Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer (扫盲志愿者). The
training I received, though excellent, didn't tell me how it was to work with a real student, however.
When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read, I realized the
true importance of reading.
     My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three children. In the first lesson, I found
out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus
to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she
couldn't read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't
always remember what she needed. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had
a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.
     As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie's self-confidence. She began to make rapid
progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported
how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy
first grader, with his reading. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding
than anything I had ever done before.
     As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have
learned more from the experience than Marie did.

1. What did the writer do last summer?

A. She worked in the supermarket.
B. She helped someone to learn to read.
C. She helped some single mothers.
D. She was trained by a literacy volunteer.

2. Why didn't Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?

A. Because she liked to walk to the supermarket.
B. Because she didn't have a bus schedule.
C. Because she couldn't afford the bus ticket.
D. Because she couldn't find the right bus.

3. How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?

A. She knew where the goods were in the supermarket.
B. She asked others to take her to the right place.
C. She managed to find the goods by their looks.
D. She remembered the names of the goods.

4. Which of the statements is TRUE about Marie?

A. She could do many things she had not been able to before.
B. She was able to read stories with the help of her son.
C. She decided to continue her studies in school.
D. She helped to build up my self-confidence.

     Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night
cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.
     She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. "I would have
liked to go back to it, but the shifts (工作班次) are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the
children up and off to school."
     So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax
and insurance. "It's better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work 'unsocial hours'
should get a bit extra."
     The hours she' s chosen to work meant that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her
husband. However, she doesn't think that puts any pressure on their relationship.
     Her work isn't physically very hard, but it's not exactly pleasant, either. "I do get angry with people
who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps
they'd be a bit more careful."
     The fact that she's working all night doesn't worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night
, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. "Since I've got to be
here, I try to enjoy myself-and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the
time never drags."
     Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she
does for a living. "They think you're a cleaner because you don't know how to read and write," said
Margaret. "I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I'd been doing, but I don't think
that way any more. I don't dislike the work though I can't say I'm mad about it."

1. Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______

A. she wanted to earn more money to support her family
B. she had suffered a lot of mental pressure
C. she needed the right time to look after her children
D. she felt tired of taking care of patients

2. Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because _______.

A. they never clean their offices
B. they look down upon cleaners
C. they never do their work carefully
D. they always make a mess in their offices

3. When at work, Margaret feels _______.

A. light-hearted because of her fellow workers
B. happy because the building is fully lit
C. tired because of the heavy workload
D. bored because time passed slowly

4. The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret's parents would _______．

A. help care for her children
B. regret what they had said
C. show sympathy for her
D. feel disappointed in her

     In Africa, listening is a guiding principle. It's a principle that's been lost in the constant chat of the
Western world. From my own past experience, I noticed how much faster I had to answer a question
during a TV interview. It's as if we have completely lost the ability to listen. We talk and talk, and we
end up frightened by silence.
     Everywhere, people on the African continent write and tell stories. Even the nomads (流浪者) who
still live in the Kalahari Desert are said to tell one another stories on their daylong wanderings, during
which they search for roots and animals to hunt.
     A number of years ago I sat down on a stone bench outside the Teatro Avenida in Maputo,
Mozambique, where I worked as an artistic consultant. It was a hot day, and we were taking a break,
hoping that a cool gentle wind would move past. Two old African men were sitting on that bench, but
there was room for me, too. In Africa people share more than just water. Even when it comes to shade,
people are generous.
     I heard the two men talking about a third old man who had recently died. One of them said, "I was
visiting him at his home. He started to tell me an amazing story about something that had happened to
him when he was young. But it was a long story. Night came, and I decided that I should come back the
next day to hear the rest. But when I arrived, he was dead."
     The man fell silent. I decided not to leave that bench until I heard how the other man would respond
to what he'd heard. Finally he, too, spoke. "That's not a good way to die-before you've told the end of
your story."
     What separates us from animals is the fact that we are storytelling creatures and we can listen to other
people's dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats-and they in turn can listen to ours.
     Many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. They are not the same thing. Knowledge involves the interpretation of information. Knowledge involves listening.
     Many words will be written on the wind and the sand, or end up in store. But the storytelling will go
on until the last human being stops listening. Then we can send the great record of human out into the
endless universe.
     Who knows? Maybe someone is out there, willing to listen…

1. From the very beginning of the passage, we can know Europeans ________.

A. actually lose the ability to listen
B. seldom chat constantly with each other
C. feel frightened when they are alone and silent
D. tend to talk more and listen less

2. It can be inferred from the passage that if you are in Africa, you will _______. 

A. suffer hot weather and lack of water      
B. be certainly helped when in trouble
C. often hear the stories told by strangers    
D. have no choice but to listen during a talk

3. According to the last three paragraphs, we can know _________.

A. no one knows exactly why Africans are willing to listen
B. information is hard to understand without interpretation
C. listening makes the difference between information and knowledge
D. the existence of humans' recordings totally depends on the way of storytelling

4. The passage mainly talks about __________.

A. the experience of the author          
B. the art of listening in Africa
C. the importance of storytelling        
D. the life styles of Africans

     Violent winds swept the ocean, and waves thundered to shore, shaking the lookout tower at Pea
Island Rescue Station. Surfman Theodore Meekins was on watch that evening of 11 October 1896.
A hurricane had struck the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the tide was so strong that beach
patrols (巡逻) had been canceled. Still, Meekins paid close attention to the horizon. This was the type of
weather that could blow ships hundreds of miles off course.
     Offshore, the ship E.S. Newman was caught in the storm. The captain, whose wife and child were on
the ship, feared the Newman would soon break up. He made the decision to beach his ship, then fired a
signal, praying that someone onshore would see it.
     Meekins, whose eyes were trained to cut through rain and surf mists, thought he saw the signal, but
so much spray (水雾) covered the lookout windows that he could hardly make sure. Still, he took no
chances. After summoning (召集) the station keeper, Captain Richard Etheridge, Meekins set off a
coston signal, a signal made by using lamps of different colors. Together, the two men searched the
darkness for a reply. A few moments later, they saw a flash of light to the south and knew a shop was in
distress. Even before the return signal burned out, Etheridge had summoned his men and begun rescue
operations.
     For the lifesavers, the rescue of the Newman was nothing unusual. Over the years, so many ships had
foundered off the Outer Banks that sailors called the region the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Noting the
dangerous surf and wind conditions, Captain Etheridge quickly decided the surf boats would be
impossible to control. Instead, he decided to use another way to help the survivors.
     The crew set off on the long journey down the beach to the scene of the wreck (海滩). Captain
Etheridge hoped to fire a line from a gun to the ship's mast(船桅). After the ship's crew dragged the line
onboard, the surfmen would fire a second line and carry survivors safely to shore.
     The surfmen crossed three miles of sand to reach the ship Newman. The water was freezing, and the
men often sank up to their knees in sand. Captain Etheridge noted in his diary that "the voice of
gladdened hearts greeted the arrival of the station crew," but that "it seemed impossible for them to do
anything under such circumstances. The work was often stopped by the sweeping current."
     Even when the rescue equipment proved useless, Etheridge refused to give up. Choosing two of his
strongest surfmen, he tied rope lines around their waists and sent them into the water. The two men,
holding a line from shore, walked with huge effort as far as they could before diving through the waves.
Nearly worn out while swimming against the tide, they finally made it to the shop.
     The first to be rescued were the captain's wife and child. With the two passengers tied to their backs,
the surfmen fought their way back to shore. Taking turns, Etheridge and his crew made ten trips to the Newman, saving every person onboard. It was 1:00 a.m. when the crew and survivors finally made it back to the station.
     That night, as the exhausted survivors lay sleeping and his lifesaving crew rested, Captain Etheridge
picked up his pen, and in the light of an oil lantern, wrote with satisfaction that all the people onboard had
been saved and were "sheltered in this station"-words he would remember for many years to come.

1. The beach patrols were canceled because ________.

A. Meekins paid enough attention to the horizon
B. there was too much spray on the windows
C. the winds and tide were too strong
D. there was no ship near the station

2. The underlined word "foundered" in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to "___________".

A. stopped          
B. sank          
C. sailed          
D. arrived

3. What was the author's main purpose in writing the passage?

A. To warn sailors of the dangers of hurricanes.
B. To create a story describing a rescue at sea.
C. To inform people about Richard Etheridge.
D. To record the details about the Newman.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The newman was very dangerous before Richard Etheridge and his team members saw the signal.
B. A terrible hurricane took place off the coast of North Carolina and thereatened the lives of many sailors.
C. At no other time in American history have so many shipwrecked passengers survived such a violent
     storm.
D. All the passengers of a shipwreck were rescued because of heroic the efforts of a special leader and
     his crew.

     Famous centenarians (百岁老人) still active in arts, science are in no mood to retire. "Those who
stand still, die," is one of Oliveira's favorite phrases. He knows from experience what it means, as the
Portuguese film director has reached the age of 102 and is still active in his profession. Every year,
Oliveira shoots a film and is currently working on his next project. "You have to work, work, work in
order to forget that death is not far away," he said. When asked about his age, Oliveira said with some
humility: "It's down to mother nature. It gave to me what it took from others."
     Being both mentally and physically fit in old age is partly a matter of luck, but it also has something to
do with character. Not every white-haired person is wise and social skills, openness and the ability to
train the brain are essential for senior citizens.
     Along with the architect Oscar Niemeyer (103), Nobel laureate Montalcini (101) and director Kurt
Maetzig (100), Oliveira is one of those people of whom it would be very wrong to think as members of
a listless elderly generation.
     Another master in his profession is the architect Oscar Niemeyer. The 103-year-old Brazilian is best
known for his futuristic-looking (未来派的) buildings in Brasilia, but he also speaks out on behalf of the
poor. "The role of the architect is to struggle for a better world where we can develop a form of
architecture that serves everyone and not just a privileged few," said Niemeyer recently. He spends
almost every day working in his office in Copacabana, and even when he falls ill he keeps working on
ideas: After a gallbladder (胆囊) operation he composed a samba tune (桑巴舞曲) in the clinic.
     Another man who could sing a song about age is 107-year-old Heesters. The Dutch-born opera
singer spent most of his life performing in Germany, where he still works. Recently Heesters said: "I want
to be at least 108-years-old." He also plans to keep performing. "Should I just sit at home and wait
until they come and pick me up?" Heesters has not given up trying to add to his tally of awards and is
looking for a "good stage role".
     Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who is 101-year-old and is still active in medical science, has
described the force that keeps driving her on: "Progress is created through imperfection." In 1986 she
and her lab colleague were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work on nerve growth factor. She's convinced that humans grow on challenges.
     With so many brilliant examples given, we can see clearly that age is no barrier to some high achievers.

1. From the first two paragraphs, we can see ________.

A. being active at 102 is achievable for everybody
B. Oliveira owes his long life to his mother's help
C. being fit in old age is a matter of luck and character
D. social skills and wisdom are difficult for the senior

2. How many centenarians are mentioned in this passage? 

A. 4            
B. 5          
C. 6            
D. 7

3. By saying "Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?", Heesters
    means that he ________. 

A. is willing to work till he dies      
B. is waiting for people to pick him up
C. wants to sit or lie in comfort    
D. prefers to give performance at home

4. The best title for this passage may be "________". 

A. The Older, the Wiser You'll Be      
B. Progress, Created Through Imperfection
C. How to Live to Be a Centenarian      
D. Age, No Barrier to Some High Achievers