In the world today, hunger is still the biggest threat to health. Hunger holds back children's growth and their dreams. Around 67 million of the world's hungriest children do not attend school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Even if they do make it into the classroom, hunger will affect their ability to learn.

    Mary's Meals is a Scottish charity that was started in 1992. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It sets up school feeding projects in some of the world's poorest countries. The charity provides one daily meal in schools to attract hungry children to the classroom, where they receive education to get out of poverty. Thanks to the supporters and volunteers around the world, Mary s Meals is now providing life-changing meals to 1,257,278 poorest children in 15 countries.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    It has reduced hunger among children at school. Many children, teachers and volunteers observed the positive physical effects that the school feeding programmer is making. The percentage of teachers saying “children in my class never complain of hunger” increased from 7% to 87%.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 98% of teachers said that children pay more attention in class since Mary's Meals started feeding at their school.

    It has reduced levels of children quitting school! Teachers reported a reduction in the number of children dropping out of school due to hunger.

    It has increased children's feelings of happiness at school. The percentage of children saying “I feel happy at school” increased from 60% to 81%.

    By one meal at a time and one child at a time, Mary's Meals fills hungry children's empty stomachs so they have the energy and opportunity to learn. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Most of them hate to go to school.

B. It has improved children's concentration in class.

C. In order to survive, they have to work or beg.

D. Research has proved Mary's Meals has many positive effects.

E. This offers the children a life free from hunger and full of hope.

F. Since then it's grown from a small organization to a global movement.

G. They are reaching out to more hungry children waiting for Mary's Meals.

Pronunciation Tips

    These English pronunciation tips will help you get the most out of your Pronunciation Power program.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    For example, "threw" and "through", although spelled differently, are pronounced the same. Also, identical（相同的） letters or letter clusters（字母组合） in words do not always produce the same sound. For example, the "ough" in "though" and "through" represents a different sound in each word. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Imagine a sound in your mind before you say it.

    Try to visualize（想象)）the positioning of your mouth and face. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Listen to and try to imitate the Pronunciation Power instructor.

In addition to listening for specific sounds, pay attention to pauses, the intonation（语调） of the instructor's voice and patterns of emphasis. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The English language has many different dialects, and words can be pronounced differently.

    It is important, however, that you pronounce words clearly to ensure effective communication.

    Finally, the Pronunciation Power program is a tool to help you.

    But you must practice what you are learning! Remember that you are teaching your mouth a new way to move. You are building muscles that you do not use in your own language. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Use the program to exercise your mouth a little bit each day.

A. Read these words over and over again and try to learn them by heart.

B. This can be just as important as the pronunciation of sounds.

C. Learn to practice what you hear, not what you see.

D. So you should force yourself to do what you really don't like to do.

E. Do not confuse pronunciation of words with their spelling!

F. It is like going to the gym and exercising your body.

G. Think about how you are going to make the sound.

    Learning English online is a good way to improve your English. But with any kind of learning you need to be prepared. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Make sure everything is ready.

    You should prepare everything before learning English online. A computer, a good Internet connection and a headset are what you will need to take classes online. A web camera is also pretty important. Make sure that your computer is turned on, that everything is ready and that you have tested the connection. Doing this before the class means that you will be ready when the lesson starts.

    Take the classes somewhere quiet.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Trying to listen and join in English classes is very difficult when there is noise around you. So find a quiet room and make sure that no one troubles you while you are taking your lesson.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When grammar or anything else is being taught, make sure that you understand it. You won't need to practice it at this time; just make sure that everything is clear. If you don't understand what is being taught, ask your teacher to explain it again. Your teacher will be very happy to deal with whatever puzzles you.

    Practice speaking English.

    Every class is a chance to practice your English with a native and good teacher. Try to allow the conversation to flow by listening and talking in a natural way. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The teacher should note the mistakes and correct them at a later time.

    Relax.

    Come to class feeling relaxed and excited. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Come into the class excited about learning English. You will be able to get more out of the class this way.

A. Ask for help from your parents.

B. Understand what is being taught.

C. Get away from everything that may be going on in your home.

D. Language learning should be enjoyable especially in online classes.

E. You will meet many problems when you are learning English online.

F. This passage will give you advice on how to make full use of your online lessons.

G. This is your chance to speak English without worrying about too many mistakes.

Being a superhero to others

    Ewan Drum has always liked superheroes. He likes how they help people. At age seven, he told his parents, “I want to dress up like a superhero and help the homeless.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Wearing his red superhero cape (斗篷), Ewan helped pass out 70 bag lunches to hungry people in a park in Detroit, Michigan. That's how Super Ewan was born.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}People donated(捐赠) money and supplies (供给物), and Ewan took them to those in need.

    When someone donated jugs(大罐) of water, Ewan and his family drove their car to get even more. They took the water to Flint, Michigan, a city that had unsafe drinking water. Another time, a businessman donated six turkeys(火鸡) for Thanksgiving. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}“In the end”, he says,“ we gave 64 turkey dinners to families all around Detroit.”

    Ewan has a motto: Everyone can be a superhero to someone. At an event called the Hero Round Table, Ewan told the audience, “It's not hard to help people. You can keep some socks and food in your car to help people in need. You can help a neighbor with doing the garden. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ”

It's been several years since Super Ewan started his task. Every month, he still visits the same park to hand out clothes, food, and supplies to people who are hungry or homeless —his Super Friends. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    “No matter what, ”Ewan says, “I will always keep helping people.”

A. News spread about Ewan's act of kindness.

B. This superhero says he'll never take off his cape.

C. Ewan says he wants more adults to act like superheroes.

D. Every little thing helps and can make someone feel happy.

E. A few months later, Ewan's family planned a day of giving.

F. Several days later, his parents drove to Flint and helped him raise a lot of money.

G. With his parents' help, Ewan asked for more turkeys through the Internet, plus side dishes.

    Do you enjoy your work? Maybe you do or maybe you don't. Chances are that you fall somewhere in the middle: you have good days and bad days, and you could definitely be happier than you currently are.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Be Friendly to Your Colleagues

    In some big offices, people might not even say "good morning" to one another. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You might think that you have nothing in common with them, but if you strike up a conversation, you may well find that they share some of your interests, hopes or ambitions.

    Focus on How You're Helping Clients

    Some jobs are pretty tiresome — there's no way round that. Whatever you're doing, though, you're helping someone.

    Perhaps you work in McDonalds, helping customers who want a cheap, quick meal. Perhaps you do data entry, helping a big company to get their records organized so that they can take better care of their clients. In most jobs, you've got the potential to make someone else's day that bit better.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Do Your Hardest Task First

    Have you ever put off a difficult phone call or a high­pressure task for days and days, only to find it appears larger and larger in your mind? I've read a lot of productivity advice over the past few years, and something that almost all experts seem to agree on is that it's a good idea to get tough tasks out of the way as quickly as possible.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Plus, you'll constantly have that task hanging over you and dragging your mood down.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Try eating at regular intervals — and go for healthy, tasty foods which make you feel energized rather than sluggish. Fresh fruit is a great snack option, or you can have dried fruit, nuts and/or seeds. Don't forget to drink enough water, too.

    These are all little, but significant, ways to be happier at work today. Put them into practice and you will feel inspired!

A.Eat Sensibly and Regularly

B.Eat Outside during Your Lunch Break

C.Here are several ways to be happier at work

D.The longer you wait, the more resistant you will feel

E.Doing that will almost certainly put a smile on your face

F.It costs nothing to be polite and friendly to your colleagues

G.Look for some small items to bring a bit of happiness into your day

    Rivers play an important role on the earth, and we can't imagine what the earth would be like without rivers. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    With a length of 6, 650 kilometers, the Nile is the longest river in the world. The Nile River has been the source of human civilization since ancient times. The Nile has two main branches—the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile starts from the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa through Lake Victoria. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The Blue Nile carries with it a lot of fertile soil which turns out to be very important to farming in Egypt.

    The Amazon River is the world's largest river with a width of about 40 kilometers during the rainy seasons but about 10 kilometers wide when it is not flooded. The Amazon River has such a big water volume that it accounts for(占.....比例) more than 20% of all the world's fresh water—far more than any other river. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}The main Amazon River flows mostly through Brazil and Peru but its tributaries can also be found in many other countries.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It has a depth of about 250 meters. Its length is 4, 700 kilometers. The sources of the Congo River are in the highlands and mountains in the Eastern Africa Rift Valley. It's the second largest river in terms of water volume. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The Congo River basin(盆地) is the catchments(流域，集水区) area of the Congo River. It lies in both north and south of the Equator, making its flow very stable as there are always some tributaries experiencing a rainy season at any time.

A. Some of them are worth mentioning.

B. The Congo River is the world's deepest river.

C. Do you know which is the deepest river in the world?

D. The Blue Nile originates from (发源于)Lake Tana in Ethiopia.

E. Without rivers, there would be no living life in and along them.

F. And it flows through the second largest rain-forests in the world.

G. Streams that begin in the Andes Mountains are its sources.