Want to make a difference to our planet? Bring your families and friends to our clubs in your free time These clubs are free and a lot of fun.

Nature First

Come and meet people of all ages who care about the environment at our beach project. We collect plastic to be recycled on the beach near you. Learn how waste in our oceans harms sea life and what you can do about it.

Earths friends

We get creative at Earth’s Friends! This youth club is for teens who want to take part in online projects such as making more people know about pollution in cities and how it is influencing the environment. Our website has a fantastic planner, so you can see how cycling reduces pollution in your local area.

Genius

Don’t put your bottles, newspapers or cans in the recycling bin-bring them to any meeting on Monday morning, when our expert environmental artist shows you how to make art out of rubbish! Take part in planning the event to show off your creative projects to the public, and share tips on ways to reduce waste.

Band Together

You won’t believe you’re in the middle of the city where our club meets every Sunday afternoon. Come and help clean up rubbish in our city parks! It’s not easy, but you’ll make lots of new friends. And it’s not all hard work-we have guest speakers and discussions about how to protect animals in the area.

1 ． Which one will you choose if you want to join a club that meets online?

A ． Nature First. B ． Earth’s Friends. C ． Genius. D ． Band Together.

2 ． What is special about Genius?

A ． It provides beach project. B ． It offers works of art for sale.

C ． It is for teens to set up online projects. D ． It gives chances to make art out of rubbish.

3 ． What can we infer from the passage?

A ． These clubs are only for fun. B ． These clubs are open on weekends.

C ． These clubs all help the environment. D ． These clubs always invite artists to give talks.

When a group of firefighters saw an elderly woman in a wheelchair trying very hard to get to her door last week, they decided to spend their weekend building a walkway for her.

An officer in Missouri said that their firefighters had been coming back from a call last week when they noticed an elderly woman trying to move her wheelchair across her front yard. It’s not even （平坦的） .

“Many stairs and uneven pathways unfortunately led to the woman falling over in her wheelchair while trying to enter the house, the fire department wrote. Luckily, the patient was uninjured, but we saw a chance to help.”

The group of firefighters later came back to the woman’s home and spent their days off building a new walkway to her front door.

“She now will have an even pathway to enter her home,” the fire department wrote. “A huge thank-you goes out to the members that spent their days off helping those in need.”

Since the fire department posted photos of the firefighters at work on their website, their post has been shared hundreds of times with social media users praising the men for their good turn.

“That’s what it’s all about! Neighbors are helping neighbors. Job well done!” one user wrote, with another adding, “It was very kind of you firefighters to spend your free time helping someone in need. Thank you so much for the service that you do in saving people.”

Great to take care of those in need, a user wrote. “What a nice gesture on your days off. Thank you.”

“I live in a community full of care too. You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care, not because they’re getting paid to do so. I hope one can get encouragement when he/she meets something bad and maybe someone else will be inspired and do good things. That would be great,” a user wrote.

1 ． Why did these firefighters build the walkway?

A ． Someone asked them to do so.

B ． They saw many elderly people fall over.

C ． The elderly woman was too old to do it herself.

D ． They wanted to do something to help those in need.

2 ． What does the underlined word “gesture” in paragraph 8 probably mean?

A ． behavior B ． story C ． guest D ． culture

3 ． Which of the following could best describe the firefighters?

A ． Cheerful and smart. B ． Intelligent and outgoing.

C ． Polite and independent. D ． Warm-hearted and helpful.

4 ． What is the best title for the text?

A ． Communication Counts.

B ． The Pleasure of giving.

C ． Firefighters Build an Elderly Woman a Walkway.

D ． Depend on Yourselves When Facing Difficulties.

School uniforms are traditional in Britain. Pupils at about 90 percent of British secondary schools wear uniforms. When every pupil in the school wears the uniform, nobody has to worry about fashion and they feel that they belong to a group. Some people believe that a school uniform can help students pay attention to schoolwork. But some schools in Britain and other countries are starting to drop the traditional uniforms.

An Australian school has decided to drop its traditional school uniform, hoping new sportswear will encourage students to take part in more activities. School headmaster Elisabeth Lenders said the uniform change had been in the works for several years. “We decided that in 2018-2019,” she said. “The importance is clear: to make young people live happy, healthy lives.”

Ms. Lenders said World Health Organization research reported 90 percent of young Australians and New Zealanders were not getting the minimum （最小的） daily levels of activity they needed in order to lead a healthy life.

As well as the new uniform, she said the school would change timetables to make sure there would be chances for students to take part in physical activity every day.

Ms. Lenders said in the past, a uniform was about all looking the same but in the 21st century it was important for students to be able to choose clothes that they liked.

And this Australian school had made an online survey about the uniform change and had received great support from parents and students. Tara, mother of Ava in Year 7, said it was a great move from the school. “These are the challenges of our time, and we want young people to think about them,” she said. “It is bigger than just throwing out the old uniform. It’s about what the role of education is about. And for me, it’s helping young people to live a happy, healthy and productive life.”

1 ． What does the underline word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A ． physical activity B ． uniform change C ． happy life D ． students’ health

2 ． According to the passage, the uniform change in this Australian school ________.

A ． helps students to live a healthy life B ． gives students a sense of belonging

C ． teaches students to dress fashionably D ． helps students to pay attention to study

3 ． What can we know from the last paragraph?

A ． Students there may wear different kinds of clothes.

B ． It’s not clear whether the change is good for students or not.

C ． Parents have different opinions towards the change of uniform.

D ． The change receives strong support from students and parents.

4 ． Where is the text probably from?

A ． A novel. B ． A guidebook. C ． A newspaper. D ． A book review.

In a digital age, we almost never write things by hand. However, many studies have shown that this act has many benefits （益处） .

New brain research, led by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, announces the same: choosing handwriting over using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.

“When you write your shopping list or notes by hand, you simply remember things better after some time,” said Audrey van der Meer, author of the study.

The study was done using equipment to track and record brain wave activity. 12 young adults and 12 children took part in the study. Each person was asked to write by hand and type on a keyboard while wearing a hood （风帽） with over 250 electrodes （电极） . The sensors （传感器） in the electrodes are very sensitive and catch the electrical activity that takes place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes per person.

The results show that the brain in both young adults and children is much more active when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses are activated by pressing a pen on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These sense experiences build connections between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.

Van der Meer believes that the results show the importance of children’s learning to draw and write at an early age, especially at school. “Learning to write by hand is a bit slower process, but it’s important for children to go through the tiring process of learning to write by hand,” she said.

The hand movements are good for us in many ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your skills and senses. It is important to put the brain in a learning state as often as possible,” Van der Meer added. “You might use a keyboard to write an article, but you should learn by hand during a class.”

1 ． What advantage does choosing handwriting have over using keyboard?

A ． It’s more challenging. B ． It’s better for learning and memory.

C ． It’s less likely to cause tiredness. D ． It’s more popular among students.

2 ． According to the passage, when you are writing by hand, ________.

A ． your brain is more active B ． your senses are hard to be activated

C ． you take more time to study D ． your hand uses the same movement

3 ． What do we know about the study?

A ． 12 people took part in the study. B ． The study focused on using a keyboard.

C ． The study was designed only for children. D ． The study was to tell the importance of handwriting.

4 ． What is the main idea of the text?

A ． Handwriting brings people many benefits.

B ． The interest in handwriting is growing nowadays.

C ． Learning environment is important for the young.

D ． Learning is controlled by the ways of memorizing.

Shyness once took over my life. When I was 13, in my French lesson, my teacher told us to 16 ourselves speaking about our families. I recorded myself with confidence. When I pressed “play” to listen back, I 17 my strange voice —just like a little kid. That made me very shy and I 18 attending events from then on.

Years after that, I became a teacher in a primary school. On the first day, my hands could not help but sweat （出汗） . The weight of my arms was trying to prevent me from 19 the door. Though a little 20 , I opened the door slowly. 21 , a wave of laughter flew through the air. Then I 22 , and felt it was a bad 23 to be a teacher They did not seem to mind me at all. After class, a little girl walked up to me and asked, “Could you 24 me to read this?” with the most 25 face I have ever seen as if she had just gotten a cookie. “I like your voice!” she said. I shook my shyness off and my body felt as 26 as a feather （羽毛） . Perhaps this was not such a bad idea after all.

Besides, there was one simple thing that 27 me most. Every day when the students left, they would clean up after themselves and leave their areas 28 without ever being told to do so. Actually, they 29 very well. Looking back it now, I would have to say these students gave me one of the greatest 30 of my life.

In the future, I want to create a space for shy people like me to shine.

1 ． A ． spend B ． stop C ． record D ． forget

2 ． A ． sent B ． reminded C ． knew D ． heard

3 ． A ． avoided B ． practiced C ． remembered D ． liked

4 ． A ． opening B ． answering C ． closing D ． hitting

5 ． A ． calm B ． nervous C ． disappointed D ． proud

6 ． A ． Suddenly B ． Secretly C ． Possibly D ． Finally

7 ． A ． passed by B ． walked in C ． stood up D ． set off

8 ． A ． suggestion B ． change C ． choice D ． result

9 ． A ． advise B ． encourage C ． warn D ． help

10 ． A ． honest B ． excited C ． cold D ． serious

11 ． A ． soft B ． white C ． light D ． weak

12 ． A ． bored B ． surprised C ． worried D ． hurt

13 ． A ． tidy B ． bright C ． empty D ． warm

14 ． A ． relaxed B ． played C ． behaved D ． lived

15 ． A ． expressions B ． chances C ． conditions D ． experiences