【推荐1】Located in the checkroom in Union Station as I am, I see everybody that comes up the stairs.

Harry came in a little over three years ago and waited for the passengers from the 9:05 train.

I remember seeing Harry that first evening. He wasn’t much more than a thin, anxious kid then and I knew he was meeting his girl and that they would be married twenty minutes after she arrived. The passengers came up and I had to get busy. I didn’t look toward the stairs again until it was nearly time for the 9:18 train and I was very surprised to see that the young fellow was still there.

She didn’t come on the 9:18 either, nor on the 9:40, and when the passengers from the 10:02 had all arrived and left, Harry was looking pretty desperate. He showed me the telegram he’d received: ARRIVE THURSDAY. MEET ME STATION. LOVE YOU. MAY.

Harry met every train for the next three or four days, but in vain.

Then came yesterday. I heard a cry and found that it was from Harry. He grabbed a girl who was small and dark. For a while they just hung there to each other laughing and crying and saying things without meaning. She’d say a few words like, “It was the bus station I meant” and he’d kiss her speechless and tell her the many things he had done to find her. What apparently had happened three years before was that May had come by bus, not by train, and in her telegram she meant “bus station,” not “railroad station.” She had waited at the bus station for days and had spent all her money trying to find Harry. Finally she got a job typing.

“What?” said Harry. “Have you been working in town? All the time?”

She nodded.

“Didn’t you ever come down here to the station?” He pointed across to a magazine stand. “I’ve been there all the time. I own it. I’ve watched everybody that came up the stairs.”

She began to look a little pale. Pretty soon she looked over at the stairs and said in a weak voice, “I never came up the stairs before. Harry, for three years, for three solid years, I’ve been right over there working right in this very station, typing, in the office of the stationmaster.”

1. Why did Harry look desperate?

A．Because he missed the train that he should take.

B．Because the train he waited for didn’t come.

C．Because his girlfriend didn’t turn up.

D．Because his girlfriend arrived late.

2. Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

A．The girl worked as a typist to earn a living.

B．Harry owned a stand at the station.

C．The girl phoned Harry to meet her at the bus station.

D．Harry and the girl both worked at the train station.

3. We can infer from the passage that _____________.

A．the girl’s name is May.

B．the girl arrived by bus yesterday.

C．Harry was quite strong when he first arrived here.

D．Harry worked in the office of the stationmaster.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Missing the Train.	B．Detour to Romance.
C．Harry’s Anxiety.	D．The Small and Dark Girl.

【推荐2】Two hundred years after Charles Darwin’s birth, studies have found new details of his life at the University of Cambridge. Six leather-bound ledgers(皮革账本) discovered in the university show this.     1    

He lived in the most expensive rooms provided for a rich student at his time.     2     He had someone to clean his room, make his bed and take care of the fire in his bright rooms. He hired a dishwasher, a clothes washer and a man who cleaned his shoes. A tailor(裁缝), hatter and barber made sure he was well presented. A chimney cleaner and a coalman kept his fire going. Christ’s College’s basic food was meat and beer.     3    .

    4     Later he described this time as the most joyful of his happy life. That large sum(金额) would have been fairly common for a student at Cambridge in the 19th century. The bills were paid by his wealthy father, Robert Darwin, a doctor.

In those days Cambridge was full of rich students living a pretty good life and Darwin was just one of them. Thanks to the richness, he was able to hire servants to help with the daily life.     5     He would be out shooting, collecting beetles, doing his scientific hobbies or visiting friends. He played cards and drank wine at night, just like students always have.

A．And thus he had plenty of time for socializing or private study.

B．The findings were published on the Internet.

C．So he paid five and a half pence extra each day to have vegetables.

D．He had several people to help him to deal with the daily housework.

E．He enjoyed the kind of comfortable university life that most of today’s students can only dream about.

F．When you look at the ledgers, you can find there were many rich students in Cambridge.

G．Darwin’s bill topped 636 pounds during his three years of study at Cambridge.

【推荐3】“It’s never too late to start something new ”. Having had a long career in health care and academic achievement, Magi Sque found this advice totally inspiring as this is exactly what Magi Rose is all about!

When she was 17, Magi Sque — who then went by the name of Rosie — had the beginnings of a dream. On Saturdays she worked in the Calypso clothing factory in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and after each shift she handed her £5 wage to her mother. She was saving for her passage to England, where she hoped to become a nurse.

After eight years, Sque moved to Canada with her young daughter. There Sque completed a degree in nursing at Surrey University. She earned the master’s certificate, too. At a talk on organ donation, she knew an organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people. She became an expert, developing a theory of “dissonant loss” — the need for donor families to solve the imbalance between a loved one being clinically brain dead and looking normal before they can agree to donation.

For five decades Sque practised, studied and taught nursing, eventually becoming a professor at Wolverhampton University, all the while nudging her dream of being a fashion designer further into the future.

As she came to her 70th birthday, she began to think: “Oh no, not another paper to read, not another article to correct.” And then she heard herself say: “It’s time to move on.”

She tried out for a weekend course for startups and, in 2019, days before she turned 72, Sque set up Magi Rose — “special, fun to wear, for downtime and holidays”.

1. How did Magi Sque get the money to go to Engand?

A．Working part time on her own.	B．Working as a nurse.
C．Borrowing money from her friend.	D．Being supported by her family.

2. Which of the following can best describe Magi’s theory in organ donation?

A．Traditional.

B．Classical.

C．Effective.

D．Plain.

3. What does the underlined word “nudging” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Pushing.

B．Forcing.

C．Dividing.

D．Changing.

4. What can we learn from Magi Sque’s story?

A．Interest is the best teacher.	B．Education is the key to success.
C．One should follow suit to succeed.	D．There’s no end to seeking one’s dream.

【推荐1】What should we do when we are in a bad situation? Some may choose to give up. But is that what we should do? The following news report may get you encouraged.
With a population of 156 million, Bangladesh has one of the largest populations in the world. What makes the situation worse is that most of the country is situated on the low-lying Ganges delta(三角洲). As a result, it often suffers flooding, especially during the rainy season from July to October. In this period, the rivers rise as much as 12 feet. In such situations, people can only get to certain places by boat.
The problems are particularly serious in the Chalanbeel region, a poor area where people survive by farming on the rich delta soil when it is not underwater. But many parents there don’t want to send their children to school and there are not enough teachers. As a result, many kids living there do not attend school on a regular basis. The problem becomes worse during the rainy season when land schools cannot be reached. Many students never return to school after the forced breaks.
How to help students attend school regularly? 22-year-old Bangladeshi architect Mohammed Rezwan decided to take action. In 2002, the young man used $500 he had received in scholarships to start Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha. The non-profit organization’s mission was to set up floating schools. It took Rezwan four years to raise enough funds to open his first boat school. But as the world began to know about the organization’s worthy cause, money started to pour in. Until now, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has built 22 floating schools, some with playgrounds on the upper deck. Now a lot more children in the Chalanbeel region go to school regularly.
We should keep in mind that there is always a solution to every problem.
1. Which of the following statements about Bangladesh is TRUE?

A．It hardly suffers floods after October.

B．There are not many rivers around the country.

C．It is situated on the low-lying Ganges delta.

D．It sees a lot of floods from July to October.

2. It is implied in Paragraph 3 that in the Chalanbeel region, ______.

A．children can’t receive a good education

B．farmers don’t have rich soil to grow crops

C．parents consider education very important

D．teachers lose jobs as there aren’t enough students

3. Knowing about the cause of Mohammed Rezwan’s organization, many people___.

A．realized education is very important

B．decided to do what they could to help

C．didn’t think his idea could be carried out

D．were encouraged and tried to solve their problems

【推荐3】One second-grade student wanted to help erase school lunch debt for her fellow students, so she decided to create lemonade stands to raise funds（资金）.

Amiah Van Hill was inspired to raise funds to help pay off her classmates’ lunch debt back in May after reading about Jeffery Lew. The father of three crowd-funded to cover the cost of unpaid lunches in the Seattle School District, where his 8-year-old son took part. “She’s a really strong reader, so she read the story and said, ‘Wow, this is great! I wonder if there's any kids at my school that need help paying their lunches,’” said her mother ,Rachel Van Hill.

Amiah, 6, and Aria, 4, discovered that at Hayden Meadows Elementary School in Idaho, the unpaid lunch debt was $40.55. They set up a lemonade stand last month to raise the money, with a sign reading, “Lemonade 4 Lunch.” During their first set-up, the two met their goal within an hour.

The school was very much appreciative. Principal Lisa Pica said “Our school believes in giving back to the community and we are excited that Amiah has got that value at such a young age and we are so proud that she has found a way to help those in need. She is a very special little lady.”

After discovering it was “easy” to pay off one school’s debt, they set up another lemonade stand a week later to raise money for two more local schools. The girls then decided to set their sights higher and raise funds for the entire Coeur d’Alene Public School district. In 22 days, they’ve raised more than $2,700. The school district is excited to recognize her for her good deed.

1. What made Amiah decide to create lemonade stands?

A．Her own lunch debt.	B．Her reading interest.
C．The advice from her mother.	D．The example of Jeffery Lew.

2. Why is Amiah called “a special little lady” by her principal?

A．She learned to sell lemonade.

B．She was proud of her community.

C．She helped the community in her own way.

D．She helped her school set the school value.

3. When did Amiah decide to raise money for Coeur d’Alene Public School district?

A．After raising more than $2,700.

B．When she was praised by her school.

C．After raising money for two more schools.

D．When people in the district recognized her.

4. Which of the following can best describe the character of Amiah?

A．Caring and helpful.	B．Hard-working and curious.
C．Learned and kind.	D．Easy-going and generous.

【推荐1】A good friend of mine was complaining about her son the other day. “Did you notice,” she started, “how he didn't wait for me to get my salad before he dived into his?”

True enough, the boy attacked his plate faster than a cat in the wild. without manners, we're no more than animals. Actually, that's not true, I've been watching and feeding a group of wild cats, and they show unusual politeness toward each other. Even when food is scarce, they take turns, leaving at least a small part for the next in line.

My mother educated her three children to have good manners all the time. We were made to feel very uncomfortable as if we were sitting on pins and needles until we got used to saying please, thank you, pardon me, and I'm sorry. And I have to say, while it was a painful learning experience, it was one of the most valuable.

I can't tell you how often I sat with my friends, eating at their dinner tables, and their parents thought highly of my good manners. While it was a little uneasy. I knew even then that my mother's teachings were paying off.

Many years later, when I was attending seminars across the country, my manners were quite useful.

While I regret that I haven't been a perfect example, I'm still working on it. I suppose, in this regard, my mother lives on through me, I didn't have her beautiful singing voice or her green eyes, but she did make sure I received one of her finest characteristics.

1. What did the writer’s friend most probably complain about?

A．Her son's eating too quickly.	B．Her son's not having a healthy diet.
C．Her son's not having good table manners.	D．Teenagers not having good manners.

2. The underlined word “scarce” in Paragraph 2 probably means "          ".

A．too much	B．not delicious
C．not enough	D．quite hot

3. We learn that the writer’s mother         .

A．was strict about her children's manners.	B．never punished her children.
C．had beautiful blue eyes.	D．was not good at singing.

4. What does the writer think of her experience of learning good manners?

A．Easy and relaxing.	B．Painful and valuable.
C．Easy but useless.	D．Too horrible.

5. We can infer from the passage that the writer         .

A．is surely liked by everyone around her.

B．is not satisfied with most people's manners around her.

C．thinks she has been a perfect example to the young.

D．thanks her mother for teaching her the good manners a lot.

【推荐1】China dropped its decades-long, one-child policy several years ago to allow each family to have two children. This change has put 270 million married women of childbearing age in the position of choosing between family and work. The employers also face big challenges as more female workers will have two maternity leaves(产假）for a total of seven to eight months.

In a survey published by classified advertising website Ganji.com, career women who might be considering having a second child were asked what kinds of pressure they might expect. More than 76 percent of the women who were questioned mentioned concerns about the financial burden of raising two children, while more than 71 percent said it would be difficult to balance career and family. In addition, nearly 56 percent said that having a second child would definitely have a negative effect on their career.

Another survey conducted by Chongging-based human resources website job.cg.qq.com found that over 70 percent of job seekers believe that having a second child would make females less popular in the job market, although two-thirds of the employers said the policy will make no difference in their employment of staff.

Feng Lijuan, a senior expert on human resources at 51 job. com, a leading Chinese job finding platform, said she would not say “there is prejudice against career women”. Feng said Chinese women shoulder more family responsibility. “It is not only about maternity leave; a female employee might only fully get back to work after three to five years after having her first child.”

Wang Yixin, a senior employment adviser, said the positive side is that more companies are trying to attract more talents by providing support to career women: “Different from before, it is not only employers choosing employees. Many talents, including professional career women, also choose employers,” said Wang. “According to our survey, many large companies are very open to their employees’ choice of. having a second child.”

1. In Paragraph 1, the end of one-child policy has great effect on ________.

A．women	B．women and families
C．bosses	D．women and employers

2. According to the second survey, most people think having a second child would ________.

A．have no effect on career women

B．have a positive effect on women's career

C．have a negative effect on women's career

D．have both positive and negative effects on career women

3. Which of the following sentences agrees with Feng Lijuan?

A．There isn't prejudice against career women.

B．The effect is only limited to maternity leave.

C．There is much more prejudice against career women.

D．Women can't fully come back to work for a long period.

4. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Responsibilities of Career Women

B．Effects of Two-child Policy on Women

C．Disadvantages of Raising Two Children

D．Different Attitudes of Employers to Women

【推荐2】German cities are redrawing road markings to create new cycle paths for the duration of the Covid-19 lockdown, as cyclists demand more space to physically distance on their way to work.

Local authorities in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin trialled (试行)a temporary widening of two cycle paths on 27 March, arguing it would help cyclists keep the required 1.5-metre distance apart while car traffic was down owing to Germany’s coronavirus (冠状病毒）restrictions.

On Friday, the council declared the plan a success because it had improved cycling safety while not blocking traffic.

The council said it had used removable tape and mobile signs to mark out the widened paths, which can be removed when the current restrictions on movement are lifted.

Residents in 133 other German cities have formally submitted applications for similar pop-up bike paths to their local authorities on the back of a campaign by Environmental Action Germany (DUH), an environmental NGO.

The campaign group cites new research linking air pollution to   higher   coronavirus   death rates as an argument for redrawing road signs across the country. “The coronavirus is showing us that clean air is necessary,” said DUH’s chair, Jürgen Resch. “It is now especially important to temporarily make   it more important for people to move safely on their bikes. This will help improve air quality, enable exercise in fresh air while keeping a safe distance and avoid unnecessary accidents.”

In Germany, bike repair shops are allowed to work because of the Covid-19 going on. Three federal states, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, have allowed bike shops to stay open.

1. Why did German cities decide to widen temporary cycle paths?

A．To avoid traffic jams.	B．To go to work conveniently.
C．To reduce air pollution.	D．To keep proper distance between cyclists.

2. What does the underlined word “pop-up” in paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Substituted

B．Limited.

C．Expanded.

D．Separated.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Special measures is taken to raise the production of bicycles.

B．All transportation means except bicycling are forbidden.

C．The use of bicycles can stop the Covid-19 from going on.

D．Bicycle riding is encouraged to lower the risk of gathering.

【推荐3】The art of storytelling has long been an honored skill and an important tradition in many cultures. Over the course of history, the elder in a community and their stories have been considered as a treasure of society's knowledge and history. Older members of a community were encouraged to share their stories with the young, keeping the tradition alive. But today, medical and social science researchers are interested in more than just the importance of storytelling as a way of teaching and having fun, but also cognitive health.

There have been studies that have looked at the ability to tell attractive stories as something that may have provided some survival advantages in human development. Some researchers made a study on the old people with dementia, and they found the old are getting advantages from taking part in group-based community storytelling, or reminiscence therapy.

Studies of the use of reminiscence therapy with people suffering from other similar diseases looked at the influence the therapy had on cognitive health. And that appeared to be positively influenced by the use of directed personal storytelling. They felt more confident in their ability to express themselves, which in turn made them feel relaxed and less worried.

While there is still research required to fully understand how reminiscence therapy may be used to help all aging populations, the studies so far have suggested there are several advantages of storytelling from improved memory to better interpersonal relationships.

Unluckily today too often we just pick up the phone to talk with someone without thinking of what we have to say. Try giving your brain a workout and building up your relationships by telling stories.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To tell us the importance of storytelling.	B．To add some background information.
C．To show the influence of storytelling.	D．To honour the art of storytelling.

2. What happened to those who experienced the reminiscence therapy?

A．They felt shocked at the results.	B．They felt better about themselves.
C．They had a better attitude to their suffering.	D．They were good at getting on well with others.

3. What does the author advise us to do in the last paragraph?

A．Ignore what others say.	B．Avoid talking on the phone.
C．Share our stories with others.	D．Find ways to exercise our brain.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The development of storytelling.	B．The methods of improving brain health.
C．The ways to keep the tradition of storytelling.	D．The influences of storytelling on cognitive health.