People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In the 12th century, the royal palaces of Iraq and Syria included pigeon houses so the kings could be kept informed of their generals’ victories and defeats on the battlefield. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through World War II.
Many countries, such as the United States, England, France, Germany, and Italy, in both World War I and World War II, used carrier pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released (释放) from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. Pigeon Service.
Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as England’s Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany during battle. He was taken to America, where he lived to the age of 32. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”
Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed (品种) from the kind of pigeons you see on city streets. They are much thinner and taller, with longer legs. Many people find carrier pigeons ugly because of their big wattle, a bent buildup of skin on the beak（鸟嘴）; however, people who raise pigeons often enjoy this strange appearance and consider carriers the best of their breed.
Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons—especially those that served in the military—have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonel’s Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.
【小题1】Many countries used carrier pigeons in the war because_______.

1Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答下列问题)

1．Helen Monson has always been interested in helping her community. Her first volunteer experience was for the American Red Cross when she was in high school. When she was a school teacher, she also found time to volunteer. One year, she organized a Super Saturday Fun Day for kids in the community. She also used to volunteer at the Mint Festival every year. One summer, she served food, another year she organized an art programme.

2．After she retired, she started volunteering to help the old. When her father was older, he was not able to see as well as he used to, which made her sad because he had always enjoyed reading. She decided it would be fun to read to elderly people in her community. She also helped one woman write her stories. Ann was almost 100 years old, and Helen wrote down information about her life when she visited her. She put the information in a book and got it published. Ann was very excited to share her life story with her children and her grandchildren.

3．After a hurricane(飓风) destroyed some southern cities, Helen volunteered again for the American Red Cross. She prepared food and answered phones in a care centre. She says, “I have always liked the Red Cross because the organization helps people in need no matter what.”

4．One day, Helen read an article in the newspaper about refugees(难民) who needed to learn English. Now, she meets once a week with Sahra, a 38-year-old woman, from Somalia. Sahra is living and working in a town about 30 minutes’ walk from where Helen lives. They work on reading and writing skills. Helen gave Sahra a camera and asked her to take pictures of her daily life. She developed the pictures, and then asked Sahra questions about them. In the end, they wrote a book together and used the photos in the book. This helped Sahra learn many new words about her everyday life.

5．Helen says, “The most rewarding(有益的) part of volunteer work is becoming friends with the people I help. They enrich my life as well as I enrich theirs.”

1.When was Helen’s first volunteer experience for the American Red Cross?

2.What did Helen do after she retired?

3.Why was Ann excited when her book got published?

4.Where did Helen work when she volunteered again for the American Red Cross?

5.How far is Sahra living and working from Helen’s home?

6.Did Helen help Sahra to learn English?

7.What can you learn from Helen?

用所给单词的适当形式填空
【小题1】In the past, most of people here___________(ride) bikes to work.
【小题2】If you answer the questions    ___    (correct), you won’t get the present.
【小题3】He finished his homework by __________ (ask)his sister for help.
【小题4】Millions of trees _____________(plant) in the west of China so far.
【小题5】All of us clapped and shouted with   __    (excite) when we saw the film star.
【小题6】The goal of Project Hope is _________(help) students and schools in poor areas.
【小题7】My friends _________(wait) for me at the entrance when I got to the station .
【小题8】The parade was so wonderful that I couldn’t stop_________(take)photos.
【小题9】The old man should _________( speak) to politely by the young people.
【小题10】This kind of computer is _________(wide) used in our country.
【小题11】I have less money ,but my life is much __________(meaning) .
【小题12】The little girl is often heard ____________ (sing) in the room.
【小题13】We are often told _________(not play) computer games all day.
【小题14】The terrible noise sounds     ___      (please).
【小题15】The singer Zhang Guorong __________(die) for ten years.Many fans miss him very much.

An old man has spent all his life in a small village which is far from the city. One day, someone told him some interesting things about the city. He was so amazed at it that he decided to visit it. Everything was new and strange to him. The old man got excited and visited a lot of interesting places. Then he went into a large tall building and saw a lift. He didn’t know what it was used for. As he was watching it, an old woman got into the lift and the door closed behind her. After a few minutes, the door opened and a very beautiful young girl came out. The old man was very surprised. “What an interesting little room!” he said to himself, “Terrific, it can change an old woman into a young girl. I will be here with my wife next time.”

Fill in each blank according to the passage. Only one word for each blank.

From the passage, we know that the old man went to the city for the1. __________ time. He was very excited and surprised at what he saw. He didn’t know what the lift 2.__________. One day, he saw that an old woman 3.__________ the lift, then after a while a very beautiful girl came out, he decided to 4. __________ his wife here and 5. __________ her beautiful and young the next time.