The meaning of the word "volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means "one who offers his or her services.” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay.
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta（加尔各答）. The following is her story.
"I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school, we watched a video about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I also wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks."
"I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world."According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______.
| A．is willing to help those in need without pay |
| B．can afford to travel to different places |
| C．has a strong wish to be successful |
| D．has made a lot of money in life |
Tracy started her work as a volunteer ______.
| A．after she met Mother Teresa |
| B．after she finished high school |
| C．when she was touring Calcutta |
| D．when she was working in a hospital |
Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
| A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa. |
| B．She had already had some experience. |
| C．She was asked by Mother Teresa. |
| D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresas example. |
What is Tracysnew idea (Paragraph 2) of being a volunteer?
| A．Going abroad to help the sick. |
| B．Working in Mother Teresa’s home. |
| C．Doing simple things to help the poor. |
| D．Improving oneself through helping others. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Be a Volunteer. |
| B．The Life of Volunteer in India. |
| C．A Different Meaning of Volunteer. |
| D．Inspiration from Mother Teresa |
William H. Gates is chairperson and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation．
the worldwide leader in software services and internet technologies for personal and business computing．
Bill Gates was born on October 28．1 955 in a family having rich business，political and community service background．His great—grandfather was a state legislator(立法者)and a mayor，his grandfather was vice president of national bank and his father was a lawyer．
Bill strongly believes in hard work. He believes that if you are intelligent and know how to apply your intelligence，you can achieve anything．From childhood Bill was ambitious, intelligent and competitive．These qualities helped him to attain top position in the profession he chose．1n school，he had an excellent record in mathematics and science．Bill’s parents came to know their son’s intelligence and decided to send him to a private school，known for its good academic environment．It was a very important decision in Bill Gates’ life where he was first introduced to a computer．Bill Gates and his friends were very much interested in computer and formed “programmer’s Group” in late l968．
Later，Bill Gates and his close friend Allen started a new company of their own，Traf-O-Data．They developed a small computer to measure traffic flow．From this project they earned around$20，000．In 1973．he left home for Harvard University．He did well over there，but he couldn’t find it interesting．He spent many long nights in front of the school’s computer and the next day asleep in class．
Within a year．Bill Gates dropped out from Harvard．Then he formed Microsoft．Microsoft’s vision is“ A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer”．His belief in high intelligence and hard work has put him where he is today．He does not believe in mere(纯粹的)luck，but just hard work and competitiveness．
Bill Gates is not a greedy person．In fact，he is quite a giving person when it comes to computers，internet and any kind of funding．Several years ago, he visited Chicago’s Einstein Elementary School and announced grants benefiting Chicago’s schools and museums where he donated(捐款)a total of $1 1 0，000，a bunch of computers，and provided internet connectivity to a number of schools．Secondly，Bill Gates donated 38 million dollars for the building of a computer institute at Stanford University．Gates has decided to give away 95％of all his earnings when he retires．．How old was Bill Gates when he retired f
rom Microsoft in late 
June of 2008?
| A．52． | B．55． | C．60． | D．62． |
．What does Bill Gates believe are most important in achieving success?
| A．Intelligence and luck． | B．Hard work and intelligence． |
| C．Money and interest． | D．Good education and ambition． |
．What is the most important turning point in Bill Gates’ life?
| A．He left home for Harvard University． |
| B．He dropped out from Harvard University． |
C．He and his friend Allen started a new co mpany． |
| D．He was sent to a private school where he first studied computer． |
．What kind of person can we say about Bill Gates?
| A．Wealthy，greedy and successful． |
B．Ambitious，Intelligent and se lfish． |
| C．Intelligent．successful and generous． |
| D．Lazy，intelligent and competitive． |
The 9．2一magnitude(震级)earthquake which caused the tsunami in
the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year occurred at 7:58 a.m.，95 miles off the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia．
Eighteen minutes later．10-metre high waves crashed the ashore along a 500——mile-long stretch of Aceh．
Two hours later the tsunami hit Thailand and Malaysia and then Burma, Bangladesh, India，the Maldives，Sri Lanka，Kenya and Somalia．The final death toll is thought to be about 280，000，with tens of thousands more listed as missing．More than l.8 million people lost their homes．
●What Is Tsunami?
A tsunami is a chain of fast moving waves caused by a sudden strong quake in the ocean．They can be caused by earthquakes，volcanic eruptions(爆发)，or even the collision of meteorites(陨星)．Tsunamis are also incorrectly known as tidal waves，but unlike tidal waves they are not caused by changes in the tides．
They are also most common around the edge of the Pacific，where more than half of the world’s volcanoes are found．These fast moving waves can attack coastlines，often with little or no warning．Rocks weighing as much as 20 metric tonnes have been pulled from sea walls and carried l 80m inland．
●Wave Power
Atsunami can have a wavelength in excess of(超过)1 00km and there may be an hour between them．They travel at great speeds across an ocean with hardly any energy losses and are barely noticeable out at sea．
Over the deep Pacific Ocean，a tsunami travels at about 800kph．If an earthquake happened in Los Angeles．a tsunami could hit Tokyo quicker than you could fly between the cities by jet．
●Strange Animal Behaviors
Ten days before giant waves slammed into Sri Lanka and India coastlines，wild and domestic(家养的) animals seemed to know what was about to happen and fled(逃跑)to safety．
Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground．
Dogs refused to go outdoors．
Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed(引诱)to come back out．.．What does the first part of the passage mainly tell us?
| A．The great speed of a tsunami． |
| B．The number of deaths caused by a tsunami． |
| C．The countries which were struck by a tsunami． |
| D．The serious destruction caused by the great power of a tsunaml． |
.．All the following can cause a tsunami except
| A．changes of the tides | B．volcanic eruptions |
| C．collision of meteorites | D．earthquakes |
.．Which of the following is a characteristic of a tsunami?
| A．Having a lot of small waves linked together． |
| B．The waves of a tsunami travel extremely fast． |
| C．The waves of a tsunami can be found in the distance． |
| D．The power of the waves becomes stronger and stronger as a tsunami travels． |
When he was driving home one evening on a country road，he saw an old lady，stranded(抛锚的)on the side of the road．He stopped in front of her car and got out．Even with the smile on his face，she was worried．He looked poor and hungry．He knew how she felt．He said，“I am here to help you，madam．Why
don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe．”
She had a flat tire．Joe crawled under the car，changed the tire．But he got dirty and his hands hurt．She could not thank him enough and asked him how much she owed him．He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back，the next time she saw someone who needed help，she could give
that person the assistance they needed，and Joe added，“And think of me．”
She drove off．A few miles down the road the lady saw a small restaurant．She went in．The waitress had a sweet smile，and was nearly eight months pregnant(怀孕的)．The old lady wondered how someone like her who seemed poor could be so kind to a stranger．Then she remembered Joe．After the lady finished her meal，the waitress went to get her change from a hundred—dollar bill．But she stepped right out the door．
When the waitress came back，she noticed something written on a napkin，“I am helping you because someone once helped me．If you really want to pay me back，here’s what you do---Do not let the chain of love end with you．”
That night when she got home，she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written．She and her husband needed money with the baby due(预期的)next month．She knew how worried her husband was，and as he lay sleeping next to her，she whispered，“Everything’s going to be all right．I love you，Joe．”.．When Joe stopped to help the lady，she
| A．became excited | B．was afraid to be hurt |
| C．refused his offer | D．thanked him |
.．At the restaurant, the lady
| A．received good service | B．had an expensive meal |
| C．told the waitress Joe’s story | D．met another poor guest |
.．Why did the lady leave the restaurant without getting her change?
| A．She forgot it． | B．She wanted to help Joe |
| C．She wanted to tip the waitress． | |
D．S he wanted to give the waitress some help |
.．Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Joe’s boss fired him． | B．Joe worked as a driver． |
| C．Joe’s wife was a waitress． | D．Joe had an unhappy marriage． |
Today about 70 countries use Daylight Saving Time (DST). Daylight Saving was first introduced during World War I in Australia. During the world wars, DST was used for the late summers beginning January 1917 and 1942, and the full summers beginning September 1942 and 1943.
In 1967, Tasmania experienced a drought（干旱）. The State Government introduced one hour of daylight saving that summer as a way of saving power and water. Tasmanians liked the idea of daylight saving and the Tasmanian Government has declared daylight saving each summer since 1968. Persuaded by the Tasmanian G
overnment, all states except two passed a law in 1971, for a test use of daylight saving. In 1972, New South Wales, South Australia and Vi
ctoria joined Tasmania for regular daylight saving, but Queensland did not do so until 1989.
Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have had irregular plans, often changing their dates due to politics or festivals（节日）. For example, in 1992, Tasmania extended（延长）daylight saving by an extra month while South Australia began extending daylight saving by two weeks for the Adelaide Festival. Special daylight saving plans were made during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The differences in daylight saving in Australia continue to cause serious problems in transport and many other social activities. It also reduces the number of hours in the working day that are common to all centers in the country. In particular, time differences along the east coast cause major differences, especially for the broadcasters of national radio and television.. Daylight Saving Time was introduced in Tasmania _______________.
| A．to stop the drought in 1967 | B．to support government officials |
| C．to pass a special law in the state | D．to save water and electricity |
.. What can we learn about DST in some Australian states?
| A．It doesn’t have fixed dates. | B．It is not used in festivals. |
| C．Its plan was changed in 2000. | D．It lasts for two weeks |
.. What do we know about the use of DST from the last paragraph?
| A．There exists some undesirable effects. | B．It helps little to save energy. |
| C．It brings about longer working days. | D．Radio and TV programs become different |
Explore the State of California
California is one of the most interesting states of America that offers a lot of wonderful sceneries and fun attractions. It is also the most populated state and the third largest in land area. Anyone who has been to California would agree that it is indeed a place that offers a lot to tourists of all ages. Here are some top picks of the best places to visit in California State.
San Francisco Bay Area - Witness the famous San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge which is one of the city's landmarks; and enjoy the beauty of Fisherman's Wharf that offers a lot of seafood restaurants. You should not miss the city's world-famous Cable Car System which is by far the only manually operated cable car system in the whole world.
Yosemite National Park - This is one of the very first wilderness parks in the whole of America. It is known for
its natural beauty and breathtaking sceneries. It offers a breath of fresh air away from the city life. Major places to visit include the Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Dome, El Capitan, Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point among many others.
Los Angeles - Explore the home of the L.A. Lakers and do not fail to visit the Disneyl
and which is one of the major attractions of the city. The warm weather in Los Angeles makes it possible to do a lot of outdoor activities especially during the summer months. It is a family-friendly place that offers a wonderful shopping and dining experience. For those who particularly love the city and night life, L.A. can offer the best of almost everything.
Napa Valley - With over a million visitors every year, Napa Valley is indeed a place you s
hould not 
miss if you are in California. It is California's most popular wine growing region. You can also experience the Wine Train and hot air balloon ride over the valley. From the first paragraph, we know that_____.
A．the State of California has the largest population in the US |
| B．California offers a lot to tourists of young people |
| C．California is also the largest in land area |
| D．California is the most interesting state of America |
. According to the passage, if you want to breathe the fresh air, you’ll go to _____.
| A．San Francisco Bay Area |
| B．Yosemite National Park |
| C．Los Angeles |
| D．Napa Valley |
. The underlined word “region” in the last paragraph may probably mean _____.
| A．company | B．valley | C．factory | D．area |
. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Napa Valley will bring us a wonderful shopping and dining experience. |
| B．San Francisco Bay Area is California's most popular wine growing region. |
| C．Los Angeles allows us to visit the Disneyland and enjoy almost everything. |
| D．In Yosemite National Park, we can see the Yosemite Falls, Golden Gate Bridge. |
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