1 . Years ago, I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, handing out food. Once I got talking with Albert., a tall and skinny young guy in line. He said he liked my socks. “Want to see mine?” he joked, lifting his leg. He was barefoot. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

The next day, after work, I stopped at Ross and filled up my truck with socks. The following early morning, I drove over to Santa Monica's Palisades Park, which is a common destination for homeless people.

I took one of the bags from my trunk. It was still dark out. I headed for a group of three men, standing around a tree, probably using it as a windbreaker. Two were asleep under heavy blankets, and the third was digging through his collection. As I walked toward him, he watched me, perhaps questioning my motives. “I thought you guys might need some fresh new socks,” I said, handing him a pair. He looked confused at first but took them and said, “Thank you.” I gave him two more pairs for his friends.

I moved on. An hour later, I had given out all the socks. Most people were sleeping, and I felt like Santa. I knew that when they wake up they would find a very meaningful present.

That was nine years ago. Every week I’ll hand out as many socks as I can. If I’m on vacation or on a business trip for more than a week, I bring a bag of socks with me and hand them out to the homeless on the streets in other states and countries.

It’s extremely satisfying to operate “under the radar（雷达）” to help make some people’s lives a little bit easier. Part of me hopes to see Albert out there one of these days, but even if I don’t, I like to think one of the pairs will find him.

1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph I most probably mean?

A．Homesick.	B．Sorry.
C．Regretful.	D．Embarrassed.

2. What is Ross most probably?

A．A garage.	B．A public park.
C．A store.	D．A homeless shelter.

3. What made the author feel especially satisfied with giving out socks?

A．Playing Santa in public.	B．Making weekends as holidays.
C．Spending early morning at a park.	D．Helping others silently.

4. Which of the following could be the best title?

A．Helping the Homeless in an Unexpected Way.

B．The Easy Way Out of Helping the Poor.

C．A Unique Experience at a Homeless Shelter.

D．Satisfactory Return from Kindness.

2 . At least 20 people died and hundreds were injured in a bridge collapse in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday. Witnesses said many people and vehicles, including two buses carrying more than 100 passengers, were under the bridge when it fell. They also said construction workers had set up camps near the bridge site where they would sleep and cook.

Before rescue teams arrived, local residents and firefighters used their bare hands to try to rescue people trapped under the debris. The collapsed bridge is in a busy commercial area of Kolkata. Its location has made it difficult for rescue operations. Access to the area is blocked on both sides by buildings, and the streets are blocked with heavy traffic.

Reuters (路透社) reports that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, rushed to the scene of the collapse. She said that rescuing those trapped is her “top priority”. Banerjee said those responsible for the disaster will be punished. Yet she faces questions about the safety of the construction project. The Telegraph newspaper reported last November that Banerjee wanted the bridge — already five years overdue — to be completed by February. Project engineers said they were concerned over whether this would be possible, the newspaper said at the time. Construction workers had been on a strict schedule to complete the bridge. The disaster could affect the West Bengal election next month. An Indian company, IVRCL, was building the 2­kilometer bridge, its website said. IVRCL’s director of operations said the company was not sure of the cause of the disaster.

1. Why were so many people killed or injured in the accident?

A．Many people were under or near the bridge.

B．The rescue work responded too slowly.

C．The bridge was under construction.

D．Construction workers had set up camps there.

2. What does the underlined word “debris” probably mean?

A．Buildings.	B．Ruins.
C．Vehicles.	D．Disasters.

3. What can we learn about the bridge?

A．It was designed by a company called IVRCL.

B．Project engineers were unwilling to cooperate.

C．It should have been completed five years ago.

D．The cause of the disaster has been discovered.

3 . Sleep is vital to your physical and mental health. However，how can you tell whether you’re truly sleeping well? It can be hard to measure your sleep patterns against those of the people around you.     1    

Stick to a sleep schedule.

Set aside no more than eight hours for sleep. The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours.     2     Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Try to limit the difference in your sleep schedule on weeknights and weekends to no more than one hour.

Pay attention to what you eat and drink.

Don’t go to bed hungry or too full. In particular，avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Your discomfort might keep you up.     3     The stimulating(令人兴奋的) effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to disappear and can influence quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it can disturb sleep later in the night.

    4    

Create a room that's ideal for sleeping. Often, this means cool, dark and quiet. Exposure to light might make it more challenging to fall asleep. Avoid prolonged(长期的)use of light-emitting screens just before bedtime. Doing calming activities before bedtime, such as taking a bath or using relaxation techniques, might promote better sleep.

Limit daytime naps.

    5     If you choose to nap, limit yourself to up to 30 minutes and avoid doing so late in the day. If you work nights, however, you might need to nap late in the day before work to help make up your sleep debt.

A．Create a restful environment.

B．Adjust yourself to the environment.

C．Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too,

D．Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep.

E．What you eat and drink has an important role in your health.

F．Most people don’t need more than eight hours in bed to achieve this goal.

G．If you have trouble in sleeping well, you can adopt some habits that encourage better sleep.

4 . Plays are an important part of British culture. The West End theatre district in London is the best place to watch a professional play, but acting also takes place in every school and village hall and the country.

There are over 2,500 non-professional drama groups in the UK today and they are an active part of community life. People from all walks of life take on acting roles in addition to their regular jobs. They do it for fun, for the love of acting and as a way to meet new people.

Not everyone in a drama club is a skilled actor, but enthusiasm(热情) is considered to be more important than talent. Friends, family members and neighbors enjoy getting together to watch the final performance and tell the people they know to “break a leg(祝演出成功)”. It’s a great way of bringing people together. Also, in many rural（乡村的） parts of Britain, the non-professional theatre is the only chance that people have to see plays for miles around.

Many people get a taste of acting at school. Every school puts on a play at least once per year, usually at Christmas, and parents love coming to watch their children perform. Ask many British persons and they’re sure to have happy memories of being in their school’s Christmas play, whether they played the role of Mary or Joseph or perhaps even a sheep or a monkey.

Another Christmas theatre tradition is the pantomime（童话剧）. Pantomimes are a type of the musical comedy for families. The audience is encouraged to take part in the performance —singing along with music and shouting at the actors. Pantomimes are really fun to watch, especially for children.

British people love going to the theatre, professional or not, and many of them also enjoy performing. If you have the chance, go and see a play in the UK.

1. In the writer’s opinion, what is more important for an actor in a drama club?

A．talent.	B．support from family.
C．professional training.	D．enthusiasm.

2. According to the article, what is special about pantomimes?

A．All the performers are professional child actors.

B．The audience is allowed to play some small roles in them.

C．The audience is encouraged to take part in the performances.

D．The musical comedy is always about family life.

3. From the passage, we know that most Britain people ____________.

A．greatly enjoy acting roles in plays.

B．have good memories of their schools.

C．have no interest in plays.

D．watch plays only in the West End theatre district in London.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Everyone in a drama must be a skilled actor.

B．Plays are very popular among British people.

C．In Britain, acting can only take place in theatres.

D．The writer doesn’t think the pantomime is good for children to watch.