【推荐2】I moved from the busy downtown to the countryside around Shanghai when I started elementary school. At first, I thought I was going to hate it, but to my surprise, I found that I preferred the quiet country life to the noisy city life.

The next move was more of a surprise for me.I was having a good time with my friends at school. But all of a sudden, my mom told me that we were going to move to the United States. Can you imagine how I must have felt? My English wasn’t that good, though I did know the basics.

The day I arrived in the US was a snowy day. For a girl who grew up in Shanghai and hadn’t seen real thick snow on the ground, it was a big thing.Compared with my school in China, there were a lot more creative thinking questions, which I was better at anyway.

Time flew by and it had been almost four years since I moved there. Then again, I was told we were going to move to Singapore.

As I’m writing this article, I am still new here and have been going to school for about two and a half months.I found out that the education here is quite special. Different from AP system in the US, the Singapore CIS uses the IB system.

This switch drowned me in constant stress. I was confused about the new curriculum, and I knew it would take me a long time to adapt. But what I’ve gotten out of my experience over three countries is that no matter where you are studying, you are always learning. And a piece of advice to people who are going to move around the globe:It’s always best to just roll with the punches.

1. What did the writer think of life in the countryside?

A．It wasn’t as interesting as she expected.

B．It was no better than city life.

C．She wished she had moved to the countryside earlier.

D．She loved to live in the countryside.

2. What did the writer worry about most before moving to the US?

A．It would be difficult to make new friends.

B．Language would be a big problem for her.

C．She wouldn’t get used to the weather there.

D．She wouldn’t like the schools there.

3. What is the writer’s attitude towards her world-wide schooling?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Critical.	D．Doubtful.

【推荐3】What makes a gift special? Is it the price you see on the gift receipt? Or is it the look on the recipient’s face when they receive it that determines the true value? What gift is worth the most?

This Christmas I was debating what to give my father. My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything. I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father. My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming, and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower, a lone dandelion (蒲公英) standing against the bright blue sky, inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father.

I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream-colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind. The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe; my dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was focused around dreaming, and after searching I found the perfect picture. The image was painted with blues and greens and purples, twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer, the white paper coloring with words that shaped my childhood, I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate.

Christmas soon arrived. The minute I saw the look on my dad’s face as he unwrapped those black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame, I knew I had given the perfect gift.

1. How did the idea for a special gift begin to form?

A．When the author was doing shopping.	B．When the author was reading a message.
C．When the author was having a debate.	D．When the author was leaving for Wyoming.

2. What did the author’s inspiration for the gift come from?

A．A story about a kid.	B．A call from the mother.
C．A text about Christmas.	D．A photo of a flower.

3. How did the author make the gift?

A．By matching the words with pictures.	B．By searching for the poems online.
C．By drawing the background by hand.	D．By painting the letters in three colors.

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To show how to design images for gifts.	B．To explain how computers help create gifts.
C．To suggest making gifts from one’s heart.	D．To describe the gifts the author has received.

【推荐1】There are great health benefits from walking: slimmer waistline, better emotions, more focus, a stronger immune system and balanced blood levels.    1    But walking with good habits will strengthen those benefits as well as avoid any injuries. Here are the ways on how to walk properly.

    2    

Although everyone has their own way of walking, certain common behaviors can improve almost everyone’s walking experience. Chief among these is your posture(姿势).As you walk, keep your head upright, your back straight, and your chin up. Otherwise, bad posture can lead to back pain, an inflexible neck, and even more serious diseases.

Add warming up

Before your workout, make sure you stretch (伸展) muscles to avoid injury.    3    Not only may you get injured, but it will also get you tired even quicker. Start with a walk at a normal pace and then slowly increase the pace.

Swing your arms

Don’t hold your arms tight by your side. If so, it looks awkward and also limits walking pace. Your walking pace will become faster as long as you swing your arms. If weather permits, try to keep your hands out of your pockets.     4    

Time your walks

When walking, the time you do so matters. Make sure you walk a few minutes after you eat, not immediately. That way, your body can still digest what you just ate before a workout.    5    May it be 15-30 minutes every day, find time to walk and exercise, keeping your body active.

A．Relax before walking.

B．Stand straight while walking.

C．Don’t go walking at a high speed immediately!

D．It’s best to create a schedule suitable for your lifestyle.

E．In other words, walking can make you happier and healthier.

F．Doing so allows you to walk faster and farther than you would otherwise.

G．Having your shoulders pulled back makes you more confident and greater!

【推荐2】Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers.     1     By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.

“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “    2     But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”

Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative.     3     Then was positive news shared more often because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles.     4    

Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that arouse (激发) feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad.     5     The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Why Things Catch On.”

A．They catch your attention and involve you in discussion.

B．They want your eyeballs but don’t care how you’re feeling.

C．Yet, that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news.

D．The best articles are just like magnets, dragging readers to share them with each other.

E．They needed to be inspired one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad.

F．But now information is being spread in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules.

G．He found that science amazed readers and made them want to share this positive feelings with others.

【推荐1】Harry Potter movies are huge hits and loved by children all over the world. Kids can lose themselves in the wonderful world of magic while learning values that are important to them.

That’s why Paula DuPre Pesman, the associate producer of the Harry Potter movies, found it so hard to leave this behind when choosing to start her organization There With Care that helps families with sick children.

Her move towards charity work did not happen by chance. While working on the set of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, Pesman received a call asking if she could realize the wish of a child with terminal cancer, who was a fan named Gillian with a wish to see a movie about Harry Potter. Though such a wish seemed impossible to achieve, Pesman brought together the crew who together overcame the challenges and put together a rough-cut screening for the young girl.

Pesman’s determination to help Gillian came from her own experience of living with her husband, who had fought and won the battle with cancer. Carrying out Gillian’s wish enabled her to witness how powerful supporting a family in need can be. So she left the career she loved in 2005 to start her organization.

There With Care provides many services that families in need rarely find, such as transportation to and from the hospital, gas cards, deep cleaning services, clothing and meals, especially when kids are in hospital. Now the organization has helped over 4,000 families.

Looking back, she said, “In a way I think everything came together so that today we would be here helping. It gave us a new purpose and a new way of helping people.”

1. Why does the author talk about Harry Potter movies in paragraph1?

A．To boost a nonprofit organization.	B．To arouse passion for the movies.
C．To express admiration for Pesman’s choice.	D．To explain why Pesman quit as a producer.

2. What inspired Pesman to found There With Care?

A．The success of Harry Potter movies.	B．The experience of realizing a girl’s wish.
C．Her enthusiasm for helping the needy out.	D．Her living with her cancer-suffering husband.

3. Which words can be used to describe Pesman?

A．Warm-hearted and generous.	B．Hard-working and creative.
C．Strong-minded and ambitious.	D．Easy-going and understanding.

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

A．A Sick Girl’s Wish Finally Came True	B．There With Care Was Born from Movies
C．Harry Potter Movies Helped Sick Children	D．A Producer Left Movies to Do Charitable Work

【推荐2】When I was a little child, my parents divorced, making my mother a single parent. We had little money, but my mum gave me a lot of love. Each might, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life. “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and yon can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to do it badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school—walking on my own!

When the Great Depression (大萧条) occurred, my mum lost her job. Then I left school to support the family. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.

My real change occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 195l. I was angry that the second-class hotel charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I decided to open a motel for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.

Not surprisingly, mother was one of my strongest supporters. We experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother's words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of I billion dollars a year.

You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1. When Kemmons was a little child, the words that his mother usually told him were ________.

A．encouraging	B．touching
C．funny	D．fighting

2. What does the underlined word “motel” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．A theme park.	B．A type of hotel.
C．A chain restaurant.	D．A shopping center.

3. According to the passage, what made Kemmons start a motel by himself?

A．His wife's suggestion.

B．His mum's support.

C．His previous business success of various levels.

D．His terrible experience in the hotel.

4. Which of the following best describes Kemmon's mother?

A．Modest, helpful, and hard-working.

B．Careful, helpful and beautiful,

C．Strict, sensitive and supportive.

D．Loving, supportive and strong-willed.

【推荐3】An early morning winter storm had brought several inches of snow to my small town in the mountains. Schools were canceled, roads were dangerous and all I wanted to do was to stay in bed. However, I knew I had to get the day started so I put on warm clothes and walked outside. The snow got all over my shoes. The cold wind dried my lips and my eyes. My 47-year-old back ached in anticipation (预想) of the shoveling (铲雪) I would have to do if the snow didn’t stop soon.

Yet, when I looked out on the white blanket that covered the ground, I couldn’t help but smile a bit. It was so beautiful. It softened the bare trees and hid the dead grass. In the distance I could hear the sound of the snowplow on the road, the barking of a happy dog and the laughter of children playing outside, enjoying their day off from school. The sweet music of that laughter brought back a hundred memories of winters past. I remembered catching snowflakes on my tongue, building snowmen, making snow angels, running down hills and always losing snowball fights with first my brothers and then my own children. Standing there in that warm coat of memories made the wind a little less cold and my back a little less sore. I turned up my head, stuck out my tongue and for the first time in years caught a snowflake on it. It tasted so fresh and clean. It tasted like youth, like joy and like love.

May you always feel young in spirit, no matter how old or achy your body may be. May you always delight in the simple joys of life. May you always share your happiness with the hearts of children. And may you always give your love, your light, your laughter and your warmth to others even on the coldest days.

1. What was the author’s first reaction when he knew it snowed heavily？

A．He felt happy.

B．He was upset.

C．He was moved.

D．He felt in danger.

2. From the underlined sentence in Paragraph l, we can know that the author ________.

A．felt too cold because the snow didn’t stop

B．liked to start his day on such a snowy day

C．ached in his back because of the cold weather

D．would make greater efforts to clear up the snow

3. From which senses did the author describe the joy of having snow？

A．Taste and smell.	B．Sight and smell.
C．Sight, hearing and taste.	D．Smell, hearing and taste.

4. What does the author mainly want to tell us with this article？

A．We should always stay young at heart.

B．Snow brings both fun and trouble to humans.

C．Memories can change our opinion in all aspects.

D．Appreciate every moment spent with your family.

【推荐1】You probably don't like the term “staycation”. Me neither. The terms holistay, daycation and nearcation are also sometimes used. But you can't ignore them. As a concept, it is quite attractive. Perhaps you've already had one, but weren't clear what it was called. Staycations don't just mean staying in doing things around the house or just relaxing at home. They are related to getting out more by taking day trips from your home to see local sights. If you don't want to stay at home, you can holiday locally — for example, camping at a local campground.

Staycations originally became popular after the 2008 financial crisis, when people were looking for ways to reduce their spending. Apart from the savings, let's not ignore the other benefits: you don't have any of the problems associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, delays at airports and so on.

Some staycationers who base themselves at home like to follow a set of rules, such as setting the start and end date, planning their activities ahead of time and avoiding routine(惯例). You don't have to do so, but it helps to create the feel of a traditional vacation. Others, who are aware that an extra barbecue or a visit to the local zoo may not match the thrill of foreign travel, take it a step further.

A New Yorker, Karen Ash, decided not to go to Japan, as she had planned, but instead took a week­long Japanese vacation in her own city. This included buying postcards and souvenirs at a Japanese market, admiring bonsai plants, attending a taiko drumming concert and watching Japanese soap operas on DVD. I don't think many people would want to take this much trouble to create their staycation, but you get the idea!

1. Which aspect of staycations is mainly talked about in the first paragraph?

A．Its real meaning.

B．Its benefit

C．Its popularity.

D．Its another name. .

2. Why did people begin to take staycations?

A．To improve local tourism.

B．To keep pace with the times.

C．To cut back on their expenses.

D．To avoid trouble related to travel.

3. What's the author's attitude to staycationers' following some rules?

A．Cautious.

B．Favorable.

C．Unclear.

D．Objective.

4. What does Karen Ash's experience show?

A．How to experience Japanese culture.	B．How to prepare for a foreign journey.
C．How to make the most of vacations.	D．How to enjoy a foreign travel at home.

【推荐2】One of my most beloved possessions is my black spiral-bound journal. It is a thin wide-ruled, simple journal with no lock or key that I found at the dollar store. The journal has no monetary (货币的) value but instead holds its value of capturing my daily moments of gratitude.

The concept of a gratitude journal originated when my little brother began his gratitude journal. Although he is only twelve, he has truly grasped the concept of gratitude. I remember one of his journal entries saying, “I am thankful for my dog because I love walking her in the park”. A simple walk in the park males my video game enthusiastic bother grateful and joyful.

Seeing how my brother could practice gratitude daily, I was inspired to start my own gratitude journal. Initially writing in my gratitude journal was such a struggle. On the most typical, dry days when I sat at my desk for hours studying for the SAT, what was there to be grateful for? At one point, I found my gratitude journal to be a pointless concept and I lost belief in my gratitude journal. In the time when I chose not to journal, I realized how plain my life was. I missed savoring every moment and taking delight in the little aspects of my life that made me smile.

I decided to continue writing in my gratitude journal once again. Even though I was not learning in a classroom over the summer, I still learned in a different manner. The journal has acted as a reflective, personal space for me to recall the past. The simplest moments of my life that were once overlooked are now the highlights of my day.

1. Why did the author mention his brother’s journal?

A．To praise his brother’s vivid works.

B．To express his gratitude to his brother.

C．To amuse the readers with a funny story.

D．To explain his decision for writing a journal.

2. What trouble did the author have in writing journals at the beginning?

A．He didn’t know what to write.	B．He was struggling with words.
C．He was too busy to write journals.	D．He couldn’t find the meaning of life.

3. What does the underlined word “savoring” probably mean?

A．Ruining.

B．Fighting.

C．Enjoying.

D．Expecting.

4. What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．Learn from journals, and learn from life.

B．Be grateful for every moment of life.

C．Wherever you are, do remember to keep a journal.

D．The least important can be the highlight sometimes.

【推荐3】Sign language, the primary form of communication of the deaf community, has been in use for hundreds of years. You're probably most familiar with American Sign Language, but sign language is used all over the world and has nearly 150 variations. Sign language interpreters can be seen everywhere from classrooms and graduation ceremonies to major sporting events.

When you think of sign language, you most likely imagine signers using their hands to form words and letters. However, hands are only one of the many different body language techniques that signers use to get their meaning across. In fact, much of the grammatical structure of sign language is not indicated by the signer's hands.

While the hands are responsible for forming the words themselves, markers called "non-manual elements" control much of the languages' grammatical structure. Non-manual elements (or markers) are body language techniques that don't use the hands. These include head movements, body positioning and facial expressions. Used together with the signs. these elements give sign language a subtle and extremely complicated grammatical structure. Linguist Andrea Lackner from Alpcn-Adria University in Austria did a study that shows just how important these non-manual elements are to sign language users.

The study assessed just how many different things non-manual elements can do. For this study, all participants were deaf users of Austrian Sign Language. They watched a video of someone using sign language, and they had to describe the purpose of each non-manual element. The results were very complicated. For instance, things as subtle as the direction of the signer's gaze can indicate whether or not a statement is hypothetical(假设的). A single head movement can indicate the emotion of a statement, a conditional or if situation, or a signer's feelings toward a hypothetical question. Body language is always important, but in sign language, it can change the entire meaning of a sentence!

1. What do signers use their hands to do mostly?

A．To know people's words and letters.	B．To understand people's meanings.
C．To form the grammatical structure.	D．To form words and letters.

2. What do non-manual elements include?

A．Words, sign language and body language.

B．Head movements, body language and signs.

C．Head movements, body positioning and facial expressions.

D．Body positioning, facial expressions and signs.

3. What does the study show about sign language?

A．The main function of the non-manual elements.

B．The importance of the non-manual elements.

C．The influence of body language on sign language.

D．The influence of sign language on body language.

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Non-manual Elements Counts in Sign Language	B．Ways to Avoid Being Misunderstood
C．Grammatical Elements in Sign Language	D．The Importance of Sign Language