Tragedy struck for brothers Rob and Paul Forkan when they lost their parents in the 2004 Asian tsunami. Now, over ten years later, they're using their flip flop business to help other orphans.
The boys had an unusual childhood. They were just 11 and 13 when their parents, Kevin and Sandra, took them out of the UK education system and moved the family to Goa in India. Their parents were of the philosophy that they would receive a healthier and fuller education by traveling the world and helping others. There they did lots of voluntary work and mixed with the local community. It was when the family were on holiday in Sri Lanka that the tsunami hit. Although the children managed to escape, their parents tragically couldn't. But Paul says their upbringing meant they were able to cope with this tough blow. "Our parents gave us this confidence that we could do anything, that nothing was hard to achieve," says Paul.
What the boys did was to start a business selling ethically-sourced sandals. They're called 'Gandys' after the father of India's independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi. "He was in all our schoolbooks as kids; he's on all the money over in India; he's famous for wearing his flip flops," says Paul. The entire project was inspired by their parents’ philosophy, their globetrotting childhoods and what happened to them in Sri Lanka. Their parents had previously worked in the fashion industry before quitting their jobs and focusing on humanitarian projects. Thus, Gandys is a very fitting tribute to their lives. Gandys sells flip-flops and donates 10 percent of the profits from every pair sold to orphans around the globe. In conjunction with Gandys, the Forkans also founded Orphans for Orphans, a charitable organization dedicated to helping orphans. They say they can make a profit and do good at the same time: they give 10% of their profit to charity, and have set up their own foundation through which they've been able to open a children's home in Sri Lanka.
This year alone, Gandys has sold 250,000 pairs of flip flops, which is only expected to increase. In 2013, the business made around 1.2 million pounds ($1.8 million). With more profits, more orphans will receive assistance. Hence, it’s safe to say that the Forkan brothers are making their parents very proud.
1.The two brothers left the UK for India because _________.
A. the UK education system is not so good as that of India
B. their parents had humanitarian projects in India
C. the voluntary work in Goa attracted them
D. their parents expected them to grow through travelling
2.We can infer from the passage that _______.
A. the parents had great influence on the two brothers
B. the two brothers were left hopeless after the tsunami
C. their parents died soon after they settled in India
D. the two brothers had a troubled childhood
3.Why did the brothers name their sandals after Gandhi?
A. Because Gandhi wears and sells flip flops.
B. Because Gandhi always helps orphans.
C. Because Gandhi is influential in India.
D. Because Gandhi fits into their lives in India.
4. What can best describe the brothers?
A. Unlucky. B. Modest. C. Generous. D. Ambitious.
5.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Orphans for Orphans
B. Making Parents Proud
C. Gandys: Making Money and Doing Good
D. Rise Up from Tragedy to Success
EVERY few hundred years, a sleeping giant in southern Italy awakens with a bang, spewing volcanic ash across the countryside. The volcano, called Mount Vesuvius, formed 25,000 years ago. During its most explosive eruptions, the volcano could blanket nearby cities with hot ash, sometimes also burying them with deadly flows of mud and rocks. One famous eruption occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, in the year AD 79. It lasted 18 hours and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people as they tried to escape.
Scientists and city officials had supposed that Naples, one of Italy's most populous cities, was far enough away that it would be safe from the volcano's wrath. New evidence suggests that this might not be the case.
Researchers recently discovered 4000-year-old layers of ash and mud under present-day Naples. Just outside the city, they also uncovered abandoned villages, as well as human and animal skeletons. Most surprising of all, the researchers say, was the discovery of thousands of footprints from the same time period, pressed into layers of wet ash that had rained from the sky. The footprints show that thousands of people were fleeing to the northwest, away from the volcano, as it erupted.
Mount Vesuvius hasn't had a major eruption since 1631, but it's still very active. The discovery of the ancient ash layers, skeletons, and footprints is a warning that modern Naples, a city of 3 million people, isn't safe from the volcano, scientists say. So, when the volcano begins to rumble again, Naples should have an emergency evacuation plan ready - just in case.
1.Which of the following is true with Mount Vesuvius?
A. It formed 2,500 years ago.
B. Its latest eruption occurred 2,000 years ago.
C. It is an active, destructive volcano.
D. It is where the city Naples is located.
2.What does the word underlined possibly mean?
A. Path. B. Heat. C. Fear . D. Eruption.
3.The researchers found the new evidence EXCEPT _________.
A. ancient layers of ash and mud
B. animal footprints
C. abandoned villages
D. human skeletons
4.What can we conclude from the passage?
A. City Pompeii has been rebuilt now.
B. City Naples isn’t suitable for living.
C. Mount Vesuvius will not erupt in a hundred years.
D. Mount Vesuvius is a potential danger to Naples.
5.The author of the passage intends to ________.
A. introduce Mount Vesuvius
B. describe the city Naples
C. present new discoveries by researchers
D. propose a plan for escape
Once upon a time, a man punished his 5-year-old daughter for using up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became even more upset 1. on Christmas Eve, he saw that the child had pasted the gold paper so as to decorate a shoebox to put under the Christmas tree.
Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with 2. (excite), brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!"
As he opened the box, the father 3. (embarrass) by his earlier overreaction.
But when he opened it, he found it was empty 4. again he became angry. "Don't you know, young lady, " he said harshly, "when you give someone a present there's supposed to be 5. inside the package!"
The little girl looked up at him with tears 6. (roll) from her eyes and said: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full."
The father was crushed. He fell 7. his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told 8. the father kept that little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems he would open the box, take out 9. imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child 10. had put it there.
Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.
Every year, we catch and kill over 100 million sharks, for food and for their fins. Dried shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which sells for as much as $50 a bowl in fine Hong Kong . Other sharks are killed for sport and out of fear. Sharks are vulnerable(脆弱的) to overfishing because it most species 10 to 15 years to begin reproducing and they produce only a few offspring.
by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the . Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea lions and other marine mammals. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their normal prey, if they are wearing black wet suits.
If you are a typical ocean-goer, your of being killed by an unprovoked （无缘无故的）attack by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.
Sharks help human lives. In addition to providing people with food, they are helping us learn how to cancer, bacteria, and viruses. Sharks are very healthy and have aging processes similar to ours. Their highly effective immune system wounds to heal quickly without becoming infected, and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.
Sharks are among the few animals in the world that almost get cancer and eye cataracts. Understanding why can help us improve human . Chemicals extracted from shark cartilage have killed cancerous tumors in laboratory animals.
1.A. species B. classes C. groups D. names
2.A. greatly B. popularly C. widely D. mostly
3.A. supermarkets B. restaurants C. offices D. companies
4.A. spends B. takes C. costs D. uses
5.A. Impressed B. Moved C. Changed D. Influenced
6.A. story B. truth C. movie D. problem
7.A. injuries B. deaths C. attacks D. causes
8.A. specially B. especially C. mainly D. usually
9.A. chances B. fears C. lives D. percentages
10.A. likely B. frequent C. possible D. lucky
11.A. avoid B. save C. keep D. prevent
12.A. damage B. destroy C. fight D. ruin
13.A. advises B. allows C. forces D. forbids
14.A. never B. seldom C. often D. usually
15.A. analysis B. research C. study D. health
假定你是滨江中学的高二学生李明，母校将为高一新生举办主题为“What to learn in senior high school?”的英语沙龙活动，特邀请你结合自身经历谈谈自己的体会。请根据以下提示准备一份英语发言稿。
1. 学会学习：方法，习惯等； 2. 学会做人：真诚，友善等； 3. 学会其他：考生自拟。
注意：1. 词数100左右； 2. 发言稿开头和结尾已给出，不必抄在答题卡上，不计入总词数。
1.I don’t want to upset you, but I found your menu so limited that I stopped worrying and started __________________ of my food.
2.At the library Wang Peng was surprised to find that his ________________ too much fat and Yong Hui’s far too little.
3.Perhaps with a discount and a new sign he could ____________________.
4.He did not look forward to __________________ because his restaurant was no longer popular.
5.Towards evening, the boat __________________ and the girl jumped into the sea.
6.One afternoon she set out from the coast in a small boat and _______________.
7.__________________ Wang Peng inside. It was full of people. The hostess, a very thin……
8.The one with the money got ________________ that he dropped the bag.
