How Helping Others Helps You
Volunteering has a positive effect on your community.1. Volunteering can help you learn more about yourself and even put you on a path to your future career. Learn more about the reasons to volunteer below.
Gain valuable life experiences and skills.
Whether you build houses for the homeless or mail flyers for a local politician, you can experience the real world through hands-on work. 2.
Meet interesting people.
3.No matter what groups of people you’re working with, you’ll find that they have information and ways of looking at the world that can broaden your horizons.
Get academic credit.
Some high schools offer academic credit for volunteer work through service learning. 4.To find out if your school offers service learning, talk to your school counselor.5.
It’s eye-opening(令人瞠目的) to realize that doing even small things can have a big impact on others. Rhea, a college sophomore(大二学生), still remembers a visit she made to a senior home with a choir when she was in middle school. “An elderly man in a wheelchair looked up at me and said in a gravelly(粗哑的) voice, “You’ve made my day. This means so much.”She recalls, “No one had ever thanked me in such a way for doing something so small, and a stranger no less!”
A. Make a difference.
B. It’s good for you too.
C. It can help you learn more about yourself.
D. Giving back to your community is valuable in itself.
E. And you can explore your major or career interests at the same time.
F. It’s a program that offers hands-on learning through service to the community.
G. Both the people you are helping and your fellow volunteers can give you new understanding.
Internet data shows that younger adults have become the main audience crazy about changing their appearance. Once the world of the female in her fifties, plastic surgery(整形手术) has become the focus of the younger Internet users.
The recent death of Stephanie Kuleba, an 18-year-old high school cheerleader who died as a result of plastic surgery, brought our attention to the fashion of becoming a more “ideal” body among teenagers. In fact, search data confirms this phenomenon. One of the most popular sites visited from the search term “plastic surgery” is the official site of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (www. plastic surgery. org). Over 25% of the visitors, which is up from 19.6% two years ago, fell within the 18 to 24 years old.
Plastic surgery has become an American obsession (痴迷). Checking other countries, such as the UK and Australia, the 18 to 24-year-old’s being interested in plastic surgery is an obvious US phenomenon. Unlike the other groups who visit sites related to diseases and keeping healthy, younger Internet users rush to sites that deal with personal appearance, such as those focused on body-building, weight loss and skin-care, and obviously plastic surgery.
While television on surgery may be driving the interest of a younger audience, one factor appears to be a key in preventing such teens from changing their bodies: the failing U.S. economy. There has been a decline in all plastic surgery topics over the last year. While older age continue to search for information on procedures such as liposuction(抽脂), it’s younger Internet users who in tough econ
omic times are focusing on improving their outer beauty, though at a discount price.
1.Why does the author mention the death of the 18-year-old cheerleader?
A. To show cheerleaders pay more attention to their appearance.
B. To warn people that plastic surgery is not as safe as it is said to be.
C. To prove the fact that people will pursue beauty at any cost.
D. To draw attention to the issue of young people having plastic surgery.
2.While young people are surfing on the Internet, they are very interested in____________.
A. how to be physically and mentally healthy.
B. how to make themselves look young.
C. how to prevent and cure diseases.
D. how to have more attractive appearance.
3.What may affect young people’s decision on whether to have plastic surgery?
A. The safety of the operation
B. The total expense of the surgery.
C. The need for having the operation.
D. The results of the surgery.
Getting ripped off from time to time is just part of traveling---don’t let it ruin your day or your overall experience. But there are things you can do to avoid some of the most common rip-offs. Let me share my travel tips for how to avoid hidden fees, disappointed experiences and overpriced items.
Baggage Fees
Depending upon the airline, you can pay $15 to $75 for the first checked bag, and more for overweight bags. When possible, pack a bag lightly enough to a carry-on or fly airlines that still allow free checked bags(two bags for Southwest and one for JetBlue). Many airline programs allow members with a high status to have a free checked bag, so check your status.
Overpriced Hotel and Airport Food
To avoid the overpriced water sold at airports, bring an empty water bottle with you through security at the airport. Then, fill it up at a water fountain or ask a waiter at a coffee shop to fill it up for you. Pick up some snacks at a local corner store instead of hitting the hotel room mini bar, which can lead to expensive surprises on your final bill.
Tourist Trap Restaurants
If you’re visiting a restaurant or attraction that has online presence, Google it or search it on Yelp to see what the locals say about it and to find any available coupons(优惠券) that might get some extra savings. Often restaurants run deals on Yelp where if you “check in” at that restaurant and review it, you get a free dessert or 15% off the total bill, etc. By researching online, you’ll not only see whether there are any coupons or extra savings available, but people will tell you if the chef changed a month ago and the food is awful now.
1.To have a free checked bag, you shall not_______.
A. take a light carry-on B. have a high status
C. take overweight bags D. choose Southwest Airlines
2.If you want to drink free water at an airport, you can______.
A. take a bottle of water through security
B. go to a water fountain
C. go to a store at the airport
D. order a coffee at a coffee shop
3.The passage is probably written by______.
A. a travel agent
B. an economical person
C. an experienced traveler
D. a skilled net-worker
Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes.“Shoes convey useful information about their wearers，”the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality.
Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style，cost，color and condition of someone's shoes. In the study，63 University of Kansas researchers looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants. Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes，and then filled out a personality questionnaire.
Some of the results were expected：People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes，and flashier shoes were typically worn by outgoing peopl
e. However，some of the more specific results are strange enough. For example，“practical and functional”shoes were generally worn by more“pleasant”people，while ankle boots were more linked with“aggressive”personalities. The strangest of all may be that those who wore“uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities. And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take extreme care of them，you may suffer from“attachment anxiety”，spending lots of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance. There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal(主张变革的)types wearing“shabbier and less expensive” shoes.
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personalities，but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were showing the deep side of their personalities.
1.What does this text mainly tell us?
A. Shoes can hide people's real personalities.
B. Shoes convey false information about the wearer.
C. People's personalities can be judged by their shoes.
D. People know little about their personalities.
2.The participants were asked to__________________.
A. provide pictures of their shoes
B. look at pictures of different shoes
C. design a personality questionnaire
D. hand in their commonly worn shoes
3.Which of the results is beyond people's expectation?
A. Wealthy people often wear expensive shoes.
B. Pleasant people like wearing uncomfortable shoes.
C. Aggressive people are likely to wear ankle boots.
D. Flashier shoes are typically worn by outgoing people.
4.People suffering from “attachment anxiety” tend to_______________ .
A. wear strange shoes B. worry about their appearance
C. have a calm character D. become a political leader
5.The author wrote the text in order to_____________ .
A. inform us of a new study
B. introduce a research method
C. teach how to choose shoes
D. describe different personalities
Olympic gold medalist Morolake Akinosun walked through the halls of her high school in Illinois in the US, surprised at how little had changed at her old high school other than the green color on the walls.
Akinosun won her medal with the 400-meter relay team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer. Her return to her high school recently included a chance for the young woman to tell what she’s learned since running track for Wsubonsie more than fours year ago.
Her first piece of advice to the crowd of students was asking them to listen to their parents. “ They see things you can't see,” she said. “ In high school I thought I was on the top of the world.”
In Akinosun’s case, her parents encouraged her to consider going to the University of Illinois, which at the time had a team that was coached by Olympic medal winner Tonja Buford-Bailey. “ I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents,” she said.
Her parents saw Buford-Bailey as a good fit to coach their daughter, something Akinosun said she didn’t understand at the time. It didn’t take long, however, for her to see they were right and she ended up following Buford-Bailey to the University of Texas at Austin when the coach took a job there. Akinosun admitted it was three years before she told her parents they were right.
Becoming an excellent athlete who can take part in the Olympics needs serious dedication. She says her success came from viewing herself as an athlete-student instead of a student-athlete.
“I always put track and field first, and then comes school,” Akinosun said. A social life comes last.“It’s about sacrifices(牺牲). You can’t be on the track team unless you’re chosen,” she added.
Making athletics the most important thing in her life meant devoting her time and energy fully, no matter how she might feel on a given day. “ I never missed a training session (环节) in my four years in college,” she said. “It’s my job; it’s what I do. Think about that when you want to sleep in.”
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Akinosun according to the article?
A. She was a big fan of Buford-Bailey in high school.
B. She make up her mind to win Olympic gold medals in high school.
C. She still doesn’t want to admit that her parents helped her a lot.
D. She is thankful to her parents for finding her the right coach.
2.According to Akinosun, she became a successful athlete because ______.
A. she had great confidence in herself.
B. she always put training before anything else.
C. she was pushed by her coach to train hard.
D. she could keep a good balance between school and training.
3.The underlined word “dedication” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. a strong desire B. knowing oneself
C. a clear purpose D. devoting her time and energy fully
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. How Akinosun spent her high school years.
B. The story of Akinosun’s success.
C. Being an athlete is not easy.
D. Akinosun’s advice to her schoolmates.
John was traveling by ship to Europe when a terrible storm came. A great leak was filling the ship with water. No matter how hard the sailors and passengers worked at the pumps, the water was still rising. The ship was sinking fast. There seemed to be no hope. But the captain told them not to give up hope. He said that there was hope so long as the ship remained above water. He promised that if they didn’t give up hope, he would land them safely. The captain’s powerful will moved them all. In the end he did land them safely.
After they landed, John found the captain to show his appreciation. But to his surprise, the captain said to him that he was the boy of 30 years ago who bought a geography book in his bookstore. John suddenly thought of the boy. At that time the boy didn’t have enough money, but he had gone from shop to shop and believed he could get what he wanted. Finally, he made it. Now, it was the same willpower of him that saved the lives of all the passengers.
【写作内容】
在一次课外阅读中，你读上面的故事，决定写篇文章针对“毅力与成功”发表自己的看法。内容要点包括：
1．以约30个词概括故事的内容要点；
2．然后以约120个词就“毅力与成功”这个主题发表你的看法，内容包括：
（1）叙述你或你的同学凭借毅力取得成功的事例；
（2）你认为取得成功，主要是靠毅力还是智力？
【写作要求】
1．你可以使用实例或者其他论证方法支持你的观点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但是不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2．文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
【评分标准】
概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
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