Do’s and Don’ts of Donating
Giving up your unused or unwanted stuff is a great way to make space in your home for the items that you do enjoy on a regular basis. 1.Here are 10 do's and don'ts of donating your belongings.
Do Prep Your Clothes
You've thoroughly cleaned out your closets and drawers, and have a mountain of clothing waiting to be donated．Before you bag up these pieces, inspect each one to ensure that they’re in good condition. Make sure all buttons are accounted for, and that you can't see any stains. 2.
Don’t Donate Damaged Items
The number one rule of donating your stuff is to make sure that it' s in good, useable condition. Don’t pass along clothes or furniture with rips(裂口) or stains, chipped dishes, books that are missing pages, or games with lost pieces. 3.Find a local company that will recycle these items instead.
Do Donate More Than Just Clothes
4. Stuffed animals, framed pictures, unused candles, small power tools, sports equipment, ornaments, baskets, blenders, dishes, glassware, utensils, silverware, pots and pans, curtains, blankets, toasters, mixers, pillows, towels, bed sheets, bikes, and exercise equipment are much sought after donations.
5.
With a little common sense it's easy to figure out items that are ideal for donation．But unfortunately some people will throw away the contents of their home without a second thought. As a gentle reminder, it’s never a good idea to donate car parts, flammable products, construction materials, weapons, or explosives.
A．Nobody wants to inherit your damaged belongings.
B．Food donations are always in need.
C．Don’t Even Think of Donating These Items
D．Not sure where to start?
E．Don’t Donate Large Appliances
F．Clothes aren't the only household items that can be donated．
G．Wash the items to make them fresh and ready for their new owner.
Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers, But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home worked was just heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labors, they would earn as much as￡172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income ￡30, 000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analyzing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week,40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18,it found that ,on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labor, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at ￡48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jibs”, with psychologist（心理学家）a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional（情感的）emand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shoes mothers matter all year long and not just on, Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing（投入）in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.
1.How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?
A. ￡30,000. B. ￡142,000. C. ￡172,000. D. ￡202,000.
2.The biggest challenge for most mothers is from .
A. emotional demand B. low pay for work C. heavy workload D. lack of training
3.What is stressed in the last paragraph?
A. Mothers’ importance shows in family all year long.
B. The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile.
C. Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated.
D. Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return.
4.What can we conclude from the study?
A. Mothers’ working hours should be largely reduced.
B. Mothers should balance their time for work and rest.
C. Mothers’ labor is of a higher value than it is realized.
D. Mothers should be freed from housework for social life.
I felt like I had clicked my heels three times and come to a country away from home every morning as I walked through the doors at the Embassy of Australia in Washington. Musical Aussie accents, and Aboriginal art exhibits made me wonder if I had entered without a visa. In fact I was a temporary employee, a public affairs unpaid intern(实习) for three months during the summer in order to engage myself in the culture of the country where I planned to study the next spring.
During the summer I read the Australian news every day. Working at the embassy allowed me to escape the U.S. for six hours per day and learn about what was going on across the planet. After reading the daily Australian and U.S. news I usually helped prepare a PowerPoint presentation for school kids who visited the embassy as part of a school activity. Depending on whether an embassy event was going on, I would attend weekly meetings to listen in on planning and see what I could do to help. Usually there were smaller tasks to be done such as creating visitors' guides.
The most fantastic event in which I participated was the visit of the Australian prime minister. As the only American among countless Australian media and staff, I felt comfortable and was kept busy taking pictures and recording door-stop interviews at famous sites such as the Capitol. But as an intern, you will not be inside, exposed to top-secret information, when it comes to special events.
Government work is a useful addition to one's experience. As an embassy employee you will gain invaluable knowledge while spending your summer in a culturally diverse workplace.
1.What is the author talking about?
A. Her embassy internship. B. Her trouble in finding a job.
C. Her foreign culture experience. D. Her preparation for future employment.
2.Why was the author in the Embassy of Australia for three months?
A. To apply for a visa. B. To prepare to study in Australia.
C. To record musical Aussie accents. D. To appreciate Aboriginal art exhibits.
3.What was the author forbidden to do when the Australian prime minister visited America?
A. Record door-stop interviews. B. Know top-secret information.
C. Take pictures of special events. D. Stand among the Australian staff.
4.What can we infer about her daily routine at the Embassy?
A. It is tiring. B. It is boring.
C. It is exciting. D. It is relaxing.
Surviving Hurricane Sandy
Natalie Doan,14, has always felt lucky to live in Rockaway, New York. Living just a few blocks from the beach, Natalie can see the ocean and hear the wave from her house. “It’s the ocean that makes Rockaway so special,” she says.
On October 29, 2012, that ocean turned fierce. That night, Hurricane Sandy attacked the East Coast, and Rockaway was hit especially hard. Fortunately, Natalie’s family escaped to Brooklyn shortly before the city’s bridge closed.
When they returned to Rockaway the next day, they found their neighborhood in ruins. Many of Natalie’s friends had lost their homes and were living far away. All around her, people were suffering, especially the elderly. Natalie’s school was so damaged that she had to temporarily attend a school in Brooklyn.
In the following few days, the men and women helping Rockaway recover inspired Natalie. Volunteers came with carloads of donated clothing and toys. Neighbors devoted their spare time to helping others rebuild. Teenagers climbed dozens of flights of stairs to deliver water and food to elderly people trapped in powerless high-rise buildings.
“My mom tells me that I can’t control what happens to me,” Natalie says. “but I can always choose how I deal with it.”
Natalie’s choice was to help.
She created a website page matching survivors in need with donors who wanted to help. Natalie posted introduction about a boy named Patrick, who lost his baseball card collecting when his house burned down. Within days, Patrick’s collection was replaced.
In the coming months, her website page helped lots of kids: Christopher, who received a new basketball; Charlie, who got a new keyboard. Natalie also worked with other organizations to bring much-need supplies to Rockaway. Her efforts made her a famous person. Last April, she was invited to the White House and honored as a Hurricane Sandy Champion of Change.
Today, the scars(创痕)of destruction are still seen in Rockaway, but hope is in the air. The streets are clear, and many homes have been rebuilt. “I can’t imagine living anywhere but Rockaway,” Natalie declares. “My neighborhood will be back, even stronger than before.”
1.When Natalie returned to Rockaway after the hurricane ,she found______.
A. some friends had lost their lives B. her neighborhood was destroyed
C. her school had moved to Brooklyn D. the elderly were free from suffering
2.According to paragraph4,who inspired Natalie most?
A. The people helping Rockaway rebuild
B. The people trapped in high rise building
C. The volunteers donating money to survivors
D. Local teenagers bringing clothing to elderly people
3.How did Natalie help the survivors?
A. She gave her toys to the kids
B. She took care of younger children
C. She called on the White House to help
D. She built an information sharing platform
4.What does the story intend to tell us?
A. Little people can make a big difference B. A friend in need is a friend indeed
C. East or West, home is best D. Technology is power
The following are introductions to some programs that BBC I London will show on TV.
12:25 a.m. Tuesday | The Real Swiss Robinson Family Laura worried that her children have had their life too easy due to her husband’s career in big business, so she decides to take her teenagers to the Cook Islands to experience the simple life. They face storms and a lack of food, but Laura is happy as their local guide shows them the island’s wealth of rare fruits and foods. |
11:00 a.m. Wednesday | Orangutan Diary A Team have come across an armed man who is holding two baby apes who were captures. One of them, David, is sent to a medical emergency in the forest. Later a center director, Nielsen, finds a suitable place to set free more rescued animals. |
7:50 p.m. Thursday | Lost Buildings of Britain Simon Thurley visits the ruins of Glastonbruy Abbey（修道院）,which , before its destruction by Henry VIII, was famous for some of the most amazing stained-glass of its age. It also had a great deal of financial power, acting as the center of an influential business empire. Eventually, it was the king’s envy of the abbey’s wealth that changed the abbey’s fate |
10:35 p.m. Thursday | Nigella Express Nigella presents ideas for impromptu（即兴的）cooking, from new recipes and suggestions for taking advantage of the food you have to make quick, simple and impressive meals. |
1.Why is Laura worried?
A. Her children may not know how to cherish life.
B. Her husband faces difficulties in his business.
C. Storms are approaching her hometown.
D. Life on the Cook Islands is too simple.
2.Jim enjoys TV programmes of people or organizations that take care of animals. He should probably watch TV at ________.
A. 10:35 p.m. on Thursday B. 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday
C. 7:50 p.m. on Thursday D. 12:25 a.m. on Tuesday
3.We can learn from the text that ________.
A. Nielsen is an animal-lover
B. Henry VIII set up a business empire in the Abbey
C. David is a farmer
D. Glastonbury Abbey is famous today for its stained-glass
假如你是李华，你的美国笔友Bill来信询问你的家乡是否有雾霾天气，情况如何。请按下面提示写一封电子邮件，开头已给出。
介绍情况：
1．最近发生数次雾霾天气；
2．人们已经认识到雾霾天气的危害，正采取各种举措减少其发生；
3．你自己为此做了什么或打算做什么。
注意：词数1 00个左右。
参考词汇：雾霾：smog
Dear Bill,
I'm glad to receive your letter. Thank you for your caring for the weather and my health. Now I’d like to tell you something about the smog.
