When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them .“Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environment answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the thing you tell us not to do ? You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.”
I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur(激励) action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I’ve sat through many more conferences, I’m not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual’s voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I’m learning that as we have to make choices — education, career, lifestyle — life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are taught that economic growth is in progress, but aren’t taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable(可持续的) way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was ideal and innocent.
Today I’m no longer a child, but I’m worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.
1.The purpose of what the writer said at the age of 12 was to _____.
A. end poverty and make school beautiful
B. find environmental answers and keep the words that they always told themselves
C. end poverty and solve the problems about environment
D. find a wonderful place and clean it up
2.What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to _____.
A. a long period of laughing
B. a warm welcome
C. an expression used for greeting
D. a long period of clapping and applause
3.It becomes clear that the writer is possibly _____ now.
A. in his teens
B. in his twenties
C. in his thirties
D. in his forties
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. the writer thinks what he thought at the age of 12 is mature.
B. the writer’s children will certainly live in an ideal environment.
C. the writer’s confidence in the people in power has deeply shaken their voice.
D. the writer’s belief does not change when he grows up.
Most parents and teachers would get angry when they hear that teenagers listen to their iPods while preparing for exams. But pupils who listen to music when doing their homework may be, in fact, working hard.
Thirty three schools have downloaded specially written pop and rock songs for their 10,000 pupils who are studying for GCSE (初级毕业证书). The professionally recorded music, based on texts in English literature, teaches teenagers about themes in the GCSE curriculum (课程). Two young men set up “Revise”, the company that produced the songs, and worked with teachers to make sure the lyrics (歌词) reflected the curriculum. Some of the songs were written by Geraint Brown, a director, and they are performed by professional singers and musicians.
Songs for the GCSE science and maths lessons are also being developed in 36 schools. They have also started using the program, called, “LearnThruMusic”.
Dave Matthews, the head of Hawthorn High School in the South Wales valleys, said the program aimed at helping teenagers who are unwilling to study. He said, “There are lots of pupils who don’t have a high level of home support. It’s almost cool to say you have no need to find a support and we have got to change that. With this, they don’t have to be sitting at their desk at home. They can be outside, walking around or even listening to it on the bus, which is very convenient for them.” Everyone has a phone, MP3 or CD player, and they’re more likely to listen to these than pick up a book. “I think everyone would agree that music had an important influence on us when growing up. Both boys and girls are very good at remembering the words and dancing to the music in the charts. There’s no one thing that will successfully engage (使…产生兴趣) every child, and some of them will make little or no use of this. But the fact that they don’t have to do any extra work makes this a very good deal for a kid,” Dave Matthews added.
1.The pop and rock songs used in 36 schools ________.
A. were written for the students to relax themselves
B. made most parents and teachers angry
C. were specially written for hardworking students
D. were closely related to the curriculum
2.Which benefit of the program is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. It saves students much extra work.
B. It offers different ways of learning.
C. It makes remembering easier.
D. It improves family support to kids.
3.Which of the following can be inferred in the passage?
A. The program is not expected to have equal effect on every student.
B. Some students used the song as an excuse for not reading textbooks.
C. It’s more difficult to create songs for science and maths lessons.
D. Students involved in the program needn’t go to school every day.
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. Special-written Songs — A Reason Why Students Should Listen to IPods.
B. Special-written Songs — A New Way to Learn the Curriculum.
C. Special-written Songs — A Substitution for Textbooks.
D. Special-written Songs — Mothers’ New Concern.
I got up and dressed, stuck my violin under my jacket, and went out into the street. I wandered about for an hour, looking for a likely place, feeling as if I were about to commit a crime. Then I stopped at last under a bridge near the station and decided to have a go.
I felt tense and shaking. I drew my violin from under my coat like a gun. It was here, in Southampton, with trains passing overhead, that I was about to prove myself.
The first notes I played were loud and raw, and then they settled down and began to run more smoothly and to stay more or less in tune. To my surprise I was neither arrested nor told to shut up. Indeed, nobody took any notice at all.
I walked the streets of Southampton for several days, gradually knowing how to try and get money by being a street artist. It was not a good thing, for instance, to let the hat fill up with money — the sight could discourage the people; nor was it wise to empty it completely, which could also confuse them, giving them no hint as to where to drop his money. Placing a couple of pennies in the hat to start the thing going soon became a good idea. Before I played another tune, I took off the big money, but always left two pennies behind.
Old ladies were most generous, and so were women with children, shop girls, and typists. As for the men: Heavy drinkers were always generous too and so were big young with muscles. But never a man with a hat, briefcase or dog; respectable types were the meanest of all, except retired army officers, who would bark “Why aren’t you working, young man?” and then threw much money into the hat to hide their confusion.
1.The underlined phrase “have a go” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
A. have a try B. run away
C. change a place D. commit a crime
2.When the writer began to play the violin, he thought that ________.
A. he could make a lot of money B. he had chosen the wrong place
C. he would get into trouble D. people would stop and listen to him
3.According to the passage, the writer thought the best way of encouraging people to give a street-violinist money was to ________.
A. let the hat fill up with money first
B. leave a small amount of money in the hat
C. make sure that the hat was always empty
D. choose the best place to play more smooth tunes
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Most of the ladies were willing to give him money.
B. Retired army officers seldom gave him money.
C. Drinkers were generous with their money.
D. Not all the people would feel pity for street-violinists.
The night was dark, though sometimes the moving clouds allowed a star or two to be seen in the sky.The poor men held on to any bit of ____ they could find. They called to the Marie for but she was far the reach of the human voice. At one o’clock in the morning suddenly some were seen in the distance: another ship! The shouts of the were heard on board, and willing hands pulled them out of the water. The of the ship that had arrived at the scene to save their lives was Ellen. What had her to the exact spot the darkness and the pathless sea? Her captain had known of the wreck and had, indeed, to sail away from it. But let him speak for himself.
“ I was forced by the wind to change my course, a small bird flew across the ship once or twice and then flew at my face. I of this until exactly the same thing happened a second time, caused me to think it rather . While I was this , the same bird, for the third time, made its appearance and flew in the same way as before. I was then to change my course back to the original one. I had not gone far I heard a strange voice; and when I tried to where they came from, I found I was in the middle of people who had been shipwrecked. I immediately did my best to save them.”
1.A. land B. grass C. hope D. wood
2.A. food B. help C. rest D. stop
3.A. off B. out C. beyond D. from
4.A. people B. lights C. ships D. houses
5.A. sailors B. captains C. rescuers D. swimmers
6.A. name B. owner C. captain D. finder
7.A. ahead of time B. at times C. on time D. in time
8.A. brought B. carried C. kept D. caused
9.A. in B. on C. through D. around
10.A. everything B. nothing C. something D. Anything
11.A. attempted B. managed C. allowed D. demanded
12.A. Just as B. In case C. Only because D. Even though
13.A. paid no attention B. took good care C. took no notice D. kept close watch
14.A. which B. what C. that D. this
15.A. Interesting B. funny C. friendly D. unusual
16.A. searching B. expecting C. considering D. studying
17.A. back B. about C. up D. down
18.A. forced B. decided C. persuaded D. forbidden
19.A. when B. until C. then D. while
20.A. listen to B. search for C. make sure D. look out
, the disease will produce a powder poison that will kill the patient.
A. If it untreated B. If is untreated
C. If being untreated D. If untreated
—Do you think George has passed the driving test?
—No. If so, he ______ his car to our college yesterday.
A. would drive B. drove
C. would have driven D. had driven
