Make a difference with your photography

Take the chance to make a real difference with your photography and contribute to One Minute on Earth, a project aiming to help street children around the world.

We all live on the planet Earth, in different time zones and different parts of the world. When you read this, it will be night in one part of the world and morning somewhere else. A sunset and a sunrise is always there at any minute on earth.

In 2015 on the 7th of April at 13:00 (New York time), 200 photographers all around the world clicked on the button of their cameras all within the same minute on earth. From all these amazing landscape photos and stories, a photobook was made which was sold to raise money for charity.

100% of this profit was donated to the Ashalayam Deutschland organisation which used this money to support a street children center in Kolkata India. You can still buy this book from our website, which will help us continue to support the kids.

We plan to hold this event annually, with the next one scheduled on June 21st 2017 at 21:00 (New York time). Money raised from the sale of the new photobook will go to a home in South Africa where 75 parentless children live. This year’s event will include not only landscape photos but also street photos. The main rule is that the sky must be shown in the photo, so all can see at what time it was shot when this year’s One Minute on Earth got to you.

1. What is the main goal of One Minute on Earth?

A. To raise money for children.

B. To publish a photobook.

C. To find the best picture.

D. To take pictures of different places.

2.What do the 2015 and 2017 events have in common?

A. They take place on the same date.

B. They each produce a photobook.

C. They require the same type of picture.

D. The money raised goes to the same children.

3.What is the main rule of the 2017 event?

A. All photos must be landscapes.

B. The photos must be taken in Africa.

C. The sky must appear in every photo.

D. Each photographer can submit only one photo.

I come to the United States ten year ago. I would always say that I was trying to study, but there were always things like work and my kids that would not allow me to start.

Now I realized that those were only excuses. What stopped me was that I was afraid to start studying again. I always believed I would learn by myself.

One day, however, my son told me that he was sad because his friends would come over and I didn’t understand them because I didn’t speak English. He was also sad because I could never help him with his homework. That same day, I told myself, “Rocio, you have to start believing in yourself and you will see you can make it.”

The next day, I went downtown to look for a big banner (横幅) in front of the school which said that they offered classes for adults. I came in to see if I could join, but the classes were closed already. That night I took the kids to the movies, and on the way back, I told them we would take a new route. I ended up getting lost. That’s the way I found Chaffey College. The following Monday, I went to ask for information. They told me that summer school was starting that week.

That’s how I started studying English last summer. It is difficult, but I have had great rewards. My daughter had to write a story for school. It was about the female they most admired and why . She wrote that I was the person she most admired because I had started going to College. I will never forget this.

1.According to the passage, the author probably is a .

A. teacher B. doctor C. father D. mother

2.What made the author make up her mind to study English?

A. What her son said.

B. What her daughter said.

C. Thinking about herself.

D. Thinking about her daughter.

3.How did they find Chaffey College?

A. On the way to the movies.

B. They took a new route and got lost.

C. Ask a stranger for information.

D. According to the banner.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The author came to the United States from another country.

B. The author had two children at least including one daughter.

C. What really changed the author’s life was she believed in herself.

D. The author wrote that she was the person her son most admired.

Section B (18 marks)

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in the blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

A year ago, August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but it was for Dave to find work, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at the risk of joining the millions of Americans who have their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely —$7,000, a legacy(遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were meeting difficulty.” says Dave.

But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were by what the Hatches had done. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in , it was more than $100,000.

It nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.

Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of They preferred comparison shopping and would go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.

Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camps when their parents couldn’t it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you anything,” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”

Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches their farmland. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents—should the whole community and last for generations to come.

Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.

1.A. happy B. hard C. easy D. nice

2.A. lost B. bought C. left D. wanted

3.A. gift B. money C. encouragement D. package

4.A. accept B. defeat C. win D. receive

5.A. amazed B. excited C. upset D. touched

6.A. the other B. another C. other D. others

7.A. surprised B. frightened C. pleased D. encouraged

8.A. kind B. generous C. living D. saving

9.A. afford B. buy C. offer D. keep

10.A. suffered B. enjoyed C. needed D. did

11.A. put away B. put up C. gave up D. gave away

12.A. enrich B. bless C. brighten D. expand

Reading is a great way to improve your English. You'll learn new words, revise previously-taught structures and absorb thousands of useful expressions and phrases... without any effort. By reading, you are receiving valuable language input. And this is how you learn! Remember, language learning is a combination of input + practice. As you're reading, you're taking in language naturally, and you're seeing how it all fits together. This is crucial to your learning.

The great thing about reading is that learning takes place subconsciously. There are no exercises to do, no grammar rules to learn, no tasks to complete... it's all natural. The language flows in through your eyes, and gets registered(记录) in your brain. What could be easier?

The key to effective reading is to read things that you want to read. There are millions of books, magazines and websites out there. You couldn't possibly read them all. So, the important thing is to find things that you like reading. Then, you'll be motivated to read. And then the reading won't be difficult. It'll be easy! And then you'll learn. It's simple.

Remember: read what you want to read. What you like reading. What motivates and inspires you. But where can you start? Well, you could read a book that you've already read in your own language. Simply find a translated version of a book that you have read and enjoyed. This will make processing the content in the target language much easier as you’ll already know what the book is about! You could also read the news. This is great as you can read the news in your own language first, then in English. You'll see that it won't be too difficult as you'll be familiar with the topics and stories. Magazines are also great. Find one that covers a topic you're interested in: business, clothing, guns, horses, houses, housekeeping, stocks and shares, sports, computers, electronics, designing, cooking... you name it, they'll have it. If not, look for information on the internet. There are also websites for every topic under the sun! Why not join a forum? They're a great source of English input as the language is often written in a simple, spoken style. Go to Google Groups, which has discussion groups based on common interests. Just type in the topic that interests you and join the chat.

Finally, how you read is also important. The best thing is to read without using a dictionary. Let the words flow over you. Just skip the parts you don't understand. If you make your reading feel too much like work, it'll stop being fun. Of course, you could make a note of any new words and phrases that you like or see repeated frequently, but try not to break your concentration too much. Also, set yourself mini-objectives. For example, if you're reading a novel, read 20 pages a day. Very soon, you'll have been exposed to thousands of useful phrases and words. Have fun reading! You'll learn so much!

1.The underlined word “crucial” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.

A. easy B. difficult

C. important D. suitable

2.The key to effective reading is __________.

A. to be motivated to read

B. not to learn grammar rules

C. to read millions of books

D. to read easy things

3.You can start to read by ____________.

A. reading a book that you've already read in English

B. reading the news in English first

C. going to Google Groups to practice spoken English

D. reading magazines containing topics you are interested in

4.From the passage we can learn that _____________.

A. to read is as much fun as to work

B. the great thing about reading is that you can read without any effort

C. when you read you needn’t look up every new word in the dictionary

D. you should make notes of every new word and phrase while reading

5.The best title of the passage can be _________________.

A. How To Read English Novels

B. How To Learn English By Reading

C. How To Absorb Expressions And Phrases

D. How To Learn English Without Any Effort

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