Every year, over 40,000 students in Britain run a business. “Each business runs for one year,” said Ben, one of the group of students visiting Shanghai. ”When we started our business, we borrowed money from parents and friends. At the end of the year, these people will receive some of the profits(利润).” I asked Ben if running a business was difficult. He said that it was no problem. He said that they always received a lot of advice from teachers and business people.

Another member of the group, Regina, told me the four questions they always asked themselves. The questions are:

What do people want to buy?

Where is a good place to sell the product?

How is our product better than other products?

How much is the product?

I also wanted to know how the group was organized, Regina said that there were usually about five to seven students in each business and among them are one manager and one accountant(会计). I asked them who was the manager. “I am, of course,” said Regina.

“It was my idea to produce picture books,” she said. “They have been very popular with the other students.” I also asked the students what other people sold, “Other groups in our school sell things like T-shirts, videos and computer games,” said Ben.

“How much money do the businesses usually make?” I asked. “Some businesses make $ 20,000—30,000, but most groups make a small profit of about $ 1,000 – 3,000”, said Regina. I asked them what they did with the profits. “We can do what we like with the profits.” However, Regina told me that it was important not to waste the money. She always told the other groups to give the money to charity(慈善事业).

Most students enjoy running a business and all the students said that they had learnt a lot.

1. When the students begin a business, they ______.

　 A. have made a small profit　

　 B. have got enough money

　 C. borrow money from parents and friends

　 D. borrow money from teachers and business people

2. The manager of this group of students is ______.

　 A. Ben　 　　 B. Regina　　　　 C. a teacher　　 D. a friend of theirs

3. This group of students sold ______ as their business.

　 A. picture books　　 B. computer games　 C. videos　　 D. T—shirt

4. The groups use the profits ______.

　 A. for holding a party　　　　　　　　　　　 B. to give to charity

　 C. for their parents and friends　　　　　　　　 D. in different ways

5. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

　 A. Most groups are able to get more money than they put in.

　 B. Running a business is very difficult for Ben’s group.

　 C. These students try their best to produce better and cheaper products.

　 D. When the students run businesses, they get much help from other people.

Camille Mahlknecht, 9, has some big fun planned for this weekend．She and other residents of Agoura Hills, California, plan to pick up trash during their city’s annual cleanup．At the same time, Wissam Raed, 12, will be busy volunteering too．Thousands of miles away in Lebanon, Wissam plans to put on a play at an orphanage and bring potted plants to elderly people at a senior citizen center．

       Some other children like Nathan White, 10, have personal reasons for volunteering．Nathan’s grandmother died of a heart attack．To help raise money for medical research, Nathan participated in Jump Rope for Heart．He and five other boys took turns jumping rope for two and half hours and collected more than US$1,200 in donations for the American Heart Association．

       Millions of children around the globe lend a hand to their communities every year．Schools and parents also contribute to the rise in youth service．For example, many schools offer community service activities for students to join．Teachers either combine volunteer work with classroom lessons or make service work a requirement．Parents, on the other hand, encourage their kids to volunteer and do it with them．

       Community service is particularly important in this depression time．As the need for monetary support and other aid has increased, many charitable organizations have experienced a significant drop in donations．Camille and other children who volunteer thousands of hours annually can fill in some of the gaps．

       According to research, kids who start volunteering are twice as likely to continue doing good deeds when they are adults．So, grab a paintbrush, a trash bag, or whatever you need to help your community．You’ll love how you feel after helping others．Even dirty work can be lots of fun, if it’s for a good cause．

1．What’s the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?

       A．To recommend youth service programs to schools．

       B．To ask charity organizations to serve the community．

       C．To urge children to take part in volunteering activities．

       D．To propose alternatives for doing community services．

2．What is the main idea of the 3^rd paragraph?

       A．Community service is gaining popularity among children．

       B．Families and schools help to make community service popular．

       C．Children now depend more on their teachers than on their parents．

       D．Nathan White had a special reason to raise money for medical research．

3．Why is community service important in a time of depression?

       A．It raises money for school activities．

       B．It teaches children to take care of the sick．

       C．It gives charity organizations some needed help．

       D．It encourages parents and teachers to work together．

4．What can be inferred from the passage?

       A．Community service can help prevent juvenile delinquency（青少年犯罪）．

       B．Children will probably leave school and work as volunteers．

       C．Organizing sports events for the school is a kind of community service．

       D．Children who do volunteer work are more likely to grow up to be caring adults．

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）

Camille Mahlknecht, 9, has some big fun planned for this weekend. She and other residents of Agoura Hills, California, plan to pick up trash during their city’s annual cleanup. At the same time, Wissam Raed, 12, will be busy volunteering too. Thousands of miles away in Lebanon, Wissam plans to put on a play at an orphanage and bring potted plants to elderly people at a senior citizen center.

Some other children like Nathan White, 10, have personal reasons for volunteering. Nathan’s grandmother died of a heart attack. To help raise money for medical research, Nathan participated in Jump Rope for Heart. He and five other boys took turns jumping rope for two and half hours and collected more than US$1,200 in donations for the American Heart Association.

Millions of children around the globe lend a hand to their communities every year. Schools and parents also contribute to the rise in youth service. For example, many schools offer community service activities for students to join. Teachers either combine volunteer work with classroom lessons or make service work a requirement. Parents, on the other hand, encourage their kids to volunteer and do it with them.

Community service is particularly important in this depression time. As the need for monetary support and other aid has increased, many charitable organizations have experienced a significant drop in donations. Camille and other children who volunteer thousands of hours annually can fill in some of the gaps.

According to research, kids who start volunteering are twice as likely to continue doing good deeds when they are adults. So, grab a paintbrush, a trash bag, or whatever you need to help your community. You’ll love how you feel after helping others. Even dirty work can be lots of fun, if it’s for a good cause.

56.What’s the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?

A. To recommend youth service programs to schools.

B. To ask charity organizations to serve the community.

C. To urge children to take part in volunteering activities.

D. To propose alternatives for doing community services.

57.   What is the main idea of the 3rd paragraph?

A. Community service is gaining popularity among children.

B. Families and schools help to make community service popular.

C. Children now depend more on their teachers than on their parents.

D. Nathan White had a special reason to raise money for medical research.

58.   Why is community service important in a time of depression?

A. It raises money for school activities.

B. It teaches children to take care of the sick.

C. It gives charity organizations some needed help.

D. It encourages parents and teachers to work together.

59.   What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Community service can help prevent juvenile delinquency（青少年犯罪）.

B. Children will probably leave school and work as volunteers.

C. Organizing sports events for the school is a kind of community service.

D. Children who do volunteer work are more likely to grow up to be caring adults.