A MENTORING(导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

Alex Goldberg，the program's founder，said：“We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.”

“We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth.For example，we've secured internships(实习) with world?famous firms such as Honda.”

“At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring，it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures.” Kieran Hepburn,14，is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far.In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum(论坛)．

The event was held for young people from around the world，to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look.Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event.Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience.“Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop，it was amazing，” he said，“We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon.”

The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life.It dealt with issues(问题) such as drug abuse，violence and unemployment.

Kieran said：“It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August.”

The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury.For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

1.The Young Inspirations mentoring program aims to? ______.

A．train staff for world?famous firms

B．offer job opportunities to young adults

C．provide youth with unique experiences

D．equip the unemployed with different skills

2.According to Alex Goldberg，it is difficult for schools to offer the mentoring due to ________.

A．the lack of support from firms

B．the cultural differences

C．the effect of unemployment

D．the shortage of money

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the visit to the United Kingdom was amazing

B．Kieran has made great progress in many aspects

C．the youth have found a way to solve their problems

D．the mentoring sessions are held every day except Friday

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Alex Goldberg，Founder of Young Inspirations

B．Young People Find a World of Opportunity

C．Kieran，Banbury School Pupil to Paris

D．Debates Help Youth with Their Grades

Like distance runners on a measured course，all of us will move through time in a roughly predictable pattern．

In the first stage of our lives，we develop and grow, reaching toward the top of physical vitality(活力)．

After we grow up，however, the body begins a process of gradually wearing out．

A new awareness of physical fitness may help lengthen our years of health and vitality，yet nothing we do will work to stop the unavoidable force of aging．

Most of the changes of aging take place deep inside the body．The lungs become less able to take in oxygen．Powerful muscles gradually lose their strength．The heart loses power and pumps less blood．Bones grow easier to break．

Finally, we meet a stress，a stress that is greater than our physical resistance．Often，it is only a minor accident or chance infection(a disease caused by virus)，but this time，it brings life to an end．

In 1932，a classic experiment nearly doubled the lifetime of rats，simply by cutting back the calories in their diet The reason for the effect was then unknown．

Today, at the University of California at Berkley, Dr．Paul Seagle has also greatly lengthened the normal lifetime of rats．The result was achieved through a special protein limited diet，which had a great effect on the chemistry of the brain．Seagle showed that within the brain，specific chemicals control many of the signals that influence aging．By changing that chemical balance，the clock of aging can be reset．

For the first time, the mystery of why we age is being seriously challenged．Scientists in many fields are now making striking and far-reaching discoveries．

An average lifetime lasts 75 years，yet in each of us lies a potential for a longer life．If we could keep the vitality and resistance to disease that we have at age twenty, we would live for 800 years．

1.What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Physical vitality．   B．Stress．           C．Aging．           D．Physical resistance．

2.Which of the following is not a change of aging?

A．People gradually lose their muscle strength．

B．Bones tend to break more easily．

C．The heart loses power and pumps less blood．

D．The lungs become unable to take in oxygen．zxxk

3.The author believes the following except that     ．

A．human's life pattern is predictable

B．physical fitness can't stop the force of aging

C．human's lifetime will last longer than 75 years

D．all of the changes of aging take place deep inside the body

4.How did Dr．Paul Seagle lengthen the lifetime of rats in his experiment?

A．By keeping their physical fitness．          B．By cutting the calories in their diet．

C．By resetting their clock of aging．           D．By limiting the protein in their diet．

5.What is probably the best title for the article?

A．Two Great Experiments

B．The Mystery of Human Life

C．The Breakthrough in the Study of Aging

D．Ways to lengthen Human Life

A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

Alex Goldberg，the program’s founder，said：“We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.

“We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth.For example，we’ve secured internships (实习) with world?famous firms such as Honda.

“At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring，it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures.”Kieran Hepburn,14，is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far.In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛)．

The event was held for young people from around the world，to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look.Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event.Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience.“Before we left I didn’t quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn’t stop，it was amazing，”he said，“We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon.”

The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life.It dealt with issues (问题) such as drug abuse，violence and unemployment.

Kieran said：“ It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August.”

The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury.For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

1.The Young Inspirations mentoring program aims to ________.

A．train staff for world?famous firms

B．offer job opportunities to young adults

C．provide youth with unique experiences

D．equip the unemployed with different skills

2.．According to Alex Goldberg，it is difficult for schools to offer the mentoring due to ________.

A．the lack of support from firms

B．the cultural differences

C．the effect of unemployment

D．the shortage of money

3.According to the passage，the forum focused on how youth can ________.

A．build up their confidence at school

B．find work experience opportunities

C．improve their social skills for the future

D．play an active role in the change of society

4.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the visit to the United Kingdom was amazing

B．Kieran has made great progress in many aspects

C．the youth have found a way to solve their problems

D．the mentoring sessions are held every day except Friday

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Alex Goldberg，Founder of Young Inspirations

B．Young People Find a World of Opportunity

C．Kieran，Banbury School Pupil to Paris

D．Debates Help Youth with Their Grades

“Everybody loves a bargain.” One person's useless, ugly, or broken object can be another person's bargain. That is why so many Americans do not throw things away. They put them outside their houses. They put on a “For Sale” sign. And, as simple as that, they have a yard sale.        

The sellers put a paid announcement(付费通告)in a local newspaper. It tells when and where the yard sale will take place. These sales are very popular during weekends in spring, summer, and autumn. Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house. Then they sit all day in the sunlight---like tired guests at a party---waiting for someone to take them home.

Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale. Sometimes, there are more clothes than anything else. Cooking equipment is also popular. So are old toys, tools, books, tables and chairs. Then there are objects called “white elephants”. A white elephant is something you think is extremely ugly or useless. It may be an electric light shaped like a fish. You feel a sharp pain whenever you look at it. To someone else, however, it might be a thing of beauty and joy.

Some people go to yard sales to find a special thing that they collect. It may be old toy trains, for example, or painting of dogs. Experts say more Americans are collecting old things now than ever before. Most people who go to yard sales, however, are not looking for anything special. They might buy an object simply because it costs so little. They enjoy negotiating(谈判) over prices, even if they really do not need the object. Later, they may hold their own yard to sell all the things they have bought.

1.What kind of things will go to a yard sale?

A. Cheap and ugly things.      B. Things people no longer use.

C. Things out of season.        D. Things of great value.

2.A white elephant refers to _________.

A. something that can cause a feeling of pain      

B. something disliked by the owners while appreciated by others

C. something sold at the lowest prices

D. a toy shaped like a fish

3. Most people go to yard sales to________.

A. find valuable paintings       B. look for something special

C. find a bargain                D. kill their time

4. Which of the following is NOT true about a yard sale?

A. It may not be held when the weather is very cold.

B. It can last for a whole day.

C. It is usually held with a party.

D. It is held outdoors.

5.We can infer from the last paragraph that__________.

A. people may find something of great value on a yard sale

B. yard sales only attract those who have a low income

C. things on a yard sale can cost people a lot

D. most people don’t want to go to yard sales.