题目内容
Aside from doing schoolwork and studying, American students must also participate in various extra-curricular activities. Many students get involved in their communities by doing volunteer work at various local organizations. In fact, the school I attend even requires students to perform a certain number of hours of volunteer work per semester. It is part of our study hall(自修课) grade, as well as a graduation requirement.
There are many places to do volunteer work in the community. Some of my classmates volunteer at the local animal shelter, the community table (which provides free meals for needy families), charity(慈善) stores, and many others. Finding a suitable place to volunteer usually depends on what’s available, as well as personal interests. For example, a friend of mine who enjoys swimming volunteers at the recreation center to teach young children how to swim.
With all these options out there, I ended up doing most of my volunteer work at a school library and a non-profit bookstore called Friends of the Library. This bookstore sells donated books at cheap prices, and all the profits made are donated to the local library.
I thought it was very fitting that I do my volunteer work at a library and a bookstore, because reading has always been very important to me. I love working in the bookstore now, because every sale we make helps our public library expand, and gives it the funds needed to purchase new books.
I think everyone should have the opportunity to read, and that we each should do our part to help those who don’t have the chance. There is a charity event, called One Book for A Window of Opportunity, in which Chinese students can donate a book to the children of the poor village Fangmaping. They don’t have a lot of resources, so reading can be a challenge. To find out more about this event, please visit: http://bbs.enfamily.cn/thread-739278-1-1.html.
54. This passage is written by _____.
A. a Chinese student B. an American student C. a Chinese teacher D. an American teacher
55. This passage is supposed to write to ____.
A. villagers in Fangmaping B. the writer’s parents
C. Chinese readers D. American readers
56. The writer chose to do volunteer work at _____.
A. a local animal shelter B. a charity store
C. a recreation center D. a library and a bookstore
57. By writing the article, the writer hopes to _____.
A. meet the graduation requirement B. look for another volunteer job
C. get more chances to read D. encourage people to offer help
DDACC
If I see one more article about how wonderful alternative energy is compared to oil, I will flip(翻页). Alternative energy sources can be good---- very good in fact. And it’s pretty obvious that we’re going to need them, and that our dependence on oil is a Bad Thing. But accepting that does not mean accepting that any kind of alternative energy is a good thing.
To be a good thing, it has to have three properties: 1) It has to help reduce our dependence on oil, 2) It has to be no worse for the environment, and 3) It has to be economically practical.
Many of the things praised meet one or even two of those properties. Solar panels, for example. They can reduce our need for oil, at least in certain regions, and they’re certainly not bad for the environment. But they’re expensive. If you spend the money to make your home solar-powered, you probably won’t get back your costs for at least 15 years, which approaches the lifespan of the panels.
Certainly we need to clean up our act big time and find workable sources of alternative energy. But we also have to keep in mind that every one of these alternative-energy sources comes at a cost, which is something people seem to forget. They hear the phrase “alternative energy” and automatically assume it’s got to be good. But green isn’t always good, and oil isn’t always bad.
One seemingly “green” technology that pops up again and again is electric cars. It is praised by well-meaning people as good for the environment and a way to reduce our oil dependence, especially as oil prices continue to rise.
Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “ zero-emissions vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants mostly use fire to make it. Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators. Generators are fueled by something---- usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal（地热的） plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those “zero-emissions” cars are likely coal-burning cars. It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean. It is not. It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes ---- “ If I can’t see it, it’s not happening. “ Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas ( or another fue) and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat ---- at the generator, through the transmission（传送） lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far ---- so electric cars burn more fuel than gas- powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from nukes; or geothermal, or hydro, or solar, or wind, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don’t use much of those energy sources.
In addition, electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it’s a power plant, though, all the junk is in one lace. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.
【小题1】Which of the following statements will the writer support?
| A．Any kind of alternative energy is a good thing. |
| B．Alternative energy is bound to take the place of oil. |
| C．People should have an objective view towards alternative energy. |
| D．Solar panel is a good example of alternative energy that meets three properties. |
| A．People see the California Greens everywhere. |
| B．People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles. |
| C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells. |
| D．People there have no idea that so far electrically mainly comes from burning coal, oil, etc. |
| A．Green technology is not always green. |
| B．Alternative energy is economically practical. |
| C．Electric cars are not clean at all. |
| D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle. |
| A．are more environmentally friendly |
| B．burn more fuel than gas-powered ones |
| C．are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated |
| D．are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill |
| A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication |
| B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |
| C．zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered cousins |
Why Rent Textbooks?
Renting textbooks is a relatively new idea for everyone. Back in the old days, the idea of renting one never existed since the books are affordable or readily available in libraries. But the time has changed and with the changes in educational system and various economic challenges happening across the globe, the price of textbooks increased.
Given such fact, textbook renting is now a new fashion among college students. Research was made to find out if renting helps one save money and time rather than buying new textbooks and realized that it really is. Let’s examine carefully further and see why renting books is a cost-effective way to still get to have your textbooks without shelling too much money from your pocket.
Gives value for your money
You don’t have to buy all of your textbooks. Those non-major subjects, are better acquired through renting. It saves one money and helps you give out the money you save on some other personal possessions you need in college.
Renting textbooks allows you to save at least 50% off the standard retail (零售) price for each item. You can tell, with a little research, that renting is a lot cheaper compared to buying used books aside from looking way better than the former.
Saves time
You can save a great deal of time when renting a textbook. Instead of browsing your way for hours trying to look for better deals online, you can simply go to a popular book renting marketplace online and just order away. There is literally no need to skimming for hours and see where you can find a great deal. Often, the rental company gives you prepaid postage slip just to get you going and do the same when you decide to return the book.
This process not only saves you time, it also saves other resources like gas if you decide to go to the nearest bookstore to buy books or spend hours using electricity just to find a good deal.
User Friendly
Aside from being able to save money and time, renting textbooks brings convenience to all users. Imagine trying to scan the virtual bookshelf and checking on comments of previous users and figuring out which ones got bad comments and which had great ones. It could be fun at first but if you are short of time, the process can become annoying.
If you rent books, you will only be needing the book’s ISBN number and find it right away. No more time-wasting site search. Type in the ISBN number, order the book, and wait for it to get shipped to your home.
【小题1】The reason why people haven’t the habit of renting textbooks in the old days is that ______.
| A．the educational system has not changed by now |
| B．people can afford books or get books easily in libraries |
| C．different economic challenges happen across the world |
| D．the price of textbooks is much higher than that of nowadays |
| A．saving | B．spending | C．removing | D．wasting |
| A．One can save a great deal of time in browsing for better deals online |
| B．It brings convenience to all the users apart from saving money and time |
| C．The process saves other resources if you don’t go to the nearest bookstore |
| D．It saves one money and helps him spend money on what he need most in college |
| A．renting textbooks allows you to save a lot of money |
| B．renting a textbook can also save you a great deal of time |
| C．textbook renting was a relatively new fashion among college students |
| D．textbook renting is a money-saving, fun, and, convenient way for college students |
暑假到了, 你在不忘课本、完成暑假作业的同时, 是否还安排了一些有意义的事情呢?下面就是一个很好的建议, 不妨按照自己的兴趣选择做一点吧。
请根据以下提示完成一篇英语短文。
|
建议 |
理由和好处 |
|
读古典文学 |
1. 提高个人修养 2. …… |
|
听优美音乐 |
1. 缓解学习压力 2. …… |
|
看大师画展 |
1. 培养美感 2. …… |
注意：
1. 对所有要点逐一陈述, 适当发挥, 不要简单翻译。
2. 词数150左右。开头和结尾已经写好, 不计入总词数。
3. 作文中不得提及考生所在学校和本人姓名。
参考词汇：有修养的cultured
Summer vocation is coming near. Aside from a lot of homework, I think it necessary to plan some meaningful things. My suggestions are as follows.
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I hope every one of us will lead a productive life in the approaching summer holidays.