The meaning of the word “volunteer ” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services.” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage(垃圾) from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay.
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta. The following is her story.
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school, we watched a video(錄像) about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks.”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer the up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture(文化) that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world.”
小題1:According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______.

A．is willing to help those in need without pay	B．can afford to travel to different places
C．has a strong wish to be successful	D．has made a big fortune in life

小題2:Tracy started her work as a volunteer _______.

A．after she met Mother Teresa

B．after she finished high school

C．when she was touring Calcutta

D．when she was working in a hospital

小題3:Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?

A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa.

B．She had already had some experience.

C．She was asked by Mother Teresa’s example.

D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa’s example.

小題4:What is Tracy’s “new idea” (Paragraph 2) of being a volunteer?

A．Going abroad to help the sick.

B．Working in Mother Teresa’s home.

C．Doing simple things to help the poor.

D．Improving oneself through helping others.

Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels, Belgium. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. While vacationing with her mother in Holland, Hitler’s army suddenly took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. After the liberation, Audrey went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her position in life—until the film producers came calling. After being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed up for a bit part in the European film Nederlands in 7 Lessons in 1984. Later, she headed to America to try her luck there.
Audrey gained immediate prominence (成功) in the U.S. with her role in Roman Holiday in 1953. This film turned out to be a big success as she won an Oscar as Best Actress. This gained her enormous popularity and many more roles. Roman Holiday was followed by another similarly wonderful performance in the 1957 classic Funny Face (1957). In 1959, she received yet another nomination（提名） for her role in Nun’s Story. Audrey reached the top of her career when she played Holly Golightly in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961. For this she received another nomination. One of Audrey’s most radiant（輝煌的） roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady in 1964. Her co-star Rex Harrison once was asked to choose his favorite leading lady. Without hesitation, he replied, “Audrey Hepburn in My Fair lady”.
By the end of the sixties, after her divorce from actor Mel Ferrer, Audrey decided to retire while she was on top. Later she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador（大使） to the United Nations UNECEF fund helping children in Latin, American and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 in Switzerland. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies.
小題1:Where did Audrey Hepburn become famous?

A．England.

B．America.

C．Switzerland.

D．Belgium.

小題2:We can infer that Audrey Hepburn was ______.

A．a learned woman	B．satisfied with her marriage
C．a woman with sympathy	D．very popular as a model

小題3:Choose the right order about the life of Audrey Hepburn.
a. Audrey began a modeling career.
b. Audrey went to London with her mother.
c. Audrey became popular in the film Roman Holiday.
d. Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund
e. Hitler’s army suddenly took over the town.
f. Audrey married Dr. Audrey Dotti.

A．a, b, c, d, e, f	B．b, e, a, c, f, d
C．c, a, b, f, e, d,	D．b, e, f, c, a, d

小題4:The underlined word “spotted” in the first paragraph can be replaced by ______.

A．seen

B．shot

C．recognized

D．dropped

It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another matter altogether.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and calm so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may be not able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to. It always amazes me that the highways are not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can’t even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship. Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.
小題1:According to the passage, troubles on the road are often caused by _______.

A．road conditions	B．the speed of modern life
C．the behavior of the drivers	D．the large number of cars

小題2:In the writer’s opinion, ________.

A．drivers should avoid traffic jams

B．strict traffic rules are badly needed

C．unskillful drivers should be punished

D．drivers should show road politeness properly

小題3:The underlined word “give-and-take” in the last paragraph means “______”.

A．politeness and impoliteness

B．good manners and bad manners

C．offering help to others as much as possible

D．willingness of each person to give in to each other’s wishes

小題4:What is the best title of the passage?

A．Road politeness	B．Traffic problems
C．Bad manners on the road	D．Good divers and bad drivers

The whole world is helping tsunami (海嘯) victims. Students in the U.S. are also taking part. A friend of mine suggested that we organize a relief effort for the victims. We are officers of the American Red Cross at Yale (I’m the chairperson). After sending a letter to the other members of the Red Cross, I received a large number of responses from students interested in helping.
We decided to organize a charity concert to raise money for tsunami-ravaged areas. All ticket earnings will go directly to our parent organization, the American Red Cross. Currently, we’re in the process of inviting Yale’s numerous song, dance, and chamber music groups to perform at the concert.
So far, we’ve had a great response from these groups and volunteers have continued to pour in with their ideas and feedback. When I checked my inbox this morning, I had 56 tsunami fundraiser-related emails waiting for me. Although, everyone is still on winter vacation and away from school, we have the Internet to link up Yalies from around the globe. We share ideas not on the latest video games, but on how best to provide help.
The Red Cross at Yale is not alone in its aid effort. Student organizations across campus are working hard to raise funds and provide help to those who need it.
Yale’s South Asian Society (SAS) and the Asian American Students Alliance (AASA), which is an umbrella  organization for many other groups including the Sri Lankan Students Association, are organizing charity dinners.
The food will be donated（捐贈）by restaurants from around campus. Every last penny of the earnings will be donated to a non-profit organization providing aid to South Asia.
After some discussion with the SAS and AASA, our groups have decided to plan our two events together. Students can attend the benefit dinner then go to the charity concert. There is no doubt in my mind that both events will have a fantastic turnout.
小題1:What does the writer mainly talk about in this passage?

A．A charity concert to help tsunami victims.

B．The efforts of the American Red Cross at Yale to help tsunami victims.

C．The worldwide efforts to help tsunami victims.

D．What the Americans do to help tsunami victims.

小題2:The author keeps in touch with Yalies to ______.

A．ask them to offer help	B．inform them the latest news
C．ask them to join in the concert	D．ask them to work for the Red Cross

小題3:What does “both events” refer to in the last paragraph?
A. SAS and AASA.
B. The Red Cross at Yale and the American Red Cross.
C. The benefit dinner and the charity concert.
D. Raising funds and providing help.
小題4:Which of the following is NOT right?

A．Students were taking an active part in the activity

B．The American Red Cross at Yale raised money for tsunami-ravaged areas by organizing a charity concert

C．Other organizations are working hard to raise funds and provide help to those who need it.

D．The tsunami happened in South America.

PHUKET, Thailand—— Narkis Koral, 23, and Oren Mesika, 24, had no sense of the terrible tsunami that hit Southeast Asia: They were having “a good time ”on the island of Koh Chang in Thailand and only learned of their present situation hours later, through friends who received phone calls from home.
Even though the pair, both from Arad, escaped the tsunami’ s anger, it did not change the fact that their parents were worried  
“Our mothers worried a lot, ”says Koral. “They asked us to leave immediately and return to Israel. They offered to arrange flights, anything we wanted, just return. ”
Dana Kuchansky’ s father is also worried. Kuchansky, 28, and her partner were in Kofun, a small island hit hard by the tsunami. After a night spent on the top of the mountain in the center of the island, the two were taken for free to Bangkok, where they were expected to fly to Israel.
On the telephone, the worried father made sure his daughter received the replacement tickets lost in the tsunami 15 minutes later, he called her again, to remind her of the flight number.
Most of the Israelis visiting Thailand are young and on a limited budget. Their parents are used to having insufficient contact with their children. In most cases, this contact is when the phone call or the use of the Internet is cheap, even if the difference between "expensive" and "cheap" is less than 50 agorot, or cents.
In one case this past week, a mother called the mobile telephone of each of the six embassy（大使館）staff in Thailand, one after the other. The same duty officer answered all six.
The common reaction of both parents and children, once telephone contact was made, was sobbing with relief that the ordeal（嚴峻考驗）had left them unharmed.
小題1:According to the text, Narkis and Oren________.

A．called their friends to tell them what had happened

B．had great fun even if they knew the tsunami had come

C．knew nothing about the tsunami until their friends rang them up

D．turned out calm in face of the tsunami

小題2:Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

A．Kuchansky and her partner had their tickets missing in the tsunami.

B．All the parents mentioned are worried about their children’ s safety.

C．Most embassy staff were too busy in their work to answer mobile phone calls.

D．The parents of the young Israelis don’ t have enough time to contact their kids.

小題3:The underlined word “insufficient” in Paragraph 6 probably means________.

A．unsuitable

B．not enough

C．unnecessary

D．irregular

小題4: It can be inferred that ________.

A．50 agorot is too little an amount for the ordinary Israelis

B．as an official in charge, the mother made so many calls

C．the writer may come from Israel rather than from some other country

D．all the young couples traveling in Thailand remained safe and sound

閱讀理解: 閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項。
Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, even adults?
They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Films Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln Center. Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.
“What’s really exciting is that it’s film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. “We want to make this a national event,” Ms. Gardner added.
The nine shorts to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B.B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005. “A lot of the material is really mature,” Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group. “The Choice is about the history of a family and Master Anti-Smoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke.” Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’ feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.
The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and full-length film whose title is Pressures.
1. Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival ____.
A. is organized by a middle school
B. is as famous as the Toronto Festival
C. shows films made by children
D. offers awards to film school students
2. Which of the following is true of Wingspan Arts?
A. It helps young filmmakers to make money.
B. It provides arts projects for young people.
C. It’s a media arts and leadership-training group.
D. It’s a national organization for young people.
3. The underlined word “shorts” in Paragraph 4 refers to _____.
A. short trousers  B. short kids   C. short films   D. short stories
4. Movies to shown in the festival ____.
A. cover different subjects.
B. focus on kids’ life
C. are produced by Global Action Project
D. are directed by Ms. Gardner
5. At the end of this film festival, there will be ____.
A. various awards    B. “red carpet” interviews
C. an open reception  D. a concert at Lincoln Center

For a while, my neighborhood was taken ever by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army. I’m not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet a real pounding（追擊）ruining down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week: it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
小題1: From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood ______.

A．jogging became very popular

B．people jogged only during the daytime

C．Alex organized an army of joggers

D．jogging provided a chance to get together

小題2:The underlined word “them”(Paragraph 3) most probably refers to _____.

A．heart attacks

B．Back problems

C．famous joggers

D．physical weaknesses

小題3:What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?

A．He felt it was worth a try.	B．He was very fond of it.
C．He was strongly against it.	D．He thought it must be painful.

小題4:Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?

A．He disliked doing exercise outside.

B．He found it neither healthy nor interesting.

C．He was afraid of having a heart attack.

D．He was worried about being left alone.

小題5:From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that______.

A．not everyone enjoys jogging

B．he is the only person who hates jogging

C．nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit

D．jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport.

For years we have been told that encouraging a child’s self-respect is important to his or her success in life. But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect. Praise-sholic kids  who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek to same kind of approval from friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car.
The implication(含義) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she succeed but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores she highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.
Social psychologist Carrol Dweck, PhD, tested the effects of overpraise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.
“Praising attributes(品質) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges, ” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’s better quit while they’re ahead.”
小題1:The underlined words “Praise-sholic kids” refers to kids who are ______.

A．tired of being praised	B．worthy of being praised
C．very proud of being praised	D．extremely fond of being praised

小題2:The author quoted(引用) Dr. Dweck’s words in the last paragraph in order to make the article
_____. 

A．better-known

B．better-organized

C．more percussive

D．more interesting

小題3:We can infer from the passage that _____.

A．praise for efforts should be more encouraged

B．praise for results works better than praise for efforts

C．praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life

D．praising a child’s abilities encourage him or her to take on challenges

B
Domestic (馴養(yǎng)的) horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police. But early horses weren’t tame (馴服的) enough to perform these kinds of tasks. Scientists think the first interactions humans had with horses were far different from those today.
Thousands of years ago, people killed the wild horses that lived around them for food. Over time, people began to catch the animals and raise them. This was the first step in domestication.
As people began to tame and ride horses, they chose to keep those animals that had more desirable characteristics. For example, people may have chosen to keep horses that had a gentle personality so they could be ridden more easily. People who used horses to pull heavy loads would have chosen to keep stronger animals. Characteristics like strength are partly controlled by the animals’ genes. So as the domesticated horses reproduced, they passed the characteristics on to their young. Each new generation of houses would show more of these chosen characteristics.
Modern day horse breeds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This variety didn’t exist in the horse population before domestication. The Shetland horse is one of the smallest breeds—typically reaching only one meter tall. With short, strong legs, the animals were bred to pull coal out of mine shafts (礦井) with low ceilings. Huge horses like the Clydesdale came on the scene around 1700. People bred these heavy, tall horses to pull large vehicles used for carrying heavy loads.
The domestication of horses has had great effects on societies. For example, horse were important tools in the advancement of modern agriculture. Using them to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads allowed people to farm more efficiently. Before they were able to ride horses, humans had to cross land on foot. Riding horses allowed people to travel far greater distance in much less time. That encouraged populations living in different areas to interact with one another. The new from of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world.
小題1:Before domestication horses were ______.

A．caught for sports	B．hunted for food
C．made to pull ploughs	D．used to carry people

小題2:The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.

A．it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse	B．horse used to have gentle personalities
C．some horses have better shaped than others
D．horses were of less variety before domestication

小題3:Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.

A．carrying heavy loads	B．changing farming methods
C．serving as a means of transport	D．advancing agriculture in different areas

小題4:The passage is mainly about _______.

A．why humans domesticated horses	B．how humans and horses needed each other
C．why horses came in different shapes and sizes
D．how human societies and horses influenced each other

C
Being able to multitask—doing several things at the same time—is considered a welcome skill by most people. But if we consider the situation of the young people aged from eight to eighteen, we should think again.
What we often see nowadays is that young people juggle an ever larger number of electronic devices(電子產品)as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a significant amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.
Multitasking is even changing the relationship between family members. As young people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house, nor can they cat at the family table.
Multitasking also affects young people’s performance at university and in the workplace. When asked about their opinion of the effect of modern gadgets(器具)on their performance of tasks, many young people gave a positive response(反應). However, the response from the worlds of education and business was not quite as positive. Educators feel that multitasking by children has a serious effect on later development of study skills. They believe that many college students now need help to improve their study skills. Similarly, employers feel that young people entering the job market need to be taught all over again, as modern gadgets have made it unnecessary for them to learn special skills to do their work.
小題1:What does the underlined word “juggle” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．Want to buy	B．Take the place of.
C．Use at the same time	D．Seek for information from.

小題2:In Paragraph 3, the author points out that      .

A．family members do not cat at the family table

B．family member do not greet each other

C．young people live happily in their families

D．young people seldom talk with their family members

小題3:What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Multitasking is harmful to young people’s development.

B．Young people benefit a lot from modern gadgets

C．Multitasking is an important skill to young people.

D．Young people must learn skills for future jobs.

小題4:The author develops the passage mainly by    .

A．providing typical examples	B．following the natural time order
C．comparing opinions from different fields
D．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects