【推荐3】Growing up, I understood one thing about my dad: he knew everything. In my teen years, he taught me things I’d need to know to survive in the real world. When I moved out on my own, I also called him at least once a week. But then, eventually, I needed him less. I got married, and my husband had most of the knowledge I lacked about gutter cleaning and water heaters. For everything else, we had Google. I loved my dad, of course, but I wondered at times if maybe he had already shared everything I needed to know. Maybe I’d heard all his stories. Maybe, after knowing a man for 40 years, there was nothing left to say.

Then, this past summer, my husband, our four kids and I moved in with my parents for three weeks while our house was being repaired. They own a lake house, and dad asked me to help him rebuild the bulkhead (隔板). I didn’t refuse—it was the least I could do for free rent—but I was afraid of it. It was hard, manual (体力) labor.

But as we put the new bulkhead together piece by piece, my dad knew exactly what went where. I looked at him and asked, “How do you know how to build a bulkhead?” The heavy mallet (木槌) he was moving backward and forward paused in mid-air. “I spent a summer in college building bulkheads on the Jersey Shoro.” “You did?” I thought I knew everything about my dad - all his jobs and interests. But I never knew this.

As he explained the importance and the steps of rebuilding, I realized that maybe it’s not that there’s nothing left to say. Maybe it’s just that I’ve spent my life asking him the wrong questions.

1. What can we know about the author from paragraph 1?

A．She knew nothing about her father.

B．Her husband helped her deal with everything.

C．She lives a more independent life away from her father now.

D．She could solve most problems with the help of Google when she was young.

2. Why did the author help her father rebuild the bulkhead?

A．She liked the repairing work.	B．Her husband asked her to do that.
C．She wanted to learn some repairing skills.	D．She wanted to make up for free rent.

3. Which of the following can best describe the author’s father?

A．Devoted.

B．Serious.

C．Knowledgeable.

D．Courageous.

4. Why did the author ask two questions to her father in the article?

A．Because she didn’t know how to rebuild a bulkhead.

B．Because she realized she didn’t know her father enough.

C．Because she thought her father had taught her everything.

D．Because there was nothing else to say between her and her father.

【推荐1】Let’s face it—you’re attached to your phone. You use it to communicate, play games and surf the Internet. But there’s a great way to make your smartphone a life-enriching device without hurting your eyes. Check out the world of podcasts.

Think of podcasts as YouTube camels for listeners that you can download to your phone. What’s so exciting about that? Well you can find a lot of amazing shows! Whatever you find that catches your attention, one thing is sure—listening inspires the imagination. Because you can only listen to a show and not see it, you have to pay more attention. Therefore, your imagination has the potential to become stronger and more vivid as a result.

Podcasts allow you to experience the world from various angles. Take America’s NPR and Britain’s BBC, for example. Both have produced several podcasts. By listening to them, you can learn to appreciate cultural to linguistic distinctions. Choose what you like. In the end it’s your device—you get to decide who influences you!

So what’s out there? Lots! Since podcasts are created for very specific audiences, you’re sure to find one that interests you. Podcasts had been around for more than a decade, and one that really put podcasting in the spotlight is called Serial. It’s in the form of a story, broken up over several weeks, complete with cliffhangers. Or maybe you like listening to people discuss interesting topics. My personal favorite is White Horse Inn. If you’re a fan of informative speeches, subscribe to one of the many TED talks podcasts. There are several language-learning podcasts too, like ESLPod. The list goes on. If you’re not sure where to start, look up “top podcasts” and give one of their recommendations a try.

Whether you’re riding a bus, exercising, or just relaxing, put on some headphones and put your listening skills to the test. Download a podcast App, subscribe to a few and get listening. Or, better yet, if you have an idea for a podcast, why not produce one yourself!

1. Paragraph 2 mainly tells us podcasts help ________.

A．to make your life more meaningful	B．to develop your imagination
C．to improve your listening ability	D．to know the world better

2. Paragraph 3 is developed ________.

A．by giving examples	B．by making comparisons
C．by giving detailed facts	D．by giving causes and effects

3. From the text it can be judged that ________.

A．you can make progress by just downloading a podcast App

B．Serial is a listening program telling interesting stories

C．White Horse Inn is a program that discusses dull topics

D．people can be taught to learn all kinds of languages

4. The purpose of mentioning your phone at the beginning of the text is ________.

A．to introduce the topic	B．to give you more evidence
C．to talk about the function of phones	D．to make the text informative

【推荐2】In the spring of 1878, Vincent Van Gogh turned 25. As he looked back over his short life, the Dutchman found little to celebrate among the efforts of his career: By middle-class standards, he was a failure. After a couple of dead end teaching jobs in England, as well as a short, forgettable period working in a bookshop in Dordrecht, he moved to Amsterdam to become a minister of religion, following in his father's footsteps. At the end of 1878, he set off for the depressed coal-mining district of the Borinage, determined to establish himself as a preacher (牧师) to the working class.

There, he lived in a humble hut, gave away much of his money and changed his smart clothes for the practical work-wear of the“Borins”. However, his inability to connect with the local coal miners frustrated him: he couldn't make head or tail of their quick-fire regional dialect known as‘Walloon French', while they were puzzled by his own attempts at French, which to their ears sounded overly formal. In July 1879, he received another blow: the authorities ended his trial religious appointment.

Yet it was at this rock-bottom moment that Van Gogh, now 26, started to draw. He felt sympathy for the working-class miners. For the first time in his life, middle-class Van Gogh was friends with poor, working-class people. The people were poor and illiterate, and their work was hard and dangerous. Yet for Van Gogh, there was some kind of bigger truth in their simple way of life. After he became an artist, he chose to find his subject matter (创作题材) there.

Like artists that he admired, such as Jean-Francois Millet, he wanted to portray the life of working-class people, and he remained interested in doing so certainly for the first half of his career. However, few works from Van Gogh's Borinage period survived, because the artist burned most of them. As he revealed in a letter to a friend, he felt they were too awkward or related to an uncertain time when he was still developing his own style and artistic voice. Yet, the time that Van Gogh spent in the Borinage was crucial for his development as an artist, because it laid foundations upon which he could build as a painter.

1. What can we know about Van Gogh from Paragraph 1?

A．He achieved a lot as a teacher.	B．He was an assistant to his father.
C．He tried many jobs but in vain.	D．He was a working-class man.

2. Why couldn't he connect with the local miners?

A．Because of his smart dressing style.	B．Because of his poor pronunciation.
C．Because of the great wealth gap.	D．Because of the language barrier.

3. What inspired him to become an artist?

A．His hatred for miners' hard work.	B．His sincere concern for the miners.
C．His eagerness to succeed in art.	D．His failure to be a preacher there.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．His miner-themed paintings were an instant success.

B．His love for working -class people lasted all his life.

C．He burned his works due to his unheard artistic voice.

D．His days in Borinage paved the way for his art career.

【推荐3】No poem should ever be discussed or “analyzed”, until it has been read aloud by someone, a teacher or a student. Better still, perhaps, is the practice of reading it twice, once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end, so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it.

All discussions of poetry are, in fact, preparations for reading it aloud, and the reading of the poem is, eventually, the most concrete “interpretation” of it, suggesting tone, rhymes, and meaning all at once. Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice, on records or on films, is obviously a special reward. But even those aids to teaching cannot replace the student and the teacher reading it or, best of all, reciting it.

I have come to think, in fact, that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than “analyzing” it and “exchanging of views”, if there isn't time for both. I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry and take it easy when we are reading a poem. Poetry is “a criticism of life”, and “a heightening of life”. It is “a most appropriate approach to the truth of feeling”, and it “can transform your life”. It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies.

I am not saying that every English teacher must try out poetry­teaching. Those who don't like it should not be forced to convey that negative feeling to anyone else. But those who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few things about its essential nature, about its sound as well as its sense, and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it.

1. To have a better understanding of a poem, one should ________.

A．discuss it with others	B．analyze it by oneself
C．copy it down in a notebook	D．practise reading it aloud

2. According to the writer, one of the purposes of teaching English is to get students ________.

A．to understand life	B．to enjoy poetry
C．to become teachers	D．to become poets

3. What does the last sentence in the third paragraph imply?

A．More stress should be laid on the teaching of poetry.

B．Poetry is more important than any other literature genre.

C．One cannot enjoy life fully without a good understanding of poetry.

D．Poetry is the foundation of all language and literature courses.

4. The underlined phrase “make room” in the last paragraph could be best replaced by “________”．

A．build a booth	B．provide equipment
C．leave a certain amount of time	D．set aside enough space

【推荐1】There are probably no people on Earth who like to gossip as much as the British. If prying into (打探) other’s lives were an Olympic sport, then Team GB would surely take the gold medal.

And when the British can’t watch the lives of real people, they have another source of entertainment to fall back on — the soap opera. British soap operas are very different to US TV dramas. For one, they are normally longer running. The two most popular, Coronation Street and East-enders, have been running for 48 and 24 years respectively. Both are broadcast several times a week, so remarkably there have been more than 7,000 episodes of Coronation Street.

The most obvious difference is that, unlike US dramas, the British soap operas focus on the real world. There is little glamour (魅力), the stars are rarely rich, and they normally have boring jobs. Perhaps the appeal is that the lives of the characters often mirror the lives of the audience — but with some drama added. This means the viewer can relate to the characters and feel the pain and happiness they go through on the show.

Because these soap operas last for decades, the cast is ever changing. The shows rarely focus on one or two main characters. Like the real world, people come and go all the time. However, there are exceptions. Coronation Street’s William Roach, 76, has played the role of Ken Barlow since the very first episode of the show in 1960, and he is still a regular.

The choice of which soap opera you follow is often cultural: People from the north of British tend to watch Coronation Street as it is set in Manchester. People from the south generally prefer East-enders, which is set in the east of London. The show is generally considered grittier and is aimed at a younger audience.

1. What is the main difference between American dramas and British soap operas?

A．American dramas are longer.

B．British soap operas are longer.

C．American dramas deal with dangerous things.

D．British soap operas deal with real people.

2. Why do British people like to watch such operas?

A．They can find their own life from the operas.

B．They can enjoy the operas in their free time.

C．They can watch the operas for many years.

D．They care about the fate of the characters in the operas.

3. The underlined world “episodes” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ______.

A．plays

B．pages

C．issues

D．parts

4. One characteristic of British operas is that ______.

A．the characters play the same role for a long time.

B．the characters in the play often change

C．people don’t know what will happen next

D．there is only one or two characters in them

【推荐2】It’s a popular belief that a fish’s memory lasts for only seven seconds. It may seem sad to think that they don’t remember what they’ve eaten or where they’ve been, and they don’t identify you or any of their friends -- every moment in their life would be like seeing the world for the first time.

But don’t be so quick to feel sorry for them. A new study has found that fish have a much better memory than we used to think. In fact, certain kinds of fish can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago. In the study, researchers from Mac Ewan University in Canada trained a kind of fish called African cichlids to go to a certain area of their tank to get food. They then waited for 12 days before putting them back in the tank again. Researchers used computer software to monitor the fish’s movements. They found that after such a long break the fish still went to the same place where they first got food. This suggested that they could remember their past experiences.

In fact, scientists had been thinking for a long time that African cichlids might have a good memory. An earlier study showed that they behaved aggressively (挑衅地)in front of certain fish, perhaps because they remembered their past “fights”. But until the latest findings, there was no clear evidence.

Just as a good memory can make our lives easier, it also plays an important part when a fish is trying to survive in the wild. “If fish are able to remember that a certain area contains safe food, they will be able to go back to that area without putting their lives at risks,” lead researcher Trevor Hamilton told Live Science.

For a long time, fish were placed far below chimpanzees, dolphins and mice on the list of smart animals. But this study has given scientists a new understanding of their intelligence.

1. According to the article, people commonly believe that _______.

A．fish can only remember part of their past experiences

B．fish can remember things that happened long time ago

C．a fish’s memory lasts for only seven minutes

D．fish don’t recognize any of their friends

2. What's the biggest advantage fish can get from a good memory?

A．They remember where to get food and survive

B．They can avoid their enemies and fight

C．They can easily find safe places

D．They can recognize their helpful mates

3. Which of the following is TRUE about African cichlids?

A．African cichlids tend to treat other fish aggressively.

B．African cichlids may remember things for 12 days.

C．African cichlids don’t belong to the list of smart animals.

D．African cichlids usually go to a certain area for food.

4. What is the article mainly about?

A．Fish having very bad memories.	B．Fish being smarter than we thought.
C．How fish improve their memory.	D．What we can learn from fish.

【推荐3】About eight years ago, Mary Grace Henry of Harrison, New York, asked for a sewing machine for her birthday. She wanted to design and sell headbands (头巾) to pay for just one African girl’s schooling.

Now, 11,000 headbands later, Mary Grace has sold enough to give 45 girls living in poverty the gift of an education.

Henry is the founder of Reverse The Course — a headband-making business that gives 100 percent of the money it makes toward educational chances for girls, primarily in Uganda and Kenya. Henry had the idea to start her business after learning about early marriage in some developing countries—a practice that greatly reduces the likelihood of a girl receiving education.

There are about 67 million child brides (新娘) worldwide, according to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). Girls in poor communities in the developing world are greatly affected by the practice, which “repeats the cycle of poverty,” according to the organization.

On November 6, Henry won a World of Children Award for her work to fight against the practice through educational chances. According to the organization, $35,000 will be given to support Reverse The Course’s work by providing money for student workshops and programs for girls in poor Africa.

“The greatest difficulty of education faced by both girls and boys is poverty,” Henry told the awards organization. “Girls, though, face a second hurdle that is far more difficult to address: their culture. In many countries throughout the world, girls are viewed as having not just less value than boys, but often little or no value.”

“When you see a need, act,” Henry said of the advice she’d give to others who want to make change. “Dream big, but start small, taking little steps. Set a goal and don’t frighten yourself by thinking about the ‘what-ifs.’ Each step taken will present both new chances and new difficulties. Face each one as it comes and then keep going. All those little steps, done with love, will lead you to places impossible to imagine.”

1. Why did Henry found Reverse The Course?

A．To develop girls’ sewing skills.	B．To raise money for the homeless.
C．To teach girls to design headbands.	D．To help African girls receive education.

2. What might surprise Henry greatly eight years ago?

A．Girls having less value than boys.	B．Child marriage in some countries.
C．Health problems in poor Africa.	D．Unfair schooling in some countries.

3. Which of the following best explains “hurdle”underlined in Paragraph 6?

A．Mistake.	B．Choice.
C．Need.	D．Problem.

4. What did Henry advise readers to do?

A．Treasure what they have.

B．Put themselves in others’ shoes.

C．Take small steps towards achieving their goal.

D．Bring happiness to others with time and patience.