I was raised in New York City where it’s very cold every winter. In the sixth grade, a teacher offered 1.(bring) some students to a homeless shelter after school. I went with my friends and the teacher for several weeks.2., I continued to volunteer to help when they stopped going together. Because I was good 3.sewing, I was told to help out with the sewing kit when any guests needed some repairs. Throughout high school I continued to come each week after school, setting up my sewing kit which4.(grow) larger and larger. I got to know the guests who came 5.(regular).
Later on, I started 6.sewing club with my friend and we taught 7.(we) fellow students how to sew. We made heart-shaped pillows for sick 8.(child) and the elderly. Every time it rained I would think about the umbrellas 9.(design) before. In the future I hope to continue helping others as much as I can. It is the most important thing I10.(do) ever since.
Terror attacked the heart of the World War I soldier，as he saw his lifelong friend falling in the battle．Caught in a trench（战壕）with________gunfire whizzing（飕飕地移动）over his head，the soldier asked his__________if he might go out into the “No Man's Land” between the trenches to bring his_______ partner back．
“You can go，”said the officer，“but I don't think it will be worth it．Your friend is___________dead and you may throw your own___________away．”
The officer's words didn't__________to him，and the soldier went anyway. Surprisingly he _______ to reach his friend，lift him onto his_________，and bring him back to their own trench．As the two of them _______in together to the bottom of the trench，the officer____________the wounded soldier，and then looked kindly at his friend ．
“I told you it wouldn't be worth it，” he said．“Your friend is dead，and you are terribly wounded．”
“It was worth it，________，sir，” the soldier said．
“What do you mean by ‘worth it’?” _________the officer．“Your friend is dead!” “Yes sir，” the soldier answered．“But it was worth it because when I got to him，he was still ________，and I had the _______of hearing him say，‘Jim，I knew you'd come．’
Many a time in________，whether a thing is worth doing or not really depends on__________you look at it．Take up all your__________and do something your__________tells you to do so that you may not_______ doing it later in life．May each and every one of you be blessed with the company of_________friends．
1.A. bright B. dusty C. continuous D. loose
2.A. partner B. officer C. reporter D. brother
3.A. grateful B. forgetful C. selfless D. helpless
4.A. probably B. personally C. exactly D. entirely
5.A. work B. life C. gun D. friendship
6.A. matter B. agree C. escape D. succeed
7.A. tried B. decided C. planned D. managed
8.A. hands B. head C. shoulder D. legs
9.A. trapped B. fell C. jumped D. competed
10.A. checked B. recovered C. persuaded D. transported
11.A. although B. then C. while D. anyhow
12.A. advised B. warned C. responded D. ordered
13.A. alive B. afraid C. affected D. amazed
14.A. reality B. satisfaction C. responsibility D. experience
15.A. life B. battles C. nature D. society
16.A. what B. how C. when D. why
17.A. attention B. fear C. courage D. money
18.A. expression B. friend C. character D. heart
19.A. forget B. remember C. regret D. determine
20.A. true B. straight C. generous D. native
Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it’s easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight:
﹡Schedule yearly exams. 1. Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eyeglasses.
﹡Protect against UV rays (紫外线). Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it’s extremely important to wear sunglasses. 2.
﹡Give your eyes a break. Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products. 3. Experts recommend that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.
﹡4. As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.
﹡Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses (隐形眼镜). Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk. 5. Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.
A. Eat your greens.
B. Eye care should begin early in life.
C. They can properly protect your eyes.
D. Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.
E. Parents usually don’t care about their own eyesight.
F. Always follow the doctor’s advice for appropriate wear.
G. This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness.
New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple will get to ring in the Lunar New Year，also known as Chinese New Year in the U．S．，in style with a fireworks display on the Hudson River set to music written by Academy Award﹣winning composer Tan Dun．
The display is part of the second annual"Happy Chinese New Year：Fantastic Art China"festival held in New York on February 5﹣10，2016．The China Central Academy of Fine Arts （CAFA），the U．S．﹣China Cultural Institute and the Cultural Associate of the Committee of 100announced this year's events on November 18at a press conference at the Lincoln Center．
The"Fantastic Art China"festival will feature a larger and more diverse series of artistic and cultural events across New York's top cultural venues （地点） and landmarks，including the Lincoln Center，Empire State Building and Jacob K．Javits Convention Center．
This year's theme focuses on exploring the complicated relationship between sound and image，said Professor Yu Ding from CAFA，who is also president of Fantastic Art China and in charge of the festival's design．Lunar New Year，which celebrates the"Year of the Monkey"in 2016，is an opportunity to bring China's modern art to mainstream America，and the festival serves as an innovative approach to establishing cultural exchange between China and New York City，Yu said．
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun's music is a new edition that will be featured at several venues，including a major art exhibition at the Javits Center，events at the Lincoln Center and the fireworks display on the Hudson，which will take place on the evening of February 6．Five barges （游艇） on the river will launch the fireworks designed by CAFA that will tell a story about celebration and conservation．
"We Chinese are fond of nature，so the best way to celebrate the Lunar New Year is to salute with the sounds of nature，such as sounds of water，stone and bamboo，"said Tan Dun at the press conference，"And it will be fun to use the music of water during the firework display．"
In addition to the fireworks，a special lighting show at the Empire State Building will illuminate New York City during the holiday．
Chinese New Year is being recognized as a public school holiday for the first time in New York．Children from the National Dance Institute，which represents 75schools，will perform traditional Chinese dances at the Lincoln Center and the Javits Center．And，in celebration of the"Year of the Monkey"events will feature a conservation message about the endangered golden monkey in China．
1.The theme of this year's celebration is centered on ．
A. diversity of Chinese traditional festivals
B. relationship between sound and image of nature
C. endangered species and environment protection
D. cultural exchange between China and America
2.The coming"Year of the Monkey"is to be celebrated in New York by ．
A. sailing on the Hudson River along with a new﹣year speech
B. holding a special concert at the Empire State Building
C. setting off fireworks and holding a special lighting show
D. taking a week off and organizing Chinese dance contests
3.What does the underlined word"illuminate"（in Para.7）most probably mean？
A. Lighten． B. Surround．
C. Decorate． D. Broaden．
4.This passage is written mainly in order to ．
A. compare some traditional festivals in China and America
B. attract visitors to America for the coming new﹣year celebration
C. strengthen the cultural co﹣operation between China and America
D. report celebration activities for the"Year of the Monkey"in New York．
In many countries, schools have long summer holidays, with shorter holidays in between. However, a new report suggests shortening school holidays to stop children forgetting what they have learnt during the long summer break. Instead of three school terms, it says, there should be five eight-week terms. And there should be just four weeks off in the summer, with a two-week break between the other terms.
Sonia Montero has two children at primary school and works full-time. She supports the idea. “The kids,” she says, “have much longer holidays than me and I can’t afford to take several weeks off work, so I need someone to take care of them. But nobody wants the work in the summer months — they all have holidays of their own.”
Not surprisingly, some young people disagree. Student Jason Panos says “It’s a stupid idea. I would hate staying at school in the summer. It’s unfair, too. The people who suggest this had long school holidays when they were young, but now they want to stop us enjoying the summer. The kids in Spain and America have much longer holidays than here, but they don’t forget everything they’ve learnt in a few months.”
Nadia Salib agrees. “Sure,” she says, “the first week at school after the summer is never easy, but you soon get back into it. The real problem round here is that kids get bored after so many weeks out of school, and then some of them start causing trouble. But the answer is to give them something to do, not make everyone stay in school longer.”
1.Why is Sonia in support of shorter school holidays?
A. She doesn’t get any summer holidays in her job.
B. She is worried that her children will forget what they’ve learnt.
C. She can’t afford to pay someone to look after her children.
D. She can’t get anyone to look after her children in summer.
2.What does Jason say about long summer holidays?
A. They can help children forget about school.
B. Schools in other countries don’t have them.
C. These days many older people have them too.
D. They have little influence on children’s education.
3.What does Nadia say about young people on summer holidays?
A. They would like to spend more time at school.
B. Long holidays are very bad for their education.
C. They need something to do to enrich themselves.
D. Long holidays should be shortened to stop them causing trouble.
4.Which of the following statements best explains the text?
A. It has been decided that summer holidays should be shortened.
B. Students are angry that school holidays have been changed.
C. Some people want to change school holidays but not everyone agrees.
D. Teenagers are worried that they will be busy during summer holidays.
“Beating is a sign of affection, cursing (骂)is a sign of love.”
Many may not expect to hear the words of the old Chinese saying in these modern times—with parents wealthier and better educated than they have ever been—but experts say they still ring true.
Today, it seems, Chinese parents are more likely to send their children to precollege military academies in the United States in the hope that some tough love will pave the way to success.
“Good education doesn’t mean letting your children enjoy privileges, especially our boys.” said Song Wenming, an entrepreneur (企业家)in Jinhua’ East China’s Zhejiang province. “They should be raised in tough conditions to know what to fight for in the future.”
In August, Song sent his 17yearold son to Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA) in Pennsylvania. And he is far from alone, even though it takes a lot of money—around $48,000 per year—to send a child to a strict military school.
Statistics show that an increasing number of Chinese students have been registering with such academies.
A few years ago, there were no Chinese students at Valley Forge. Today, there are 28.“All of the Chinese students at Valley Forge came from wealthy families; some of them were spoiled.” said Jennifer Myers, director of marketing and communications at the school.
Song’s only son, Song Siyu, had a rocky start during his first six weeks at the school. The teenager said he went to the school voluntarily but did not expect it to be as difficult.
Now, three months later, he has perfected the art of taking a bath in 35 seconds, finishing a meal without looking at his food, and making his bed with precision. He can even take criticism, no matter how unreasonable.
“The training is hard but I know it is good for selfdevelopment of individuals.” said Song Siyu. “The endless training and scolding are just ways to build up our character; they are not personal.”
But his enthusiasm is not universal. Ten of the 13 Chinese students who joined the academy this year have transferred to other schools.
But for those who stick with it, there is a reward for all the hard work.
1.From the second paragraph, we can know the old Chinese saying ________ .
A. is out of date in modern times
B. is disagreed by rich parents
C. is still worth trusting
D. is deeply believed by better educated parents
2.The underlined sentence means that _________.
A. Song sent his only son to military school，so he feels lonely
B. Song is the only one who sends his child to military school
C. there are other people sending their children to military school besides Song
D. the fee of the military school is so high that only Song can afford it
3.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. It's likely that more and more Chinese students will attend VFMA.
B. Most Chinese parents approve of educating their children by beating and cursing nowadays.
C. Song Siyu had no difficulty in adjusting to the life at VFMA.
D. Most Chinese students support the way of education at VFMA.
