Aside from doing schoolwork and studying, American students must also participate in various extra-curricular activities. Many students get involved in their communities by doing volunteer work at various local organizations. In fact, the school I attend even requires students to perform a certain number of hours of volunteer work per semester. It is part of our study hall(自修课) grade, as well as a graduation requirement.

There are many places to do volunteer work in the community. Some of my classmates volunteer at the local animal shelter, the community table (which provides free meals for needy families), charity(慈善) stores, and many others. Finding a suitable place to volunteer usually depends on what’s available, as well as personal interests. For example, a friend of mine who enjoys swimming volunteers at the recreation center to teach young children how to swim.

With all these options out there, I ended up doing most of my volunteer work at a school library and a non-profit bookstore called Friends of the Library. This bookstore sells donated books at cheap prices, and all the profits made are donated to the local library.

I thought it was very fitting that I do my volunteer work at a library and a bookstore, because reading has always been very important to me. I love working in the bookstore now, because every sale we make helps our public library expand, and gives it the funds needed to purchase new books.

I think everyone should have the opportunity to read, and that we each should do our part to help those who don’t have the chance. There is a charity event, called One Book for A Window of Opportunity, in which Chinese students can donate a book to the children of the poor village Fangmaping. They don’t have a lot of resources, so reading can be a challenge. To find out more about this event, please visit: http://bbs.enfamily.cn/thread-739278-1-1.html. 

54. This passage is written by _____.

  A. a Chinese student      B. an American student     C. a Chinese teacher        D. an American teacher

55. This passage is supposed to write to ____.

  A. villagers in Fangmaping                                B. the writer’s parents

  C. Chinese readers                                    D. American readers

56. The writer chose to do volunteer work at _____.

  A. a local animal shelter                             B. a charity store

  C. a recreation center                                       D. a library and a bookstore

57. By writing the article, the writer hopes to _____.

  A. meet the graduation requirement                  B. look for another volunteer job

  C. get more chances to read                      D. encourage people to offer help

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.
In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”
“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”
Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?

A．She had seven brothers.	B．She felt herself a nobody.
C．She was too shy to go to school.	D．She did not have any good teachers.

【小题2】The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.

A．develop her writing style	B．run away from her family
C．make a lot of friends	D．work for a school magazine

【小题3】According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?

A．Her early years in college.	B．Her training in the Workshop.
C．Her childhood experience	D．Her feeling of being different.

【小题4】What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?

A．It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish.

B．It is the only book ever written by Cisneros.

C．It is quite popular among students.

D．It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine.

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.

In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”

“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”

Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?

A．She had seven brothers.                  B．She felt herself a nobody.

C．She was too shy to go to school.            D．She did not have any good teachers.

2.The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.

A．develop her writing style                 B．run away from her family

C．make a lot of friends                     D．work for a school magazine

3.According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?

A．Her early years in college.                 B．Her training in the Workshop.

C．Her childhood experience                D．Her feeling of being different.

4.What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?

A．It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish.

B．It is the only book ever written by Cisneros.

C．It is quite popular among students.

D．It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine.