Helen Monson has always been interested in helping her community. Her first volunteer experience was for the American Red Cross when she was in high school. When she was a school teacher, she also found time to volunteer. One year, she organized a Super Saturday fun day for kids in the community. She also used to volunteer at the mint festival every year, One summer she served food, another year she organized an art programme.

After she retired, she started volunteering to help the old. When her father was older, he was not able to see as well as he used to, which made her sad because he had always enjoyed reading.

She decided it would be fun to read to elderly people in her community. She also helped one woman write her stories. Ann was almost 100 years old, and Helen wrote down information about her life when she visited her. She put the information in a book and got it published. Ann was very excited to share her life story with her children and grandchildren.

  After a hurricane( 飓风 ) destroyed some southern cities, Helen volunteered again for the American Red Cross. She prepared food and answered phones in a care centre. She says,” I have always liked the Red Cross because the organization helps people in need no matter what.”

  One day Helen read an article in the newspaper about refugees( 难民 ) who needed to learn English. Now, she meets once a week with Sahra, a 38-year-old woman from Somalia. Sahra is reading and writing skills. Helen gave Sahra a camera and asked her to take pictures of her daily life. She developed the pictures, and then asked Sahra questions about them. In the end, they wrote a book  together and used the photos in the book. This helped Sahra learn many new words about

her everyday life.

   Helen says, “The most rewarding( 有益的 ) part of volunteer work is becoming friends with the people I help, They enrich my life as well as I enrich theirs.”

1.When was Helen’s first volunteer experience for the American Red Cross?

2. What did Helen do after she retired?

3. Why was Ann excited when her book got published?

4.Where did Helen work when she volunteered again for the American Red Cross?

5. How far is Sahra living and working from Helen’s home?

6.Did Helen help Sahra to learn English?

7. What can you learn from Helen?

I was quite close to my grandmother, Julia. We lived with her and then she lived with us. She was a very nice person, both kind and patient. She taught me to read and write when I was young and helped me to be interested in stories and poems.

 In my mind, my grandmother was a great cook. She cooked more delicious food than anything you can eat in a restaurant today. She always cooked for family and friends.

 My grandmother was also a hard worker both at home and at work. I can still remember the difficult time when we were very poor. At that time, my grandmother was already sixty years old but she worked in a hospital for a long time every day –not in the office but doing the cleaning outside and taking care of me at the same time while my mom was at work!

My brother and sisters also love her. We will never forget our grandmother. She is really important in our lives and is always there for all of us in one way or another. I am proud to be her grandson.

1.The writer’s grandmother taught him to     when he was young.

A. read and write           B. sing and dance  

C. draw and sing           D. play and learn

2.His grandmother always made     for family and friends.

A. cakes    B. cards      C. clothes      D. meals

3.While his mom was ___ , his grandmother took care of him.

A. at home   B. at work   C. out of work   D. in hospital

4.At the age of 60, his grandmother     in a hospital for a long time every day.

A. cooked meals         B. worked in the office

C. did the cleaning       D. stayed with his mother.

5.Which of the following is not TRUE?

A. His grandmother is hard-working.

B. Her grandchildren all love her.

C. His grandmother could read.

D. His grandmother worked in a hospital for taking care of him.

I was quite close to my grandmother, Julia. We lived with her and then she lived with us. She was a very nice person, both kind and patient. She taught me to read and write when I was young and helped me to be interested in stories and poems.

 In my mind, my grandmother was a great cook. She cooked more delicious food than anything you can eat in a restaurant today. She always cooked for family and friends.

 My grandmother was also a hard worker both at home and at work. I can still remember the difficult time when we were very poor. At that time, my grandmother was already sixty years old but she worked in a hospital for a long time every day –not in the office but doing the cleaning outside and taking care of me at the same time while my mom was at work!

My brother and sisters also love her. We will never forget our grandmother. She is really important in our lives and is always there for all of us in one way or another. I am proud to be her grandson.

1.The writer’s grandmother taught him to     when he was young.

A. read and write           B. sing and dance  

C. draw and sing           D. play and learn

2.His grandmother always made     for family and friends.

A. cakes    B. cards      C. clothes      D. meals

3.While his mom was ___ , his grandmother took care of him.

A. at home   B. at work   C. out of work   D. in hospital

4.At the age of 60, his grandmother     in a hospital for a long time every day.

A. cooked meals         B. worked in the office

C. did the cleaning       D. stayed with his mother.

5.Which of the following is not TRUE?

A. His grandmother is hard-working.

B. Her grandchildren all love her.

C. His grandmother could read.

D. His grandmother worked in a hospital for taking care of him.

I never wanted a dog, but now I'm so glad I have one. About two years ago, my wife, Cathy, got a little dog with a face only a mother could love. We named her Gertie.
Gertie is the kind of dog that has to grow on you. So I dicided that the dog would be trained. This didn't quite go as planned. At 15 weeks old, she was nearly made to leave the Petsmart Training School. She spent every night lying in our bed-snoring (打鼾)so loudly that I hardly got a good night's sleep.
Then, about six months after she arrived, I felt that something in my heart was taking place, and I was unable to stop it. My behaviour(行为方式)began to change. I began to smile at people when passing them in a street. I returned(招手)from neighbours. I started calling my kids, and to my surprise, they started calling me. I even tried to speak to my grandchildren over the phone once. I even was glad to listen to laughter from a 10-month-old granddaughter. The point is that I was changing.
My wife and I both agree that it is Gertie who has changed my behaviour. Gertie is now nearly two years old and almost fully grown.I have come to like the pet little by little, though she is my wife's dog.
【小题1】What did the man think of the dog at the beginning?