【推荐1】Not having done physical exercise for some time, I found myself a little low-spirited and couldn’t study efficiently, so I decided to do some running the next day. At 6:15 the next morning, my alarm clock rang. Unwilling to rise from my bed, I turned it off and went back to sleep. However, 5 minutes later, I struggled to get up. After washing and brushing, I had my sneakers on and went out.

Wow! The air was so fresh that I couldn’t help breathing it deeply. I stretched (伸展) my arms and legs, then started to run. I found all things around me were so attractive. Look, the branches were waving, as if they were welcoming me; the blossoming flowers were bowing, with shyness, just like girls. Listen, the wind was whispering, as if to say “come on, girl”. What’s more interesting was those two birds, perching in the tree. They were scared and flew away when I passed them. “Hey, chaps, relax.” I shouted without stopping running. “Let’s enjoy the beautiful morning together!” Then miracle (奇迹) happened. The two little creatures seemed to understand what I said. They turned back and twittered (吱吱叫) around me. “Are you singing for me?” I asked. They twittered again and again, sounded like “Yes”. I was delighted to hear that. Ah, what a wonderful morning and how beautiful life is!

Actually, there are a lot of charming things around us. Helen Keller wrote in her famous article Three Days to Sec, “The seeing see little”. Indeed, many of us ignore (忽视) the beauty around us, just because we are familiar with them. They always complain that life is boring. But, I just want to say, if you live each day with appreciation of things around, you’ll find life is very charming. So, let’s enjoy life from now on.

1. According to the passage, the writer went running with the purpose of ______.

A．making herself more active	B．seeing the beauty of nature
C．talking with birds	D．breathing fresh air

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The writer hated the singing of the two birds.

B．The writer rose immediately after the clock went off

C．The writer did some warm up exercises before running.

D．The writer felt tired after doing some running in the morning.

3. What does the underlined sentence “The seeing see little.” in the last paragraph mean?

A．People who can see rarely find the beauty of nature.

B．Those who can see enjoy nature very much.

C．People who go outside can see more.

D．Those who go out only see little things.

4. The purpose of the writer in writing this passage is to tell us that ______.

A．the nature is very beautiful

B．fresh air is beneficial

C．physical exercise is useless

D．we should appreciate the beautiful things in life

【推荐2】Are you so sure your mistakes are just mistakes? Or could they be building blocks to a success beyond any you imagined?

When my friend Dorothy goes home to visit her family each Thanksgiving, her mother serves the traditional “mistake salad”. The dish was born many years ago, Dorothy explains, when mother was using a cookbook to make a salad. In the process, by mistake, mother included half the salad ingredients (原料) from a recipe (食谱) on the left side of the open cookbook, and half the ingredients from a different salad recipe on the opposite page. Everyone enjoyed the salad so much that she continued to serve it every year. So it was really not a mistake at all.

Then there was the man named Alfred, who invented dynamite (炸药). When Alfred’s brother died, the city newspaper mistook his brother for him, saying in the news that the dead’s most famous act was the creation of bombs (炸弹). Surprised to consider that his name would forever be connected with destruction, Alfred wanted to leave a more positive impression on people. So he set a prize for people who made contributions to world peace. Now the Nobel Prize, set up by Alfred Nobel, is the most respected prize in the world.

Everything is part of something bigger, and so are mistakes. In his brilliant book Illusions, Richard Bach explains that every problem comes to you with a gift. If you only fix your attention on what went wrong, you miss the gift. If you are willing to look deeper and ask for the bright, the problem will disappear. You are left only with the learning, and you go forward on your path.

1. What’s the aim of the questions at the beginning of the passage?

A．To ask for answers.

B．To introduce the topic.

C．To show everyone will make mistakes.

D．To warn people not to make mistakes.

2. What should we do when we make a mistake according to the passage?

A．Try to miss the gift.

B．Learn from the mistake.

C．Try making more mistakes.

D．Fix our attention on what went wrong.

3. What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Mistakes will lead to success.

B．Delicious dishes come from mistakes.

C．Mistakes are also part of something bigger.

D．The setting up of the Nobel Prize was a mistake.

【推荐3】I'll never forget the day when Mary came into my office and said, I am too old to learn how to use a computer. I shook my head. Here was a woman who had raised 6 children and who had made great progress in her career telling me that she was too old to learn something new. I told her that I always believed people were never too old to learn.

Mary followed my advice and did learn how to use the computer. Now, she is retired and leading a very active life volunteering in her community(社区), using her computer skills and helping anyone that needs help.

When she was in her sixties, one day she called me and said she had played the piano for others all her life, and now she was going to plan to make a CD of her own. My mind flashed back to the day when she told me she was too old to learn. You can imagine my surprise and delight.

To produce the CD, she had a lot of things to learn. It was not just sitting at the piano and playing. She had to research the songs, learn about copyright(版权), and learn about marketing. It was pretty amazing for someone who once said she was too old to learn. And finally she made it. Now she has her own CD-Mixed Blessings.

Most of you probably have heard about some people who have gone back to university in their seventies and have also graduated. They are on their way again to charging themselves with a new skill and a new attitude towards life. The point is you are unable to learn anything at any age if you believe you are too old. On the contrary, you can achieve anything at any age if you believe you can.

1. When Mary said she was too old to learn, the author ________.

A．became disappointed with her	B．felt sad and decided to help her
C．did not agree with her	D．thought what she had said was true

2. Why did Mary call the author one day in her sixties?

A．To ask him to play the piano.	B．To talk about her education.
C．To ask him to make a CD.	D．To tell him about her plan.

3. The author thought it ________ for Mary to make a CD.

A．impossible

B．difficult

C．unnecessary

D．interesting

4. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．We're never too old to learn.	B．We should always learn new skills.
C．Interest is the best teacher.	D．Some people succeed for a reason.

【推荐2】One stride at a time, Tom Panek and his guide dog, Gus, inch closer to their goal. The two have been training in local parks for more than three years with the hopes of competing in an official long­distance race. It’s never been done before. “I’ve been running my whole life. I ran on my cross­country team in high school, and I ran as a young adult,” Panek said. He lost his sight 25 years ago. “When I lost my sight I was too scared to run,” Panek said.

As he adjusted to his blindness, he began running with a human guide, but it wasn’t the same. “Although many people run with running clubs, at the end of the day you’re running your own race. And when you’re tied to another person, it’s no longer your own race. The independence isn’t quite there,” Panek said.

Two years ago, Panek became the CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. The idea of a running guide program was first suggested by Richard Hunter, who was blind and looking to get back in to running.

“Richard shouted out, ‘I’m really curious, have you ever trained a guide dog to run？’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. It hasn’t been done,’” Panek said.

A few months and intense training sessions later, the running guide program was born. Panek and a small team helped train Klinger, a German shepherd, to aid Hunter with running.

He formed a team of experts to train a small group of dogs to run long distances. The dogs begin their training at 18 months old. It’s an exclusive club. Out of 165 graduate dogs, only about 12 are considered race ready.

The team’s final test would be a five­mile race through New York’s Central Park just one week before the New York City Marathon. It was Panek’s and Gus’s first competitive race. Before the race, Panek was overcome with emotion, wiping away his tears of appreciation to the dog who gave him his independence back.

“And crossing that finish line, you know it was a momentous (关键的) occasion for me,” Panek said.

1. How did Panek think of running with a human guide?

A．Inspiring.	B．Challenging.
C．Rewarding.	D．Disappointing.

2. What was Hunter curious about?

A．Training a dog guide to run.	B．Getting back to run as a blind man.
C．Starting a running guide program.	D．Running with a human guide.

3. Which of the following is mentioned in the article?

A．Dogs are reluctant to run long distances.

B．Few dogs are qualified to guide in running.

C．Some dogs are born to be a guide in races.

D．Dogs need to be trained for 18 months.

4. What does particular significance the final test have to Panek?

A．He won a big prize with Gus’ help.

B．His guide dog was treated well in the race.

C．He got his independence once again.

D．He ran to the finishing line without stopping.