Do you want to make a difference in your community? The Verizon App Challenge can get you started. The first step is to think of a problem in your community. The next step is to create an app that can solve the problem.
Groups of five to seven students in middle school or high school, led by a teacher, can enter the contest. First,teams will compete on a local level. Teams that make it to the next round receive $5,000 for their schools. Finalists present their app ideas to judges in a live web conference. Next, the judges pick national winners. The top eight teams receive an additional $15,000 for their schools, and each team member receives a Samsung tablet. Plus, the winning teams get the chance to bring their app to life.
A group of six girls from Los Frenos, Texas won the second annual Verizon App Challenge. They came up with the Hello Navi app concept, short for “hello navigation”. The app was designed to help visually impaired (受损的) students navigate (导航) their school.
Do you have an app idea that could help solve a local issue? The deadline to register is November 24. Find more information and register your team at verizonfoundation.org/appchallenge.
Here are some tips from the Verizon Foundation to get you started：
• Get your team together for a brainstorm meeting. Write out all the ideas that come to mind.
• Don't ignore challenges. Accept the idea that you can solve a problem that exists in your community.
• Ask family, friends and people in your community to share their thoughts about problems that they want to see solved.
1.If you want to take part in the Verizon App Challenge, you must ___________.
A.design a problem-solving app
B.bring the app you created to life
C.work together with seven classmates
D.present convincing views on a local issue
2.What can we learn about the “hello navigation”？
A.It was first made public in Texas.
B.It won the second prize in the last Verizon App Challenge.
C.It mainly benefited those with poor sense of direction.
D.It aimed to help those with poor eyesight.
3.What is the author's purpose of writing this passage？
A.To promote a problem-solving app.
B.To call on more students to enter the contest.
C.To share some efficient ways of solving problems.
D.To introduce how to contribute to your community.
Taylore is a kid who passes by to ride sometimes and help us with chores. Barely 15, she's never short of advice, and one of her favorite pastimes is teasing me about being afraid to go too fast on a horse.
Last summer four of us rode down the trail behind our woods: my wife Karen, Taylore, Taylore's friend Kendall and me. I was riding with my 13-year-old, Tawny.
We were two miles from home when, for some unexplainable reason, I pushed Tawny into a gallop. The other horses were anxious to catch up, and just like that, the race was on.
Taylore brushed past my left leg and, seconds later, Kendall went by on my right. I realized Tawny was covering ground faster than I'd ever seen her. She strained every muscle in her body to catch up with the girls. It was like a truck winding over a mountain road without brakes. Part of me felt perfectly in control, while another part screamed that I wasn't.
In half a mile I knew we'd be crossing the highway, so I prayed that the girls would be fine. I gave up calculating how long it might take before my horse would be tired enough to want to slow down.
I was just about out of answers when I saw the girls slowing in front of me. Their horses were relaxed and comfortable, not even breathing hard. Taylore's face glowed. She gave me a high five. “Wow, you did well,” she said, “I knew you'd go fast when you were ready.”
No one in the group had even broken a sweat, except me. I was still nervous from the crazy pace. My heart pounded too, but not from exercise. Karen claims I was showing off for the girls that day, and maybe she's right. But I think I had something to prove because despite my wrinkles(皱纹), glasses and gray hair, I was feeling young at heart. And, like a horse on a warm summer day, I'm always ready to kick up my heels.
1.How did the race between the girls and the author begin?
A.His horse's gallop made the other horses want to catch up.
B.He wanted to show off his riding skills for the girls.
C.They wanted to know whose horse could run fastest.
D.They teased him about being afraid to go too fast on a horse.
2.During the race, _______________.
A.the author's horse outran the girl's horses
B.the author was confident that Tawny was in control
C.the girls were so anxious to win that they sweated a lot
D.the author's good performance took Taylore by surprise
3.When the race ended, the author's heart pounded because______________.
A.it was really tough exercise for him
B.he was feeling thrilled and young
C.he was worried that the girls might be in danger
D.he felt quite embarrassed that he had lost the race
假定你是李华，你的留学生朋友James来信询问你市即将举办的中国民谣节(the Chinese Balled Festival)的情况，请给他回信。
内容包括：
1.举办的时间和地点；
2.活动内容和目的；
3.邀请James 一同前往。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
短文改错
Before I started my winter holiday last year, I made a thoroughly plan. I make a list of what I should do during the holiday. Then I put them up on the wall in the room. Whenever I wanted to play with the mobile phone like I had done before, it reminded me to do what I supposed to do. As a result of, I spent a meaningful winter holiday. I finished my homeworks on time, read four novels or learned how to skate.
Later, I'm always convinced that take action is more important than making plans. Only by taking action can we get which we want.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Coronavirus Outbreak Tests World's Dependence on China
The world is quickly 1. (realize) how much it depends on China.
Apple is rerouting supply chains. Ikea is closing its stores and paying staff members 2. stay home. Starbucks is warning 3. a financial blow. Ford and Toyota will idle some of their vast Chinese assembly plants for an extra week.
The 4. (mystery) coronavirus has virtually shut down one of the world's most important 5. (grow) engines. Desperate to slow the fast-moving virus, the Chinese authorities 6.(extend) the country's national holiday, and crippled land, rail and air transport. Entire cities have shut down.
The full extent of 7. hit to the broader business world is not yet clear. "Our members are dealing with 8. (vary) degrees of disruption in their businesses," said Jake Parker, the senior vice president of the US-China Business Council.
If travel 9. (restrict) and quarantines are expanded or the holiday extended 10.(far), he said, "that will amplify these problems." (c) 2020 The New York Times Company
Soon after my arrival in Luanda, I realized that I was going to have some free time available. I decided to _____ it doing something useful and involving with the ______community.
I started my research for volunteering opportunities here and a blog post ______ my eye. It was Ashima's _____ on how she started her _____ journey in Luanda. Ashima has been volunteering at the Foundation for Art and Culture for more than a year. I decided to _____ with them and soon after I got a very warm and welcoming _____ inviting me to the foundation. The next day as I _____ into the foundation little did I know it would become such a(n) ______ part of my life in Luanda.
I was a bit hesitant ______as I had never worked with children before and my Portuguese then was much ______than now. But as I slowly started doing some activities with children, there were not any ______ . All that you ______ was a heart full of love and everyone ______ the language of love.
I found plenty of _____ to do with kids, keeping them busy and having fun. Together we played, sang, learned new things, ______ new games and reinvented the old.
The children coming to the Foundation are wonderful, and full of _____ and energy. It is a beautiful place with wonderful projects. Without doubt it is the best _______ I could have found in Luanda, and I am very ______ to go there as often as I can. The staff _______there really make you feel welcome and at home.
1.A.spend B.spare C.enjoy D.kill
2.A.foreign B.new C.whole D.local
3.A.hurt B.fogged C.caught D.escaped
4.A.post B.opinion C.comment D.plan
5.A.business B.volunteering C.sightseeing D.adventure
6.A.get along B.catch up C.fit in D.get in touch
7.A.sense B.response C.reception D.ceremony
8.A.walked B.ran C.broke D.turned
9.A.efficient B.short C.beautiful D.minor
10.A.initially B.actually C.recently D.eventually
11.A.slower B.easier C.poorer D.less
12.A.conversations B.languages C.barriers D.methods
13.A.desired B.required C.had D.needed
14.A.spoke B.learned C.recommended D.heard
15.A.jobs B.activities C.favors D.researches
16.A.taught B.appreciated C.created D.bought
17.A.love B.view C.surprise D.faith
18.A.chance B.company C.place D.way
19.A.busy B.happy C.sorry D.curious
20.A.competing B.arriving C.appearing D.working
