3.In the past 15years,Chad Pregracke has helped pull more than 67,000tires from the Mississippi River and other waterways across the United States.
But that's just scratching the surface.He's also helped retrieve 218washing machines,19tractors,12hot tubs,four pianos and almost 1,000refrigerators.
For Pregracke,removing this debris-pieces of wood,metal,brick,etc.-has become his life's work.Sometimes called"The Rivers'Garbageman",he lives on a barge (驳船) about nine months out of the year with members of his 12-person crew.Together,they organize community cleanups along rivers across the country.
It's a dirty job,but Pregracke took it on because he realized that no one was doing it.It began as a solo (独自的) effort,and over the years his energy and enthusiasm have helped it grow.To date,about 70,000volunteers have joined him,helping collect more than 7million pounds of debris through his nonprofit.
Pregracke grew up in East Moline,Illinois,where the Mississippi River was in his backyard.As a teenager,he worked as a commercial shell diver and began to notice the heaps of debris in the waterway-one that supplies drinking water to 18million people in more than 50U.S.cities.
"I saw thousands of barrels,thousands of tires,cars,trucks and tops of school buses…I got sick of seeing it and just wanted to do something about it,"he said.
Pregracke got a small fund from a company in 1997and spent that summer cleaning a 35-mile stretch of the river by himself.He would transport the trash by boat and sort it on his parents'lawn to be recycled.By year's end,he had single-handedly pulled around 45,000pounds of trash out of the river.
His nonprofit now has a fleet of boats.And while he has resources and know-how,he depends on each community he visits to supply the manpower needed to get the job done.
At the cleanup sites,Pregracke's humor creates cheerful atmosphere-something he knows is necessary for the work that they do.His team uses motivational speeches and music to get the volunteers amped up (陶醉).
"We do everything in our power to get people excited about it,"Pregracke said."We want people to leave feeling good about what they did so they'll contribute more here."
Pregracke views his work as a different kind of service to the country.
"A lot of people call me a conservationist or an environmentalist,but the thing is I'm no different than anybody else,"he said.
Ultimately,Pregracke believes his story is proof that anyone can make a difference:
"If I had one thing to say,it wouldn't even be about rivers necessarily.It would be about finding a cause that's dear to you and taking action."
67.What initially caused Pregracke to clean up the waterway?D
A.People's ignorance of the debris at the bottom of the river.
B.His ambition to become famous throughout the country.
C.Safety problems of sailing boats along the Mississippi.
D.His bad feeling about the source of the drinking water.
68.What can we learn about Pregracke from the passage?A
A.He maintains his cause with the help from society.
B.He aims at recycling what have been found in rivers.
C.He makes a living by cleaning waterways all over the country.
D.He thinks of himself as a conservationist or environmentalist.
69.Why does Pregracke try to create a cheerful atmosphere at the cleanup sites?B
A.To make the heavy job lighter.
B.To attract the volunteers back.
C.To increase efficiency in the job.
D.To get the participants'motivated.
70.Through his efforts,Pregracke wants to displayB.
A.his love for waterways
B.his value to society
C.his attitude to environment
D.his capacity for working.
分析 本文属于记叙文阅读,作者通过这篇文章向我们介绍了Chad Pregracke,他在青少年时期就注意到供应很多人饮用水的水源中出现了大量垃圾,这使他感到很恶心,因此他在长大后征集船员来清理河流中的各种垃圾,作者通过这篇文章告诉我们要尽自己的能力对国家做出更多的贡献.
解答 67.D 细节理解题,根据第五、六段As a teenager,he worked as a commercial shell diver and began to notice the heaps of debris in the waterway-one that supplies drinking water to 18million people in more than 50U.S.cities."I saw thousands of barrels,thousands of tires,cars,trucks and tops of school buses…I got sick of seeing it and just wanted to do something about it,"he said.可知,他在青少年时期注意到供应很多人饮用水的水源中出现了大量垃圾,这使他感到很恶心,故选D.
68.A 细节理解题,根据第七段Pregracke got a small fund from a company in 1997and spent that summer cleaning a 35-mile stretch of the river by himself.以及下文中提到的志愿者可知他在社会的帮助下维持他的事业,故选A.
69.B 细节理解题,根据第九段"We do everything in our power to get people excited about it,"Pregracke said."We want people to leave feeling good about what they did so they'll contribute more here."可知他这么做是因为他知道对于他们所做的工作来说,令人愉快的氛围是很必要的,这样可以使志愿者喜欢这种氛围,从而愿意参与到他们的工作中来,故选B.
70.B 推理判断题,联系最后四段的内容可知Pregracke只是把自己的工作看成是对国家的不同形式的服务,他只是找到了一件值得他去做的事,并采取了行动.故可推断出他想展示他对社会的价值,故选B.
点评 考查学生的细节理解和推理判断能力.做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句,和题干进行比较,再做出正确选择.在做推理判断题时不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实,要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断.