【推荐1】Knowing Mr I.M. Pei, and establishing the LM. Pei Foundation with his son, Didi Pei, are among the most fortunate things to ever happen to me.

Like many Chinese Americans, I chose to study architecture in 1975, simply because I wanted to be the next I.M. Pei. He was the inspiration for my career and my life. Unfortunately when I applied for a job at his office after graduation in 1980, his associate partner, Kellogg Wong told me that I was too young and inexperienced, and advised me to try again after a few years.

In 1984, however, I set up my own firm, James Jao Associates. It was the heyday of my firm in the late 1980s, designing about 30 percent of new residential family buildings in Queens. The joke at the time was that I.M. Pei was the biggest Chinese American architectural firm with over 2,800 employees, and James Jao with 100 was the second largest.

In the summer of 1990, I had the first opportunity to pay Mr Pei a personal visit at his office. After knowing my age, he congratulated me for breaking what he thought to be the curse (诅咒) that no architect can be famous until after the age of 40. He even said that I had a greater influence than him. I was surprised by his nice words. However, I don’t think anyone, especially me, will ever be as influential as him.

In November, 2018, after my 60th birthday celebrations, I met Mr Pei in his apartment discussing the establishment of the I.M. Pei Foundation, a non-profit organization to promote the philosophy of his works and, most importantly, his spirit of achieving excellence in art and culture.

This morning I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a great architectural legend (传奇) of our time. At the age of 102, Mr Pei died with great achievements to his name.

Rest in peace, Mr Pei. We will vow to carry on your torch (火炬) and your sprit because you are the one and only I.M. Pei.

James C Jao,

May 16th, 2019

1. The writer chose to study architecture because ________.

A．she wanted to make as much money as I.M. Pei

B．she wanted to have the lessons of I.M. Pei

C．she wanted to work in I.M. Pei’s office

D．she wanted to be a great architect like I.M. Pei

2. The underlined word “heyday” in the third paragraph probably means ________.

A．the golden period	B．the weakest period
C．the darkest period	D．the toughest period

3. What did I.M. Pei think of James Jao?

A．She was inexperienced.

B．She was too young.

C．She was very excellent.

D．She was very beautiful.

4. What is the purpose of writing this passage?

A．To introduce I.M. Pei	B．To tell her successful experience
C．In memory of I.M. Pei	D．To advertise the I.M. Pei Foundation

【推荐2】When thinking about quitting(停止) smoking…
List all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times.
Decide positively that you want to quit. Try to avoid negative thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons as well as your health and responsibility to others. For example, think of all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting --- perhaps a special day like your birthday, a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date seriously, and don't let anything change it. Begin to condition yourself physically; start a modest (适当的) exercise; drink more water; get plenty of rest.
Immediately after quitting...
The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc.
Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks which remind you of cigarette smoking.
Start a conversation with someone instead of a match for a cigarette.
If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else - a pencil, a pen, a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try a fake (仿制的) cigarette.
1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．Whenever you feel like a cigarette, try to forget it by sleeping.

B．Try to start a conversation before asking for a light.

C．If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your mouth, play with a pen.

D．Every night before going to bed, repeat all the reasons 10 times.

2. From the passage, we know smokers __________.

A．should drink a lot of coffee	B．have to stop to smoke from time to time
C．should drink a lot of wine	D．should not do any exercise

3. According to the passage, what does the underlined word “prohibited” mean?

A．forbidden

B．allowed

C．received

D．welcomed

4. If the passage is in a newspaper, which section is it in?

A．Sports

B．News

C．Health

D．Culture

【推荐1】When in space, astronauts typically eat dehydrated (脱水), nutrient-rich food, but when it comes to longer space missions, that can become a problem as they'll eventually lack nutrients from fresh vegetables. However, Ying Diao, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor will be researching ways astronauts can grow their own fresh vegetables more efficiently during space missions.

Diao's goal for this research is to develop wearable sensors for plants so that their health and stress levels are detected autonomously, with no need for humans to do the testing. Then, a “smart” plant chamber will be developed that can identify the best conditions for a plant to grow in to reduce its stress. Diao also wants to develop another sensor that will continuously monitor a plant's growth over its lifetime. “We're helping the astronauts to be more healthy during space missions, by improving the health of the plants they grow,” Diao said. “So the bigger impact could also be that it helps future human colonization on Mars or on other possible habitats.”

Although the ultimate goal for this project and research is to help people in space, it could also be used back on Earth in addressing climate change.

“During climate change, a plant experiences a lot of stress, but we need a plant to be more productive without increasing the footprint of the agriculture land to feed the growing population of our planet,” Diao said. “To address this conflict, we could potentially help decipher(破译)how the climate change and the microenvironments are impacting the plant stress and then we are better equipped to help plants adapt to a changing environment.”

“Most of the technology in my field is developed for human health but we've been ignoring plants for too long,” Diao said. “I think it's a new frontier that I want to go into and it is just part of a smart agriculture movement.”

1. What troubles astronauts with longer missions?

A．The way to grow fresh vegetables.

B．A shortage of nutrients from fresh vegetables.

C．A decrease in dehydrated, nutrient-rich food.

D．The balance between work and growing vegetables.

2. What is the purpose of Diao's project?

A．To find possible habitats for people.

B．To deal with climate change on earth.

C．To decrease the footprint of agriculture.

D．To help people to stay healthy in space.

3. What is the new frontier for Diao?

A．Technology for plants.

B．Sensors for space use.

C．A smart agriculture movement.

D．Research into human health.

【推荐1】At the heart of psychology is understanding behavior, and understanding behavior has much to do with understanding the brain. Neuroscientists (神经系统科学家) have become more efficient at mapping the brain and have gained more understanding of how the brain develops and works. Truly, differences in behavior as we age and between genders, are most likely explained by the physical state of and changes in our brains.

Around the age of 12, it is believed that the areas of the brain that are used most will be strengthened and cells in the brain that are not used tend to die. What you do with your brain in your teen years probably decides how your brain will work for the rest of your life. If a teen spends endless hours watching TV, the neural connections that help the brain process TV are what will be strengthened. It is clear, therefore, that how young people spend their time is of great importance.

Surprisingly, and different from earlier beliefs, the brain is still developing even in the early twenties. Areas of the brain that are related to emotion, decision making, reasoning, and problem solving are still not fully developed. This may go some way toward explaining why car accident rates in young people are significantly higher than those among older people. Young people don’t have the necessary skills to make complex judgments while driving.

There are also differences in the way brains develop when it comes to gender. It appears that girls are ready to process more challenging information earlier than boys, with the area of the brain responsible for this activity peaking at the age of 14 to 16 in boys, a full two years later than girls. In addition, studies have shown that girls and boys process language input in different parts of their brains. Girls typically tend to do better than boys in language, which means that they have more brain matter responsible for language skills.

This kind of research raises important questions about how boys and girls should be taught in school to maximize (使最大化) their learning. For example, the idea of single-sex education should perhaps be taken into consideration. Experts say that we would do well to revisit the timing of the subjects taught in school, as some parts of the brain develop before others. Additionally, what we understand about the teenage brain should perhaps be taken into consideration when laws are being made with regard to the minimum (最低的) driving age.

1. According to the passage, young people are more likely to have car accidents because _______.

A．they fail to realize the importance of skills

B．they don’t have the necessary skills in driving

C．certain areas in their brains are not fully developed

D．their brains tend to be influenced by their emotions

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Earlier beliefs show the brain is still developing in the early twenties.

B．Girls are better at language because they are devoted to language learning.

C．How people spend their time when they’re teenagers affects their future life.

D．Gender makes no difference when it comes to the physical state of the brain.

3. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.

A．single-sex education may benefit teenagers

B．the time when school starts should be put off

C．lawmakers will lower the minimum driving age

D．the number of subjects in school might be changed

4. Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Age and the Brain	B．Genders and the Brain
C．Mapping the Brain	D．The Developing Brain

【推荐2】Originating back in 1869 in Cincinnati, Ohio, baseball has been a game played and loved by millions for nearly 150 years. From its origin to the present day, there have been hundreds of fantastic baseball players who have gone on to inspire new players. Here are our top inspirational baseball stars.

Curtis Pride

Pride served as a strong-armed outfielder between 1993 and 2006, playing on seven different teams throughout his baseball career. What sets Pride apart from his peers is that he has been deaf since birth. When you think of how important verbal communication is in baseball, it is remarkable how Pride was able to manage.

Pete Gray

Gray was one of the players that started his career in wartime, appearing in 77 games as a player of St. Louis Browns. Gray had an accident when he was six years old, resulting in the loss of an arm, but he never let his disability stop him from achieving his dreams.

Jim Morris

Morris attended a Tampa Bay Devil Rays tryout in 1999 and ended up leaving a great impression which saw him sign a contract with the team at 35 years old. The film "The Rookie" is based on Morris's story, letting you learn about the troubles and problems that Morris faced and overcame.

Jimmie Foxx

Born in 1907, Jimmie Foxx was described as a fearsome hitter whose strength earned him the title" The Beast". Foxx was only the second batter in baseball history to top 500 home runs(本垒打). With all his achievements, it is easy to see why Jimmie Foxx was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.

1. What made Curtis Pride different from his partners?

A．The top position he had in his team	B．The number of teams he had served.
C．His success in overcoming his disability	D．His excellent communication skills in baseball.

2. Whose story has been adapted into a movie?

A．Pete Gray’s

B．Jim Morris’s

C．Curtis Pride's

D．Jimmie Foxx's

3. Why was Jimmie Foxx called “The Beast”?

A．He was a powerful player.	B．He always behaved rudely
C．He made great achievements.	D．He was a hitter without fear

【推荐3】For a lot of people, getting a full night's sleep is nothing more than just a dream. Some of us climb into bed in the early evening, and the next thing we know, it's 2 in the morning and we're still staring at the ceiling. It's common knowledge that sleep problems can be caused by things such as stress, anxiety, or even using a smart phone before bedtime. But recently, a team of researchers discovered that genes could also be a cause of sleepless nights.

The scientists, from The Rockefeller University in New York, US, found that DSPD, delayed sleep phase disorder（睡眠时相延迟综合征）, a condition that affects one's sleeping patterns, is passed down by a mutated gene（发生变异的基因）. DSPD sufferers wake up later and go to bed later than the average person. To come to their conclusion, the team studied a 46-year-old woman who is only usually able to fall asleep at 2 or 3 in the morning. It was discovered that the woman's body produces the hormone（激素） that helps her sleep at night up to seven hours later than regular sleepers. The scientists found this is caused by a mutation in one of the woman's genes, one that helps regulate the “body clock”.

Some of the woman's family members were also found to share the same mutation — and the same sleeping problems — leading the scientists to believe that sleep troubles are passed down through the generations.

However, having this mutation doesn't mean you automatically have sleep problems. The team also found two people who had the mutation but reported no problems with their sleep.

But while this is an interesting discovery, it offers no help to those who can't fall asleep at night — although there are a few things you could try to help yourself sleep earlier.

BBC journalist Michael Mosley produced a TV documentary in May in which he talked about his battle with insomnia（失眠）and the techniques he used. “I avoid social media for at least an hour before bed, I do mindfulness exercises, and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I read a book for an hour or so,” he wrote in an article for the Radio Times.

1. What have scientists recently discovered about sleep problems?

A．Sleep problems can be a result of genetics.

B．Stress and anxiety can cause sleep problems.

C．Smart phones are the main cause of sleep problems nowadays.

D．Sleep problems are affected by sleeping patterns.

2. What can we learn about the mutation of the gene related to sleep?

A．It will delay sleep for seven hours.

B．It doesn’t necessarily cause sleep problems.

C．It will be passed down to every future generation.

D．It can be changed to help solve sleep problems.

3. What does Michael Mosley suggest doing before sleep to fight against insomnia?

A．Listening to light music.

B．Reading interesting books.

C．Keeping away from social media.

D．Doing some outdoor exercise.

4. What's the main purpose of the article?

A．To give advice on how to cure insomnia.

B．To explain different reasons for sleep problems.

C．To warn readers of the bad influences of sleeping late.

D．To report the discovery of a genetic cause for sleep problems.

【推荐1】Mr. Buxton taught me Shakespeare in 10th grade. We were reading Macbeth. Mr. Buxton, who probably had better things to do, nonetheless agreed to meet one night to go over the text line by line. The first thing he did was point out the repetition of themes. For example, the reversals of things.

What Mr. Buxton didn’t tell me was what the play meant. He left the conclusions to me. The situation was much the same with my religious studies teacher in 11th grade, Mr. Flanders, who encouraged me to have my own relationship with the Gospels.

High school was followed by college, where I read Umberto Eco’s The Role of the Reader, in which it is said that the reader completes the text, that the text is never finished until it meets this voracious (渴求的) and engaged reader. The open texts, Eco calls them. In college, I read some of the great Europeans and Latin Americans: Borges and Kafka, Genet and Beckett, Artaud, Proust-open texts all. I may not have known why Kafka’s Metamorphosis is about a guy who turns into a bug: but I knew that some said cockroach, and others, European dung beetle.

There are those critics, of course, who insist that there are right ways and wrong ways to read every book. No doubt they arrived at these beliefs through their own adventures in the stacks. And these are important questions for philosophers of every stripe. And yet I know only what joy and enthusiasm about reading have taught me, in bookstores new and used.

There is not now and never will be an authority who can tell me how to interpret, how to read, how to find the pearl of literary meaning in all cases.

Supposing the truth is not hard, fast, masculine, simple, direct? You could spend a lifetime thinking about this sentence ,and making it your own. In just this way, the freedom to see literature,history, truth unfolding ahead of me like a book whose spine has just now been cracked.

1. When did the author begin to read Shakespeare’s work?.

A．In primary school.	B．In 11th grade.
C．In secondary school.	D．In college.

2. What can we know about The Role of the Reader from the text?

A．It w as written by the readers.

B．It is about a guy turning into a bug.

C．It insists that the reader completes the text.

D．Some great Europeans and Latin Americans wrote it together.

3. What is the main reason of the author loving reading?

A．Being an excellent student.

B．Mr. Buxton’s teaching method.

C．The joy and enthusiasm from his reading.

D．His admiration for literature masters like Shakespeare.

4. What can be inferred about the author from the text?

A．He has a preference for the open texts.

B．Shakespeare is his favorite.

C．He is naturally talented in reading.

D．He is also a famous literary critic.

【推荐2】Ever since the beginning of human civilization, we are trying to reduce manual efforts by making simple to extremely complex machines. The next step in the same process is robotics and automation. Robotics and automation is a field with abundant potential. It expands its scope from household applications to solving mysteries of the Universe to curing untreatable medical conditions.

Up until the beginning of 2020, robots of any kind are made up of nor-living materials. Recently scientists from the University of Vermont & Tufts University introduced Xenobots, which have opened a whole new Universe for this field. Xenobots are the world’s first living and self-healing microbots. These robots are designed with the help of computer-generated- evolutionary algorithm(算法). The living cells used for its creation are skin, heart and stem cell from the African frog embryos(胚胎).

These microbots are very basic in nature, made up entirely from the organic substance. They can move forward, turn around, spin in circles and flip over. They are smaller than a millimetre and can travel inside the human body. Just imagine the possibilities we will have, once scientist is able to teach Xenobots to do the desired task. One day they even might be able to fight cancer cells. They will be able to clear microplastics in the oceans and lots more.

But if these bots are a life form, why are we calling them robots? This is because scientists are designing them to move or work according to their wills. A certain arrangement for skin and heart cells in an Xenobot will make it move in a straight line, while a different arrangement of the same cells will be required to move them in circular motions.

Xenobots are positively a great step. Scientists are also calling them a brand new life form on the planet. The future is unseen but is undoubtedly full of countless possibilities.

1. Which of the following is the potential of the robotics?

A．Making complex machines.	B．Reducing manual efforts.
C．Expanding our scopes.	D．Clearing space mysteries.

2. Where do Xenobots differ from the other previous robots?

A．In nature.

B．In size.

C．In movement.

D．In materials.

3. What are Xenobots able to do already now?

A．Travel inside the human body.	B．Create new life.
C．Fight cancer cells.	D．Clear microplastics in the oceans.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of Xenobots?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Ambiguous.

D．Disapproving.

【推荐3】I must have always known reading was very important because the first memories I have as a child deal with books. There was not one night that I don't remember mom reading me a storybook by my bedside. I was extremely inspired by the elegant way the words sounded.

I always wanted to know what my mom was reading. Hearing mom say," I can't believe what's printed in the newspaper this morning," made me want to grab it out of her hands and read it myself. I wanted to be like my mom and know all of the things she knew. So I carried around a book, and each night, just to be like her, I would pretend to be reading.

This is how everyone learned to read. We would start off with sentences, then paragraphs, and then stories. It seemed an unending journey, but even as a six-year-old girl I realized that knowing how to read could open many doors. When mom said," The C-A-N-D-Y is hidden on the top shelf," I knew where the candy was. My progress in reading raised my curiosity, and I wanted to know everything. I often found myself telling my mom to drive more slowly, so that I could read all of the road signs we passed.

Most of my reading through primary, middle and high school was factual reading. I read for knowledge, and to make A's on my tests. Occasionally, I would read a novel that was assigned, but I didn't enjoy this type of reading. I liked facts, things that are concrete. I thought anything abstract left too much room for argument.

Yet, now that I'm growing and the world I once knew as being so simple is becoming more complex, I find myself needing a way to escape. By opening a novel, I can leave behind my burdens and enter into a wonderful and mysterious world where I am now a new character. In these worlds I can become anyone. I don't have to write down what happened or what technique the author was using when he or she wrote this. I just read to relax.

We're taught to read because it's necessary for much of human understanding. Reading is a vital part of my life. Reading satisfies my desire to keep learning. And I've found that the possibilities that lie within books are limitless.

1. According to Paragraph 3, the author's reading of road signs indicates___________

A．her unique way to locate herself	B．her eagerness to develop her reading ability
C．her effort to remind mom to obey traffic rules	D．her growing desire to know the world around her.

2. What was the author's view on factual reading？

A．It would help her update test-taking skills.

B．It would allow much room for free thinking.

C．It would provide true and objective information.

D．It would help shape a realistic and serious attitude to life.

3. The author takes novel reading as a way to___________.

A．explore a fantasy land	B．develop a passion for leaning
C．learn about the adult community	D．get away from a confusing world

4. What could be the best title for the passage？

A．The Magic of Reading	B．The Pleasure of Reading
C．Growing Up with Reading	D．Reading Makes a Full Man