Sixteen-year-old Karlos Dearmans’s future is looking much brighter than be might have imagined. “I’ve always been into bikes, but never thought I’d end up working with them,” he says. “This scheme has changed my life.”

Karlos is learning to refurbish(翻新) old bicycles in the workshop of ReCycle Bikes, a local community(社区) charity in Sheffied, which has a contract with the city council to provide training opportunities for young people aged 14 to 16, particularly those dropping out of school.

“It’s about engaging youngsters with education and you thtraining by teaching them work and life skills,” explains Des Pearce, workshop training manager. “These young people have so much potential, but often don’t realize it.”

Established in 2001, ReCycle Bikes repairs bicycles donated by the public, which, once restored, are sold for ￡20. Abandoned bikes supplied by the council ensure a steady flow of bikes, but a recently formed partnership with Sheffield University should improve further the prospects of the young mechanics.

　　“The student population presents a large and ready market,” says Pearce. “So we approached the university last year and offered to host bike sales on the campus. They thought it was a great idea, and agreed to supplement our council funding. This means we can train youngsters to repair extra 500 bikes over three years.”

　　Having set up ReCycle Bikes on his own, Pearce now has the staff and resources to track the career development of those who have passed through his workshop. “However, in the past we depended on the evidence of personal accounts from the schools because of lack of human and material resources,” he says.

　　That most of the teenagers enjoy the work is, according to Pearce, easily explained. “Most kids have ridden a bike and know how to oil a chain or mend a puncture. As low-cost transport, cycling gives the young and old a sense of freedom and independence, and the impact on their well-being is immense. Add to that a growing concern for the environment, and it’s no surprise that bike sales are on the increase.”

72．What do we know about ReCycle Bikes?

A．It is a popular brand of bikes which are sold in Sheffield．

B．It is a local community charity that provides training opportunities for reenagers．

C．It is a contract signed between a local community charity and the city council．

D．It is a training program offered by the city council to those excluded from school．

73．How did ReCycle Bikes run at the beginning?

A．By repairing bicycles donated by the public and selling them．

B．By donations from the public and Sheffield University．

C．By selling bicycles supplied by the city council．

D．By tuition fees from kids aged between 14 and 16．

74．ReCycle Bikes has formed a partnership with Sheffield University because ____________．

A．students at Sheffield University assure a large and ready market

B．Sheffield University offers many mechanical teachers to ReCycle Bikes

C．Sheffield University donates a lot of money to ReCycle Bikes

D．teenagers at ReCycle Bikes can study at Sheffield University

75．ReCycle Bikes depended on information from the schools in the past because     .

A．the schools could give accurate information to improve its service

B．students disliked telling the truth when asked about their personal ideas

C．ReCycle Bikes didn’t have the ability to track students’ career development．

D．most of the training organizations did it this way at that moment

 

On May 29, 1973, Thomas Bradley, a black man, was elected mayor of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the third largest city in the United States, with a population of three million. About sixteen percent of the city’s population are black.

News of this election appeared on the front pages of newspapers everywhere in the United States. Here is how one major newspaper reported the event:

LOS ANGELES ELECTS BRADLEY MAYOR UNSEATING YORTYBLACK WINS 56% OF VOTES

Bradley called his victory over Yorty “the fulfillment (实现) of a dream”. During his childhood and youth, people had kept telling him, “You can’t do this, you can’t go there, because you are a Negro.” Nevertheless he had won a decisive victory over a man who had been won 43.7 percent.

Los Angeles voters have had many opportunities to judge. Thomas Bradley had to form an opinion of him. The son of a poor farmer Texas, he joined the Los Angeles police force in 1940. During his twenty-one years on the police force he earned a law degree by attending school at night. He was elected to the city council (市政厅) ten years ago.

At the time of the Los Angeles election, three other American cities already had black mayors, but none of those cities had as large a population as Los Angeles. Besides, the percentage of blacks in those other cities was much larger. Cleveland, Ohio, had thirty-six percent black when Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1967. In the same year Richard Hatcher was elected mayor of Cary. In Newark, New Jersey, sixty percent of the population were black when Kenneth Gibson was elected in 1970. Thus election of a black mayor in those cities was not very surprising.

In Los Angeles thousands of white citizens voted for Thomas Bradley because they believed he would be a better mayor than the white candidate(候选人). Bradley had spent forty-eight of his fifty-five years in Los Angeles. Four years ago Bradley lost mayoral election to Yorty. This time Bradley won.

1. In the author’s opinion, it was surprising that _______.

A. the whites would vote for a black mayor　　

B. a black mayor would be elected in such a large city

C. a black from a poor farmer’s family could be elected mayor of Los Angeles

D. there would be so many black mayors

2. From the passage we can infer that people ________.

A. voted for Bradley because of his black color

B. didn’t care much about his color when they voted

C. voted for him to give a chance to fulfill his dream

D. voted for Bradley because they trust him

3. Bradley hit the front page headline for _______.

A. he was the first black mayor in history

B. he was the first black mayor in the south of USA

C. he was the first black mayor of one of the largest cities in USA

D. a poor farmer’s son could also win an important election

4. From Bradley’s victory in the election we can see that ________.

A. blacks had equal rights as whites in the USA

B. black people’s situation began to be improving much more than before

C. one can be successful through hard work in the USA no matter what color he is

D. it is certain that someday the USA will have a black president