Kelly Christopher, a student at Lutheran High School in California, US, loves oranges. One day last week, she used a pole(竿子) to pick oranges off trees and collect them in baskets. It's the first time in her 15 years she's picked fruit from trees.

   "This is quite different from buying oranges in the supermarket," said Christopher. "Every time I eat an orange, I'll remember this experience."  

Christopher was one of the 30 student volunteers at Soil Born Farms. She volunteered as part of a project which was set up in 2009 to help homeowners in South Land Park pick oranges and other fruits out of their backyards. Before, the fruit would rot on the ground or get eaten by animals. Now the fruit is donated to those who need it.

    "It is good for many people", said Randy Stannard, who works for the project. "The homeowner gets fruit picked and more people can have healthy food."

    "Two harvests (收成 ) were organized in 2009 and volunteers picked 3,000 pounds (1,360kg) of fruit", Stannard said. In 2010, the number was 20,000. This year, Soil Born Farms hopes to get 40,000 pounds. They will harvest every weekend from January to April.

    Shannon Galloway, Christopher's science teacher, brought her students into the project this year.

 "You're making use of a resource that might be wasted," she said. "I think it's meaningful to everyone."

     Donato Frazier, 15, always climbs up a ladder(梯子) and gets on the top of the tree.

     "Standing on the treetop is pretty cool," Frazier said. "I can see clearly that many baskets are filled up, and even see that many people are eating healthy fruit because of our volunteer work."                                          

71. Christopher and other students went to pick fruits from real trees because they wanted to _____.

A. have some fresh fruit for themselves    B. make some money by selling fruit

C. provide people with more healthy fruit   D. buy some cheap fruit from their neighbors

1. When was the project set up?

A. In 2008.             B. In 2009.     C. In 2010.     D. In 2011.

2.What will happen to the fruit if they don’t help the homeowners pick it?

A. The fruit will rot or be eaten by small animals.

B. People who need the fruit will come to pick it.

C. The fruit will be used as a resource for research.

D. Homeowners will pick the fruit and sell it.

3. What does the underlined word “mean?

A. 资源             B. 调查         C. 对策         D.  娱乐

4.How do the students feel about their work?

A. It’s interesting and easy.              B. It’s meaningless and hard.

C. It’s meaningful and exciting.           D. It’s tiring and boring.

On my eighth birthday, Dad bought me an accordion(手风琴） and said excitedly, "Once you learn to play, it’ll stay with you for life." But I didn’t want to play it. Ijust wanted to play games, But Dad asked me to take accordion lessons.
One day, I found a box in a corner. When I opened it, I saw a beautiful violin. "You’re your father’s," Mum said. "His parents bought it for him. I guess he got too busy on the farm to learn to play it."
I had to practice half an hour every day, and every day I tried to get out of it. But Dad didn’t allow. I asked why. He answered, "Because you can bring people joy. You can touch their hearts." He added softly, "Someday you’ll have the chance I never had: you’ll play beautiful music for your family. And you’ll understand why you’ve worked so hard." I was speechless.
The lessons stopped after I finished high school. When I grew up, I got married and moved into a new house. I put the accordion in the attic（阁楼）.
One afternoon, my two children found the accordion by accident (偶然). They got very excited. "Play it. Play it," they laughed and said. I started to play some simple songs. I was surprised I could still remember them. Soon the kids were dancing. Even my wife was laughing and clapping to the beat.
At that moment, my father’s words came back to me, "Someday you’ll have the chance I never had. And you’ll understand." I finally knew why Dad had asked me to practice hard. Dad never learnt to play his violin. But I told my family, "This is my father’s music."
【小题1】My father didn’t learn to play his violin when he was young because _______.

Singapore’s public transport system (公共交通系统) is one of the best in the world, so you should have no problem finding your way around like a local (当地人). There are three main forms of public transport that you would find in any other major city—trains, buses and taxis.

TRAINS

Trains run from 6 a.m. to midnight. Single trip tickets start at 80 cents. If you buy an EZ-Link card for $15, you can ride the trains and buses all you like.

If you need more information, just call Transit Link on 1800 767 4333.

BUSES

There are several bus services in Singapore and fares (车费) start at 80 cents. Be sure to always ask the driver the cost of your ticket as he can not give changes.

If you need help, just call Transit Link on 1800 767 4333.

TAXIS

There are three main taxi companies—City Cab (6552 2222), Comfort (6552 1111) and Tibs (6552 8888). Booking (预订) can also be made easily by calling the numbers listed above.

RENTAL (租) CARS

     Driving in Singapore is a pleasure and if you like to travel at your own pace, renting a car is a good choice. Renting takes away the hassle of getting to places around Singapore. Just sit back and enjoy the city. It also means you’ll get to see a lot more that a train or a bus won’t let you see.

     For car rental, call Avis on +65 6737 1668.

1. If you need to find the bus number, you may call____________.

A. +65 6737 1668             B. 6552 8888

C. 1800 767 4333                  D. 6552 2222

2.By an EZ-Link card, you can take____________.

A. both buses and trains                    B. only trains

C. both buses and taxis                    D. only rental cars

3.When you take a bus there, always remember to ____________.

  A. take your own license with you       B. ask the driver how much your ticket is

  C. buy the bus map of Singapore          D. book your ticket ahead of time

4.What does the word “hassle” mean in Chinese?

  A. 麻烦              B. 乐趣     C. 景点         D. 费用

5.What do you know about traveling in Singapore from the passage?

A. A local has no trouble finding his way around.

B. It’s much cheaper to go around by bus than by train.

C. You can see a lot more in Singapore only by renting a car.

D. It’s very convenient for visitors to travel in Singapore.

1 

The most enjoyable way to discover Liverpool is by boat．The first thing to do is to take a ferry across the River Mersey. It’s the best way to find out about this city’s long and interesting history. The Liverpool Ferry，which is the oldest ferry service in Europe，started more than 800 years ago．

In the l8th century Liverpool became an important city for international business across the Atlantic Ocean．Ships sailed from Liverpool to the United States and Africa．The place to learn more about Liverpool’s importance is the Maritime Museum．

Liverpool was important because of its industry and trade in the 18th century．In the 20th century it became famous for music．The boys in the rock group，the Beatles，all came from Liverpool．The city is very proud of them．It named its airport John Lennon International Airport。after one of the Beatles．Tourists can take a bus tour to visit some of the places the Beatles mention in their songs, 1ike Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields．They can also visit the Cavern Club—the group first played there in 1961．The Beatles Story is a museum and gallery．Here you can find out more about these world—famous musicians．

But there’s more to see and do in Liverpoo1．At the Walker Art Gallery you can see the best art in the North of England．If you like modern art，the place to visit is the Tate Gallery．But above all，it’s the friendly and welcoming people of Liverpool who make this a city you should visit when you come to Great Britain．

1.This passage is mainly for    ．

A．people who live in Liverpool

B. students who want to study in UK

C．foreigners who want to visit Great Britain

D. people who are interested in history

2.The word ferry in the first paragraph is most likely to be a kink of ________.

A．bus    B．boat   C. train        D. bicycle

3.Liverpool first became famous for________.

A. its important in international business.

B. a group of pop singers

C. a beautiful river called River Mersey

D. a big museum in the town

4.For people who are interested in music，the place they want to visit most would be______

A．the Maritime Museum    B．the Tate Gallery

C．the Beatles Story      D．the Walker Art Gallery

5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．A good place to visit in UK

B．The history of Liverpool

C．The most famous and of the world

D．The most friendly people in UK

One morning, a blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet .He held a sign which said,“I am blind. Please help me.”

There were only a few coins（硬币） in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat .He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and ask,“Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?”

The man said,“I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way.”

What he had written was,“Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

The first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.

There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.

The first is: Treasure(珍惜)what you have. Someone else has less. Try your best to help those who need your help.

The second is: Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way.

1. From the passage we know that______.

A. the boy is the man’s son.                B. the man is one of his neighbors.

C. the boy is blind and needs help.        D. the boy works for the man.

2. On the sign what the man wrote was,“_______.”

A. Treasure what we have already had.     

B. Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.

C. We are so lucky that we are not blind.  

D. Try your best to help those who need your help.

3.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A .The hat began to fill up after the man wrote some words on the sign.

B. The man took away all the few coins from the hat.

C. The boy wanted to get enough money to go to school.

D. Nobody wanted to give any coins to the blind boy.

4.The word“recognized”here in Chinese means______.

A.承认                                    B.接受           

C.表扬                                    D.认出

5.“____”is the best title for this story.

A. Be careful.                           

B. Be creative. There is always a better way!

C. Be kind to the blind!             

D. Do not always get, but offer!