Cultural Center Adds Classes for Young Adults
The Allendale Cultural Center has expanded its arts program to include classes for young adults. Director Leah Martin announced Monday that beginning in September, three new classes will be offered to the Allendale community. The course titles will be Yoga for Teenagers; Hip Hop Dance: Learning the Latest Moves; and Creative Journaling for Teens: Discovering the Writer Within. The latter course will not be held at the Allendale Cultural Center but instead will meet at the Allendale Public Library.
Staff member Tricia Cousins will teach the yoga and hip hop classes. Ms. Cousins is an accomplished choreographer (舞蹈教師) as well as an experienced dance educator. She has an MA in dance education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she wrote a thesis on the pedagogical (教學(xué)法的) effectiveness of dance education. The journaling class will be taught by Betsy Milford. Ms. Milford is the head librarian at the Allendale Public Library as well as a columnist for the professional journal Library Focus.
The courses are part of the Allendale Cultural Center’s Project Teen, which was initiated by Leah Martin, Director of the Cultural Center. According to Martin, this project is a direct result of her efforts to make the center a more essential part of the Allendale community. Over the last several years, the number of people who have visited the cultural center for classes or events has steadily declined. Project Teen is primarily funded by a generous grant from The McGee Arts Foundation, an organization devoted to bringing arts programs to young adults. Martin oversees the Project Teen board, which consists of five board members. Two board members are students at Allendale’s Brookdale High School; the other three are adults with backgrounds in education and the arts.
The creative journaling class will be cosponsored by Brookdale High School, and students who complete the class will be given the opportunity to publish one of their journal entries in Pulse, Brookdale’s student literary magazine. Students who complete the hip hop class will be eligible to participate in the Allendale Review, an annual concert sponsored by the cultural center that features local actors, musicians, and dancers. All classes are scheduled to begin immediately following school dismissal, and transportation will be available from Brookdale High School to the Allendale Cultural Center and the Allendale Public Library. For more information about Project Teen, contact the cultural center’s programming office at 988-0099 or drop by the office after June 1 to pick up a fall course catalog. The office is located on the third floor of the Allendale Town Hall.
【小題1】Which of the following statements is correct? 

A．Tricia Cousins will teach two of the new classes.

B．The new classes will begin on June 1.

C．People who want a complete fall catalogue should stop by the Allendale Public Library.

D．The cultural center’s annual concert is called Pulse.

【小題2】According to Leah Martin, what was the direct cause of Project Teen?

A．Tricia Cousins was available to teach courses in the fall.

B．Community organizations were ignoring local teenagers.

C．The McGee Arts Foundation wanted to be more involved in Allendale’s arts programming.

D．She wanted to make the cultural center a more important part of the Allendale community.

【小題3】Which of the following factors is implied as another reason for Project Teen?

A．The number of people visiting the cultural center has declined over the last several years.

B．The cultural center wanted a grant from The McGee Arts Foundation.

C．The young people of Allendale have complained about the cultural center’s offerings.

D．Leah Martin thinks classes for teenagers are more important than classes for adults.

【小題4】This article is organized in which of the following ways?

A．In time order, from the past to the future.

B．Most important information first, followed by background and details.

C．Background first, followed by the most important information and details.

D．As sensational news, with the most controversial topic first.

Nelson Mandela is respected and admired across the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races(種族), despite the 27 years he spent in the prison of the South Africa’s white, racist government.
Mandela who won the nation’s first all-race elections in 1994, retired 1999. But he remains as popular as ever.
“He’s loved by all people, whether you’re while or black, whether you’re young or old,” said Ali Bacher, South Africa’s famous cricket (板球) athlete.
His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait(肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin and some business leaders hope to build a statue(雕像) for him --- the Statue of Freedom. It would stand taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
His popularity is similar to that of John F. Kennedy with US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in this times have achieved his level of admiration, said Tom Lodge, head of the political science department of the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Sometimes it isn’t completely appreciated what a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career. He’s a very, very clever man.”
“Through the ages, the human race has had its icons --- men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations,” The Mail and Guardian Weekly said. “In our generation, the gods presented us Nelson Mandela.”
【小題1】Nelson Mandela is loved by all the people of South Africa because ________.

A．he’s as popular as Kennedy and Churchill

B．he has kept in prison for 27 years

C．he’s a great fighter against the racialism

D．he’s the first all-race elections president

【小題2】 Which of the following statements about Mandela’s portrait is true?

A．It helps develop business.

B．It appears on the Statue of Freedom.

C．It is used to raise money for the Statue of Freedom.

D．It is similar to that of John F. Kennedy or Winston Churchill.

【小題3】The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means “________.”

A．Mandela is as great as a god

B．We are proud to live in Mandela’s time

C．Mandela lives together with us all

D．We are proud to know Mandela.

Four million children are caught up in the war in Syria. Thirteen-year-old Rabia is one of them. Tall and thin, she sits shaking in a yellow T-shirt at the Al Marj settlement, close to the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Home for Rabia was once a two-story house near Damascus. Now it is a tent shared with her nine family members.
Rabia’s face is covered with dirt, and she is tired and cold. She has just finished work, picking up potatoes that fell from a truck. Her typical day starts at 4 a.m., and she works a double shift that lasts about 16 hours, putting potatoes into bags. The only choice for her is that she can choose the first eight hours or the second eight hours. For this, she gets paid about $8 a day.
Working means Rabia misses school. Back in her village, she was the best in her class and good at everything. Her favorite subjects were Arabic literature and math. But, like many children now living in the settlements—there are no official refugee （難民）camps in Lebanon —that was Rabia’s old life. Life before war, before her family moved five times to escape the bombs, before leaving behind her bedroom, her toys and her friends without packing a bag, before “half the people I know”were dead.
The old life was full of laughter with her sister, Wala. But Wala, 14, got married two days ago to an 18-year-old Lebanese. Rabia is happy for her sister. Life in the settlement is tough— the children have nowhere to play, the bathing is poor and sexual abuse is out of control. You can’t blame parents —often confused, illiterate （不識(shí)字的）and poor—who want to marry off their daughters. They fear for their safety.
Increasing numbers of Rabia’s girlfriends are getting married. Once in rural Syria, a girl got married at 16. According to UNICEF, the age is now dropping to 12 or 13. It is no secret that Lebanese men want to marry Syrian refugee girls, who work hard and don’t ask for anything.
【小題1】Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?

A．A news report.	B．A book review.
C．A history book.	D．A travel magazine.

【小題2】The underlined word “shift”in Para. 3 probably refers to _____.

A．the extra task	B．the low pay
C．the potato factory.	D．the working period

【小題3】The writer's purpose for writing Para. 4 is to ________.

A．present the dream of Rabia	B．show the damage of the war
C．predict the future of Syrian girls	D．compare the life before war and now

【小題4】Why are so many young Syrian girls getting married?

A．They have no good friends to play with.

B．They want money from the husband family.

C．Their parents are worried about their safety.

D．Their parents are confused，illiterate and poor.

LONDON (Reuters)    Ecotourism is causing a lot of damage to wildlife and may be endangering the survival of the very animals people are flocking to see, according to re­searchers.
Biologists and conservationists are worried because polar bears, dolphins, penguins and other creatures are getting stressed and losing weight and some are dying.
"Evidence is growing that many animals do not react well to tourists in their backyard，” New Scientist magazine said.
The immediate effects "researchers have noticed are changes in behavior, heart rates. or stress hormone levels but they fear it could get much worse and over the long term “ could endanger the survival of the very wildlife they want to see. ”
Although money produced through ecotourism, which has been growing at about 10-30 percent a year, has major benefits for poor countries and people living in rural areas, the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN) and some governments fear not all projects are audited（審計(jì)） and based on environmentally friendly policies，according to the magazine.
Transmission of disease to wildlife，or small changes to wildlife health through dis­turbance of daily life or increased stress levels, while not obvious to the casual observer, may translate to lower survival and breeding，” said Philip Seddon , of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Scientists have noticed that bottleneck dolphins along the northeastern coast of New Zealand become nervously excited when tourist boats arrive. Similar changes in behavior have been observed in polar bears and yellow-eyed penguins in areas visited by colorists are producing smaller babies.
Conservationists are now calling for more research into the effect of ecotourism on ani­mals and say the industry must be developed carefully. They also want studies done before new ecotourism projects are started.
“The animals’ welfare should be very important because without them there will be no ecotourism，” said Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland in New Zealand
【小題1】Which is not discovered to have changed in animals disturbed by tourists?

A．behavior

B．birth rate

C．hormone levels

D．heart rates

【小題2】We may learn from the text that _____.

A．ecotourism must be developed properly

B．polar bears are losing weight without enough food

C．a(chǎn)ll the poor countries have stopped ecotourism

D．money produced through ecotourism should be spent on wildlife

【小題3】Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?

A．Many animals do not react well in their backyard

B．Studies should be done before new ecotourism projects are started

C．Ecotourism has been growing at about 10—30 percent a year.

D．polar bears in areas visited by ecotourists are producing smaller babies.

【小題4】What Rochelle Constantine said in the last paragraph implies that _____.

A．if people want to get high income, they must develop ecotourism

B．a(chǎn)nimals have rights to live their own life

C．a(chǎn)nimals are people's good friends

D．people should take good care of wildlife

A 16-year-old boy finds himself on a boat in the Pacific Ocean after escaping a shipwreck(海難). Even worse, he is left with a huge tiger for company. But he manages to survive after 227 days of fighting against all the hardships of the sea.
Pi, the lead character in Oscar-winning Ang Lee’s new movie Life of Pi, went through an inspiring journey of growth and self-discovery. So did 19-year-old Suraj Sharma, the Indian actor who plays him.
But it was a lucky chance that opened up the opportunity for the new star. Sharma was a regular student who lived with his mathematician parents in Delhi, India. As the director traveled to Mumbai to find his Pi, the teenager went along with his younger brother, who had acted in a couple of movies, to audition(試鏡). But little did Sharma know that he would end up winning the role from 3, 000 hopefuls.
Lee said he saw Pi in Sharma: “Not only does he have a compelling and wise look. He has this rare talent.” The director said that in the final round, Sharma gave one of the “most compelling readings we had. In the end, he was in tears.” Understandably, Sharma didn’t want to let Lee down. “He (Lee) had given me this opportunity. I had to give it my best,” Sharma told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Sharma swam for four or five hours a day until he was completely comfortable with the water. He also worked on his body because he had to first gain weight and then quickly lose weight as the story developed. He even had rats run all over him to prepare for his role. Lee was impressed by the teenager, especially his endurance and patience in staying in a water tank for many hours each day. Sharma was only 16 when Lee signed him. After three years of shooting, Sharma said he had matured with Pi’s journey.
【小題1】What is the function of the first paragraph?

A．To introduce the topic of the passage.

B．To appeal to readers to watch a movie.

C．To attract readers to continue reading.

D．To suggest the theme of this passage.

【小題2】We can know from the passage that ________.

A．Sharma wanted to become a mathematician

B．Sharma had acted in a couple of movies

C．Sharma was sure to win in the audition

D．Many teenagers wanted to act the role Pi

【小題3】What does the phrase “to let somebody down” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．To make somebody disappointed.

B．To seat somebody down.

C．To reject somebody’s requirement.

D．To take down somebody’s information.

【小題4】Which of the following words can be used to describe Sharma?

A．Confident and passionate.

B．Talented and diligent.

C．Strong and courageous.

D．Endurable and easily-excited.

【小題5】The passage is intended to introduce ________.

A．the thrilling escape from a shipwreck

B．how an Oscar-winning movie attracts audience

C．a(chǎn) young actor became matured when acting in a movie

D．the difficulty in winning a role in a movie

China's top labor official said the country is planning to push back the age at which workers can retire.
Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, demonstrated that we did not put a timetable on the move when he spoke about it during a forum at the weekend.
"Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue and we will study it according to the situations of population and employment and consider different groups of people," Yin said.
He noted that hikes in the retirement age have been brought in by many countries and can be a good way to deal with an aging population and ensure the healthy and stable development of social security.
The life expectancy of Chinese people is now 73 years and is expected to rise to 74 during the next five years, he said.
Nearly three out of 10 Chinese people will be older than 60 by 2040, according to a United Nations forecast.
The retirement age in China currently is 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.
The idea of delaying the retirement age is being widely supported by government officials, while many laborers and non-government employees were less enthusiastic about the prospect of working for longer. Currently, they have to pay into their pension plans for at least 15 years before they can retire.
Chen Xianlian, a female worker at a motorcycle parts manufacturer in Chongqing municipality is among those who would like to see the retirement age left as it is. “I have to do lots of tough and repetitive work every day and I feel very tired after my working day,” the 41-year-old said. “All my colleagues are discussing the government's possible move to lift the retirement age. None of us wants to work any extra years.”
University graduates also fear that any rise in the retirement age could limit their employment opportunities.
【小題1】We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．China is not planning to push back the age at which workers can retire

B．China is discussing the problem of delaying the retirement age now

C．China is probably going to delay the retirement age

D．China has pushed back the age at which workers can retire

【小題2】The underlined word “hikes” in Paragraph 4 means ________.

A．increasing

B． marching

C． pushing

D． discussing

【小題3】According to the current policy, Chen Xianlian has to work ________ more years from now before her retirement

A．14

B． 9

C． 19

D． 15

【小題4】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．All the Chinese people support the new policy.

B．The life expectancy of Chinese people is expected to rise to 73 during the next five years.

C．The retirement age in China will be 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.

D．The government did not set a fixed timetable on the new policy.

【小題5】It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A．Chen Xianlian is a civil servant.

B．Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue.

C．Many countries have begun to delay the retirement age.

D．It may be harder for the university graduate to find a job in the future.

Global financial big dogs are no match for China's "Da Ma", or housewives, who have crowded into gold stores across China, buying up 300 tons of gold over the past two weeks. No wonder gold prices have steadied after taking a dive.
During the May Day holiday, gold stores were crowded with mostly female customers. Most of them are middle-aged "Chinese housewives". This group of buyers has risen to fame recently. They are big spenders and are desperate to get their hands on a bargain. "I bought some gold jewellery and kept them as a gift for my son when he gets married," said a buyer from Shanghai. 
The gold business is skyrocketing. "Our sales are growing by the day. Yesterday we sold more than ten million yuan of gold products," a gold store salesperson said. The gold rush in China started about two weeks ago thanks to a decline in global gold prices. Media reports suggest that Chinese housewives have spent about 100 billion yuan, or about 16 billion US dollars, purchasing 300 tons of gold since mid-April. That has helped support gold prices.
"Gold prices depressed since the middle of last month but have risen gradually. That is mainly due to the strong demand from Asian markets," said foreign trader Zhang Chen from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. "Some people even joked that Chinese housewives have beaten Wall Street analysts." For Chinese people, with limited investment options, the only thing better than buying gold is buying gold at discount prices.
【小題1】What does the author mean by the underlined sentence of the first paragraph?

A．The global big dogs can’t match with Chinese housewives.

B．China's "Da Ma" help a lot to support the global economic crisis.

C．Chinese housewives spend a great deal of money on gold.

D．Chinese housewives have a better consumption idea than global financial big dogs.

【小題2】The whole passage mainly developed_______ ?

A．by comparison

B．by contrast

C．by quotation

D．by time order

【小題3】We can infer about the gold rush in China from the passage?

A．The Chinese housewives are most willing to spend money in buying gold.

B．China's "Da Ma" crowded into stores to get gold as the best gifts for sons when they get married.

C．China's "Da Ma" are bigger spenders and cleverer than global financial big dogs.

D．China’s "Da Ma" become the largest gold buyers due to a decline in global gold prices.

【小題4】The author’s description about the passage is ______.

A．negative

B．subjective

C．doubtful

D．objective

Studies show farmland in Africa is often lacking in important nutrients. But researchers say combining different farming methods may help.
Since the world food crisis several years ago, researchers have directed more of their attention to small farms. Most farms in areas south of the Sahara Desert are only about one or two hectares. One of the goals is to increase production without necessarily clearing more land to grow additional crops. 
American researchers say that can happen with greater use of an agricultural system called perennation. It mixes food crops with trees and perennial plants – those that return year after year.
Mr. Reganold, who is with Washington State University, says poor soil may have resulted from years of weathering that washed away many nutrients. He says some farmers may have done more harm than good.
He estimates that up to two billion dollars worth of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium is lost from African soil each year.
The scientist says the word perennation defines three systems that are already used in Africa. The oldest of the three is called evergreen agriculture. This is where farmers plant trees with their crops. John Reganold says farmers in Africa have been doing this for sixty years, but it seems to be growing in popularity.
The method is gaining widespread use in countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Zambia. The trees are planted among maize, millet or sorghum crops. They not only add nitrogen to the soil through their roots, but also through their leaves when they fall off and break down. At other times of the year, the trees can protect plants from strong sunlight.
Mr. Reganold was one of three researchers who wrote a report about perennation. It was published in the journal Nature.
【小題1】Farmland in Africa ________.

A．is often small in size

B．can produce more than enough crops for Africans

C．is short of important nutrients

D．has got the attention of scientists around the world

【小題2】Researchers focused their attention on small farmlands for the reason that ________.

A．Africa was going through a food crisis

B．most farms in areas south of the Sahara Desert are small

C．there are not enough farmlands

D．farmers may grow additional crops on farmland

【小題3】The word“perennation”mentioned in this passage ________.

A．is a farming method of planting food crops with trees

B．is a new farming method

C．can help African people produce more food than they need

D．is gaining widespread use around the world

【小題4】We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．perennation will be widely used by farmers in Africa

B．American government will help African countries increase food production

C．African countries is short of farmland

D．some farmers are destroying their farmland in Africa on purpose

【小題5】This report is mostly likely to be a journal of ________.

A．food

B．environment

C．a(chǎn)griculture

D．gardening

The illegal ivory trade has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers(偷獵者) and hunters have killed off hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain this precious material. Now, affected areas are taking action. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Wednesday that key states where poaching takes place have promised to stop the ivory trade and protect Africa’s elephants.
In the 1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory tusks. This continued until 1989, when the Convention on International Trade in Species (CITES) voted to ban all trade in ivory. With trade choked off, demand for ivory fell. Elephant populations slowly began to increase. However, this progress was short-lived.
According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. Preliminary data from the IUCN shows even higher levels of illegal trade may have been reached in 2013. “With about 22,000 elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. “Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinctions if the present killing rate continues.”
At the African Elephant Summit, key African states where elephants make their home agreed to develop a “zero-tolerance attitude” towards poaching. The deal calls for maximum sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between affected states. Officials are determined to classifying wildlife trading as a serious crime — and to making sure that the people who commit it are punished. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states coming together, there may yet be hope for elephants. (293 words)
【小題1】What’s the best title for this passage?

A．New Hope for Elephants.	B． Elephants are dying.
C．Elephants are valuable.	D． How to protect elephants

【小題2】The underlined phrase “choked off” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “________”.

A． appreciated

B． prevented

C． admitted

D． explored

【小題3】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The CITES has helped to improve elephants’ situation ever since 1989.

B．Around one million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory tusks in the 1980s.

C．The poaching and illegal ivory trading in 2011 were very serious.

D．The situation of elephants in 2012 was still terrible.

【小題4】 All of the following measures will be taken to protect elephants EXCEPT ________.

A．to identify wildlife trading a serious crime

B．to punish those who buy or sell wildlife belongings

C．to sentence all wildlife poachers and hunters to death

D．to work together to fight against wildlife hunting

【小題5】What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．The illegal ivory trade has been a major problem in Africa.

B．Elephants in Africa may die out because of the illegal poaching.

C．Hunting elephants will be recognized as a very serious crime.

D．A new agreement aims to develop a “zero-tolerance attitude” towards poaching.

Mona Lisa, the mysterious woman in Leonardo da Vinci's 16th century masterpiece, had just given birth to her second son when she sat for the painting, a French art expert said on Tuesday. The discovery was made by a team of Canadian scientists who used special infrared(紅外線) and three-dimensional（三維的）technology to study the paint layers on the work, which now sits in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Bruno Mottin of the French Museums' Center for Research and Restoration said that on very close examination of the painting it became clear that the Mona Lisa's dress was covered in a thin transparent gauze veil.（透明面紗）
"This type of gauze dress was typical of the kind worn in early 16th century Italy by women who were pregnant or who had just given birth. This is something that had never been seen up to now because the painting was always judged to be dark and difficult to examine," he told a news conference.
"We can now say that this painting by Leonardo da Vinci was painted in memory of  the birth of the second son of Mona Lisa, which helps us to date it more precisely to around 1503."The young woman with the ambiguous half smile has been identified as Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco de Giocondo. She had five children.
"People always wrote that Mona Lisa had allowed her hair to hang freely over her shoulders. This greatly surprised historians because letting your hair hang freely during the Renaissance was typical of young girls and women of poor virtue (美德)," he said.
The team had hoped to discover more details about Leonardo’s painting techniques, which the artist used to create a hazy (朦朧的) effect. But scientist John Taylor said the team had been disappointed by the lack of brush stroke（筆觸）detail on the painting.
【小題1】According to the latest research, Mona Lisa was __________.

A．a(chǎn) woman of poor virtue	B．da Vinci’s second wife
C．a(chǎn) woman who was pregnant	D．the wife of Florentine merchant

【小題2】We can infer from the test that ___________.

A．The research has been carried out in France

B．Mona Lisa was painted in 1503 at the latest

C．In da Vinci’s time women could only wear short hair

D．the most difficulty is to identify the paint layers

【小題3】What is probably the best title for the test?

A．Mona Lisa ,the Mysterious Woman

B．Mona Lisa was a New Mother

C．Great Discovery in Painting

D．Leonardo’s Painting Technique

【小題4】The information reported in the text was first got from _______________.

A．a(chǎn) newspaper	B．the Internet
C．a(chǎn) news conference	D．the museum