Taking part in charity is not just for adult people. Kids can do it too! Melvin Sheppard, 14, an American student, has done charity work for 8 years. He has also encouraged his classmates to join him.

Melvin studies at William Allen Middle School in Philadelphia. Recently, he collected $ 1,500 by himself and $487 from his classmates to donate to Cooper University Hospital.

Melvin was born nine weeks premature (早产的) in Cooper University Hospital, weighing 2.6kg. His father told him how Cooper saved his life, so he feels thankful to the hospital.

Melvin's classmates joined him once they found out about his kind behavior. Their teacher, Michael Bemer, also held a class with them about helping others. "It wasn't really about the money," Bemer said. "It was about the fact that they were doing something good."

"It feels great, helping someone that I know." said Jordan, Melvin' s classmate. Melvin's neighbors also helped out.

Since Melvin was 6, he and his parents have given money to Cooper University Hospital every year. This year, Gray E. Stahl, the head of Cooper's division of neonatology(新生儿科学部门), went to Melvin's school to accept the money.

The money goes to a part of the hospital that helps about 500 young patients every year.

"When they leave, we call them graduates," Stahl said, "my co - workers and I are pleased when our graduates and their families do well, like Melvin and his family."

1.When did Melvin start to do charity work?

A. When he was 14 years old.

B. When he was 8 years old.

C. When he was 6 years old.

D. When he was born.

2.Why did Melvin donate to Cooper University Hospital?

A. He was a doctor in Cooper University Hospital.

B. His father worked in Cooper University Hospital.

C. He was thankful to Cooper University Hospital.

D. He used to volunteer in Cooper University Hospital.

3.Where did Gray E. Stahl accept the money?

A. At Melvin's school.

B. At Melvin's house.

C. At Cooper University Hospital.

D. At Cooper's division of neonatology.

4.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Many college graduates accept the money every year.

B. The money helps about 500 0ld patients every year.

C. Melvin does the charity work alone for many years.

D. Melvin's teacher thinks it is a great thing to learn to help others.

Indian boy Piscine Patel is troubled by his first name. It sounds like a rude word, and his classmates laughed at him. He decides to change his name to “Pi”.
But Pi’s name problems are nothing compared to what is waiting for him.
Pi’s father owns a zoo. He decides to move to Canada. The family, together with all the zoo animals, set sail across the Pacific. One day, a huge storm hits the ship. The next morning, Pi finds his family has sunk with the ship. He is the only person still alive.
He finds himself on a lifeboat with several animals, one of which is a tiger called Richard Parker. Soon, all the animals are killed and Pi is left alone with the tiger.
As the tiger becomes hungrier, Pi starts to fish to feed him. Otherwise, he himself will become the food.
The boy and the tiger develop an amazing relationship on the sea. Although he feels hopeless, Pi never gives up. After 227 days, the lifeboat finally lands on a beach in Mexico, but Richard Parker runs away into the forest.
The ship company finds Pi and asks what happened. Pi tells them about Richard Parker but the company doesn’t believe him. Pi then tells another story in which there is no tiger, but some other shocking details(细节).
Is there really another story? If so, which one is the truth? Maybe you will have your own answer after watching The Life of Pi(《少年派的奇幻漂流》), the latest 3D movie from American Chinese director Ang Lee.
【小题1】What’s the first trouble of the Indian boy Piscine Patel?

Have you ever seen snow? Many people in the world have not. Some countries never have snow; some have only a little on the tops of very high mountains. In the north of England, there is quite a lot of snow every winter, but in the south of England, there is usually little.
When a student from a warm country comes to England in autumn for the first time, he feels cold at first. There are often dark clouds, grey sky and cold rain in England in autumn, and most students from warm countries do not like this.
But snow is different. Though it is cold, it is also beautiful. Perhaps, after several dark mornings, the student wakes up one day, and there is a lot of light in his room. He thinks “Is it so late?” and jumps out of bed. But no, it is not very late. He looks out of the window and there is the snow on the ground and on the houses and everywhere. The light of his room comes from clean, beautiful snow.
【小题1】In which part of England is there much snow in winter?

Have you heard of Chen Binqiang in Zhejiang Province? Over the past six years, he has taken care of his mother who got Alzheimer’s disease.

Chen’s mother, 64-year-old Chen Yueguang, has been ill since 2007. The illness became very serious quickly and she has lost the ability to speak and can not look after herself. None of Chen’s other family members, however, could take care of their sick mother. Chen’s father died in a traffic accident when he was eight, his two sisters married far away and his wife has a 92-year-old grandmother to look after. 

Chen taught Chinese in Central School of Lengshui town, which is about 30 kilometers away from his home in Pan’an. So he spent five days at school and only went home on weekends. When he said he would take his mother to work, even his wife was doubtful and worried. She really doesn’t think it is a good idea for him to take care of his mother in school. She worries what if he lost his job because of this.

But Chen has made the decision. Soon he was putting a safety hat onto his mother’s head and helping her sit on his electric bike’s back seat. He thinks that his mother used to take him around and now he should take her.

These days, things got a little easier for him. With the help of Pan’an government, Chen got a new job in Pan’an Middle School in October 2012. The new school is only five minutes’ ride from his home, which means he can take care of his mother more conveniently.

Chen feels happiest when his mother is looking at him. She must have forgotten who he is, and she even can’t call his name. But she surely knows that Chen is kind to her. He feels that is enough.

On February 19^th, 2013, Chen got the prize for Touching China, held by China Central Television to honor those whose performances have moved the people.

1. What does Chen Binqiang do? He is ___________,

A．a farmer          B．a driver           C．a postman         D．a teacher

2.The word “doubtful” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A．疑惑             B．明白             C．预料             D．支持

3. How did Chen take her mother to his school?

A．In his car.                             B．In a taxi.

C．By electric bike.                        D．On foot.

4. The passage mainly tells us _______.

A．people will live a very hard life if our parents become seriously ill

B．it should be allowed to take care of our mothers at work places

C．a man who shows loving care for his mother and his great spirit

D．Touching China honors people whose performances move us

根据句意及首字母或汉语提示完成单词。

1.Some students are singing to r_________ money for charity.

2.China and India are both A _________ countries.

3.My mother is cooking in the k_________.

4.I’ll get a_________ when someone talks to me while I’m reading.

5.It’s very i_________ to make noise in class.

6.The boy was dancing when a_________(外国人) arrived.

7.Beijing is the _________ (首都) of China.

8.All of us have been _________(爬) up the hill for two hours.

9.Were you _________ (抄写) others’ homework when I came in?

10.He feels _________(紧张的) when he goes to see the doctor.