Giving Back
Fair Way
The Westborough High School golf team had taken the official photos with the state prize. The other teams, disappointed, were on the bus heading home. And the Westborough instructor Greg Rota noticed something wrong on one of the score cards. A 9 had been recorded as a 7. They were not the state prize winner; Wobum High had won. "No one would have known, said Wobum's instructor, Bob Doran. For Rota, it wasn’t a difficult decision: “The prize wasn’t ours to take.”
Coin Stars
"College students are lazy. but they also want to help," says University of Pennsylvania graduate. Dan Hork. So she made it easy, placing cups in rooms where students could leave their spare coins, and handing out cups to first-year students to keep in their rooms. Her "Change for Change" effort has collected$40,000 for charities, which were decided upon by students .
Never Forgotten
A school in Massachusetts received a $ 9. 5 million check from Jacques LeBermuth. But it took officials several days of digging to discover his connection to the school. Records showed the LeBermuth came from Belgium and studied in the school in the1920s. When his family fell on hard times, he was offered free room and board.LeBermuth became a trader, owned shares of AT&T and lived off the earnings until he died , at age 89.
What did Greg Rota probably do in the end?
| A．Returned the prize to the organizer, |
| B．Apologized to Wobum High School. |
| C．Took photos of the state prize. |
| D．Had a meeting with Doran |
Greg Rota's decision shows that he was .
| A．polite | B．honest |
| C．careful | D．friendly |
The underlined word "Change" in the second paragraph means__________.
| A． Idea | B． Decision | C． Cups | D．Coins |
Jacques LeBermuth gave the money to the school because _________.
| A．the school asked for it |
| B．he had no need for that much money |
| C．the school had helped him in the past |
| D．he wanted to be remembered by the students |
Every day, life is made and lost. Every day, life goes on. Every day we experience some of the most important parts of life and may not even realize it: love, generosity, and perseverance. These values aren't just important to us; they make the world what it is.
Scientists say that gravitational(重力的)force makes the world turn, but some people say that love makes it go round. Love can be found anywhere: in families, friends, even complete strangers. Even if you can’t see it, you know it's there.
Love may connect people all over the world, but what would the world be without generosity? Whether after a national disaster, or a school fund-raiser, one thing is certain--it is better to give than to receive. Generosity is found everywhere and whether it's a large or small act, it makes a difference. Most of all, being generous is not something you need any qualifications for, but no matter what you do, it can make a difference, Sometimes, though, it takes effort to be generous, which leads us to perseverance.
Founding a country, riding a bike, or finishing an essay, these are all finished with perseverance. Perseverance is the one thing that can help us achieve whatever we want. It is what helps scientists to discover cures for diseases, and athletes to become champions. You may fail, but every time you make a mistake, that's one less to make the next time.
There is an infinite(无穷的)number of things we value, but without love, generosity and perseverance, we just don't think that our life or the world would be the way it is.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “ ______ ”.
| A．the world | B．gravitational force |
| C．value | D．experience |
To be generous, the author thinks _____.
| A．you needn't make efforts |
| B．you should be qualified |
| C．you should give all you have |
| D．you will find it good to give |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Perseverance is the only thing that can help us to achieve success. |
| B．People don't understand the life they are experiencing at all. |
| C．We can find love in complete strangers sometimes, |
| D．What the world is like depends on gravity and love. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Success and Failure. | B．Three Values. |
| C．Endless Love. | D．Life full of Hope. |
National Forecast
Fri, Aug 24,
LONDON —This Evening and Tonight:
Rain, locally heavy across northwest Scotland. Mostly cloudy but dry in other northern and western areas. Dry with clear spells(持续时间)in more central and eastern parts, but some low cloud and fog will develop. Generally mild with light winds.
Saturday:
Cloud and rain over western Scotland at the beginning will gradually push down over N.Ireland and northwest England. Largely dry, warm with sunny spells elsewhere, once early fog and low cloud clears.
http ://www. times online. co. uk/tol/news/weather/
The Nation's Weather
Fri, Aug 24,
NEW YORK—Heavy rain was forecast throughout Friday in parts of the Midwest. The heaviest rainfall was over northern Illinois, with more than 4 inches possible around Chicago.
Wet weather was also expected in the Plains as the same storm system tracks through the region.
Periods of heavy rain were also forecast for the Northeast as the remnant(剩余部分)of tropical storm Erin moves into the Canadian Maritimes.
Hot weather was expected to continue in the South and West.
http ://www. wunderground. com
Death toll rises to 36 in China typhoon
Wed, Aug 22,
BEIJING— At least 36 people were killed by Typhoon Sepat in four provinces in eastern and central China in widespread destruction that also forced the evacuation (撤退)of l.37 million people.
More than 60,000 homes in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Hunan also were destroyed or damaged, Xinhua News Agency said.
Total economic losses in the provinces have reached $ 663 million.
Fujian was the worst-hit province, with 18 people killed, Xinhua said.
Earlier, the storm, named after a Malaysian fish, killed at least one person in Taiwan, and left three dead in the Philippines.
http ://news. yahoo. com/s/apOn August 25, in N. Ireland and northwest England, there will be _____.
| A．low cloud and fog | B．typhoon and flood |
| C．cloud and rain | D．sunshine and mild wind |
What was the weather like in the south and west of the USA on Friday?
| A．It was hot. | B．It was rainy. |
| C．It was foggy. | D．It was warm. |
The storm named Sepat _____.
| A．caused one death in the Philippines |
| B．killed 18 people in Taiwan |
| C．destroyed about 60,000 homes in Fujian |
| D．caused great economic losses |
The name of Typhoon Sepat comes from _____.
| A．a tropical storm | B．a Malaysian fish |
| C．a place | D．a person |
I Online shopping started not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990. The first online bank opened in 1994. In 1995, Amazon started operating and is not one of the largest online shopping malls. Then in 1996, eBay started its online shopping site.
By sitting at home you can now buy anything from knives to cars. The worry you may have about traveling and parking can be avoided while you shop online. With online shopping, you need not worry about the weather. Online shops have no holidays, closing times or any other problem. You can shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Some online shops also keep customers' opinions about each product, so you can easily find out what other customers think about the product before buying it.
When you go for real-world shopping, you can actually touch and feel it, but in online shopping you can only see the pictures. Also if you are shopping online, you have to be careful with your credit cards.
The first step in online shopping is to search for what you want to buy. Once you find the required product, put it in a “shopping cart” and continue shopping. After you have got enough in your “shopping cart”, check out the product. You can add or take out the products in your shopping cart. The next step is to log in using a username and a password. Enter the address where you want the product to be sent. Some sites even ask for your email, phone numbers, etc.
Then wait for the confirmation of your order. You can also cancel the order if needed. Online shopping is a different experience and you can make shopping online easy when you get used to it.I When shopping online, you can .
| A．park your car where you want to |
| B．buy anything wherever you go |
| C．touch anything you want to buy |
| D．know what others think of the product |
The second paragraph mainly tells us .
| A．people can do online shopping at their own homes |
| B．the things people can buy in online shops |
| C．the advantages people can have through online shopping |
| D．people can know different opinions of customers |
From the text, we can know that .
| A．once customers put the products in their “shopping carts”, they can't change them |
| B．customers should be careful with their credit cards when shopping online |
| C．customers must give their e-mails as well as their phone numbers |
| D．people can know different opinions of all customers |
If you want to buy a cup online, what is the right order of the following things you can do?_________
a. Put the cup into your “shopping cart”.
b. Wait for the confirmation of the order.
c. Search for a right cup.
d. Enter the address.
| A．dcba | B．cadb | C．cabd | D．dcab |
The discovery of an ancient giant panda skull has confirmed its bamboo diet dates back more than 2 million years and may have played a key part in its survival.
A Chinese-US research team reports its results today following studies on a fossil skull found in south China’s Cuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 2001.
The six fossils unearthed in Jinyin Cave are dated between 2.4 and 2 million years ago, according to the report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an influential US journal.
Jin Changzhu, of the chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and lead author of the paper, said the smaller fossil skull indicates the giant pandas were about a third smaller than today’s pandas.
Researchers knew the panda reached its maximum size about 500,000 years ago, when it peaked ,and then gradually became smaller.
Jin, a paleontologist (古生物学者) at the Institute of Vertebrate paleontology and Paleoanthropology (古人类学) attached to the CAS, said the size variation was a basic rule of evolution.
“A species tends to grow bigger when it reaches the peak of its population , but becomes smaller when numbers decline,” he said.
The dental remains of the skull, which is the oldest giant panda skull ever found, are similar to today’s pandas, indicating the type of teeth that could munch (津津有味地嚼)mountains of bamboo. A panda can eat up to 40kg of bamboo per day.
Paleoanthropologist Russell Ciochon, the US co-author at the University of lowa, said the panda’s focus on bamboo could have helped it survive all these years.
“Once an animal begins to rely on a common and stable food source, such as bamboo, it tends to evolve a larger body size,” he said. “As individuals of the evolving species grow bigger, they have a better chance not to be eaten by predators (肉食动物) due to their larger body size.”According to the research of the CAS , there were most pandas in the world .
| A．2 million years ago |
| B．between 2.4 and 2 million years ago |
| C．500,000 years ago |
| D．Nowadays |
The underlined word “variation” in para 6 means .
| A．fall | B．change | C．increase | D．decrease |
From the passage, we can learn .
| A．pandas began to eat bamboo 2 million years ago |
| B．a species tends to grow smaller when numbers decline |
| C．the giant pandas were about a third the size of today’s pandas |
| D．pandas’ bamboo has played an important role in its development |
The passage mainly tells us that .
| A．pandas are endangered |
| B．pandas had a long history |
| C．pandas had bamboo to beat predators |
| D．today’s Pandas are similar to the oldest ones |
Every day we are exposed to images, videos, music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation, the medium of radio is making a great comeback.
“We’re at the beginning of a golden age of audio,” said US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast (播客). These statistics, released by Edison Research, show the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day’s digital podcast format. The term “podcast” was invented in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. With the sharp increase in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast sales have jumped.
The appeal of the podcast partly lies in its multiplatform delivery and on-demand capabilities (功能). You can listen during those extra minutes of the day when you’re walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.
Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney University media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTune. “I listen while I’m wandering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task much more enjoyable… And it’s an easy way of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” she said, “I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I’ve also been listening to This American Life and Serial. They have a special skill to really draw you in.”
Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this owes to the podcast’s ability “to create close relationship and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, majoring in social work and arts, agrees. “When you’re listening, it feels as if the voice of the podcast’s storyteller is talking directly to you. It’s comforting.” said Proust.
It seems the age-old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well.From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.
| A．traditional broadcast has come back |
| B．Americans love listening to the radio |
| C．podcasts have become very popular today |
| D．smartphones sell well because of podcasts |
The writer mentions Donna Jackson mainly to ________.
| A．tell how young people relax themselves |
| B．explain why young people like podcasts |
| C．introduce what programs podcasts are presenting |
| D．show how popular podcasts are presenting |
Paragraph 5 is mainly about ________.
| A．the influence of radios |
| B．the advantage of podcasts |
| C．readers’ impression on radios |
| D．people’s reaction to the medium |
What is probably the best title of the passage?
| A．Return of Radio | B．Opinions of Podcast |
| C．Features of Radio | D．Technology of Podcast |
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