Difficult times often bring out the best in people. And this was the case for basketball star Yao Ming, who hosted a television show in Shanghai that raised US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS. Fundraising, or charity, is an act of goodwill towards others. Charities in the West have more flexible ways. Look at a typical day for Ruth, a wealthy woman in the UK, for example. Ruth wakes up in the morning and collects her post. There’s a letter addressed to her with a picture of a half-dead, beaten horse. It’s from a charity asking Ruth to donate money to save the animals. The door bell rings and there, on Ruth’s doorstep, is an old woman asking for money to help the aged.She turns on the television, hears sad music and sees a picture of a wide-eyed child dying of hunger in Africa with an appeal for money to help the child. Ruth then goes shopping for a dress to wear to that evening’s large party for the rich and famous. The ticket cost her a small fortune, but she doesn’t mind because most of the money is going to a charity that fights AIDS. She feels good about going because she’s helping the sick. Within five minutes of walking down the street, Ruth has passed a charity shop. She doesn’t stop because she doesn’t think she’d find a suitable dress there—it’s full of old, secondhand clothes. But, many other people enter and but all sorts of bargains. Edna, a little old lady, looks after the shop. Any profit it has made goes to a cancer charity. Now that she has retired, she has plenty of spare time to offer her services for free.

For people like Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna, charity is a virtue that holds the same importance in life as faith and hope. “As you look back on your life, the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others,” said Scottish author Henry Drummond.

1．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the story as a way of fundraising?

   A．Charity party                                        B．Charity post

   C．Charity TV program                             D．Charity for beggars.

2．What does the word “raise” in the first paragraph mean?

   A．Collect together                                    B．Donate

   C．Increase                                              D．Bring to someone’s attention.

3．What’s the writer’s attitude towards charity?

   A．The writer thinks it’s something only people like Ruth can afford to do

   B．The writer just wants to inform us of the different ways to practice charity

   C．The writer thinks it’s a virtue and admires the people who practice it

   D．The writer doesn’t make it clear in the story

4．The underlined part in the last paragraph probably means that .

   A．when you look back sometimes, you need stand out

   B．when you want to do something for others, you need stand out

   C．the moment you stand out, you can do something for others

   D．what impresses people deeply is what they have done for others

Difficult times often bring out the best in people．And this was the case for basketball star Yao Ming, who hosted a television show in Shanghai that raised US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS．Fundraising, or charity, is an act of goodwill towards others．Charities in the West have more flexible ways．Look at a typical day for Ruth, a wealthy woman in the UK, for example．Ruth wakes up in the morning and collects her post．There’s a letter addressed to her with a picture of a half-dead, beaten horse．It’s from a charity asking Ruth to donate money to save the animals．The door bell rings and there, on Ruth’s doorstep, is an old woman asking for money to help the aged．She turns on the television, hears sad music and sees a picture of a wide-eyed child dying of hunger in Africa with an appeal for money to help the child．Ruth then goes shopping for a dress to wear to that evening’s large party for the rich and famous．The ticket cost her a small fortune, but she doesn’t mind because most of the money is going to a charity that fights AIDS． She feels good about going because she’s helping the sick．Within five minutes of walking down the street, Ruth has passed a charity shop．She doesn’t stop because she doesn’t think she’d find a suitable dress there—it’s full of old, secondhand clothes．But, many other people enter and but all sorts of bargains．Edna, a little old lady, looks after the shop． Any profit it has made goes to a cancer charity．Now that she has retired, she has plenty of spare time to offer her services for free．

For people like Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna, charity is a virtue that holds the same importance in life as faith and hope． “As you look back on your life, the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others,” said Scottish author Henry Drummond．

1．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the story as a way of fundraising?

   A．Charity party                                                B．Charity post

   C．Charity TV program                                     D．Charity for beggars．

2．What does the word “raise” in the first paragraph mean?

   A．Collect together                                            B．Donate

   C．Increase                                                      D．Bring to someone’s attention．

3．We can infer from the passage that       ．

   A．Yao Ming donated US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS

   B．Edna may not be a rich lady but she is willing to do something for others

   C．Ruth leads a busy life and she feels very tired

   D．Ruth is angry because so many people ask her for money every day

4．What’s the writer’s attitude towards charity?

   A．The writer thinks it’s something only people like Ruth can afford to do

   B．The writer just wants to inform us of the different ways to practice charity

   C．The writer thinks it’s a virtue and admires the people who practice it

   D．The writer doesn’t make it clear in the story

5．The underlined part in the last paragraph probably means that      ．

   A．when you look back sometimes, you need stand out

   B．when you want to do something for others, you need stand out

   C．the moment you stand out, you can do something for others

   D． what impresses people deeply is what they have done for others