Each country has many kind people who volunteer to take care of others. For example, some high school and university students in the US often spend many hours as volunteers in hospital or old people’s homes. They read books for the people or they just visit them and play games with them or listen to their problems.
Other young volunteers go and work in the homes of the sick people. They clean up their houses or do the shopping. For boys who don’t have fathers there is an organization called “Big Brothers”. University students and other people take these boys to play baseball games and help them get to know things that boys usually learn from their fathers.
Each city has a lot of clubs where boys and girls can go to play games or take part in other activities. Some of these clubs show movies or have short trips to the mountains, the beaches or the museums. Most of these clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers because they can understand the problems of these boys and girls more easily.
Volunteers believe that some of the happiest people in the world are those who help to bring happiness to others.
【小題1】Which place is not mentioned about volunteering in the US ?

I’m Tony. My best friends are Frank and Cindy. We often do many things together. Frank lives next to my home and we are in the same class. He is thirteen years old and tall and of medium build. He has curly hair and blue eyes. He’s good-looking and very clever. He’s good at math and often helps me with my homework. He likes wearing black pants and yellow T-shirts.

    Cindy doesn’t go to my school. She’s eleven years old. She is thin and of medium height. She has curly blonde hair and her eyes are brown. She is good-looking, too, but a little bit shy. She is good at playing the guitar. Her favorite subject at school is music. She often teaches Frank and me to play the guitar after class.

    The three of us have great fun together, and we help each other and sometimes play video games at my house.

1.What things do the three children do together? They ___________.

        A. play baseball                    B. play video games

        C. play the guitar                  D. both B & C

2._____________ eyes are blue.

       A. Frank’s      B. Cindy’s     C. My           D. Tony’s

3._______________ good at math.

       A. Frank is      B. Cindy is     C. I    am          D. Tony is

4.________________ is good-looking, but a little bit shy.

       A. Frank         B. Cindy        C. Tony     D. My friend

5.Where do they play video games?   _________________.

        A. at school             B. at Frank’s house  

C. at Cindy’s house      D. at Tony’s house

Each country has many kind people who volunteer to take care of others. For example, some high school and university students in the US often spend many hours as volunteers in hospital or old people’s homes. They read books for the people or they just visit them and play games with them or listen to their problems.

Other young volunteers go and work in the homes of the sick people. They clean up their houses or do the shopping. For boys who don’t have fathers there is an organization called “Big Brothers”. University students and other people take these boys to play baseball games and help them get to know things that boys usually learn from their fathers.

  Each city has a lot of clubs where boys and girls can go to play games or take part in other activities. Some of these clubs show movies or have short trips to the mountains, the beaches or the museums. Most of these clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers because they can understand the problems of these boys and girls more easily.

  Volunteers believe that some of the happiest people in the world are those who help to bring happiness to others.

52. Which place is not mentioned about volunteering in the US ?

   A.Sick people’s homes.      B. Hospital.       C. Old people’s homes.     D. Zoos.

53. What is “Big Brothers” ?

   A. It’s a name of a club.               

 B. It’s the name of famous movie.

   C. It’s the home for children who have no brothers.

   D. It’s an organization for boys who don’t have fathers.

54. Why do most of the clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers?

   A. Because they can understand the problem children.

   B. Because they are young enough to get on well with the child.

   C. Because they know the things the young children usually learn from their fathers.

   D. Because they have more free time.

55. What do volunteers believe ?

   A. The happiest people in the world are those who join some clubs.

   B. Bringing happiness to others make them the happiest people in the world.

   C. The happiest people in the world are those who make themselves happy.

   D. The happiest people in the world are those who are young and healthy.

Japan is made up of a chain of islands that lie off the coast of Asia. People came to live in Japan from the nearby countries of China and Korea. From these older countries, the Japanese borrowed ideas, inventions and habits.

For many years, the Japanese built houses like those in China. They dressed themselves like a Chinese. From China came their way of writing and their habit of drinking tea.

In more recent times, the Japanese have borrowed things from our country, the United States. They have a government like ours. They do much work in science, as we do. Baseball is a favorite sport in Japan, just as it is here.

Things change when they come to Japan. The Japanese improve on almost everything they borrow. The art of garden making came from Korea and China, but the Japanese gardens are special. Each garden has a waterfall, a pond, and small bridges. There are few flowers in Japanese gardens. But the gardens are green during all the year round because they have many evergreens. Japanese gardens have a different kind of beauty.

1. The first paragraph of the passage tells us that ________ centuries ago.

A．the Japanese borrowed ideas only from China and Korea

B．people came to live in Japan from neighbouring Asian countries

C．Japan is much older than Korea

D．many Japanese came from the United States

2. In the third paragraph of the passage the italic (斜體)words “just as it is here” mean”________”

A．just as it is in the United States

B．just as it is in China

C．just as it is in Japan

D．just as it is in Asia

3. Why did the Japanese change the things they had borrowed?

A．They wanted very much to be different from others.

B．They didn’t like them the way they were.

C．They wanted visitors to like the change.

D．They tried to make them better.

4. From the passage we can see that ________.

A．Japanese gardens are different from those in other countries but not very beautiful

B．Japanese gardens are full of life during all the seasons

C．Japanese gardens are not very big

D．There are many flowers in Japanese gardens

5. Choose a statement from the following sentences that is NOT true.

A．The government of Japan is like that of the United States.

B．People in the United States like playing baseball.

C．The Japanese invented the habit of drinking tea.

D．Japan is made up of many islands.

Japan is made up of a chain of islands that lie off the coast of Asia. People came to live in Japan from the nearby countries of China and Korea. From these older countries, the Japanese borrowed ideas, inventions and habits.
For many years, the Japanese built houses like those in China. They dressed themselves like a Chinese. From China came their way of writing and their habit of drinking tea.
In more recent times, the Japanese have borrowed things from our country, the United States. They have a government like ours. They do much work in science, as we do. Baseball is a favorite sport in Japan, just as it is here.
Things change when they come to Japan. The Japanese improve on almost everything they borrow. The art of garden making came from Korea and China, but the Japanese gardens are special. Each garden has a waterfall, a pond, and small bridges. There are few flowers in Japanese gardens. But the gardens are green during all the year round because they have many evergreens. Japanese gardens have a different kind of beauty.
【小題1】 The first paragraph of the passage tells us that ________ centuries ago.