1 . When Posten walked outside to her car, she saw something that looked like a note or receipt stuck to the windshield.
She grabbed it and saw it was a black and white photo of a woman holding a little boy. On the back, it said, “Gertie Swatzell & J.D. Swatzell 1942.” A few hours later, Posten discovered that the photo had made quite a long journey — almost 130 miles on the back of terrible winds.
Posten had been tracking the tornadoes that hit the middle of the U.S., killing dozens of people. They came close to where she lives in New Albany, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. So she figured it must be from someone’s damaged home.
“Seeing the date, I realized that was likely from a home hit by a tornado. How else is it going to be there?” Posten said. “It’s a well-kept photo.”
So she posted an image of the photo on Facebook and Twitter and asked for help. She said she was hoping someone on social media would have a connection to the photo or share it with someone who had a connection.
“A lot of people shared it on Facebook. Someone came across it who is friends with a man with the same last name, and they tagged him,” said Posten.
That man was Cole Swatzell, who commented that the photo belonged to family members in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, almost 130 miles away from New Albany. Cole Swatzell on Sunday didn’t respond to a Facebook message seeking comment.
Posten plans to return the photo to the Swatzell family sometime this week.
“It’s really remarkable, definitely one of those things, given all that has happened, that makes you consider how valuable things are — memories, family heirlooms (传家宝), and those kinds of things,” Posten said. “It shows you the power of social media for good. It was encouraging that immediately there were tons of replies from people, looking up ancestor records, and saying ‘I know someone who knows someone and I’d like to help.’”
1. What helped Posten know the photo had made quite a long journey?| A．Learning about a home hit by a tornado. |
| B．Looking into the information of the photo. |
| C．Making tracks for the process of the tornadoes. |
| D．Recognizing the person in the photo at first sight. |
| A．It’s a damaged photo. |
| B．It belongs to Cole Swatzell. |
| C．Its owner lives in New Albany, Indiana. |
| D．It travels 130 miles away from Kentucky. |
| A．From Twitter. | B．From Facebook. |
| C．From her friend. | D．From ancestor records. |
| A．Valuable things should be kept well for good. |
| B．Common item sometimes is also very valuable. |
| C．We should encourage each other on social media. |
| D．Posten thinks highly of the function of social media. |
2 . On the day he almost died, Kimbal Musk had food on the brain. The Internet startup talent and restaurateur had just arrived in Jackson Hole from a conference where chef Jamie Oliver had spoken about the benefits of healthy eating. This was something Musk thought about a lot — how he might make a difference to the food industry — but beyond expanding his farm-to-table movement along with his restaurant, Musk hadn’t yet broken the code. Then he went sailing down a snowy slope (坡) and fell over, breaking his neck. The left side of his body was paralyzed.
Musk eventually made a full recovery, but it involved spending two months on his back, which gave him plenty of time to come up with a plan. Since then, he has launched an initiative to put “learning gardens” in public schools across America; attracted Generation Z to the farming profession by changing shipping containers into high-tech, data-driven, year-round farms; and this year, is kicking off a new campaign to create one million at-home gardens.
Aimed at reaching low-income families, the Million Gardens Movement was inspired by the pandemic, as both a desire to feel more connected to nature and food insecurity have been at the forefront of so many people’s lives. “We were getting a lot of inquiries about gardening from people that had never gardened before,” says Musk. “People were looking to garden for a bunch of reasons: to supplement their budget, to improve the nutritional quality of their diets, or just to cure the boredom that came with the lockdown.”
The program offers free garden kits that can be grown indoors or outdoors, and will be distributed through schools that Musk’s non-profit, Big Green, has already partnered with. It also offers free courses on how to get the garden growing and fresh seeds and materials for the changing growing seasons. “I grew up in the projects when I was young, in what we now call food deserts,” says EVE, one of the many celebrities who have teamed up with the organization to encourage people to pick up a free garden. “What I love about this is that it’s not difficult. We are all able to grow something.”
1. What inspired Musk to make a difference to food industry?| A．A skiing accident. | B．Jamie Oliver’s lecture. |
| C．The pandemic. | D．The Million Gardens movement. |
| A．Advocating people to value nature. |
| B．Providing free food for low-income farming. |
| C．Launching “learning gardens”across America. |
| D．Educating new gardens to grow their own food. |
| A．confident | B．stubborn | C．charitable | D．ambitious |
| A．To encourage people to start a free garden. |
| B．To introduce his experience in a food desert. |
| C．To share free courses on getting garden growing. |
| D．To clarify the reason why he loves growing something. |
3 . I was the only kid in college with a reason to go to the mailbox, because my mother never believed in email or cell phones. I was literally waiting to get a letter to see how her weekend had gone, which was usually the warmest comfort for a girl of my age.
So when I moved to New York and got sucker-punched in the face by depression, I did the only thing I could think of. I wrote those same kinds of letters like my mother for strangers, and slipped them all over the city. I blogged about those letters and crazily promised if asked for a hand-written letter, I would write one.
Overnight, my inbox became this harbor of heartbreak — a single mother in Sacramento, a girl being bullied in Kansas, a 22-year-old immigrant, all asking me to write them and gave them a reason to wait by the mailbox. And this is how I initiated a global organization, fueled by those trips to the mailbox.
It is awesome. In fact, the thing about these letters is that most of them have been written by people who have grownup into a paperless world where some best conversations happen on a screen. We have learned to record our pain on to Facebook, and we speak swiftly in 140 characters or less.
But it’s not about efficiency. And I could tell you about a woman whose husband was traumatized (受精神创伤) by his war experiences in Afghanistan and isolated himself, and her love letters slipped throughout the house eventually got him back to her. Or a man, who decides to take his own life, finally sleeps soundly with a stack of letters from strangers slipped beneath his pillow.
The scare the kinds of stories that convince me that letter-writing will always be needed even in these days, because it is an art now.
1. Why did the author share her experience in college?| A．To show her attachment to letters. |
| B．To convey her love for writing letters. |
| C．To prove how convenient it was to write letters. |
| D．To indicate how much she cared for her family. |
| A．The letters’ comforting effect on people. |
| B．Her intention of providing professional aid |
| C．The positive influence of modern technology. |
| D．Her mother’s fear of modern communication. |
| A．Digital generations still choose to handwrite letters. |
| B．People prefer to write strangers letters on the Internet. |
| C．So many people badly need hand-written letters to survive. |
| D．People post their sufferings and happiness on social media. |
| A．Family Letters Are Priceless |
| B．Love for Writing Never Declines |
| C．World Needs More Love Letters |
| D．Hand-written Letters Improve Efficiency |
4 . “Everyone should have the chance to play” is the idea behind All Terrain (地形) Georgia, a program that offers free all-terrain wheelchairs at Georgia’s parks to those with physical disabilities. Being in the woods, fishing, or having a picnic at one of Georgia’s state parks can help those people feel normal again. This is a cooperation program between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation.
All-terrain wheelchairs look like an advanced version of everyday wheelchairs.They have a tank-like appearance, and their wheels are bigger. And bigger engines make them have more power to cross terrain quickly. Most importantly, these chairs are specially designed to make them reliably cross terrain that’s rough, wet, sandy or snowy. Therefore, they can give people who might not be able to cross more difficult types of terrain the ability to start a trip.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11.1% of U.S. adults have serious difficulty walking or climbing steps. And yet, the most wheelchair-friendly national park in the country, South Dakota’s Badlands National Park, has only 3 roads out of 17 suitable for wheelchairs. Besides, traditional wheelchairs can be risky, uncomfortable, and difficult to use in the park, not to mention the fact that the price of some all-terrain wheelchairs can be between $13,000 and nearly $30,000.
Now, as long as you complete a form and meet the requirements, you can book an all-terrain wheelchair and use it for free at one of the cooperative state parks in Georgia. Do remember you need to have an adult around you during the trip. The adult must undergo a training program, carry a fully charged phone and be physically capable of seeking help, if necessary, by returning quickly to the place where the chair was checked out.
Last year, a number of all-terrain wheelchairs were put into service at 11 state parks and historic sites through All Terrain Georgia. Looking ahead, Melanie Dunn, the assistant director of the Aimee Copeland Foundation, said, “The foundation will soon have the ability to move the chairs to many other parks. Everyone deserves the chance to get close to nature and we can help them do it.”
1. What may users value most about all-terrain wheelchairs?| A．Their ability to run on challenging terrain safely. |
| B．The convenience of avoiding heavy traffic. |
| C．The creative idea behind them. |
| D．Their cool appearance. |
| A．To praise the park’s user-friendly design. |
| B．To recommend the national park to the public. |
| C．To show the shortage of wheelchair-friendly public services |
| D．To call on the government to build more special roads. |
| A．It allows free visits to most national parks. |
| B．It is aimed at a risk-free user experience. |
| C．It sets difficult training tasks for users. |
| D．It works better for adult users. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Worried. | C．Curious | D．Positive. |
5 . Hummingbirds (蜂鸟) are a very important part of Mexico’s ecosystem, but because of the ever-spreading city landscape, they face all sorts of serious dangers. That’s where 73-year-old Catia Lattouf de Arida comes in. As a self-taught hummingbird care-taker, she devotes most of her free time and resources to nursing the tiny birds back to health. Her home in Mexico City has become known as a hummingbird hospital
Catia’s story as a hummingbird nurse began in 2011, at a very dificult moment in her life. At that time, she focused on her battle with cancer and fell into a depression (抑郁) . She was walking on the strect one day when she noticed a hummingbird that had suffered a serious eye injury. The kindhearted woman took it home and named it Gucci. She managed to nurse Gucci back to health, but she said it was Gucci that saved her. Why? Because the hummingbird managed to pull her out of the sadness and loneliness that had taken over her life.
Word of her success spread among Catia’s friends, and before long some of them began bringing her injured hummingbirds. She didn’t repulse them at all. She began to study the bird and their habits in order to better take care of them, and after 11 years of experience, the 73-year-old woman is considered an expert on hummingbirds.
In order to raise awareness of the difficult situation of hummingbirds in Mexico, Catia Lattouf de Arida started posting videos of the patients in her Mexico City apartment on social media, and many of them became popular. That’s when the need for her nursing services really blew up. She has cared for hundreds of hummingbirds in her 11-year career, when she has had as many as 50 of them in her apartment at any one time. She spends pretty much all her time looking after the tiny birds.
1. Which saying can best show the main idea of the first two paragraphs?| A．It is better to give than to take. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．Helping others is helping ourselves. |
| D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. |
| A．Expect. | B．Refuse. | C．Accept. | D．Recognize |
| A．When her friends heard about her success. |
| B．When she was considered as a bird expert. |
| C．After she shared the birds’ videos on the media. |
| D．After she looked after a large number of the birds. |
| A．honest and kind | B．generous and creative |
| C．devoted and strict | D．caring and responsible |
6 . Wildlife Volunteer Programs for Teens
Age: 14-17Duration: 2 weeks
Wildlife Orphanage Program, Zimbabwe
At one of the most successful wildlife care centers in Zimbabwe, volunteers work with wildlife ranging from monkeys to lions. These animals have been abandoned, injured, or rescued from illegal wildlife traders. Tasks include preparing food, cleaning out yards, and contributing enrichment ideas. Leisure time can be spent visiting Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park.
Age: 13-15Duration: 4 weeks
Sea Turtle (海龟) Conservation Program, Greece
With this program, teens can help the endangered sea turtle while working alongside experts. Volunteers can expect long walks along the beach watching over sea turtles nesting areas or building fences to protect them from natural enemies. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to explore ancient ruins and sample delicious Greek cuisine.
Age: 17-19Duration: 3 weeks
Yucatan Peninsula Program, Mexico
With this program, volunteers will learn about the issues facing the marine (海洋的) ecosystem, including pollution, overfishing, and climate change. Teens will gain valuable skills on how to conduct deep sea research and identify fish species. During free time, participants can explore Mayan ruins set in tropical (热带的) jungles.
Age: 16-18Duration: 2 weeks
Preserving Nature’s Wonders Program, Galapagos
Volunteers joining this program help restore the natural habitat of native wildlife, which is in danger of losing its habitat. This program gives teens an experience of a lifetime where they can swim with sea lions and spot rare wildlife in one of the last untouched places on earth.
1. Where should teens go if they want to look after wounded animals?| A．Zimbabwe. | B．Greece. | C．Mexico. | D．Galapagos. |
| A．Visit a national park. | B．Enjoy tasty local food. |
| C．Set foot in an untouched place. | D．Explore ancient ruins in tropical jungles. |
| A．The Wildlife Orphanage Program. | B．The Sea Turtle Conservation Program. |
| C．The Yucatan Peninsula Program. | D．The Preserving Nature’s Wonders Program. |
7 . Volunteering is a great way for teenagers to make a difference and meet new people. There are many different types of volunteer opportunities for teens available. Here are a few volunteer opportunities that you could encourage your teen to take up.
Help at a local food bank
Food banks always welcome donations and new volunteers. They provide perfect volunteering opportunities for those who are interested in helping the homeless. Your teen would be involved in anything, from preparing meals to working behind the scenes to repackage donated food items, serving food, and carrying boxes.
Help at a soup kitchen
A soup kitchen is one of the places where the hungry can get free or affordable meals (usually soup and bread). Most soup kitchens run primarily on donations and the generosity of people. As a soup kitchen volunteer, your child may be made to clean the tables and utensils (用具), help distribute food, cook food and more.
Volunteer for Meals on Wheels
By volunteering for Meals on Wheels, your teen will deliver nutritious meals to the elderly or the disabled. It’s perfect for teens who have just received their driving license and love to get behind the wheel for any reason! They can make a massive impact in a short amount of time. Alternatively, your teen can also volunteer in their kitchen and prepare meals for delivery. With a simple gesture, your teen can bring millions of smiles to people’s lives.
Work with Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to build or improve a place that someone could call home. Besides helping the community, your teen will learn valuable skills such as repairing fund-raising, painting, and building. You can sign them up for long-term projects or one-time program.
1. What do a food bank and a soup kitchen have in common?| A．The food available. | B．The source of food. |
| C．The prices of food. | D．The location of stores. |
| A．Lucy, who likes cooking. | B．Linda, who likes drawing. |
| C．Jack, who can drive a car. | D．Peter, who can play football. |
| A．A local food bank. | B．A soup kitchen. |
| C．Meals on Wheels. | D．Habitat for Humanity. |
8 . Getting into science is often difficult for some kids, It’s something Ahmed Muhammad learned quickly while babysitting his niece and nephew.
Muhammad is an 18-year-old senior from California. who attends Oakland Tech High school. One day he asked his niece and nephew if they wanted to do science, and he was upset by their reaction.
“Whenever I babysit them, we do things like playing chess, playing video games, or watching TV or whatever. When I tried to do science with them, they were like, No, I hate science. I’m bad at it.” It was that moment that fueled Muhammad to create his nonprofit called “Kits Cubed” with a mission to introduce kids to science through fun, affordable and accessible means.
“I went into my room and I pulled out some science books. Then I went online and did some research and was able to design some science experiments for them to do at home. The materials were composed of fairly cheap stuff we have around the house, and they loved it” Muhammad said.
After witnessing their joy, he realized other children could benefit from it as well. “Having noticed the long-standing absence of science experiments in our school, I really feel like well need some science kits in the hands of kids,” Muhammad said.
That’s when he took the $200 he had saved to create a website and began creating science kits to sell, and eventually donated the earnings to kids in need. “I had enough money to make the website and enough to put together like 10 or 15 kits. My initial goal was the joy that my niece and nephew felt. I wanted it to get to as many kids as possible,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad, who has been accepted to Stanford University, is just thrilled he was able to help change his niece and his nephew’s opinion of science while inspiring others as well.
1. What is the main pursuit of Kits Cubed?| A．To solve the absence of science at school. |
| B．To promote acceptance of scientific spirit. |
| C．To provide free access to household stuff. |
| D．To set in motion kids’ passion for science. |
| A．Online research he carried out about materials. |
| B．Enjoyable reactions he observed from the kids. |
| C．Science books he published about experiments. |
| D．Science fairs he participated in at his own school. |
| A．It targeted at kids aged from 10 to 15. |
| B．It received donations for kids in need. |
| C．It was primarily funded by local school. |
| D．It initially profited from sales of science kits. |
| A．Composed. | B．Childlike. | C．Charitable. | D．Cooperative. |
9 . McMaster student Lianna Genovese, who invented a device called Guided Hands that allows people with limited hand movement to draw, write and paint, has been chosen as Canada’s national winner of the 2021 James Dyson Award.
Genovese was only 18 years old when she created the first version of the aided device in a course that introduces students to engineering design in the biomedical engineering fields. As part of the design projects for that first-year course, students worked with customers in the community. Genovese met Elissa, a woman living with dystopia. “Elissa mentioned that she had a hard time doing the buttons on her shirt, a hard time writing, but one thing that really stood out to me was that she had a really difficult time painting and that she was a talented painter,” Genovese said. “I wanted to help give her back her passion and improve her quality of life.”
Genovese said she saw a way that a device could assist. Her design was made on the principle of a 3D printer, with a person’s hand as the nozzle (喷嘴). The device’s unique sliding mechanical device guides hand movements in all directions when the user grasps a handpiece (手持件) tailored to their level of hand impairment (损伤). The handpiece can hold a variety of writing tools such as pens, pencils, paintbrushes, markers, etc. Genovese had a list of people testing the first few versions. Finally, she found one that worked. “Elissa loved it and she was able to paint again,” she said.
“Then I visited every single hospital, clinic, nursing home and retirement home in my city, and introduced it to over 150 patients and doctors,” Genovese said. One girl named Bella, who suffered cerebral palsy, tried the device out. “As soon as she began painting, the widest smile spread across her face. She turned to her mom and said, ‘Mom, I want one.’ At that moment, I realized this is an invention that can change the lives of so many people,” Genovese said.
1. What did Genovese want to do after she met Elissa?| A．Learn drawing from Elissa. | B．Develop a cure for Elissa’s disease. |
| C．Find a way for Elissa to draw again. | D．Recommend a suitable course for Elissa. |
| A．It has a couple of nozzles. | B．It is a small-sized 3D printer. |
| C．It is a cure for rare diseases. | D．It has a customer-made handpiece. |
| A．Encouraged. | B．Confused. | C．Curious. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．McMaster student lends a hand to those with hand impairment |
| B．McMaster student is born to be a business-minded person |
| C．McMaster student transforms passion into profession |
| D．McMaster student gives inspiration to inventors |
10 . Become A Volunteer Tutor With LTB!
Learn To Be is a non-profit organization that brings free, one-on-one, online tutoring to under-served youth around the United States. We work with under-served students between the ages of 5 -18 on subjects that range from basic math and reading comprehension to chemistry. We want to live in a world where all kids have access to a great education - - not just those whose families can afford one.We work with 279 partners across the United States. Don’t hesitate to join us and help change the lives of under-served kids.
How it works
First, click here to fill out the application and we’ll notify you once you have been accepted.
Second, visit student profile pages and find the best student for you. Communicate with them and their family by email and work out the best day/time for tutoring. Third, meet your student in the Learn To Be virtual classroom and help them learn whatever they want!
Why join Learn To Be
When you help under-served kids do better in school, you can change their lives. If you’re here because you need school credits, we’ll give you support! We can also help you develop leadership skills. Join our private online community and become friends with NASA scientists, engineers, writers, historians and industry leaders in our community of thousands of volunteer tutors. You might find a mentor (导师) of your own!
A few notes
●You must be in the United States.
●You must be at least 14 years old and in high school or older.
●You must commit to tutoring once or twice per week.
●The application should include recording a short one -minute selfie (自拍) video.
1. What can we know about Learn To Be?| A．It assigns students to teachers automatically. |
| B．It has a worldwide reputation for being reliable. |
| C．It requires teachers to begin to work at a fixed time. |
| D．It provides completely free services for poor students. |
| A．Chances to get promoted to a leadership role. | B．Opportunities to get enough school credits. |
| C．Lectures by people from all walks of life. | D．Free training in teaching skills. |
| A．An entertainment magazine. | B．An educational report. |
| C．A government document. | D．An institution website. |
