Students from Florida International University in Miami walked on water Thursday for a class assignment. To do it, they wore aquatic(水上的) shoes they designed and created.
Alex Quinines was the first to make it to the other side of a 175-foot lake on campus in record time — just over a minute. Quinones, who wore oversized boat-like shoes, also won last year and will receive $500. Students had to wear the aquatic shoes and make it across the lake in order to earn an “A” on the assignment for Architecture, Professor Jaime Canaves’ Materials and Methods Construction Class. “It’s traditional in a school of architecture to do boats out of cardboard for a boat race. I thought our students were a little bit more special than that,” Canaves said. “We decided to do the walk on water event to take it to the next level.”
A total of 79 students competed in the race this year in 41 teams. Only 10 teams failed to cross the lake. Others who fell got back up and made it to the end. The race is open to all students and anyone in the community. The youngest person to ever participate was a 9-year-old girl who competed in place of her mother, while the oldest was a 67-year-old female.
A large crowd on campus joined Canaves as he cheered on the races. He shouted encouraging words, but also laughed as some unsteadily made their way to the end.
“A part of this is for them to have more understanding and designing and make it work better,” he said. It is also a lesson in life for the student.
“Anything, including walking on water, is possible, if you do the research, test it and go through the design process seriously.”
1.For what purpose did the students take part in the race?
A. To go across the lake to school.
B. To pass Professor Jaime Canaves’ class.
C. To test their balance on the water.
D. To win the prize money of $500.
2.Which of the following statements is TURE according to the passage?
A. Most students finished the class assignment successfully.
B. The students who fell into the water were criticized seriously by Professor Jaime Canaves.
C. The students wore shoes distributed by Professor Jaime Canaves to walk across the lake.
D. The students took part in the race to challenge their physical abilities.
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Alex Quinines is a top student in the university.
B. It’s a custom for the people in the community to get involved in student activities.
C. The student who made it in to the end in the race would succeed in their professional career.
D. Professor Canaves attaches importance to hands-on learning experience.
4.The purpose of the passage is to .
A. show approval of the unique teaching style
B. inspire teachers to be more creative
C. report an interesting assignment
D. encourage more people to take part in the race
Most people think about donating blood. However, very few actually do it. Even the most consistent ones donate an average of just three to four times during their lifetime. Now the officials in Sweden are trying to change the trend with the help of modern-day technology.
The encouragement to donate again begins shortly after the donor leaves the clinic when he/she receives a “thank you” text. Though that certainly helps them feel appreciated, what is even more pleasing is the text they receive each time their blood is used to help someone in need.
Karolina Wiberg, manager of the Stockholm blood service, believes this small gesture not only results in repeat donors, but helps bring in new ones. The program that was started in Stockholm has received such positive feedback that it is now being rolled out across the country.
However, Swedish officials are not stopping there. They are also encouraging local clinics to publish the exact levels of the different blood groups they have at any given time on their websites. This allows potential donors to realize that their blood can make a difference in saving someone’s life.
While all these outreach(外展服务 ) programs are great, busy citizens, even the ones with the best intentions have to be occasionally reminded. In order to jog their memories, officials ask people for authorization(授权) to send them text, Facebook, and e-mail reminders. Though that may sound disturbing, the citizens do not seem to mind, given that the messages are light-hearted and fun — things like “We won’t give up until you bleed.”
Though Sweden is currently the only country using modern technology to urge more donations, don’t be surprised if more join in, especially if the Nordic country’s blood banks start to overflow!
1.Why is another text sent to blood donors after a “thank you” one?
A. To ask them for authorization.
B. To inform them their blood is used.
C. To remind them to donate blood immediately.
D. To tell them the levels of blood groups.
2.What does “The program” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Publishing information about blood donation.
B. Giving Facebook reminders to citizens.
C. Sending text messages to blood donors.
D. Providing people with blood service.
3.What do people think of blood donation reminders?
A. Disturbing. B. Memorable.
C. Boring. D. Acceptable.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Sweden will stop urging blood donation.
B. Sweden has benefited little from its program.
C. More countries may follow Sweden’s example.
D. Nordic blood banks are in great need of blood.
The phrase “live, love and laugh” was one my cousin Roger lived by every day of his life. Even in his sickness, he found the positive in what some would see as a negative situation. He enjoyed life. He loved to laugh and most importantly, he lived life to the absolute fullest. He loved to travel, learning new things about different people and their culture.
Roger was born and raised in Alabama, and he then moved to Buffalo, New York where he lived for many, many years until he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, his final resting place.
Whether his travels were long visits or short visits, large cities or small towns, his favorite souvenir item was T-shirt. Everywhere he went he would buy a T-shirt to remind him of his travels. Every T-shirt he owned had a story behind it that he would share with others.
As long as he was laughing, living and traveling, he was happy. He loved everybody he came in contact with and everybody loved him. The old saying, “He never met a stranger”, definitely applied to Roger and his life.
His last few years of life were in and out of the hospital at least 10~15 days a month, sometimes more. Two weeks before he passed away, I spoke with him on the phone, and even then he managed to tell jokes about life.
I know he left this world happily; he refused to allow anything or anyone to hold him down, even his severe illnesses. He was definitely a model to look up when it comes to not allowing any situation to keep you from moving forward in life.
I will forever miss his smile and his love for life. My cousin Roger knew the true meaning of the phrase “live, love and laugh”.
1.The author believes that Roger .
A. was a foolish man
B. was rich in spirit
C. had a healthy body
D. pretended to be happy
2.We can learn from the text that Roger .
A. had few good friends
B. was afraid of his illnesses
C. seldom contacted the author
D. was loved by everyone who knew him
3.What the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A. To feel pity for Roger.
B. To encourage readers to help others.
C. To encourage readers to be positive all the time.
D. To show that health is the most important thing.
Do you want to get home from work knowing you have made a real difference in someone’s life?
If yes, don’t care about sex or age! Come and join us, then you will make it!
Position: Volunteer Social Care Assistant
(No Pay with Free Meals)
Place: Manchester
Hours: Part Time
We are now looking for volunteers to support people with learning disabilities to live active lives! Only 4 days left. Don’t miss the chance of lending your warm hands to help others!
Role:
You will provide people with learning disabilities with all aspects of their daily lives. You will help them to acquire new skills. You will help them to protect their rights and their safety. But your primary concern is to let them know they are valued.
Skills and experience required:
You will have the right values and great listening skills. You will be honest and patient. You will have the ability to drive a car and to communicate in fluent written and spoken English since you’ll have to help those people with different learning disabilities. Previous care-related experience will be a great advantage for you.
1.The text is meant to .
A. Leave a note B. send an invitation
C. present a document D. carry an advertisement
2.What does the underlined part mean?
A. You’ll make others’ lives more meaningful with this job.
B. You’ll arrive home just in time from this job.
C. You’ll earn a good salary from this job.
D. You’ll succeed in getting this job.
3.The volunteers’ primary responsibility is to help people with learning disabilities .
A. to get some financial support
B. to properly protect themselves
C. to learn some new living skills
D. to realize their own importance
4.Which of the following can first be chosen as a volunteer?
A. The one who can drive a car.
B. The one who has done similar work before.
C. The one who has patience to listen to others.
D. The one who can use English to communicate.
书面表达
假如你是李华，你的美国朋友Mike给你来信告诉你他要和父母在春节期间到中国度假。想询问有关中国传统节日———春节的情况，请你给他写一封回信向他介绍这个节日和庆祝活动等。（第一句已经给出）
Dear Mike,
I’m glad to know that you are coming to China with your parents and spend Spring Festival here.
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Yours，
Li Hua
短文改错
文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(﹨)划掉。
修改：在错的词下面画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
As a famous saying goes, time is money, which shows the important of time. Time is valuable but limited. When time is gone, they will never come back.
How a pity it is that many of us make poor use of time. We spend much time play games and chatting online. We don’t realize wasting time are equal to a waste of our life. As the result, we will regret having achieved little one day. However, we should get rid the habit of wasting time. Do not put off that what can be done today until tomorrow. Laziness will not only brought us failure, but also lead us to poverty.
