The lce Bucket Challenge, in which people dump a bucket of ice water on their heads and challenge others to do the same, has brought in millions of dollars in donations for the ALS Association, and is among the biggest viral(病毒的) phenomena 2.4 million vides related to the ice bucket challenge have been shared on the social network, and more than 28 million people have posted, commented or liked a post relating to the challenge.
“Marrying the Internet’s love of challenges with donation and charity is a stroke of genius.” Said Neetzan Zimmerman, a former editor at Gawaker who’s widely considered as an expert in viral phenomena. “There is no other way to say this—it’s absolutely pure brilliance(才智).”
The nature of the Ice Bucket Challenge is, in itself, quick in spread. “People want to look good to others, so it’s hard to turn down a prosocial cause,” said Jonah Berger, an author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On. “ALS is a great cause, so when someone asks you directly to do this, it’s hard to turn them down without seeming like a bad person.”
The Ice Bucket Challenge campaign has been great for the ALS Association, a non-profit organization that does research and provides help for patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease. It has received $ 22.9 million since July 29 and the donations are coming not only from existing donors, but from nearly half a million new donors.
Celebrities(名人) have been interested in the cause, which has undoubtedly accelerated the spread. At this point, it’s almost difficult to find a celebrity who hasn’t had ice water dumped on his or her head. Kobe and Lcbron have done it and Bieber has done it twice. “If you are doing, it’s as if you could stand in for them,” said Jennifer Cool, an anthropologist at USC who studies Internet culture and history. “You can be in the shoes of Lady Gaga or Bill Gates, too.”
And, of course, there’s showing off factor, Internet is a place to show off and promote yourself, filled with incredible vacation photos, reminders to all that you’re in love with challenges. You may have some friends who’ve seemed eager to show off their bikini or swim trunk bodies in their Ice Bucket Challenge videos. At this point, some celebrities seem to be trying to one-up each other. Bill Gates released a highly produced video of himself designing a method of dumping water on himself. Hockey player Paul Bissonnette, for some reason, had a helicopter drop glacier water on him.Why does the author call the Ice Bucket Challenge a viral phenomenon?
| A．Because it does harm to charity. |
| B．Because it is popular with celebrities. |
| C．Because it challenges a person’s courage. |
| D．Because it spreads quickly. |
What does “a stroke of genius” in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．A kind of charity. | B．A smart way. |
| C．A nature of charity. | D．A public forum. |
According to the text, the Ice Bucket Challenge gives celebrities______.
| A．a sense of belonging. | B．a joy of success. |
| C．a feeling of bravery | D．a sense of curiosity |
One day I walked down to get to my car, thinking about what I had to accomplish and scolding myself for being late for work, but surprisingly the car was nowhere to be found.
This was at 8 a.m. in the morning. I made trips to all the towing places and police stations, all the time thinking that it was towed (拖走）by cops (巡警).By around 10 a.m., the cops decided that it was actually stolen. After filing a report with them, I finally got to work thinking how my day was completely messed up.
Later in the day I went to pick up a rental car at Enterprise only to realize that my license was missing, too, along with my car. I told the enterprise guy the whole story and he offered to take me to the closest DMV and get a duplicate (副本) license. 1 was totally shocked. I did not know why this complete stranger would want to take some time off his day to help me. He actually took me to DMV, got a duplicate and then rented me a car. I was upset the whole day because of the events happening to me but somehow this simple act of kindness from a complete stranger made it all worth it. It cheered me up and made me forget all the troubles of the day. I was so moved by this kind act that the next day I made sure someone else got a similar surprise. I took some smiley shaped chocolates and left them on some of my colleagues’ desks.
There is still a lot of goodness out there in the world. We just need to take the time to notice it. I hope that this story would inspire many others like me to do more acts of kindness.The moment the author found the car missing, he thought ______.
| A．it was stolen by a stranger | B．it was towed by the police |
| C．he placed it in a wrong place | D．he should rent another one |
We can infer that DMV is ______.
| A．an office for license | B．a towing place |
| C．a renting place | D．a parking lot |
Why did the author put some chocolates on his colleagues’ desks?
| A．His colleagues were fond of chocolates. |
| B．He wanted to thank his colleagues. |
| C．He was touched and hoped to cheer others. |
| D．He wanted to do his colleagues a favor. |
The author writes about his experience ______.
| A．to criticize the person stealing his cars |
| B．to praise the rental place at Enterprise |
| C．to tell us a surprising but moving story |
| D．to encourage people to do acts of kindness |
While many young people may resist getting a "real job" or becoming independent, these are the things that make you happy and give you purpose. Some people underestimate the satisfaction of working, thinking they'll be miserable. The 20-somethings that do work are happier than those who don' t or are underemployed.
If you invest in your career early，you'll have longer to build it up. 70% of wage growth happens in the first 10 years, so you need to get the best job you can get and negotiate your salary. No one can be sure that people who will wait until their 30s to get going are expecting to experience later to catch up with those of their ages.
Many 20-somethings don't know what they want to do, so they hang around the house or in. low-level jobs waiting for the spirit to move them. Not making a choice is a choice. These 20-somethings think they are keeping their options open, but they are actually closing doors. Resumes start to look thin, their peers(同龄人) begin surpassing them and they may get stuck in underemployment.
It will take about 10,000 hours(or about five years)to really master their jobs. If you're wondering why colleagues seem so smart and confident, it's partly because they've been doing it longer. Young people should learn as much as they can in their first jobs and remember it will take some time to really get good.
The 20-something brain is still developing, which is in charge of critical emotion with reason. This, coupled with less on-the-job experience, means 20-somethings are more sensitive to surprise and criticism. They are more likely to take feedback personally. Step back and get some perspective. You're not going to be fired because your boss is angry. Hear the criticism and learn from it.
The brain doesn't fully mature until your mid-20s, particularly the parts that plan for the future and manage emotions. That doesn't mean you should sit around and wait for it to develop. In. fact, what you learn and experience in your 20s becomes hardwired into your brain and this is the best chance you have to change your brain and change how you think and react. What people do in their 20s determines who they'll be as adults. What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How You Spend Your 20s Will Define You. |
| B．The 20-something Brain Remains To Be Developed. |
| C．Young People Need Employment And Experiences. |
| D．Becoming Mature Should Invest In The Career. |
What can we infer from the whole passage?
| A．Not all people resist becoming independent. |
| B．Adult responsibilities make you happier. |
| C．Not making a choice is a better policy |
| D．It takes chances to get good jobs. |
What does the underlined part "coupled with" mean according to the passage?
| A．multiplied by | B．recounted in. |
| C．composed of. | D．combined with. |
What idea does the writer of the passage support?
| A．Take feedback personally anytime and anywhere. |
| B．It is never too late to wait till a choice is made. |
| C．A lesson should be learned from criticism. |
| D．The satisfaction of working is not contented. |
Oscar-winning director Ang Lee' s new epic "Life of Pi" reveals the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal tiger. But in reality, the predators(食肉动物)are under increasing threat from humans. Animal rights group PETA is hoping to use the popularity of the film to focus people's attention on the real life of Bengal tigers.
With the rising demand for tiger parts from East Asia, illegal hunting remains a tremendous danger for the remaining cat population. Back in 1947, there were 40,000 tigers in India, but the number is experiencing a sharp decline t0 1,706 despite campaigns to protect the animal.
Rising man-animal conflict is also one of the leading causes of decline in tiger numbers. In one of numerous reported attacks on the endangered big cats, villagers near The Bangladesh-India border, armed with sticks and boat oars, set upon the animal suspected to have attacked a local fisherman and beat it to death earlier this month. So far this year, 58 tiger deaths have been reported in the country.
"The first instinct when a tiger is spotted is to just kill it,"grieved Gurmeet Sapal, a wildlife filmmaker. "The feeling of fear and revenge is so strong that it shuts out any other emotion. What we don' t realize is that the tiger never attacks humans until it is forced to. "'
India has been struggling to stop the tiger's decline in the face of the loss of habitat as well that encourages the animals to leave the forest for food. " The tiger's rapidly exhausted prey base causes the predator to go al! out to get its food. Consequently, livestock and human beings become easy prey, which leads inevitably to conflict," says a wildlife conservationist.
Filmmaker Sapal says it is only normal for people to think of the tiger as a dangerous animal, but its image as a human killer bears some injustice. "Tigers never kill for sport nor store meat. They kill their prey only in case of hunger. " How can PETA take advantage over the hot movie “ Life of Pi ”?
| A．PETA can count on the movie to promote people' s awareness of tiger' s life. |
| B．PETA can make enough money by encourage people to watch the movie. |
| C．The movie demonstrates that humans and tigers can live in harmony. |
| D．The movie offers a wonderful opportunity for movie to act in. |
Why did the villagers beat the tiger to death?
| A．Because it was a human killer and attempted to attack people. |
| B．Because it was suspected to be a threat to local people' s lives. |
| C．Because local people just followed their instinct to kill it. |
| D．Because people wanted to carry out their revenge for it. |
According to the article, when will tigers attack and kill people?
| A．When they are annoyed by people. |
| B．When they have conflict with people. |
| C．When they are driven to act in the movie. |
| D．When they are hungry or attacked. |
What contributes to the facts that livestock and human beings become easy target of tigers?
| A．It is easier for tigers to hunt human beings than other animal for food. |
| B．Tigers are losing their habitat and forced to go out of the woods. |
| C．People hold a strong belief that tigers are a born threat to their lives. |
| D．Tigers can't be treated equally as other animal in the forest |
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in (旁听生） for another l8 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unmarried college graduate student, and she decided to, put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course. " My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers, She only gave in a few months later when my parents promised that would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I artlessly chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and ail of my working class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the $ 5 deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.From the passage we know that the author .
| A．was adopted by a lawyer and his wife |
| B．dropped out when he was 17 years old |
| C．The author was admitted to Stanford |
| D．valued his dropping out |
The author dropped out mainly because .
| A．His academic performance was very poor. |
| B．He did not want to waste his parents' money. |
| C．His parents were too poor to afford the college tuition. |
| D．He didn't think university could help him to get a well-paid job |
Why did the author think dropping out was a good decision?
| A．He could transfer to Stanford. |
| B．He could follow his passion. |
| C．He didn't have to attend classes any more. |
| D．He could spend more time in Hare Krishna temple. |
What can be inferred from this passage ?
| A．The author was taking a risk when he made the decision of dropping out. |
| B．The author enjoyed the comfort and pleasure of life after he dropped out. |
| C．The author's parents were very angry at his decision. |
| D．The author was a very curious person. |
London will stage its biggest political funeral in almost half a century on Wednesday when Britain's governing elite join the Queen and global leaders to bid farewell to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, better known as the “ Iron Lady".
In an event comparable to that of Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965, Thatcher's coffin will be carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage through streets lined with admirers from parliament to the city's most famous cathedral.
The bells of London's symbolic Big Ben clock tower will fall silent for the first time since Churchill's funeral and more than 700 men and women from Britain's armed forces will honor a woman who led them to victory in the 1982 Falklands War as foreign politicians from around 170 nations look on.
Surveys have shown that many are unhappy that the estimated l0-million($15 million)pound bill for the funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer, while some left-wing lawmakers say the luxurious funeral is too expensive.
But her admirers, of whom there are many in her party and in southern England, argue that her historical profile deserves such a funeral. She was the country's first and only woman premier, was Britain's longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century, and won three general elections.
More than 2,300 mourners will attend including 11 serving prime ministers from around the world, the British government's entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers.
But there will be notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is too ill to attend and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher's great U·S. ally Ronald Reagan, is also unable to come.
Thatcher struck up a close relationship with Reagan during the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and was among the first to discover that Gorbachev was a man she could "do business with. ”
Covered in the red, white and blue British flag, Thatcher's coffin lay overnight in a 13th-century church in Britain's parliament, a forum she dominated for years. From the passage we know that Big Ben clock tower will fall silent to .
| A．get repaired for the first time |
| B．honour the passing away of the great woman |
| C．tell the specific time to the public |
| D．welcome the officials from all over the world |
Who that are still alive will be absent from the funeral?
| A．Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan. |
| B．Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. |
| C．Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan. |
| D．George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. |
From the passage we can learn that Margaret Thatcher was .
| A．strong and smart | B．weak and disappointing |
| C．aggressive and warlike | D．stubborn and luxurious |
Which of the following might serve as the best title of the passage?
| A．The legend of Thatcher, the “Iron Lady". |
| B．Why Big Ben falls silent for the first time? |
| C．Who will pay for such a luxurious funeral? |
| D．London will witness its biggest political funeral. |
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