1 . Malala Yousafzai, the teen activist from Pakistan, has just become the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Prize. In 2012, Malala survived from being shot by terrorists for speaking out for a girl’s right to be educated in her native country. She is being recognized today for her global activism on education for girls. Winning this award is a huge honor, especially for such a young person.
Malala’s journey to the Nobel Prize has not been easy. She grew up in a dangerous district of Pakistan called the Swat Valley. This area was taken over by the Taliban. The Taliban ruled the district with an iron fist. They were especially cruel to women, not allowing them to go shopping, have jobs, or go to school.
In 2009, Malala began speaking out publicly for every girl's right to an education. She blogged about how the Taliban didn’t want her to go to school. She also continued to attend her local school, despite the danger involved.
Then, in 2012, the Taliban tried to kill Malala to silence her. Two Taliban gunmen shot her and two other students while they were on a school bus. Malala was flown to the United Kingdom for immediate medical treatment.
Malala eventually recovered from her injuries. She now lives in Birmingham, England, and continues to work hard to support girls' and women’s rights around the world.
“The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions,” she said, “but nothing changed in my life except this. Weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born.”
The 17-year-old girl from Pakistan is sharing the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with a children’s activist Kailash Satyarthi, who is from India Satyarthi leads many campaigns dedicated to removing child labor.
1. Which of the following is the correct order of the events relevant to Malala?a. She recovered from the serious injuries.
b. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.
c. She began speaking out publicly for girls' education.
d. She was shot by the terrorists on a school bus.
| A．c, d, a, b | B．a, d, c, b | C．a, c. d, b | D．c, a, d, b |
| A．People in Pakistan were brave. |
| B．Women in Pakistan were not allowed to go shopping. |
| C．The Taliban’s cruelty was severe. |
| D．Malala’s journey contributed to her Nobel Prize. |
| A．Sensitive and stubborn. | B．Devoted and fearless. |
| C．Proud and optimistic. | D．Creative and outgoing. |
2 . You may not have heard of it before, but Solid Rain has been helping Mexican farmers fight droughts for over a decade. The magic powder can take in water up to 500 times its original size and keep it in the ground for up to a year.
The story of Solid Rain began in 1970, when American scientists developed an absorbable product used to help keep baby bottoms dry. However, a Mexican chemical engineer saw this magic powder as an opportunity to fight the drought. He developed with a different version of this product that could be mixed with soil and slowly feed water to plants over a long period of time. His company, Solid Rain, has been quietly selling the product to Mexican farmers for over 10 years.
The crop yield is absolutely on the increase. For sunflowers, the yield was 3000 kg per hectare when Solid Rain was used, compared to just 1,000 kg in regular conditions. For beans, the difference was much higher—3,000 kg compared to just 450 kg.
Solid Rain seems greatly effective in Mexico. However, it has not come into use around the world. Well, that’s mainly because a lot of people still don’t know about it. The Mexican company has invested almost nothing into marketing, relying instead on word-of-mouth between Mexican farmers. However, recently, they have gotten requests from other dry countries like India and Australia.
Solid Rain has received the Ecology and Environment Award, but it has also attracted some negative views. Dr Linda Scott says that the product is hardly new and that there is no scientific evidence that it can hold water for a year or last in the ground for a decade. Besides, Solid Rain can cause more harm than good in certain conditions. However, real-life use seems to show that Solid Rain is actually of great use to farms. Frank Torres, a former green bean farmer used to rely on it even though the drought wasn’t such a big issue. He said that his crop yield had increased by 50%.
1. What is Solid Rain used to do by Mexican farmers?| A．Offer water to plants. |
| B．Keep baby bottom dry. |
| C．Fight the drought. |
| D．Improve the soil. |
| A．Solid Rain works perfectly in Mexico. |
| B．The crop yield has reached the maximum so far. |
| C．Mexican farmers earn more than before. |
| D．More plants should be planted in Mexico. |
| A．It’s forbidden to spread abroad. |
| B．Other countries don’t want to use it. |
| C．It’s not known in other countries. |
| D．It’s kept as a secret in Mexico. |
| A．Positive. | B．Objective | C．Hopeful | D．Critical |
3 . Four Useful Products for Your Life
Electric Wine Opener
Cost: $19.89
Once you've tried this tool, you'll never go back to the old fashioned kind. This electric wine opener will remove the cork (瓶塞) easily within seconds, and can open up to 30 bottles with a single charge.
Fantastic Ice Cream Spoon
Cost: $14. 99
It’s always disappointing when you're really in the mood for ice cream, but have to wait forever for the ice cream to get to just the right softness. Well, this heated ice cream spoon exactly conducts heat from your hands, and will help soften the ice cream to make it ready to eat right away.
Express Baker
Cost: $58. 99
Making your own bread seems like a quite difficult job. But this baker makes it easier—within an hour. It has 12 different bread settings, and three different crust settings, so you can make bread, pizza and more. A quick look through the reviews shows that customers are pretty happy with it, too.
Corn Stripper
Cost: $7.99
There's no denying that corn on the cob (棒) is delicious But eating corn on the cob and dealing with all the little bits that get stuck in your teeth afterwards is a painful experience. This little device takes all the corns from the cob, by letting you strip (剥) your corn easily, without making a total mess.
1. What can people do with Express Baker?| A．Make some food. | B．Soften food. |
| C．Classify food. | D．Keep food fresh. |
| A．Electric Wine Opener. | B．Fantastic Ice Cream Spoon. |
| C．Express Baker. | D．Corn Stripper. |
| A．They are of the same price. |
| B．They are difficult to operate. |
| C．They make food more delicious to eat. |
| D．They make people's life easier. |
4 . A Trip to the Forest
One day Bob took two of his friends into the mountains. They put up their tents and then rode off to a forest to see how the trees were growing. In the afternoon when they were about ten kilometres from their camp, it started to snow. More and more snow fell. Soon Bob could hardly see his hands before his face. He could not find the road. Bob knew there were two roads. One road went to the camp, and the other went to his house. But all was white snow. Everything was the same. How could he take his friends back to the camp?
Bob had an idea. The horses! Let the horses take them back! But what would happen if the horses took the road to his house? That would be a trip of thirty-five kilometres in such cold weather! It was getting late. They rode on and on. At last the horses stopped. Where were they? None of them could tell. John looked around. What was that under the tree? It was one of their tents!
1. John and his two friends went to the forest to _____.| A．build their camp |
| B．find their way home |
| C．enjoy the mountains in the snow |
| D．watch the trees in the forest |
| A．there was only one road to their camp |
| B．they couldn't decide which of the two roads led to their tents |
| C．there were no roads in the mountains at all |
| D．everything was covered by the white snow |
| A．John's house | B．the camp |
| C．the forest | D．the mountains |
| A．it was getting late | B．they were tired after running for a long way |
| C．they knew that they had got to the camp | D．they had seen John's house |
