Drriinnggg! That’s the sound children across the country do not want to hear — the alarm bell(闹铃). This means children across the UK have to wake up bright and early to go to school.

But students at one school in north-east England can lie in for one more hour before they go to school. Monkseaton High School says it’s OK for students to come into school an hour later than other schools.

The headmaster, Dr Paul Kelley, says that it helps students to be more active in class. He feels that young people work better later in the day and a late start may be better for their school life than an early one.

Dr Kelley told the BBC that teenagers don’t work very well in the morning and their need to sleep is biological(生物学的).

This new approach(做法) to teaching shows good results. The school has already seen a drop in the number of students playing truant(逃学) by 27%. More importantly, Dr Kelley also said that exam results have improved by 20-30% over the past year.

Lessons at Monkseaton High School begin at 10 a.m. and finish at 3.40 p.m. However, the school opens from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

1.One of the results of starting school late is that _____.

A.students don’t do very well in exams B.students become more polite

C.students feel tired in the afternoon D.fewer students are absent(缺席) from school

2.We may learn from the passage that lessons at other schools in the UK may begin at _____.

A.7 a.m. B.8 a.m. C.9 a.m. D.10 a.m.

3.The underlined word “active” means “_____”.

A.乐观 B.活跃 C.紧张 D.消极

4.The article may be _____.

A.a story in a newspaper B.an advertisement in a magazine

C.a news report on the radio D.a play on TV

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” I thought to myself. Jeff was the last candidate (候选人) for president of Student Council. My best friend Tony came to me and said, “I’m sorry, Mike.” I really thought you should be_________.”

Later that day, I happened to pass Jeff in the dining room. I offered him a_________ “congratulations” and walked to my usual table. To my surprise, Jeff put his plate beside mine.

“I’m, er-I’m just wondering if you would…consider coming to work on my team,” he said_________ . “You are really smart, and you would be a great manager.”

“I don’t think so,” I replied, feeling unsure.

“Well, if you change your mind, we are meeting tomorrow,” he said before moving to another table.

All that night, I thought about the_________from Jeff. Maybe being a part of the election process(选举过程) would give me a chance to make important changes at our school. I decided to join them.

My first goal was to_________a catchy advertisement. Within a few days, we designed a poster with Jeff’s pictures showing him in a number of activities. No one could walk through any hallway without passing Jeff’s smiling face.

My next step was to_________out which new activities students would like to have at our school. Many of them wanted a chess club and a volleyball team.

With the information I had collected, Jeff met with the headmaster. The headmaster_________to add these activities to our school program.

With my help, Jeff and our ideas were well_________at school.

An eighth grader said, “It’ll be like attending a new school with Jeff as president.”

Hearing these words made my heart filled with_________. I had wanted to become president of Student Council to make a difference, I achieved that and more by working as a member of Jeff’s team. He became the most popular candidate and I was a large part of his _________. The face that it has made a difference in other people’s lives is the real prize. What a great feeling!

1.A.heard B.chosen C.invited D.followed

2.A.polite B.loud C.warm D.cheerful

3.A.proudly B.quickly C.nervously D.regretfully

4.A.advice B.chance C.message D.offer

5.A.print B.invent C.create D.send

6.A.carry B.try C.work D.find

7.A.agreed B.wanted C.expected D.asked

8.A.allowed B.received C.introduced D.required

9.A.pride B.surprise C.patience D.hope

10.A.luck B.spirit C.life D.success

Coober Pedy is a small town in the Australian desert. It’s famous not only for its opals (猫眼石), but also for a very unusual ________—the people there live and work underground.

Why do people choose to live under the ground? To avoid the hot days and cold nights—daytime temperatures can ________ to 50℃ or more and on a cold night they can fall to zero. The locals say that their strange lifestyle is the only answer ________ the unpleasant climate (气候). In the underground homes, the temperature is always a very pleasant 19℃ to 24℃. But that’s not the only advantage; the people there don’t need to pay builders if they want to build a home or make any ________.

You would be very surprised to see ________ people manage to live underground. They have modern kitchens and bathrooms. “People think it’s ________ to live here and that we’re like ancient people, but that’s not true.” says Bev Smith, ________ has lived in Coober Pedy for over 30 years. “When my husband, Larry, and I first came here, life was very ________ and many people decided to leave. But now, things have changed a lot, we have got used ________ here and we’re very comfortable. We now have underground shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes and churches!”

Abigail and Brian Tynan left their large house in Melbourne (墨尔本) two years ago to have in an underground home. “My mouth ________ open when I saw my wonderful underground home,” remembers Brian. “I really enjoy living here.”

1.A.question B.problem C.matter D.reason

2.A.fall B.drop C.rise D.raise

3.A.with B.of C.to D.in

4.A.changes B.change C.changed D.changing

5.A.how well B.how good C.what good D.what well

6.A.possible B.impossible C.important D.believable

7.A.which B.whom C.who D.whose

8.A.easy B.different C.difficult D.interesting

9.A.live B.to live C.living D.to living

10.A.felt B.fell C.came D.made

Read the passage and answer the questions:

Our local Community (社区) Youth Club is a very popular organization with young people in my town. I have been a member for four years now and I've taken part in a lot of interesting projects. These include fun activities such as holiday camps and discos. We have even made a video.

But it isn't all just enjoyment. We have also started doing social work to help people in our neighbourhood. We have organized activities for small children during the holidays. We have also formed a special support group to help young people stop smoking.

We are especially proud of the most recent group we have created. It organizes regular visits to the local home for the elderly. This idea came from a school visit to a home for the elderly. My class spent an afternoon at the home and everyone found the visit very rewarding (有意义的).

The old people at the home were excited by our visit. They were very talkative (健谈的) and they told us their personal stories. During our visit, the home was full of the sound of laughter. We sang songs and played games with the old people and had tea together. But we realized that life wasn't always easy. Some of them were in poor health and were very unhappy. They couldn't go outside and the visits by children brought some sunshine into their lives.

Many young people like me have very little contact with elderly people. As a result, we have a lot of wrong ideas about them. We have little or no idea of the kind of lives they lead in the homes. After this visit, my friends and I decided we should do something to help improve the quality of their lives.

Since the creation of our visiting group over twenty volunteers have joined us. Up to now, we have organized three group evening parties and a concert. But I think the individual (单独的) visits are the most important. Club members regularly visit old people and everyone finds the experience rich and rewarding.

1.Community Youth Club isn’t a very popular organization with young people in my town, is it? _____________________________________________________.

2.Why do they form a special support group?

_____________________________________________________.

3.How did the old people in the home feel when the young people visited them?

_____________________________________________________.

4.What did the writer and his friends decide to do after the visit to the home for the elderly?

_____________________________________________________.

5.How many volunteers have joined them?

_____________________________________________________.

6.What can you learn from the passage after reading it?

_____________________________________________________.

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