Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend. But some women show great interest in colorful beads（珠子）from Uganda made of recycled paper. The beads are sold by a nonprofit organization called BeadforLife.
BeadforLife began as a chance meeting between three American women on a trip to Uganda and a local jewelry maker. Millie Grace Akena was rolling paper beads near her home. She made paper beads as a hobby. But there was no real market in her country.
Torkin Wakefield says she and her daughters Devin and Ginny brought some of the beads back home. Immediately people started admiring the beads. The three Americans started BeadforLife in 2004. Nearly 700 women have taken part.
The group says its beaders earn an average of more than 2,000 dollars a year in the program. This is five times what they earned before. The beads are sold across Uganda and in Boulder, Colorado. They are also sold online and at jewelry shows called bead parties. “Because they have meaning, because these are gifts that help people, when folks in America and beyond buy our beads, they feel a sense of generosity. They feel a direct connection, like they can really take part in getting rid of poverty.” Torkin said.
The jewelry costs between five and thirty dollars. BeadforLife reported sales in its last budget year of more that 3.5 million dollars. It says for every ten-dollar necklace sold, the beader gets two dollars and forty-three cents in money or materials. It says more than 90% of earnings are reinvested in community development projects in Uganda. Torkin Wakefield estimates that BeadforLife has helped more than 8,000 people this way.
So what about Millie Grace Akena, the jewelry maker? Mrs Wakefield says she has gone on to organize a small group of women who work with her, and they sell their beads to a religious group.
小題1:According to the passage, BeadforLife is an organization that ______.
A．provides poor people worldwide with free education
B．mainly encourages people to learn to earn a living on their own
C．has attracted many businessmen to invest in beading
D．supports community development projects in Uganda
小題2:When Torkin Wakefield brought the beads to America, ______.
A．she didn’t know people would like them
B．she wanted to make a fortune out of them
C．people showed great interest in them at once
D．she was thinking of how to find investors
小題3:According to Paragraph 4, the beads are popular because ______.
A．people think buying them is a good way to help the poor
B．they are of good quality and can be kept for a long time
C．they symbolize the most important thing in people’s life
D．they look even more beautiful than diamonds
小題4:Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?
A．Mrs Wakefield makes a great contribution to developing countries.
B．BeadforLife makes beads out of recycled paper.
C．BeadforLife uses paper beads to improve people’s lives.
D．Mrs Wakefield’s career takes off thanks to paper beads.

小題1:D
小題1:C
小題1:A
小題1:C
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012. The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012.
“It’s next ‘wow’ vehicle,” said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. “Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”
The car-plane has wings that unfold for flying-a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you hold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport-you park it in the garage at home.
The car-plane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers. Thrrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under the bad weather instead of flying into marginal(臨界的) conditions.
The Transition’s price tag: $194,000. But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, , a transponder or a GPS. Another option is a full-plane parachute.
“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option.” Gersh said.
So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits. “We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps,” Brown said.
小題1:We can learn from the first two paragraphs that _________.
A．car-planes will be popular in 2012-4-6
B．people might drive a car-plane in 2012
C．both the Transition and Ferrari can take off and land
D．Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts
小題2:It takes the car-plane one minute to _________.
A．fold and unfold its wingsB．unfold wings for flying
C．land in the airportD．meet flying safety regulations
小題3:According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The car-plane needs a runway to take off and land.
B. To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA.
C. The car-plane may fly as high as normal planes.
D. People can park the car-plane in the garage at their home.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The average college student in America spent an estimated seven hundred dollars on textbooks last year. The National Association of College Stores reported more than five billion dollars in sales of textbooks and course materials. Association spokesman Charles Schmidt says electronic textbooks now represent just two to three percent of sales. But he says that is expected to reach ten to fifteen percent by 2012. Online versions are now available for many of the most popular college textbooks. E-textbooks can cost half the price of a new print textbook. But students usually lose access after the end of the term. And the books cannot be placed on more than one device (裝置) so they are not easy to share.
So what do students think of e-textbooks? Administrators at Northwest Missouri State University wanted to find out. Earlier this year they tested them with five hundred students in twenty classes. The university is unusual. It not only provides laptop computers to all seven thousand of its full-time students. It does not require students to buy their textbooks either. They rent them to save money. The school aims to save even more by moving to e-textbooks. The students in the survey reported that downloading the books from the Internet was easy. They liked the idea of carrying lighter backpacks. And fifty-six percent said they were better able to find information. But most found that using e-textbooks did not change their study habits. And sixty percent felt they read more when they were reading on paper. In all, almost half the students said they still liked physical textbooks better. But the survey found that cost could be a big influence. Fifty-five percent said they would choose e-textbooks if using them meant their textbook rental fee would not increase. Roger Von Holzen heads the Center for Information Technology in Education at Northwest Missouri State. He tells us that administrators are disappointed with the e-textbooks now available because the majority are not interactive. He thinks growth will come when more digital books include video, activities, games and other ways to interact with the information. The technology is improving. But for now, most of the books are just words on a screen.
小題1:The passage mainly tells us about ________.
A．the development of e-textbooks
B．different attitudes towards e-textbooks
C．the sales of textbooks and course materials
D．the differences between e-textbooks and physical text-books
小題2:According to the survey, over half of the students think e-textbooks ________.
A．can be rented for less moneyB．help in finding more information
C．a(chǎn)re convenient to carry aroundD．help them do better in their lessons
小題3:It can be inferred from the passage that e-textbooks ________.
A．will replace physical textbooksB．a(chǎn)re available at any time
C．have a very bright futureD．still have a lot to improve

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There are many older people in the world and there will be many more. A little-known fact is that over 60 percent of the older people live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020 there will be 1 billion, with over 700 million living in developing countries.
　It is a surprising fact that the population aging is particularly rapid in developing countries. For example, it took France 115 years for the rate of older people to double from 7 percent to 14 percent. It is estimated to take China a mere 27 years to achieve this same increase.
　What are the implications of these increased numbers of older folk? One of the biggest worries for governments is that the longer people live, the more likelihood there is for diseases and for disability. Attention is being paid to the need to keep people as healthy as possible, including during old age, to lessen the financial burden on the state.
　Another significant problem is the need for the younger generations to understand and value the older people in their society. In some African countries, certainly in Asia, older people are respected and regarded as the ones with special knowledge. Yet traditions are fading away daily, which does not make sure the continued high regard of older people. As society changes, attitudes will change.
　Much needs to be done to get rid of age discrimination in employment. Life-long learning programs need to be provided to enable older people to be active members in a country’s development.
　Social security policies need to be established to provide adequate income protection for older people. Both public and private schemes are vital in order to build a suitable safety net.
小題1:The rate of older people________.
A. is bigger in developed countries than in developing countries
B. B. is one-seventh of the population in developing countries
C. C. will increase much faster in China than in France
D. D. will be sixty percent in developing countries by 2020
2.According to passage, which of the following are governments most worried 
About______.
A. The diseases and disability of older people. 
B. The longer life and good health of people. 
C. The loss of taxes on older people. 
D. The increasing respect for older people.
小題2: It is stated directly in the passage that older people should ________.
A．be treated differently in different cultures
B．enjoy a similar lifestyle
C．be ignored as society changes
D．be valued by the younger generations
小題3:Which of the following measure is NOT mentioned to solve the population aging problem?
A．Getting rid of age discrimination in employment.
B．Supplying life-long learning programs to older people.
C．Making sure adequate income protection for older people.
D．Providing free health care for sick older people.
小題4:The author concludes in the last paragraph that ________.
A．governments have spent lots of time in solving the aging problem
B．population aging is a hard problem, but it needs to be solved urgently
C．people are too busy to solve the population aging problem
D．much time and effort will be lost in solving the aging problem

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series  of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
小題1:Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.
A．want to be as rich as their neighbours
B．want others to know or to think that they are rich
C．don’t want others to know they are rich
D．want to be happy
小題2:It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
A．live outside New York CityB．live in New York City
C．live in apartmentsD．have many neighbours
小題3:The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.
A．a(chǎn) person who lives near anotherB．people living in an area
C．a(chǎn)n area near the place referred toD．a(chǎn)n area in another town or city
小題4: Arthur Momand used the name ‘Jones’ in his series of short stories because’ Jones’ is ________.
A．a(chǎn)n important nameB．a(chǎn) popular name in the United States
C．his neighbour’s nameD．not a good name
小題5:According to the writer, it is       to keep up with the Joneses.
A．correctB．interestingC．impossibleD．good

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority（優(yōu)先）it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities（復(fù)雜）of spelling.
If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “ This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible（難以辨認的）.” It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child’s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation（動力）to seek improvement.
小題1:Teachers are different in their opinions about ___________.
A．the difficulties in teaching spelling
B．the role of spelling in general language development
C．the complexities of the basic writing skills
D．the necessity of teaching spelling
小題2: The expression “play safe” probably means ____________.
A．to write carefullyB．to do as the teachers say
C．to use dictionaries frequentlyD．to avoid using words one is not sure of
小題3: Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that___________.
A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely
B．students will have more confidence in writing
C．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes
D．students will learn to be independent of teachers
小題4: The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is____________.
A．unfairB．reasonableC．foolishD．careless
小題5:The major point discussed in the passage is_____________.
A．the importance of developing writing skills
B．the complexities of spelling
C．the correct way of marking compositions
D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

When middle-aged Alex gave up his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell surely whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadow land （虛幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a fulltime writer．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly.
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （堅毅） it takes to stay the course (堅持到底)in the shadow land．
小題1:Why did Alex give up his job?
A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．
B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．
C．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．
D．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．
小題2:What did Alex express when he answered the call?
A．He refused the job offer．
B．He was willing to give them a hand．
C．He expected them to pay him more money．
D．He would write in his spare time．
小題3:What kind of person is Alex?
A．Determined．B．Modest．C．Shy．D．Brave．
小題4:Which of the following can be the best title of the passage ?
A．Look before you leap．B．Two heads are better, than one．
C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true．D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush．

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

A motivational strategy that parents can employ with their kids, is to frame tasks and responsibilities in the context of what the end benefit is for them．I call this strategy WIIFM （"What's in it for me?" ）．
When a teen can combine an understanding of WIIFM with a sense of passion about achieving a goal, barriers will start to fall away．At our teen summer camps, we arrange an event near the end of the 10-day session that helps campers identify an important life goal and mentally break through their biggest barrier to achieving the goal． We pass around 12-by-12-inch pine boards．We tell campers that this activity is not about breaking a piece of wood．It's about how you can get what you want in your life．It's about breaking
barriers to grab on to your goals．
They have the power to break through any barrier．It has nothing to do with body size or physical condition．The skinniest, smallest teens will break through the board almost as easily as the big ones．
We talk to the campers about the reasons they might have had for not reaching their goals in the past．Maybe they got lazy and decided it wasn't worth the effort．Maybe they failed and let their fear of failure hold them back．But this exercise is about putting the past where it belongs．Today is about making new choices．
By this point in the program, we ask them to think of the goal they've set or themselves and write their goals on the boards．Then they write the possible obstacles which may hold them back on the opposite sides．An inch of pine now stands between them and their dreams．
The facilitators and their teammates gather around．The support is strong．One by one, they break through the barriers and grab their goals! All around us teens are laughing, crying, hugging, and holding up the broken pieces of their boards．The confidence shown on their faces is beautiful．
While arranging such an activity in one's home is almost unrealistic for parents, the value of helping a teen break through a personal hairier simply by being there as moral support can not be overestimated．More help for parents in the form of videos and articles is available at our website, in our blogs and in a monthly e-newsletter．
小題1:The 12-by-12-inch pine boards are used as ______．
A．materials to test one's musclesB．signs of goals in one's life
C．a(chǎn)ssessments to show one's progressD．symbols of barriers in one's life
小題2:We can learn from the passage that through the event the campers ______．
A．become hard-workingB．get moral support
C．gain confidenceD．set right goals
小題3:Which is the best title for the passage?
A．The Power of WIIFMB．What's in It for Me
C．The Importance of GoalsD．Motivational Strategies
小題4:The passage is intended for ______．
A．teensB．parentsC．campersD．tutors

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There have been great changes in the lives of women. During the twentieth century ,there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have about eight children, of whom about five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances(家用電器) and convenience(方便) foods.
This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each them.
小題1:Women marrying at the end of the 19th century ________.
A．would have fewer children than those today.
B．would have more children than those today.
C．lived as hard as those in the 20th century
D．lived more comfortably than those in the 20th century
小題2: According to the passage, a woman in the 19th century would likely to have about eight children and _______.
A．only about three of them could live more than five years old.
B．only about three of them could live for five years.
C．a(chǎn)bout eight children lived to be more than five years.
D．a(chǎn)bout eight children lived to be less than five years.
小題3: From the second paragraph, we know _______.
A．women today are not willing to run their home together with their husbands.
B．women today wouldn’t like to do any housework.
C．women today will return to work after they have their babies.
D．were unlikely to find jobs like the mothers before .
小題4:According to the passage, which of the following is right ?
A．in the past most women often stay at home after leaving school
B．women today like to marry men younger than themselves
C．women today are playing important parts in work and family life.
D．husbands today needn’t do any work at home.

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