James Warren, a frequent public bus rider in Denver, noticed a significant problem: many bus stops lacked seating. Particularly on a cold morning in January, Warren observed a woman waiting for a bus, with no seating available at the stop and no sidewalk, forcing her to sit in the dirt. Motivated by this sight, Warren took scrap (废料；废品) wood from construction waste bins and set out to construct a bench.
This singular act of kindness evolved into a larger mission when he realized that one bench was far from enough. In the Denver metro area alone, there are more than 9, 000 bus stops, many of which lack seating or shelter. To add a personal touch and spread a message of compassion, he carved “Be kind” into each bench, symbolizing the spirit of the project.
Warren’s initiative resonated with the community, especially among those who benefited daily from the benches. “I met some ladies the other day who talked about how they used the benches every day. It fills me up. It’s air in my tires.” Warren recalled. His enthusiasm increased as more people joined his bench-making efforts. “I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me on Twitter,” he mentioned. “Some people have wanted to come and help me.” Inspired by Warren’s work, others in the local news audience decided to contribute as well, with many donating supplies. “That puts me over the moon,” Warren expressed.
Nica Cave, a 26-year-old mobility advocate (改善交通运输系统的倡导者) from Denver, emphasized the wider impact of the initiative. “The absence of proper infrastructure, shelter, and seating at transit stops, such as bus stops and train stations, disadvantages those who rely on public transportation. People like Warren are encouraging, showing how individuals are willing to use their own time and resources to provide these much-needed services.”
Warren envisions extending his project beyond simply providing benches. He plans to create a bench-building workshop to foster community engagement and support. His ultimate goal is to enhance the quality of life in his community and inspire similar actions elsewhere, emphasizing that small acts of kindness and effort can load to significant improvements in daily experiences.
1. What are Warren’s benches at the bus stops made from? (no more than 6 words)2. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 3? (no more than 10 words)
3. Why did Warren feel happy? (no more than 15 words)
4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about? (no more than 10 words)
5. What can you learn from the story? Please explain in your own words. (no more than 20 words)
2 . Welcome to our annual Poetry Contest! We invite poets of all ages and experiences to show their creativity and compete for the chance to be published in our magazine. Follow these guidelines to ensure your submission meets all the necessary criteria for entry. Good luck to all participants!
Submission Dates: May 1st-July 1st, 2024.
Poem Pattern
Type your poem single-spaced in at 10-point font（字体）. Double-space between stanzas（节）. Creatively title your poem using whatever font and font size you like. Print two copies of your poem. If your poem takes two pages, please do not print double-sided and do not attach together. You may submit 3 different poems at most.
How to Enter
Entering is as easy as 1-2-3! Fill out the Entry Form online to be given an Entry ID number. Fill out an online Entry Form for each poem, which you do not need to print. You may also download and print an Entry Form to mail in with your poem instead of entering online. In this case, do not write any Entry ID number on your poem. On both copies of your poem, type or write your Entry ID number on the top right corner and your Age Group number on the top left corner.
Where the Contest Profits Go
All contest profits go to our charitable arm, the Home School Foundation, which uses them to provide low-income homeschooling families with access to educational and legal resources to help them pursue homeschooling.
Entry Fee
To participate in our Poetry Contest, each entry requires a fee of $15. This fee supports the administrative costs of the contest and contributes to our charitable efforts. Foreign checks are not accepted. Mail your poem and entry fee, payable to Poetry Foundation. Remember to include an entry fee for each poem—they may be combined onto one check.
Judging and Other Information
Poems will be judged by a group of judges chosen by Poetry Foundation. Poems will be judged on originality of thought, writing style, artistic use of poetic techniques, and the theme and form requirements. Poetry judging is relatively subjective, but it is our goal through a wide group of judges to select winning poems that show excellence in all these areas. The decision of the judges is final.
All contest participants will be told the results by email one month after the deadline for submissions before they are published on the website. The prize-winning poetry will be published in the magazine.
1. What must you do to participate in the annual Poetry Contest?| A．Keep your poems shorter than two pages. | B．Present your poems before May 1st 2024. |
| C．Use whatever font size to type your poems. | D．Submit no more than three different poems. |
| A．By submitting the Entry Form and poem online only. |
| B．By making a registration call to the contest organizers. |
| C．By mailing the poem via email without an Entry Form. |
| D．By entering online or mailing the Entry Form with the poem. |
| A．Combining onto one check and submitting online. | B．Paying in cash upon personal submission. |
| C．Sending the entry fee via foreign checks. | D．Mailing a check to Poetry Foundation. |
| A．Judges evaluate on multiple criteria. | B．Winning poems published online. |
| C．Participants also judge poems. | D．High rewards for winners. |
| A．In July 2024. | B．In August 2024. | C．In May 2024. | D．In June 2024. |
| A．hiding | B．to hide | C．hidden | D．being hidden |
| A．in response to | B．in memory of | C．in touch with | D．in possession of |
| A．won | B．has won | C．have won | D．would win |
| A．instantly | B．steadily | C．previously | D．formerly |
| A．would | B．may | C．must | D．should |
| A．Getting up | B．To get up | C．Get up | D．Having got up |
9 . Trees should only be pruned (修剪) when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and, fortunately, the number of such reasons is small. Pruning involves the cutting away of overgrown and unwanted branches, and the inexperienced gardener can be encouraged by the thought that more damage results from doing it unnecessarily than from leaving the tree to grow in its own way.
First, pruning may be done to make sure that trees have a desired shape or size. The object may be to get a tree of the right height, and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape. Secondly, pruning may be done to make the tree healthier. You may cut diseased or dead wood, or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds. The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the centre and so preventing the free movement of air.
One result of pruning is that an open wound is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease, but it is a wound that will heal. Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die, so that there is a period when the tree is at risk. It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce that risk of death as far as possible. It is important to make the area, which has been pruned, smooth and clean, for healing will be slowed down by roughness. You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the substances available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose. Pruning is usually done in winter, for then you can see the shape of the tree clearly without interference from the leaves and also it is very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed. If this does happen, it is, of course, impossible to paint them properly.
1. Why should pruning be done?| A．To make the tree grow taller. | B．To improve the shape of the tree. |
| C．To get rid of the small branches. | D．To make the small branches thicker. |
| A．gives a tree a special shape and a definite height |
| B．removes small side branches and makes a tree look less thick |
| C．allows too many branches to grow in the middle |
| D．has a tree surrounded by many other trees |
| A．To prevent disease entering a wound. | B．To cover a rough surface. |
| C．To make a wound smooth. | D．To help a wound to dry. |
| A．The author tends to favor pruning frequently. | B．It’s easy to find a reason to prune trees. |
| C．Pruning trees properly is not easy. | D．Pruned trees will always grow taller. |
| A．Discussing different methods of pruning. |
| B．Introducing some potential risks of pruning a tree. |
| C．Explaining how trees develop disease. |
| D．Giving practical instructions for pruning a tree. |
10 . Sometimes you may find that you are not happy in your life, although everything is going well. Most of the time you have to
My father, however, was a quite different example. When I was about 9 or 10, he told me that I should be whatever I wanted when I grew up, so long as I
My father got into the insurance industry when he was very young, and he was very
| A．lose | B．stop | C．share | D．continue |
| A．risks | B．turns | C．steps | D．suggestions |
| A．promised | B．enjoyed | C．admitted | D．adjusted |
| A．lucky | B．safe | C．comfortable | D．special |
| A．concern | B．pleasure | C．strength | D．talent |
| A．value | B．honor | C．control | D．relief |
| A．sensitive | B．cautious | C．optimistic | D．successful |
| A．Besides | B．Therefore | C．However | D．Meanwhile |
| A．schedule | B．career | C．reform | D．competition |
| A．wonder | B．explain | C．blame | D．conclude |
| A．limited | B．predicted | C．tested | D．affected |
| A．confused | B．shocked | C．discouraged | D．attracted |
| A．free | B．certain | C．good | D．real |
| A．satisfaction | B．sympathy | C．responsibility | D．security |
| A．Protecting | B．Selecting | C．Leaving | D．Arranging |
| A．function | B．result | C．signal | D．attitude |
| A．simple | B．normal | C．popular | D．worth |
| A．drive | B．consideration | C．burden | D．qualification |
| A．rights | B．faults | C．regrets | D．excuses |
| A．convincing | B．evaluating | C．representing | D．challenging |
