Our daughter Alissa passed away after a battle with a simple flu in August 2006 at 25. Due to the illness along with her birth, she grew to only 4 feet and 9 inches tall and had pneumonia every two months. However, Alissa had a great fighting spirit and handled those obstacles with strength and courage.
The loss of Alissa took away all of the happiness and joy in our family. As the next August approached, we needed something to move us forward.
That something was a dog we named Baci. My wife, Susan, and daughter Jenna had been looking for a dog. I was not as enthusiastic, but they insisted. On July 26, 2007, Baci arrived in our lives from a pet store.
That night, when I came home from work, Jenna handed me this small brown-colored ball of hair. I held Baci on my chest, and the first thing he did was kiss my face. It was love at first doggy kiss, with many more to follow.
Suddenly the air of the house changed. Bad liked to take walks around the lake and take a ride in the car. He would put his ball in my lap and wait for me to throw it. Then he would chase down the ball and repeat the game. Baci was not a perfect dog. He would go through the garbage and tore up paper. He was not friendly in public, either with dogs or people. But Baci gave us unconditional love. When we came home, he would come to the door wagging his tail happy to see us.
Unfortunately, as Baci approached his 10th birthday, his health began to fail. I had hoped that we would have more time together, but it appears that our days with Baci are coming to a close. Still, Baci was the something we needed to move us forward in our journey through sadness. He was an unexpected gift from God for which I will always be thankful.
1.What does the underlined word “obstacle” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. success B. spirit C. pain D. death
2.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A. all Alissa, Susan and Jenna are the author’s daughters
B. Baci was a homeless dog and picked up by the author
C. the author was not much interested in Bad at first
D. Baci filled the author’s family with happiness and joy
3.Which of the following descriptions of Baci is TRUE?
A. Baci died before the author wrote this passage.
B. Baci had a bad habit to go through the garbage.
C. Baci liked to take a swim in the lake.
D. Baci was always friendly to people.
4.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. A Dog That Sent Us Gift
B. A Dog That Moved Us Forward
C. Baci, We Love You Unconditionally
D. Baci, a Brown-Colored Dog
Looking fashionable feels good. However, did you know that doing so could be extremely bad for the planet?
Making clothes requires lots of energy. For example, cotton fields have to be watered. Jeans must be dyed (染色) and then dried. According to scientists, making 1 kilogram of clothes produces 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases on average.
However, clothes are spending less time in shops and at homes than ever. Consumers (消费者) today keep almost every article of clothing only half as long as they did 15 years ago. That causes a large amount of waste.
Some clothing companies and designers have realized this problem. H & M, for example, was the world’s largest buyer of “better cotton” last year. The cotton needs less water to grow. It also requires fewer pesticides (农药). The Swedish brand has also stopped using a chemical that pollutes the environment when making waterproof (防水的) clothes. Nike, meanwhile, has invented a new method of making shoes. It reduces waste by 60 percent compared with traditional cutting and sewing.
More long lasting clothes could help, too. Tom Cridland is a British designer. The clothes that he designs all go through a special treatment. Cridland says they can last more than 30 years.
Unfortunately, not all clothing companies and designers, think they should be responsible for the environment. Some companies do not care about their carbon footprint at all.
What can we do? In some western schools, students are encouraged to fix their jackets and trousers. Clothing companies there send vans to campuses to help them do it. Another solution is to think twice the next time we buy new clothes. Some clothes may not look very fashionable, but they could be good for our planet.
1.According to the passage, making 50 kilograms of clothes produces about kilograms of greenhouse gases.
A. 23. B. 115.
C. 230. D. 1,150.
2.What is the difference between “better cotton” and traditional cotton?
A. “Better cotton” can grow without water.
B. “Better cotton” grows faster than traditional cotton.
C. “Better cotton” is more environmentally friendly.
D. “Better cotton” is more productive than traditional cotton.
3.In order to protect the environment, what have some clothing companies and designers been doing?
① Using new material.
② Helping students mend clothes.
③ Measuring their carbon footprint.
④ Designing clothes that can last longer.
A. ①②③ B. ①②④
C. ①③④ D. ②③④
4.What does the author advise us to do in order to help protect the environment?
A. To stop buying clothes;
B. To wear fewer clothes at home.
C. To ask clothing companies for help when our clothes are torn.
D. To buy clothes made by companies that care about their carbon footprint.
They aren’t great artists like Leonardo da Vinci or Vincent van Gogh, but their paintings are just as popular on Chinese social media, with millions of Chinese people willing to pay for them.
The 36 works were painted by ordinary Chinese people who live with autism (自闭症) or cerebral palsy (脑瘫), aged from their early teens to late thirties. They all studied art at World of Art Brut Culture (WABC), which is a Shanghai-based non-profit organization (非贏利组织) for art education. The project was started by WABC and supported by the Tencent Charitable Foundation. Users could buy a digital copy of each painting by donating (捐赠) 1 yuan or more. By Aug 29, donations totaled more than 15 million yuan, with about 5.8 million people participating (参与).
“The paintings by these autistic kids and adults are beautiful: the style is similar to that of the Dutch artist Van Gogh. I’m really impressed by their talent,” Feng Li, a customer service officer in Shanghai, told the South China Morning Post.
However, the popular campaign also led to certain questions.
Li Laoxi, an experienced special education teacher in Hangzhou, said that based on his experience, people with autism could only draw a few lines or fill in colors under the guidance of their trainers. “Maybe there are some geniuses out there, but I’ve never met them”. Others questioned where the money would go, as the donations went to WABC instead of the painters. In response to these concerns, Miao Shiming, founder of WABC, said the money would be used to employ art teachers, buy supplies, and rent facilities. Meanwhile, Tencent said that all donation information would be open to the public.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A. An online painting exhibition. B. A non-profit organization.
C. A public donation. D. An online survey about paintings.
2.What does WABC do for people with autism?
A. It helps them cure autism. B. It provides art education for them.
C. It gives them money D. It offers schooling to them.
3.Why did Li Laoxi, an experienced special education teacher question the project?
A. Because he thought autistic people could not draw.
B. Because he doubted about the painting abilities of autistic people.
C. Because he didn’t trust the organization, WABC.
D. Because he believed the paintings were painted only by geniuses.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the project?
A. Disappointed. B. Appreciated.
C. Worried. D. Objective.
What’s your favorite online magazine for kids? Here are four that are worth a look and a read.
National Geographic Kids
Parents, students, and teachers can take the help of this quality resource to learn about people, places, science, space, history, nature, and various fun activities. The magazine aims for the age group of 8-14. Interactive content includes videos, games, photos, blogs, etc. This is one online magazine that parents and teachers will always choose without hesitation (犹豫).
TIME For Kids
TIME magazine for adults might be too serious. The version for kids isn’t but it does go deep with a lot of educational content and teaching resources that are helpfully arranged around grades. The weekly classroom news magazine covers world news and aims to develop the reading and analyzing (分析) habit in kids.
Weekly Reader
An offline and online magazine for elementary school students features a lot of educational tools for teachers and students alike. All of its magazines are arranged around grades from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. Lots of the tools are interactive and based around nicely designed stories that make learning fun. Some sections are open to only subscribers (注册人) though.
Highlights
Highlights, com brings out magazines for kids of ages 2-12. The publication group’s purpose is to help children become their best selves. The homepage also gives you further websites to explore like Puzzlemaniakids.com and Highlightskids.com. Play free online puzzles, solve riddles, go creative with fun activities, and even learn a little about nature and science at these two sites. For instance, you can go into a story adventure or create your own stories at The Timbertoes.
1.In order to browse all the sections on Weekly Reader, you need to ________.
A. download the contents B. ask for permission
C. subscribe to it D. use some tools
2.Which magazine may list kids’ creativity as one of its focuses?
A. National Geographic Kids. B. TIME For Kids.
C. Weekly Reader. D. Highlights.
3.What can we infer about the magazines mentioned in the text?
A. They are accessible through the Internet. B. They are arranged around grades.
C. They are interactive with story-telling. D. They are encourged by teachers.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Who brought silk to Europe in the thirteenth century?
A. Napoleon.
B. Marco Polo.
C. Leonardo da Vinci.
2.What do we know about silk today?
A. It is used by famous dress designers.
B. It is much cheaper than in the past.
C. It is very popular among painters.
3.Why does the speaker give the talk?
A. To encourage people to learn designing.
B. To persuade people to buy silk clothes.
C. To introduce the history of silk trade.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why does David go to Professor Smith for help?
A. He had trouble with today’s lecture.
B. He missed all the classes last week.
C. He wanted to learn how to take notes.
2.What should David do at the start of each class?
A. Have a short talk with the professor.
B. Look through the notes from last class.
C. Take down the main points of the lecture.
3.How can David find the most important information to write down?
A. By remember all the details of the lecture.
B. By reading the notes taken by his classmates.
C. By focusing on the organization of the lecture.
4.How many suggestions has Professor Smith given to David?
A. Two.
B. Three.
C. Four.
