Brian Schwartz became one of the many to turn jobless under the epidemic. For Brian, the timing could not have been worse. It was a stressful time between a wife carrying a baby, a dad battling brain cancer, and everything else going on in the news.
Brian needed to do something productive and he turned to mow mowing lawns for stress relief. “I just decided to create my own good news, really just as a time filler,” says Brian. He wanted to help neighbors, just keeping himself busy mentally and physically. Brian offered his lawnmowing service free to seniors and people with disabilities in his community.
As word spread of his good acts, the local media began picking up on the story. The attention got Brian thinking. There was clearly a broader need for what he was offering. So he decided to launch a website, loanttomowyourlaen.com, and a kindness movement was born. Pretty soon, Brian had a large crowd of clients needing others to mow their lawns and an army of volunteers, from 18-year-olds in college to recent retirees. As news of his organization spread, he also began to attract donations to help with operating costs, which encouraged him to turn the service into a nonprofit.
As the organization has evolved (演变), Brian has expanded his offerings to include other services like removing trees and clearing snow. But he believes the benefit of what his team does goes way beyond the practical. “We are not only providing them with financial relief,” he says. “It’s mental and physical relief as well. And we’re hearing feedback not only directly from the people we’re helping, but also from their neighbors who thank us for helping make the community better. And I’m even receiving occasional letters from people that we might not even help, but they might have just been at the time looking for some uplifting news.”
lwanttomouwyourlawn.com has become a passion. Not least of all for the benefits the kindness brings. “It stimulates my mind, my body and my soul just by helping others,” he says. “It’s a really good feeling. I feel like I’m doing something that has some meaning and purpose.”
1. What got Brian into a bad situation?| A．Taking care of a baby. | B．Being out of work. |
| C．Fighting against cancer. | D．Being reported in news. |
| A．To gain more public attention. |
| B．To provide a wider range of services. |
| C．To raise donations for people in need. |
| D．To collect news of kindness movements. |
| A．It puts forward plans on bettering the community. |
| B．It requires people to give feedback on the offerings. |
| C．It reduces the unemployment among people in need. |
| D．It gives people spiritual support as well as direct help. |
| A．Good things take time. | B．Every moment matters. |
| C．We rise by lifting others. | D．Fame brings opportunities. |
2 . Most kids spent their summer holidays playing video-games, watching TV and sleeping in.Parents can follow the steps below, and your kids can break their summertime tech habits and adapt to a school-friendly schedule in two weeks.
Shift bedtime
There’s nothing more important to kicking off the school year successfully than getting sufficient sleep. Two weeks before school begins, schedule bedtime back by about 20 minutes a night to stop kids staying up late or sleeping in. Instead of a long, fun bathtime, switch to a quick shower. Keep all digital devices out of their bedrooms and buy them alarm clocks.
Set screen goals
Having intentional goals for screen use can help kids change their tech habits. You might decide to make screen time a reward rather than a right. Set limits on digital activities such as no videogames until they complete homework. Don’t jump to no apps but consider using apps that control the length of time kids can use a device. Establish zones in your house where electronics simply are not allowed. Besides, get your kids involved in activities that don’t need a screen.
Make a schedule
A summer spent without routine can make jumping back into the structure of school difficult for kids. Setting a schedule for the last two weeks of summer can work. Ms. Rawson, founder of the Screen Time Clinic, suggests creating blocks of time that mirror those of the school day,arranging 30 to 50 minutes for an activity, depending on the kid’s age, along with a set lunchtime. Kids should have a say in deciding how to fill the day’s time blocks. The activities can involve anything but screens.
1. Before the new school year begins, kids can shift bedtime by .| A．taking a long bath | B．sleeping in a lot |
| C．using phones as alarm clocks | D．moving to bed earlier |
| A．Manage homework time with apps. |
| B．Forbid them from using electronics. |
| C．Reserve areas for screen-free activities. |
| D．Remove apps from their digital devices. |
| A．reflect individual needs of kids |
| B．copy the exact school timetables |
| C．start from the beginning of holidays |
| D．combine study with digital entertainment |
The Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan province,
Extreme heat is becoming increasingly common across the globe. It is an
I enjoyed a lovable college time both on campus and at home. At college, I joined a variety of clubs to enrich my life. As the term was drawing to an end, I
6 . The moment Kareem went into the waiting room, his nervousness increased dramatically. Mateo, his opponent, was sitting there, with his
Kareem sat and closed his eyes, trying to ignore Mateo’s calmness, a sharp contrast to his own
Suddenly a deafening noise came and Kareem froze at the noise. A broken E string
As his turn was approaching, Kareem felt
Mateo shook his head, “Sorry.” Kareem nodded and whispered that he understood.
Just then Kareem’s name was called. He was rooted to the ground and was about to quit when he noticed Mateo’s arm outstretched, holding his guitar out to him.
“Here, use mine,” Kareem’s mouth
The professor asked Kareem what to play. He hesitated, “I’ll be playing Bach’s Bourree in E minor, with my...my friend’s guitar.“
As Kareem walked toward the stage door, he looked back at Mateo with a shared
| A．coat | B．phone | C．guitar | D．book |
| A．compete | B．vote | C．argue | D．stand |
| A．active | B．popular | C．ready | D．proud |
| A．sorrow | B．anxiety | C．shame | D．anger |
| A．showed up | B．came back | C．fell apart | D．hung down |
| A．spotted | B．searched | C．packed | D．held |
| A．Simply | B．Naturally | C．Sadly | D．Seriously |
| A．hopeless | B．careless | C．guilty | D．lonely |
| A．hurt | B．shut | C．watered | D．dropped |
| A．smile | B．hope | C．interest | D．view |
Nila sat alone on the bus. Her older sister, Lexi, was one seat ahead, acting as if this was the best day ever. But for Nila, it was the worst. It was the last day of swimming lessons. Test Day.
“If I pass my test, I can sign up for Junior Lifeguarding over the summer,” Nila heard Lexi telling her friend Jess. “You’re the best swimmer in the class,” Jess said. “There’s just no way you wouldn’t pass.” Maybe she could talk to Lexi about the test, who passed Level 4 several summers ago.
“I thought sisters were supposed to help each other actively,” Nila whispered to the window. An hour later, she held the edge of the pool, shaking. “For the last part of the test, you’ll all be swimming the width of the pool,” the instructor, Nate, told the class. “Can we swim in the shallow end?” Nila asked. “Nope,” Nate said cheerfully. “To pass Level 4, it has to be the deep end.”
Nila was nervous. She didn’t know if she could swim all the way across without touching the bottom. “I’ll be watching from the other side,” Nate said. “Ready?” No! Nila thought. But Nate put the whistle to his lips and blew. Nila took a deep breath and pushed off. Lexi moved up and down, feeling light. She completed smoothly and passed Level 7! A kid from her class bumped into her, but she just smiled at him. She liked everyone right now. Nila, too–even though she’d been such a pest earlier. Where was she, anyway?
After a minute, Lexi spotted her sister crossing the pool. Nila was way behind the others. As Nila neared the middle of the pool, she stopped. “Keep going,” Lexi called. “You can do it!” When Nila found out her position, her heart sank. Only halfway across! Some kids in her class were already at the wall, playing and talking. Nate was bending over to talk to one of the kids. He didn’t see her. Better keep going, she thought. But she was tired. Lexi kept her eyes on her sister’s slow progress.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
As Lexi watched, Nila’s head dipped briefly underwater before it resurfaced.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Just then, Nila felt someone’s arms grabbing her from behind.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A comics exhibition
The
Through different types of artistic
“Chengdu is known as ‘
9 . Words can show what’s going on in our heads — and pronouns, in particular, may show where our attention is aimed. “You can be focused on yourself for many reasons,” says James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas. “Once you appreciate that ‘I’ attracts attention, you see it’s a powerful marker of a speaker’s psychological state.” Here are a few ways in which the use of this tiny pronoun tells big truths.
Generally speaking, depressed people often use more “I” words. This seems to have to do with how long-lasting sadness brings along an inward focus that translates into “I”, “me” and “my” usage. In fact, the poet who overuses “I” in his poetry may be at a higher risk of suicide.
Lower-status people rely on “I” in that “we” words don’t just indicate “you and me” – they can hold many other meanings. On the other hand, using “we” words lets the more powerful speaker decide what group the listener falls into.
Interestingly, women open up and say “I”, and about fourteen percent of women’s words are these less formal personal pronouns compared to only twelve percent for men. “This is a huge statistics difference,” Pennebaker says. Women generally come across as more self-reflective and self-aware than men.
As for online writing, after September 11, “I” talk plummeted, and an analysis of thousands of blogs showed a big drop in “I” words after the attacks. The result was that the use of “we” words jumped at an even higher rate. “A temporary reaction to acute pain is to turn to others. It’s not a coincidence that disaster brings people together,” Pennebaker points out.
Obviously, people who lie tend to avoid “I”. “When you’re lying, you almost distance yourself from the words. In other words, you are not owning your statements.”
1. For what purpose is the use of pronouns being studied?| A．To evaluate the potential effect on people’s actions. |
| B．To advocate the use of pronouns in daily conversations. |
| C．To expose the relationship between behavior and speech. |
| D．To examine the relation between emotions and statements. |
| A．seldom refer to themselves |
| B．tend to reflect on themselves |
| C．mainly talk about personal matters |
| D．choose more formal personal pronouns |
| A．increased quickly | B．appeared suddenly |
| C．dropped sharply | D．disappeared totally |
| A．Communication indicates status differences. |
| B．Communication suggests more than one can see. |
| C．Communication means discussion between equals. |
| D．Communication connects different people together. |
10 . The British Council’s Active Citizens program has provided hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with the social leadership skills to address some of the big challenges of the 21st century.
Since arriving in Iraq in 2015, Active Citizens has trained more than 180 young people, who have reached a further 4,000 people through projects focusing on health awareness, employability and so on. Through two local organizations in Iraq, the first Active Citizens program trained a host of young people from local communities. With a focus on youth voice, the training achieved high levels of participation from girls and many called it a turning point in their lives.
“On day one, when I started the training, I thought I would have nothing to give. By the last day, I discovered I have buried skills, and how I can be of great value to help others and change their lives positively,” says one girl. Through the training, the participants were introduced to different ways of creating change and learned the important role dialogue plays in communities. The training prepared them to take the first important steps towards making a positive difference in people’s lives.
Active Citizens program has so far started 16 social action projects, working with women’s groups, schools and local communities. A project by participants from the Iraq Women Association has delivered job-readiness skills training to 55 young women looking for work. After learning new IT and interview skills and receiving support to create CVs, five of the participants found jobs directly after the training. The women are also being encouraged to pass their new skills to other young women looking for jobs in their communities.
These are just two examples of the significant impact Iraq’s Active Citizens has achieved in just a short space of time. As time goes by, we can look forward to greater impact in the future.
1. How did the Active Citizens program reach 4,000 people in Iraq?| A．By word of mouth. | B．Through different projects. |
| C．By hosting various meetings. | D．Through visits to local schools. |
| A．She has nothing to give. | B．She could be employed. |
| C．She could voice her opinion. | D．She has some hidden talents. |
| A．To raise people’s awareness of health. | B．To teach band new computer knowledge. |
| C．To improve people’s employability skills. | D．To provide support on how to create CVs. |
| A．How the Active Citizens Program Works |
| B．Active Citizens Helps Recognize Your Skills |
| C．Special Projects Are Designed for Young People |
| D．Girls in Iraq Are Making a Difference to the World |
