1 . Harpreet Kaur has a passion for connecting with others of different faiths. She said “yes” when Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani, program manager at the Kaufman Institute for Interfaith Understanding (KIIU), asked her to introduce Valarie Kaur at a February event at Grand Valley State University. Valarie Kaur is a well-known author of See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love. The women share more than just a last name; both have a faith tradition rooted in service and equality.

The book’s message struck Harpreet as she listened to the author’s online presentations about welcoming all. “Valarie was such a good speaker. I wish I could be like her,” the freshman from Forest Hills Eastern High School thought.

She found out about the Kaufman Interfaith Leadership Scholars from her dad. This is her first year participating in this group that helps youth build bridges to help communities value, respect, and love all. The group of scholars meet every other Sunday and include students from many faiths. “I was surprised by how much I didn’t know about other faiths — and by how many similarities there are,” she said. “And it’s fun!”

She’s learned a lot about herself, too. “I’m always trying to better myself. I’ve always been really shy.” So, she decided to accept the opportunity to practice public speaking by introducing Valarie Kaur at the Grand Valley State University event — a clear indication of her drive to improve her own leadership skills.

While Harpreet may see herself as shy, Ahmed-Usmani sees the leadership qualities in her: “Since the first day I met her, I was impressed by how earnestly she learned, worked and played with her peers. She is a powerful young woman with the ability to convince others of following her lead.”

In the future, Harpreet will keep her hope for interfaith understanding: “The biggest lesson I have learned from my involvement in all these activities is that you never know what others are going through. Be open-minded. Hear other people’s side.”

1. What does the underlined word “both” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Valarie Kaur and her book.

B．Harpreet Kaur and Valarie Kaur.

C．KIIU and Grand Valley State University.

D．Harpreet Kaur and Zahabia Ahmed-Usmani.

2. What is the Kaufman Interfaith Leadership Scholars’ main job?

A．Researching on building bridges.

B．Connecting people of different beliefs.

C．Learning about different communities.

D．Finding similarities of different values.

3. What kind of person is Harpreet Kaur according to Ahmed-Usmani?

A．Persuasive.

B．Respectful.

C．Considerate.

D．Generous.

4. Which of the following best describes the lesson Harpreet Kaur got?

A．Hard work pays off.	B．One good turn deserves another.
C．Strike the iron while it is hot.	D．Put yourself in other’s shoes.

2 . I was 3 years into my Ph.D. Yet I still felt in the ______ because I did not know how or when I would graduate. To be ______, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Worse still, Erika was ______, the only other woman in the lab. This added to my ______. As she cleared out her lab space, she offered a ______: her old but big computer monitor (显示器). This kind, seemingly minute ______ turned out to be exactly the lifeline (救命稻草) I ______.

To me, this monitor was a ______ that my community supports me even when they aren’t ______ with me. After years of using only a small laptop, I was ______ by how much my work benefited from having an additional screen. With this ______ perspective, I started to like writing. I handed in my graduation paper, and the light at the end of the tunnel shined brightly.

Then I graduated. My ______ with the monitor came to an end, and I wanted to ______ the chain of care and sisterhood. So, I offered it to another woman engineer, who told me the monitor allowed her to have focused writing time. It also helped solidify her ______ that she is in community with people who support her — just as it did for me.

And just like that, a ripple (涟漪) effect from an ______ monitor.

1.

A．end

B．air

C．past

D．dark

2.

A．fair

B．famous

C．frank

D．independent

3.

A．volunteering

B．progressing

C．applying

D．leaving

4.

A．anxiety

B．surprise

C．annoyance

D．embarrassment

5.

A．suggestion

B．gift

C．ride

D．choice

6.

A．response

B．change

C．gesture

D．contribution

7.

A．shared

B．needed

C．provided

D．experienced

8.

A．reminder

B．result

C．form

D．proposal

9.

A．eventually

B．fortunately

C．acceptably

D．physically

10.

A．kept back

B．looked into

C．turned down

D．blown away

11.

A．slower

B．emptier

C．broader

D．heavier

12.

A．comparison

B．time

C．communication

D．satisfaction

13.

A．continue

B．found

C．restore

D．check

14.

A．sense

B．achievement

C．dream

D．character

15.

A．expensive

B．artificial

C．ordinary

D．adjustable

3 . A century ago, kids were transported to school by all kinds of random vehicles. Because there were no national standards, it was up to states or individual school districts to hire buses, trucks and even horse-drawn wagons to convey kids to and from school.

Frank Cyr didn’t like this system. Back in the 1930s, Cyr was a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and an advocate for rural education. Cyr traveled the country conducting a study of school transportation. “In many cases, standards have been set up by more or less hit-and-miss methods,” reported Cyr in a New York Times article. He decided that something needed to be done to keep America’s schoolkids safe.

So in 1939, Cyr organized a conference in New York City dedicated to improving and standardizing the American school bus. He invited educators, transportation officials from 48 states and bus manufacturers to design a newer, safer school bus. At the meeting, Cyr hung up 50 paint samples on the walls of the conference room and formed a special committee to pick a winner. They chose the symbolic yellow-orange color that was originally known as “National School Bus Chrome”.

Cyr wasn’t a scientist or a safety expert, but he instinctively made the connection between bright colors, visibility and vehicle safety. “Based upon the standards of 1939, yellow was a very intelligent choice,” says Dr. Stephen Solomon, a retired optometrist (验光师) and founder of Visibility in Motion, which does consulting for emergency services providers. “The colors that are most easily seen by the human eye are the yellows — the yellow-green to yellow to greenish-yellow,” says Solomon. “That’s at the peak of the visibility range.”

Solomon explains that color vision is determined by photoreceptor cells in the retina (视网膜) called cones (视锥细胞). There are three types of cones, each tuned to detect different wavelengths of light: red, green and blue. Yellow light stimulates both the red and green cones at the same time, which is why the eye is most sensitive to colors in the yellow range.

1. What does the underlined word “hit-and-miss” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Random.

B．Similar.

C．Effective.

D．Special.

2. What do we learn about the 1939 meeting?

A．Many schoolkids were invited.

B．A prize was chosen to award a winner.

C．Cyr was appointed as a transportation official.

D．The color yellow was selected for school buses.

3. Why is yellow a distinct color for the eye?

A．It has different wavelengths.	B．It determines photoreceptor cells.
C．It affects two cones at the same time.	D．It covers the most visibility range.

4. What can be a suitable title of this text?

A．Why Are School Buses Yellow?	B．Cyr: Father of School Buses
C．1939: a Year of School Bus Standards	D．What Vehicles Are Safe for Kids?