1 . Debra Avery has been a horse lover since she was a little girl in San Diego. Her family couldn't afford a horse of its own, so Debra borrowed rides at the local horse-riding center, gaining the confidence only found atop a horse. Years later, Debra remembered those early days, and the lessons she learned with the horses at the riding center, and wanted to help other young women get the benefits of connecting with horses. "I always wanted to run a horse program for girls like me," says Debra. "I wanted to help them gain the courage to be around a horse and to care for a horse."
One day at the Los Angeles Horse-riding Center, as Debra rode beside fellow rider Judith Hopkins, she mentioned an inheritance (遗产) from her father-in-law and her desire to use it to serve disadvantaged girls. Judith had the same dream—and a name for the organization.
They founded Taking the Reins (TTR) in 1998. The organization serves more than 400 young women per year in after-school, weekend, and summer programs that feature horse riding and care, gardening and even competitive horse showing. Most participants live below the poverty line and often have not had reliable housing for more than six months at a time. Few have previous horse experience.
TTR uses farm and ranch experiences to teach responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and self-confidence. Director Dr. Jane Haven says, "A large number of our girls are somewhat autistic (孤独症的). I can't count how many of them have found their first social friends thanks to sharing this hobby and activity. Horses bring them out in such a wonderful way."
Jane also sees members of TTR program excel in school—100 percent of young women involved for four years or more have graduated from high school. Ninety-nine percent of those participants have gone on to attend four-year colleges.
Debra sees a more obvious impact—after a few weeks in the TTR program, the young women sit a little higher in their saddles (马鞍). "There's just something about sitting up on the back of a horse that gives them a boost of confidence."
1. Debra's early life was greatly influenced by ________.| A．her family | B．horse riding |
| C．school lessons | D．her fellow rider |
| A．Horse riding and showing. | B．Horse care and farming. |
| C．Pet care and gardening. | D．Weekend hiking and camping. |
| A．Homeless and lonely women. | B．Hard-working school girls. |
| C．Female autistic patients. | D．Poor horse-loving girls. |
| A．They have been given financial aid. |
| B．They have achieved academic excellence. |
| C．They have grown into professional horse riders. |
| D．They have been provided with reliable housing. |
| A．TTR is a profit-making organization. | B．TTR program lasts a few weeks. |
| C．The girls' confidence grows quickly. | D．The girls can ride taller horses. |
2 . How to Use a Modern Public Library
Has it been a while since your last visit to a public library? If so, you may be surprised to learn that libraries have changed for the better. It’s been years since they were dusty little rooms with books. They have transformed themselves into places where you can develop your love of knowledge meet interesting people, or find out how to start a business.
Check out a book. While libraries still loan out(出借)books, you’ll find it easier to get a copy of whatever you’re looking for, thanks to a cooperative network of area libraries. Via such networks, libraries share their books with each other through the use of delivery vehicles. Once the book you’ve requested is delivered to the nearest branch, they will inform you by e-mail, so you can pick it up.
Check out other items. The library is now a multimedia zone, loaded with information in many formats(载体形式). You can borrow movies on DVDs, music on CDs, and popular magazines. Some libraries even loan out toys and games. If a popular magazine you want isn’t offered and the library keeps a list of such requests, they may bring it in when enough interest is shown.
Join targeted reading groups. Libraries will often hold reading-group sessions targeted to various age groups. Perhaps you’d like to learn a language or improve your English. The library may sponsor a language group you could join. If you have difficulties reading, ask about special reading opportunities. Your library might be able to accommodate you. And you might find it relaxing to bring your small kid to a half-hour Story Time while you sit quietly in a corner with a good book.
Start a business using the help of your local library. If you want to have a business of your own, your local library can become a launch space for it. In library books and computers, you can find information on starting a business. Many libraries will help you with locally supplied information about business management shared through chambers of commerce(商会)and government agencies, and they will offer printing, faxing and database services you need.
1. Public libraries connected by a cooperative network benefit readers by______.| A．sharing their books on the Internet |
| B．giving access to online reading at a library branch |
| C．sending a needed book to a library branch nearby |
| D．making the checkout procedures diverse |
| A．A magazine and an e-book. |
| B．A game and an oil painting. |
| C．A music CD and a kid’s toy. |
| D．A DVD and a video player |
| A．the kid to learn a new language |
| B．the parent to enjoy quiet reading |
| C．the kid to overcome reading difficulties |
| D．the parent to meet their program sponsor |
| A．providing relevant information and supporting services |
| B．offering professional advice on business management |
| C．supplying useful information of your potential buyers |
| D．arranging meetings with government officials |
| A．To point out the importance of public libraries. |
| B．To encourage people to work in public libraries. |
| C．To introduce the improved services of public libraries. |
| D．To call for the modernization of public library systems. |
I remember the day shyness took over my life. I was 14 and having a French lesson The teacher told us to record ourselves speaking about a holiday. Perfect！ I recorded myself with confidence. Then, I pressed "play" to listen back. All I heard was a little kid talking. My immediate reaction was to assume I was listening to someone else's recording. But that was my voice. I realised there was something strange about me.
My little voice has made me feel really shy. And my shyness has caused me to avoid attending events, not make important connections, and keep my ideas to myself. As a shy person, working from home, hiding behind my computer was brilliant. But the more time I spent hidden away, the more my comfort zone shrank（缩小）. Everyday interactions, like ordering a coffee, became increasingly awkward and uncomfortable.
And then, one day I was at a big conference and it suddenly hit me like lightning. All speakers were confident, comfortable with being seen. There were no quieter voices. But the trouble is, if the loud voices are the only ones you hear, we quiet people feel even more alienated（疏远的）。 The world needs a mixture of personalities. Success is not just about who can shout the loudest. The world needs quieter people, too. That day I chose to stop hiding and embrace my shyness. No more feeling like I needed to change who I am in order to succeed. No more living a small life.
Then I created the Shy and Mighty Society, a space for shy people like me to shine, and in the process of helping others, I could also push myself forward, bit by bit. Now, I'm happy to tell people I feel shy. I'm not ashamed any more. And I know that I’m not alone.
1. Why did the author feel strange about herself after listening to the recording? （no more than 10 words）2. What is the main idea of Para.2? （no more than 10 words
3. What does the underlined word in Para.3 mean? （1 word）
4. Why did the author create the Shy and Mighty Society? （no more than 10 words）
5. Suppose you are in charge of the Shy and Mighty Society, what will you do to help other shy people? And why? （no more than 20 words）
Sophia told us that Make – A –Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980.”It’s a charity(慈善机构)that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. Make – A –Wish help children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true ,” Sophia explained .
We asked Sophia how Make – A –Wish had first started .She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris ,who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman .Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris’s dream come true ----so, with everybody’s help , Chris, only seven years old at the time ,had been a “policeman” for a day .” when people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too ,and that was the beginning of Make – A –Wish,” explained Sophia
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A Make-A-Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.
1. Sophia found out about Make-A-Wish because her best friend had .
| A．volunteered to help it | B．benefited from it |
| C．dreamed about it | D．told the author about it |
| A．is an international charity |
| B．was understood by nobody at first |
| C．raises money for very poor families |
| D．started by drawing the interest of the public |
| A．He has been a policeman since he was seven. |
| B．He gave people the idea of starting Make-A-Wish |
| C．He wanted people to help make his dream come true. |
| D．He was the first child Make-A-Wish helped after it had been set up. |
| A．They are important for making wishes come true. |
| B．They try to help children get over their illnesses. |
| C．They visit sick children to make them feel special. |
| D．They provide what is necessary to make Make-A-Wish popular. |
Drayton believes that anyone can become an agent for change. The important thing is to simply give yourself permission. If you see a problem that you care about, you can help solve it. The young in particular are willing to accept this concept because at heart every child wants to grow into a happy, healthy, contributing adult. In fact ,It is many young people's ambition to set up programmes or businesses that improve social conditions. An excellent example is an Ashoka project started in 1995 in Dhaka, which handled the rubbish problem facing the city ,helped local farmers and provided an income for poor people there .
When Masqsood and Iftekhar began to study the problem of all the uncollected rubbish that lay in Dhaka’s streets. Attracting tats and disease , they discovered that 80% of it was natural waste . So they educated the poor people in the city to compost (把……制成堆粪)this waste . They knew that they would have a market for the end product because local farmers were struggling with chemical ferntilisers (化肥) which were expensive and had reduced the natural minerals in the soil over the years . At first , they were refused ,but once they were able to persuade that there was money to be made , the project took off. In 2009 sales were $14,000.
Drayton is optimistic that in ten years Ashoka will be making really serious, practical progress in bringing about social change by changing the way we look at economic development.
1. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?| A．changemakers | B．Businessmen |
| C．Social Conditions | D．Rubbish Problem |
| A．the local farmers | B．Masqsood and Iftekhar |
| C．Drayton and his team | D．the poor people in Dhaka |
| A．considers Drayton's concept |
| B．gets permission from Ashoka |
| C．tries to improve social conditions |
| D．is a young, happy and healthy adult |
| A．changing | B．forgiving | C．cautious | D．Positive |
6 . The pound new Library of Birmingham (LoB) will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization(数字化) of everyday life.
Set to open in 2013, the £188m LoB is already beginning to tale shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment.
As digital media (媒介) is important to its idea, the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at the new technologies.
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says it is about giving people the right tools for learning, “The aim is to mix the physical with the digital. Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways. It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively.”
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public.
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual (虚拟的) LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists. Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoB to understand the building and how it will work before it even opens.
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects. Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls “enlarge reality” project. It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of the LoB which is in the early stages of development is an online library of figures of the city being built by a digital content company in Cahoots, in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material.
Gambles says: “Technology will enable us to make the library’s content and services open to citizens as sever before.”
1. The underline part “its idea” in Paragraph 3 refers to the idea of____.| A．the equipment | B．the project |
| C．the digital media | D．the physical library |
| A．get a general idea of the LoB |
| B．meet many world-famous experts |
| C．learn how to put up a library building |
| D．understand how the specialists work on the project |
a. It offers better learning tools
b. It reaches users in different ways
c. It provides users with smart phone
d. It allows users to enrich its material
e. It gives non-stop physical and digital services
| A．a, b, d | B．a, c, e | C．b, c, d | D．b, d, e |
| A．a put book | B．a library guide |
| C．a handbook | D．a newspaper report |
Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wifi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers; which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Groupstudy Places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 23 people and others can hold up to 68 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 groupstudy rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits (学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1. The library’s upper floor is mainly for students to________.
| A．read in a quiet place |
| B．have group discussions |
| C．take comfortable seats |
| D．get their computers fixed |
| A．help students with their field experiments |
| B．contain software essential for schoolwork |
| C．are for those who want to access the wifi |
| D．are mostly used for filling out application forms |
| A．A group must consist of 8 people. |
| B．Threehour use per day is the minimum. |
| C．One should first register at the university. |
| D．Applicants must mark the room on the map. |
| A．can afford the rental fee |
| B．attends certain courses |
| C．has nowhere to put his books |
| D．has earned the required credits |
| A．Mobile phones. | B．Orange juice. |
| C．Candy. | D．Sandwiches. |
1. Which of the following is discouraged by the Friends organization?
| A．To build massive complexes for public amusement. |
| B．To prevent possible damages to the National Park. |
| C．To help protect and improve the Park for all to enjoy. |
| D．To sponsor publications and projects in local school. |
| A．have Friends’ goods free of charge |
| B．visit any place not open to the public |
| C．take part in work parties if they want to |
| D．give talks in their fields on current issues |
| A．raise money for the Friends organization |
| B．join the Friends organization and be members of it |
| C．work as managers for Pembroke shire National Park |
| D．enjoy the landscape of Pembroke shire National Park |
1. The word “address” in the first line probably means .
| A．talk about | B．deal with | C．fight for | D．write to |
| A．39% of the population. | B．200 million people. |
| C．About 3 million people. | D．About one-fifth of the population. |
| A．they have no home addresses |
| B．they mostly have a drinking problem |
| C．they aren't supported by government programs |
| D．they often don't have enough work experience |
| A．The passing of new housing laws. |
| B．The fast growth of family size. |
| C．The slow construction of houses. |
| D．The ever-rising price of housing. |
