【推荐3】Did you watch the popular TV series Meet Yourself during your winter vacation? In the TV series, the heroine Xu Hongdou travels to a village in Yunnan province and volunteers at a local cafe. She gets free meals in return. As the show finds a growing audience, volunteer travel - an old-yet-modern form of travel similar to Xu*s type of work - has attracted more attention.

Volunteer travel refers to taking a trip where all or part of the purpose of the trip is to participate in an arranged service opportunity to help others, according to Wise Tour, an online provider of tourist information.

These volunteer trips are usually arranged by church organizations, human interest groups or nonprofit organizations, and they take form of equal exchanges. During the trip, volunteer travelers often provide services like teaching, cooking, animal caring, and cultural activities. In exchange for their help, the volunteers may get free or discounted accommodation, meals and laundry (洗衣服务 )，activities, or classes.

It seems as if these long journeys could only be made possible in recent years by modern transportation. Nevertheless, volunteer travel dates back to the 1960s, when Alec Dickson and his wife Mora from the UK founded Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), an international volunteer organization.

Traditionally, the volunteer activities take place in a foreign country. However, just as what Meet Yourself describes, more volunteer trips have taken place within the same countries or regions the volunteers originate from in recent years. Sanlian Lifeweek magazine commented that volunteer projects in rural areas are now attracting more urban visitors as a break from the fast and stressful pace of urban living. Yang Yan, a founder of a volunteer platform, told the magazine that it has indeed been a growing trend for urban residents to volunteer in rural areas.

People try volunteer travel for several reasons. By working voluntarily while traveling, travelers may make a real, positive impact on the world. The services volunteers provide can be through charities with lower costs for the communities they serve. Another benefit of volunteer travel is that it helps urban dwellers(居民)to get a taste of rural life. For those who are sick of urban pressure but can’t make up their minds whether to move permanently to the countryside, volunteer travel can be a solution. In this way, as Yang comments, travelers can catch some relief from their busy lives, while rural communities also benefit by receiving more customers for local tourism industries and temporary high-quality labor.

1. Why does the author mention Meet Yourself in the beginning of the article?

A．To introduce a new way of travel.

B．To raise readers’ interest in the TV series.

C．To show the popularity of this TV series.

D．To lead up to the topic of volunteer travel.

2. What does the article tell us about volunteer travel?

A．It dates back to the 19th century in the UK.

B．It combines travel with meaningful work to help others.

C．It requires travelers to be highly educated.

D．Travelers can earn money on their trips.

3. What is the second-to-last paragraph mainly about?

A．A new trend of volunteer trips.

B．Different views on volunteer trips.

C．The significance of volunteer trips.

D．The current development of volunteer trips.

4. Why are more urban residents attracted by volunteer projects in rural areas nowadays?

A．To follow a new trend.	B．To support the rural tourism industry.
C．To give back to society.	D．To get away from the worries of city life.

【推荐2】A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities （设施） for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes （样品）; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation （朝向）,”Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of the most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.
1. How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?

A．They lost balance in excitement.	B．They showed strong disbelief.
C．They expressed little interest.	D．They burst into cheers.

2. Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?

A．Assessment — Prototype — Design — Construction.

B．Assessment — Design — Prototype — Construction.

C．Design — Assessment — Prototype — Construction.

D．Design — Prototype — Assessment — Construction.

3. What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?

A．The large size.	B．Limited facilities.
C．The desert climate.	D．Poor natural resources.

4. What does Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?

A．They are questionable.	B．They are out of date.
C．They are advanced.	D．They are practical.

【推荐3】In 2010, after five years of training and further five years on the wards, I resigned from my job as a junior doctor. Last year, the General Medical Council wrote to me to say they were taking my name off the medical register. It wasn’t exactly a huge shock, as I hadn’t practiced medicine for quite a while. But I found it a big deal on an emotional level to permanently close this chapter of my life.

When clearing out boxes of old paperwork, I noticed a training portfolio (档案袋). All doctors are recommended to log their clinical experience in it. On looking through the portfolio for the first time in years, my reflective practice seemed to involve going up to my hospital on-call room and writing down anything remotely interesting that had happened those days.

Besides these, I was reminded of the long hours and the huge impact being a junior doctor had on my life. Reading back, I felt it very extreme and unreasonable in terms of what was expected of me, but at that time I just accepted it as part of the job.

Around the same time that I was reliving (重温) all this through my diaries, junior doctors were coming under fire from politicians here and now. I couldn’t help but feel doctors were struggling to get their side of the story across (perhaps because they were at work the whole time) and it struck me that the public didn’t hear the truth about what it actually meant to be a doctor. Rather than shrugging my shoulders and ignoring the evidence, I decided I had to do something to redress the balance.

So here they are: the diaries I kept during my time in the hospital, in which I recorded the life about working on the front line, the consequences in my personal life, and those terrible days. They all became too much for me. (Sorry for the spoiler of my book beforehand, but you still watched Titanic knowing how that was going to play out.)

Along the way, I’ll help you out with the medical terms and provide a bit of context about what each job involves. Unlike being a junior doctor, I won’t just drop you in the deep end and expect you to know exactly what you’re doing.

1. What does the writer think of his removal from the medical register?

A．It weighed heavily on his mind.

B．It didn’t affect him at all.

C．It came as shocking news for him.

D．It opened a new chapter of life for him.

2. Which of the following can describe the writer’s feeling as a junior doctor?

A．Satisfied but tired.

B．Ambitious but frustrated.

C．Bored and stressed.

D．Unacceptable and uncomfortable.

3. Which of the following best explains “redress the balance” in Paragraph 4?

A．Argue with politicians.

B．Tell the full story of doctors.

C．Collect more solid evidence.

D．Win the support of the public.

4. What does the writer intend to do by writing this article?

A．Reveal what it means to be a junior doctor.

B．Inform readers of some medical knowledge.

C．Encourage more people to practice medicine.

D．Give some background information on a book.

【推荐2】Chuck was in my high-school English class.    1    So, when he told me he had been accepted into the journalism program at the University of Missouri, I wasn’t surprised.

During the first year at college, Chuck stopped by school a few times. We talked about our work together several years before. We had raised money together for twenty-three sick and abandoned babies.    2    . It was an activity that in some ways changed our formal relationship into a friendship.

In his second year in college, it was discovered that Chuck had lung cancer and had only a short while to live. So he left school and came home to be near to his loved ones.

About six weeks later, Chuck died.    3    The youngest of nine children, Chuck was talented and full of promise. More importantly, he was a good person, a just man.

When I went to his funeral, his father asked to speak with me. He told me that before Chuck’s death, he chose six items to bury with him.    4    He told me that Chuck had always kept the piece because he liked the message I had written to him at the bottom of the last page. In that little note, I affirmed his talent as a writer and I encouraged him to be responsible for the gift.

    5    His taking my note with him forever offered me a great opportunity for influencing students^’ lives. I felt inspired with a sense of purpose that was greater than ever: teachers have the power to affect hearts and minds for a long time.

A．It was a great loss for everyone, especially for his family.

B．Chuck helped to raise several thousand dollars.

C．Whenever I forget my purpose, I think of Chuck.

D．He was a writer of great promise.

E．My spirits were lifted up as Chuck was filled with the joy of life.

F．One of them was an essay he had written in my class some years before.

G．I was touched and grateful to Chuck who gave me a special gift that would change my life.

【推荐3】I'm a 20-year-old boy,and the following is my story.

A month after I graduated from high school in August,2007,I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident.I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital.

I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn't open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around.At that time,it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries.Just like my body,my dreams were completely destroyed.But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams.

After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions,I had to make every great effort to learn to talk,eat,walk,shower,and live on my own again.When I was out of hospital,I still had to Go to outpatient therapy in Waldorf,Maryland.After I spent a few months in a wheelchair,I took baby steps to walk on my own.It was a miracle that I was able to walk again,but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk,but also run.When it came true,I wanted to get back into the pool again.After having a few lung tests,I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week. After a few months of swim training,I began my freshman year at St.Mary's College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team.

By telling my story,I want to make a positive influence on the world.I am just trying to live every day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them.I remember when I was still in my hospital bed,I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members.I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay.Somehow,things would work out for the best.

1. The underlined word "coma" in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of "      ".

A．operation	B．unconsciousness
C．treatment	D．emergency

2. According to Paragraph 3,it can be inferred that the author      .

A．was unable to talk or communicate	B．was in despair
C．faced physical and mental challenges	D．felt anxious about his state

3. In the last paragraph,the author mainly wants to show      .

A．his positive influence on other patients	B．his meaningful life
C．his purpose of sharing his story	D．his great achievements

4. The best title for the passage would be "      ".

A．Actions speak louder than words	B．Attitude is everything
C．Everything happens for a reason	D．A Good beginning is half done