Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do. My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that. That’s when I learned about the Lighthouse Project.
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers. I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time. In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly. Neither did my family.
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application. After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone. Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty. I would be going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria. Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea. But I was about to find out.
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation. Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family. I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse. For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse. But I sometimes think I learned more from my students than they did from me.
Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and returned to the United States a different man. The Lighthouse Project had changed my life forever.
1.What do we know about the author?
A. His university education focused on the theoretical knowledge.
B. His dream at university was to become a volunteer.
C. He took pride in having contributed to the world.
D. He felt honored to study English literature.
2.According to the Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author
A. discussed his decision with his family.
B. asked previous volunteers about voluntary work
C. attended special training to perform difficult tasks
D. felt sad about having to leave his family and friends
3.In his application for the volunteer job, the author
A. participated in many discussions
B. went through challenging survival tests
C. wrote quite a few paper on voluntary work
D. faced strong competition from other candidates
4.On arrival at the village, the author was
A. asked to lead a farming team
B. sent to teach in a schoolhouse
C. received warmly by local villagers
D. arranged to live in a separate house.
5.What can we infer from the author’s experiences in Nigeria?
A. He found some difficulty adapting to the local culture
B. He had learned to communicate in the local language.
C. He had overcome all his weaknesses before he left for home.
D. He was chosen as the most respectable teacher by his students.
It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收费站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”
It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.
Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.
Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.
“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”
The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!
1.Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?
A. She knew the car drivers well.
B. She wanted to show kindness.
C. She hoped to please others.
D. She had seven tickets.
2.Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she .
A. thought it was beautifully written
B. wanted to know what it really meant
C. decided to write it on a warehouse wall
D. wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom
3.Who came up with the phrase according to the passage?
A. Judy Foreman.
B. Natalie Smith.
C. Alice Johnson.
D. Anne Herbert.
4.Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence above?
A. Kindness and violence can change the world.
B. Kindness and violence can affect one’s behavior.
C. Kindness and violence can reproduce themselves.
D. Kindness and violence can shape one’s character.
5.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. People should practice random kindness to those in need.
B. People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others.
C. People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet.
D. People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver.
Samuel Osmond is a 19-year-old law student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata（奏鸣曲）by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.
Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable .They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn’t even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studies law and music.
Samuel can’t understand why everyone is so surprised. “I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me ---I hear the notes and can bear them in mind---each and every note,” says Samuel.
Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can’t play it. Samuel says confidently,” It’s all about super memory---I guess I have that gift.”
However, Samuel’s ability to remember things doesn’t stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.
Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.
1.What is special about Samuel Osmond?
A. He has a gift for writing music.
B. He can write down the note he hears.
C. He is a top student at the law school.
D. He can play the musical piece he hears.
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A. Samuel chose law against the wish of his parents.
B. Samuel planned to be a lawyer rather than a musician.
C. Samuel thinks of himself as a man of great musical ability.
D. Samuel studies law and music on the advice of his teachers.
3.Everyone around Samuel was surprised because he _________.
A. received a good early education in music
B. played the guitar and the piano perfectly
C. could play the piano without reading music
D. could play the guitar better than his father
4.What can we infer about Samuel in Paragraph 4?
A. He became famous during a special event at his college.
B. He is proud of his ability to remember things accurately.
C. He plays the piano better than many professional pianists.
D. He impressed the audience by playing all the musical pieces.
5.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. The Qualities of a Musician
B. The Story of a Musical Talent
C. The Importance of Early Education
D. The Relationship between Memory and Music.
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Last year, my brother and I went to Miami for a vacation. Some of my friends who had been there before said_1._____ was a wonderful holiday destination. Before we went, we had planned for months. When the day came, we were ready.
After our plane landed, we went to the hotel. We had made our reservation six months__2.____ （early）, but the man at the front desk said there had been a mistake. We 3._____（tell）that our rooms hadn’t been reserved for that week, 4._____ for the week after. I didn’t understand 5.____ this would happen and my credit card had already been charged6.______ the reservation. What’s worse, the hotel had been fully booked. When we were wondering what to do, the manager came out. She was 7._____（surprise）helpful. She apologized for the mistake and gave us a spare VIP room on 8._____ top floor. We had never stayed in such an amazing room, and we weren’t charged extra.
The next day, my brother and I went to the beach 9.____ we watched some people play volleyball. We got a little10._____（sunburn），but the day had been so relaxing that we didn’t mind.
Parents feel that it is difficult to live with teenagers. Then again, teenagers have feelings about their parents, saying that it is not easy living with them. According to a recent research, the most common between parents and teenagers is that regarding untidiness and daily routine tasks. On the one hand, parents go mad over rooms, clothes thrown on the floor and their children’s refusal to help with the . On the other hand, teenagers lose their patience continually when parents blame them for the towel in the bathroom, not cleaning up their room or refusing to do the shopping at the supermarket.
The research, conducted by St. George University, shows that different parents have different to these problems. However, some approaches are more than others. For example, those parents who yell at their children for their untidiness, but clean the room for them, have fewer chances of changing their children’s . On the contrary, those who let teenagers experience the of their actions can do better. For example, when teenagers who don’t help their parents with the shopping don’t find their favorite drink in the refrigerator, they are forced to their actions.
Psychologists say that is the most important thing in parent-child relationships. Parents should to their children but at the same time they should lend an ear to what they have to say. Parents may their children when they are untidy but they should also understand that their room is their own private space. Communication is a two-way process. It is only by listening to and each other that problems between parents and children can be settled.
1.A. natural B. strongC. guilty D. similar
2.A. interest B. argumentC. link D.knowledge
3.A. noisy B. crowdedC. messy D. locked
4.A. homework B. houseworkC. problem D. research
5.A. washing B. using C. dropping D. replacing
6.A. approaches B. contributions C. introductions D. attitudes
7.A. complex B. popular C. scientific D. successful
8.A. later B. deliberately C. seldom D. thoroughly
9.A. behavior B. taste C. future D. nature
10.A. failures B. changes C. consequences D. thrills
11.A. defend B. delay C. repeat D. reconsider
12.A. communication B. bond C. friendship D. trust
13.A. reply B. attend C. attach D. talk
14.A. hate B. scold C. frighten D. stop
15.A. loving B. observing C. understanding D. praising
某英文报社组织题为“我喜欢的英语谚语”征文活动，你有意参加。请从下面两句谚语中任选一句作为标题写一篇英语作文，内容须包括：1.该谚语的含义；2.体现该谚语含义的个人经历。
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
②Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
注意：1.词数：120-150；
2.文中不得透露个人姓名和学校名称。
参考词汇：谚语 proverb
