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.
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
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
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
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.
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源：2011-2012浙江省温州市八校高三联考英语试卷 题型：阅读理解
Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so th
e sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
【小题1】Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.
| A．The singing angels | B．the giant trees |
| C．the sleepy village | D．the sparkling stars |
| A．happiness | B．vitality | C．power | D．despair |
| A．trouble in one’s life | B．mental illness |
| C．control from the authority | D．a place where criminals are kept |
| A．To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night. |
| B．To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night. |
| C．To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture. |
| D．To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010-2011福建省师大附中高一下期末模块测试英语试卷 题型：填空题
填写英文单词：1. 完成给出首字母或汉语意思的词； 2. 填出所给词的正确形式。(每条横线上只能填写一个单词) (共20题；每小题1分，满分20分)
注意：给出首字母的词，需将首字母一起填写到答题卷上
【小题1】Alice in Wonderland, a book which was i for the writer’s daughter, became popular all over t
he world.
【小题2】 Jane Goodall has been outspoken about making the rest of the world understand and _______________(尊重) the life of chimps.
【小题3】Dr. Yuan Longping has struggled for Chinese farmers for the past five __________ (十年).
【小题4】Australia actually _____________ (出口) the most diamonds and coal in the world.
【小题5】 More and more people choose to shop in a supermarket as it offers _____________ (各种各样) goods.
【小题6】
I ____________ (遗憾) to inform you of the delay of the meeting.
【小题7】I’m so sorry, but Size M is not ______________ (可以买得到) now.
【小题8】When the machine is f properly, the green light is on.
【小题9】Foreign tourists are often c in Japan because most streets there don’t have names.
【小题10】 With so many _____________ (引人入胜之处), no wonder tourism is increasing wherever there is a Disneyland.
【小题11】 Nick Vujicic travels the globe to deliver his story of how he ____________ (克服) disability.
【小题12】 Denmark is planning to ____________ (扩张) its land to include the North Pole and other areas in the Arctic(北极圈).
【小题13】The beauty of the West Lake i a lot of poets to write their great poetry.
【小题14】__________ from her music, Lavigne’s fashion sense has won this young woman fans all over the world.
【小题15】 He warned the player that he would have to do better if he was to ______________ (媲美于) his rival (竞争对手).
【小题16】______________ (open) in 1987, Futuroscope is one of the largest space-age parks in the world.
【小题17】 These different organic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid
____________ (damage) the environment.
【小题18】Dr. Lin Qiaozhi wrote a book ____________ (explain) how to cut the death rate from having and caring for babies.
【小题19】 What was once an _______________ (common) sight of a dad with the kids during the day is becoming more and more prevalent(普遍).
【小题20】 Though the metro company promised to make some changes to the project, Chen remained ______________ (convince).
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科目：高中英语 来源：20112012学年浙江省温州市八校高三联考英语试卷 题型：阅读理解
Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so the sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
1.Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.
A. The singing angels B. the giant trees
C. the sleepy village D. the sparkling stars
2.Van Gogh does NOT describe a feeling of ______ through the Starry Night.
A. happiness B. vitality C. power D. despair
3.The underlined word “prison” in the 3rd paragraph probably means ______.
A. trouble in one’s life B. mental illness
C. control from the authority D. a place where criminals are kept
4.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night.
B. To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night.
C. To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture.
D. To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night.
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科目：高中英语 来源：20102011福建省高一下期末模块测试英语试题 题型：单词拼写
填写英文单词：1. 完成给出首字母或汉语意思的词； 2. 填出所给词的正确形式。(每条横线上只能填写一个单词) (共20题；每小题1分，满分20分)
注意：给出首字母的词，需将首字母一起填写到答题卷上
1.Alice in Wonderland, a book which was i for the writer’s daughter, became popular all over the world.
2. Jane Goodall has been outspoken about making the rest of the world understand and _______________(尊重) the life of chimps.
3.Dr. Yuan Longping has struggled for Chinese farmers for the past five __________ (十年).
4.Australia actually _____________ (出口) the most diamonds and coal in the world.
5. More and more people choose to shop in a supermarket as it offers _____________ (各种各样) goods.
6. I ____________ (遗憾) to inform you of the delay of the meeting.
7.I’m so sorry, but Size M is not ______________ (可以买得到) now.
8.When the machine is f properly, the green light is on.
9.Foreign tourists are often c in Japan because most streets there don’t have names.
10. With so many _____________ (引人入胜之处), no wonder tourism is increasing wherever there is a Disneyland.
11. Nick Vujicic travels the globe to deliver his story of how he ____________ (克服) disability.
12. Denmark is planning to ____________ (扩张) its land to include the North Pole and other areas in the Arctic(北极圈).
13. The beauty of the West Lake i a lot of poets to write their great poetry.
14.__________ from her music, Lavigne’s fashion sense has won this young woman fans all over the world.
15. He warned the player that he would have to do better if he was to ______________ (媲美于) his rival (竞争对手).
16.______________ (open) in 1987, Futuroscope is one of the largest space-age parks in the world.
17. These different organic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid
____________ (damage) the environment.
18.Dr. Lin Qiaozhi wrote a book ____________ (explain) how to cut the death rate from having and caring for babies.
19. What was once an _______________ (common) sight of a dad with the kids during the day is becoming more and more prevalent(普遍).
20. Though the metro company promised to make some changes to the project, Chen remained ______________ (convince).
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
My name is Alice Thompson．I come from Sydney，Australia and I’m 18 years old．Recently I had my first ride on a long-distance train．And what a ride! A friend and I traveled on the famous Chan train． We got on in Sydney and______ in Alice Springs，right in the middle of Australia．
The train was wonderful and the food was great．We ate great meals cooked by experts! For the first few hundred kilometers of the journey，the scenery was very colorful．After that，It was desert．The sun shone，there was no wind and there were no clouds in the sky．Suddenly，it looked like a place from another time．
The train was comfortable and the people were nice．During the day，I sat and looked out of the window'，and sometimes talked to other passengers．I read books and listened to my Chinese cassettes （I’m studying Chinese at school）．One night，at about midnight，I watched the night sky for lot about an hour．The stars shone like diamonds．
Why is the train called the Chan? A long time ago，Australians needed a way to travel to the middle of the country．They tried riding horses，but the horses didn’t like the hot weather and sand．A hundred and fifty years ago，they brought some camels from Afghanistan．Chan is short for Afghanistan．Camels were much better than horses for traveling a long distance．For many years，trained camels carried food and other supplies，and returned with wool and other products．
Then the movement built a new railway line，so they didn’t need the camels any more．In 1925，they passed a law which allowed people to shoot the animals if they were a problem．I 1935，the police in a town shot 153 camels in one day．
1．What’s the best title of the passage?（Please answer within 10 words）
2．Which sentence in the passage call be replaced by the following one?
When we traveled for the first few hundred kilometers of the journey，the view was very beautiful．
3．Please fill in the blank in the first paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．（Please answer within lo words）
4．What do you think of camels as transportation in the past?
5．Translate the underlined sentence in the passage into Chinese．
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