The coffee story
Kaldi was tired but he couldn't sleep． His goats were awake and very noisy． "Why can't they sleep？"Kaldi thought． 1.They were eating some green plants with little red fruits on them． Kaldi decided to taste the fruits． He ate the soft part of each fruit and the hard things in the centre． 2.He was not tired． He felt more awake and did not want to sleep．
Those hard things were coffee beans， and Kaldi discovered them in Ethiopia more than 1，000 years ago． 3.Perhaps it is true， perhaps not． Nobody knows． But we know that coffee grew first in Ethiopia， and we know that somebody discovered it there more than 1，000 years ago．
4.Arab farmers began to grow coffee plants． People learnt to make a drink from the beans， and they called it qahwa．
For 400 years， only the Arabs knew about qahwa． Then people in Turkey learnt about it． Soon after that， western Europeans began to drink it， and in 1652 the first coffee shop in London opened．
5.Some famous coffee-growing countries are Brazil， Colombia， Indonesia and， of course， Ethiopia Coffee is one of the world's favourite drinks thanks to Kaldi and his goats．
A． At least that's the traditional story．
B． After a minute he began to feel different．
C． Many Arab farmers grew coffee to make money．
D． Now farmers grow coffee in many parts of the world．
E． Coffee was such an important drink during that time period．
F． He couldn't understand the problem so he watched the animals carefully．
G． After that， Arab travelers took coffee plants to Egypt and other Arab countries．
Outside， it's a cold winter's day． Inside a large shopping center， people are hanging around． But then， without warning， a pop song starts to play loudly． A teenager boy walks lazily to the center of the open space， and dances crazily to the music． He's joined by two of his friends， then some of the old people． Within the space of a few seconds， more than sixty people are dancing to the music - all in time and all in step． At first， onlookers are baffled， then they start smiling and clapping． They now know what they're seeing： a flash mob （快闪）．
According to Wikipedia， the term "flash mob" was created by Bill Wasik， an editor at Harper's Magazine， in 2003． Within a year， the phrase had entered the Concise Oxford English Dictionary． Since then， hundreds - possibly thousands - of flash mobs have been carried out around the world， in almost every kind of public space imaginable!
Each flash mob has its own style， but most flash mobs follow a similar formula （方案）． Often， the organizers search for willing participants using social media． Instructions and dance moves are given through email or video download． There are usually several rehearsals （排练） before the big day．
While it's happening， a few lucky passers-by watch it live． Most people who watch it， however， will see it later online． Some of the most popular flash mobs on YouTube have been watched more than 10million times． A famous example is MP3Experiment Eight， a flash mob that took place in New York City in July 2011 with over 3，500 participants． This event differed from normal flash mobs in that much of it was completely silent - and there were no rehearsals．
Flash mobs provide the participants， onlookers and online viewers with a lot of enjoyment and pleasure． For this reason alone， they're a modern， popular art form that should be celebrated．
1.What does the underlined word "baffled" in Paragraph 1 mean？ ______
A. Excited． B. Puzzled．
C. Satisfied． D. Disappointed．
2.Why does the author mention the Concise Oxford English Dictionary？ ______
A. To argue against Bill Wasik．
B. To compare it with Wikipedia．
C. To explain the meaning of "flash mob"．
D. To show the rapid development of flash mobs．
3.What is special about MP3Experiment Eight？ ______
A. It was played online．
B. It was the earliest flash mob．
C. It was played with no sound．
D. It was most accepted by the audience．
4.What is the author's opinion on flash mobs？ ______
A. Supportive． B. Hopeless．
C. Uncaring． D. Doubtful．
People have understood that kindness is good for the person who receives help． For example， when we give food to a hungry person， he is blessed． However， scientists have recently begun to study the effect kindness has on the person giving it． What they have found is that doing good is good for the doer． Acts of kindness can improve health， help a person reach goals and even add years to a person's life．
The first study to show the connection between doing good and living a long life was a study on aging． Beginning in 1956， scientists studied a group of married mothers for 30 years． They thought the women with the most children would die first． But the number of children a woman had did not matter． Wealth did not matter． Education did not matter． What did matter was whether they volunteered． Women that volunteered had fewer diseases during their life．
Many other studies have found the same positive effects． Helping other people improves long-term health． The gains are the same for men， women， old people and the young． Those who volunteered had fewer serious diseases than those who did not volunteer． This included diseases such as heart attack， cancer and stroke．
Scientists are researching many possible causes． One possible cause is an increase in antibodies （抗体）， which help fight against disease． One study showed the body produces more antibodies after an act of kindness． This increase in antibodies can last nearly an hour after one act of kindness is finished．
Another one is an increase in a chemical that fights the effects of stress from life． Scientists have found a link between being kind to people and an increase in the chemical oxytocin． Oxytocin is a chemical produced in the brain． It reduces many of the harmful chemicals the body produces under stress．
1.What did the study in Paragraph 2show？ ______
A. Diseases age people fast．
B. Doing good is good for one's health．
C. Women with more kids die earlier．
D. A long marriage leads to a long life．
2.What can we infer about antibodies from Paragraph 4？ ______
A. More antibodies may not be good．
B. They help people reduce pressure．
C. They increase with one's kind acts．
D. The more antibodies， the more oxytocin．
3.How does the author develop the last two paragraphs？ ______
A. By explaining the causes． B. By making comparisons．
C. By introducing a method． D. By describing a chemical．
4.What's the main idea of the text？ ______
A. Everyone needs to be cared for．
B. Happiness is connected with kindness．
C. Try your best to help someone in need．
D. Helping others means helping yourself．
In a big room on the second floor of the New York City Department of Sanitation's East 99th Street garage， 63-year-old Manhattan native Nelson Molina was listening to a Frank Sinatra CD he found in the trash． "The Way You Look Tonight" was playing through a music player． In fact， the entire space was filled with items strangers threw away．"My family kept everything，"said Molina．"Nowadays， people throw it all away．" Molina， during his 34 years as a sanitation worker （环卫工人）， gave these items a second life．
Molina grew up in a housing project with his parents and five other kids in the family and had a habit of picking up unused items at a young age． "My family was poor， so we didn't get much for Christmas，" he said． "I'd go out to look for a toy for my sisters， maybe a truck for my brothers．" He kept his early morning habit secret from his friends， but not out of embarrassment： "I didn't want the competition．"
On the job， Molina had his sixth sense for finding items．"I could tell， sometimes just by the sound， whether a bag was filled with bottles or a different kind of glass，" he said． He kept special finds on the truck， and then put them in out-of-the-way places in the sanitation garage． After almost 10 years， he began showing his discoveries．"It's not a normal practice．"said NYC Department of Sanitation assistant chief Keith Mellis． Recently， a team of New York University students has taken on the task of cataloging （分类） the tens of thousands of objects， in hopes that the collection， which has hardly been open to the public， might one day be shown in an official sanitation museum．
1.Why did Molina go to the garage？ ______
A. To listen to music． B. To clean the space．
C. To keep items he collected． D. To get items strangers threw away．
2.Molina was worried that if his friends knew his morning habits， they would ______ ．
A. stop him B. join in him
C. make fun of him D. take away his items
3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph？ ______
A. Molina had done something meaningful．
B. Molina had difficulty collecting the items．
C. Molina didn't want to show his discoveries．
D. Molina planned to build a museum for unused items．
4.What's the best title for the text？ ______
A. Rich and Poor． B. Lost and Found．
C. A Different Garage． D. A Sanitation Worker's Dream．
Riverside presents
Sharp Short Theatre
This competition offers students a rare experience of working in a professional theatre．
Now in its fourth year of providing an opportunity for new writers， directors and performers to exercise their creative ability， Sharp Short Theatre has fast become one of the most exciting parts of the Riverside year． All entries（参赛作品）perform in a heat and then the best pieces are invited to perform in the final， where students can be awarded prizes in four types including writing， performing， directing and overall．
Entries must be written and directed by students （ 18 years old and under ） and can be up to at most 10 minutes in time length． Entries must be handed in by a producer， for example a parent， teacher or responsible adult 18 years old or over．
Sharp Short Theatre is a youth arts pioneer focusing on encouraging the works of students in theatre． Its aim is to unearth and develop the young to be Australian theatre professionals．
So what are you waiting for？ Get into the spirit and register（注册）now．
Advisory Service：
Students may hand in their plays for review by a professional playwright（剧作家）in the lead-up to this event．
Price：＄30 per play．
Deadline（截止日期）：21 March， at 5 pm， 2018．
Registration：
To register， click here to complete our online form （one form per entry）．
Entries Close：11 April， at 5 pm．
Price：＄15 per entry．
Dates & Times：
Heats： 21-24 May， at 7：30 pm．
Final： 8 June， at 7：30 pm．
Price：
Heats： Adult ＄18， kids under 18 ＄12．
Final： All tickets ＄20．
1.What is one requirement for the entries？ ______
A. They should last about 18minutes．
B. They must be handed in by kids themselves．
C. They should be created by kids of 18or under．
D. They must be read by a playwright in advance．
2.When is the deadline for handing in the entries？ ______
A. 21 March． B. 11 April．
C. 24 May． D. 8 June．
3.What type of writing is this text？ ______
A. A news report． B. A competition notice．
C. A travel guide． D. A personal diary．
选词填空，注意变形。
1.It suddenly _________ me that I could ask my teacher for help.
2.The study ______ that listening to music at work can help people become more productive and creative.
3.The education nowadays should focus on _______ confidence in kids.
4.They have conflicting __________ on every issue and are never in agreement.
5.__________ as the greatest poet in China，Li Bai wrote more than 1000 poems in his life.
