For some kids, old photos and baby pictures are embarrassing. For others, they are cherished keepsakes (纪念品). But for thousands of children living in orphanages (孤儿院) worldwide, these records of the past simply don't exist. Either the kids' parents weren't around to snap photos, or the pictures have been lost.  Whatever the reason is, the Memory Project is giving orphans a lasting document of their youth.
Over the last two years, the Memory Project has provided hand-painted portraits to more than 4,000 children living in orphanages in poor countries. Ben Schumaker, 24, got the idea when he was visiting an orphanage in Guatemala in Central America.   But he's not creating the portraits(肖像) alone. Students in hundreds of high school art classes across the U.S. paint them using photos sent from the orphanages.
Schumaker believes that the artists benefit from the project as much as the orphans do.“There are two purposes of the Memory Project,” he said.   “One is to offer a special gift to the child abroad. The other is to help open the eyes of the student who is painting.”Staring into the eyes of another person, Schumaker believes, it creates a real connection.  This connection raises awareness in U.S. schools about the needs of the world's poor children.“It's about planting a seed,” he said.
Schumaker is also working on Books of Hope, a project in which students of all ages put together homemade books for children in Uganda and India. He hopes that one day children in Uganda and India. He hopes that one day children in Uganda and India  will send books to the U.S. “It's important to me to have it be a two-way exchange,” Schmnaker says.
【小题1】Old photos and baby pictures are clearly unavailable to _  _ .

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version（改写本）of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: the off-key singing; the blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high; the terrible dancing; the hips jerking（摇摆）to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad. But, it was this very bad act that sold well.

Marc Juris, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America. ”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.

So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean ”

Now, he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour（魅力）or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

What is the main idea of this passage?

       A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.

       B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

       C．How an unsuccessful person became famous.

       D．Success sometimes does not require hard work.

Hung was popular in America for all the following reasons EXCEPT ________.

       A．his shirt and pants           B．his off-key singing

       C．his hips jerking        D．his excellent version

What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 6 refer to?

       A．William Hung.        B．Hung’s bad act.

       C．Hung’s website.              D．The public’s opinion.

Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

       a．The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

       b．The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

       c．Hung became popular among Americans.

       d．Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

       e．Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

       A．d, b, e, c, a     B．a, c, d, b, e      C．a, d, b, c, e      D．d, b, a, e, c

Why was Hung able to win the hearts of America?

       A．His success was based on his own hard work.

       B．He attracted people’s attention in the contest.

       C．He was good-looking though he didn’t sing well.

       D．His character was completely different from other idols”

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords（声带）can heal．
It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. "It's a proud moment for all of us," his wife told DNAIndia.com．
I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm．Don't get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity．But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records．
Granted, I'm not qualified to speak on the subject．I've got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any．Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley（集成曲）of pop songs．
But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure．He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades（荣誉）．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake．
To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, "What was it all for?"
Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese．
After all, records are made to be broken．
【小题1】From the text, we can conclude that the author _________．

There’re five people at our table, including myself. I’ve already learnt a great deal about them in the short time we’ve been at sea, although we rarely meet except at meal times.
First of all, there’s Dr Stone. He’s a man of about sixty five, with gray hair and a friendly face. He gave up his work a short while ago and is now traveling round the world before he retires to some quiet country village. As a young man, he served for many years as a doctor in the army and visited many countries. He’s told us a lot about the city to which we are going.
Then there’s “Grandmother”. I call her that because her name escapes me. In spite of being a grandmother, she looks rather young, not more than fifty, she’s on her way to visit a daughter who went to Australia some years ago. Naturally she is very excited at the thought of seeing her again, and her three grandchildren, whom she has never seen.
Then there’s a man I don’t care for very much, an engineer by the name of Barlow. He has been on leave in England and is now returning to his work in Singapore.
The other person who sits at our table is Mrs. Hunt. I’ve found out hardly anything about her. She’s extremely quiet and rarely talks, except to consult（咨询）the doctor about children’s various illness. She’s on her way to join her husband in India.
64. What can we know about Mr. Stone?
A. He is a doctor in the army now.
B. He is going to give up his work.
C. He knows a lot about the city the author is going to.
D. He has been retired for many years.
65. The writer calls the second person “Grandmother” because_______.
A. she looks old                             B. She has three daughters
C. he respects her                                D. he can’t think of her name
66. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Dr Stone lives in a quiet village now.       B. “Grandmother” is an Australian.
C. Barlow works in Singapore                      D. Mrs Hunt is a woman of many words.

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords（声带）can heal．

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. "It's a proud moment for all of us," his wife told DNAIndia.com．

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm．Don't get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity．But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records．

Granted, I'm not qualified to speak on the subject．I've got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any．Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley（集成曲）of pop songs．

But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure．He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades（荣誉）．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake．

To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, "What was it all for?"

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese．

After all, records are made to be broken．

1.From the text, we can conclude that the author _________．

A．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

B．feels it a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

C．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

D．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

2.Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to ________．

A．become an international celebrity

B．know all about Guinness records

C．practice a great deal

D．bear great stress for fear of injury

3.We can infer from the article that ________．

A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

B．Burbure’s wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

4.The author’s attitude to some Guinness world records is ________．

A．positive           B．impressed         C．negative          D．touched