A community feels more alive when people who live there try to help improve it. If you look around and see that your community has a lot of problems, there's no better time to start fixing them than right now. 1.
Stop to offer help when and where you're needed
It's a simple way to create the atmosphere that makes people feel safe and happy. If you see someone in need of assistance, come to their aid instead of looking on. 2.
Volunteer in your community
Donating your time is an excellent way to have a positive effect on your community. 3. It costs organizations a lot of time and money to train volunteers, so make sure that you will be available and willing to help out on a long-term basis.
4.
You can help in many ways. Consider starting your own business. In this way you can serve your community by offering a great product and possibly even hiring employees. And try to get most of your produce from the local market and shop at local stores.
Attend community events
How often do you show up to community events? 5. Just showing up is a way to help people in your community because it lets them know that you care. For example, if someone is trying to hold a “Bike to Work or School Day” on Monday mornings, and you've got a bike, why not give it a try? Show people in your community that biking is fun.
A.Learn about organizations
B.Support your local economy
C.Start participating in community activities as many as you can
D.Just be aware that becoming a volunteer is a serious commitment
E.Keep reading for ideas on how to help make your community better
F.Hold activities in an effort to make the neighborhood a better place
G.Do for others what you'd want them to do for you if you were in their situation
A recent study conducted by researchers from Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University found that the snakes actively seek out socialization with their peers （同伴），but also they are extremely particular about who they spend time with. However, snakes used to be thought of as solitary animals. They are seldom seen hanging out in groups.
A team of researchers led by Morgan Skinner and Dr. Noam Miller selected 40 non-poisonous garter snakes （袜带蛇）. Ten were purchased from a snake keeper and the rest were caught in the wild. After marking each snake with a spot of color to allow for easy identification, the researchers placed ten snakes inside each of the four plastic shelters.
Skinner photographed each snake group twice a day before removing them from their shelters. After cleaning the areas thoroughly to rid them of any familiar smells, the reptiles were rearranged into different groups, and returned to the enclosure. A camera fixed over the shelters allowed the scientists to track the animals' movements for a total of eight days.
When Skinner and Miller analyzed the images, they found that regardless of where they were placed, the snakes always slipped back to their origin al "friends" forming groups of three or eight inside the small shelters. “They can tell others apart,” Miller said.
Gordon Burghardt, a biologist, says, "The study should help convince people that snakes have more social intelligence than most of us realize."
Miller believes the research could help with snake protection efforts. Endangered snake species relocated to safer habitats often leave these areas. Now, conservationists may be able to avoid that by transferring entire snake groups to the new location. Alternatively, they could also spray （喷洒）the new habitat with the species' smells to make transplants feel at “home."
1.What does the underlined word "solitary" mean in paragraph 1?
A.Causing fear. B.Existing only in small numbers.
C.Causing death or illness. D.Enjoying being alone.
2.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.The findings can contribute to snake conservation.
B.Snakes like to spray smells on the trees.
C.Snakes are easy to adapt to new locations.
D.Snakes tend to stay in safer habitats.
3.Which of the following proverbs can be used to describe the findings?
A.Barking dogs don't bite. B.The early bird catches worms.
C.Things of one kind come together. D.A friend in need is a friend in deed.
4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Entertainment. B.Science.
C.Education. D.Health.
Denmark is only about half the size of South Carolina, but it produces more of its electricity from wind than any other country in the world. Denmark now gets 47%of its electricity from wind, and there will be more to come, thanks to a combination of history and policy.
Paul la Cour was a scientist and inventor who experimented with early wind power machines at the start of the 20th century. So it's not surprising that Denmark invested in building wind power the earliest. Since the 1970s,Denmark has been investing in wind energy all over the country. In the 1980s,due to a strong movement opposing nuclear power plants, Denmark increased its production of clean energy even before many other countries considered it.
Even back in 2002,Denmark took climate change warnings seriously. They drew up policies, aiming to cut fossil-fuel emissions by 20%,which they did via renewable energy investment. Some of the world's largest companies in the field—including Vestas, which builds turbines(涡轮机)，and Orsted, which specializes in offshore wind projects—are Danish, so the country has an impact beyond its borders.
The huge impact of Denmark’s wind industry is important. But Denmark is a small country, so while almost 50%of its electricity from wind is admirable, it's also minor in terms of entire global impact.
While Denmark gets half its electricity from 5,758 megawatts (MW) of capacity, Spain's 23,000 MW covers just 18 percent of its electricity supply as it’s a much bigger country. China is the leader in wind energy at 221,000 MW, and the U.S.is the second in the world at about 96,000 MW.
At the end of 2019,lawmakers in Denmark set a new goal: increasing the share of electricity coming from renewable power to 100%.
1.What can we know about Demark?
A.It is a leader in solar energy. B.It is a pioneer in clean energy.
C.It is a victim of climate change. D.It is an advocate of nuclear energy.
2.What is Denmark government's attitude towards fossil-fuel energy projects?
A.Indifferent. B.Ambiguous
C.Positive. D.Opposed.
3.Which country produces the most wind energy in the world?
A.Denmark. B.China. C.The U.S D.Spain.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Almost Half of Denmark’s Electricity Comes from Wind Power
B.Denmark's Government Pushes ahead with Fossil-fuel Projects
C.Denmark Has a Great Effect on World's Wind Power Equipment
D.Denmark Has a Long History of Developing Renewable Power
More than 30 years ago, there was a well-known boxer named Eugene Hart. Hart was heavily favored to win his next round against an ungifted boxer, Antuofermo. It was said that the only thing that Antuofermo could do was “he bled well". However, here was an important thing. He had good qualities that you couldn't see.
During the fight, Hart controlled Antuofermo, knocking him down and giving him a good beating. Antuofermo absorbed the punishment that was dealt to him by his naturally superior opponent, and he did it so well that Hart became discouraged. In the fifth round, Hart began to tire, not physically but mentally. Taking advantage of the situation, Antuofermo attacked and knocked Hart down, thus ending the fight.
When the fighters went back to their temporary restrooms, only a thin curtain was between them. Hart's room was quiet, but on the other side he could hear Antuofermo's coach talking about who would take the fighter to the hospital. Finally he heard Antuofermo saying, "Every time he hit me with that left hook （左勾拳）to the body, I thought I was going to quit. After the second round, I thought if he hit me there again, I'd quit. I thought the same thing after the fourth round. But he stopped hitting me there."
At that moment, Hart began to weep. He was crying because for the first time he under- stood that Antuofermo had felt the same way he had and even worse. And the only thing that distinguished the guy who was talking from the guy who was crying was perseverance （毅力）. The coward （懦夫）and the hero had the same emotions. They're both humans.
The important question to ask yourself here is this： How does each man respond to the tough situation that they are experiencing? Maybe you are in a tough position right now or, if not, one might be coming. How will you react? Like a hero or a coward?
1.What can we learn from paragraph 1?
A.Hart was an ordinary boxer.
B.Antuofermo was hardly defeated.
C.Hart was believed to win the game.
D.Antuofermo was gifted in boxing.
2.How did Antuofermo win the fight?
A.He trained hard before the fight.
B.Hart became discouraged by his coach.
C.He was confident about his boxing talent and power.
D.He dealt with the punishment properly and grasped the chance.
3.Why did Hart cry after the fight?
A.He realized he was just mentally defeated.
B.He was hurt and sent to a hospital.
C.He lost the game easily.
D.He was considered to be a coward.
4.What are Antuofermo's qualities?
A.Hard-work and honesty. B.Humor and intelligence.
C.Perseverance and determination. D.Enthusiasm and responsibility.
Museum director Sarah Green is a writer, recommending 4 books that influenced her life. Hold Still by Sally Mann (2015)
Mann's story, accompanied by her excellent photography, has given me a model for how to be an artist, wife, mother, daughter, friend, and thoughtful member of humanity, all at the same time.
Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton (2012)
You might not think you want to read a story about an artist-illustrator's past life as a competitive swimmer and her continuing love for swimming, swimming pools and swimsuits. But you do, you really do. Shapton's acute sense memory and sharp essay, coupled with her own experience and photos, are a pleasure from start to finish.
Learning By Heart by Corita Kent and Jan Steward （1992）
Sister Corita Kent was a beloved and revolutionary art teacher in 1960s in Los Angeles and a gifted printmaker. She was also a firm believer in learning by doing, and this is an essential guide to her teaching philosophy.
Kindred by Octavia Butler （1979）
I've never been a fan of science fiction, but this novel rocked my world. You will be completely involved in the thunder-struck reality of a young writer who finds herself traveling between Los Angeles in 1976 and life among her ancestors on an prewar Maryland farm.
1.Who was probably an excellent sports player in the past?
A.Sally Mann. B.Octavia Butler
C.Corita Kent and Jan Steward. D.Leanne Shapton.
2.Which book talks about teaching skills?
A.Hold Still. B.Learning By Heart.
C.Swimming Studies. D.Kindred.
3.What kind of book is Kindred?
A.A love story. B.A horror story.
C.A fantasy story. D.A fairy tale.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
After my son, Scott, graduated from high school he took a job near his father. Two thousand miles suddenly separated me from the person who’d been the focus of my life for 18 years. As the days went by, I missed Scott more and more. I’d always been able to take care of myself, but now I seemed to need Scott’s help constantly, like getting a tool from the top shelf, or moving something heavy, or changing a tire on the car. Most of all, I just missed having him to talk to. I was lonely. I knew this day would come. But why does it have to be so hard?
However, a mother spider taught me a lesson.
On my way out from my storeroom, I noticed a spider building her web across the top corner of the doorway. I reached for a hoe（锄头）m, tore down the web, and watched the giant spider run away in the grass. She was back the very next morning, in the exact same spot, busily rebuilding. I stared for a moment, and then reached for the hoe again. Then I twisted the hoe round and round, catching the spider in her own web. I carried her far into my backyard, shook the hoe and watched her fall to the ground, disappearing in the bush. The third morning, I stopped short as I entered the storeroom. The spider was back in the same corner of the door frame, her web almost completed again. I reached for the hoe, but stopped. She wants her web where she wants it, I thought, and that kind of perseverance（毅力）should pay off. I stepped back and watched her long legs busily knitting the web.
For the next few weeks, the spider and I were close neighbors. One particularly boring day, I was feeling so down that I didn’t even glance up at my spider as I entered. As I stared in wonder, I found a hundred tiny angels on the floor. I realized that these were baby spiders that the eggs had hatched, and already, as the mother watched from the corner of the home that she had built, her young were making their way to the ground.
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