people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted. When the dagger（匕首） of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that all in all, brings you down.
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people. This could be a co-worker, or a relative. In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person, but all this is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that.
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized. The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to（附着） you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness. Life is too short to feel negative. Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible. The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________.
| A．make a comparison | B．offer an evidence |
| C．introduce a topic | D．describe a daily scene |
How can negative people have effect on us?
| A．By changing our ways of thinking |
| B．By telling us the nature of life |
| C．By influencing our emotion |
| D．By comparing their attitudes to life with ours |
Some negative people base their happiness on __________.
| A．other people’s respect for them |
| B．other people’s pity for them |
| C．building up a positive attitude |
| D．making other people unhappy |
According to the passage, to reduce negative people’s influence on us, we are advised to __________.
| A．show our dissatisfaction to negative people |
| B．communicate with negative people as little as possible |
| C．change negative people’s attitudes to life |
| D．make negative people feel ashamed of themselves |
When I was eight, I saw a movie about an island that had an erupting volcano and jungles filled with wild animals. The island was ruled by a beautiful woman called Tondalaya, the Fire Goddess of the Volcano. It was a low budget movie, but to me, it represented the perfect life. But through the years, Tondalaya was forgotten.
The week I turned 50, my marriage came to a sudden end. My house, furniture and everything I’d owned was sold to pay debts that I didn’t even know existed. In a week I had lost my husband, my home and my parents who had refused to accept a divorce in the family. I’d lost everything except my four teenage children. I used every penny I had to buy five plane tickets from Missouri to Hawaii. Everyone said I was crazy to think I could just run off to an island and survive. I was afraid they were right.
I worked 18 hours a day and lost 30 pounds because I lived on one meal a day. One night as I walked alone on the beach, I saw the red orange lava（火山岩）pouring out of Kilauea Volcano in the distance. It was time to live my imagination!
The next day, I quit my job, bought some art supplies and began doing what I loved. I hadn't painted a picture in 15 years. I wondered if I could still paint. My hands trembled the first time I picked up a brush. But before an hour had passed, I was lost in the colors spreading across the canvas（画布）in front of me. And as soon as I started believing in myself, other people started believing in me, too. The first painting sold for $ 1500.
The past six years have been filled with adventures. My children and I have gone swimming with dolphins, watched whales and hiked around the crater rim（火山口边缘）of the volcano. We wake up every morning with the ocean in front of us and the volcano behind us. The dream I had more than 40 years ago is now reality. I’m living freely and happily ever after. Why did the writer go to Hawaii?
| A．To free herself from trouble. |
| B．To make a living. |
| C．To spend her holiday. |
| D．To realize her childhood dream. |
Which of the following is the writer’s dream?
| A．Become a successful painter. |
| B．Live in nature with animals. |
| C．Get close to wildlife. |
| D．Live a free and happy life. |
We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．the writer wasn’t sure whether she could survive in Hawaii at first |
| B．the writer’s parents encouraged her to divorce |
| C．the writer’s husband took away most of her money |
| D．the writer had never done painting before |
A Book Review—The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty
The setting: Urban England (the cities), but also rural England (the countryside) including remote English villages．
The theme: The main theme is a teenage research of self-discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age．Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries．As the book moves to a close, James’ swimming coach says to him: “You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more．You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going．”
The characters: James is the hero of the story．He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents (养父母)．Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother．The other characters in The Snake-Stone, James’ parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically．
The turning point: The turning point in the story comes while James’ foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother．The only clue he has is a fossil, “the snake stone” which she left behind along with a note on which she had written: “Take good care of Sammie．It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there．
The journey: Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother．With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found．James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels．The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel．He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger’s door fifteen years before．Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness．As a journey of self-discovery The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending．Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, “I was home．”What is the main theme of the novel?
| A．A journey of self-discovery． |
| B．Life in the world of diving． |
| C．Life with foster parents． |
| D．A travel around the country． |
What do the coach’s words in Paragraph 2 suggest?
| A．James is a successful diver． |
| B．James is an independent young man． |
| C．James is an outgoing young man． |
| D．James is a hopeful swimmer． |
The snake stone in the novel is ．
| A．a stone with an address on it |
| B．a gift from the swimming coach |
| C．a clue left by the birth mother |
| D．a fossil left by the foster parents |
Which of the following is true about the novel?
| A．The story has a sad ending． |
| B．The story takes place in the city of London． |
| C．The characters are vividly described． |
| D．The turning point comes after the hero meets his birth mother． |
It can be concluded that James’ journey is _________．
| A．disappointing | B．boring | C．comfortable | D．worthwhile |
The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place．Now it is an ecological disaster area．Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes．
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived in the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization．The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798．He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship．He called the island Pleasant Island．
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first．The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol．These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island．A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900．
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (磷酸盐)on the island．In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which was a very important fertilizer for farming．The company began mining the phosphate．
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine．When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil．Then it takes away the material it wants．Strip mining totally destroys the land．Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon．
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world．Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate．
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars．In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses．Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out．Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing．By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined．Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island．This will probably never happen．What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To seek help for Nauru’s problems． |
| B．To tell a heartbreaking story of a war． |
| C．To show the importance of money |
| D．To give a warning to other countries |
What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?
| A．Rich and powerful | B．Peaceful and attractive |
| C．Modern and open | D．Greedy and aggressive |
The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from _______．
A．phosphate overmining B soil pollution
C．farming activity D．whale hunting Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem?
| A．Its phosphate mining cost much money |
| B．It spent too much repairing the island |
| C．Its leaders misused the money |
| D．It lost millions of dollars in the civil war． |
What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?
| A．The ecological damage is difficult to repair． |
| B．The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously． |
| C．The island was abandoned by the Nauruans |
| D．The phosphate mines were destroyed |
Barditch High School decided to hold an All-School Reunion．Over 450 people came to the event．There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park．Several former teachers were on hands to tell stories about the old days．Ms．Mabel Yates, the English teacher for fifty years, was wheeled to the Park．
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans(嘟囔声)when Ms．Yates was about to speak．Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined．
Then Ms．Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be here．I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies．I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students．Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the birth of your children, in my imagination．”
Ms．Yates paused and started crying a bit．Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me．Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in you chosen path．”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work．You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart．”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping．The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar(呼喊)．Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown．What activity was organized for the school reunion?
| A．Telling stories about past events． |
| B．A picnic on the school playground． |
| C．Sightseeing in the park． |
| D．Graduates’ reports in the old building． |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?
| A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms．Yates’ speech． |
| B．Some people got tired from the reunion activities． |
| C．Many graduates disliked Ms．Yates’ ways of teaching． |
| D．Most people had little interest in the reunion． |
We can learn from Ms．Yates’ speech that she _____________．
| A．attended her students’ college graduations |
| B．gave her students advice on their careers |
| C．kept track of her students’ progress |
| D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies |
What was Ms．Yates’ belief in teaching teenagers?
| A．Hard-pushed students are more likely to succeed． |
| B．Pressure on students from teachers should be reduced． |
| C．Teachers’ knowledge is the key to students’achievements． |
| D．Students’ respect is the best reward for teachers． |
Which of the following can best describe Ms．Yates?__________．
| A．Reliable and devoted． |
| B．Strict but caring． |
| C．Proud but patient． |
| D．Tough and generous． |
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