Armed with an eye for style and a heart for the environment, Charlotte Latin senior, Alexis Giger launched a do-it-yourself blog, ecouturieracg.wordpress.com, aimed at “reducing your environmental impact fashionably.”

The idea was sparked(引发) by the ecology unit in her biology class at Charlotte Latin School last year, she said, which taught her about issues like deforestation and habitat destruction. “I started thinking about what I could do to stop the wastefulness in my immediate community,” the fashion lover said.

Ecouturier aims to make reusing thrift store（廉价旧货店） finds or last season’s pieces easy and fashionable while cutting down on the resources consumed by garment production, Alexis said. Through online research, she discovered that a simple cotton T-shirt takes more than 700 gallons of water to make.

“It made me realize that the fashion industry consumes（消耗） huge amounts of natural resources as it relies on producing garments quickly and in large supply – many of the garments are only intended to be worn three or four times,” she said.

Alexis had a number of tools to help her get started. Her mom, Kimberly, taught her to sew when she was 5. Her grandmother taught her to crochet(钩边) around the same time. Alexis said she also gained technical knowledge and inspiration from her part-time job at a clothing company that creates theatre wardrobes(戏装) for schools and drama productions.

Before the blog launch, she spent several months illustrating “recycling” projects by creating photo tutorials(指南). Though Ecouturier hasn’t been online long, she’s been getting positive feedback. “I’ve had people come up to me in the hall and say, ‘Hey, I saw your blog. I’m working on one of the projects right now.’” Alexis said.

She said she hasn’t bought a brand-new piece of clothing since last July, and her thrift store shopping has paid off with finds such as a $5 (31 yuan) dress she wore to homecoming.

“Taking an hour from Saturday afternoon to make something for yourself can really have an impact on the environment. A little change every day can really add up,” Alexis said.

55. What inspired Alexis to launch a do-it-yourself blog?

A. Her talent at making handicrafts.

B. Her fascination with the fashion industry.

C. Her part-time work experiences.

D. Her growing concern for the environment after taking a biology class.

56. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A. In order to promote her blog, Alexis is spending a lot of time online every day.

B.The projects on Alexis’ blog have convinced some people to try recycling clothes themselves.

C. Alexis has been dreaming of working in the fashion industry since she was a child.

D. To start the blog, Alexis learned from her mother and grandmother how to sew and crochet.

57. The underlined word “feedback” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. attitude                    B. advice                      C. response                D. approach

58. Which of the following best describes Alexis?

A. Creative and responsible.                                B. Smart and cooperative.

C. Independent and humorous.                                   D. Fashionable and amusing.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    David, my neighbor, has two young kids who are five and seven. One day he was  36  his seven-year-old son Kelly how to push the lawn mower(割草机) around the yard. As he was telling him how to turn the mower  37 , his wife, Jan, called to him to ask a question. As David answered the question, Kelly pushed the lawn mower  38  through the flower bed at the edge of the lawn — 39  a two-foot wide path leveled to the ground!

    When David turned back and saw what had happened, he began to lose  40 . David had put a lot of time and  41  into making those flower beds the  42  of the neighbourhood. As he began to  43  his voice to his son, Jan walked quickly over to him, put her hand on his shoulder and said, “David, please remember we are raising children, not  44 !”

    Jan  45  me how important  46  is as a parent to remember our priorities (things that need attention before others). The window shattered(打碎) by a  47 , a lamp knocked over by a careless child, or a plate dropped in the kitchen are already  48 . The flowers are already dead. We must remember not to  49  to the destruction by breaking a child’s spirit and deadening his  50 .

    A few weeks ago Mark Michaels, the owner of a store, and I were together  51  parenting. He told me while his family were out for dinner, his daughter knocked over her water glass.  52  the water was cleaned up without any blaming remarks from her parents, she looked up and said, “I  53  want to thank you for not being like other parents. Most of my friends’ parents  54  have shouted at them and given them a lecture about paying more attention. Thanks for not  55  that!”

A. teaching        B. helping          C. looking at           D. asking

A. up             B. around               C. down             D. over

A. nearly         B. even                 C. almost               D. right

A. leaving            B. staying          C. remaining            D. finding

A. hope           B. control              C. mind             D. heart

A. strength           B. effort               C. power                D. courage

A. pride          B. respect              C. envy             D. honor

A. rise           B. expand           C. improve          D. raise

A. flowers            B. trees                C. grass                D. vegetables

A. called         B. reminded         C. warned           D. told

A. this           B. that             C. it                   D. one

A. mower          B. baseball         C. chair                D. book

A.broken          B. shabby           C. torn             D. worn

A. attend         B. tend             C. add              D. see

A. happiness      B. liveliness           C. bravery          D. humor

A. talking            B. speaking         C. telling              D. discussing

A. Before         B. After                C. Until                D. Since

A. really         B. actually         C. eventually           D. especially

A. should         B. need             C. would                D. must

A. saying         B. doing                C. thinking         D. Showing

完形填空（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    David, my neighbor, has two young kids who are five and seven. One day he was  36  his seven-year-old son Kelly how to push the lawn mower(割草机) around the yard. As he was telling him how to turn the mower  37 , his wife, Jan, called to him to ask a question. As David answered the question, Kelly pushed the lawn mower  38  through the flower bed at the edge of the lawn — 39  a two-foot wide path leveled to the ground!

    When David turned back and saw what had happened, he began to lose  40 . David had put a lot of time and  41  into making those flower beds the  42  of the neighbourhood. As he began to  43  his voice to his son, Jan walked quickly over to him, put her hand on his shoulder and said, “David, please remember we are raising children, not  44 !”

    Jan  45  me how important  46  is as a parent to remember our priorities (things that need attention before others). The window shattered(打碎) by a  47 , a lamp knocked over by a careless child, or a plate dropped in the kitchen are already  48 . The flowers are already dead. We must remember not to  49  to the destruction by breaking a child’s spirit and deadening his  50 .

    A few weeks ago Mark Michaels, the owner of a store, and I were together  51  parenting. He told me while his family were out for dinner, his daughter knocked over her water glass.  52  the water was cleaned up without any blaming remarks from her parents, she looked up and said, “I  53  want to thank you for not being like other parents. Most of my friends’ parents  54  have shouted at them and given them a lecture about paying more attention. Thanks for not  55  that!”

1.A. teaching       B. helping          C. looking at           D. asking

2. A. up                B. around               C. down             D. over

3. A. nearly            B. even                 C. almost               D. right

4. A. leaving           B. staying          C. remaining            D. finding

5. A. hope          B. control              C. mind             D. heart

6. A. strength          B. effort               C. power                D. courage

7. A. pride         B. respect              C. envy             D. honor

8. A. rise          B. expand           C. improve          D. raise

9. A. flowers           B. trees                C. grass                D. vegetables

10. A. called           B. reminded         C. warned           D. told

11. A. this         B. that             C. it                   D. one

12. A. mower            B. baseball         C. chair                D. book

13. A.broken            B. shabby           C. torn             D. worn

14. A. attend           B. tend             C. add              D. see

15. A. happiness        B. liveliness           C. bravery          D. humor

16. A. talking          B. speaking         C. telling              D. discussing

17. A. Before           B. After                C. Until                D. Since

18. A. really           B. actually         C. eventually           D. especially

19. A. should           B. need             C. would                D. must

20. A. saying           B. doing                C. thinking         D. Showing