They have to explain_______   us the reason _______  their doing so.

     A. to; of       B. with; about    C. with; for     D. to; for

They have to explain ______ us the reason  _____ their doing so.

A. /; of                 B. with; about        C. /; for         D. to; for

If you watch British television on Friday March 15, you might be surprised to see celebrities wearing funny red noses and joking around. But don’t worry, they’re not mad, it’s all part of a biennial fund-raising event called Red Nose Day.
Organized by the charity Comic Relief, founded in 1985 by two British comedians, the aim of the event is to raise money to fight poverty and injustice in the UK and Africa.
Celebrities and public figures support the event by making appearances on comic TV shows broadcast by the BBC. This year, for example, UK Prime Minister David Cameron appeared in a music video by One Direction, which the band produced for the event.
But Britons don’t just raise money for charitable causes on one day a year, they do it all year round. One way of doing so is by shopping in charity shops.
These small, inconspicuous shops sell clothes, books and household goods just like any other shop. But there’s one big difference—it’s all secondhand.
There are nearly 10,000 charity shops in the UK, according to the Charity Retail Association. Their business model is simple: Anybody who has things they don’t want anymore can donate them to a charity shop, where they are checked for damage, cleaned and priced. Most items go back on sale at a small part of their original price and the money that is made by selling them is used for a charitable cause.
The idea of buying used clothes may sound off-putting, but for shoppers who have less spending money, such as the elderly or those in low-paying jobs, it has been a welcome option for years.
Now, “thrifting”—shopping at charity shops— is also becoming popular with young people looking for alternative fashion.
“I love shopping at thrift stores. You can find very unique clothes for a very cheap price. It doesn’t bother me that other people may have worn them, I simply wash them before I wear them,” said Anne Marie, a 19-year-old Internet user from the US, in a comment on a Yahoo forum.
So next time you spot a charity shop, why not go inside? Who knows, you might find a lovely dress for just a few pounds. Even better, you can enjoy wearing it in the knowledge that your money helped a good cause.
【小题1】What do famous people in Britain do in support of the Red Nose Day event?

A．Appear on comic TV shows.

B．Donate large sums of money.

C．Donate expensive clothes to charity shops.

D．Play in a music video with the Prime Minister.

【小题2】What do we learn from the passage about Comic Relief?

A．It was founded in 1985 by two British comedians in Africa.

B．It organizes the Red Nose Day fund-raising event.

C．It runs nearly 10,000 charity shops in the UK.

D．It is financially supported by the UK government.

【小题3】One reason for the popularity of the thrift shops is that __________.

A．they sell a wide variety of goods

B．their business model is simple

C．their goods are carefully checked, cleaned and priced

D．they provide things, sometimes special, at low prices

【小题4】The passage is written mainly to __________.

A．inspire more people to join in charitable causes in the UK

B．introduce the traditions of the Red Nose Day

C．analyze why charity shops are popular in the UK

D．explain how charity shops work in the UK

If December 26's tsunamis (海啸) have taught us anything, it is that nature does not recognize national boundaries (界线). The same can be said of a lot of many other problems facing human beings. Global warming, for example, will affect the whole world. Similarly, diseases like AIDS or SARS can spread rapidly from country to country.

At no other time in human history has it been so urgent (迫切的) for humans to recognize that they need to learn to stick together. If they don’t, the chances are that they will soon find themselves alone. What will it take to get humans to take this truth seriously? Disaster seems to be a good way of doing this. The tsunamis, for example, have opened the hearts of countless numbers of people all over the world who offered their immediate help.

But why can't they come together to avoid a disaster that they know will occur if they do not act in time? One of the reasons is a lack of imagination. Most people can readily understand, for example, how rising global temperatures can melt the polar ice-cap, raise sea-levels, and greatly change global weather. But these changes will not occur overnight. And people find it difficult to imagine changes that will occur in stages, slowly, and over years. So they pay little attention to the problem. They hide their heads in the sand. They think that something, somehow, will come to make the problem disappear.

The Indian Ocean tsunami killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. Diseases may kill many more if clean water supplies are not provided in time in the disaster areas.  But already the disaster has revealed (透露) some good things: One, there is more goodwill and kindness in the world than we are likely to believe. And two, the world is indeed capable of coming together as one in the face of the disaster. We pray that some of this spirit runs over into 2005. There are many disasters ― man-made, not natural ones ― that might be avoided if the world can learn to stick together.

 

57. In the second paragraph "doing this" means "getting people to ______."

   A. come together     B. explain the disaster    C. be lonely           D. open their hearts

58. The reason why people pay little attention to disasters beforehand is that ______.

   A. they are not advised to take actions

   B. they hardly realize hidden disasters will happen suddenly

   C. they think others can solve the problem

   D. they believe disasters will disappear with no reasons

59. In the passage, the following disasters are mentioned EXCEPT ______.

   A. tsunami               B. earthquake                C. global warming         D. SARS

60. The main purpose in writing the passage is to ______.

   A. call on the world to unite as one

   B. help the people who suffered tsunamis

   C. show goodwill and kindness of human beings

   D. prove that disasters have no national boundaries

 

 

Long, long ago, when the world was new and the animals could talk, clams were the most talkative of all. And no wonder, for their mouths stretched（伸长）the full length of their bodies. The clams not only loved to talk, they told stories as well. Some of the stories were true and some were not.

It wasn’t long before all the animals were quarreling with each other, and all due to the stories that the clams were spreading. Raven finally got so tired of all the gossiping（闲言）that he called a council meeting and invited all the animals. Bear, Eagle, Wolf, and many others came. It was decided at that meeting that, in order to preserve the peace, a way must be found to put a stop to these unkind stories.

“Beaver,” said Raven, “we cannot decide how to punish the clams. You are a good worker. We know that you will keep working until you discover a solution, so we have chosen you to rid us of this problem.”

Beaver thought and thought, and at last she thought of a plan. She gathered up armloads of the clams—every last one of them—and carried them to the edge of the water.

   “What are you doing?” they asked in alarm.

“You shall see soon enough,” replied Beaver. “Never again will you spread your mean-spirited tales.”

Beaver waited there until the tide went out and then, quickly, she buried each and every one of those clams in the sand. The clams were outraged（激怒）! When Bear came down to walk along the beach, one of the clams opened its mouth to tattle（饶舌）on Beaver. But as soon as it did, sand and water ran in. The clam spit out the water. Again it opened its mouth, but as soon as it did, the sand and water ran into it, and all the poor clam could do was spit out the water and close its mouth. Even today, if you walk along the beach at low tide, you might see a little water shooting from beneath the sand here and there. That is just a clam spitting out the water it swallowed.  

1．Which question does paragraph 2 answer?

    A．Where was the council meeting held?

    B．What did the wolf say at the meeting?

    C．Why were all the animals quarreling?    

    D．How long did the animals’ meeting last?

2．What happened at the meeting?

    A．The clams got embarrassed

    B．A decision was made to solve the problem.

    C．The animals were quarreling fiercely.  

    D．Unkind stories spread among the animals.

3．Which information from the story supports the idea that the clams thought they were being treated unfairly?

    A．One of the clams said something unkind about the beaver.

    B．The clams talked with everyone who visited the beach.

    C．One of the clams spit out the water.

    D．The clams’ mouths stretched the full length of their bodies.

4．The beaver in this story is shown as the _______.

    A．group leader      B．complainer        C．problem solver          D．troublemaker

5．What is the most likely reason that the author wrote this story?

    A．To encourage readers to listen to each other.

    B．To explain why animals are mean to each other.

    C．To tell readers how to take care of a problem.

    D．To teach a lesson about the harm of gossiping.