【推荐1】I will never forget the days when I met with my classmates. Early in the morning of our first school day, our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know yet. I stood up look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. Can I give you a hug?”

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked.

She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…”

“No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

After class we shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized（迷住）listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

“There is only one secret to staying young. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking round who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent of ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

1. Why did the lady want to hug the author?

A．Because she wanted to challenge her professor.

B．Because she wanted to break the ice.

C．Because she wanted to find a rich husband.

D．Because she wanted to have a college education.

2. Which of the following statements agrees with the text best?

A．The author enjoyed his experience of riding in the “time machine”.

B．The author and the lady soon became close friends.

C．Talented people can easily find opportunities.

D．Old people usually don’t fear death.

3. It can be inferred that Rose is ________.

A．a lively college student	B．the author’s girlfriend
C．a young and innocent lady	D．an encouraging song

4. What is the life lesson the author learned from his experience?

A．An idle youth, a needy age.

B．Learn wherever you are.

C．A faithful friend is hard to find.

D．A man is not old until regrets to take the place of dreams.

【推荐2】One day a professor entered the classroom and told the students about a surprise test. After hearing that, all students were seated and waited for the test to begin. Now, the professor gave the test papers to all students with text facing down on the desk. Once he was done with handing out the test to all students, he asked them to turn the test pages and begin.

Students were confused to see that there was not a question but just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor noticed the students’ facial expressions and told them, “I want you to write about what you see there.”

The students were still confused but got started with the test. At the end of the class, the professor took all answer sheets and started reading each answer from each sheet in front of all students. All of them described about the black dot and tried to explain its position. After the professor finished reading, the whole class was silent.

Now, the professor began to explain, “Don’t worry. I am not going to give you grades for this but I just want you to think about something. Here everyone focused on the black dot and wrote about it but no one wrote about the white paper. The same is with our lives. The white paper embodies our whole life and the black spot problems in our life.

Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate---our friends around us, the job that provides us our livelihood, the miracles we see everyday. Still we just focus on day to day problems like health issues, lack of money, problems in relationships, etc. But we never see that these problems are very small compared to everything we have in our lives.”

1. From the text we learn that _________.

A．the professor gave the students an unexpected test

B．the professor graded the students’ test papers

C．none of the students focused on the black dot

D．the students were unwilling to take the test

2. The underlined word “embodies” in Paragraph 4 probably can be replaced by ________.

A．presents	B．represents
C．empties	D．enriches

3. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Be happy to take tests

B．Life is filled with problems

C．There are many black dots in our life

D．Take eyes off problems and enjoy life

【推荐3】We believe that the more you get out into the world, the better place it'll be. But getting out into the world shouldn't mean leaving a footprint.    1     By following those, your destination will be better after you leave.

Don't hold back. The best way to know a new place is to talk to the local people. When you're staying with them, tell them about who you are, why you're there, what you want to see and what you love about bringing yourself to new place.    2    

Dive right in. What's the point in travelling outside of your home country if you don't also get out of your comfort zone?     3     If you want to sky dive and just have had that chance, do it. You'll go home with a story, and will leave locals with a story of their own of a brave traveler who conquered their fears.

Do your homework.     4     Try to learn more about local customs, traditions and manners so that you'll arrive well equipped to enjoy your time and communicate with locals without any bad impressions.

    5     We all travel for different reasons. Don’t forget what drove you to hit the road. Sometimes, the best memories happen when you least expect them. If you open yourself up to the world, you’ll never know how the world will change you!

A．Stay honest but get open

B．Travel when you’re eager to travel.

C．Don’t do anything that you might regret.

D．There’s no better way than bring a bit of yourself to it.

E．Here are several ways to make your mark while you’re travelling.

F．Sometimes it’s best to be armed with knowledge about your destination.

G．You shouldn’t take many factors into consideration when choosing your destination.

【推荐1】As a teen myself, I’ve seen first-hand the pleasing effects of poetry. Not too long ago, I went on stage to read my poetry at writing workshop, thinking anxiously to myself: Would the audience understand me? More than being nervous about the quality of my poem, I felt anxious about what my voice would sound like. At the time, I was 14, and still suffering from a speech disorder (语言障碍) that had affected me since began talking. As I stood, I experienced a sudden appreciation for the blinding lights. I couldn’t see everyone’s face! That made things much easier. I opened my book and began to read.

After the writing workshop, I gained the confidence to read my own work aloud. I learned that writing wasn’t about pronunciation, but about style and the author’s voice. This lesson helped me grow on endless occasions in my life, convincing me that poetry can have an astonishing influence when taught to teens.

One organization that I am part of, WriteGirl, through monthly creative writing workshops, gives girls the skills they need for a brighter future. Although WriteGirl doesn’t only focus on poetry, the organization still uses poetry to teach, inspire and empower girls all across Los Angeles. While the high school graduation rate in Los Angeles is only 80 percent, every year 100 percent of WriteGirl teens not only graduate from high school, but go to college.

But are these advantages becoming needless with the fast development of technology being placed in young hands?

It seems the answer is quite the opposite—technology has opened whole new world for young poets and writers. On KidBlog, young students can post their poems as a blog post on which others can leave their opinions. The Internet makes it easier for viewers to read poetry. Many people are discovering or rediscovering that poetry is fun and creates many opportunities for self-expression.

As I stepped up to read my writing at the workshop, I learned that poetry is about having a voice, and the courage to use it. With this courage, we free ourselves and become able to influence others.

1. How did the workshop influence the author?

A．It aided her in making a long speech.

B．It contributed to her personal growth.

C．It improved her communication skills.

D．It made her begin to take speech disorder seriously.

2. What can we learn about WriteGirl?

A．It is beneficial to girls’ studies.

B．It brings out girls’ poetic skills.

C．It encourages girls to teach poetry.

D．It helps girls become famous writers.

3. Which of the following may the author agree with?

A．Poetry is old-fashioned in modern times.

B．Technology makes creating poetry easier.

C．Technology serves as a useful tool for poetry.

D．The Internet slows down the development of poetry.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．How poetry gave me a voice

B．Why teens don’t read poetry

C．Approaches to learning poetry

D．Influence of technology on poetry

【推荐2】In 1992, Teen Talk Barbie was released with the controversial voice fragment, “Math class is hard.” While the toy's release met with strong public reaction, this underlying assumption persists, spreading the myth that women do not thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields due to biological inadequacies in math aptitude. However, in 2019 Jessica Cantlon at Carnegie Mellon University led a research team that comprehensively examined the brain development of young boys and girls and found no gender difference in brain function or math ability.

Cantlon and her team conducted the first neuroimaging study to evaluate biological gender differences in math aptitude of young children. Her team used functional MRI（核磁共振）to measure the brain activity in 104 young children (3-to-10-year-old; 55 girls) while watching an educational video covering early math topics, like counting and addition. The researchers compared scans from the boys and girls to evaluate brain similarity. In addition, the team examined brain maturity by comparing the children's scans to those taken from a group of adults (63 adults; 25 women) who watched the same math videos.

After numerous statistical comparisons, Cantlon and her team found no difference in the brain development of girls and boys. In addition, the researchers found no difference in how boys and girls processed math skills and were equally engaged while watching the educational videos. Finally, boys' and girls' brain maturity were statistically equivalent when compared to either men or women in the adult group.

Cantlon said she thinks society and culture are likely steering girls and young women away from math and STEM fields, as previous studies show that families spend more time with young boys in play that involves spatial cognition（空间认知）. “Typical socialization can make worse small differences between boys and girls that can snowball into how we treat them in science and math,” Cantlon said. “We need to be aware of these origins to ensure we aren't the ones causing the gender inequities.”

However, this project is focused on early childhood development using a limited set of math tasks. Cantlon wants to continue this work using a broader scope of math skills, such as spatial processing and memory, and follow the children over many years.

1. What can we infer about the toy’s release?

A．It has raised a storm of applause.

B．Girls perform no worse than boys in math.

C．Math is a subject difficult to every one of us.

D．Women are born with insufficient math abilities.

2. What can we learn from the study conducted by Cantlon?

A．Boys process math skills more quickly than girls.

B．Boys and girls have similar brain in math abilities.

C．Boys and girls have similar interest in math.

D．Adults have better brain than children in math.

3. What will Cantlon most likely agree with?

A．Parents should lengthen the time spent with girls.

B．Society is causing a greater gender difference in math abilities.

C．Culture plays a leading role in children’s brain development.

D．We should cultivate boys’ and girls’ math abilities equally.

4. How will Cantlon further her research?

A．By using a wider range of math skills.

B．By involving a broader scope of subjects.

C．By increasing the complexity of math tasks.

D．By following the children until their adulthood.

【推荐3】A Window Into the Future

Shortly after its opening on the first day of Chinese New Year, The Wandering Earth began to gain momentum (展现强劲势头). In a little over a week, it made 2.8 billion yuan in the domestic market alone. The film’s popularity and success has come as a surprise to many reviewers especially since there hasn’t been that much success for Chinese-produced science fiction in the past. Many agree that this film will change the embarrassing situation and bring in a new age for Chinese science fiction.

As a genre (类型), Chinese science fiction has lagged behind general fiction in both the film and publishing industries. Even Liu Cixin’s (the author who wrote the short story on which The Wandering Earth is based) The Three Body Problem — which is currently quite popular — didn’t have many readers until it was translated into English and won the Hugo Award (雨果奖) in 2015. Personally, I haven’t read much of any genre written in Chinese, but I do notice that there aren’t many separate sections of the bookstore dedicated to science fiction. I cannot speak for everyone, but some people seem to have misunderstandings regarding the genre.

My parents were the type who tried to steer me in the direction of non-fiction and the classics. They believed that science fiction and fantasy were “unrealistic nonsense” and would “rot my brain.” Actually, great science fiction writers do their research. More often than not, one can learn a great deal about science and its possible development from reading science fiction. Sure, some of the concepts may be confusing or technical in nature, but that is also part of the appeal. Things like the internet, electric cars and tablet computers were first theorized (建立理论) in science fiction before they were invented. The author simply uses a combination of science and their imagination to create worlds different from the Earth of today, from which we can get bits and pieces that can be turned into a reality.

The world is changing. There may very well be a time when Earth is no longer able to sustain the entire population. We could be living on Mars or in giant spaceships; perhaps we will be forced to move Earth to a new solar system just like The Wandering Earth. Each of these scenarios (设想) has appeared in science fiction multiple times. If we are to be prepared for what is to come, we can look into modern science fiction for a window into the future.

1. According to the article, which of the following statements about The Wandering Earth is NOT true?

A．Critics did not expect too much of the film before its release.

B．It is the first time that Chinese science fiction has achieved success in the film industry.

C．The film was adapted from a short story in Liu Cixin’s The Three Body Problem.

D．In the future we might be faced with similar crises to the one described in the movie.

2. We can learn from the article that the author ______.

A．was not allowed to read science fiction by his parents

B．has never read Chinese science fiction

C．has little interest in science fiction

D．has not been prepared for the future development of science and technology

3. Paragraph 3 mainly talks about ______.

A．people’s misunderstandings about science fiction

B．real technologies inspired by science fiction

C．the practical significance of science fiction

D．imaginary worlds created by science fiction writers

【推荐1】Many people do things we can't understand and that we would never do. Although there can be a number of different explanations for such behavior, one reason is a failure of empathy. And it seems that we're seeing increasing levels of this failure these days.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It is similar to but different from sympathy, which can mean sharing a certain feeling with someone-having the same feelings they do. According to Helen Riess, associate professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at Harvard Medical School, empathy plays an important role in our society's ability to function, promoting "a sharing of experiences, needs, and desires between individuals".

Our neural(神经)networks are set up to interact with the neural networks of others in order to both be aware and understand their feelings and to tell them apart from our own, which enables humans to live with one another without constantly fighting or feeling taken over by someone else.

Research has shown that empathy is not simply inborn, but can actually be taught. For example, it appears that medical, raining can actually diminish empathy, but on the other hand, physicians can be taught to be more empathic to their patients. Interestingly, their increased empathy also increases patient satisfaction and cooperation with treatment recommendations, thus leading to better treatment outcomes.

It seems to me that these techniques could work with a lot of people besides physicians. These days, I find myself thinking that we should be teaching empathy in school. Perhaps if we start in the early grades and keep teaching it through high school, problems and inappropriate behavior would reduce.

Empathy doesn't require burying of our own feelings. In fact, true empathy is about using our feelings to understand the feelings of someone else. We might not know exactly how they feel, but we might use our feelings to help us know something of what they are feeling. This kind of understanding, according to Reiss, can cross bridges and promote positive social behavior. Maybe we could use a little more empathy in our world.

1. According to the text, how does empathy benefit us?

A．It develops our sympathy.	B．It strengthens our neural system.
C．It helps our society function better.	D．It increases our level of confidence.

2. What does the underlined word "diminish" in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Reduce.

B．Increase.

C．Stop.

D．Produce.

3. What is likely to happen if a student is taught empathy consistently at school?

A．He will behave himself better.	B．He will improve his academic grades.
C．He will choose to bury his feelings.	D．tie will feel satisfied with the school.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Empathy Helps You Win Out	B．Empathy Can Be Learned
C．Sympathy, Feeling-sharing of Others	D．Learn to Be an Empathic Doctor

【推荐2】How sharks navigate the vast and seemingly featureless ocean has long been a mystery. Now there's evidence they may follow their noses. Sharks rely on their sense of smell to help chart a path through the ever-shifting waters of the deep seas, according to a new study. Scientists have supposed that the animals navigate by monitoring smell clues or the Earth's magnetic field, but no one knew for sure.

In new experiments near San Diego, scientists ferried wild leopard sharks about 6 miles(10 kilometers)away from their preferred habitats, fitted them with tracking devices, and stuffed some of the animals' noses with cotton balls. Just 30 minutes after being released facing the wrong way, sharks with full use of their smells made a corrective U-turn and then headed straight back to shore, "says study leader Andrew Nosal, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, California. Sharks with stuffed noses, meanwhile, "appeared lost, "wandering aimlessly and

swimming more slowly than those that could smell freely.

To test sharks' sense of direction, Nosal and colleagues captured several dozen leopard sharks, a small species found along the coast from Washington State to northern Mexico.

After blocking some of the animals' noses, the scientists then took the animals on a cruise to deeper waters before slipping them, safe and unharmed, back into the sea. Even the sharks with plugged noses made it partway back to shore before their tracking devices fell off. But those with unplugged noses "took very straight paths" toward home. Nosal supposes the sharks likely sniffed out chemical molecules found in higher and higher doses nearer to land.

Other scientists, however, remain unconvinced. Maybe the animals with plugged noses "were confused by the fact that they had something stuffed in their nose," says Kim Holland, a marine biologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It's also unlikely the animals were following a smell that grew stronger closer to land, adds Jayne Gardiner, a sensory biologist at the New College of Florida. Animals that couldn't smell a thing still turned toward the beach, which "suggests something else is really guiding them," she says.

Study leader Nosal responds that sharks with cotton-stuffed nose willingly eat, suggesting that a congested nose doesn't upset them much. He agrees that sharks use a variety of markers to find their way, "but the point is that smell participates in navigation, "he says. "Our study was only the first step in solving this mystery. "

1. This passage is mainly about ________.

A．why sharks have a good sense of smell	B．why sharks are clever animals
C．how scientists do the experiment	D．how sharks find their way in the vast ocean

2. Which is true about the experiments done by the scientists according to the passage?

A．Scientists plugged sharks' noses to test whether they navigate through their sense of smell.

B．Scientists chose sharks' preferred habitats in order to track the animals easily.

C．After being taken to deeper waters, sharks with plugged noses couldn't make it to the shore.

D．The sharks in the experiments aren't willing to eat due to the plugged noses.

3. We can infer from the passage that________.

A．there are various markers for sharks to find their way and eyes play an important role in it

B．some scientists hold different opinions from the findings of the new study

C．the new study has completely solved the mystery of sharks' easy navigation in the vast ocean

D．the sharks likely sniffed out chemical molecules found in higher doses nearer to land

4. What's the purpose of writing this passage?

A．To call on people to protect the sharks.

B．To present different theories on the mystery of the sharks.

C．To let people learn more about the sharks.

D．To inform the readers of the findings of a new study on shark.

【推荐3】The term "adulting" started as a sort of joke-whenever a millennial(千禧一代)would do something age-acceptable, this was an act of "adulting". Now, though, millennials obviously require training in being an adult.

Rachel Flehinger has founded an Adulting School, which includes online courses on simple sewing, conflict solution and cooking. The cause for such classes is that many millennials haven't left childhood homes-in America 34 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 still lived with their parents as of 2015, up from 26 percent ten years before.

There's a good deal of truth to this. If you're living at home,with Mom and Dad doing their best to spoil（溺爱）you, you're less likely to know how to do laundry, cook or make the bed. Dependency breeds enervation.

But living at home doesn't necessarily lead to dependency. As of 1940, more than 30 percent of 25-to-29-year-olds lived at home with parents or grandparents.They were adulting, even while living at home. Parents expected their kids to do chores, to prepare for life. Instead of blaming living at home, then, we have to blame our style of parenting. The truth is that we've simply become lazier as parents.

So what's the real problem?

We're more likely to let our kids lie on a sofa than tell them to get a job and pay rent. We don't push our kids to build families of their own, as life spending has increased. Americans aren't expected to start building a life, particularly middle-and-upper-class Americans, until they're nearing their 30s. Then the question is how we can encourage young people to "adult" in non-circumstance-driven fashion.

1. What does the last sentence "Dependency breeds enervation" in the third paragraph mean?

A．Present kids are too lazy to do housework.

B．Parents would like to do housework by themselves.

C．Kids depend on their parents.

D．Dependency makes kids unable to do things.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Millennials would like to be trained in being an adult.

B．Millennials don't adult because they still live in their childhood homes.

C．Parents are too lazy to do chores.

D．In the 1940s kids were adulting even when they were living at home.

3. Which of the following statements is the main idea of the passage?

A．Millennials should leave home early to adult.

B．"Adulting" is hard mostly because parents hardly push their children into society.

C．Americans aren't expected to start building a life until they're nearing their 30s.

D．Adulting schools with online courses are popular.

4. According to the passage, what will be probably written in the following part?

A．The government should put off the age of adulthood.

B．Parents should leave kids in charge of society.

C．Parents should put responsibility on young people.

D．Pushing kids to adult is painful for parents.