When looking at Western Europe,we don’t usually think about poverty—but in fact,some people in modern—day Britain are so hard up that they can’t afford to buy food.
Back in 2008,the financial crisis caused a lot of unemployment.Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem—and many British people fell into debt.It’s estimated that 500,000 people in the UK have turned to food banks,just to get by.
Steph Hagen,who works in a Nottingham food bank,says, “People do not go to a food bank because it's an open door.It’s a case where they go to it because they need to.With our food bank—we are an independent one.and we have limited stocks—everyone who comes through our door has no income.”
There are checks to make sure nobody is abusing the system.If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank—even for a short time—they can give them vouchers(凭证).Then the people in need take them along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days.
Churches and individual donors provide most of the food in the banks.But some businesses might help out too.
And what sort of food is offered in food banks? Hagen says, “Basically,we’ve got porridge.We do occasionally get fresh produce but it’s very rare,especially in the winter months.It’s like tinned fruit,tinned ready meals.We have to give out ‘no-cooking’ food parcels because people can’t afford the gas and electricity”.
Community spirit has a lot to do with food banks.Volunteers say they are a great meeting place for people who are lonely and depressed.And when facing a crisis,some beneficiaries might need to feed not only their belly—but also their soul.
1.According to the text,the food bank is a place_____.
A.which is funded by the government
B.where people can get food randomly
C.which helps poor people live through crisis
D.where there is enough food supplies
2.What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A.Systems. B.Doctors.
C.Social workers. D.Vouchers.
3.Why do food banks mainly offer “no-cooking ” food?
A.Poor people have no money for gas and electricity.
B.The volunteers hate to supply cooked food.
C.Food banks can’t afford cooked food.
D.This kind of food is easy to store.
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Community spirit can cure those who are depressed.
B.Food banks benefit poor people mind and body.
C.People can have great fun in food banks.
D. Volunteers tend to feel lonely and depressed in food banks.
Jean is a bright young lady who comes from a rich and famous family. She goes to a good university and has everything that money can buy. Well, almost everything. The problem is that the people in Jean's family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her. So Jean spends a lot of time on her QQ. She likes being anonymous (匿名), talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life. She uses the name Linda on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she keeps in touch with quite often.
Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ. His name was David and lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had a common interest in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot their time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David sent her a picture of himself: He was a tall, good-looking young man with a big happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.
When Jean's father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite rock singer. But when she knocked on David's door in San Francisco, she found that her special friend was only a ten-year-old boy named Jim!
1.Jean spends a lot of her time on QQ because she is .
A. rich B. young C. lonely D. talkative
2.The following states are true about Jean EXCEPT that according to the passage.
A. she is a university student
B. she was born in a wealthy family
C. she made a friend named Jim younger than her
D. she uses her family name on her QQ
3.We could believe that Jean was when seeing Jim himself instead of David on QQ at the door.
A. delighted B. disappointed
C. regretful D. confused
书面表达
现今,大城市普遍存在着交通问题。它不仅给人们的生活和工作带来不便而且还威胁到了人们的生命安全。请以“Traffic Problems in Big Cities”为题,根据以下内容提示完成作文:
1. 描述两个常见的交通问题;
2. 简要分析导致这些交通问题的主要原因;
3. 根据你的分析,从社会规范(rules and regulations)和个人行为两方面谈谈你得到的启示(不少于两点)。
注意:1.词数:120 左右,开头已给出,不计入总词数。
Nowadays, traffic problems are common in big cities.
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短文改错
A young man called Low-Carbon Brother become a hit on the Internet in 2011. He suggests living a low carbon life, which means using less energy in our daily life so that we can help reducing carbon dioxide in the air. For example, she always picks up some waste paper on the street or uses the blank side to write something. While he is watching TV, he always turns up the screen brightness to the minimum and turns off the light. Therefore, he goes to work by bike instead of driving. Some people think what he is doing is just a show. No one can live such a simply life with so many modern invention around us. As far as I am concerned, I am strongly in favor his idea and his behavior. Although what he is doing has no huge effect on global warming, but he at least can enjoy a healthy life.
语法填空,阅读下面材料,在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Millions 1. words have been said about young people in the United States. There are reasons for this great interest in their ideas, 2._ _(feel) and actions. Today there are about eight million Americans in the colleges and universities. The young under twenty-five make __3. nearly half of the American population, many of 4. will be in power in the U.S. 5. (nature), their ideas are important to everyone in the country, and 6. is necessary for the older people to understand 7. they think and how they feel. College students today have strong opinions about right and 8. . They are deeply interested in making a 9. (good) life for all the people, especially for those who have never 10. (give) a fair chance before.
完形填空
阅读下面短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出一个最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The moment happened 30 years ago but it was still fresh in my memory. I was a college freshman and had ________ up most of the night before laughing and talking with friends. Now just before my first ________ of the day my eyelids were feeling heavier and heavier and my head was drifting down to my desk to make my textbook a ________ . A few minutes’ nap(小睡)time before class couldn’t ________ , I thought.
BOOM! I lifted my head suddenly and my eyes opened wider than saucers. I looked around with my ________ beating wildly trying to find the cause of the ________ . My young professor was looking at me with a boyish(孩子气的) smile on his face. He had ________ dropped the textbooks he was carrying onto his desk. “Good morning!”, he said still ________. “I am glad to see everyone is ________ . Now let’s get started. ”
For the next hour I wasn’t sleepy at all. It wasn’t from the ________ of my professor’s textbook alarm clock either. It was instead from the ________ discussion he led. With knowledge and good ________ he made the material come ________ . His insight (洞察力)was full of both wisdom and loving-kindness. And the enthusiasm and joy that he ________ with were contagious(有感染力的). I ________ the classroom not only wide awake, but a little ________ and a little better as well.
I learned something far more important than not ________ in class that day too. I learned that if you are going to do something in this life,do it well,do it with ________ . What a wonderful place this would be if all of us did our work joyously and well. Don’t sleepwalk(梦游)your way through ________ then. Wake up! Let your love fill your work. Life is too ________ not to live it well.
1.A. took B. divided C. stayed D. put
2.A. class B. test C. task D. lecture
3.A. platform B. pillow C. carpet D. wall
4.A. benefit B. help C. last D. hurt
5.A. heart B. mind C. thought D. head
6.A. trouble B. noise C. failure D. incident
7.A. angrily B. carelessly C. purposely D. accidentally
8.A. smiling B. talking C. complaining D. shouting
9.A. active B. curious C. present D. awake
10.A. sound B. shock C. interruption D. blow
11.A. fascinating B. boring C. puzzling D. encouraging
12.A. gesture B. sense C. humor D. design
13.A. strange B. natural C. handy D. alive
14.A. taught B. spread C. combined D. started
15.A. decorated B. filled C. left D. entered
16.A. clearer B. smarter C. quieter D. stronger
17.A. discussing B. speaking C. cheating D. sleeping
18.A. joy B. speed C. aim D. determination
19.A. work B. life C. journey D. college
20.A. hard B. complex C. short D. simple