On a number of drives throughout my childhood, my mother would suddenly pull over the car to examine a flower by the side of the road or rescue a beetle from tragedy while I, in my late teens and early twenties, sat impatiently in the car.
Though Mother’s Day follows the Earth Day, for me, they have always been related to each other. My mum has been “green” since she became concerned about the environment. Part of this habit was born of thrift(节俭). Like her mother and her grandmother before her, mum saves glass jars, empty cheese containers and reuses her plastic bags.
Mum creates a kind of harmonious relationship with wildlife in her yard. She knows to pick the apples on her trees a little early to avoid the bears and that if she leaves the bird feeders out at night, it is likely that they will be knocked down by a family of raccoons(浣熊). Spiders that make their way into the house and are caught in juice glasses will be set loose in the garden.
I try to teach my children that looking out for the environment starts with being aware of the environment. On busy streets, we look for dandelions(蒲公英)to fly in the wind; we say hello to neighborhood cats and pick up plastic cups and paper bags. This teaching comes easily, I realize, because I was taught so well by example. Mum didn’t need to lecture; she didn’t need to beat a drum to change the world. She simply slowed down enough to enjoy living in it and with that joy came mercy and an instinct for protection.
I am slowing down and it isn’t because of the weight of my nearly forty years on the planet. It is out of my concern for the planet itself. I’ve begun to save glass jars and reuse packing envelops. I pause in my daily tasks to watch the squirrels race each other in the trees above my house.
Last summer, in the company of my son and daughter, I planted tomatoes in my yard. With the heat of August around me, I ate the first while sitting on my low wall with dirt on my hands. Warm from the sun, it burst on my tongue with a sweetness. I immediately wanted to share with my mum.
1. Why does the author say the Earth Day is connected with Mother’s Day?| A．Because Mother’s Day always falls shortly after the Earth Day. |
| B．To stress that all the women in her family are environmentalists. |
| C．To stress how much her mother cares about the environment. |
| D．Because her mother shows her concern to nature on Mother’s Day. |
| A．Rescuing a beetle from a certain tragedy. |
| B．Saving glass jars, empty cheese containers. |
| C．Setting a caught spider free in the garden. |
| D．Picking dandelions on busy streets. |
| A．the author realizes that she should teach her children by example as well |
| B．the author’s mother knows how to get rid of the wildlife in her yard |
| C．the author believes that only by learning to slow down can we enjoy life |
| D．the author’s mother used to lecture her to protect the environment |
| A．Tomatoes make the author think of her mother. |
| B．The author likes eating tomatoes planted by herself. |
| C．Planting tomatoes is a way of protecting environment. |
| D．The author really appreciates her mother’s teaching. |
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【推荐1】I’ve never been the kind of person to say, “it’s the thought that counts” when it comes to gifts. That was until a couple of weeks ago, when my kids gave me a present that blew me away.
For years now, I’ve been wanting to sell our home, the place where my husband and I raised our kids. But to me, this house is much more than just a building. In the front room, there’s a wall that has hundreds of pencil lines, marking the progress of my children’s growth. Every growth stage is marked in grey, with each child’s name and the date they were measured. Most people I know have been featured on a wall like this, or at least had a wall like it in their home.
Of all the objects and all the memories, it’s this one thing in a home that’s the hardest to leave behind. Friends I know have returned home after work only to discover their wall of heights has been freshly painted over. A new paint job wouldn’t normally be greeted by tears, but erasing that evidence of motherhood hurts more than it should. Our kids grow in so many ways, but the wall is physical evidence of their progress, right there for everyone to see.
Over the years, I’ve talked about how much I would hate leaving that wall behind when I moved, even though the last marks were made 10 years ago when my kids stopped growing. So one day, while I was at work, my children decided to do something about it.
They hired Jacquie Manning, a professional photographer whose work is about capturing (捕捉) the beautiful things in life, from clear lakes and skies to diamonds and ballgowns. She came to our house while I was at work, and over several hours, took photos of the hundreds of drawings and lines, little grey fingerprints (手印), and old marks. Somehow, she managed to photograph all those years of memories perfectly. Afterwards, she put all the photos together into one image, transforming them into a beautiful history of my family.
Three weeks later, my children’s wonderful gift made its way to me – a life-size photo of the pencil lines and fingerprints that represents entire lifetimes of love and growth.
1. The author used her friends’ example in Paragraph 3 to ________.| A．persuade her family to leave the wall as it was |
| B．stress the meaning of keeping good memories |
| C．explain why her house badly needed a new paint job |
| D．share her memory of motherhood with readers |
| A．helped the author paint her new house |
| B．came up with the idea of the photo gift |
| C．shot pictures to record the author’s growth stage |
| D．made a copy of the growth marks on the wall |
| A．was strongly against selling their home |
| B．was not happy with the gift from her family |
| C．kept marks for family members every year |
| D．put great love and care in raising her children |
| A．A Gift Made with Love | B．Advice on Picking up Gifts for Parents |
| C．Paintings Count | D．Effective Ways to Communicate with Children |
【推荐2】Childhood is all about the slow expansion of your world, from birth when you are quite clearly the centre of the universe, through the great shock of realising, when you are about three, that you are not actually kings and queens, that there is a whole world beyond the kitchen table and the bedtime story. It’s entirely up to you to let your children know that, while they may be blessed with a loving home, a warm bed, plenty to eat, many people are not.
My oldest son, Sam, is six now and a lovely boy, thoughtful and concerned about the world, kind to his brothers and in love with nature, insects and animals. I get nervous at the fact that it is my responsibility to make him aware of the dark side of life — war, starvation, environmental disasters — part of me wants to preserve his innocence, but most of me thinks he needs to know and I should be the one to tell him.
We’ve talked a little bit, about climate change, but I find it hard to be really honest with him. I sat down with him recently, to read something that Green Books sent to me, called How to Turn Your Parents Green. I thought a light-hearted book might be an easy way to talk to him about what he’s going to have to deal with.
I asked him if he knew about climate change and he said no and then yes. I asked him if he knew what was causing it and he said: “It’s because there are more and more cars on the roads. Maybe too many planes too. Maybe trains as well, but only a little bit.” He likes trains.
I said it was because we had too many lights on too — he jumped up and turned off the light straight away.
“What do you think it means?” I asked him. “I don’t know. Is the world getting hotter? What will happen?” he asked. “Well, some people’s homes may get covered in water, and other people may not have enough food,” I said. “There might be some big storms and hurricanes.”
He was quiet and thoughtful, and I couldn’t bear to push it any further. We did some colouring instead. But later that afternoon, he came back to me and put his hand in my back pocket. “I didn’t like that book, Mum. It made me feel really worried,” he said.
I still feel upset thinking about it now.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．Slow development of a child’s intelligence. |
| B．Better understanding of the things around a child. |
| C．Natural response to what happens around a child. |
| D．Gradual process of a child knowing more about the world. |
| A．Very sorry. | B．Quite pleased. | C．A little hesitant. | D．Quite confident. |
| A．He hated to talk about lights. | B．His mother told him to do so. |
| C．Lights would cause climate change. | D．He wanted to save electricity for trains. |
| A．To make him less upset. | B．To take a short break with him. |
| C．To give him some time to think. | D．To develop his interest in colouring. |
【推荐3】When I was young, I thought that boys and grown men shouldn’t cry. The tears were signs of being weak. A man isn’t supposed to be like that. This was even strengthened in my young mind with the popular song, Boys Don’t cry, in the early 1980s.
But just last June, I discovered that courage wasn’t all about trying to keep all the pain inside. Courage wasn’t all about trying to hide the tears. It was the opposite — the tears reinforced (加强) the heart’s courage. And I saw this in my father.
My 18-year-old sister eloped and with it, I saw how vulnerable (脆弱的) my father’s heart was. We were used to seeing him as a strong figure and an iron-willed father. For three days after my sister eloped, he wouldn’t talk. He would just sit quietly outside our house in the dark. On the fourth night, I sat beside him and asked him to tell me what he felt about everything.
It has been years since I have laid my hand on my father’s shoulder as we have drifted farther while I am growing up. That night, I sensed my father trying to control his pain and I wanted him to be able to let it out. We all cried over what had happened except him.
The simple touch and my words “Dad, it’s not your fault”broke my father’s dam. In the darkness, he began to cry. I felt his shoulders shaking as he whispered, “Where did I go wrong? All I ever wanted was for my children to grow up right. Why couldn’t your sister wait? How can she go away with such a boy?”
I understood then why he preferred to be in the dark. By being there, he hoped to spare his family’s feelings. His tears, though we didn’t see them before that night, were there all the same.
I saw his courage that night when my father cried with my hand on his shoulder, and understood his pain.
1. We can know from the first paragraph that ________.| A．the author often cried when he was young |
| B．the tears are not the signs of being weak |
| C．Boys Don’t cry was popular in the early 1980s |
| D．men are supposed to keep their secrets |
| A．should try to keep all the pain inside |
| B．should do what they can to show they are brave |
| C．shouldn’t hide the tears if they want to cry |
| D．shouldn’t be so strict with their children |
| A．he should set an example to people around |
| B．he was very disappointed with his daughter |
| C．he had been trying to control his great pain |
| D．he felt sorry for what he had done before |
| A．Boys don’t cry. | B．My great father. |
| C．Never lose heart. | D．The day father cried. |
【推荐1】Back in 1973, out of concern that many of American native plants and animals were in danger of extinction, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. The law allows the government to decide species as either “endangered” or “threatened”. Once plants and animals are on the list, they can’t be harmed or harvested, and their living places can’t be changed or damaged in a way that kills, injures or weakens their ability to breed (繁殖), feed or perform other functions necessary for existence.
While environmentalists have thought the law is of great importance in history, mining and the agribusiness (农业综合企业) interests don’t think so. They argue that when an endangered animal is found on public land, the use of the land is strictly controlled, which can prevent farming, and other business use of the land. So, the recent US government has sought to change the way that the law is applied to reduce what it considers overprotection for threatened species.
But a study published in the journal PLOS ONE in January revealed that researchers looked at 31 different populations of ocean animals, and that they found that 78 percent of the mammals (哺乳动物) and 75 percent of the turtles increased their population size after receiving protection under the Act. What was even more impressive was that the number of Hawaiian humpback whales increased from just 800 in 1979 to more than 10,000 in 2005.
“We should celebrate the Act’s track record of reducing the harm from water pollution, overfishing, beach habitat loss and killing. Humans often destroy ocean ecosystems(生态系统), but our study shows that with strong laws and careful administration, we can also help them make a comeback.” said Shaye Wolf, a researcher of the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Arizona.
1. What can we know about the Endangered Species Act in Paragraph 1?| A．It mainly focuses on protecting ocean species. |
| B．It covers almost all the details of wildlife protection. |
| C．It encourages people to raise wildlife in a careful way. |
| D．It asks the whole world to work together to protect wildlife. |
| A．The Act has limited the economic benefits of land. |
| B．Some land has got polluted due to the Act. |
| C．Some states refuse to follow the Act. |
| D．The Act fails to save enough endangered species. |
| A．Quite a lot of ocean animals’ population is still worrying. |
| B．The government failed to put some rare species on the list. |
| C．The Act turned out to be effective for ocean animal protection. |
| D．Whales benefit most from the Act after receiving protection. |
| A．More strict rules should be added to the Act. |
| B．Overfishing is the main threat to ocean animals. |
| C．The damage caused by human activities to the ecosystem is unavoidable. |
| D．Proper laws play a powerful role in environmental protection. |
【推荐2】Located in the Indian Ocean,the Maldives(马尔代夫) are among the most beautiful islands in the world,with white sandy beaches,clear water,and amazing coral reefs(珊瑚礁).The country depends on tourism,fishing,and shipping.But the rising sea level and the carbon pollution causing warming oceans are threatening(威胁) their existence.
The Maldives have asked for international help.They are a tiny country.The World Bank,the United States,the European Union,and many other groups have offered money to develop safeguards against climate change.
To protect the islands,the Maldives have built sea walls and increased the elevation(海拔) of important buildings and services such as the two international airports,which lie just 165 feet from the coastline.
They’re also building up islands such as the Hulhumale.The new island is surrounded by 9-foot sea walls.More than 40,000 people live there.The plan is to house 240,000,providing new opportunities for jobs.The goal is an excellent planned community with sustainable housing and buildings sensitive to the environment and needs of the people.
The government will move people living on smaller,lower-lying islands to the new built-up islands.The new islands offer free houses,new schools,health hospitals,fresh water,and waste treatment.Depending on tourism,the country hopes to build 50 more tourist islands.
“Climate change is happening,but we are not leaving the Maldives to the sea,” said Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim.The Maldives will protect their islands,people and tourism with new islands and ongoing island development against the rising sea level.
1. What do we fail to learn according to the passage?| A．The Maldives are a small country. |
| B．Many groups have helped the Maldives. |
| C．240,000 people live on the Hulhumale now. |
| D．The Hulhumale is surrounded by 9-foot sea walls. |
| A．The Maldives will be protected. |
| B．The Maldivians will leave all the islands. |
| C．The Maldives should give up tourism. |
| D．The Maldives will sink to the sea. |
| A．The Maldives and Their Tourism |
| B．The Maldives and Their Rising Sea Level |
| C．The Maldives and Their Climate Change |
| D．The Maldives and Their Fight Against the Rising Sea Level |
| A．Their tourism,fishing and shipping. |
| B．Their rising sea level and carbon pollution. |
| C．Their sandy white beaches and coral reefs. |
| D．Their distant islands and warming oceans. |
【推荐3】A study has shown how ecotourism in the Philippines has changed people’s attitudes towards marine (海洋的) conservation (保护).
Researchers from the University of Victoria and other institutes in Philippines visited three sites where tourists pay to swim with whale sharks in the wild. They interviewed a range of locals in Oslob, Donsol and Pintuyan, including fishers and ex-whale shark hunters. At Oslob, the largest of the three sites, people were more likely to speak about the resulting improvements to their quality of life and an increase in job opportunities. At the smaller, less profitable sites, responses were more likely to be about the changes in how people behaved towards the whale sharks.
Dr. Jackie Ziegler, leader of the team of researchers, said, “Many of the people reported they now care about and value whale sharks because of tourism activities. They also expressed the community’s emotional connection to the species and the strong need to protect them. Before the introduction of tourist activities, most of the locals admitted harming the sharks by hitting them with stones or riding them.” In terms of attitudes towards the wider marine environment, the majority of respondents now actively encourage others to care for the ocean and they also use more sustainable (可持续的) fishing practices.
The study also acknowledged the possible negative effects of tourism on the marine environment, such as effects on the health of local coral reefs (珊瑚礁) and of the sharks. It concluded that further studies were needed to assess these effects before firm conclusion could be drawn on the positive effect of whale sharks tourism on ocean conservation.
Nevertheless, the researchers say their work suggests ecotourism can be an effective means of strengthening protection. “Bringing in the views of the local tour operation to the study was necessary in uncovering the true effect of whale shark tourism and the wider benefit to the ocean conservation in the Philippines,” Dr Ziegler added.
1. When interviewed, local people did NOT talk about __________?| A．Improvement of life. | B．Behaviours towards sharks. |
| C．Increases of work chances. | D．Relationships between people. |
| A．Protective. | B．Satisfying. | C．Unsustainable. | D．Suitable. |
| A．Improve local living conditions. |
| B．Draw a firm conclusion about the effect. |
| C．Encourage fishers to hunt more whale sharks. |
| D．Assess possible negative effects tourism may bring. |
| A．Ecotourism Transforms Locals’ Attitudes to Marine Conservation. |
| B．Ecotourism Does Much Good to Marine Life as Before. |
| C．Marine ecotourism Gives Rise to a New Kind of Business. |
| D．Ecotourism Has Brought Large Benefits to People. |
【推荐1】Computers vs. Books
Mia Murphy was tired when she got home from school last Friday. It had been a long week. She was working on a computer project and has stayed late at school to finish her work. After stepping off the bus and trudging home, she settled herself onto the chair in the kitchen.
“What’s up, Mia?” Mr. Murphy asked, He was making Mia her favorite after-school cheese sandwich.
“This project is taking me forever!” Mia replied. “I have to design a website page for my computer class.”
“Wow, fancy!” Mrs Murphy shouted from the living room. “When we were in middle school, we didn’t even know how to use computers.” She walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Mia. She asked her daughter if she had anyone to help her with her project.
“We have partners—mine is named Ali,” she explained. “Today we learned how to insert pictures into our page.”
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy looked at each other and smiled. Mia noticed their little exchange.
“What?” She asked, wondering what they were thinking.
“Well, we first met when we were working on a project on American Indian history together in high school.” Mr. Murphy explained.
Mrs. Murphy chimed in. “But we didn’t have computers back then, so we have to go to the library every day to do research!” She explained that they didn’t have online search engines; they could only rely on books. They didn’t have cell phones to text each other when they needed help. They have to work together at each other’s houses.
“But that sounds so tough!” Mia said. “I can’t imagine completing a project without the help of a computer.”
Mr. Murphy chuckled. “I know. But I have that project to thank for meeting your mom! All those countless hours in the library. We have to spend much time together,” he said.
Now Mia was curious. She wondered what else was different when her parents were growing up. So she asked.
Mrs. Murphy stared to list off things she didn’t have as a child, like MP3 player and a flat-screen television. “Also, since I have many brothers and sisters, we have to pitch in more. I helped my mom cook dinner, and we repaired our torn clothes,” she said, tapping Mia on the nose. “How about you help me cook dinner tonight then?” Mrs. Murphy suggested, laughing.
“Sure!” Mia exclaimed. “How about something that you used to make as a child?”
“Chicken noodle soup it is,” Mrs. Murphy said with a smile.
1. What does the underlined phrase “pitch in” mean?| A．sacrifice | B．suffer | C．donate | D．assist |
| A．A conversation about the popular devices |
| B．A conversation about the evils of technology. |
| C．A conversation about generation differences. |
| D．A conversation about Mia’s parents` puppy love. |
| A．Tough | B．Casual | C．Humorous | D．Eccentric |
【推荐2】Kyle Schwartz, a new teacher at Doull Elementary School in Denver, teaches a thirdgrade class. Most of her students come from underprivileged homes, as 92 percent are allowed to free or reduced school lunches, she said. “As a new teacher, I tried to understand my students’ real lives and how to best support them. I just felt like there was something I didn’t know about my students,” she said. To solve this problem, she asked her students to complete the sentence: “I wish my teacher knew. . . ”
While some children used the notes to jokingly complain (抱怨)about homework or to ask for more playtime, Ms. Schwartz said some of the answers were “heartbreaking”, as children showed their hard lives. One student told Ms. Schwartz that he did not have any pencils at home, while another said that they hadn’t seen their father for six years. And another student wrote, “I wish my teacher knew sometimes my homework is not signed (签字)because my mom is not around a lot.” She posted them to Twitter in March with the hashtag #I Wish My Teacher Knew #
Teachers on Twitter soon noticed how successful Ms. Schwartz’s way was for reaching out to students, and began sharing similar notes they received alongside #I Wish My Teacher Knew #.
Ms. Schwartz said that since she encouraged her students to share their secrets, students have been supporting each other more, and she hopes the method will connect students and their families with the proper things they need to live comfortably. She added that the results have been surprising, and the student that said she didn’t have anyone to play with has since been invited by classmates to join them in the school playground.
1. What does the underlined word “underprivileged” in Paragraph I probably mean?| A．Comfortable. | B．Happy. | C．Broken. | D．Poor. |
| A．To better understand them. | B．To encourage their creativity. |
| C．To develop their writing skills. | D．To teach them to introduce themselves. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Worried. | C．Surprised. | D．Supportive. |
| A．It was difficult for her students. | B．It might upset some students. |
| C．It helped her students in many ways. | D．It would improve her school’s environment. |
【推荐3】Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows (1908) and The Reluctant Dragon (1898) , both later adapted for stage and film. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 8th March, 1859, Grahame grew up with his grandma Ingle, spending the childhood in idyllic countryside, particularly Quarry Wood and the River Thames, which are believed to have inspired the setting for The Wind in the Willows.
In 1879, Grahame obtained a position with the Bank of England in London. During his early career Grahame began to write in the evenings and published a number of works during the 1890s, including a collection of essays and two collections of short stories. All of these achieved both commercial and critical success.
Kenneth Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899. They had only one child, a boy named Alastair, who was born blind in one eye and suffered from health problems throughout his short life. Grahame retired from the bank in 1907 and moved with his family to the countryside. This gave him time to travel and concentrate on his writing efforts. Grahame produced bedtime stories that he told Alastair and turned into The Wind in the Willows, his best- known work. Grahame took his son for inspiration, and the wayward and headstrong nature he saw in his boy Alastair (also known by the nickname “Mouse”) was transformed into Mr. Toad.
Despite the book’s success, Grahame never attempted to write a follow-up — largely due to personal tragedy. In 1920, Alastair died of an accident just two days before his twentieth birthday. Grahame was profoundly grieved. When he died, he was buried side by side with his son in the same grave. His epitaph ( 碑 文 ) reads: “To the beautiful memory of Kenneth Grahame, who passed the river on the 6th of July, 1932, leaving childhood and literature through him the more blessed for all time.”
1. How did the countryside influence The Wind in the Willows?| A．It inspired the stories of the book. |
| B．It affected the book’s choice of words. |
| C．It contributed to the book’s imagination and fantasy. |
| D．It gave Grahame an idea of where the stories took place. |
| A．Science fiction. | B．Children’s literature. |
| C．Historical fantasy. | D．Romantic comedy. |
| A．Loving. | B．Protective. | C．Severe. | D．Inflexible. |
| A．Grahame finally achieved his goal. |
| B．Grahame died when crossing a river. |
| C．Grahame had a blessed life and career. |
| D．Grahame left us a rich literary heritage. |
