2019-2020学年安徽卓越县中联盟（舒城中学、无为中学等）高二12月素质检测英语试题 Word版

2019-2020学年安徽卓越县中联盟（舒城中学、无为中学等）高二12月素质检测英语试题 Word版

安徽卓越县中联盟（舒城中学、无为中学等）2019-2020学年高二12月素质检测 英语试卷 ‎（考试时间：120分钟 总分：150分）‎ 注意事项：‎ ‎1．答卷前，考生务必将自己的姓名、准考证号填写在答题卡上。‎ ‎2．回答选择题时，选出每小题答案后，用铅笔把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。如需改动，用橡皮擦干净后，再选涂其他答案标号。回答非选择题时，将答案写在答题卡上，写在本试卷上无效。‎ ‎3．考试结束后，将本试卷和答题卡一并交回。‎ 第一部分 听力（共两节，满分30分）‎ 做题时，先将答案标在试卷上。录音内容结束后，你将有两分钟的时间将试卷上的答案转涂到答题卡上。第一节 听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。‎ ‎1. What does the woman suggest the man bring?‎ A. Milk. B. Coffee. C. Tea.‎ ‎2. What does the man like to do before an exam?‎ A. Do sports. B. Read a lot. C. Relax at home.‎ ‎3. What did the man do last night?‎ A. He held a party. B. He lost his phone. C. He bought something in a shop.‎ ‎4. How many people will go to the football match?‎ A. Two. B. Three. C. Four.‎ ‎5. What’s the probable relationship between the speakers?‎ A. Mother and son. B. Brother and sister. C. Teacher and student.‎ 第二节 听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。‎ 听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。‎ ‎6. Where does the conversation take place?‎ A. At a bookshop. B. At a museum. C. At a library.‎ ‎7. Which direction does the woman point the man?‎ A. Straight ahead. B. To the right. C. To the left.‎ 听第7段材料，回答第8至10题。‎ ‎8. How did the man injure himself? ‎ A. By biking. B. By playing soccer. C. By riding his skateboard.‎ ‎9. Where will the woman take the man?‎ A. To the hospital. B. To the school gate. C. To his coach’s office.‎ ‎10. What is the woman trying to do?‎ A. Comfort the man. B. Make fun of the man. C. Check the man’s injury.‎ 听第8段材料，回答第11至13题。‎ ‎11. Where does the man want to go?‎ A. To his office. B. To the airport. C. To Johnson’s house.‎ ‎12. Which way does the man say to avoid?‎ A. The freeway. B. The bridge. C. The small roads.‎ ‎13. How soon will the man probably get to his destination?‎ A. In 20 minutes. B. In 30 minutes. C. In 45 minutes.‎ 听第9段材料，回答第14至17题。‎ ‎14. What did Helen decide to do?‎ A. Go on a business trip. B. Look for a new job. C. Start volunteering.‎ ‎15. What does the man think Helen should do? ‎ A. Have a relaxed life. B. Run her own business. C. Join a community group.‎ ‎16. What is Jessica’s attitude toward Helen’s decision?‎ A. Concerned. B. Surprised. C. Supportive.‎ ‎17. Where are Helen’s kids now?‎ A. At primary school. B. At college. C. At work.‎ 听第10段材料，回答第18至20题。‎ ‎18. What is the speaker mainly talking about?‎ A. All kinds of animals.‎ B. His job as an animal doctor.‎ C. Special treatment for animals.‎ ‎19. What animals does the speaker see the most?‎ A. Rabbits. B. Cows and sheep. C. Dogs and cats.‎ ‎20. How was the giraffe’s neck problem solved?‎ A. With a piece of metal. B. With a piece of plastic. C. With a piece of water pipe.‎ 第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）‎ 第一节 （共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）‎ ‎ 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。‎ A ‎“Climate emergency”, Oxford Dictionary Oxford Dictionaries has declared “climate emergency”, a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially unchangeable environmental damage resulting from it, the word of the year for 2019. ‎ Oxford said the words rocketed from “relative unknown” to “one of the most important terms of 2019”, following a sharply increase in usage.‎ ‎“Upcycling”, Cambridge Dictionary Cambridge Dictionary has named “upcycling”, the activity of making new items out of old or used things, as its Word of the Year 2019. Upcycling was chosen as the “Word of the Day” which received more likes than any other ‘Word of the Day’ when shared on 4 July 2019. "We think it's the positive idea behind upcycling that appeals more than the word itself," said Wendalyn Nichols, Publishing Manager of the Cambridge Dictionary. "Stopping the process of climate change, let alone changing it, can seem impossible at times. Upcycling is a concrete action a single human being can take to make a difference.‎ ‎"Climate strike", Collins Dictionary ‎"Climate strike" was picked by Collins Dictionary after being used on average 100 times more this year than in 2018, which is defined as "a form of protest in which people absent themselves from education or work in order to join demonstrations(示威游行) demanding action to resist climate change". The term was first recorded four years ago when pupils skipped school to protest over global warming - but the movement ‎ has grown over the last year.‎ ‎21. What does the underlined word “halt” probably mean?‎ A. Stop. B. Cause. C. Increase. D. Start.‎ ‎22. What are the words “Climate emergency”, “Upcycling” and “Climate strike” related to?‎ A. Climate. B. Environment. ‎ C. Protecting the Earth. D. Protecting the animals.‎ ‎23. What is probably the best title of the text?‎ A. The Earth in the Trouble B. The Year Words in 2019 ‎ C. The Dictionaries in Need D. The Main Problems in 2019‎ B It was a dinner party from hell(地狱). Not because of the lovely guests. The problem was that they were all experts in cooking. And they were all waiting for a pudding I had cooked for them. ‎ I lifted my spoon high above the poached (水煮) peach and readied myself for it to sink easily into the peach. Instead the spoon bent at the neck. The fruit was hard, even though it had been cooked for an hour.‎ It was my stupid mistake. Over the past two years or so, I have passed judgment on the cooking skills of over 100 chefs. I thought it could now be fun to get some chefs to pass judgment on me. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for.‎ The starter was a French onion pie. It's a classic dish and would be a test of my skills. And it's the only cooked starter I know how to do.‎ Next, the main course. My wife suggested doing the mutton first. I agreed. It's a good dinner party dish because even if you overcook the meat, it's still a pleasure. The mutton is filled with a mixture of small pieces of bread, tomatoes, olives and so on. The only problem is that in this condition the meat has to come out pink, which fortunately it did.‎ As to the pudding, I would do peaches poached in Muscat wine with cream. There was only one problem that I had forgotten that peaches were out of season and much like rocks.‎ What did the guest chefs say about my cooking ability? “With all good dinner parties, as with the best restaurants, the food is by no means the only important thing and it was exciting that the party combined great diners and my hosts' generosity.‎ ‎ And the food? As it happens, it was really rather good — should have had a cheese course though. And the plates could have been hotter.”‎ ‎24. What did the author mean by saying it was “a dinner party from hell”?‎ ‎ A. The guests were knowledgeable about cooking.‎ ‎ B. He was hopelessly disorganized. ‎高二英语 第4页 (共8页)‎ ‎ C. The guests were not welcomed.‎ ‎ D. He failed to make a pudding.‎ ‎25. Why did the author hold the dinner party?‎ ‎ A. To advertise his restaurant. B. To find out how it felt to be judged.‎ ‎ C. To express his thanks to the 100 chefs. D. To ask for opinions about his new dish.‎ ‎26. What was the key to the success of the mutton dish?‎ ‎ A. Getting the cooking time right. B. Making the mutton have proper taste.‎ ‎ C. Mixing the food in order. D. Using the right cooker.‎ ‎27. What was the author's problem according to the guests' judgment?‎ ‎ A. He had presented the meal improperly. B. He had missed out an important dish.‎ ‎ C. He had served the food on hot plates. D. He had bought fruit out of season.‎ C Make School is one of the most unusual schools in the country: It lets students enter school for free if they agree to pay later after they land a job.‎ Ashu Desai helped create Make School in 2012. The goal at Make School is not getting good grades. It's putting together a list of practical work able to impress Silicon Valley companies and let them make job offers.‎ Make School runs programs of varying lengths. Its “Product College” is a two-year computer science program that combines internships (实习) at big-name Silicon Valley companies with classes that are light on class and heavy on projects. The goal is for graduating students to have created games or other apps they can take to job interviews.‎ Make School depends on an “income-share agreement,” which allows students to go to school and not have to take out debts — if they agree to pay the school a part of their future earnings.‎ About 85 percent of the Product College students are men. But Desai said the school is working together with organizations like Girls Who Code to raise the number of women.‎ Lauren Weiss, 18, has attended two summer programs at Make School. While she's heading to college in her home state of Colorado this fall, it's mostly because she earned a full-ride scholarship, not because she thinks it'll be better than the Product College.‎ ‎“They're able to teach students more than any other program ever could,” she said. “People really are pushed to grow.”‎ But Barmak Nassirian, director of federal policy at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, warned that there are few rules and students may fall into traps if they don't read the terms carefully. ‎ Nassirian also said he was somewhat encouraged by Make School, though, in part because of the investors who have backed it. ‎ ‎28. What makes Make School different from other schools?‎ ‎ A. It is run by big-name companies. B. It can provide job offers for students.‎ ‎ C. It allows students to pay after getting jobs. D. It focuses on grades more than practical work.‎ ‎29. What can we learn about “Product College”? ‎ ‎ A. It designs apps for students. B. It helps students pay back their debts.‎ ‎ C. It interviews students for Silicon Valley. D. It is trying to attract more women students.‎ ‎30. What is Lauren Weiss's opinion about Make School?‎ ‎ A. It is a school worth attending. B. It values school rules above all else. ‎ ‎ C. It is poorer than colleges in Colorado. D. It offers various entertainment programs.‎ ‎31. What is Barmak Nassirian's attitude to Make School?‎ ‎ A. Optimistic. B. Unclear. C. Doubtful. D. Objective.‎ D Elizabeth Bishop is considered one of the best American poets of the 20th century. She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1911. Her dad died when she was just a baby and her mom never recovered from the loss; she went to live with her grandparents in Nova Scotia, Canada when she was five. Eventually Bishop attended Vassar College, where she began to write poetry. ‎ At Vassar she discovered Marianne Moore's poetry and met “Ms. Moore” and began their life-long friendship. She later met poet Robert Lowell. She wrote tons and tons of letters to both of them, which is good for us because we would otherwise know very little of her personal life. Bishop's poetry is sometimes considered objective and cold because it shows almost nothing about the poet or her life.‎ Bishop published her first book of poetry in 1946 and wrote until her death in 1979. She would spend years working on a single poem. Her poems are not the result of hasty scribbling (匆忙乱写) on paper while eating breakfast. Over a lifetime of writing, she only published about 275 pages of poetry, and about 40 of those are translations. She would look through drafts of poems again and again and improve them until they were as close to perfect as she could get them.‎ Reading Elizabeth Bishop is like being transported to the very place, the very moment she's writing about. She leads us to a microscope so we can see every smallest part of the scene. It seems she's always asking us to notice more, and more until the poem is so clear in our minds that it's almost painful — like a light that's too bright. It might take your eyes a while to get used to it, but once they do, you'll like what you see.‎ ‎32. What do we know about Bishop's early life? ‎ ‎ A. She started to write poems at five. ‎ ‎ B. She was always encouraged by her parents.‎ ‎ C. She spent her childhood mainly in Worcester. ‎ ‎ D. She was mainly brought up by her grandparents.‎ ‎33. Why are Bishop's letters to Moore and Lowell important? ‎ ‎ A. They have a deep influence on other poets. ‎ ‎ B. They offer much information about her life. ‎ ‎ C. They help us study Moore and Lowell's poetry.‎ ‎ D. They prove she had friendships with famous poets.‎ ‎34. What can we say about Bishop's poetic creation? ‎ ‎ A. She liked to write in the morning. ‎ ‎ B. She could write poems at high speed. ‎ ‎ C. She tried her best to achieve perfection. ‎ ‎ D. She published hundreds of books of poetry. ‎ ‎35. What does the text mainly talk about? ‎ A. Elizabeth Bishop’s friendship with other poets. ‎ B. The general introduction of American poet Elizabeth Bishop .‎ C. The general introduction of Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry . ‎ D. Elizabeth Bishop’s influence on us understand高二英语 第6页 (共8页)‎ ing poetry.‎ 第二节 （共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）‎ ‎ 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。‎ Stress is so common that many people choose to ignore it. But without proper management, stress can become much more serious. Listed here are 5 proven ways to deal with stress.‎ ‎1. Breathe ‎36 Slow, deep breathing stops the mind focusing on whatever else might be going on, and actively lowers stress levels. Practicing breathing can help you to build up a great attitude to your life. ‎ ‎2. Write Instead of allowing a disorder of thoughts and ideas to jump around inside your head, let them fall out onto your computer keyboard instead. 37 ‎ They don't even have to make sense. Minutes later, you might be surprised at how light, airy and carefree you feel.‎ ‎3. Walk If you're feeling stressed, drop everything and go for a walk. 38 Walking provides your body with an ideal relief for the build-up of energy that stress can create.‎ ‎4. Sleep ‎ Sleep is certainly necessary for avoiding high stress levels. Everyone needs good ‎ amounts of rest, and remaining glued to a computer screen and working for the whole day without taking a break will result in stress. 39 ‎ ‎5. Laugh If you're stressed, the last thing you probably feel like doing is laughing. 40 If you are able to smile during your day, you'll soon begin to see the effects of stress slowly disappear.‎ A. Stress is not good for people's health. ‎ B. Deep breathing lowers the blood pressure. ‎ C. Laughing can calm the nerves and reduce stress.‎ D. Or write down your feelings onto a piece of paper.‎ E. Keep yourself at an easy speed and breathe properly.‎ F. Taking a deep breath in stressful situations has proven to be helpful.‎ G. Take frequent breaks away from the screen and see your stress disappear.‎ 第三部分 语言知识运用（共两节，满分45分）‎ 第一节 （共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）‎ ‎ 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。‎ Although the argument has been made that money spent on pets could better be directed to programs that provide assistance for poor people, I 41 that pets should be treated like family members because they 42 us and communicate with us like family members do. Often parents allow children to have pets in order to 43 them to be responsible. By feeding, walking, and 44 a dog, children learn to be dependable and 45 . Parents expect their children to 46 the pets as if they were family members to learn these valuable lessons. For many children, a pet is also a best friend and a 47 way to learn how to treat a(n) 48 brother or sister when the family expands. ‎ Besides the 49 that children enjoy with animals, pets can replace the absence of other family members. Sometimes a couple who is 50 to have children will keep pets. They shower the 51 on their pets that they might have provided a child, and receive companionship in return. Many people who are living 52 enjoy the companionship of a pet instead of loved ones who are at a distance or have 53 . The pet becomes a family member for these people and deserves the same kind of treatment that a family member would get.‎ Many articles have appeared 54 the benefits of pets to the disabled and the elderly. In addition to the 55 services that pets may provide, such as bringing objects to their owners or helping a blind owner to walk in unfamiliar 56 , there is evidence that people who keep pets live 57 than those who don't have pets. In a real sense, these pets are caring for their 58 like family members would, and for this reason, they should be treated like family. At every 59 in life we interact with our pets in the same ways that we interact with family. Children, young married couples, and elderly people have 60 to treat their pets like family members.‎ ‎41. A. agree B. explain C. doubt D. demand ‎42. A. turn to B. pay attention to C. live with D. keep up with ‎43. A. teach B. advise C. force D. allow ‎44. A. looking at B. taking notice of C. learning from D.taking care of ‎45. A. strict B. kind C. brave D. curious ‎46. A. treat B. serve C. trust D. respect ‎ ‎47. A. traditional B. quick C. similar D. good ‎ ‎48. A. new B. smart C. ill D. single ‎ ‎49. A. talk B. trip C. friendship D. holiday ‎ ‎50. A. afraid B. unable C. ready D. pleasant ‎ ‎51. A. hope B. praise C. love D. happiness ‎52. A. together B. abroad C. around D. alone ‎ ‎53. A. passed away B. turned up C. set off D. grown up ‎ ‎54. A. promising B. showing C. recording D. bringing ‎ ‎55. A. perfect B. possible C. familiar D. usual ‎ ‎56. A. cities B. companies C. surroundings D. rooms ‎ ‎57. A. better B. longer C. more easily D. more simply ‎ ‎58. A. babies B. partners C. parents D. owners ‎ ‎59. A. moment B. corner C. stage D. level ‎ ‎60. A. courage B. reason C. interest D. time 第二节 （共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）‎ ‎ 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。‎ Celebrating the Minor Festival(小年)‎ The 23rd of La is celebrated as the Minor Festival, the festival mood of __61__ begins to pick up, from 23rd of La onwards. There are more and more traders’ stands along the streets filled with __62__ variety of Spring Festival goods that catch the eyes: Spring Festival couplets, New Year paintings, window __63__ (decoration), paper cuts, fireworks etc. You can hear traders calling for business up and down the streets. The Minor Festival is also known__64__the Kitchen God Day. In the past, Kitchen God, __65__ (place) next above or next to the stove, was adored in every household. On this day, Kitchen God was to go and report to Jade Emperor(玉帝) in Heaven what he__66__ (witness) on earth. Kitchen God was believed to be able to determine fortunes or misfortunes of the household, to make it rich or poor, __67__, the household took great care to adore Kitchen God as best they could and not to disrespect him in any event. Among the offerings presented to Kitchen God, there was the __68__ (stick) sugar. When Kitchen God took it, his teeth and lips got stuck up and couldn’t report to Jade Emperor for anything that would be harmful to the household. __69__ the adoring was over, the picture of Kitchen God __70__ (burn) and people believed he went up to Heaven while crackers were fired. ‎ 第四部分 写作（共两节，满分35分）‎ 第一节 短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）‎ 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。‎ 增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。‎ 删除：把多余的词用斜线（）划掉。‎ 修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。‎ 注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；‎ ‎2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。‎ My grandmother don't even know how to call someone from a mobile phone. Last week I read a report and it said unless seniors feel connecting to technology, it can do harm their physical and mental health. Being able to use a mobile phone can help ‎ improve their healthy. Therefore, I decided to teach she how to use one. Now she can not only make calls, and she can also text and play games to have a fun. She asked me to teach her friends as well, to that I gladly agreed. Her friends were all quite happily. Now I'm thinking about teach them more new things.‎ 第二节 书面表达（满分25分）假定你是李华。你的美国朋友David发来电子邮件，说他最近很忙，打算放弃申请做他们市运动会志愿者的机会。请你根据所给要点，用英语给他回一封电子邮件。‎ ‎ 1. 劝他不要放弃；‎ ‎ 2. 陈述理由；‎ ‎ 3. 表达祝愿。‎ ‎ 注意：词数100左右（开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数）。‎ Dear David,‎ ‎_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________‎ Sincerely yours,‎ Li Hua 英语参考答案 听力：1-5 CAABB 6-10 CACBA 11-15 BABCA 16-20 CBBCC ‎ 阅读理解：21-23 ACB 24-27 ABAB 28-31 CDAD 32-35 DBCB ‎ 七选五：36-40 FDEGC ‎ 完形填空：41-45 ACADB 46-50 ADACB 51-55 CDABD 56-60 CBDCB ‎ 语法填空：‎ ‎61.which 62.a 63.decorations 64.as 65.placed 66.had witnessed 67.thus/therefore 68.sticky 69.When/ After 70.was burned /was burnt 改错：‎ ‎ My grandmother don't even know how to call someone from a mobile phone. ‎ ‎ didn’t Last week I read a report and it said unless seniors feel connecting to technology, ‎ connected it can do harm ＾their physical and mental health. Being able to use a ‎ to mobile phone can help improve their healthy. Therefore, I decided to teach she ‎ health her how to use one. Now she can not only make calls, and she can also text and play ‎ ‎ but或去掉and games to have a fun. She asked me to teach her friends as well, to that I gladly ‎ ‎ 去掉a which agreed. Her friends were all quite happily. Now I'm thinking about teach them ‎ happy teaching more new things.‎ 书面表达 One possible version:‎ Dear David,‎ ‎ I'm very glad to hear from you but surprised to learn that you want to give up applying to work as a volunteer for the sports meeting which will be held in your city. ‎ ‎ In my opinion, you have many advantages. First of all, you are a native and thus know your city very well. In addition, you are easy to get along with and warm-hearted, which is especially important for a volunteer. Most importantly, it is a good chance to improve yourself. You can help many people and make many new friends. ‎ ‎ All in all, I hope you won't give up, as I believe you can make it in the end.‎ ‎ Sincerely yours, ‎ ‎ Li Hua ‎ 听力原文录音稿 Text 1 ‎ M: I like drinking tea, but Max only has coffee and milk whenever we visit him. ‎ W: You can bring some with you. I’m sure he won’t mind.‎ Text 2 ‎ W: People say you should do lots of reading the day before an exam, but I think the best way to do well in an exam is relax the day before.‎ M: Well, everyone has different opinions. I like to exercise.‎ Text 3‎ W: I lost my phone yesterday. That’s why I didn’t get your message. I hope I won’t have to buy a new one.‎ M: That’s too bad! I had a party last night and wanted you to come. ‎ Text 4‎ W: Do you want to come to the football match? I have a spare ticket. My friend was going to come but he’s ill.‎ M: I already have a ticket. Could I bring my sister? She’d love to see the match.‎ W: Sure.‎ Text 5 ‎ W: Get up quickly! It’s Sunday! ‎ M: Don’t open the curtains! Can’t I sleep in today? We don’t need to go to school.‎ W: Not a chance! It’s mom’s birthday, remember? We have a lot to do before she wakes up. ‎ Text 6‎ M: Excuse me? I’m looking for On the Origin of Species. Do you know anything about it?‎ W: Of course. It’s Charles Darwin’s most famous work, and one of the most important contributions to science in human history. You’ll find it in the history section. I believe we still have one copy left.‎ M: This is my first time here. I’m afraid I’ll have difficulty finding it. Could you point me the right direction?‎ W: Certainly. Just walk straight to the back wall. It’s just on your right.‎ M: Thanks for your help.‎ Text 7‎ W: Jack, your ankle!‎ M: Well, I fell off my skateboard just now.‎ W: Let me take you to the school gate. Mrs. Bee will call an ambulance.‎ M: Oh, man! Coach Jackson is going to kill me. I won’t be able to play soccer!‎ W: Don’t think about that now. Just take a deep breath. ‎ M: How bad is it? It’s bad, isn’t it?‎ W: Well, it’s not good. Hey, remember that time I fell off my bike into the mud? ‎ M: Yeah, that was pretty funny.‎ W: Do you remember what you called me?‎ M: The mud monster, ha-ha! Thanks, I feel better already.‎ Text 8‎ W: Hello. Are you David? ‎ M: Yes, I called you about 20 minutes ago. Sorry to keep you waiting.‎ W: That’s OK. Where to?‎ M: I’ve got a 3:15 flight to catch and I’m running late. Do you think we can make it? I need to be there an hour ahead of time. Otherwise, I’ll probably miss it.‎ W: Hmm…let’s see. I could probably take…‎ M: Don’t take the freeway. It’s backed up to Oak Street.‎ W: I know. If I take the side roads all the way to Johnson’s Bridge, I can get past ‎ all the heavy traffic. I think I can get there in 30 minutes.‎ M: Really? I’ve never made it there in less than 45 minutes.‎ W: I’m a taxi driver. I do this for a living.‎ M: OK, then. If you can make it, I’ll give you an extra $10 tip.‎ W: You’ve got yourself a deal!‎ Text 9 ‎ W: My sister Helen is starting a volunteer organization to help poor primary school students!‎ M: Really? How come?‎ W: Well, she has always loved helping others. But her husband often had to travel for work, so she stayed at home to raise their three kids. Now that they’re all grown up, she has time to do other things.‎ M: So, she wants to start a community group?‎ W: Yeah, it’s a kids’ center, actually. She has been thinking about it forever.‎ M: It’s great that she can make her dream come true. But Jessica, I think people should slow things down as they get older. Running a new business and finding volunteers might be a lot for her to take on.‎ W: Yeah, but she already told her husband about it, and he loves the idea. So do I. We’re definitely going to help, and her kids are excited to volunteer when they come home from college every vacation.‎ M: Well, that’s great. Good luck with everything. ‎ Text 10 ‎ As an animal doctor, I meet many kinds of animals. You may think that an animal doctor mainly sees animals that are very sick or badly treated, but that is not always the case. People who bring their pets to see an animal doctor are usually animal lovers and care greatly for their pets. In fact, it is a pity we do not get to see more animals that are really in need of treatment. Of course, most animals that I often see are cats and dogs, with a few rabbits. I treat kangaroos and snakes at the local zoo sometimes. Perhaps my biggest and strangest challenge was treating a giraffe for neck problems. It is normally quite easy to fit something to an animal to stop it bending ‎ its neck. Obviously, for a giraffe this is a big problem. I tried various pieces of plastic and metal until I came up with a solution — a very long water pipe. My work also takes me to farms where I look after cows, sheep and so on. I think my job is very important and I like my job.‎