Wanda Butts dropped the phone and screamed when she heard the news that her son was dead. Josh had drowned(溺亡) while sailing on a lake with friends. The 16-year-old didn’t know how to swim, and he wasn’t wearing a life jacket.
Josh was not alone in the black community. USA Swimming points that 70% of African-American children cannot swim. According to an official survey, African-American children between the ages of 5 and 14 are three times more likely to drown than white children in the same age range.
In 2007, Butts started the Josh Project, a non-profit(非营利组织) that provides low-cost swimming lessons for children in Toledo, Ohio. The swimming lessons take place at a local high school over four Saturdays for a total of 10$. Up to now, the Josh Project has helped more than 1,000 children learn how to swim.
“The public pools near our home are closed, and other places are not affordable,” said Lisa Haynes, whose 14-year-old son, Joshua, is one of 60-plus students in the Josh Project this summer. “I am less worried if Joshua is near water because he has the basics of how to swim,” Haynes said. “And we’re thankful for that.”
Butts is doing much more, however, than just providing swimming lessons.
“She ups the awareness(意识),” said Shaun Anderson, a swimming coach who was so inspired by her story that he created a Josh Project swimming program at Norfolk State University. “Once these communities(群体) learn how to swim, they will pass it down, which results in future generations that know how to swim.
Butts said she has two wishes for the future: One is to change the drowning numbers of African-American children, and the other is to have a swimming center where the children can swim every day instead of just once a week.
1.What led to Josh’s drowning?
A. He was poor in boating skills. B. He was careless when swimming in the lake.
C. He was never taught swimming skills. D. He gave his life jacket to a friend.
2.Why did the author list the numbers in Paragraph 3?
A. To remind black parents not to let their children get near waters.
B. To argue children should learn swimming at a very young age.
C. To blame(责备) the government for not treating the black equally.
D. To show many African-American children don’t have swimming skills.
3.What did Lisa Haynes think of the swimming lessons the Josh Project provides?
A. Helpful. B. Expensive.
C. Interesting. D. Difficult.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Learning how to swim is important.
B. Wanda Butts’ wishes for the future.
C. Free swimming lessons for African-American children.
D. A mother helps thousands of children learn to swim.
Try this: For an entire day, forget about the clock. Eat when you’re hungry and sleep when you’re tired. What do you think will happen?
You may be surprised to find that your day is much like most other days. You’ll probably get hungry when you normally eat and tired when you normally sleep. Even though you don’t know what time it is, your body does.
These patterns(模式) of everyday life are called circadian rhythms, in other words, our body clocks. And they are no more than habits. Inside our bodies are several clocklike systems that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle. Throughout the day and night, our inner clocks direct changes in temperature, body chemicals, hunger, sleepiness and more. Everyone’s rhythms are different, which is why you might like to stay up late while your sister always wants to go to bed early.
Learning about our body clocks may help scientists understand why problems arise when we act out of step with our circadian rhythms. For example, traveling across time zones can make people wake up in the middle of the night. Regularly staying up late can make students do worse in tests.
“There is a growing sense that when we eat and when we sleep are important parts of how healthy we are,” says Steven Shea, director of the Sleep Disorders Program at Brigham.
One way to learn about how our body clocks work is to mess(弄乱) them up and see what happens. That’s what neurologist Frank Scheer and his workmates did in a recent study.Their study suggests that staying up night after night could make kids extra hungry and more likely to gain weight. And regularly sleeping too little, Scheer says, may be one cause of the recent increase in childhood obesity (肥胖).
1.What will happen if you forget about the clock according to the passage?
A. You will feel upset.
B. Your body will behave as usual.
C. Your body will not know what time it is.
D. You will probably get hungry more easily.
2.Which one is NOT true about body clocks according to the passage?
A. They control changes in our temperature, body chemicals, hunger, and sleepiness.
B. People’s body clocks are different from each other.
C. Our body clocks will change according to the changes of everyday schedule.
D. More people are coming to realize body clocks are important for our health.
3.How do Frank Scheer and his workmates study body clocks?
A. By seeing what happens when they are messed up.
B. By asking questions and collecting answers.
C. By studying people traveling across time zones.
D. By studying children who suffer from childhood obesity.
When I was a boy, I was always happy to see those little brown coins. After years I was still very happy to pick up pennies on the ground, I usually saved them up. I usually bought a pack of gum(口香糖) or a bag of chips when it was enough. After growing up, I heard a story about coins. It was said that our loved people sometimes would leave pennies on the ground in front of us. People wanted to show us that we were loved and watched over kindly. I never doubted that story even as an adult. It is difficult for me to find a lot of money on the ground, but pennies are there all the time. Maybe that is why I still enjoy seeing them and picking them up, no matter how dirty or old they are.
A few months ago, I was walking to the local post office to mail a letter. As I entered the room, I saw not one, not two, but four pennies shining in the sunlight. I smiled and picked them up. I kept them in my hands as I walked in the post office. “Four is OK,” the post worker said to a lady. The lady began searching her purse, turning it inside out twice in vain. Her face went red. I understood what had happened. I laughed to myself for this surprising moment. I placed my pennies on the desk before her. The smile I got in return was worth a thousand dollars.
The coins weren’t so valuable to me, but they did matter to her. I just performed a little kindness. I was happy.
1.How might the author probably use the money when he saved enough pennies as a child?
A. Put it aside. B. Buy some snacks.
C. Use it to mail a letter. D. Use it to help others in need.
2.When grown up, the author was still happy to pick up coins because .
A. he could become rich with the coins
B. coins were much easier to find than dollars on the ground
C. he still believed the story about coins
D. he could use the coins to buy some little things
3.The underlined phrase in paragraph 2 means ______.
A. in addition B. selecting something carefully
C. as well D. doing useless work in the end
4.What can we learn from this passage?
A. Doing small acts of kindness is good.
B. Every coin has two sides.
C. We should value money, even coins.
D. Chance favors only the prepared mind.
Finding a winter job is often a proof(证明) that you’re growing up, and it’s also a way to make money to pay for what you dream of. It’s never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you!
Retail (零售) Sales
Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are taking on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 4005075.
Food Service
A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the chance to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 4005077 for more information.
Babysitter(临时保姆)
This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction(互动) with kids. Got a question? Just call 4005076.
Housekeeping
This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn about the tourism industry(旅游业), so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to help with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone:4005079
1.How much can you earn at least in one hour as a retailer?
A. $10. B. $15.
C. $6. D. $5.
2.Which of the following jobs may attract teens who want to be a teacher in the future?
A. Retail Sales. B. Babysitter.
C. Food Service. D. Housekeeping.
3.Which number would you call if you hope to work in a hotel?
A. 4005075. B. 4005079.
C. 4005076. D. 4005077.
4.Who is the text mainly written for?
A. Teens faced with communication problems.
B. College graduates who are looking for a job.
C. Teens who want a part-time job in the winter.
D. Those who plan to start their own business.
Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
假设你是明启中学的高三学生王蕾。学校正在招募话剧团(drama club)和机器人社团(robot blub)新成员。你在日记中表达获知该消息时的感受，做出选择，并阐述理由。
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Directions:Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.
1.任何人都不可能轻而易举获得成功。(ease)
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2.遇到紧急情况一定要冷静，否则可能会造成严重后果。(or)
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3.我们只有学会尊重人际间的差异，才能避免误会，与他人建立和谐的关系。(Only)
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4.令教练欣慰的是，整个辩论队齐心协力，克服了遇到的各种困难，最终所有的努力都得到了回报。(reward v.)
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