Our local Community Youth Club is a very popular organization with young people in my town. I have been a member for four years now and I’ve taken part in a lot of interesting projects. These include fun activities such as holiday camps and discos. We have organized sports competitions and we even made a video.
But it isn’t all just enjoyment, we have also started doing social work to help people in our neighbourhood. We have organized activities for small children during the holidays. We have also formed a social support group to help young people stop smoking.
We are particularly proud of the most recent group we have created. It organizes regular visits to the local old people’s home. This idea came from a school visit to an old people’s home. My class spent an afternoon at a home and everyone found the visit very rewarding.
The old people at the home were very excited by our visit. They were very talkative and they told us their personal stories. During our visit, the home was filled with the sound of laughter. We sang songs and played games with the old people and had tea together. But we realized that life wasn’t always easy. Some of them were in poor health and were very unhappy. They couldn’t go outside and the visits by children brought some sunshine into their lives.
Many young people like me do not live with our grandparents and we have very little contact with elderly people. As a result, many young people don’t know what they are like and we have a lot of wrong ideas about them. We have little or no idea of the kind of lives they lead in their homes. After this visit, my friends and I decided we should do something to help improve the quality of their lives.
Since the creation of our visiting group, over twenty volunteers have joined us. Up to now, we have organized three group evenings and a concert.But it is the individual (单独的) visits which are the most important. Club members regularly visit old people and everyone finds the experience rich and rewarding.
1. As for Community Youth Club’s future, the author’s attitude to it is ________.A.positive | B.negative |
C.neutral | D.indifferent |
A.works at an old people’s home |
B.lives with her grandparents |
C.lives in an old people’s home |
D.regularly visits old people |
A.only organizes fun activities for young people |
B.has made a video about life in an old people’s home |
C.has arranged a school visit to the local old people’s home |
D.mainly does social work |
A.are not interested in how old people live |
B.do not want to get to know old people |
C.have very little contact with old people |
D.live with their grandparents |
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【推荐1】It was a cold night in Washington, D. C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man approached me. He asked if l would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I’d read the signs “Don’t give money to beggars.” So I shook my head and kept walking.
I wasn’t prepared for a reply, but he said, “I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!” But I kept on walking.
The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn’t have killed me to hand over a buck or two even if he had been lying. Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn’t help thinking of him. I tried to rationalize (找借口) my failure to help by thinking government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you’re not supposed to give money to beggars.
Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News, out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean’s Cafe, the soup kitchen in Anchorage, feeds hundreds of hungry Alaskans every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens dedicated to Bean’s? Dedicate a row and take it down to Bean’s. Clean and simple.
The idea began to take off. Readers would fax or call me when they got something in their garden. Those who only grew flowers donated them. Food for the spirit.
In 1995, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual convention in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage’s program, Plant a Row for Bean’s became Plant a Row for the Hungry. The original idea was to have every member of the Garden Writers Association of America write or talk about planting a row for the hungry sometime during the month of April.
As more and more people started working with the Plant a Row idea, new changes appeared unexpectedly. Many companies gave free seed to customers and displayed the logo, which also appeared in national gardening publications. Row markers with the Plant a Row logo were delivered to gardeners to set apart their “Row for the Hungry”.
Garden editor Joan Jackson, supported by The San Jose Mercury News and California’s nearly year-round growing season, raised more than 30,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables her first year, and showed GWAA how the program could really work. Texas fruit farms donated food to their local food bank after being inspired by Plant a Row. Today the program continues to thrive and grow.
I am surprised that millions of Americans are threatened by hunger. If every gardener in America — and we’re seventy million strong — plants one row for the hungry, we can make quite a decrease in the number of neighbors who don’t have enough to eat. Maybe then I will stop feeling guilty about abandoning a hungry man I could have helped.
1. What does the underlined phrase “out of the blue” mean?A.A bit disappointed. | B.Suddenly. |
C.As a matter of fact. | D.Attentively. |
A.money | B.flowers | C.seeds | D.beans |
A.In the eyes of most people, the program can really help the people in need. |
B.Nowadays, the program is no longer a regional one, and it arouses the attention of many farmers, gardeners and journalists in the nation. |
C.It occurred to the author that they could run such a program the moment he gave the beggar nothing. |
D.The author felt relieved and surprised when he saw the program turned into a nation-wide one. |
A.Plant a row for the hungry |
B.How to help others |
C.A story of a columnist |
D.Not for fame and wealth |
【推荐2】Most heroes are not super. They don't appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.
Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He's a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.
About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they're taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index. Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike's owner and arranged to meet him-- supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, "You've got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here." You can imagine what the thief did.
After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross-references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.
His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called "Robin Hood". Since he wasn't exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, "Batman" seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle's reputation as a friendly city.
1. When Bike Batman discovers a questionable bike, he will first ________.A.contact the owner of the stolen bike | B.look up the bike's information |
C.call the police department | D.arrange to meet the thief |
A.become famous | B.help poor people |
C.punish bike thieves | D.build a friendly city |
A.Bike Batman felt relieved to see the thieves arrested |
B.Bike Batman began his good deeds by accident |
C.the police failed to perform their duties |
D.the thieves refused to return the bikes |
【推荐3】Just two months before his senior year in high school, Foster Andersen was riding a motorcycle in his hometown of Henrietta, N.Y., when he crashed. The accident left him in a coma. He remained in a hospital for seven months.
In the nearly 40 years that have followed, Andersen has to use a wheelchair. He can write when a pen is intertwined in his fingers, but he needs an assistant to help him with everyday needs. However, a quick survey of his achievements shows not one, but two college degrees and a huge network of people who call him friend. And probably the best example of Andersen’s spirit is his nonprofit group Shared Adventures. Last summer the organization celebrated 21 years of bringing recreational and social activities to people with disabilities.
“It’s founded on the belief that recreation, fun, challenge and opportunity to the outdoors are necessary parts of a healthy life,” Andersen said. “We are the only year-round program that offers such a wide range of activities to people with physical challenges and special needs.”
Cycling is on today’s schedule. A group of about 50 people gather at the campus of California State University for a 25-mile ride along the California coast.
Besides cycling, Shared Adventures offers year-round classes in yoga, gardening and art. It also hosts many social events, such as a winter holiday party.
The most well-known event is called Day on the Beach. Last year, nearly 1,200 volunteers and participants gathered on the Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz to give participants a rare opportunity to surf in the Pacific Ocean.
Wendy Bell, a disabled yoga teacher and Day on the Beach participant, said the event is the best example of the great experience the organization offers. And Shared Adventures helps her in another way. “More than half of the people I meet are through Shared Adventures, so it provides something that can be hard to find elsewhere,” she said.
1. What can we know about Foster Andersen?A.He has spent most of his life writing. | B.He built a big charity organization online. |
C.He made a survey on people with disabilities. | D.He has lived a rich and full life despite his disability. |
A.It offers the disabled year-around indoor activities. |
B.It aims to improve the quality of disabled people’s life. |
C.It helps the disabled face challenges and problems in life. |
D.It encourages people to hold a positive attitude towards life. |
A.It helps her to show her yoga skills. | B.It allows her to forget her disabilities. |
C.It enables her to study the Pacific Ocean. | D.It gives her a chance to set up her social network. |
A.Foster Anderson: try bravely without fear of failure |
B.Foster Anderson: take action for extraordinary changes |
C.Shared Adventures: save Foster Anderson |
D.Shared Adventures: meet the recreational and social needs |
【推荐1】Anyone who has messy children, lazy partners or naughty flat mates will be impressed by the resourcefulness (足智多谋) of Katrina Neathey, the co-owner of a cleaning company in West Sussex. She has made her three teenagers sign an agreement to help keep the house tidy. Any infraction of the agreement, for example, littering up their bedroom with magazines and drinks, or failing to put their dirty plates in the dishwasher, will come with a 5 pounds' fine or removal of their phones.
It is one way of setting up a cleaning rota (轮班表) that people might stick to. “Cleaning is teamwork,” says Lynsey Crombie, also known as the Queen of Clean. She suggests getting everyone in the household together to find out what people like doing. “In our family, my husband is better at mowing the lawn. I love cleaning rooms. Someone else might like folding the towels. You let everybody do what they're good at, or enjoy, so there's more chance they'll actually do it.”
Crombie is not a fan of fines. For her children, she takes away their phones or turns off the Wi-Fi. For other adults who aren't joining in, she suggests keeping asking them to take action.
If you aren't sure what is required to keep the dirt at bay, there are many checklists online that you can print out to share the daily, weekly and monthly tasks. You can stick it on the fridge, and then everyone knows where they stand. If it's not working, have another chat, such as “What do you dislike?” “How can we improve it?” Ironig out problems is all about communication.
1. What does the underlined word “infraction” in Paragraph 1 mean?A.change. | B.inobservance. |
C.explanation. | D.discussion. |
A.By dividing tasks in terms of interest. |
B.By sticking to the cleaning rota strictly. |
C.By setting up a role model herself. |
D.By offering the family timely help. |
A.Fines work well among adults. |
B.Ways to motivate people vary. |
C.It's hard to push adults to take charge. |
D.It's good to remind people of their tasks. |
A.To advertise a great cleaning company in West Sussex. |
B.To encourage people to develop teamwork spirit at home. |
C.To call on housewives to handle lazy partners resourcefully. |
D.To introduce ways of inspiring family to share housework. |
【推荐2】Smartphone Stress: Are You a Victim of “Always On” Culture?
You are on holiday but secretly check your work emails the moment you wake up.You get anxious if there’s no Wi-Fi in the hotel or mobile phone signal up the mountain.
Work-life balance
Pittsburgh-based developer Kevin Holesh was so worried about how much he was ignoring his family and friends that he developed an app — Moment — to monitor his usage.The app enables users to see how much time they’re spending on the device and set up warnings if self-controlled usage limits are offended. His website explains, “
Always stressed
Slowdown in decision
We now consume media for more hours than we sleep.
A.Moment’s goal is to promote balance in your life. |
B.You get excited if you receive a text message or an e-mail from a friend. |
C.This is leading to a sort of slowdown in decision and it is creating more stress in the workplace. |
D.The negative impact of this “always on” culture is that your mind is never resting. |
E.Physical and mental health can suffer. |
F.Mobile phone companies argue that mobile connectivity is beneficial. |
G.You are nervous if your phone is getting low on power. |
【推荐3】Cheating is considered to be a major problem in colleges and universities. Colleges and universities across the US have decided to do more than talk about the rise in student cheating.
We frequently hear about “the good old days”, when Americans were better, happier, and more honest. But were they more honest? Maybe yes, a long time ago when life was very different from what it is today.
School children used to know the story of how Abraham Lincoln walked five miles to return a penny he’d overcharged a customer. It’s the kind of story we think of as myth. But in the case of Lincoln, the story is true — unlike the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. Washington’s first biographer invented the tale of little George saying to his father, “I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my ax.” What is important in both stories, however, is that honesty was seen as an important part of the American character.
And these are just two stories out of many. Students in the last century usually didn’t read “fan” stories. They read stories that taught moral values. Such stories pointed out quite clearly that children who lied, cheated, or stole came to bad ends.
Parents may have further reinforced those values. It’s difficult to know. We do know that children didn’t hear their parents talk of cheating the government on income taxes — there weren’t any. The vast majority of Americans still believe that honesty is an important part of the American character. For that reason, there are numerous watch-dog committees at all levels of society.
Although signs of dishonesty in school, business, and government seem much more numerous in recent years than in the past, could it be that we are getting better at revealing such dishonesty? There is some evidence that dishonesty may ebb and flow (起伏). When times are hard, incidents of theft and cheating usually go up. And when times get better such incidents tend to go down.
Cheating in school also tends to ebb and flow. But it doesn’t seem linked to the economy. Many educators feel that as students gain confidence in themselves and their abilities, they are less likely to cheat. Surprisingly, some efforts to prevent cheating may actually encourage cheating — a person may feel “they don’t trust me anyway,” and be tempted to “beat the system.” Distrust can be contagious (传染的). But, so can trust!
1. Why does the author mention the two stories of Lincoln and Washington?A.To show Lincoln is more admired than Washington. |
B.To introduce the topic to be discussed. |
C.To compare them with the presidents today. |
D.To prove honesty used to be very important in American character. |
A.Those who do something evil will have to answer for it. |
B.Those who steal will be put to prison. |
C.Those who cheat will be sentenced. |
D.Those who don’t behave themselves will die young. |
A.Family life. |
B.Fun stories. |
C.Economic condition. |
D.School education. |
A.Distrust will result in dishonesty sometimes. |
B.The measures to stop cheating in schools are badly taken. |
C.Dishonesty is a long-time discouragement. |
D.There will never be an effective way to stop cheating. |
A.High grades. |
B.Self-confidence. |
C.Discipline. |
D.Strong wills. |
【推荐1】Since the first Earth Day in 1970, American have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment. “We didn’t know at that time that there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it.” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement . Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many, many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first Earth Day.
According to US government reports, emissions (排放) from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 million tons. The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9. Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and. healthier place. A kind of “green thinking” has become part of practices.
Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs; today in 1995 there are about 6 600. Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.
Twenty-five years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it’s hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program.“Until we do that, nothing else will change!” say Bruce Anderson.
1. According to Anderson, before 1970, Americans had little idea about ________ .A.the social movement | B.recycling techniques |
C.environmental problems | D.the importance of Earth Day |
A.The grass-roots level. | B.The business circle. |
C.Government officials. | D.University professors. |
A.Education. | B.Planning. | C.Green living. | D.CO education. |
【推荐2】Showrooming
One of the biggest challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers (实体零售店) in recent years has been the “showrooming”. Driven by the desire to get the best prices, many shoppers are now visiting brick-and-mortar stores to personally check on products that interest them, only to leave and then buy the items online. The new trend is forcing retailers to find out new ways to keep consumers from leaving their store for cheaper prices online.
Recent research found that 40 percent of U.S. shoppers have showroomed previously, with big-box retailers suffering the most. Specifically, the study shows that Best Buy, Walmart and Target are the most likely brick-and-mortar stores to have shoppers test out a product in-store and then purchase it online later, while Amazon is benefiting most from the practice, with nearly 60 percent of shoppers using the online retail giant (巨人) most often to make their showrooming purchases.
Smartphones have pushed showrooming into the front. Shoppers no longer have to wait until they get home to see if they can find a cheaper price for the products they’re considering buying. With smartphones, consumers can now compare virtual prices, at both other brick-and-mortar stores and online ones while still inside a retail store. If they can find what they’re seeking for less online, the majority will be seeking the first exit. A recent study showed that 45 percent of customers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores walk out and buy their purchase online for a discount of as little as 2.5 percent.
This puts pressure on retailers to provide both an in-store experience worth staying for and an online presence that can attract shoppers who are showrooming in other businesses.
To cut down on showrooming, many retailers are adopting new methods to keep shoppers in their stores. Among the steps they’re taking are price-matching assurances that allow shoppers to pay a discounted price if they find it cheaper online. This ensures that even a showrooming shopper can make the purchase in the store — regardless of whether they find the cheaper price online.
Another popular method to fight against showrooming is to give shoppers the ability to buy something online and pick it up at the store. This reduces shipping costs and gets customers in the store, where they may be encouraged to make an additional purchase.
It is also important for businesses to take into consideration what makes shoppers purchase something in-store rather than online, and meet those needs. Research has found that more than 8 in 10 Americans consider being able to take the goods home immediately and the ability to touch and feel them—the most important aspects when deciding to purchase in a store rather than online.
1. What contributes to the growing popularity of showrooming?A.The wide use of smartphones. | B.The competition between big stores. |
C.The advertisement by online retail giants. | D.The decline of the brick-and-mortar stores. |
A.searching for lower prices | B.leaving as soon as possible |
C.locating the first exit quickly | D.making a purchase on the spot |
A.increasing sales at stores | B.preventing purchase online |
C.satisfying customers’ needs | D.advising shoppers to buy more |
【推荐3】Candy comes in many flavors. Some taste like fruit. Some taste like flowers. Some are chewy, like taffy (太妃糖) and gum. Hard candies are, well. hard! So, they last a long time.
But, in spoken English, there are some types of candy that you cannot eat. For example, you can’t eat eye candy. Eye candy is a person-man or woman-who is very good-looking. So, looking at this person is a treat for the eye, just like candy is a treat for the taste buds.
Do you hear of candy coat? Of course it is not a coat made of candy. But you can say I don’t candy coat the truth. What does candy-coating something mean? Well, some pills are covered with a coat of thin, sweet candy. The coating makes swallowing the pill easier, and it may hide a bad taste. So, candy coating a difficult truth or situation means you don’t directly discuss its bad parts.
After talking about candy you may want to eat some candies. However, some people dislike things that are very sweet, especially adults. But even if you do not like candy, you can still be called a kid in a candy store. This expression means a person is very happy to do something or to simply be somewhere. Imagine a child going from one candy display to the next, not knowing which candy to choose!
Talking about children brings us to another expression: as easy as taking candy from a baby. Think about a small, helpless baby holding a piece of candy. Taking it would be very easy—mean, but easy. So, use this expression when you are talking about something that may be simple to do, but probably not right.
1. What kind of girl can be described as “eye candy”?A.Beautiful | B.Optimistic |
C.Hardworking | D.Warmhearted |
A.Making. | B.Taking. |
C.Selling. | D.Testing. |
A.Hard candies. | B.Candy coat. |
C.A kid in a candy store. | D.As easy as taking candy from a baby. |
A.Candy. Enjoy It or Avoid It | B.Various Candies in English |
C.The Best Candy in the World | D.Candies’ Different Flavors |