When Armida Armato’s daughter, Alexia, came home from school one day last year keen to go on a school trip to Ecuador, she wasn’t too sure how to feel. She was happy that her daughter could experience something she never did as a teen but was fearful of letting her travel to such a remote part of the world.
Alexia was 16 at the time, a student at Westwood High School. The school sponsored a humanitarian trip for 26 students and two teachers to spend 18 days living in a mountain village to build a one-room school. Even though Armato trusted her daughter, the other students and the teachers, she was worried about the side effects from the travel vaccines, possible accidents, and medical care.
Now that Alexia was home, Armato said she saw her daughter’s new maturity, greater confidence and independence. “This is the best thing I ever did,” Alexia said. “The experience was so eye-opening and life-changing. You’re with people who are not as lucky as you are. They live in very poor conditions but they’re so happy and outgoing. You say, ‘My God. I’m taking everything for granted back home.’”
She said they built a one-room school from scratch with no mechanical cement mixers. They used their hands, shovels and basic tools. She and another student lived with a local family in a small village about eight hours outside the capital, Quito. Despite the initial strangeness and knowing only basic Spanish, she said they grew very close and felt like a family.
Every year, groups of students at Montreal High School like Alexia pack their bags and fly off with classmates and teachers to developing countries where they volunteer for a variety of projects.
“Armato’s worries are very common among parents,” says Bill Nevin, a teacher at St. George’s High School. He organizes a humanitarian rip to India to the Sheela Bal Bhavan orphanage and says the three biggest fears families have are health, security and contact.
1. When hearing the news that her daughter would go on a school trip to Ecuador, Armato was _______.

A．proud and happy

B．supportive but concerned

C．fearful and nervous

D．excited but puzzled

2. The underlined phrase “from scratch” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.

A．having great help

B．using high technology

C．ending up in failure

D．starting from the beginning

3. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Volunteering helps students grow and develop.

B．School trips make parents worried about their children.

C．Ecuador is the most attractive travel destination in the world.

D．Brave Alexia dreams to work in Ecuador one day.

Homestay UK/Great Britain
Here you will find a selection of homestay hosts and host families in the UK．If you want to learn more about the British host family of your choice, please click on information at www．Homestaybooking．Com．You will then see a personal introduction of the UK homestay host．If you don’t want to search yourself, just register for free and receive our matching recommendations．
Chika and Tara from London, the United Kingdom
Information about the homestay host
Chika is 28 years old．She is away from home most of the time．Tara is 18 years old．She is at home every day．They both speak English．
Chika and Tara’s guests can stay for at least 5 nights and up to a maximum of 365 nights．Chika and Tara have no children living at home．It is a non-smoking residence(住宅)．No pets live in this household．
Information about the homestay accommodation
The accommodation is in London．The name of the neighborhood is Greenwich．The distance to the city center is 1．6km．The next access point to public transport is at 15 m distance．
Three guests can stay in Tara and Chika’s house at the same time．The following accommodation is generally available:
Single room with shared use of the family bathroom
*Size: 12．0 ㎡
*Facilities: desk, Internet access, mirror, hairdryer and wardrobe(衣橱)
*Price per night per person: ￡20．00 per night(one single)
Twin room with shared use of the family bathroom
*Size: 15．0 ㎡
*Facilities: TV, desk, Internet access, mirror, hairdryer and wordrobe
*Price per night per person:
￡20．00 per night(one guest)
￡17．00 per night(two guests)
The room charge includes the following services: Internet access, regular room cleaning, breakfast, free use of the washing machine．
Additional available service at an extra charge: Pick-up service(￡60．00 one-way); Lunch(￡6．00 per person per day); Dinner(￡6．00 per person per night)
Vegetarian(素食的) meals are available．
4. Chika and Tara’s house would be a good choice for _______．

A．a pet lover

B．a heavy smoker

C．a person who eats no meat

D．one who needs a one-night stay

5. What do we know about Chika and Tara’s house?

A．It lies in the center of the city．

B．It is not far away from Greenwich．

C．Public transport is convenient there．

D．The distance from the house to London is 1．6 km．

6. If Mary chooses a twin room and pick-up service(two-way), how much should she pay per day?

A．￡140．

B．￡137．

C．￡80．

D．￡77

As many as 4 out of every 1,000 infants born today have permanent hearing loss．When parents learn that their child has hearing loss, they are faced with many difficult decisions．These decisions can include choosing therapies and schools, as well as finding financial help for hearing aids or cochlear implants (人工耳蜗)．
Help Me Hear Foundation is a public charity that gives the gift of hearing to deaf children from families existing on very low incomes around the world．The foundation offers life-changing services for impoverished families, and provides real help for children with hearing impairment who may otherwise be left behind in schools or society due to their lack of hearing．
Help Me Hear Foundation believes that a child’s first years of development are critical．Being able to hear is vital to human, and Help Me Hear Foundation seeks to provide a positive lasting impression on society through its programs．Help Me Hear Foundation has many goals, including relieving the burden on communities with hearing-impaired infants and children, and strengthening the social structure of families and neighborhoods．
Recipients of Help Me Hear Foundation’s benefits receive state-of-the-art hearing devices that otherwise would cost thousands of dollars per child over the course of their lifetime．The Foundation raises money through donations for hearing aids and cochlear implants, which saves recipients and their families on average over $50,000 on related expenses．
The Foundation tries to be a transparent charity, and wants to be a catalyst for allowing deaf and hearing-impaired children to develop in a typical fashion alongside their peers．
Needy families can obtain information on specific services, and find out about deafness education by visiting the Help Me Hear Foundation’s website．The website offers helpful information on how hearing aids work, and how hearing aids ease many of the learning and language challenges that hearing-impaired children deal with on a daily basis．
7. Help Me Hear Foundation was probably set up to _____．

A．build schools for deaf children

B．research deaf children’s behavior

C．protect deaf children from being ignored

D．offer real help to poor deaf children

8. We learn from the text that _____．

A．the local government is in charge of the foundation

B．the work of the foundation depends on donations

C．even blind children can turn to the foundation

D．poor deaf African children cannot get help from the foundation

9. Visit the foundation’s website, and you will learn about _____．

A．the function of hearing aids

B．the specific services the foundation needs

C．the challenges that children face every day

D．the prices of a variety of hearing aids

10. For whom is the text most probably written?

A．Poor parents who have deaf children．

B．Doctors who want to improve skills．

C．Students who cannot see the blackboard clearly．

D．Teachers who have deaf children in their class．

11. The author writes the text mainly to _____．

A．tell how to avoid permanent hearing loss

B．explain how hard a life deaf children live

C．introduce Help Me Hear Foundation

D．advise people to give money to Help Me Hear Foundation

Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want?   Let’s face it. Thinking our life is good enough doesn’t come naturally to many people. When we have high expectations of everything in life we will run into disappointment. Only when we are aware that needs are different from desires can we live with satisfaction. Here are a few ideas to help you be happier with what you have and who you are.

Focus on what you are thankful for. Most people want things to be better than they are, or when things are going well, we forget to appreciate what we have. Learn to reflect on how much better things are than they could be. Focus on what you are thankful for. Write down 5 things you are grateful for right now.

When we hold onto regrets from decisions we have made, it can really poison our wellbeing. Many people regret something they can no longer change, which ends up holding them back from moving forward in a more positive manner. What happened in the past is done and gone, so work to stay present and be mindful of the current moment to find more joy and fulfillment.

When we use other people as the measuring stick for our personal success and quality of life, we are likely to be less satisfied. Social comparisons can provide useful information when we try to learn from others, but they also hold our perspective in a discontented position. Compare yourself less with others so you can be satisfied more.

When you are focused on your big ambitions and future goals, you might elide the daily pleasures that surround you. Learn to slow down and absorb the wonder and beauty around you. Stay present and focus on the task you’re undertaking at the moment. Don’t let the life pass you by because you’re always on the go and distracted by ambition.

Practice looking at life through the lens of contentment and it will become more natural.

12. How can we live with contentment?

A．To change our lifestyle.

B．To have a motivation in life.

C．To give less attention to what we are grateful for.

D．To realize the difference between needs and desires.

13. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．Make wise decisions.	B．Know the present situation.
C．Let go of regrets.	D．Remember the past.

14. The underlined word “elide” in Paragraph 5 probably means “        ”．

A．enjoy	B．change
C．create	D．neglect

15. What should you do to put yourself in a good mood?

A．Make time for simple pleasures.	B．Learn from successful people.
C．Focus on your future goals.	D．Create chance to learn more.