Ricochet, a 19-month-old golden retriever（金毛寻回犬）, was bred(饲养) to be a service dog but never made it. Now, she has found her role in the ocean, surfing with a disabled teen.

Patrick Ivison, 15, suffered a severe injury in a car accident when he was 14 months old. He has been disabled since, but the Californian boy never gave up on the goal of walking. He recently took his first steps. When Ivison first met Ricochet, the two immediately hit it off. To raise money for Ivison’s physical therapy(治疗), which is not covered by insurance, it was suggested that the pair take up surfing. Ivison said that when he first heard the idea he thought, “We are completely out of our minds.”

But from the start, the two took to surfing naturally. With the help of his mom, Jennifer Kayler, and friends, who carry Patrick to the ocean and guide the extra-large surfboard into the waters, Ivison rides the waves with his pal standing on the back. “It’s kind of like a grand performance out there,” Ivison said of the group of people who help him out. The dog helps to balance out the board The teen remembered one pass when “we were about to flip over and then she stepped on that side of the board and helped us out.”

The two participated Sunday in the Surf City Surf Dog contest as a fund-raiser(募集资金者). They wowed the cheering crowd during their exhibition. The event raised $8,200. About $2,000 will go toward a service dog for Ivison, and the rest will go toward his “Help Patrick Walk” therapy fund.

Ivison got disabled when             .

A. he drove to the seaside                    B. he began to learn surfing

C. he suffered a severe disease             D. he was over one year old

Ivison decided to take up surfing in order to       .

A. collect money for his treatment       B. set an example for the disabled

C. realize his dream of being a surfer

D. develop courage and positive attitudes

What did Ivison think about the idea of going surfing in the beginning?

  A. Easy.             B. Interesting.        C. Crazy.        D. Exciting.

In what way does Ricochet help Ivison surf?

A. She keeps on cheering Ivison on.

B. She keeps the balance of the surfboard.

C. She gives signals when huge waves come.

D. She pulls the board back if Ivison falls off.

If you've been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e-mail with Web pals, you have become one of the millions who write in a peculiarly short form of English.?

And you've got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF(=sense of humor failure) to describe Internet newcomers who don't understand you.

Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are “talking” online—many of them are talking at the same time.?

It's fast: try talking to six people at once. It's brief: three or four words per exchange. It takes wit, concentration, and quick fingers.?

And it requires tremendous linguistic economy. There's neither time nor space for explanations. Why consume precious key-strokes telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB(=be right back) will do? Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI(=pardon me for jumping in).  Interested in whom you're talking to? Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal's age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.?

If something makes you laugh, say you're OTF(=on the floor),or LOL(=laughing out loud),or combine the two into ROTFL(=rolling on the floor laughing).?

And when it's time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG(=got to go) or TTYL(talk to you later).?

People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing emotion, as it takes more time to hold down the “shift” key and capitals. Punctuation is going, too.?

In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet_______.

A. you have to speak fast and fluently?

B. you have to express your ideas in a brief way?

C. you should speak with wit and humor　?

D. one should pay much attention to the accuracy of the words?

If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means_______.?

A. the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine?

B. you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York?

C. you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York?

D. the person who are talking to you is a 1.7-foot tall New York girl?

To save time on the Internet_______.?

A. some people leave their letters in the dustbin?

B. some people never use “shift” in their writing?

C. many people leave the capital and punctuation?

D. people seldom use capital letters or punctuation

How do you address(称呼) people in English when you want to talk to them? The following may be some simple rules the beginners should follow.
1. When talking to strangers there is often no special form of address in English. Usually, if you want to catch the attention of a stranger it is necessary to use such phrases as “Excuse me”.
2. In British English “Sir” and “Madam” are considered to be too formal(正式) for most situations. They are used mostly to customers(顾客) in shops or restaurants. While in American English “Sir” and “Madam” are not so formal and are commonly used between strangers, especially with older people whose names you don’t know.
3. When you talk to some people you know, you can use their names. If you are friends, use their first names; if your relationship is more formal, use “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, “Ms”, etc, before their family names.
4. There are many other forms of address which can be used between friends and strangers. However, many of these are limited in use.  For example, “pal” and “mate” can be used between strangers, but are usually only used by men talking to other men.
【小题1】According to the passage, “Excuse me” is mainly used to ______.

GREENWICH—Recently, a group of concerned Greenwich residents gathered to discuss how they could help those who may be alone during the holiday season．Armed with plenty of ideas and a sincere desire to do good, this group now refers to themselves as "A Random Act of Kindness"．As members of this group, we are to put together a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day that will provide a free meal to those who are alone or can't provide for themselves．This task will require many resources to make it successful．We are gathering a small army of volunteers to devote their time to helping prepare, cook, serve, clean, organize and promote this event．We hope that you can help us．The following is what we have planned to do;
·A 2 - hour free dinner that will take place at the Greenwich VFW with 2 seatings, one from 1 p．m．to 2 p．m．and the other from 2: 30 p．m．to 3: 30 p．m．by reservation only on Thanksgiving Day.
·Amy McPhail and Julie Carroll are accepting names of volunteers as well as food donations for the cause; Amy can be contacted （联络） at 692 -7841 for donations and Julie can be contacted if you'd like to volunteer at 884 -0658．
·A bank account has been created through Glens Falls National Bank to accept money donations and checks can be made payable to "A Random Act of Kindness" and sent to Glens Falls National Bank c/o Dan Flynn．
·Ellen Pemrick （ Caterer） ．Beth Anthony （ Beth's Cafe） and David Hughes （Glens Falls Hospital） will be consulted to make sure the highest quality of food can be served．
·We are looking to serve between 150 and 250 people at this event．We are serving the following: turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie．Beverages will include: milk, water, coffee & apple cider．
If you are interested in donating any of the above items, please drop off your donations at the VFW in Greenwich any evening between November 14 and November 24．If you have any problems dropping any items off during that time, please contact George Perkins at either 692 -2367 or 573 -8115．Any non-perishable food donalions not used for the dinner will be donated to the local Greenwich Food Pantry．
Any help you can provide for us would be gready appreciated．Everyone's generosity to the Greenwich community and its residents is very much appreciated．Reservations for dinner are now being accepted by calling Pal Perkins at 692 -2367 until November 13．
【小题1】If you want to be a volunteer for this Thanksgiving dinner, you may call _____．

GREENWICH—Recently, a group of concerned Greenwich residents gathered to discuss how they could help those who may be alone during the holiday season．Armed with plenty of ideas and a sincere desire to do good, this group now refers to themselves as "A Random Act of Kindness"．As members of this group, we are to put together a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day that will provide a free meal to those who are alone or can't provide for themselves．This task will require many resources to make it successful．We are gathering a small army of volunteers to devote their time to helping prepare, cook, serve, clean, organize and promote this event．We hope that you can help us．The following is what we have planned to do;

·A 2 - hour free dinner that will take place at the Greenwich VFW with 2 seatings, one from 1 p．m．to 2 p．m．and the other from 2: 30 p．m．to 3: 30 p．m．by reservation only on Thanksgiving Day.

·Amy McPhail and Julie Carroll are accepting names of volunteers as well as food donations for the cause; Amy can be contacted （联络） at 692 -7841 for donations and Julie can be contacted if you'd like to volunteer at 884 -0658．

·A bank account has been created through Glens Falls National Bank to accept money donations and checks can be made payable to "A Random Act of Kindness" and sent to Glens Falls National Bank c/o Dan Flynn．

·Ellen Pemrick （ Caterer） ．Beth Anthony （ Beth's Cafe） and David Hughes （Glens Falls Hospital） will be consulted to make sure the highest quality of food can be served．

·We are looking to serve between 150 and 250 people at this event．We are serving the following: turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie．Beverages will include: milk, water, coffee & apple cider．

If you are interested in donating any of the above items, please drop off your donations at the VFW in Greenwich any evening between November 14 and November 24．If you have any problems dropping any items off during that time, please contact George Perkins at either 692 -2367 or 573 -8115．Any non-perishable food donalions not used for the dinner will be donated to the local Greenwich Food Pantry．

Any help you can provide for us would be gready appreciated．Everyone's generosity to the Greenwich community and its residents is very much appreciated．Reservations for dinner are now being accepted by calling Pal Perkins at 692 -2367 until November 13．

1.If you want to be a volunteer for this Thanksgiving dinner, you may call _____．

    A．884-0658        B．692-2367        C．573-8115        D．692-7841

2.How many people will probably be served at the Thanksgiving dinner?

    A．500．            B．400．            C．300．            D．200．

3.Which of the following will be included in the dinner?

    A．Apples and milk．                    B．Pumpkins and water．

    C．Coffee and stuffing rolls．          D．Potatoes and cranberry pie．

4.As a volunteer for this Thanksgiving dinner, you can ______．

    A．contact Julie to make sure of the quality of food

    B．help make some arrangements for this event

    C．drop off your donations at the VFW anytime

    D．donate some money to Glens Falls National Bank

5.The purpose of this passage is to _____．

    A．describe a Thanksgiving celebration

    B．introduce a Thanksgiving volunteer group

    C．call on people to participate in a Thanksgiving event

    D．persuade people to donate for a Thanksgiving dinner