1 . Even when you have confidence in yourself, your goals will sometimes seem out of reach. When that happens, get hold of the people who
When I was younger, I
Early in my
Even now, I
| A．refer to | B．depend on | C．learn from | D．believe in |
| A．quit | B．struggled | C．regretted | D．argued |
| A．responsibilities | B．dreams | C．opportunities | D．doubts |
| A．stopped | B．admitted | C．allowed | D．considered |
| A．tracked | B．recommended | C．accompanied | D．encouraged |
| A．serious | B．possible | C．hard | D．necessary |
| A．request | B．unwillingness | C．inability | D．attempt |
| A．difficulties | B．options | C．aims | D．standards |
| A．career | B．experiment | C．business | D．recovery |
| A．foolishly | B．simply | C．wisely | D．bravely |
| A．original | B．familiar | C．typical | D．positive |
| A．looking into | B．taking down | C．dealing with | D．pointing out |
| A．introduce | B．remind | C．guarantee | D．warn |
| A．experience | B．describe | C．compare | D．limit |
| A．probably | B．fortunately | C．obviously | D．importantly |
2 . Whether it’s for your health, environment — or your wallet — gardening has seen a boom in recent years.
Pick your own
Invite community conversations
Over the garden fence. At the vegetable fields. While weeding your window boxes.
Build strength
Gardening is exercise because you do small tasks like cutting grass or raking (耙地) that fall under the category of light or moderate exercise. However, you also dig, shovel, and chop wood to get this level up to moderate exercise.
Boost mood
Did you know that gardening can boost your mood while increasing your self-respect levels? When you make time to go out and work in your garden, your anxiety levels can go down and you could start to feel less depressed. One study looked at this benefit of gardening. There searchers took people who suffered from depression and had them participate in a 12-week long gardening.
| A．The more you garden, the stronger you will get |
| B．All of these tasks ensure you work your muscles |
| C．There’s nothing like eating your own vegetables |
| D．And now is a great time to get your hands dirty in soil |
| E．A big benefit of gardening is forming connections with new people |
| F．They found that each participant had great improvement in their condition |
| G．It’s amazing to have someone to talk to when you’re tending your plants or vegetables |
3 . 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. |
4 . Remember the woman in Port Hood, N. S. whose recipe for meat rolls spread all over the internet? The dog from Quebec that attracted hundreds of thousands of followers for its advice on surviving social isolation? The pilot whose path over Nova Scotia formed the shape of a heart?
All of their stories, and dozens more, are collected in a new book by two Canadian authors. It took Heather Down and Catherine Kenwell just a little more than seven weeks to collect the stories behind the 49 uplifting moments they recorded during the pandemic.
The book includes everything from the tale of Robbie Griffiths, the father from Paradise, N. L. who dressed up as Spider-Man so kids could have something positive in their day, to Carter Mann, the Grade 5 student from Sudbury, Ont, who wrote a poem to encourage front-line heroes including his own father, who is a health carer.
“Not Canceled: Canadian Caremongering in the Face of COVID-19” is a reminder that a lot of positive things happened during lockdown. The book’s title is a nod to the Canadian attitude and reaction to the pandemic, as the word “caremongering” has Canadian roots. Even the number of stories is no accident: it’s a reference to the 49th parallel, along which runs the Canada-U. S. border between Manitoba and B. C.
One of the stories in “Not Canceled” centers on the marriage of a couple in B. C. They may have had to shift their celebrations to a living room, but the ceremony was far from lonely. Friends showed up in their cars outside, with everyone tuned into the same radio station, so the bride and groom could have their first dance in the middle of the street.
Down wanted to document how the nation navigated such dark times with kindness. She told CTV News that “the response has been amazing. I’m so pleased.”
The stories included in the book are just the tip of the iceberg. Down says that there are so many stories left over that she and Kenwell might just have to do a second book.
1. What does the underlined word “uplifting” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Inspiring. | B．Embarrassing. | C．Mysterious. | D．Humorous. |
| A．He trained hard to become a health carer. |
| B．He wrote poems with the help of his father. |
| C．He used words to cheer up essential workers. |
| D．He dressed up as Spider-Man to please other kids. |
| A．It shows Canadian attitude and response. |
| B．It shows the total number of the stories. |
| C．It has the new-made word “caremongering”. |
| D．It contains Canada’s geographical information. |
| A．It was canceled halfway. | B．It was held completely indoor. |
| C．It was witnessed by a group of friends. | D．It was broadcast live by a radio station. |
5 . The halo effect is a cognitive bias (认知偏见) that affects our opinions of quality in products, brands, businesses or people. It describes our tendency to judge a wider concept on our experience of a single moment or interaction. That is, your experience of using a product may colour your impression of an entire brand.
This is a very surface-level, quick-fire response that’s deep in our mind. If we see a good or bad quality, we really can’t help thinking this “thing” must flow through to the rest of the person, business or brand. Marketers understand this and have been using it against you for years.
Advertisers want to back winners, especially those on big stages. The Olympics, the World Cup and the Super Bowl all attract huge amounts of advertising spend. Why? Because when sports stars win big, they create huge amounts of feel-good factors and a brand can use the halo effect to project some of those feel-good factors onto themselves.
Studies have shown that when a product has a label that it is either fair trade, sustainably sourced or organic in nature, it will receive higher ratings in customer satisfaction and people will pay more for it. In a blind taste test though, that’s not necessarily the case. The product could be considered poor in taste or quality, but the act of adding a certain label to the packaging increases people’s liking for it.
The halo effect is a bias we cannot escape. It is in action everywhere in the modern world. Every high-end product you experience leaves a lasting impression and every advertisement that catches your eye is looking to direct your attention towards something you may not have otherwise been interested in. As a consumer, be careful. There are businesses that will go to any extent to influence your behaviour. Next time you find yourself really wanting something, stop and ask yourself why.
1. How does the halo effect influence our opinions?| A．It helps us see things in a better way. | B．It deepens our understanding of things. |
| C．It stops us from jumping to conclusions. | D．It works on us through former experience. |
| A．To use halo effect to attract more audience. |
| B．To contribute to the development of sports. |
| C．To connect their brands with positive emotions. |
| D．To drive sports stars to create feel-good factors. |
| A．It leads to false advertisements. | B．It results in incorrect judgments. |
| C．It ensures the quality of products. | D．It improves environmental protection. |
| A．To warn of unplanned buying. | B．To summarize the halo effect. |
| C．To expose the influence of advertising. | D．To show modern marketing strategies. |
6 . The middle class in Uganda is on the increase. So is the country’s tourism industry. The growth of restaurants and high-end hotels is evidence that both foreigners and Ugandans are spending money. But the owners of these businesses have often had to turn to other countries to find executive chefs (行政总厨) . The reason: a lack of well-trained chefs and other assistants at Ugandan restaurants. Slowly but surely, this is changing.
Uganda has a problem not normally found in a low-income country. It has a shortage of local chefs. In recent years, the number of restaurants and tourism-related businesses has risen. As a result, the demand for well-trained cooks and other assistants has grown. But experienced chefs are difficult to find. Jean Byamugisha is in the Uganda Hotel Owners Association. “The biggest challenge is capacity building. People really need a lot of training, especially now that we are competing to reach East African level.”
To meet the need, many restaurants have turned to neighboring countries for help. Enock Alumasi is from Kenya. He saw that Uganda had a lack of top chefs. So he helped set up the Impact Chefs Academy in 2013. The academy is the only school in Uganda that offers a full training program for chefs. It offers a number of program-starting with one-week courses for those who already have a career in the restaurant industry, to a year-long training program.
One recent day, several students were learning the different ways to fry an egg. This may sound like something that comes naturally to a chef. But some workers have never cooked an egg before. Brian Kazibe has worked as a chef. He says that some trainees have learned about five different areas of restaurant operations over three months. “By the time they get to the kitchen,” he says, “they only remain for two or three weeks, which is not really enough for them.”
The Impact Chef’s Academy has trained more than 3, 000 people in the past two years. Jean Byaugisha says that the need is still growing. “The impact is not yet felt. One week’s training for a chef is too short. We need somebody who can come for two months, six months, nine months and train the chefs and release somebody who can actually come to the restaurant or a hotel and prepare a meal that everybody will fall over themselves to pay for.” However, the academy has gotten a taste of success; it looks forward to expanding.
1. What can be inferred from the first two paragraphs?| A．Uganda is a high-income country now. |
| B．Tourism is Uganda’s main source of GDP. |
| C．Visitors go to Uganda mainly for its foods. |
| D．Uganda’s economy develops at a high speed. |
| A．It mainly trains students to fry eggs. |
| B．It provides courses different in length. |
| C．It employs teachers from neighboring countries. |
| D．It was set up by Enock Alumasi in Kenya in 2013. |
| A．has gained success to some extent |
| B．has trained enough experienced chefs |
| C．has set up a series of chain training schools |
| D．has only opened short-term classes for 3 months |
| A．How to solve the difficulties in Uganda. |
| B．Handling lack of excellent chefs in Uganda. |
| C．The setting up of the Impact Chef’s Academy. |
| D．The expanding of the middle class in Uganda. |
7 . What do you think of when you hear the word “drought”: Do you think of “dry” “hot” “dusty” “cracked (开裂的) earth” or even “no water”? If so you’re on the right track!
When some places are in drought, they may be dry, hot and dusty. Cracks may appear in the soil, and rivers, lakes, streams and other sources of water may go dry. Other places in drought get some rain, but not as much as they usually receive during that season. Drought means that a place has less rain or snow than normal over a few months or even longer.
Drought has many causes. It can be caused by not receiving rain or snow over a period of time. We learned in the discussions above about the water cycle and weather. The changes in the wind patterns that move clouds and moisture through the atmosphere can cause a place not to receive its normal amount of rain or snow over a long period of time.
If you live in a place where most of the water you use comes from a river, a drought in your area can be caused by places upstream from you not receiving enough moisture. There would be less water in the river for you and other people who live along the river to use.
People can also play a big role in a drought. If we use too much water during times of normal rainfall, we might not have enough water when a drought happens.
1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To analyze the problem. |
| C．To conclude the article. | D．To put forward an argument. |
| A．The weather will be dry, hot and windy. |
| B．There won’t be any water left in rivers or lakes. |
| C．There will be less rain or snow for quite a long time. |
| D．The rainy season will be replaced by the snowy season. |
| A．Dust in the wind. | B．Rain in the soil. | C．Snow on the ground. | D．Water in the air. |
| A．The definition (定义) of drought. | B．The water cycle and weather. |
| C．The causes of drought. | D．The influence of drought. |
