Homeless people face a lot of challenges, such as not having enough to eat and no job opportunities. Some of the most basic challenges, however, are not having clean water and toiletries (卫生用品) — a big problem for homeless teens. That encouraged a young researcher to invent a multi-purpose product to help these teens.

"I was born into a life of volunteering," said 13-year-old Leia Gluckman. And that’s true. Her mom is a president of an organization providing help for homeless teens. Leia and her brother have volunteered there for years. When she was a young girl, Leia helped serve food where teens were eating. Now she’s a teenager herself, and she’s managing the toiletry and clothing work there.

From her work at the center, Leia noticed that teens asked for some toiletries more than others. What they needed most often were toothpaste, body powder (粉) and shampoo (洗发水). Leia wondered whether she could create a product to serve all three purposes.

It would need to take away dirt and oil from skin and hair. It would need to clean teeth. Also, it would need to kill bacteria (病菌) without being harmful to people. She wanted her ingredients (产品成分) to be natural, to be able to break down easily and to taste and smell pleasant. Moreover, this product had to be low-cost and have a long shelf life.

Leia started by going to stores and looking at the ingredient lists for toiletries. Then she tried eight different ways. She tested each way to see how well it worked.

Not all of them worked well. But she finally decided on three. Each includes salt and baking powder. Salt helps clean teeth and skin; baking powder helps take in bad smells. She also has some other recipes which include some special materials that give her products different tastes and smells, which would let teens choose a product based on personal preferences.

It wasn’t easy, but Leia came up with some model products. She presented them at the finals of Broadcom MASTERS science competition.

Leia wants to develop her products further. "Could it possibly be used to drive away mosquitoes (蚊子)?" she wonders.

"Science offers a way to go about solving problems and helping people," says Leia. And she thinks her products could benefit a great number of people, not just the homeless. Anyone in an area with little or no chance to get clean water could find her products useful, maybe refugees (难民) and soldiers who are sent to places without running water.

1.What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A. Leia has lived a life of volunteering for years.

B. Leia and her brother helped their mom for years.

C. Leia was born in a great family of volunteering.

D. Leia’s mom set up an organization for homeless teens.

2.Leia’s products meet homeless people’s needs mostly because ___________.

A. they are cheap and natural

B. they can offer personal choices

C. they are used to drive away mosquitoes

D. they can serve three purposes with little water

3.According to the passage, we know that ___________.

A. Leia invented the product in order to win the MASTERS competition

B. Leia’s invention came from her will to create and to help others

C. The family influence played a decisive role in Leia’s invention

D. Leia believed that science could help solve problems easily

Lu Xun is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. Besides his famous stories, he also wrote many influential articles about the living conditions of Chinese people.

Born in 1881 to a wealthy family, Lu Xun had a happy childhood. In 1893, however, his grandfather, a senior government official, was put into prison for taking money. At the same time, his father became seriously ill. From that time on, his family was no longer accepted by their relatives and friends. These early experiences greatly influenced his writing.

By the time Lu Xun arrived in Nanjing to study at university in 1899, he already believed that Chinese society had to change and become modern. In 1902 he went to study in Japan. There he began writing articles for several Chinese student magazines. He showed a gift for writing and translating and he even wrote several books, although none was popular. He returned to China in 1909 because he was in need of money.

After working for several years as a teacher in Beijing, Lu Xun again returned to writing. In 1918, he wrote his famous short story Diary of a Madman. It was the first Chinese novel published using the everyday language that people spoke, which helped make it a great success. This, together with his novel The True Story of Ah Q(1921), made Lu Xun a leading Chinese writer.

Although successful, Lu Xun still worried greatly about China’s future. In 1927, he moved to Shanghai and gave up writing stories in order to devote himself to what he called “pen warfare”. He only wrote articles which called on the people to fight against the government. For this, the government stopped him from publishing any more books. He was forced to write his articles using false names.

Since his death in 1936, Lu Xun’s importance and influence have grown. Today, many of his writings are included in school textbooks and his works are read by millions of people around the world.

1.Which of the following greatly influenced Lu Xun’s writing according to the passage?

A. The people he met in Japan.

B. The experiences in his early life.

C. Working as a teacher in Beijing.

D. His father’s being put into prison.

2.According to the passage why was Lu Xun’s story Diary of a Madman so popular?

A. It was based on Lu Xun’s diary.

B. It was the first novel to use everyday language.

C. Its story took place in modern times.

D. It was written using a western style.

3.The underlined word “This”(Paragraph 4)refers to .

A. the success of Diary of a Madman

B. the use of everyday language

C. the first Chinese novel

D. The True Story of Ah Q

4.After moving to Shanghai, Lu Xun mainly wrote .

A. funny stories

B. articles about himself

C. articles against the government

D. stories about government officials

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