In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.
| A．they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly |
| B．they expected to be paid back in the future. |
| C．they were friends of the worried individual |
| D．they had solved the problems secretly |
The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.
| A．to repay someone who has helped you |
| B．to help someone else who needs help |
| C．to help someone who has helped you |
| D．to pay someone else who needs help |
What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?
| A．We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help. |
| B．We should work hard to get a good education. |
| C．We should learn to respect our grandparents. |
| D．We should never forget to repay people for their help. |
By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.
| A．honest | B．mysterious | C． unselfish | D．unforgettable |
What if you could fly like a bird just by thinking happy thoughts? Or you could disappear to a faraway land, never grow old and fight pirates every day? For Peter Pan and his friends, the Lost Boys, these dreams come true.
More than 100 years after this playful boy was “born”, Peter Pan and his friends are to continue their adventure in a sequel(续集)to J.M. Barrie’s original novel. “Peter Pan in Scarlet”(重返梦幻岛),written by British author Geraldine McCaughrean, was published earlier this month.
The sequel brings all the original characters back. Peter Pan’s friends, the Lost Boys, are now grown up and live in the real world. What’s more, at the end of the first book, Peter Pan thinks he has killed his enemy, Captain Hook. But ,new readers discover he is not so dead at all.
For those who are unfamiliar with the original story, Peter Pan lives in faraway Neverland with a group of orphans. But they are eager for a real mother and Peter Pan flies to London with a fairy(仙女), Tinkerbell, to find one. They visit a young girl, Wendy, who loves to read stories, and bring her and her two brothers back to Neverland to live with them. In Neverland, children never have to grow up, and there are no parents to tell them what to do.
Many teenagers dream of a world where they don’t have to grow old and take responsibility. But, the author explains such a world is not the paradise(乐园)when it first appears: adventures can be scary and often dangerous, and, though we all sometimes dream of running away, we all need someone to love and look after us too.The passage is written to ________.
| A．tell you about an unrealistic dream |
| B．introduce novels about Peter Pan |
| C．analyze the difficulties of growing up |
| D．explain why Peter Pan can’t grow old |
“Peter Pan in Scarlet” is about _________.
| A．how some children fought against the pirate–Captain Hook |
| B．the care–free life the children led in Neverland |
| C．how peter Pan looked for a real mother for the Lost Boys |
| D．how the Lost Boys return to Neverland for more adventures |
The stories of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys reflect that those at their age ________.
| A．are ready to shoulder responsibility |
| B．choose adventures in faraway places |
| C．long for independence but also need someone to love them |
| D．can’t wait to grow up |
The place Peter Pan and his friend stay is named Neverland probably because .
| A．they never have to grow up |
| B．they don’t have parents |
| C．they never have troubles |
| D．they never need to worry |
Peter Pan flies to London _________.
| A．to find a fairy | B．to visit a young girl |
| C．to find a real mother | D．to earn money |
When Harvard was founded in 1636, there were no other colleges in the American colonies, and it would become the model for many of those that followed. When it began requiring applicants to take a test known as the SAT in 1935, Harvard started another trend. Two years ago, after it announced an aggressive new financial-aid policy, it helped push social class to the center of the national debate over higher education and forced two of its main competitors, Stanford and Yale, to follow its lead.
Last week. Harvard began to make another effort to affect higher education in its image, its president, Derek Bok, announced that the college would abandon its early admissions program, which for decades has allowed high school seniors to apply in October and get an answer yes, no or maybe – in December, shortly before the regular deadline for applications.
Harvard officials argue that the program is beneficial to rich students who don't need to compare financial-aid offers from various colleges. After the announcement, many people within education urged other colleges to take a similar step.
"We're thrilled," said Laurie Kobick, a college counselor (顾问) at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va. "I think it's going to make admissions better in so many different ways. It will indeed go a small way toward leveling the field among applicants. Of course, it will also have an effect on colleges, and the biggest winner will almost certainly be Harvard. a fact that may prevent many other colleges – perhaps all of them – from following Hazard this time. Because any college that does so will risk losing some of its best applicants."From the first paragraph we can learn that Harvard ____.
| A．was the first college in the American colonies |
| B．was best known for the SAT |
| C．was muck better than Stanford and Yale |
| D．refused to offer financial-aid to applicants |
By abandoning early admissions program, Harvard wants ____.
| A．to attract the public's attention |
| B．to influence higher education in its own way |
| C．to save money spent in attracting students |
| D．to allow its competitors to admit more students |
Early admissions program is good for rich students because ____.
| A．they have more chances to enter college |
| B．they can enter college with a lower score |
| C．they have special right to be admitted into college |
| D．they have no problem in supporting their studies |
Why does Laurie Kobick think other colleges may not follow Harvard?
| A．Because they think the action will harm high education. |
| B．Because they are afraid that the action is not practical. |
| C．Because they may attract fewer top students than he[ore, |
| D．Because they are afraid the action will damage their reputation. |
Students who work during term time to support themselves at university are far more likely to graduate with a poor degree, according to a government-funded study published yesterday.
Undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or upper second-class degree than other students, harming their career chances. Students from the poorest backgrounds were most likely to take jobs during term because they could not depend on help from their parents.
The report, commissioned (委托) by the Department for Education and Skills, also found a clear relation between fear of debt and employment in non-graduate jobs. Students from poorer backgrounds are known to he more unwilling to be in debt than those from middle class families.
The study of 8,600 people who graduated in 1999 was made by Peter Elias, of Warwick University, and Kate Purcell, from Bristol Business School. They found that twice as many first-class degrees were awarded to students who did not work during term compared with those who did. Between 35 and 38 percent who worked during term achieved a lower second, compared with about 28 percent of those who did not.
Professor Elias said that the increase in school fees next year to ￡3,000 would have to be monitored (监控) carefully for its effect on poorer students. "Higher education is going to be a harder struggle for those who do not come with all the advantages," he said.
He suggested that universities could get in touch with employers to provide work experience on good salaries to choose students during holidays, so that they did not have to work during term.What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Students at university like to take part-time jobs to support themselves, |
| B．Term-time jobs at university lead to poorer examination results. |
| C．The school fees are becoming higher and higher at university. |
| D．Students at university have much difficulty getting first-class degrees. |
Why did lots of students take term-jobs at university?
| A．No one would lend them money to continue their study. |
| B．They wanted to improve themselves by taking part-time jobs, |
| C．Their families were poor and couldn't afford the high expense. |
| D．They thought earning money was more important than studying. |
Students who took term-jobs at university ____.
| A．had no possibility to study better than those who didn't |
| B．couldn't graduate from school normally in the future |
| C．might have trouble in finding a job in the future |
| D．were more independent than those who didn't in the future |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Poor students can't take part-time jobs all the time at university. |
| B．Employers have the duty to help poor students solve the money problem. |
| C．First class degrees couldn't be given to the students whose families were poor. |
| D．High school fees are one of the important reasons why students have to take term-jobs. |
Katie always felt there had to be something more to life than just partying, buying clothes and driving a cool car. She finally discovered what she was missing out on when she traveled halfway around the world to help poor kids.
When she was 14, she discovered a club at school called Operation Smile, an organization that supports free operation for facially deformed kids in developing countries. At that time, she joined Operation Smile just to satisfy her school's community service requirement.
After working with Operation Smile for a while, she learned different countries have different deformities (畸形). The more she learned about what affects kids around the world, the more she wanted to go abroad with Operation Smile.
At 15, she was chosen to go abroad. She was so happy – even though she didn't realize what she was getting herself into. Before her trip, she attended a weekend "mission training". That's when she was told she'd be going to the Philippines. Although she was excited, one night during training, she broke down in tears. She didn't know if she was prepared to see all these unfortunate kids. She was put to work three days after her arrival in the Philippines. Her first day was at the hospital, where she met those kids waiting for operation, and they were running around and happy, it seemed normal. Her job was to play with the kids before their operation to help them feel more at ease. She also went to nearby schools to hand out toothbrushes and teach students how to brush their teeth.
When their operation was over, the kids were always overjoyed, but their parents were blown away. Sometimes they couldn't even recognize their kids because their appearances had improved so much. They'd cry and hug the doctors and nurses and give them presents--they were so grateful.Why did the author join the Operation Smile?
| A．To help poor kids in developing countries, | B．To satisfy her own curiosity. |
| C．To do what was required by the school. | D．To operate on those unfortunate kids. |
According to the passage, Operation Smile ____.
| A．is a club popular with students |
| B．is an organization founded by students |
| C．helps those unfortunate kids learn how to smile |
| D．offers operation for those unfortunate kids free of charge |
Why did the author play with those kids in hospital?
| A．To make them happy. |
| B．To learn more shout them. |
| C．To teach them how to brush their teeth. |
| D．To make them feel relaxed about the operation. |
After the operation, parents felt surprised for their kids' had improved so much.
| A．health condition | B．looks | C．smile | D．mood |
The secret of carrier pigeons' unbelievable ability to find their way home has been discovered by scientists: the feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do.
Scientists now believe the phrase "as the crow (乌鸦) flies" no longer means the shortest most direct route between two points. They say it is likely that crows and other day birds also choose AA-suggested routes, even though it makes their journeys longer.
Scientists at Oxford University spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using global positioning satellite (GPS) and got a surprising result. The birds often don't use the sun to decide their directions.
Instead they fly along motorways, turn at crossing and even go around roundabouts (绕道) , adding miles to their journeys.
"It really has knocked our research team sideways to find that after a decade-long international study, pigeons appear to ignore their inbuilt directional instincts (本能) and follow the road system," said Prof Tim Guilford, reader in animal behavior at Oxford University's Department of Zoology.
Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system (导航系统) when doing long distance trips or when a bird does a journey for the first time.
"But once homing pigeons have flown a journey more than once, they can fly home on a habitual route, much as we do when we are driving or walking home from work," said Guilford.
"In short, it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road. They are just making their journey as simple as possible."What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．How Pigeons Find Their Ways Home? | B．Why Pigeons Can Fly long Distance? |
| C．Birds Follow Roads as We Do. | D．Why Crows Fly the Shortest D stance? |
What does the words "the feathered navigators" refer to?
| A．The crows. | B．The pigeons. | C．Day birds. | D．Animals that can fly. |
Scientists used to think that homing pigeons often find their directions ____.
| A．by global positioning satellite | B．by the sun |
| C．by the road system | D．by following other birds |
Why do homing pigeons tend to follow the road system daring the r journey?
| A．Because they don't have their inbuilt directional instincts now. |
| B．Because their own navigational system doesn't work. |
| C．Because it is too hard to use their own navigational system. |
| D．Because it is easier to make journey simple by following road system. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号