Terasa Hill did not intend to do something unplanned. It began when Terasa was observing a horse auction (拍卖). A chestnut: racehorse was for sale? “She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, though it had an injured leg,” said Terasa.
When the bidding started, Terasa surprised herself by stepping in. Finally, Terasa became the new owner of Sierra, and Sierra, limping (跛) and hurt with pain from a broken knee, became a labour of love for Terasa. After three long months of nursing her under the guidance of a local animal doctor, the leg recovered.
It wasn’t only Sierra’s leg that needed to recover; Sierra needed to relearn how to trust people. Terasa thought the best way to win Sierra’s trust and fondness was to feed her treats. Terasa kept providing Sierra with many treats, but none passed the sniff (嗅) test. Desperate, Terasa experimented by making her own mixture of molasses and grains, which she baked in her own kitchen. The cookies were a hit with Sierra and other horses, sending Terasa’s life in a new direction.
Her treats, called “Barnies”, were sold to a local store and like hotcakes, within months local businessmen began demanding for more. Terasa’s kitchen was no longer big enough for the increased demand, moving her operation to an Oshawa company.
Then a serious health problem threatened to ruin her plans. Terasa called upon the same resolution that had helped her save Sierra to help her overcome her own illness. Family and friends came to her rescue and kept Barnies Ltd. going. Almost a year later, healthy and more resolute than ever, Terasa found a national distributor and Bainies began selling in 144 stores across Canada.
And what about Sierra, the inspiration for all this success and change? The horse has fully recovered and has become a wonderful riding horse.
1. Why did Terasa create her own cookies?| A．To show superb cooking skills. | B．To provide a special diet for Sierra. |
| C．To find a way to bond with the horse. | D．To lay the foundation for her business. |
| A．Inflexible. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Confident. | D．Determined. |
| A．It raises a valuable question. |
| B．It provides surprising information. |
| C．It returns to the topic of the opening paragraph. |
| D．It continues the focus of the paragraph before it. |
| A．A remarkable encounter. | B．A famous food company. |
| C．A rescue of a weak horse. | D．A career from previous devotion. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Wild elephants wander across the crowded flatland of India; the forest river banks through fields in Brazil; a ribbon (缎带) of green spreads across.Europe where the Iron Curtain used to be. Using such wildlife corridors (走廊) to link up larger but isolated (孤立的) protected areas is the most widely used method for stopping biodiversity decline (生物多样性衰退), with millions of dollars spent creating and protecting them every year. But has enthusiasm for a neat idea got ahead of the science?
As wild habitat is broken into isolated parts by farms, roads and settlements, we need to link them up with corridors of green. Then even if the entire habitat can’t be recreated, old migration (迁徙) patterns can be brought back,escape routes created ahead of climate change and —perhaps most importantly — isolated populations can interbreed (杂交), improving their genetic (基因的) diversity and their ability to-survive.
Recently, Paul Beier, a biologist from Northern Arizona University, and his colleague Andrew Gregory, warned that “in spite of much research, there is little evidence that protection corridors work as expected.” There is, they say, plenty of evidence that wild animals will move through corridors. But supporters of corridors want, and claim, much more than this. They say that animals don’t just go for a walk in their protection woods, but that they move in forever and interbreed with neighbouring populations. In this way corridors supposedly linked isolated and endangered populations into an interbreeding — and much more powerful — whole.
Such claims sometimes hold up. In the United Kingdom, the expansion (扩张) of Kielder Forest in the 1960s provided a link between isolated populations of endangered red squirrels.Genes from isolated populations have now “spread through hundreds of forest parts” across100 kilometers and more. But the Kielder Forest is much wider than an ordinary corridor. Fewstudies have looked for gene exchange in corridors; even fewer have found it, One study researched the genetic diversity of small marsupials (有袋类动物) in a narrow forest corridor crossing 4.5 kilometers of grassland in Queensland, Australia. It found that genetically distinct populations had kept on staying at either end. Mixing was impossible.
Other studies have shown that protection corridors.work. But most have looked at short corridors of 100 meters through largely natural landscape. “That species can travel along short corridors in a natural setting doesn’t mean that they will be successful travelling along much longer corridors which are in a landscape greatly affected by human beings,” says Gregory, “still less that such movements occur frequently enough to allow enough gene exchange to occur so that the connected habitat blocks function as one population.”
Perhaps we shouldn’t make the. perfect the enemy of the good. Is any corridor surely better than none? But consider this. The edges of wild areas are known danger zones for wildlife, where enemies and diseases may invade (侵略). Linking two existing protected areas with a long narrow corridor may uncover it to greater danger along these edges. Unless the benefit exceeds (超过) the threat, then there is serious possibility to do harm.
1. We can infer from Paragraph 1 that people might ________.| A．pay too much attention to biodiversity |
| B．be.using wrong ways to protect wildlife |
| C．be too idealistic about protection corridors |
| D．have given too.much protection to wildlife |
| A．their isolation | B．human activities |
| C．climate change: | D．alien animals |
| A．We should give up wildlife corridors. |
| B．Animals don’t like to walk in corridors. |
| C．We need more evidence.to.support how corridors.can work. |
| D．Corridors can link isolated animals into an interbreeding whole. |
| A．primary corridor | B．unsuccessful corridor |
| C．ordinary corridor | D．non-typical corridor |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Disapproving. | D．Unconcerned. |
【推荐2】
It may sound like the plot of a Disney movie, but Todd, a fox, really does think he’s a dog. The animal was tamed after being rescued as a 4-month-old cub (幼崽) and was raised as a pet by owner Emma D’ Sylva. Since then the lovable fox has picked up a number of dog characteristics such as tail wagging (摇尾巴), playing with toys and even walking on a lead.
The 11-month-old animal accompanies Emma’s pets Sky and Oakley on walks, drawing double attention from other dog-walkers when they see Todd moving quickly through the local park with Sky and Oakley. They thought as a fox, he has too many dog characteristics. He also sleeps in a kennel (狗窝) , plays with the other dogs and even wags his tail during its feeding time.
“I’ve had Todd since he was about 4 months old because his previous owners couldn’t look after him anymore. He was a bit crazy when he first came to me last year, but now he has a really strong bond with me. He will run up to me wagging his tail when I go to feed him.” Emma, 25, from Stanfield, said.
“Sometimes he comes into my room, but he prefers being outside. He gets on well with my two dogs, and wants to play with them all the time. If people or dogs come up to him in the park, he will lie down at first and freeze but after a few seconds he will sniff (嗅) around the dogs or sit patiently.”
Emma takes some of her 40 pets into schools and care homes to enable children and the elderly to interact with a range of animals. Emma’s husband, Steve Johnson, added, “Todd went out on his first school visit the other week and the children really enjoyed playing with him.”
1. The author mentions “like the plot of a Disney movie” in Paragraph 1 to ________.| A．attract readers to know more about Todd |
| B．introduce a Disney movie’s actor |
| C．inspire people to treat foxes more friendly |
| D．share his favorite movie with readers |
| A．he’s considerate and warmhearted | B．he’s successful and patient |
| C．he acts like a dog instead of a fox | D．he gets along well with dogs |
| A．He is very aggressive in public. | B．He misses his previous owners. |
| C．He used to sleep in Emma’s room. | D．He leads a happy life at Emma’s home. |
| A．Steve Johnson and Emma run a pet home. | B．Todd enjoyed playing with other pets. |
| C．Emma is an expert in raising a range of pets. | D．Todd was welcomed by children in the school. |
| A．How to raise dogs and foxes | B．A lovely dog-like fox |
| C．Emma and her pets | D．To be a good per owner |
【推荐3】Johannes Fritz, a biologist, needed to come up with a plan, again, if he was going to prevent his rare and beloved birds from going extinct.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis (秃鹃) — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become blocked. But shifting climate patterns have delayed when the birds begin to migrate, and they are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap. Determined to save them, Mr. Fritz decided he would teach the birds a new, safer migration route by guiding them himself in a tiny aircraft. And he was confident he could succeed in this daring, unusual plan —because he had done it before.
Mr. Fritz was his young pupils’ only provider of food and love since they’d been just a few days old, and the ibises eagerly followed their teacher. He learned to fly, modifying a tiny aircraft so it would fly at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some experiments, Mr. Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded (放归) 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young. For now, however, the main worry is getting the birds to follow the aircraft. “While they have a strong bond with their ‘mothers’ and follow them around on the ground, flying is more difficult,” Fritz said.
“Fly Away Home was a huge hit with us biologists,” Mr. Fritz said, recalling the 1996 movie in which a Canada geese was led to migrate by an aircraft. When Mr. Fritz claimed he’d do the same with the ibises, he was initially laughed at. But through years of trial and error, he succeeded. He even learned to fly like a bird, he said, laughing with ease. Mr. Fritz’s two sons, both now teenagers, followed their flying father and the migrating birds on the ground, and his family and colleagues witnessed the risks he was taking. But the unexpected risks are “necessary”, Mr. Fritz said.
“It’s not so much a job,” he added, “but my life’s purpose.”
1. What made Mr. Fritz believe he would make it this time?| A．Confidence. | B．Experience. | C．Bravery. | D．Determination. |
| A．Whether the birds can fly after the aircraft. |
| B．Tight schedule to modify a tiny aircraft. |
| C．The extreme weather that prevents flying. |
| D．Limited support from the local government. |
| A．Imaginative and out-going. | B．Generous and easy-going. |
| C．Purposeful and strong-willed. | D．Energetic and open-minded. |
| A．Mr. Fritz once starred in a film in 1996. |
| B．Mr. Fritz was favored by those around him. |
| C．Mr. Fritz had no difficulty with what he did. |
| D．Mr. Fritz thought what he did was worthwhile. |
【推荐1】I was born in 1990-the year of the white horse. A girl born under this zodiac(生肖) is believed to have a wild, steed-like(骏马般的)spirit that will block her fortunes, bringing her family trouble. These beliefs were planted in my mind as a girl growing up in South Korea. I was repeatedly told to fight against my steed-like spirit and instead try being still, gentle, and quiet.
Actually, when I was young, I loved exploring the mountainous trails behind our house, examining the various soil layers in nearby fields, and generally running wild outdoors. I often returned home with soiled clothes.
In high school, I settled on a quiet career choice: I would become a lawyer. However, when I was accepted into a pre-law program, I found the courses boring. That’s when a teacher said, “You could always get a science degree, and go back into law. ”
I took her advice and landed in the United States to study geology(地质学). Shortly thereafter, though, culture shock set in. I was not ready for the intense physical requirements of my field courses. One 6-week summer course required strenuous(费劲的)hikes, camping in extreme heat, and heavy lifting. My cultural upbringing had discouraged such “wild” activities and I had never gone on extended hikes or camps before. But other women in my program were an inspiration. I saw beauty in their strength, and I wanted to be like them.
By the end of my undergraduate degree, I had fully accepted my love of being a tough girl. And I’d given up on the idea of becoming a lawyer. My parents didn’t quite know what to make of my adventurous field life. But they were supportive when I told them about the change in my career direction.
I’m now a postdoc with years of experience collecting samples in challenging field environments, and I’m thankful I resisted the cultural expectations placed on me. My wild, steed-like spirit wasn’t something to suppress(压制). Instead, it led me to a career that’s a perfect fit for me.
1. What can we learn about the author in her childhood?| A．She was a quiet and shy girl. |
| B．She spent much time exploring the outdoors. |
| C．She brought misfortunes to her family. |
| D．She was encouraged to study hard. |
| A．The bright employment opportunity. |
| B．Her disappointment at the pre-law program courses. |
| C．Her desire to act against her cultural expectations. |
| D．The difficulty of getting a law degree. |
| A．She was not used to doing strenuous activities. |
| B．She was not interested in the field courses. |
| C．She was strongly opposed by her family. |
| D．She was looked down upon by other women. |
| A．Careful. | B．Demanding. |
| C．Open-minded. | D．Short-sighted. |
【推荐2】One year before, at age 18, Leszyeski had aged out of foster care (寄养中心), having been in the system since she was four when her single mother was no longer able to care for her. Leszyeski was now enrolled in college hoping to become a doctor. And the only furniture she had in her apartment was an air mattress with a hole in it.
Then she learned about an organization Chairity. The organization provides furniture and household goods for young adults who have left foster care. Leszyeski reached out to Charity, a nonprofit formed by 23-year-old Maria Paparella.
Paparella first became aware of foster care in elementary school when her parents were considering adopting a child. The plan didn't work out, but Paparella often found herself thinking about that child. “I'm really close with my family, and I just couldn't imagine being completely on my own at 18,” she says.
At 16, Paparella visited Summit County Children Services, with a list of questions, trying to understand what aging out looked like. One of her questions was “What's not being met for these young people?” Near the top of the list was furniture. “That struck home,” says Paparella. The idea of “moving into an apartment without a bed to sleep on or a sofa to sit on” pulled at her heartstrings.
Paparella contacted her parents' friends, asking if they had spare furniture to donate. A local furniture store offered free ware-house space and its delivery truck. Watching the recipients' faces when they received a bed, a couch — whatever — was amazing. Paparella remembers delivering a gold lamp to a woman and watching her polish it lovingly, getting rid of dirt and fingerprints.
Today, Chairity has given furniture to nearly 200 young adults in homes across six Ohio counties. Paparella is convinced these contributions give the recipients hope and confidence. Leszyeski agrees.“It makes me feel like I'm not different from other people. My whole life, I've felt abnormal,”she says,“Now, I feel normal.”
1. Which can best describe Leszyeski's life after leaving foster care?| A．Tough but hopeful. | B．Poor and aimless. |
| C．Wealthy but boring. | D．Independent and carefree. |
| A．To get some financial benefits from it. | B．To help those aging out of foster care. |
| C．To aid the needy couple adopt a child. | D．To ask people to donate some couches. |
| A．Living without parents. | B．Moving into a new house. |
| C．Getting free truck delivery. | D．Visiting a foster care center. |
| A．It changes young adults' whole life. | B．It brings confidence to the recipients. |
| C．It has helped lots of homeless people. | D．It makes people different from others. |
【推荐3】He hurried around the room, touching everything he could reach. I followed, attempting to intercept (拦截) him before he reached the hallway. He approached the front desk and knocked over all the papers on the table. I assisted him firmly in collecting them. I sensed eyes watching me, judging my parenting skills.
I should have realised that arriving so early would not have been wise. It was my mistake to arrive early, as the long wait was difficult for my child. I kept searching my bag and found a ball, which finally attracted him. A couple waited for their child. They stared at me and my son, and I heard the words “out of control”. I could feel my face flush red. I wanted to tell them that my son has a disability and that he’s not being bad; he’s just having trouble waiting. I sat down and watched him play with the ball, and I tried my best not to cry.
The instructor called the group together, and my son went off to play sports with the other five-year-olds. I prayed that this time he would follow the rules. I closed my eyes and wished him to be okay.
“He’ll be fine.” I opened my eyes and looked beside me. “He’ll do great. You are doing great. You are a great mom. I can see it in all that you do for him,” a lady sat on my right said.
She told me about her brother and her parents and all that her mom did for her brother over the years. She told me about how he turned out great, got a job and lives on his own now. We sat and talked, and I felt the tension leave my body.
Before I knew it, the doors opened, and all the kids ran out, including my own, filled with excitement and pride. “I did it!” he exclaimed. I picked him up. I turned to thank the lady, but she was gone.
1. What might others in the waiting room expect the author to do?| A．Get out of the room. | B．Apologize to them. |
| C．Make her child behave. | D．Take her son to the doctor`s. |
| A．Because he has bad temper. |
| B．As his mother’s love makes him behave like that. |
| C．As he has a physical disability. |
| D．Because he has difficulty in waiting. |
| A．Her sincere attitude. | B．Her family’s experience. |
| C．Her brother’s suffering. | D．Her sympathy for the author. |
| A．True and kind words can change the world. | B．It is difficult for a child to behave himself. |
| C．Be more patient to a child with disability. | D．Wrong words will make the world worse. |
【推荐1】What makes a gift special? Is it the price you see on the gift receipt? Or is it the look on the recipient's face when they receive it that determines the true value? What gift is worth the most?
This Christmas I was debating what to give my father. My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything. I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father. My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming, and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower, alone dandelion standing against the bright blue sky, inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father.
I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream-colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind. The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe; my dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was focused around dreaming, and after searching I found the perfect picture. The image was painted with blues and greens and purples, twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer, the white paper colored with words that shaped my childhood, I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate.
Christmas soon arrived. The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he unwrapped those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame, I knew I had given the perfect gift.
1. The idea for a special gift began to form when the author was ________.| A．doing shopping | B．having a debate |
| C．reading a message | D．leaving for Wyoming |
| A．a photo of a flower | B．a story about a kid |
| C．a call from the mother | D．a text about Christmas |
| A．the father | B．the author |
| C．William Blake | D．Edgar Allan Poe |
| A．searching for the poems online | B．drawing the background by hand |
| C．painting the letters in three colors | D．matching the words with pictures |
【推荐2】When Kyle Jauregui recently went to pick up his younger sister's birthday cake, he met with a bittersweet surprise.
On arriving at the baker's, he learnt that Madison's cake had already been paid for—by a complete stranger. It was a touching act of kindness, but, as it turned out, not a random one. The cake had been paid for by a lady known simply as “McKenna's mum” —as part of a gesture she had been making for a while, and for a heartbreaking reason.
While Madison was set to celebrate turning 11, McKenna Jodell Fox would have turned ten on the same day. McKenna was only nine months old in 2008, when she was crushed by a falling TV set as her family prepared to move house.
It's a painful occasion for her mum, but one she has transformed into something positive. The cake she bought was accompanied by a card which read as follows:
“Dear Birthday Girl Family,
In honour of my daughter's 10th birthday, I have chosen your birthday cake to pay for. Each year I do this random act of kindness because I am unable to buy my daughter a cake of her own. Today is her big double-digit birthday. Please enjoy your day. ”
By Kyle's own admission, the whole family was left speechless. “We just want to say thank you to McKenna's mom,” he wrote,“and wish McKenna a happy birthday. There's still good in this world. ”
1. What do we know about the birthday cake?| A．It tasted bittersweet. | B．It was paid by McKenna's mum. |
| C．It made the family heart-broken. | D．It was free of charge. |
| A．Kyle Jauregui. | B．Madison. |
| C．McKenna Jodell Fox. | D．McKenna's mum. |
| A．Warm-hearted and cheerful. | B．Strong-willed but depressed. |
| C．Broken-hearted but generous. | D．Kind-hearted and positive. |
| A．A Painful Accident | B．A Speechless Birthday |
| C．One Birthday Cake for Two Girls | D．World Full of Surprises |
【推荐3】“You need to sign this,” my son Joe informed me. “What is it?” I asked. Rolling his eyes with a sense of impatience, Joe replied,“ Your permission. And it’s due tomorrow!”
I learned that Joe’s sixth-grade class would be taking a field trip to the state capital. “That sounds like fun,” I said.“ I’ve always wanted to go there.” “You can’t come!” Joe answered. Puzzled, I asked. “Why not?” “Because you always come on field trips!”
Of course，I always joined his class on field trips. Being a chaperone(监护人)on a field trip is one of the advantages that comes with being a mom, a vacation day in a career that offers few opportunities for a change of scenery. “You don’t want me to be a chaperone?” “Give someone else’s mom a chance,” he suggested. What was surprising was how much I minded being so impolitely removed from the short list of willing chaperones by my own son.
When Joe was in kindergarten, his class planned a pretend trip to Norway. The day before the trip, Joe woke up not feeling well.
After learning that he didn’t have a fever, I asked, “You don’t want to miss getting ready for the trip to Norway, do you?” “I guess not,” he said.
But when I picked him up at the end of the day, the teacher whispered, “Joe got a little upset today.” “What happened?” “He doesn’t want to go to Norway without you.” So that was what had been bothering my 5-year-old.He thought his class was really flying to Norway on their wooden chairs in their paper airplane. He believed those passports and tickets he and his classmates had been making were the real deal.
Preadolescence fell upon my family as my husband and I found ourselves preparing for our son’s upcoming teen years with the same trepidation as someone about to climb an ice-covered mountain wearing high heels.
Joe needed to take a field trip without me accompanying him. And I needed to let him. I’m glad he doesn’t need me all the time.
1. What did the author really mind?| A．The additional responsibilities as a mom. |
| B．Being asked by her son to sign a permission. |
| C．Having missed the chance to visit the state capital. |
| D．Being denied rudely by her son as a chaperone. |
| A．His going to Norway without his mom. |
| B．The occurrence of his fever on the journey. |
| C．His fear of the paper airplane’s crashing down. |
| D．The loss of his passport and ticket. |
| A．Excitement. |
| B．Nervousness. |
| C．Expectation. |
| D．Determination. |
| A．He hated being controlled by parents. |
| B．He was longing for his parents’ love. |
| C．He was becoming less dependent. |
| D．He was unwilling to obey rules. |
