【推荐1】You may be more interested in a boxing or yoga studio. If you are interested in variety, you'll be better off going with a larger complex that might contain equipment for sports, for example.

Pay more attention to the importance of position.     1     So pick a sport that fits your sense when a visit would typically occur. The fitness equipment should be close to your home or workplace. Whether to make it convenient or inconvenient is often one of the greatest barriers to success.

Take advantage of free trials.     2     During your visit, you want to think about the number of people using machines, the friendliness of the staff, and whether showers are offered there.

    3     The two primary places to check for dirt and stain are in the locker room and the comers of the workout rooms. Also pay attention to smell. Make sure there is a way to easily clean equipment.

Talk with personnel about the busiest times and the number of members using the gym on a typical day.     4     Learn about membership packages, extra fees and guest passes for friends and family.

By thoughtfully considering gyms and fitness center you can ensure you will actually like your choice and use your membership. Considering the right aspects will help you pick good equipment.     5    

A．Make sure everything is clean.

B．The places should be comfortable to use.

C．Good health is of great importance for you.

D．It's easy to ignore your body when you have a busy day.

E．The fitness center you like will offer a chance to try them out.

F．Find out whether they require pre-class registration or reservations.

G．So you can jump into achieving your fitness goals and improving your life.

【推荐2】During his first week as a new Atlanta police officer, Officer Che Milton answered a call for shoplift at the nearby Family Dollar store. When he arrived, Milton found a 12-year-old girl in tears over trying to steal a $2 pair of shoes. Crying, she told Milton that the shoes were supposed to surprise her 5-year-old sister.

Milton, instead of arresting the girl, asked her to take him to her home instead. When he arrived, Milton’s heart sank. He found a house nearly empty, with only a sofa and sheets on the floor instead of beds. There was no food in the kitchen and the kids were there. The girl’s mother told the officer that her husband worked but didn’t make much money and that she couldn’t afford to do the same with several children to take care of and no daycare money to spare.

Moved, the officer drove to a restaurant and bought four pizzas for them and he called the Division of Family and Children Services and asked if there was a social worker who could help.

When the police department found out about Milton’s trips, instead of punishing him, the department decided to share his story on Facebook and added that “not only is he here to enforce(实施) the law but also to go the extra mile and be a bigger part of the community he is policing.”

Hundreds of citizens liked the post, asking how they could help. The department followed with posts including the six children’s sizes and mother’s clothing sizes. It also called for blanket and furniture donations. Visit the posts to learn how you can help and find more useful ways to donate your old things.

1. Why did the girl steal shoes?

A．To treat herself to a pair of shoes.

B．To attract public attention.

C．To give her sister a surprise.

D．To reduce her family’s economic burden.

2. What caused Milton’s heart to sink?

A．The girl lied to him about her living situation.

B．The girl’s family couldn’t get help from others.

C．The family had no source of income.

D．The family was extremely poor.

3. Which of the following can best describe Milton?

A．Kind and generous.

B．Smart and fair.

C．Curious and creative.

D．Humorous and responsible.

【推荐2】Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties (地方特色菜) in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like making drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.

Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television. He says Lieberman’s charisma is key. “Food TV isn’t about food anymore,” says Flay. “It’s about your personality and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”

But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights; Lieberman got the job.

1. What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to?

A．A natural ability to attract others.	B．A way to show one’s achievement.
C．Lieberman’s after-class interest.	D．Lieberman’s fine cooking skill.

2. Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?

A．He could prepare meals in a small kitchen.	B．He was famous for his show on Food TV.
C．He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches.	D．He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals.

3. What can we learn about Lieberman from the text?

A．He is clever but lonely.	B．He is friendly and active.
C．He enjoys traveling around.	D．He often changes his menus.

【推荐3】Alex Vardkostas spent his child flipping (快速翻转) burgers at his parent’s restaurant in Southern California. It was, he recalls, a repetitive and uninteresting task.

Vardkostas said, “Making so many burgers every day, I realized that there must be a better product I can create to make food. ”He helped develop the restaurant’s main attraction: a robot machine that makes “the world’s freshest cheeseburgers”.

The machine has already drawn big crowds. People want to see exactly how a robot makes a burger and whether it tastes good. The robot is 14-foot long and takes five minutes to make a delicious burger.

After seeing the robot in action, one customer, Evan, was almost speechless. “I knew that they could drive cars,” he said, “but i didn’t know that robots could make a delicious burger.”

The robot’s 350 Sensors (传感器) and 20 microcomputers help make sure that every burger is perfect. The materials are organic and locally sourced (寻找……的来源) whenever possible, but the burgers are still affordable (负担得起的). Because a machine makes the burgers, the restaurant doesn’t have to pay kitchen staff (职员). Employees focus on offering e customer good service.

Besides, the restaurant offers its employees higher pay than the ordinary standard in the food industry. Staff members are able to read books for five percent of their workday so that they can continue to learn. Money is allotted (分配) for books, and more educational opportunities are being planned.

For Evan, the most important thing is still the burger. “The restaurant’s robot is the perfect chef,” he said, “because a person can make mistakes but a robot can’t.”

1. Why do many customers visit Alex’s restaurant?

A．To watch how Alex flip burgers.	B．To eat the cheapest cheeseburgers.
C．To learn from a robot to make food.	D．To experience food made by a robot.

2. How did Alex like his job of flipping burgers in the past?

A．Boring.

B．Surprising.

C．Puzzling.

D．Exciting.

3. What do we know about burgers made by the robot?

A．They are equipped with sensors.

B．They aren’t sold at a very high price.

C．Each of them owns an ugly shape.

D．They become popular with the people around the world.

4. Which of the following is true about the staff in the restaurant?

A．They can improve themselves by reading.

B．They need to buy books for customers.

C．They can become rich in a short time.

D．They have to hand in their learning plan.

【推荐1】When you walk with a backpack, do you know how the things inside move from side to side? Now scientists have figured out how to tap into that movement to produce electricity.

Picture a pendulum (摆锤) fixed to a backpack frame and stabilized with springs on either side. The pack’s weight is attached to the pendulum, so the pendulum swings side to side as you walk. Then a machine is driven by that swinging movement, and spits out electrical current to charge a battery.

Volunteers carried the pack while walking on a running machine and wore masks to measure the flow of O₂ and CO₂. Walking with the slightly swinging 20-pound load, the device (设备) did not significantly affect the volunteers’ metabolic (新陈代谢的) rate compared to when they carried the same weight fixed in place. In fact, the energy-harvesting pack reduced the forces of acceleration they’d feel in a regular pack, which might mean greater comfort for a long hike. And the device did produce a steady trickle (涓流) of electricity. If you up the load to 45 pounds, the swing of the pack could fully charge a smart phone only after 12 hours. The details are in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

The device produces electricity from human movement and has been identified as a workable solution to providing a renewable energy source for portable electronic devices. It is particularly useful for those who work in remote areas, as these people often carry a lot of weight in a backpack for their exploration.

But here’s a real conundrum: the energy-harvesting device currently weighs five pounds. The researchers say that’s about four pounds too many to be a smart alternative to batteries. So they hope that more research lets them lighten the load, to ensure the pack charges you up without weighing you down.

1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．How the device works.

B．What the device looks like.

C．Who the device is designed for.

D．Why scientists designed the device.

2. Which of the following describes the device?

A．It greatly affected the volunteers metabolic rate.

B．It harvested energy as the volunteers walk.

C．It failed to produce steady electricity.

D．It was useless for a long walk.

3. What does the underlined word “conundrum” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Problem.

B．Method.

C．Bond.

D．Decision.

4. What will the researchers try to do next?

A．Increase the charging speed of their device.

B．Find smarter alternatives to batteries.

C．Reduce the weight of their device.

D．Put their device on the market.

【推荐2】Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.

Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.

In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen, it is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.

Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person.” said the 30-year-old man.

Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything”. He said, “The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”

The great 19^thcentury explorer John Muir once said. “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.

1. Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?

A．Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.

B．It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.

C．It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.

D．Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.

2. Traveling alone is challenging because ________

A．you have to make things on your own.

B．it is hard for you to prove yourself to others.

C．you can only depend on yourself whatever happens.

D．it will finally build your character.

3. What can we infer about Chris Richardson?

A．He started traveling alone at an early age.

B．He was once shot in the arm.

C．He used to work as a salesman.

D．His website will inspire others to travel alone.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Travel Abroad	B．Travel Alone
C．Travel Light	D．Travel Wide and Far

【推荐3】During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people in lockdown felt lonely and bored. “There is a loneliness epidemic,” said John Dattilo, a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Together with an international team of researchers, Dattilo studied how to reduce loneliness and increase positive feelings during the pandemic. According to their new study, reducing loneliness has something to do with doing enjoyable activities that require both concentration and skill. “When people are absorbed in what they are doing, they enter a state called FLOW,” Dattilo explained. “Flow can be achieved by doing activities that we value and that require us to concentrate fully to use our skills.”

To achieve a state of flow, there must be a balance between the challenge of the task and your skill level. For example, if you’re trying to create a complex computer program but your skill level is low, then you’re likely to feel stressed instead of achieving flow. On the contrary, if the task is too easy, then boredom will set in and flow will not appear, either. If you have artistic skills, for example, playing the piano or painting can lead to flow. So can things like skiing, writing and storytelling, depending on who you are.

“When we enter a state of flow, we become absorbed and focused, and we experience momentary enjoyment,” Dattilo said. “When we leave a state of flow, we are often surprised by how much time has passed.” However, watching television usually doesn’t help people enter flow, according to Dattilo, because there aren’t any challenges.

“Loneliness is very connected to our health,” Dattilo explained. “Psychological, emotional, and cognitive health are all challenged when people are lonely. Loneliness is associated with depression and other mental health challenges. People tend to thrive on healthy activities and challenge,” said Dattilo. “We hope this research will help people live fuller, happier, healthier lives.”

1. What is the purpose of the research?

A．To study how to reduce loneliness.	B．To fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
C．To treat some mental illnesses.	D．To help people live a normal life.

2. What is a key point of the state of flow?

A．Enjoyment.

B．Relaxation.

C．Concentration.

D．Loneliness.

3. Which of the following can help a student get into a state of flow?

A．Doing housework.	B．Chatting online.
C．Watching television.	D．Composing a story.

4. What do the underlined words “thrive on” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Enjoy.

B．Grow.

C．Avoid.

D．Balance.

【推荐1】While it's no surprise that heavy drinking comes with health consequences, women in particular are more likely to suffer from alcohol—including an increased risk of alcohol-related death, according to a new study.

The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, looked at the death data of Americans 16 and older from 1999 to 2017. The researchers found nearly 1 million alcohol-related deaths in that time period and the largest annual increase of alcohol-related deaths occurred among Non-Hispanic white women.

"Historically, the most protective factor for women was that it was less common for women to drink a lot," Keith Humphreys, a professor of Stanford University tells Yahoo Lifestyle. "That was changed largely by alcohol companies. Women were targeted in advertising and it worked—and now women drink much more and now they're dying much more. ”

Excessive alcohol use can lead to several health problems over time—and women are particularly affected. "The risk of cirrhosis（肝硬化）and other alcohol-related liver diseases is higher for women than for men," according to the CDC. Drinking too much alcohol can also affect the brain, causing shrinkage（收缩）and memory loss. Research suggests that women are weaker than men to the brain damaging effects of alcohol abuse, and the damage tends to appear with shorter periods of excessive drinking for women than for men. Heavy drinking also influences heart health. The CDC states that studies show women who drink excessively have a higher risk of damaging the heart muscle than men, even for women drinking at lower levels.

The health consequences of drinking also develop more rapidly in women than in men. "You'll commonly see a woman who hasn't been drinking alcohol as long as men and the physical punishment comes faster,” says Humphreys.

1. How was the study done?

A．By doing experiments.	B．By comparing data.
C．By watching closely.	D．By asking and recording.

2. What's the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．It explains the reasons for women to drink.

B．It compares the past and present of women.

C．It shows the newest finding about women drinking.

D．It comments on the terrible results of women drinking.

3. How many body parts of women may be damaged by excessive drinking?

A．Two.	B．Three.
C．Four.	D．Five.

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

A．Women, Suffer More from Drinking	B．Drinking, Fashionable but Harmful
C．Drinking Does Harm to Health	D．Men and Women, Drink Less

【推荐2】Sometimes when we are in our darkest hour, something completely unexpected happens that can give us a little bit of hope and comfort.

Jessica was a healthy woman. One day, she woke up and something was not right. After she was sent to the hospital, her heart rate slowed by nearly 50 percent. It took nine days for doctors to zero in on what was causing her problem.

After several weeks, Jessica was able to move her lips. Staff noticed this and introduced Jessica to Consuelo Gonzalez, a professional lip reader. Consuelo can understand what people are saying by the shape their lips make. She can also understand how annoying it is to not be able to communicate because she has been completely deaf since the age of 8.

For a few hours each week, Jessica could have long conversations with Consuelo, diving into the ocean of words she dearly missed. Through Consuelo, Jessica asked the doctors and nurses questions she had long wanted answers to. She also talked to Consuelo about the vivid dreams she was mixing up with reality.

In fact, there are other ways for Consuelo to earn a living by reading lips, but she says helping patients separate horrible dreams from reality is the most rewarding way she can use her unique skill. “What is really wonderful is being able to use this skill to create healing and to create communication between human beings. That’s what feels good. That’s what’s the best: Love.”

After four and a half months in the hospital, Jessica finally recovered. Consuelo was there, holding Jessica’s hands. Jessica eventually went back to work as a math professor. After her experience she wrote a new living will. One thing she added is that if she ever becomes incapacitated like this again, she is never to be left alone.

1. What did Consuelo do for Jessica?

A．She cured Jessica’s heart disease.

B．She helped Jessica communicate.

C．She taught Jessica how to read lips.

D．She made Jessica’s dream come true.

2. How does Consuelo feel about her job?

A．Horrible.

B．Confident.

C．Worried.

D．Satisfied.

3. Which of the following best explains “incapacitated” underlined in the last paragraph?

A．Seriously ill.	B．Desperately lonely.
C．Less reliable.	D．More fortunate.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A close friendship.	B．A good living will.
C．An unusual skill.	D．A new treatment.

【推荐3】After Stewart and Debbie Wilder lost their son, Cameron, in 2013, the last thing on their minds was decorating for the holiday season. “We haven’t put anything up in three years. It has all stayed boxed up,” said Debbie.

But in December 2016, the house was lit up for Christmas, with little lights cheerfully lining the rood and eaves(屋檐). It wasn’t the Wilders but a stranger Carson Zickgraf, the founder of CZ Enterprises LLC, who finally made the house shine. “I started crying,” Debbie says about seeing the lights for the first time. “It was really special.”

Zickgraf has been donating his light-stringing services to brighten the lives of families affected by losing their children, especially during the difficult holiday season since 2015 and has decorated the houses of more than two dozen families so far.

He started the project by chance. He was hanging lights on a home when the owner mentioned that some neighbors were having a hard time that holiday season because their son had recently died. Then he had an idea. “I sent my crew there to decorate that house too,” he says. The family was delighted. In fact, he had two friends who had died young, and he’d always wished he could ease the pain for their loved ones. Now, he’s found a way.

“There’s something special about Christmas lights. They warm the spirit.” Zickgraf knows his efforts can’t completely remove the pain from these families, but he can make the holidays a little cheerier. “I wish I had a bigger company so I could do more houses,” he says.

1. How was the Wilders affected by the loss of their son?

A．They didn’t feel like decorating their house for Christmas.

B．They were the last to put up some decorations at Christmas.

C．They had no one to help decorate their house for Christmas.

D．They had the belongings of their son boxed up at Christmas.

2. Why did Zickgraf donate the light-stringing service?

A．To make more houses brighter.	B．To expand his own business.
C．To relieve the victim family’s pain.	D．To memorize his dead friends.

3. Which of the following words can best describe Zickgraf?

A．Enthusiastic and optimistic.	B．Courageous and smart.
C．Ambitious and generous.	D．Considerate and helpful.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Lights warming the spirit	B．A person brightening houses
C．Families going through sufferings	D．A business hanging lights