Katie always felt there had to be something more to life than just partying, buying clothes and driving a cool car. She finally discovered what she was missing out on when she traveled halfway around the world to help poor kids.
When she was 14, she discovered a club at school called Operation Smile, an organization that supports free operation for facially deformed (面部畸形的) kids in developing countries. At that time, she joined Operation Smile just to satisfy her school’s community service requirement.
After working with Operation Smile for a while, she learned different countries have different deformities. The more she learned about what affects kids around the world, the more she wanted to go abroad with Operation Smile.
At 15, she was chosen to go abroad. Before her trip, she attended a weekend “mission (使命) training”. That’s when she was told she’d be going to the Philippines. Although she was excited, one night during training, she broke down in tears. She felt pity for all those unfortunate kids. After her arrival in the Philippines, she met the kids waiting for operation, and they were running around and happy. It seemed normal. Her job was to play with the kids before their operation to help them feel more relaxed. She also went to nearby schools to hand out toothbrushes and teach students how to brush their teeth.
When their operation was over, the kids were always overjoyed, but their parents were blown away. Sometimes they couldn’t even recognize their kids because their appearances had improved so much. They would cry and hug the doctors and nurses and give them presents — they were so grateful.
1. According to the text, what is “Operation Smile”? (no more than 15 words)2. What was Katie’s original purpose in joining Operation Smile? (no more than 10 words)
3. Why did Katie break down in tears one night during training? (no more than 10 words)
4. What did Katie do to help relax those kids? (no more than 8 words)
5. Would you like to join the club? why? (no more than 20 words)
2 . Spring lifts our spirits. It's a time for Nature to bring us back to life after a cold season. I live not far from the Kairaku Park, which is one of the largest gardens in Japan, and famous for its near 10,000 plum trees. I am fortunate to have them all outside my backyard, and take advantage of the walking paths daily.
I see the same trees and swans every day, but that day was different. At the edge of the small lake, I saw some new -born black swans. They were pretty and cute. They stayed with their mom.While taking a few photos of the sunset, I was interrupted by a high sound going on for some time. So, I turned around and saw one little swan was stuck by two stones. Its mother was trying to make it out but failed. I tried to get near but the mother was ever so angry! She wouldn't allow me to get close, so I turned to an old man sitting on the bench and said,“Excuse me, the swan baby can't move and I want to help it, but the mother is extremely angry! Could you please do me a favor?"
After hearing my words, the man smiled at me first and then agreed to help me. He drove the mother away with great efforts, and for several times, he was almost hurt by the mother. Thanks to him, I was able to get there and push the little swan out of the gap finally. Oh, I really hoped it wasn't injured, but at least it was alive and swimming!
In spring, I become more physically active. Things around don't make us, but Nature does, and it keeps us going. I am positive that all of us have a little piece of nature in our own neighborhoods. Somewhere we will be reminded why natural life is so important-- -because we grow with it! Personally, I am happy that baby birds can put a smile on my face! I struggle for having a small number of "things" in life, and being filled with simple reality--at one with Nature.
1. What can we know about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．Her favorite season is spring. | B．She enjoys doing outdoor sports. |
| C．Her backyard is filled with plum trees. | D．She is satisfied with her living environment. |
| A．She took a few photos of the sunset. |
| B．She made a little swan's mother angry. |
| C．She met some swans and helped one of them. |
| D．She met an old man and made friends with him. |
| A．Well-known. | B．Warm-hearted. | C．Selfish. | D．Outgoing. |
| A．Nature. | B．kindness. | C．The garden. | D．The things around. |
| A．is really a nature lover | B．is short of some life skill |
| C．asks people to help the weak | D．calls on more people to protect the environment |
