【推荐1】Life can bring us down from time to time. At some point，you may find yourself in what you will consider as your darkest hour. As you try to find your way out of that bad situation，you should try to remind yourself that there is always still a reason to be grateful.

If you look at your situation now and compare it with that of someone else who is in much deeper trouble than you，I am sure that you'll find something to be thankful for. We all have our share of problems. But complaining about them only makes us blind to the fact that there are miracles happening around us every day.

When all your needs are met，then you should be content and happy. If you have a roof over your head，some decent（像样的）clothes to wear，enough food on the table，a comfortable place to sleep in，clean water to drink and you are free to make your own choices，then you should be happy and grateful. Many people around the world，especially those who are at war or those in very poor countries would give anything to be in your shoes.

Even if you lose all your possessions and your heart is broken for some reason, as long as you are still alive and energetic, then every material thing you have lost can be regained. If you have a few good friends to support or help you, then be glad because true friends are hard to find. As long as you have someone to love and someone to love you back, then you are a very fortunate person. Remember to be patient and trust that things will get better.

1. What are we advised to do when life lets us down?

A．To try to keep calm.

B．To imagine a better future.

C．To realize things could be worse.

D．To fight against the bad situation bravely.

2. What is the result of complaining about the bad situation?

A．Ignoring something good.

B．Creating a far worse situation.

C．Taking everything for granted.

D．Failing to share the pain with others.

3. What does the underlined part "in your shoes" in Paragraph 3 mean？

A．In your honor.	B．On your behalf.
C．In your situation.	D．In touch with you.

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

A．Patience is a virtue

B．Why you should be grateful

C．How to deal with hard times

D．A friend in need is a friend indeed

【推荐2】When I made the decision to take a gap year, it wasn’t a big deal. I supposed I would earn some money, and then travel somewhere far away to have an incredible adventure.

Two months later, I was on a plane for Thailand. Upon arrival at Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (WFFT), I was in love. The animals, the atmosphere, the community, everything here surpassed any expectation I had ever had. WFFT is an organization that takes in animals, wild or domestic, and cares for them until they can be released back into the wild.

At the end of my three months at WFFT, I was very sick and scared, so I changed travel plans and left Asia early. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly. It was necessary, and I was proud of myself for making the choice to take care of myself and not feel like a failure. I didn’t feel like my adventure had been cut short; it was simply a change of plans. Instead of going home, I flew to Tacoma, WA to visit my sister.

One of the most important things I’ve learned this year is to just keep putting one foot in front of the other; whether it’s a challenge or change, the best way to get through it is one step at a time.

I’ve had time to reflect on my year so far, and I’m surprised to find that I’ve changed greatly and have learned more than I have ever realized. I’ve broadened my perspective of the world and come back more understanding and compassionate towards people, animals and the environment. I’m grateful for my good fortune in life. I’ve developed a growing sense of wonder in myself, and an appetite for more of what life has to offer.

1. What was the author’s plan for the gap year? (no more than 10 words)
2. What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2? (no more than 8 words)
3. How did the author feel about her leaving Asia early? (no more than 10 words)
4. What’s one of the most important things the author has learned from the gap year?   (no more than 15 words)
5. Do you think it’s beneficial to take a gap year? Give your reasons.   (no more than 20 words)

【推荐1】My First Marathon（马拉松）

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was ＂not athletic＂.

The idea that I was ＂not athletic＂ stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign: ＂GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!＂

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a ＂marathon winner＂.

1. A month before the marathon, the author ____________.

A．was well trained	B．felt scared
C．made up his mind to run	D．lost hope

2. Why did the author mention the P.E. class in his 7th year?

A．To acknowledge the support of his teacher.

B．To amuse the readers with a funny story.

C．To show he was not talented in sports.

D．To share a precious memory.

3. How was the author’s first marathon?

A．He made it.	B．He quit halfway.
C．He got the first prize.	D．He walked to the end.

4. What does the story mainly tell us?

A．A man owes his success to his family support.

B．A winner is one with a great effort of will.

C．Failure is the mother of success.

D．One is never too old to learn.

【推荐2】Caroll Spinney

Caroll Spinney started working with puppets when he was eight years old. In 1969 he started working on Sesame Street, an American television series for children. Today, the series is shown on television in more than eighty countries and Spinney is still the man inside the eight-foot yellow chicken called Big Bird.

Spinney loves his work and knows that he has a responsibility for children watching the programme. He doesn’t want children to know that Big Bird is really a man, so he tries to notice every detail.

Caitlin Moran

When Caitlin Moran was eleven, her parents asked her if she wanted to leave school and study at home. She refused at first, but changed her mind and left school two years later. Her experiences provided the story for her first book, The Chronicles of Narmo.

It is a wonderful story about a year in the life of a family who educate their children at home. She started writing it at thirteen and finished it soon after her sixteenth birthday. Now she enjoys writing and is writing a play and her second book.

Rick Allen

Rick Allen, the well-known drummer of the Irish rock band Def Leppard, joined the band on his fifteenth birthday. A year later, in 1979, the band became famous. Then, in 1984, Rick had a very bad car accident and lost his left arm. A friend developed an electronic drum kit so that he could play the drums with an arm and two feet. He returned to the band with great happiness and he still performs with them now. The first time he played in a big concert everybody was so kind that he cried.

Now Rick is married and has a home life. Life with one arm is still a problem, but if he can 't chop vegetables with one hand he simply uses his feet.

1. Which of the following can describe Caroll Spinney?

A．Creative and hopeful.

B．Brave but proud.

C．Responsible and careful.

D．Hopeful but lazy.

2. What was the inspiration for Caitlin Moran’s first book?

A．Her school life.

B．Her birthday party.

C．Her parents’ career.

D．Her home-study experience.

3. What can we infer about the people mentioned in the text?

A．They enjoy their jobs.

B．They are highly talented.

C．They are good at performing.

D．They became famous late in life.

【推荐3】When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she fought to find a place to sleep on the street. But she beat these terrible setbacks（挫折） to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry （录入）into Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story”.

Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up with two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough  food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just l5 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died. She decided to do something about it.

Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, and by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.

She admitted that she used envy （妒忌）to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that “next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time. ”

Liz wants moviegoers（常看电影的人） to come away with the idea that changing your life is “as simple as making a decision”.
1. In which order did the following things happen to Liz?
a. Her mother died of AIDS.
b. She got admitted into Harvad.
c. She worked at a petrol station.
d. The movie about her life was put on.
e. She had trouble finding a place to sleep.

A．c, a, e, b, d	B．a, b, c, e, d
C．c, d, b, a, e	D．b, e, a, d, c

2. What actually made her go towards her goal?

A．Envy and encouragement.

B．Willpower and determination.

C．Decisions and understanding

D．Love and respect for her parents.

3. What does Liz mean by saying “What drove me to live on...I had only experienced a small part of the society”?

A．She had little experience of social life.

B．She could hardly understand the society.

C．She would do something for her own life.

D．She needed to travel more around the world.

4. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Why Liz loved her parents so much.

B．How Liz made efforts to change her life.

C．What a hard time Liz had in her childhood.

D．How Liz managed to enter Harvard University.

【推荐1】One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem—inability to read.

In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room.” 1 sat down on the floor and pulled few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle (小猎犬). I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.

There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked identical (相同的)to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story, about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on until my lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I Suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般的) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

1. At the age of 12, the mother of the author ordered the author to ________.

A．borrow books	B．be able to read
C．read books in a library	D．defeat my strange problems

2. The reason why the author borrowed the book of the beagle was that ________.

A．it was the picture of his beagle

B．it presented a picture of a beagle

C．he could read the book without difficulties

D．the beagle on the cover looked the same as his dog

3. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that ________.

A．this book’s hero is the author

B．the author and his beagle will run together

C．the author missed his beagle very much

D．the author’s dog returned to the owner s family

4. What does the author want to tell us in the end?

A．He wrote many books.

B．He is good at reading.

C．He experienced magically that summer.

D．We can never ignore the charm of a book.

【推荐2】More than £5,500 has been raised after a plea (请愿) last Monday by a vet Dr Scott Miller. Scott said: “I would like to say a massive thank-you to Express readers from myself, from Australia and from the koalas. It’s amazing that people from across the world can see how significant the catastrophe has been. I do appreciate that people are being very supportive and reaching into their pockets.” An area, a third of the size of Britain is estimated to have been ravaged(毁坏) since the blazes(火灾) began in September.

On Friday a state of emergency was declared in the capital Canberra, with residents told to prepare to evacuate as fires on the outskirts (市郊) threatened to spread. A billion animals are feared to have died, including 25,000 koalas.

Last week Scott told how he had visited his homeland, helping to save wildlife on Kangaroo Island off the coast of Adelaide. While there he rescued a mother and a baby koala who were stuck in a tree. The pair were rushed to a field hospital on the island to be treated. The mum had severe burns to her paws and was badly dehydrated(脱水的), while her baby son had an eye injury and was underweight.

Scott, who has appeared on ITV’s This Morning and BBC’s Blue Peter, said the mother is showing “great signs of improvement” and her wounds are starting to heal. The baby has undergone surgery to his eye and is “recovering from the anesthetic (麻药) and doing well”.

But he added: “The mother remains dehydrated so isn’t producing enough milk to feed the baby. At the moment they’re being housed severally but there is the hope that when the baby is a little stronger he will be able to be returned to his mother.”

Even after they recover, the pair will probably spend their lives in an enclosure while the bush takes years to recover. Scott said: “Sadly patients are still coming in thick and fast. Each of these animals is requiring to be housed and fed, and regular medical treatment to their injuries.”

1. What can be inferred from the first two paragraphs?

A．Dr. Scott donated more than ￡5,500.

B．Residents were asked to move to Canberra.

C．Numerous animals might have lost their lives.

D．A large area of Britain has been badly damaged by the fire.

2. What did Dr. Scott do after returning to his homeland?

A．He was rushed to the field hospital to receive treatment.

B．He assisted to rescue the wildlife on Kangaroo Island.

C．He hosted the ITV’S This Morning.

D．He fed the underweight baby koala.

3. What does the underlined word in paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Separately

B．Seriously

C．Successfully

D．Sympathetically

4. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．A big Australian fire	B．People’s generous donation
C．Koalas’ recovery	D．Rescuing koalas

【推荐1】Grand City Tour with Griffith Park Observatory＆Hollywood Sign

Los Angeles, Hollywood, homes of the movie stars-it’s all here on this Grand Tour! Your tour guide takes great pride in offering amazing customer service, too. Hotel pickups are available at almost any hotel in Hollywood, Downtown LA, Mid-Wilshire, West Hollywood and North Hollywood.

From: $69 US Dollars

Movie Star Homes GPS Self-Guided Bike Tour

Want the flexibility of taking a “whenever you feel like it” Hollywood tour? Here’s the perfect solution. Explore and experience the best of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills on your own time, at your own pace! Cycle past legendary homes and all the places where the rich and famous live, shop, eat and play. And your tour is guided by GPS with an iPad fixed to the bicycle!

From: $34.95 US Dollars

Amazing Scavenger Quest in Los Angeles

ONLY $44 FOR UP TO 5 PEOPLE! This Amazing Scavenger Quest is an interactive (互动的) adventure that combines the fun of the “Amazing Race” with a three-hour sightseeing tour of historic downtown Los Angeles. Offered at a fixed price for a group as opposed to per person pricing, this city tour/game offers a great value if you’re on a budget.

From: $44 US Dollars

Disneyland Excursion from Los Angeles

See Disneyland in Anaheim, California-roundtrip transportation from any of the designated (指定的) hotels and admission for a day of Disney fun. Pick-up from Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, Culver City and South Bay area hotels.

From: $179.95 US Dollars

1. If you like to travel at your own pace, you will most probably be interested in _____.

A．Movie Star Homes GPS Self-Guided Bike Tour

B．Amazing Scavenger Quest in Los Angeles

C．Grand City Tour with Griffith Park Observatory＆Hollywood Sign

D．Disneyland Excursion from Los Angeles

2. How much will a family of 4 pay for the Amazing Scavenger Quest in Los Angeles?

A．$69.00 US Dollars.	B．$35.20 US Dollars.
C．$44.00 US Dollars.	D．$176.00 US Dollars.

3. The price of the Disneyland Excursion from Los Angeles includes all the following expenses EXCEPT _____.

A．pick-up service at some locations	B．a one-day ticket to Disneyland
C．transportation back to some hotels	D．a guided tour around Hollywood

【推荐2】For Shaholly Ayers, who was born without a right arm, “no” is something she’s used to hearing. As a child, her teachers told her she wouldn’t be able to participate in a gym class. As a teenager, coaches told her she wouldn’t make the basketball team. And then in college, as she dreamed of becoming a fashion model, an agency (代理机构) she approached said, “It just wouldn’t work.” That day, about 10 years ago, Ayers decided to take action. She decided to realize her dream without an agent.

“I was so new, and I was so green,” she said. “I didn’t have a portfolio or anything. I had to start at the very beginning. I worked with photographers and makeup artists to build my portfolio first, and then I started going to local fashion shops and telling them I’d model for them for free. It worked.”

Ayers has since participated in six seasons of New York Fashion Week, mostly recently walking the runway for Art Hearts Fashion’s shows last month. She has also modeled for Nordstrom, which has nearly 400 chain stores in the USA.

Ayers has a job in digital marketing that she loves, but she hopes to one day be a full-time model. Ayers also hopes to help others find their dream careers as a brand ambassador for Global Disability Inclusion, a consulting company that helps companies attract and hire people with disabilities.

“She shows all we represent,” a manager for the firm said. “She shows to the world that a person with a disability is confident, qualified and, yes, beautiful to be a world-class model.”

Ayers, who asked TODAY Style not to give away her age, as it’s yet another hurdle she has to face in the modeling world, has come a long way from being a little girl in Oregon, where she grew up.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Shaholly Ayers lost her right arm in a traffic accident.

B．Shaholly Ayers gave up her dream to become a model.

C．Her teacher encouraged Ayers to participate in a gym class.

D．Shaholly Ayers was often refused because of her disability.

2. What can we infer about Shaholly Ayers?

A．She is now a part-time model.	B．She isn’t fond of her present job.
C．She has set up a consulting company.	D．She wishes to become an ambassador.

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

A．condition

B．difficulty

C．luck

D．puzzle

4. Which of the following words can best describe Shaholly Ayers?

A．Patient and careful.	B．Humorous and wise.
C．Hardworking and helpful.	D．Friendly and honest.

【推荐3】When I was three, my parents took me to have an operation in India, which stopped my eyesight from deteriorating（恶化）. Several years later we moved to Pakistan, where I received 12 operations within one year and went completely blind. Later, I realized that the doctors used me as an experiment.
I met my husband when he came over from India to study. I wanted to go to India to marry him, but it was almost impossible to emigrate. I made a crazy plan to cross the borders of several countries to get to India. I was arrested in the first country I escaped to. Back in Pakistan, I lost my job and was asked to sign a “never-to-escape” promise. Instead, when I got home, I made a cup of coffee and decided to make a formal application for emigration.The chance was slim , and people who applied to go to India found it hard to find a job in Pakistan while they were waiting. In the end, my husband managed to smooth the way for my emigration. We got married and had children. But after nine years, he died of brain cancer. I was helpless for a while, and then I learned to face reality optimistically. He taught us happiness came from inside us.
Six years ago, I brought home a dog called Moritz from the seeing-eye dog centre. He was short with long ears. No one liked him because of his pathetic（可怜的）appearance. We were almost always together. Moritz could not leave me for even one minute. Now when I walk down the street, not like before, people will come up and say, “What a good seeing-eye dog!”, and have a little chat with me as a normal creature.
I’m now working for the Association of the Blind and I have many good friends, and a special friend in Hamburg. It is a wonderful feeling to speak freely with someone I can’t see, to trust one another.
1. The author went blind just because _______.

A．she was born completely blind

B．she received an operation in India

C．her parents didn’t pay attention to her illness

D．she was unluckily put to the test

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．It was full of hope to unite with her husband.

B．Emigrating to India was never easy at that time.

C．She was very thin and weak at that hard time.

D．There was little chance to find a job in India.

3. When the author walked down the street before, people may _________.

A．look down upon her and view her as a poor being

B．chat with her with great warmth

C．criticize how ugly her dog looked

D．respect her for her independence

4. From the text, we learn the author is ________.

A．a burden not only for her family but also for the society

B．a kind-hearted lady protecting wretched pets

C．not an obedient citizen

D．a determined and optimistic person