When we hear of dangerous diseases, cancer and heart disease are often what first comes to mind． Recently, a virus (病毒) called Ebola has reappeared in Guinea (a country in West Africa), killing 62 people so far． It leads to viral hemorrhagic fever, which is characterized by high fever and internal bleeding etc, Ebola can kill 90% of those infected, especially in underdeveloped societies like those in Africa.
Ebola is named after the Ebola River, where it was first discovered in 1976．There are five different types of the Ebola virus, each named after where they first happened: Sudan, Ivory Coast, Restoon, Bundibugyo, and Zaire．The deadliest of the five, Zaire, was responsible for the 2012 outbreak, and is believed to be attacking Guinea.
Ebola is naturally found in fruit bats (果蝠), which pass on the virus to other animals by biting or sucking on (吮吸) their blood．Humans who are suffering from the Ebola infection might have touched the bodily fluids (液体) of the infected animals．Once infected, a human becomes a carrier of the deadly virus.
Since we live in an interconnected world, where the situation in one country can affect us all, the influences of Ebola are huge: damaging trade relations, affecting foreign visitors, and weakening entire countries．Already the Guinea virus is spreading fast with a few cases spotted in Conakry — the capital of Guinea, far away from the origin of the virus．It is feared that the disease may have already reached neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, too.
Unfortunately, there are no disease-specific treatments for Ebola．Healthcare workers only supply the infected people with water to keep them in good condition．Since there have been many cases of nurses catching the disease from patients, they are forced to wear strict protective clothes, and in some cases, not even allowed to get close to the affected．The fact that there is no cure for the Ebola virus is what makes the outbreak a challenging one to control.
1.The news of Ebola in Guinea is mentioned to ________.
A． make a brief summary
B． introduce the topic of the text
C． compare Ebola with cancer
D． show the latest study of viruses
2.What can we learn about Ebola?
A． It is a newly discovered virus.
B． It is the most dangerous virus in the world.
C． It was named after where it first happened.
D． It could cause immediate death for anyone infected.
3.What is mainly described in Paragraph 3?
A． What the Ebola virus is.
B． The influences of Ebola.
C． The treatments for Ebola.
D． How the Ebola virus spreads.
4.Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
A． Ebola is a highly infectious virus.
B． Ebola is now very common in Guinea.
C． Those with a fever must be infected by Ebola.
D． Females are more easily to be infected by Ebola.
We need a logo that will be the perfect symbol of our new Wheelsville Skate Park． We would like those of you who are counting the days until the opening of the park to design a proper logo.
LOGO REQUIREMENTS
▪Designs must be original and easy to recognize.
▪They should include no more than two colors in addition to black and white.
▪Artwork should be reproducible at different sizes from business cards to posters.
▪The words “ Wheelsville Skate Park” must appear in the logo.
SUBMISSION (提交) DETAILS
▪Competitors are required to be 18 years old or younger.
▪There is no limit to the number of submissions.
▪The name and address of the designer must appear on the back of the logo design.
▪Competitors need to include a one-page written explanation describing the key features of the design.
▪All submissions sent to Wheelsville Skate Park will not be returned.
▪All works must be sent to skateman4x@comlink.com no later than May 15.
▪Files (文件) should be .jpg, .gif, .png, .pict, or Photoshop files.
▪The winning design will be posted on our website at www.wheelsville.skatepark.com on May 20, one week before the opening celebration.
PRIZES
▪First Prize: Digital camera, one-year pass to Wheelsville Skate Park, and two T-shirts with the prize-winning logo.
▪Second Prize: Six-month pass to Wheelsville Skate Park and a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo.
▪Honorable Mention: One free ticket to Wheelsville Skate Park and a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo to two competitors from grades 6–8, and two from grades 9–12.
JUDGES
▪Among the judges are a professional designer, two technology teachers, four local skaters, and three members of Wheelsville Skate Park Board of Directors.
▪The judges’ decisions are final.
1.In Paragraph 1, the underlined part “ counting the days” suggests a feeling of ________.
A． nervousness
B． amusement
C． excitement
D． uncertainty
2.Why does the following logo design show a misunderstanding of the rules?
A． It does not use the full park name.
B． It is not as big as it is expected.
C． It does not use three colors.
D． It just shows a skateboard.
3.As the top winner of the activity, you may ________.
A． win a camera and a free ticket to the park
B． get a T-shirt with your own photo on it
C． visit the park free of charge for one year
D． receive a half-a-year pass to the park
4.The text is probably a(n) ________.
A． news report
B． advertisement
C． lesson plan
D． travel guide
Harry potter and The Hunger Games haven’t been big hits for nothing．Lots of teens still read quite a lot．But a study shows a clear decrease over time．Nearly half of 17-year-olds say they read for pleasure no more than one or two times a year．That’s way down from ten years ago.
The digital revolution (革命) means there are more platforms (平台) than ever to read on．Jim Steyer has been studying the effect of technology on children．He has four kids and has seen the trend most with his 16-year-old．“I start to see it in our 10-year-old as well, because he is reading less and less, and more and more attracted to some of the digital media platforms that he has access to, and that he didn’t have access to when he was 6 or 7 years old,” he says.
The studies don’t say that kids are reading less because they’re spending more time online．But Steyer is convinced that’s at least part of the answer.
“First of all, most children now have access to e-readers, or other smart electronic devices like phones and tablets (平板电脑),” he says．“ And they’re spending time on that．Many reports show the increasing use of new technology platforms by kids．It just strikes me as extremely logical that that’s a big reason.
Researchers want to know more about how teens are spending their time in the digital age．But Kathryn Zickuhr of the Pew Research Center says it’s tricky．If a kid is looking at a book, you may think he or she is reading．But when it comes to looking at a smartphone or tablet, who knows?
“We’ve heard from middle and high school teachers that sometimes the Internet is wonderful for enthusiastic students to do deep research,” says Zickuhr．“But on the other side, obviously there are many distractions on the Internet.”
However, Jim Steyer says, “Kids with parents who read, who buy or take books out of the library for their kids, and who then set time aside in their kids’ daily schedule for reading, tend to read the most — whether it’s on a book, an e-book or some other devices.”
1.What did Jim Steyer see in his four kids?
A． They tend to read more on electronic devices.
B． They created their own digital media platform.
C． They improved their reading on electronic devices.
D． They have become more addicted to digital media.
2.What statement may Kathryn Zickuhr agree to?
A． Kids are easily distracted on the Internet.
B． Most kids pretend to be doing online reading.
C． Most kids like to read on a smartphone or tablet.
D． Kids rarely use the Internet to do serious research.
3.The last paragraph suggests that ________.
A． parents need to spare time to read for kids
B． parents should make a reading plan for kids
C． parents can do a lot to encourage more reading
D． parents working in a library tend to read the most
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A． What books do teens like to read the most?
B． Why aren’t teens reading like they used to?
C． How can teens read on electronic platforms?
D． When will teens turn to books for fun again?
I am usually in a bad mood after a long day at work, but on this particular Friday afternoon I was in a high mood．I planned to have a good meal and watch Bridget Jones’s Diary.
My local supermarket is always busy．The first parking space I spotted was convenient, but I’d noticed a woman in an old car circling for a while．I let her have it．On the edge of the car park I backed into the next available spot — it was a tight fit.
In record time I’d made my way through the supermarket and was back in the fresh air．In a rush of good spirits, I emptied my purse change into the hands of a homeless man and helped a struggling woman reverse (倒车) into a parking space.
Just as I spotted my car, I saw the woman I’d let have my car spot earlier．I smiled and wished her a pleasant day.
As I got back into my car, I spotted the same lady looking in at me．“ Hello,” she said, hesitantly (犹豫地)．“ This might sound crazy but I was on my way to drop some of my mother’s things off at the charity bins.” I looked quickly at the orange bins in the corner of the parking lot, confused．“ I saw you helping those people, and you seemed so happy．My mom had a dress just like that.”
She looked at me meaningfully．I smiled at her in encouragement, hoping she wouldn’t notice that the dress she was admiring was now full of holes．“ I was going to give these away, but you are just so much like her.” She passed a box in through the window．Shocked, unthinking, I took it automatically (无意识地)．“ I think she would like you to have it.” She smiled and walked away.
After a pause, I opened the box．Inside was a beautiful gold necklace．It was the nicest gift I’d ever received, and it was from a complete stranger.
Later, I thought back on the day．I didn’t feel the usual sense of exhaustion．The necklace was around my neck, a warm reminder of human kindness. 
1.This Friday afternoon, the author ________.
A． watched a new movie
B． had trouble parking her car
C． was in the mood to help others
D． spent a long time in the supermarket
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the author?
A． She was not very wealthy actually.
B． She considered her dress beautiful.
C． She had met the lady’s mum.
D． She was living on charity.
3.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?
A． Success leads to happiness．
B． Good is rewarded with good.
C． Two heads are better than one.
D．A friend in need is a friend indeed.
— Let’s go and have a good drink tonight.
— ________ Have you got the first prize in the competition?
A． Thanks a lot． B． What for?
C． Yes, I’d like to． D． Why not?
考点：词组／短语
— Jessie, it’s a pity you didn’t go shopping online on Nov.11th．It was really fantastic!
— Really? If I ________ so busy, I would have shopped for fun too.
A． shouldn’t be B． weren’t
C． hadn’t been D． wouldn’t be
