Greg Woodburn, a university student, spends a lot of time cleaning sports shoes. Some of them once belonged to him; some belonged to his friends. But soon the shoes will have new owners, poor children in the USA and 20 other countries, thanks to Greg’s Share Our Soles(鞋底) (S.O.S) charity. 
Greg was a high school running star in a small town in California. He had to stop running for months because his knee was injured. “I started thinking about all the things I got from running, the health, the friendships and the confidence.” he says. And I realized there are children who don’t even have shoes.
Greg collected his own sports shoes and then called his friends and the town. His aim was to have 100 pairs by Christmas 2006. When the number climbed to more than 500 pairs. Greg know that he could collect sports shoes all year round.
Now he has set up collection boxes in his town. So far, S.O.S has collected and donated more than 3,000 pairs of shoes. And Greg has cleaned almost all of them. “People think of it as duty work,” he says, “but I like doing it, because I feel happy when I’m doing it. It’s not work I want to pass on to someone else.”
In just three years, Greg has started three branches(分部) of S.O.S and there are more and more sports shoes.
For many poor children who have received the shoes mean opportunity. Two young boys in southern California used to go to school on alternate days(隔日) because they both shared a pair of shoes. They were too big for one boy and too small for the other. Thanks to S.O.S, each brother received his own pair of shoes. The boys now go to school every day. When they graduate, they say they will help others, just as Greg helped them.
【小题1】Who will Greg donate these sports shoes to?
_____________________________________________
【小题2】From running Greg got health, friendships and confidence, and what did he realize?
_____________________________________________
【小题3】How many pairs of shoes has S.O.S collected and donated so far?
_____________________________________________
【小题4】Why does Greg like to clean the donated shoes?
__________________________________________________
【小题5】What did the two boys in southern California learn from Greg?
___________________________________________________

One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for tea. Today, when we think of western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups.

Afternoon tea:

People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the English ate only two main meals each day, breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o’clock. This meal included cakes, sandwiches, and tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups, plates, and silver teapots, knives, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.

Will you come for coffee:

Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use words “Will you come for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to come to my home for a chat?” Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a “coffee” party.

Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange:

In the 17th century London coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange(股票交易所)is believed to be started from these coffeehouses.

1.Anna introduced the idea of drinking afternoon tea because she ____________.

A.enjoyed chatting with her friends at home

B.loved tea and beautiful china tea cups

C.wanted to share nice food with her friends

D.found people felt hungry during the long wait between the two meals

2.What does “social occasions” mean in Chinese?

A.集体婚礼         B.社交活动          C.社区表演         D.公共场合

3. If someone says to you “Will you come for coffee?”, you ___________.

A.will be offered coffee only

B.will be asked what you would like to drink

C.will be asked to have a chat with him or her

D.are invited to take part in an afternoon tea party

4. From the last paragraph we can see ____________.

A.a new business was started in coffeehouses

B.coffeehouses are still used by businessmen and bankers

C.businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses just for coffee

D.most people wouldn’t like to go to coffeehouses because of the coffee

5.Which is the best title(标题)for this article?

A.British and Chinese Culture

B.The Beginning of Tea and Coffee

C.Coffeehouses and Business

D.English Tea and Coffee Culture

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网