You may not have heard of Ashoka, but for the past 27 years, this association, founded by Bill Drayton, has fought poverty (贫穷)and sickness, promoted education and encouraged small businesses. To support these worthy causes, Ashoka provides money for the world's most promising "changemakers" seeking to solve (解决) urgent problems and would like to create a world in which every citizen is a changemaker.
Drayton believes that anyone can become an agent for change. The important thing is to simply give yourself permission. If you see a problem that you care about, you can help solve it. The young in particular are willing to accept this concept because at heart every child wants to grow into a happy, healthy, contributing adult. In fact, it is many young people's ambition to set up programmes or businesses that improve social conditions. An excellent example is an Ashoka project started in 1995 in Dhaka, which handled the rubbish problem facing the city , helped local farmers and provided an income for poor people there .
When Masqsood and Iftekhar began to study the problem of all the uncollected rubbish that lay in Dhaka’s streets, Attracting tats and disease , they discovered that 80% of it was natural waste . So they educated the poor people in the city to compost (把……制成堆粪)this waste . They knew that they would have a market for the end product because local farmers were struggling with chemical ferntilisers (化肥) which were expensive and had reduced the natural minerals in the soil over the years . At first , they were refused , but once they were able to persuade them that there was money to be made , the project took off. In 2009 sales were $14,000.
Drayton is optimistic that in ten years Ashoka will be making really serious, practical progress in bringing about social change by changing the way we look at economic development.
1.Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
A. Changemakers B. Businessmen
C. Social Conditions D.Rubbish Problem
2.The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to" ______ "
A. the local farmers
B. Masqsood and Iftekhar
C. Drayton and his team
D. the poor people in Dhaka
3.It can be concluded from the passage that anyone can become a changemaker if he ______ .
A. considers Drayton's concept
B. gets permission from Ashoka
C. tries to improve social conditions
D. is a young, happy and healthy adult
4.The authors attitude towards Ashoka's program can be described as ________.
A. changing B. forgiving
C. cautious D. positive
Scientists in Mexico have just begun a new study of one of the world’s biggest pyramids: the Pyramid of the Sun, north of Mexico City. They’re putting lots of small, high-tech machines under the pyramid to try to unlock some of its secrets. For thousands of years, people have tried to uncover the secrets of the pyramids.
The people who built the pyramids made lots of secret doors and rooms to stop robbers from finding the treasures inside. However, there always have been some smart thieves in history. Now, almost all of Egypt’s pyramids have been robbed, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest pyramid in the world. It is the only one of the ancient wonders of the world that is still standing.
In AD 820, an Arab king named Abdullah AL Manum got a group of workers to dig their way into the Great Pyramid and have a look. Inside the pyramid, they found three rooms --- the Queen’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery and the King’s Chamber. But to their surprise, the men didn’t find the treasures they wanted. The Queen’s and King’s Chambers were both empty! Where were the King’s mummy and his treasures? Had someone already taken them away? The huge stone doors at the pyramid’s entrance were still closed when AL Manum’s men went inside. How had the thieves got in and out?
Since then, many people have gone inside the Great Pyramid to have a look or to try to take things. But still, no other chambers or walkways have been found.
In 2002, an American team made the most recent visit to the Great Pyramid. Scientists sent a robot into the pyramid, but they only found a mysterious locked stone door.
1.The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.
A．the Pyramid of the Sun is an unusual historic building
B．ancient Egyptian emperors were cruel
C．construction workers led a hard life in ancient Egypt
D．the secrets of the pyramids remain to be uncovered
2.Which of the following is NOT true to the Great Pyramid of Khufu?
A．It is the largest pyramid in the world.
B．It is the only one of the ancient wonders that is still standing.
C．Abdullah AL Manum took the King’s mummy and his treasures away.
D．Scientists found a mysterious locked stone door to the Great Pyramid.
3. What would be the best title for the text?
A．The Pyramid of the Sun
B．The Great Pyramid of Khufu
C．A Mysterious Locked Stone Door
D．Unlocking the Doors of History
Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances. Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to cope with major life changes and daily hassles (困难). People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, reveal that the presence of social support helps people fend off (挡开) illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives, and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support—financial aid, material resources, and needed services—that reduces stress by helping us resolve and cope with our problems.
1.Research shows that people’s physical and mental health ________.
A. relies on the social welfare systems which support them
B. has much to do with the amount of support they get from others
C. depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles
D. is closely related to their strength for coping with major changes in their lives
2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “cushions”in paragraph 2?
A. adds up to.
B. does away with.
C. lessens the effect of.
D. Lays the foundation for.
3.Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work is an example of ________.
A. instrumental support
B. informational support
C. social companionship
D. the strengthening of self-respect
4.Social companionship is beneficial in that ________.
A. it helps strengthen our ties with relatives
B. it enables us to eliminate our faults and mistakes
C. it makes our leisure-time activities more enjoyable
D. it draws our attention away from our worries and troubles
If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe(衣柜) packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; necklines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability(耐用). They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.
1.To the writer, the fact that women alter their old-fashioned dresses is seen as______.
A. a waste of money B. a waste of time
C. an expression of taste D. an expression of creativity
2.The writer would be less critical if fashion designers placed more stress on the _______ of clothing.
A. cost B. appearance
C. comfort D. suitability
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.
B. The constant changes in women's clothing reflect their strength of character.
C. The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.
D. Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.
4.By saying "the conclusions to be drawn are obvious" the writer means that ______.
A. women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at
B. women are better able to put up with discomfort
C. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers
D. men are more stable and reliable in character
背诵填空，一空一词
1.As a , I eat; as a man, I read.
2.Similarly, to our minds, we need information and knowledge, which can be through reading.
3.Worrying and sleep can lead to failure in tests or exams, which is a big problem for many students.
4.When we difficulties in life, we notice that some of us choose to their heads in the sand.
5.Life is a between work and relaxation.
语法填空
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
My family spent a few weeks in London last year. We went there in the autumn. We think it is the best season to visit England. The weather is usually quite good and there are not too many 1. (travel) in October.
We stayed at 2. small hotel in the West End. We did most of our sightseeing 3. foot. We went to look at the places 4. all travelers would like to see. We went shopping and spent too much money 5. (buy) a lot of things. What we liked most was going to the theater. We didn’t have the chance to see such wonderful plays at home. A lot of people say English restaurants are very bad. We didn’t think so. It is true 6. most of the restaurants are French, Italian, or Chinese, 7. Britain had some very delicious meals.
In fact, we enjoyed our holiday so much that we have already decided 8. (go) there again next year. And we 9. (take) our umbrellas. I’m sure we’ll need 10. sometimes.
