Every Wednesday, I go to Cantata Adult Life Services, a local retirement community in Brookfield, Illinois, US, with my classmates to do community service.
After my very first visit to Cantata, my life changed forever. That may sound a bit dramatic, but volunteering with the elderly has changed my views on life.
Our visits last about an hour, and we bring 25-30 students every time. We play board games and cards with the residents while we’re there.
You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about “life back then”, but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there. Just hearing their stories has touched me in a way I never thought possible.
Whether it was talking to 98-year-old “Hurricane Hilda” about her glory days as a roller skater or chatting with Lou about the times she danced with a famous actor, I was completely attracted by every single memory the residents wanted to share with me.
Even the residents who don’t have amazing memories make the experience satisfying . I remember visiting Mrs Robinson. She couldn’t recall much about her past, but she told me she’d never forget how kind I was just to listen to her “rambling (漫谈)”. It made me realize that it’s the little things that make life worth living. That’s something I won’t forget anytime soon.
If there’s one thing I’ve realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it’s that presence – just being there – means more than anything to many of the residents. And despite how busy our lives are, there’s always time to make someone’s day.
For me, it feels great to be a source of happiness, a smile on a bad day or a listening ear for old memories. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
It’s easy to feel like you don’t have anything in common with the elderly – especially when you’re a teenager. But that’s not true at all.
I hate to be overly clichéd (陈词滥调的) here, but age really is just a number. As young adults, it’s important for us to realize this sooner rather than later. We can learn a lot from the elderly, and they can often benefit from teenagers too.What do the volunteers do according to the passage?
| A．They share everything with the residents. |
| B．They play board games and cards with the residents. |
| C．They watch the residents play games. |
| D．They buy gifts for the residents. |
According to the writer, what is the most important thing that volunteers can do for the elderly?
| A．Playing with them. | B．Benefiting from them. |
| C．Helping them. | D．Being there with them. |
What does the writer want to tell us by writing this passage ?
| A．Young adults and the elderly can benefit from each other. |
| B．Age is just a number. |
| C．It is important to help the elderly. |
| D．We don’t have anything in common with the elderly. |
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Opened on October, 27, 1907 and completed in 1908, Union Station (联盟火车站) is considered to be one of the finest examples of the Beaux-Arts (古典装饰的) style of architecture. Architect Daniel Buraham designed the building.
At the time it was built, Union Station covered more ground than any other buildings in the United States and was the largest train station in the world. In many ways, Union Station was a city within a city. At various times it employed a staff of over 5,000 people and provided hotel, ice house, first-class restaurant and police station.
As train travel was the means of transportation for even US Presidents in the early 1900s, a Presidential Suite (总统套间) was added to Union Station. In 1909, President Taft was the first President to use the room and over the years many famous people were officially welcomed there. The last President to use the Presidential Suite was President Eisenhower.
For half a century and through two world wars, Union Station served Washington and the US as a major center of transportation and the place for many historic events. On April 14, 1945, a train backed into Union Station carrying the casket (棺材) of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
However, the air travel led to a decline in railroad passengers, and Union Station began to fall into disuse. In 1968, the decision was made to change it into the "National Visitor Center". The project opened in July 4, 1976 but failed to draw enough crowds to sustain（="keep" up） its operation, and was closed in 1978.
While Congress debated the future of Union Station, rain damage caused parts of the roof to fall down. Following three years of repair at a cost of $160 million, Union Station reopened on September 29, 1988.
Today, Union Station continues to make history as the most visited place with over 29 million visitors a year. World-class exhibitions and international cultural events are hosted there for the public to enjoy. Private special events are celebrated in the grand halls. Even today, US Presidents still visit Union Station.
68. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Introduction to Union Station. B. Architecture in the US.
C. Train stations in the US. D. Transportation in the US.
69. Place the following events in the correct order.
a. Union Station reopened.
b. President Taft used the Presidential Suite.
c. The decision was made to change Union Station into the "National Visitor Center".
d. The construction of Union Station was completed.
A. cdba B. dacb C. dbca D. acbd
70. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 implies that _______.
A. Union Station was a symbol of the US
B. Union Station was of no use
C. the government was unwilling to waste money on Union Station
D. Union Station was not rebuilt immediately
71. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Union Station is still the largest train station in the world.
B. Union Station made great contributions to the United States.
C. The repair work of Union Station lasted several years.
D. Union Station is popular in the US nowadays.
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Educational Camps 2010
★21st Century Princess Program: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, July 23-27. For girls 12-15. Girls learn hair care, good manners and the importance of inner beauty. Homewood Suites by Hilton, 2001 E. Highland Ave., Phoenix. $495. www. homewoodsuites. hilton.com. (623) 848-1844.
★Barrow Institute Summer Camp: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, July 23 through Aug. 3. For ages 12-14. Activities include exploring laboratories and researching the effectiveness of treatments and medicines. July 23-27 for beginning students, and July 30-Aug. 3 for advanced students. Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix: $195-$220: www. thebni, com. (602) 716-2028.
★Digital Kids World Summer Camp: 9 a.m.--4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, July 30 through Aug. 17. For kids 6-14. Choose from a variety of technical classes, such as comic book design and video game design. Morning and afternoon camps held in weekly sessions (一段时间). Digital Kids World, 5070 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. $150 weekly for kids 6-9; $225 weekly for kids 10-14. www. digitalkidsworld, com. (602) 445-3925.
★Kids Advanced College Program: Mondays through Thursdays, July 30 through Sept. 19. For ages 8-14. Classes include lively computer design, engineering and writing. Prices and times vary. Paradise Valley Community College, 18401 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $99--$379. www.pvc.maricopa.edu. (602) 787-6804.
★Camp Zoo: Mondays through Fridays, July 30 through Aug. 13. For ages 4-14. Younger kids work with smaller animals, basic care giving and art projects, while older children explore animal medicine. Morning afternoon, evening and full-day sessions available. Phoenix Zoo, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix. $153-$280 per week. www. phoenixzoo.org. (602) 273-1341.
64. According to the passage, these activities are mainly intended for _________.
A. college students B. teachers C. parents D. children
65. If Mary, aged 12, wants to learn how to behave well, which of the following will she choose?
A. Barrow Institute Summer Camp. B. 21st Century Princess Program.
C. Digital Kids World Summer Camp. D. Kids Advanced College Program.
66. Which of the following can offer you information about animals and animal medicine?
A. (602) 716-2028. B. www. digitalkidsworld. com.
C. (602) 273-1341. D. www.pvc.maricopca.edu.
67. According to the passage, we know that __________.
A. all these activities are held in the same city
B. 21st Century Princess Program lasts the longest
C. the price of Camp Zoo is the highest per week
D. Kids Advanced College Program is popular with plant lovers
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Once upon a time, there was a seed and because he was only a seed, nobody cared to notice him. Thus, feeling kind of inferior, the seed gave no importance to his existence.
Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field under the hot sun. He wanted to know why. But instead of any answer, he was provided with rain besides sunlight, sometimes small and sometimes heavy.
Time flew and years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side. "Thank God for this. I really need some rest," he heard the traveler say.
"What are you talking about?" the seed soon asked. He thought the man was making fun of him. Sure, he had seen many people sitting by his side but no one ever spoke to him like that.
"Who's this?" the man was surprised.
'It's me. The seed."
"The seed?" the man looked at the big tree. "Are you kidding me? you're no seed. You're a big tree?
"Really?"
"Yes! Why do you think people come here? To feel your shade!"
A moment passed before the traveler's words touched the chord (心弦) in him. The seed, now a great tree, smiled for the first time in his life. Years of sufferings from the sun and the rain finally made sense to him.
"Oh! That means I'm not a small seed anymore! I didn't die unnoticed but was born to help people with tiredness. Wow! Now that's a life worth a thousand gems (宝石)!"
60. What does the underlined word "inferior" (in Paragraph 1) probably mean?
A. Not funny. B. Not weak. C. Not good. D. Not interesting.
61. The seed thought the man sitting by his side was laughing at him because _______.
A. the man didn't think the seed was important
B. the seed never thought he could be noticed
C. the man was talking about God with him
D. the man really wanted some rest near him
62. When the seed first heard that he had been a big tree, he felt _______.
A. disappointed B. excited C. doubtful D. satisfied
63. The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A. every life is of some value B. one's existence is in need of a finder
C. life goes on no matter what happens D. failure is the mother of success
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第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，共40分）
My grandmother Myra is very dedicated woman. Once she sets her mind on something, then there's no stopping her. In this case, that's a good thing because to do what she did requires extreme dedication.
She was born in Montreal, Canada. Her mother died of cancer in her forties and her father wasn't very supportive of her and her younger sister. Because of this, my grandmother became extremely close with her sister Rhea.
Early in her life, my grandmother was a little fat and she was picked on for it. Because she missed her mother so much, she turned to food for false love. Throughout the years she became more overweight. Like most people, my grandmother was not happy with her weight, but she never really did anything about it either. She had a close friend who once told her that she needed to do something about her weight if she didn't want to die. Her extra weight caused her to have health problems. She had a stroke and heart problems and spent many years in a wheelchair. My grandmother decided to join Weight Watchers and follow their plan, She started to see improvement. After a little while she completely refused to eat all fatty foods and sweets.
In the end she was very satisfied. She dropped over two hundred pounds and didn't need her wheelchair anymore. Because of the experience she went through, she helps other people to slim down. Also because she knows how it feels to be overweight, she's now a nutrition counselor (营养顾问). She knows more about food's effect on health than anyone I know.
My grandmother taught me an extremely useful lesson. Because of her dedication and perseverance (毅力), I've learned that no matter how tough a situation looks or how impossible it seems, do have a try.
56. According to the passage, the author's grandmother is such a woman EXCEPT that ________.
A. she is a person with a strong will
B. she has a close relationship with her sister
C. she is dedicated
D. she was unkind to her father
57. The underlined phrase "Weight Watchers" is most probably the name of ________.
A. a group of overweight people
B. an organization which helps people lose weight
C. a doctor who operates on patients
D. a supermarket selling all fatty foods and sweets
58. The meaning of the underlined sentence in the last paragraph is closest to "_________".
A. Where there is a will, there is a way
B. Actions speak louder than words
C. The best fish swims near the bottom
D. Take a pain for a pleasure all wise men can
59. From the passage, we can infer that _________.
A. the author's grandmother was a teacher
B. the author admired her grandmother very much
C. the author's grandmother worked in Weight Watchers later
D. the author's grandmother hated her father very much
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Have you ever been at a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and made up your mind to pay attention and always have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.
“On the contrary,” says L. Giambra, an expert in psychology, “daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn’t get done all the t
hinking it has to do during a normal day. You can’t possibly do all your thinking with a conscious（有意识）mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one way that the unconscious and conscious states of mind have silent dialogues.”
Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illnesses. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinger says, “We know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures. Daydreams real
ly are a window on the things we fear and the things we long for in life.”
Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be hard to understand. It’s easier to gain a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you recognize the difficult situations in your life and find out a possible way of dealing with them.
Daydreams cannot be predicated（预料）. They move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.
72．The writer of this passage considers daydreams__________.
A．hard to understand B．important and helpful
C．harmful and unimportant D．the same as sleep dreams
73．The writer quoted（引用）L. Giambra and Eric Klinger to__________
A．point out the wrong ideas of early experts B．list two different ideas
C．support his own idea D．report the latest research on daydreams
74．Which of the following is TRUE?
A．An unconscious mind can work all the problems out.
B．Daydreaming can give artists and scientists ideas for creation.
C．Professor Eric Klinger has a better idea than L. Giambra.
D．Early experts fully understood what daydreams were.
75．What is the main difference between daydreams and sleep dreams?
A．People have daydreams and sleep dreams at different times.
B．Daydreams are the result of unconscious mind while sleep dreams are that of conscious mind.
C．Daydreams are more harmful.
D．Daydreams are more helpful in solving problems.
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