Snow leopards (豹) are so hard to photograph that scientists aren’t even sure how many of these endangered animals still live in the wild.
The Snow Leopard Conservancy(SLC) set up 20 cameras in Russia in 2010 to learn more about the big cats. After a full six months, they had exactly zero picture! That’s when the organization understood they needed help. And the only people who could help them in finding the leopards were the very people from whom they wanted to protect the animals—local hunters (猎人).
Hunting snow leopards is against the law in Russia, but in the terrible climate of Siberia, the few people living there had to turn to poaching (盗猎) to feed their families.
In 2013, Russian naturalist Sergei Spitsyn approached Mergen Markov, a local hunter, and told him his project. Markov agreed to set up the camera where he knew he would find leopards, and it worked.
Markov, once a poacher, works full time for the conservationists now and has 10 cameras monitoring leopards. “I visit each camera once a month. I have known this whole region since I was a child,” he said proudly.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) began working with other local villagers in 2015. The village would be paid 40,000 rubles at the end of the year if the image of a snow leopard is caught. WWF also rents horses from the villagers so that they do not need to make money by poaching anymore. “Today there are far fewer leopard poachers but leopards still get caught in traps set for other animals, so I have to stay watchful,” said Markov.
Changing guns for cameras has made a big difference in the lives of these former poachers, the village, and the Russian snow leopards. The number of snow leopards has been rising and their population is expected to recover to normal levels within 10 years.
1.Why was no picture of snow leopards taken in six months?
A.SLC’s 20 cameras failed to work properly.
B.The number of snow leopards in the wild was too small.
C.The local poachers destroyed these cameras on purpose.
D.The researchers knew little about the animal’s living habits.
2.What did Sergei Spitsyn persuade Markov to do?
A.Find the poachers. B.Repair cameras in the forest.
C.Catch more leopards. D.Work for SLC.
3.Why did the WWF begin working with local villagers?
A.To get some pictures of snow leopards.
B.To help villagers make a living.
C.To prevent villagers from hunting animals.
D.To rent their horses at a low price.
4.How can we describe the WWF’s cooperation with the villagers?
A.Practice makes perfect. B.Curiosity kills the cat.
C.Kill two birds with one stone. D.Old habits die hard.
A large number of India’s urban(城区的) poor kids receive little or no education. Even if they enter a formal school, their dropout rates are very high. Door Step School (DSS) aims to bridge the huge gap between these kids and education.
True to its name, Door Step School sets up a school right at the doorstep of kids who can’t get formal education due to a variety of reasons.
The team at DSS follows a direct model—they set up a classroom in any area, a footpath, construction site, or underpass, where they foresee the greatest need. They look for proper locations, and after making sure that enough resources are in place, they accept students in the area. DSS provides lessons of different levels. The organization even tries to provide classes in the local language, or whatever the students choose.
Another interesting project of DSS is a school on wheels. It uses a bus that has been changed into a classroom, which holds about 25 kids at a time.
Since it was started in 1988, Door Step School has spread from Mumbai to the neighbouring city of Pune in Maharashtra, covering a larger area and number of kids. Now DSS has a team of more than 1,000 volunteers and teachers who change more than 70,000 lives each year.
DSS doesn’t end at kids. The organisation educates parents on the importance of sending their kids to school. Its efforts have brought education to thousands of students in the last two decades. Their belief in education for all has not only changed children’s lives but also continued the fight against one of the biggest problems India faces. All children have the right to an education, and DSS is providing just that.
1.Why is the organization named “Door Step School”?
A.It is different from formal schools.
B.It is usually built near students’ houses.
C.It sets up schools in areas with large populations.
D.It provides education wherever children can easily go.
2.What can we learn about the lessons provided by “Door Step School”?
A.They are better than formal school lessons.
B.They include whatever a school can provide.
C.They suit children at different levels.
D.They are easy for kids to learn by themselves.
3.What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?
A.The development of Door Step School.
B.The foundation of Door Step School.
C.The management of Door Step School.
D.The future of Door Step School.
4.It can be inferred that one of the biggest problems India faces is that _______.
A.there are no formal schools B.many children receive no education
C.children refuse to attend schools D.the country is short of teachers
A young Jewish girl begins a diary just as World War II is about to break out in Europe. She records the details of her daily life, but more than that. Eventually, the diary comes to a heartbreaking end with the girl shot to death by the Nazis. However, it’s not the story of Anne Frank. This is Renia’s Diary, a journal that was hidden for years in a safe box. Now it’s coming to light with the help of Renia’s sister and niece.
For a long time, Elizabeth didn’t even know that her older sister Renia had kept a diary as a teenager in Poland. Then suddenly one day in the 50s, Elizabeth got the diary and started to read it. She was totally stunned and couldn’t get very far. “It was too painful to read it,” Elizabeth recalls. “I just put it in the basement and didn’t think about it.”
Alexandra, Elizabeth’s daughter, grew up knowing about the locked diary. As Alexandra got older, she was more interested in it. “If I could read this diary, maybe I’ll explore some things from the past,” she thought.
She got the diary from its hiding place. When she read it, Alexandra was shocked. “It’s the description of a wonderful girl who showed great courage in terrible times. My aunt’s world comes to life as the diary shifts between a teenage girl’s daily life and the war.”
Elizabeth and her daughter Alexandra are excited that the diary will be published. “It is a story that needs to be heard now more than ever. We should never repeat the same types of racism(种族主义) and hate that lead to violence,” Alexandra says.
1.Why was Renia’s Dairy unknown to the world for so many years?
A.The story is not as famous as Anne Frank’s.
B.It was lost in the war and no one found it.
C.Alexandra was afraid to read it.
D.Renia’s sister kept it a secret.
2.What does the underlined word “stunned” mean in Paragraph 2?
A.Embarrassed. B.Bored.
C.Excited. D.Shocked.
3.Why was Alexandra so interested in Renia’s Diary?
A.She was curious about her aunt’s experience.
B.She wanted to comfort her mother.
C.She planned to publish her aunt’s dairy.
D.She decided to prove how strong Renia was.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A.A girl fighting against the racism and hate
B.Renia’s Diary is to come to light
C.Discovering the history of a Jewish family
D.A Jewish family in World War II
Which book you should read depends on your next travel plan. | |
| If you’re visiting New York City, read the book “The Catcher in the Rye”, which mentions plenty of NYC landmarks. “The Catcher in the Rye” is a classic tale of a lost teenager’s unplanned trip to New York City. In the novel, Holden Caulfield visits a nightclub in the East Village, goes ice skating in Rockefeller Center, and takes his sister to the Central Park Zoo. |
| “Midnight’s Children” is a fantastic novel that shows some of the histories of India. Salman Rushdie’s story begins at midnight, on the night of India’s independence, when the 1,001 children born that hour are found to own magical powers. The book is set during 20th-century India with plenty of magical elements. |
| Haruki Murakami’s “1Q84” is an adventure that’s perfect for the plane ride to Japan. Well-known Japanese author Haruki Murakami creates a novel called 1Q84 where nothing feels right and everything is slightly different. Set in Tokyo, Japan, this novel is sure to interest you greatly during your trip. |
| As you’re traveling around Amsterdam, read “The Fault in Our Stars”. There’s also a film from this book. Made into a film in 2014, John Green’s story of two unlucky teenagers includes a trip to Amsterdam. The Anne Frank House and The Rijks Museum are mentioned in the book. Plus, the bench in the film from this novel has even become its own tourist spot. |
1.What does “Holden Caulfield” refer to in the passage?
A.A famous NYC landmark. B.The lost teenager.
C.The author’s sister. D.The author of the novel.
2.Which book may you choose to read if you believe in magic?
A.The Catcher in the Rye. B.The Fault in Our Stars.
C.Midnight’s Children. D.1Q84.
3.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A.To introduce some books to travelers.
B.To describe some world-famous attractions.
C.To encourage people to read more classic novels.
D.To explain how a good novel benefits the local tourism.
A person may have a false idea about himself that will stop him from doing good work.
He may have the belief that he is unable to do it. A child may think he is_______because he doesn’t understand how to make_______use of his mental gifts. Old people may have a false idea that they are unable to learn new things because of their_______
A person who believes that he is stupid will not make a real_______because he feels that it would be useless. He won’t go at a job with confidence necessary for_______Besides, he won’t work his hardest way, even though he may think he is doing so._______, he is likely to fail, and the failure will_______his belief in his incompetence（无能）in turn.
Alfred Alder, a famous doctor, had_______like this. When he was a small boy, he had a poor_______in math. His teacher told his parents he had no ability in math in order that they would not________too much of him. In this way, his teacher and parents________the idea. He________their false judgment of his ability, feeling that it was useless to________Then, he was very poor at math,________as they expected.
But one day everything changed. He worked out a problem which________of the other students had been able to solve. He________in solving the problem which gave him confidence. Soon he became especially good at________
Alder now________with interest, determination and purpose. He not only proved that he could learn math well, but luckily he learned it________, not too late. From his own experience, we can tell that if a person goes at a job with determination and purpose, he may________himself as well as others by his ability.
1.A.stupid B.shy C.useless D.clever
2.A.big B.full C.high D.straight
3.A.ability B.age C.brain D.knowledge
4.A.decision B.plan C.promise D.effort
5.A.work B.study C.pleasure D.success
6.A.Therefore B.Really C.However D.Truly
7.A.lead to B.strengthen C.improve D.get rid of
8.A.a thought B.an example C.an experience D.an idea
9.A.state B.mind C.start D.ending
10.A.blame B.expect C.get D.win
11.A.discovered B.organized C.developed D.found
12.A.broke B.refused C.doubted D.accepted
13.A.manage B.argue C.act D.try
14.A.only B.almost C.just D.then
15.A.none B.all C.some D.most
16.A.succeeded B.broke C.failed D.believed
17.A.physics B.medicine C.English D.math
18.A.studies B.plays C.works D.graduates
19.A.early B.deeply C.late D.simply
20.A.discourage B.love C.surprise D.disappoint
On the first day of the new term, I met my new headmaster at the school gate. “Follow me, please!” he said. He had a quiet, kind voice. He took me into my new classroom and left. In front of me, thirty pairs of eyes looked at me. I knew he had told the students that I was blind. I could almost feel the question behind their eyes: Blind? I felt the answer too: If she’s blind, this should be good! I heard quiet voices in a corner of the classroom. For a moment, I felt afraid. I knew at once that I had to be strong.
“Class,” I said as loudly as I could. “I may be blind. But I am not foolish. Take those naughty smiles off your faces, and stop talking, please!” Of course, I could not see their faces; I just guessed that some of them were smiling. The class were quiet. They were very surprised. I knew that I had done the right thing.
As the days went by, the students had more surprises. I could smell when the children were eating sweets. I could easily hear combs going through hair, students passing messages, and so on. Once I found a girl passing a message to a friend. I took the message to the teachers’ room. A teacher read it to me. On one side it said, “Do you think she can see?” on the other it said, “I think so. She always knows what we’re doing.”
Soon the students stopped being naughty, and started to work hard. Before long, they brought in photos of their families for me to look at; I knew then they were my friends. I also knew they had forgotten that I could not see.
1.In Paragraph(段) 1 the writer said she must be strong because .
A.she was too weak
B.the students laughed at her
C.the headmaster left her alone
D.she felt the students were not friendly to her
2.The students were surprised for the first time because .
A.the teacher seemed to know everything
B.the teacher caught them smiling
C.the teacher caught them talking
D.the teacher was not foolish
3.In the new teacher’s class the students often .
A.exchanged sweets B.combed their hair
C.wrote letters D.read letters
4.The students brought their photos for the writer to look at .
A.to interest her B.to cure her illness
C.to make friends with her D.to show their friendliness
