My most rewarding experience throughout the past two years was volunteering at the swimming competition for Special Olympics where a disabled friend of my community took part. This had special ______for me because experiencing it helped improve my leadership skills, my character, and support my community.
First, my leadership skills developed when I ______directed each swimmer where to line up at the platform and ______each player when they needed to swim. I had to make sure that the swimmers were ______and ready to perform. This kept me on my feet at all times and ______of each event’s time and location. I learned each swimmer’s name, since many of them swam in more than one ______.
Secondly, my ______was greatly improved when I saw the swimmers get their awards for winning each swimming event, I was ______that most swimmers could swim better than I. It astonished me by their ______attitudes, whether they won or lost. This also expanded my horizons, offering me the opportunity to ______people I would normally not come across. I went out of my ______zone and did whatever was needed to be done. It was especially ______when I saw the cheerful faces of the players.
Lastly, I was of ______to my community by lending a hand to this organization in need of ______. To be a ______of it gave me a chance to improve my community and become ______with the people living in this area.
As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we do, but we make a lite by what we give. ”The
______should be done throughout your life. ______，through the many opportunities my community has offered I was privileged to be ______in this exciting and important event in these players’ lives. I hope to be a(n) ______at this event in years to come.
1.A. purpose B. meaning C. background D. regulation
2.A. equally B. amazingly C. strictly D. independently
3.A. taught B. informed C. awarded D. compared
4.A. positioned B. preserved C. valued D. evaluated
5.A. proud B. certain C. aware D. capable
6.A. decision B. application C. country D. event
7.A. figure B. ability C. character D. technique
8.A. blamed B. impressed C. reminded D. concerned
9.A. changeable B. critical C. various D. positive
10.A. meet B. gather C. introduce D. recommend
11.A. imagination B. availability C. comfort D. development
12.A. embarrassing B. rewarding C. outstanding D. relaxing
13.A. service B. courage C. wisdom D. significance
14.A. help B. money C. sympathy D. attention
15.A. player B. referee C. plot. D. part
16.A. acquainted B. combined C. surrounded D. faced
17.A. traveling B. consulting C. volunteering D. cooperating
18.A. Eventually B. Generally C. Additionally D. Fortunately
19.A. desired B. educated C. involved D. influenced
20.A. judge B. assistant C. trainer D. announcer
You Can Fly More Frequently
When traveling, airfare can take up a large part of your travel budget. What if you could fly practically for free? If it were possible, then you would probably travel more, right? 1.. While it may seem like a lot of work to accumulate miles, it’s pretty easy when you know how.
Sign up for mileage (里程) programs. You can’t gain miles if you don’t sign up. 2.. Pick one or two airlines that you use most often and try to bring all your points into those programs by flying with them.
Buy gifts and have dinner out. Most mileage programs have a business list where you can register several credit or debit cards and then earn miles for each purchase you make through their participating shops or meal you have at restaurant partners. 3., so why not make it count toward future travel?
Use your credit card. Look for a card that gives you rewards. There are a ton of credit card companies that offer mileage cards that give you miles for each dollar you spend. Use it for bills, groceries, gas and anything else you would normally use your bank account for and then pay it off at the end of the month. 4..
Rent a car. Whenever you rent a car, you have the choice to include your frequent flyer member number. 5., but it can be more beneficial to pay less than a dollar a day to earn one or more miles per dollar spent on your rental.
A. Some will charge a fee
B. With frequent flyer programs, you can
C. You’re probably doing these things anyway
D. It’s an easy way to accumulate miles and can add up really fast
E. In fact, you can get a free plane ticket just focusing on certain ones
F. Join frequent flyer programs, so you can start accumulating those miles
G. There are plenty of ways to earn money just by doing things you’re already doing
There is a breakthrough in building aircrafts. Bendable wings covered with overlapping(部分重叠) pieces resembling fish sizes could be used to build swifter, fuel-efficient aircraft, a new study finds.
Nowadays, conventional aircrafts typically rely on ailerons (副翼) to help control the way the planes tip as they fly. However, when the Wright brothers flew the first airplane, Flyer 1, over a century ago, they used no ailerons but wires and pulleys that twisted the wood-and-canvas wings, to control the plane,
Scientists have long sought to develop aircrafts that can alter their wings during flight, just as birds can. However, most previous attempts have failed because they relied on heavy mechanical control structures within the wings. These structures were also complex and unreliable, said Neil Gershenfeld, a physicist and director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The new wing consists of a system of tiny, strong, lightweight modules. The shape of the wing can be changed uniformly along its length using two small motors, which apply a twisting pressure to each wingtip. These wings are covered in “skins” of overlapping strips of flexible material resembling fish sizes. These strips move across each other as the wings alter, providing a smooth outer surface, the researchers explained.
Wind-tunnel tests of these wings showed that they at least matched the aerodynamic properties of conventional wings, at about one-tenth the weight. Initial tests using remotely piloted aircrafts made with these wings have shown great promise, said Benjamin Jenett, a graduate student at the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT.
The new modular structures the scientists developed could be manufactured quickly in mass quantities and then installed by teams of small robots. These modular structures also can be disassembled more easily, making repairs simpler.
“Still, the first aircraft built using this strategy will not be a passenger jet, ”Gershenfeld said. “Instead, the technology will likely first be tested on unmanned aircraft, leading to drones (无人机) that can fly for a long time, to help deliver internet access or medicine to remote villages and do some rescue works.”
1.Why did most previous aircrafts fail to fly like birds?
A. The previous wings were complicated and weighed a lot.
B. The previous aircraft relied on ailerons to control directions.
C. There were few scientists to do research on the lighter wings.
D. There was little fuel in the aircrafts to make them fly in the air.
2.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
A. The shape of the new wings.
B. The result of the tested wings.
C. The function of the small motors.
D. The working principle of the new wings.
3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word“disassembled”in Paragraph 6?
A. put away
B. taken apart
C. invented
D. analyzed
4.What will the drones made by the new wings be firstly used to do?
A. Carry passengers.
B. Save people in danger.
C. Test planes.
D. Monitor the villages.
Could the device, smartphone or PC, which you re using affect the moral decisions you make when using it? To test it, researchers presented multiple dilemmas to a sample set of 1,010 people. The participants were assigned a device at random.
One case of the questions participants were asked is the classic “trolley(有轨电车) problem”: A runaway trolley is headed towards five people tied up on a-set of train tracks. You can do nothing, resulting in the deaths of five people, or push a man off a bridge, which will stop the trolley. The practical response is to kill one man to save five lives, which 33. 5 percent of smartphone users chose, compared to 22.3 percent of PC users.
“What we round in our study is that when people used a smartphone to view classic moral problems, they were more likely to make more unemotional, reasonable decisions when presented with a highly emotional dilemma, “Dr Albert Barque-Duran, the lead author of the study, told City, University of London. “This could be due to the increased time pressure often present with smartphones and also the increased psychological distance which can occur when we use such devices compared to PCs.”
As for why the researchers started this study, Dr Barque-Duran noted, “Due to the fact that our social lives, work and even shopping take place online, it is important to think about how the contexts where we typically face moral decisions and are asked to engage in moral behavior have changed, and the impact this could have on the hundreds of millions of people who use such devices daily. “it’s clear that we need more research on how our devices affect our moral decision making because we’re using screens at an ever increasing rate.
1.Why did the author mention the trolley problem?
A.To introduce a difficult problem to readers.
B.To introduce the aim of carrying out the study.
C.To show an example of the questions in the study
D.To show the difficulty in dealing with dilemmas.
2.How do the smartphone users of the study behave in dealing with emotional dilemmas?
A.Calmly. B.Cruelly.
C.Hesitantly. D.Enthusiastically.
3.Dr Albert believes that compared with PCs, smartphones .
A.help people bear more pressure
B.help people make decisions quick
C.make people feel more mentally distant
D.make people stay happier to solve problems
4.What can we infer from the text?
A.Shopping online has a great effect on making moral decisions.
B.The people using smartphones are more than those using PCs.
C.People who often use smartphones or PCs always meet with dilemmas,
D.It is common for people to be involved in making moral decisions in daily life.
Throughout the past few years, I have tried lo give myself to others. I have bounced around to find where I truly fit in, I found my place while I stayed in Guatemala, an orphanage (孤儿院) with the children living there. Through hearing many stories of their lives. I was moved to tears and started question my living ways and gave up everything that wasn’t essential: makeup and any other sort of luxury (奢侈品). I lived like they did. It was the most relaxing feeling in the world.
When at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, we were given the task of creating a pig pen(猪圈). At first, I thought it should be easy. After arriving at the area where the pig pen should he, we saw a hill. We were told to uproot the weeds as well as level the entire area. Looking at it we felt it would be impossible. On my own faith journey, I have felt this type of doubt before. The "hoe” , as we referred to, is a symbol of my faith journey. It appeared to be an obstacle I could not overcome, but in the end completed it with efforts. I feel this pig pen wasn’t easy to create but was so rewarding to give.
I've always struggled to be on a journey of faith, but I’ve never completely stepped foot onto the path until Guatemala. I’ve always tried to open my heart to everyone around me and give them my love, I feel as though I cut open my heart and share every bit of love I had with these orphans, There is one orphan named Ceto who will always remain very close to my heart, In Guatemala, I sponsor with thirty dollars a month, hat it doesn’t seem enough. I'll return there next summer and give more of my love for a whole month.
When it was time to leave. I looked out of the window and saw not just ordinary children. Over all, the most significant accomplishment I m in Guatemala was stepping towards my own faith journey and not looking back.
1.What resulted in the author s decision to live a new life?
A.Desire to help others B.Decrease in his income
C.A knowledge of the orphans' life. D.Awareness of the difficulty in his life
2.What does the underlined word "it "in Paragraph 2 refer lo?
A.Removing the doubt B.Uprooting the weed.
C.Starting the faith journey D.Creating the pig pen
3.What did the author think of his experience in Cuaternala?
A.It was regretful B.It was meaningful
C.It was interesting. D.it was frightening
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A.A Step into a New World B.An Awful Faith Journey
C.A Great Success in Life D.A Return of Confidence
The Best and Worst Things to Buy in March
Frozen food
Grocery store ads aren’t the only places to find deals on freezer-section treats. To take advantage of the deepest discounts, combine coupons (优惠券) from sponsoring brands, such as Dole, Green Giant and Tyson Foods, with grocery store sales. Plus, look for printable savings on Coupons. com and EasyHomeMeals.com. Brands participating in National Frozen Food Month will offer more than 180, 000 coupons that make frozen food among the best things to buy in March.
Boxed chocolates
If you desire to give a gift to a friend in March, consider chocolate. Two minor holidays in March provide the perfect excuse: National Chocolate Caramel Day on March 19 and National Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day on March 24. You can discover chocolate deals online as well as in stores. Head to sites like RetailMeNot.com to find discount coupons for boxed chocolate savings of 10 percent or more.
New cars
With the latest car models filling dealers’ lots, you’ll have a hard time finding discounted models from the year before. Car dealerships are less motivated to offer steep discounts from March through May. Instead, plan to buy your car during the fall or winter. You should also research the auto you want at TrueCar before heading for the dealership. The site offers information on what people in your area paid for vehicles equipped with the options you want.
Spring clothing
When warm weather makes you want to head outdoors, resist the urge to do so wearing the latest fashions. You won’t find March deals on swimsuits, Easter dresses or other spring items. To find discounts on clothes of this spring, hold off until Memorial Day weekend. You can also look for online and in- store savings at Amazon, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and other retailers.
1.Which things offer discounts in March according to the text?
A. Frozen food and new cars.
B. Boxed chocolates and new cars.
C. Frozen food and boxed chocolates.
D. Boxed chocolates and spring clothing.
2.What does the author advise us to do?
A. Register on a site.
B. Attend a holiday event.
C. Consult people in our areas,
D. Look for discount information online.
3.Which of the following festivals is celebrated after March?
A. Memorial Day.
B. National Frozen Food Month.
C. National Chocolate Caramel Day.
D. National Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day.
