When I first met my new parrot, Chico, his wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the earth just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I would take Chico outside. I ________ him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him happier. At first he seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking ________ . He didn’t even flap his wings in an/a ________ to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable.
One day Chico got especially excited. He paced back and forth and made an ________ amount of noise. Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started ________ flapping his wings for the first time ever—then he lifted off the ________ like a space shuttle! I was amazed and ________. Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been waiting until the moment was ripe for ________!
Two days later Chico returned. First I tried to ________ him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his ________ and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him out every day if the weather was nice as long as he did come back. ________, he flew onto my shoulder.
From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him ________ early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The routine lasted for two months ________ suddenly Chico became ________. The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the ________. Within a few days he died.
I was very sad. The ________ crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what ________ is there in being a bird if you can’t fly?
Chico made his first ________ for freedom on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a ________ when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don’t set yourself free, what will be the ________ of your life?
1.A. brought B. seated C. caught D. chased
2.A. comfortable B. painful C. patient D. anxious
3.A. attempt B. stage C. journey D. path
4.A. serious B. first C. incredible D. accessible
5.A. slowly B. gently C. madly D. gracefully
6.A. ground B. branch C. window D. house
7.A. moved B. shocked C. delighted D. excited
8.A. patience B. exchange C. rescue D. escape
9.A. trick B. fasten C. seize D. expect
10.A. cage B. chain C. food D. feather
11.A. At last B. As usual C. Once in a while D. In the meantime
12.A. out B. off C. away D. alone
13.A. until B. while C. since D. although
14.A. active B. weak C. annoying D. miserable
15.A. forest B. community C. countryside D. neighborhood
16.A. fact B. thought C. concern D. detail
17.A. problem B. meaning C. interest D. mistake
18.A. relief B. willingness C. communication D. breakthrough
19.A. breath B. look C. holiday D. chance
20.A. success B. purpose C. contribution D. importance
Zoey admits it was a little sad saying goodbye to her fish. 1.Zoey’s class at Hawthorne Elementary School spent most of the school year raising the fish from time they were nothing more than little eggs with eyes.
The program the Hawthorne kids took part in is called” Trout in the classroom”.2. The kids at Wilson Middle School in Fishersville took part in the project, too.
“I got to feed them every morning and watch them grow up,” said seventh-grader Lauren Clayton. We have to protect them, or some of the fish could go extinct.” Lauren was right. 3.But later, pollution, overfishing and loss of natural habitat have pushed some species to the danger of extinction.
Thanks to the kids in the program, trout are being reintroduced into rivers and streams across the country. And by doing that, the kids are helping to restore there local ecosystems-----the natural balance that existed before human disturbed it,
4.Because the fish are in their classrooms, the kids are responsible for making sure there is cool, clean water, proper food and proper living conditions in the tanks.
By the middle of May, they were “as big as a finger.” That is, they are old enough to be released into Oneida Creek.” Remember to swim back here to meet us and eat the food we bring little trout”.5.
A The kids can learn some scientific lessons at school.
B Make sure when a warm lands on the surface, never bite.
C Finally, Zoey read them goodbye letters before letting them go.
D They can also see how our actions affect the trout’s ability to survive.
E But she honestly thinks it’s good that they are going to a natural home.
F It’s a national project supported by a conservation group called Trout Unlimited.
G When America was first founded, river and streams across the continent were filled with fish.
Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.
Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.
People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people’s wish of participation from an internal factor (e.g. “I volunteer because it’s important to me”) to an external factor (e.g. “I volunteer because I’m required to do so”). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future. People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.
Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to “training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.
Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am.” Consistent with the researchers’ expectations, they found a positive correlation(正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice: “Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity....Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity”.
1.People volunteer mainly out of __________.
A. academic requirements B. social expectations
C. financial rewards D. internal needs
2.What can we learn from the Florida study?
A. Follow-up studies should last for one year. B. Volunteers should get mentally prepared.
C. Strategy training is a must in research. D. Volunteers are provided with concrete advice.
3.What is most likely to motivate volunteers to continue their work?
A. Individual differences in role identity. B. Publicly identifiable volunteer T-shirts.
C. Role identity as a volunteer. D. Practical advice from researchers.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. How to Get People to Volunteer B. How to Study Volunteer Behaviors
C. How to Keep Volunteers’ Interest D. How to Organize Volunteer Activities
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.
Suddenly a crow（乌鸦）perched on the tree near their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this?”
The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the second time, “What is this?”
The son said, “Father, I have just now told you. It is a crow! ”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the third time, “What is this?”
“It’s a crow, a crow, a crow!” said the son loudly.
A little after, the father again asked his son the fourth time, “What is this?” This time the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel annoyed; I rather felt affection for my innocent child.”
1.What does the underlined word “perched” mean in the passage?
A. knocked. B. landed. C. hit. D. flew.
2.Why did the father ask the same question again and again?
A. Because he wanted to make his son angry.
B. Because he was too old to remember anything.
C. Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be.
D. Because he couldn’t understand what his son said.
3.How old was the old man when his son asked him 23 times “What is this?”
A. 35 years old. B. 45 years old.
C. 80 years old. D. 38 years old.
4.What is the most suitable title for the passage?
A. A Crow. B. An Old Man.
C. Father’s Love. D. An Old Diary.
Some of Australian cyclists have used "GPS art" to turn a 202 km (125- mile) ride into the outline（轮廓）of a goat, which interests many people greatly.
The four men marked their route on an app before using it track their journey around Perth. When uploaded to the computer, it was shown as a picture. Cyclist Ben Jones said the group settled on a goat because it was an easy animal to draw. He said the ride lasted more than six hours, with the four men stopping only for food, and flat tyres . "Except for riding 202km,' it's relatively simple," Mr. Jones told the BBC. "You mainly mark your route on the app and it plans directions out."
GPS art has also been widely used by runners and other cyclists when they travel out. Mr. Jones said his group wanted to shake up their normal weekend ride. "We all ride l0,000km to 15,000km a year," he said. "Mostly we just ride together as mates and have a good time － that's what this was about."
The group received much attention after posting their map to social media this week. Others described Mr. Jones as a goat guy in an interview on Australian television. For their next piece of GPS art, the group plans to draw a local animal such as the koala. "Certainly, there'll be something coming, for we are making our decisions to put more and more plans into practice. I'm sure of that," Mr. Jones said.
1.What holds many people's attention greatly?
A. The cyclists' shaping the route into the outline of a goat.
B. The cyclists' having the GPS to travel with.
C. The cyclists' having traveled 125 miles.
D. The cyclists' riding more than 6 hours.
2.What did the four men do during their six-hour ride?
A. They had their bikes repaired. B. They got something to eat.
C. They stopped to have a rest. D. They planned new directions.
3.How would Mr. Jones feel about their ride?
A. It was tiring. B. It was moving. C. It was enjoyable. D. It was amazing.
4.What does the underlined word "that" in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Mr. Jones becoming a goat guy. B. People paying attention to the map.
C. The group drawing the animal koala. D. The group performing their ride plans.
About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, and exchange of greetings was followed by his questions: “ Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting
the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet? He was angry: “ Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer!
What kind of person would not speak in English to her son at home and at all times? “ Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and sent them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of “ those people.” Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的)。
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others; it teaches people about other cultures and other places- something very basic and obviously lacking in the “educator” I met in New Jersey.
1.The teacher asked the author to his office________.
A. to work out a study plan for Scola B. to get Scola enrolled in kindergaten
C. to discuss Scola’s in-class performance D. to find a language partner for Scola
2.The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as __________.
A. positive B. critical C. casual D. passive
3.This text is likely to be selected from a book of __________.
A. geography B. medicine C. history D. education
