Big Brothers Big Sisters is based on the simplicity and power of friendship. It is a program which provides friendship and fun by matching vulnerable young people(ages 7-17) with a volunteer adult who can be both a role model and a supportive friend.

Volunteer tutors come from all walks of life—married, single, with or without children. Big Brothers and Big Sisters are not replacement parents or social workers. They are tutors: someone to trust, to have fun with, to talk and go to when needed.

A Big Sister and Little Sister will generally spend between one and four hours together three or four times each month for at least twelve months. They enjoy simple activities such as a picnic at a park, cooking, playing sport or going to a football match. These activities improve the friendship and help the young person develop positive self-respect, confidence and life direction.

Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations exist throughout the world. It is the large and most well-known provider of tutor services internationally and has been operating for 25 years.

Emily and Sarah have been matched since 2008. Emily is a 10-year-old girl who has experienced some difficulties being accepted by her schoolmates at school. “I was pretty sure there was something wrong with me.”

Emily’s mum came across Big Brothers Big Sisters and thought it would be of benefit to Emily by “providing different feedback(反馈) about herself other than just relying on schoolmates to measure her self-worth.

Sarah wanted to get involved in a volunteer program. “I googled it and found out how to be a part of it. I thought it would be fun for me to get involved in making time to do something because sometimes it is all work and no play.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters has been of great benefit and enjoyment to both Emily and Sarah. They love and look forward to their time together and the partnership has certainly helped Emily be more comfortable in being the wonderful, happy and unique girl she is!

1.What is the aim of Big Brothers Big Sisters?

A．To offer students public services.

B．To help students improve their grades.

C．To organize sport activities for young people.

D．To provide partnership and fun for young people.

2.According to Emily’s mother, this program may provide Emily with              .

A．advice from her teachers

B．a new way to assess herself

C．a new way to judge her schoolmates

D．more comments from her schoolmates

3.Why did Sarah want to get involved in the program?

A．She used to be a volunteer.

B．She needed a part-time job.

C．She felt a bit bored with her life.

D．She wanted to get a challenging job.

4.According to the passage, “vulnerable young people” are probably those who are              .

A．popular at school                       B．rather weak physically

C．easily hurt emotionally                   D．confident in themselves

It was the perfect weather for leaf watching, and my housemate Julie and I meant to spend the weekend with our friends in the north Georgia mountains. "Don’t you want to come along? "Julie asked her 15-year-old son, Mark. "Enjoy the leaves by yourselves,” he told her. "I’ll be fine staying home by myself. "Julie and I drove there in my car after work on Friday. On Saturday morning we hiked along the mountainside and enjoyed the beautiful colors. All of a sudden, I had a terrible feeling. "Go home," a voice seemed to urge me. I couldn’t explain it, but I didn’t want to be here any more. I just wanted to go home. "Carol, calm down. You’re being silly, "Julie said. But the urge just got stronger. "I’ve got to leave," I said. "If you want to stay, you can get a ride back with everyone else tomorrow. "Julie stood up. "No, I’ll go with you, "she said. We almost didn’t talk during the two-hour trip back. I felt very guilty. Finally, we pulled in. The lights were on in the house, but something was strange. The windows seemed to be fogged up. Julie opened the door and smoke poured out. "Mark!" she shouted. "Mark!" We rushed inside and found him asleep on the sofa. Shaking him awake, Julie grabbed him. I grabbed the source of the smoke —a pillow too close to the fireplace. I then took it outside and threw water on it. Mark had built a fire to keep warm, and some embers (灰烬) had flown out. The whole house could have gone up if we hadn’t gotten there just then!

What do we know from the text?

     A. Leaf watching was Mark’s hobby.              B. Mark stayed home with his friends.

     C. Carol went to work on Friday.                 D. Mark was Carol’s cousin.

The underlined phrase "pulled in" in the last paragraph probably means "_______".

     A. started the car                              B. arrived home and stopped the car

     C. moved away from the station                  D. came home late

While driving home Carol ________.

     A. was very terrified                           B. drove at a great speed

     C. knew she had made a mistake               D. hardly said anything

Why did Carol want to go home?

     A. She didn’t enjoy the leaves.             B. She received her son’s telephone call.

C. She felt something urged her to go home.      D. She followed Julie’s advice.

完形填空 （共20小题；每小题l分，满分20分）

When Andra Rush started her trucking company, all she had was an old van，two used pick-up trucks and the simple certainty of a 23-year-old girl. But she planned to make her fortune in about four years to    36   her true goal: dealing with poverty on Native American reservations across North America. "I thought I could retire by the time I was 27," says Rush, "At that age, you don't know  37  you don't know."

Rush is 49 now and  38  working hard. Her tiny start-up just outside Detroit has  39   to a $400 million North American business. Today Rush is a(an)  40  not only for Native Americans but also for women in the male-controlled world of trucking.

Rush was  41 30 miles outside Detroit. When the teenage Rush visited the reservation for the first time, she was  42  by the poverty and lack of hope. "I really wanted to  43  " she says.

She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1982. She took a nursing job with a 44 pay and then practiced at an air goods company, 45 the speed of package pickups and deliveries made a little more a little more profits. "I thought I could do that 46 ," Rush says.

Within six months, Rush had ten employees, and clients(客户)  47  Ford and GM were paying her to 48 small packages from the airport. Ford was the first to offer her a job trucking parts between its plants and supplier.

By 2001, many of Rush's 1,000 employees were Native Americans, working alongside people of every    49   But she felt she hadn't done enough. 50  she joined forces with a Canadian parts maker to design and gather auto components.

She located the plants near reservations, 51 opportunities where they were needed most. By 2009, her auto parts business was earning $370 million   52   .

She's come a long way from the  53    23-year-old who thought "the cash would just roll in." But Rush wouldn't change a thing: "I love my job," she says. "I 54  the fact that you can start to get some motivation and keep   55   yourself—and then suddenly you lift your head and it's been 25 years"

A．make     B. accomplish C.  receive    D．arrive

A．what      B．which       C．why  D．who

A．so B．somehow  C．still   D．anyhow

A.  grown B．become     C．got    D．gone

A．able housewife      B．ordinary woman      C．role model       D．truck driver

A．brought       B．lived C．risen        D．raised

A．moved B．interested  C．struck       D．encouraged

A have an influence   B．make a difference    C．set an example  D．make a decision

A．low      B．high  C．cheap       D．expensive

A．which    B．that   C．when D．where

A．well       B．badly C．worse       D．better

A．like       B．besides     C．for    D．except

A．take       B．fetch C．bring D．lift

A．education      B．family      C．background      D．city

A．Because B．For   C．But   D．So

A．seizing   B．creating    C．grasping   D．losing

.A．in case  B．in turn      C．in return   D．in need

A．inexperienced       B．experienced      C．expert       D．skilled

A．enjoy     B．hate   C．doubt       D．refuse

A．fighting B．forcing     C．challenging      D．amusing

The day started out bad. She overslept and was late for work. Then everything __16__ happened at the office made her unhappy, too. By the time she reached the bus stop for her bus to go home, she had a bad stomachache.
As usual, the bus was late, and full of people. There was no free seat for her and she had to stand in the bus. As the bus drove, it pulled her __17__ all directions, and she felt even __18__(bad).
Then she heard a voice from up front, "Beautiful day, isn’t it?" Because of the crowd, she could not see the man, __19__ she heard him as he continued to comment on the beautiful spring scenery, __20__ (call) attention to every building and thing that people could see as the bus passed by. Soon, all of the passengers __21__ (look) out of the windows. The man’s words were so powerful that she found __22__ smiling for the first time that day.
The bus reached her stop, and as she moved toward the door, she got a look at their "guide": an old gentleman __23__ a beard, wearing dark glasses and carrying a thin white cane(木杖). He was blind.
Sometimes it is not that there is no __24___(beautiful) in __25___ world, it is just that there is no eye that can see that . Open your eyes and say, "Beautiful day, isn’t it?"

When the shooting of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was complete, it was much more than a movie wrap-up (结束).
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, told The Sunday Times that he’s happy to have the time for romance now filming is over. Emma Watson, who is Hermione Granger in the movies, said she looked forward to “finally being free, being my own person” – a change signaled by her new haircut.
Daniel Radcliffe, who has been the face of the boy wizard since 2001, said that he “did cry like a little girl” when the last movie finished.
“It’s like the ending of a relationship,” he told The Vancouver Sun. “There’s a sense of, ‘God, what am I going to do now?’” He said he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”.
Along with the three actors, Harry Potter fans, now in their late teens, came of age with J.K. Rowling’s characters. For them, the last film isn’t just a goodbye to a decade of magic, but the close of their childhoods.
“We are the Harry Potter generation,” Canadian Andrea Hill, 19, told The Vancouver Sun. “We started in elementary school, reading about a boy our age who was going through the same things we were going through. We grew up, so did he.”
For Emily Chahal, an 18-year-old student, the series has been an inspiring journey. “That first book was what started my love of literature. It was the inspiration for everything – really teaching me to appreciate my friends, and to face difficulties with a sense of courage,” she said. “I have a sense of sadness. The end of the movies is kind of the end of my childhood, too.”
Fortunately, to the delight of die-hard fans, there are many things that keep the boy wizard alive. For example, in June this year, a Harry Potter theme park opened in Florida, US.
Some schools in the US and UK also have Quidditch teams – players ride broomsticks. “We’re not waiting anymore to see what happens to Harry next,” Hill told The Vancouver Sun. She founded a Quidditch club at Carleton University in Canada. “We’re still engaged in that magical world.”
【小题1】.
How did Emma Watson feel when she finished the shooting of the Harry Potter series?