A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said; "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.

"We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习) with world-famous firms such as Honda.

"At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures. " Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛).

The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. " Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing," he said, " We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon. "

The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It dealt with issues (问题) such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment.

Kieran said: " It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August. "

The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

1.The Young Inspirations mentoring program aims to _____.

A．train staff for world-famous firms           B．offer job opportunities to young adults

C．provide youth with unique experiences      D．equip the unemployed with different skills

2.According to Alex Goldberg, it is difficult for schools to offer the mentoring due to _____.

A．the lack of support from firms              B．the cultural differences

C．the effect of unemployment               D．the shortage of money

3.According to the passage, the forum focused on how youth can ____.

A．build up their confidence at school          B．find work experience opportunities

C．improve their social skills for the future      D．play an active role in the change of society

4.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A． the visit to the United Kingdom was amazing

B． Kieran has made great progress in many aspects

C． the youth have found a way to solve their problems

D． the mentoring sessions are held every day except Friday

5.What would be the best tide for the passage?

A． Alex Goldberg, Founder of Young Inspirations

B． Young People Find a World of Opportunity

C． Kieran, Banbury School Pupil to Paris

D． Debates Help Youth with Their Grades

 

 (江苏省徐州市2009届高三第三次调研考试)

I had my first job at the age of thirteen，when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop．I was very     36   to earn my own pocket money and my parents never interfered with    37    I spent it，even when I was spending it foolishly．They    38    that by earning money，spending it，and learning from my mistakes，I would become more     39    and responsible about how to handle work，    40 with others，and money．

Like many American parents，my parents also let my brother and me do things over which they    41    a great deal．When I was sixteen，   42  ，after I finished high school and before I entered    43  ，I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe．My mother was against the idea of my traveling     44   at such a young age，but my father felt that it would be a great    45   for me．In the end，my father won the argument on the condition that I    46   my  traveling to France，my mother’s home，where I had many relatives who could     47    shelter and help if I needed it．

Three years later，when he was eighteen，my brother decided to    48   a year off after his first year in university and   49   through the States and the Caribbean．Again my mother was worried to see my brother leave school，but my father encouraged him and my brother had a fantastic year   50   his way on trains and ships to earn passage to different ports and cities，and  51   many fascinating places and people．

Such experiences are    52    rare children in many countries，but in the US they are fairly   53   ．Most parents start pushing their children at a young age to do small things by themselves．   54   they finish high school，many American kids have already had part-time jobs，traveled around the US or other countries on their own，    55   a university and maybe even decided on their future career．

36．A．anxious                   B．proud                     C．disappointed            D．successful

37．A．how                             B．whether                  C．when                      D．where

38．A．suggested               B．explained                 C．believed                  D．mentioned

39．A．generous                 B．energetic                 C．creative                  D．mature

40．A．relationships            B．operations               C．instructions             D．situations

41．A．panicked                 B．suffered                  C．worried                  D．struggled

42．A．as a result                                   B．in reality                 

C．for example                                 D．on the whole

43．A．university                B．business                  C．politics                   D．market

44．A．along                      B．apart                       C．alone                      D．aboard

45．A．practice                  B．experience               C．performance           D．schedule

46．A．stopped                  B．turned                     C．devoted                  D．limited

47．A．support                   B．equip                      C．provide                   D．take

48．A．send                       B．take                        C．pick                       D．give

49．A．travel                      B．march                     C．explore                   D．push

50．A．finding                    B．working                  C．making                   D．forcing

51．A．challenging                                  B．exploring                

C．inspecting                                   D．discovering

52．A．probably                 B．nearly                     C．merely                    D．slightly

53．A．special                    B．usual                      C．common                 D．ordinary

54．A．At the moment                            B．On the occasion      

C．To the point                                D．By the time

55．A．attended                  B．selected                  C．finished                  D．joined