When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station . When other teens were studying or going out , she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University . And her amazing story has inspired a movie , “ Homeless to Harvard : The Liz Murray Story” , shown in late April .
Liz Murray , a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination . Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house . Liz was the only member who had a job . Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died , she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless . At night , she lived on the streets. “ What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding , by understanding that there was a whole other way of being . I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night .
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on . She used the benefits that come easily to others , such as a safe living environment , to encourage herself that “ next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University . But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “ I love my parents so much . They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they loved me all the time.”
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “ as simple as making a decision”. The main idea of the passage is __________ .
| A．how Liz managed to enter Harvard University |
| B．What a hard time Liz had in her childhood |
| C．why Liz loved her parents so much |
| D．how Liz struggled to change her life |
In which order did the following things happen to Liz ?
a. Her mother died of AIDS.
b. She worked at a petrol station.
c. She got admission into Harvard University.
d. The movie about her life was put on.
e. She had trouble about finding a place to sleep .
| A．b, a , e , c, d | B．a , b , c , e , d |
| C．e , d, b , a , c | D．b , e , a , d , c |
What actually made her go towards her goal ?
| A．Envy and encouragement. |
| B．Willpower and determination . |
| C．Decisions and understanding. |
| D．Love and respect for her parents. |
When she wrote “ What drove me to live on … I had only experienced a small part of the society，she meant that __________ .
| A．she had little experience of social life. |
| B．she could hardly understand the society. |
| C．she would do something for her own life. |
| D．she needed to travel more around the world. |
My mother died twice in August 2009—once on her75th birthday at a crowded restaurant, surrounded by her closest family members - and finally，the next day at a hospital. Eight months later, I began to come out of the fog of grief and depression to find a new purpose for my life.
Like many of my generation, I had lived only for myself—traveling, acquiring what I needed, rising to a position of importance and getting financial rewards. I was “kind - hearted” and “volunteered” for various causes, but really didn't give of myself.
In the spring after Mom's death, I found myself waking in the middle of the night with one thought. I wanted to offer myself as a living kidney (肾)donor. My husband Robb had received the gift of life through a kidney transplant (移植）from a deceased donor in 1999，so I was familiar with the need for donors and knew several people who were waiting for a life saving transplant. I decided to offer myself to be matched with the most suitable person on the waiting list at my local transplant center. I was paired with a 71-year-old grandmother from New Jersey who had survived for six years. At her 70th birthday, her family threw a big party as they did not expect her to live much longer. She has become my very good friend.
In donating my kidney, I extended myself in a way far beyond what I ever believed was possible. I did so in honor of my mother who sacrificed so much for me and my sisters, and in memory of my husband's donor who extended her life through him.
I encourage all who enjoy the gift of good health to share with others, either as a living donor or by donating organs upon death. By extending yourself through organ donation, you will live on through others in a magic way and give comfort to your loved ones. From the second paragraph, we can conclude that __________
| A．the author was kind and generous in giving help |
| B．the author enjoyed financial rewards seriously |
| C．the author sought reasons to help others |
| D．the author looked after her own interest |
When did the author decide to offer her kidney?
| A．The moment her husband received a kidney transplant. |
| B．In the fourth month of 2010. |
| C．When she was waking at midnight alone. |
| D．After she visited a 71-year-old woman. |
The grandmother's family held a birthday party __________
| A．to show thanks for what the author had done |
| B．to celebrate the old woman's recovering |
| C．to make the old woman happy |
| D．to say goodbye to the old woman |
After donating her kidney, the author __________.
| A．carried out her mother's last wishes |
| B．wanted to honor her husband's donation |
| C．intended to live a longer life |
| D．meant to do something useful to others |
Nine years ago ,after Leo had died ,people said to me ,“I never knew he was your stepfather. ” You see ,I never called him that. At first ,he was no one special in my life. Then he became my friend. In time, I felt he was my father too.
Leo married my mother when I was eleven. Two years later we moved into a house in a new suburban development, where we put down roots. At first ,our lawn was just a mud pile with wild grass ,but Leo saw bright possibilities. "We plant trees there to give us shade as well as some flowers ，” he said. And just these little touches made our lawn different from all the others here. More important, a real family was forming. Leo was becoming a full-time parent, and I was learning what it meant to have a father.
Weekday mornings when the weather was bad ,Leo often drove me to school. Having a father drop you off may have been something my classmates took for granted, but I always thought it was wonderful. Saturday mornings, we went to the hardware store ,then stepped into the five - and - ten, buying a sports magazine or something else. Some people might think that doing errands together is nothing special, but I，who had ever before spent my childhood watching other families do these everyday activities, experienced them now with extreme joy. Looking back, I realize that Leo gave me what I needed most—the experience of doing ordinary things together as a family.
Soon after we moved to the suburbs, one of our new neighbors introduced herself to me. She had already met my mother and Leo. “You know,” she said，“ you look just like your father. ” I knew she was just making conversation—but even so...“ Thank you,” I said. Why tell her anything different? The writer's purpose in writing this passage is __________
| A．to show his pride to have a good stepfather |
| B．to show how interesting a person Leo was |
| C．to remind us of our parents |
| D．to explain why they moved to the suburbs |
The phrase "put down roots” in the second paragraph means __________
| A．settled |
| B．planted |
| C．farmed |
| D．worked |
In the writer's opinion, __________
| A．it's not easy to live with a stepfather |
| B．his stepfather was more important than his mother |
| C．parents should think more about their children before divorce |
| D．love and friendship are extremely valuable in step families |
Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21.
Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially-decorated “care huts”. They talked with them and gave massages (按摩）to patients kept in their beds.
“I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up,” said Deng Yetao , 20, a third-year student. “But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies. Their loneliness is worse than physical pains. ”
“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us. Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share. Instead of doing them a favor，I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson, ” said Mao Xiaohua ,another third-year student.
Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital.
Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programme. A total of 330,000 Beijing students from119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital. Many continue to offer services in their spare time. Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives.
Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt “the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness (昏迷）while he was holding his hands. Youth volunteers from Beijing University went to Songtang Hospital to __________.
| A．pay a visit to the aged |
| B．talk to the aged |
| C．show their love for the aged |
| D．help the aged out |
What the aged are most worried about is __________.
| A．loneliness | B．death |
| C．physical pains | D．wealth |
The underlined sentence probably means __________
| A．I taught myself a lesson by talking to them |
| B．I learned something important instead of only helping them |
| C．I only wanted to get something rather than do them a favor |
| D．I was glad to have given them a favor |
After reading the passage, we know __________
| A．the youth are fond of doing popular things |
| B．the second Global Youth Service Day is started by the Chinese government |
| C．91% of the aged in China are facing death |
| D．the volunteers are taking an active part in the activity |
Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers.
Their study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. “While coughing is not necessarily harmful (有害的），it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem，” said Professor Peter Barnes.
Ten healthy volunteers (志愿者） were given the-obromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicine are stopping coughs.
The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin need to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they need only slightly higher levels of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.
The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity (神经活动），which caused coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness. According to Professor Barnes, theobromine __________
| A．cannot be as effective as codeine |
| B．can be harmful to people's health |
| C．cannot be separated from chocolate |
| D．can be a more effective cure for coughs |
What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?
| A．Theobromine. | B．Codeine. | C．Capsaicin. | D．Placebo. |
We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment __________.
| A．were patients with bad coughs |
| B．were divided into three groups |
| C．received standard treatments |
| D．suffered little side effects |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Codeine： a new medicine |
| B．Chocolate may cure coughs |
| C．Cough treatment： a hard case |
| D．Theobromine can cause coughs |
Wugging, or Web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using every click . com , which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won't cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity—88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than 5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的）or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21-year-old recent university graduate, has used every click. com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA，for two years and has seen the “ wugging ” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you're at university you be-come more socially aware, but it's sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself，”says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny. ”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don't feel they have the means to do so. Students using the Web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money ,and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Every click. com works like any other search engine ,allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK's 170，000charities they would like to support through their clicks. Every click . com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005，every click. com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK. According to the passage, “wugging” is actually __________
| A．a website |
| B．a charity-related action |
| C．a school organization |
| D．a student movement |
In the case of charity, every click. com __________.
| A．frees students of the financial worries |
| B．receives much money from students |
| C．offers valuable information to students |
| D．praises students for their money-raising |
What does Beth Truman think of the “ wugging ”movement?
| A．It makes every click. com popular in the UK. |
| B．It becomes easy to do charity because of it. |
| C．It results in students' more social awareness. |
| D．It helps students to save money. |
From the passage, we can conclude that __________.
| A．most full time students do charity on the Inter-net every day |
| B．every click. com helps students pay for the college education |
| C．“ wugging ” is a win-win idea for both students and charities |
| D．every click. com is the most successful search engine in the UK |
What would be the BEST title for this passage?
| A．“Wugging"，a new popular term on the Internet |
| B．British people show strong interest in charity |
| C．More Britain charities benefit from the Internet |
| D．Students raise money for charity by “wugging” |
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