【推荐3】Moving can be daunting – whether it’s to a new city or an entirely new country. The good news? Volunteering can be a great way to settle into a new community, meet people, and learn valuable skills.

Kajal Patil moved to the United States from India in February 2017. Having previously volunteered for two years as an assistant yoga teacher in her home country, Kajal was enthusiastic about volunteering and began looking for volunteer opportunities that match her interests. She was drawn to a volunteer opportunity to review applications on behalf of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), which aims to help Latin American and Caribbean business to bring positive changes to their societies and contribute more fully to economic development, prosperity and security in those places.

After connecting with the opportunity and successfully completing the application process, Kajal got to work. Her role involved reviewing 44 in-depth applications from potential candidates across Latin America and the Caribbean for a four-week fellowship in the U.S.. She was responsible for describing the business ideas presented by these candidates, assessing the social impact of their businesses, and determining the strength of candidates to carry out their plans. With almost 4,000 applicants in 2017, volunteers like Kajal were important members of the YLAI team.

Kajal says that this volunteer opportunity super-charged her existing skills, while helping her build new ones such as time management, business analysis, decision-making, planning, and presenting.

She is now looking for her next volunteer opportunity and reflects positively on her experience with YLAI. “A new country brings in a lot of new experiences and volunteering helped me to settle into a new environment,” adds Kajal. “By helping others, I felt needed in society. It promoted my confidence, and other people benefited too. Volunteering is a great opportunity to improve yourself, others, and the whole society.”

Whether you recently moved to a new place or are looking to expand your influence on your current community, find a volunteer opportunity to empower yourself, and others.

1. What do we know about Kajal?

A．She is an experienced volunteer.

B．She received education in the U.S..

C．She founded a volunteer organization.

D．She worked as a professional yoga teacher.

2. What was included in Kajal’s voluntary work for YLAI?

A．Carrying out the selected business plans.

B．Assessing the applications of candidates.

C．Helping candidates think up business ideas.

D．Simplifying candidates’ application process.

3. What does Kajal think of volunteering?

A．It contributes to local economy.

B．It focuses on skills development.

C．It helps develop people’s interests.

D．It benefits individuals and society.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To share experience of volunteering.

B．To recognize the contribution of YLAI.

C．To suggest a way to settle into a new place.

D．To evaluate the benefits of volunteering abroad.

【推荐1】“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”

“Two full inches in the first three days!”

These are the kinds of statements used in magazine，newspaper, radio and television ads, promising new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can shape the legs, slim the face, smooth wrinkles, or in some other way to add to beauty or desirability.

Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable, and some are dangerous to health.

To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug, FDA(Food and Drug Administration)can require proof under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that is safe and effective before it is put on the market. But if the product is a device, FDA has no authority to require premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness. If a product already on the market is a danger to health, FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily, or it can take legal action, including seizure(查封)of the product.

One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, which had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life.

Obviously, most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings(法律诉讼)，and new devices appear continually. Before buying, it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items.

1. It can be inferred that the ads mentioned in the text are           . .

A．objective

B．costly

C．unreliable

D．illegal

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．The court is in charge of removing dangerous products.

B．New products are more likely to be questionable.

C．The production of a device must be approved by FDA.

D．The promoters usually just care about profits.

3. FDA can ask for the proof of safety and effectiveness of a product           

A．if it is a drug

B．if it is a device

C．if its consumers make complaints

D．if its distributors challenge FDA’s authority

4. The Relaxacisor is mentioned as          .

A．a product which was designed to produce electricity

B．a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case

C．a successful advertisement of a beauty product

D．an example of a quality beauty product

5. The author intends to           

A．make consumers aware of the promoters’ false promises

B．show the weakness of the law on product safety

C．give advice on how to keep young and beautiful

D．introduce the organization of FDA

【推荐2】A long time ago, and still in some countries today, the dollar and penny did not even exist. Actually, trading a cow for two pigs is still the norm (常态) for many cultures. So how is it that we get to use paper and coins?

The biggest challenge for ancient cultures was to have a system that would allow people to exchange products with each other. However, the problem came up when one person was in need of something immediately that they didn’t have a product to trade. For example, a farmer that needed wheat only had fruit to exchange but the fruit wasn’t ready to hand over for another two months. This is what started the idea of a “common currency”. The farmer could buy what he needed with “currency” and just as important, the value of the goods he was exchanging was standardized. He did not have to worry about giving anything in return now or later; his deal was complete. Thus “money” was born.

Over time, each country has developed its own currency and something that might cost 1,000,000 lire in one country might be 1 dollar in the US currency. Most countries also frequently use powerful political people as the “face” of their currency. The US currency is the best example of this. Can you name all the presidents that currently appear on not only paper money but also coins?

The real excitement, however, is the future of how we buy things. People have started to use debit cards (借记卡) that allow you to pay using your bank account rather than cash. That has given way to something called Mondex. Mondex allows you to “wave” your card past any special device that can read these cards. You no longer have to insert, swipe (刷) and then punch in numbers, which could cause security problems.

1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 1?

A．To introduce the topic of the text.

B．To explain what money was like in history.

C．To tell us that there was no money long ago.

D．To compare the difference between a cow and two pigs.

2. The farmer had an idea of using currency when ________.

A．he had a product to exchange	B．he had made a lot of money
C．he had nothing to trade for what he needed	D．he would harvest his fruit

3. Mondex is a kind of card which can ________.

A．keep you safe if you are in trouble

B．save you a large amount of money

C．help you trade safely and conveniently

D．make you happy whenever you are bored

4. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．The evolution of payment.	B．The trade in ancient times.
C．The use of money in the world.	D．New ways of payment.

【推荐3】To learn new things, we must sometimes fail. But what's the right amount of failure? New research led by the University of Arizona proposes a mathematical answer to that question.

Educators have long recognized that there is something of a "sweet spot" when it comes to learning. That is, we learn best when we are challenged to grasp something just outside of our existing knowledge. When a challenge is too simple, we don't learn anything new; likewise, we don't expand our knowledge when a challenge is so difficult that we fail entirely or give up.

So where does the sweet spot lie? According to the new study, it's when failure occurs 15% of the time. Put another way, it's when the right answer is given 85%of the time.

Researchers at the University of Arizona came up with the so-called "85% Rule" after conducting a series of machine-learning experiments in which they taught computers simple tasks, such as classifying different patterns into one of two categories.

The computers learned fastest in situations in which the difficulty was such that they responded with 85% accuracy.

"If you have an error rate of 15% or accuracy of 85%, you are always maximizing your rate of learning in these two-choice tasks," said Professor Robert Wilson.

When we think about how humans learn, the 85%Rule would mostly likely apply to perceptual(感知的)learning, in which we gradually learn through experience and examples, Wilson said. Imagine, for instance, a radiologist(放射科医生)learning to tell the difference between images of tumors(肿瘤)and non-tumors.

"You need examples to get better at figuring out there's a tumor in an image, "Wilson said. "If I give really easy examples, you get 100% right all the time and there's nothing left to learn. You're not going to be taking as much from that as a situation where you are struggling a little hit. If I give really hard examples, you'll he 50% correct and still not learning anything new, while if I give you something in between, you can he at this sweet spot where you are getting the most information from each particular example."

1. Which of the following is linked with the sweet spot?

A．15 percent accuracy.	B．50 percent accuracy.
C．85 percent accuracy.	D．100 percent right.

2. Why did the researchers teach computers simple tasks?

A．To find out where the sweet spot lies.	B．To see how well computers carry out tasks.
C．To compare the results of their experiments.	D．To conduct some research on machine learning.

3. What is the purpose of the "examples" mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To teach what to do in the treatment of tumors.	B．To teach how to determine there is a tumor.
C．To help to remember what is learned.	D．To help to learn how a tumor develops.

4. According to the text, what is the most effective way of learning?

A．Not taking failure too seriously.	B．Learning through experience and examples.
C．Struggling a little bit, but not too much.	D．Learning things that are completely new.

【推荐1】Drrinnggg! That’s the sound that kids all over the country hate to hear-the alarm bell. The new school year has just started and children across the UK have to wake up early in the morning to go to school.

But students at one school in northeast England are lucky. They can lie in bed for an extra(额外的)hour before they go to school. Monkseaton High School has been allowing its pupils to come into school an hour later than other schools.

The headmaster, Dr Paul Kelley, says that this new approach(方式) helps students pay more attention to their lessons in class. He feels that young people are more energetic and can perform better for the rest of the day. And he adds that for their school students, a late start at school may be better than an early one.

Dr Kelley tells the BBC that teenagers don’t perform very well in the morning and their need to sleep is biological(生物的). It seems that this new approach to teaching shows positive(积极的) results. The number of students who sleep in class drops quickly. Besides, the school has already seen a drop in the number of pupils who play truant(逃学) by 27%. More importantly, Dr Kelley also says that exam results have improved by 20%-30% over the past year.

Classes at Monkseaton High School begin at 10 a.m. and finish at 3:40 p.m. However, the school opens from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The students can come early and leave late if they want.

1. What is this passage?

A．A news report.	B．A speech.
C．A story.	D．A notice.

2. What is Dr. Paul Kelley’s opinion of the new approach?

A．He gives no opinions about it.

B．He has his doubts about it.

C．He disagrees with it.

D．He agrees with it.

3. Which is NOT the positive result about the new approach?

A．The exam results have improved.

B．Fewer and fewer students sleep in class.

C．Most students get to school earlier.

D．The number of pupils who play truant drops.

4. When do classes usually begin in schools in the UK according to the passage?

A．At 8:00 a.m.	B．At 9:00 a.m.
C．At 10:00 a.m.	D．At 11:00 a.m.

【推荐2】San Francisco has its cable cars. Seattle has its Space Needle. And, Longview has its squirrel bridge. The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark（地标）.

The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars.

The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of the library grounds. Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels. Many times, Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over.

One day Peters found a dead squirrel with a nut still in its mouth, and that day’s coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety. The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of the City Council(市政会).The Council approved（赞同）, and Councilwoman Bess LaRiviere named the bridge “Nutty Narrows.”

After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started Construction, They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum and lengths of fire hose(消防水带). It cost 1,000.

It didn’t take long before reports of squirrels using the bridge started. Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes. The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became known in newspapers all over the world.

In 1983, after 20 years of use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge. Repairs were made and crosspieces were replaced. The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of the new bridge.

Peters died in 1984, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project.

1. The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in order to .

A．offer squirrels a place to eat nuts	B．set up a local landmark
C．help improve traffic	D．protect squirrels

2. What happened during the coffee break discussion?

A．The committee got the Council’s blessing.

B．The squirrel bridge idea was born.

C．A councilwoman named the bridge.

D．A squirrel was found dead.

3. What does the underlined phrase “teaching them the ropes” probably means in the text?

A．passing them a rope

B．Directing them to store food for winter

C．Teaching them a lesson

D．Showing them how to use the bridge

4. What can we learn about Amos Peters?

A．He is remembered for his love of animals.

B．He donated $1,000 to build the bridge.

C．He was a member of the City Council.

D．He was awarded a medal for building the bridge.

【推荐3】A Notice of Delnor Hospital (the “Hospital”)
THIS   NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED ( 透露 )
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact:
The ASIFlex Privacy   Office
PO   BOX   6044
Columnbia MO   65205- 0858
We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting your medical information. We create a record of the care and services you receive at the Hospital. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply （遵从）with certain legal requirements.
This notice explains the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligation( 义务   ) we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose your medical information. Not every use or disclosure in every category is listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment.     We may use your medical information to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose your medical information to doctors, nurses and technicians. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietician if you have diabetes so that we may arrange appropriate meals. Different departments within the Hospital also may share your medical information.
For Payment.       We may use and disclose your medical information so that the treatment and services you receive at the Hospital may be billed and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. We also may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
For Health Care Operations.     We may use and disclose your medical information for the Hospital operations purposes. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the Hospital and to make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. We also may combine your medical information with those of many Hospital patients to determine whether additional services should be offered, what services are no longer needed and whether certain new treatments are effective.
1. From the notice, we can learn _______may read your medical information.

A．doctors	B．nurses
C．dietician	D．all above

2. Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the notice?

A．The patient will be told how soon he can recover after an operation

B．The Hospital creates a record of the care and services.

C．The patient can be told his health plan about a treatment

D．The Hospital can arrange appropriate meals for patients.

3. What can be inferred from the notice?

A．Patients couldn’t be informed of his medical information

B．All persons in the Hospital know patients’ information

C．Patients in the Hospital could receive proper care and treatment

D．The Hospital could never combine your medical information with those of many Hospital patients.