【推荐1】Every morning at 5 am when most people are asleep, a figure would be busy in the kitchen, cooking meals until the rest of the volunteers arrive. Day in and day out, Mr. Tay and his team prepare, cook, pack and deliver the food to various parts of the island.

His journey started when one of his neighbors, Lisa, asked him to collect vegetables and give them away at Bukit Ho Swee, a poor neighborhood, and thus, he continued to do so for a period of time. During one of these visits, his wife noticed that the elderly folk did not take the vegetables. Asked why, one replied that she could not cook, so she only ate the rice delivered to her. Mrs. Tay then offered to cook for her, and it was that single meal that spurred Willing Hearts, which has served about 650,000 meals ever since.

The soup kitchen sees many volunteers, some of whom are new, while others have been around since the organization’s early days. They learn how to cook, interact with people from all walks of life, pick up different languages, gain greater knowledge about social issues, and most importantly, they will form a strong tie with one another. Through Willing Hearts, Mr. Tay hopes to make “the country’s backyard” known to the younger generation, to allow them to see and experience firsthand what goes on behind closed doors.

As a non-profit organization, Willing Hearts depends heavily on donations and food collections. However, this does not trouble Mr. Tay. He believes that you have to let things flow in gradually, and not be stopped by concerns which create an unnecessary amount of stress. He calls the volunteers of Willing Hearts the organization’s eyes and ears, as they are always on the lookout for the poor to lend a hand.

1. What does the underlined word “spurred” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Stood for.

B．Led to.

C．Belonged to.

D．Depended on.

2. What does Mr. Tay intend to show to the younger generation?

A．The true life of poor people.	B．The advantage of social life.
C．The way of gaining knowledge.	D．The firsthand experience of volunteers.

3. Which of the following can be used to describe Mr. Tay?

A．Showy and generous.	B．Caring and demanding.
C．Creative and humorous.	D．Hardworking and positive.

4. What is the suitable title of the text?

A．A Couple Helping Others	B．Volunteering Benefiting a Lot
C．Willing Hearts Lending a Hand	D．A Tie Strengthening Volunteers

【推荐3】When the designer and typographer (排印工) Marcin Wichary chanced upon a tiny museum just outside Barcelona five years ago, the experience tipped his interest in the history of technology into an obsession with a very particular part of it: the keyboard.

“I have never seen so many typewriters under one roof. Not even close,” he shared on the Internet at the time. “At this point, I literally have tears in my eyes. I’m not kidding. This feels like a miracle.”

He’d had a discovery while wandering through the exhibit: Each key on a keyboard has its own stories. And these stories are not just about computing technology, but also about the people who designed, used, or otherwise interacted with the keyboards.

Take the backspace key for example, he explains, “I like that the concept of backspace was originally just that — a space going backward. We are used to it erasing now, but for a hundred years, erasing was its own incredibly complex effort. You needed to master a Comet eraser, or Wite-Out, or strange correction tapes, and possibly all of the above… or give up and start from scratch whenever you made a small mistake in typing.”

The deeper he researched, the more obsessive he became. Amazed that no comprehensive books existed on the history of keyboards, he decided to create his own. When not working at his day job as the design leader for the design software company Figma, he began producing Shift Happens, a two-volume, 1,216-page hardcover book — and raised over $750,000 for the project on Kickstarter in March of 2023. Wichary was only a bit surprised by the support and the keyboard’s wide appeal. As he points out. “It’s such a crucial device that occupies a lot of our waking life.”

1. Which is the closest understanding of the underlined phrase tipped his interest________.

A．made him lose his interest	B．weakened his interest
C．publicized his interest	D．changed his interest

2. What did Wichary discover while admiring the keyboards?

A．The wisdom of human.	B．The stories behind them.
C．The secret of the keyboards.	D．The history of technology.

3. What does Wichary want to tell us about the backspace key in Paragraph 4?

A．It is the outcome of long-term improvement.

B．It can be used to move back one space.

C．It is a rather simple but powerful key.

D．It permits people to make mistakes when typing.

4. Why did Wichary write his own book?

A．To make money.	B．To record history.
C．To fill a gap.	D．To become a celebrity.

【推荐1】William Shakespeare was the greatest writer in the English language and is known around the world. But how much do you really know about him?

Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon, located in central England, in 1564. At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children. Then Shakespeare went to London to work as an actor and writer. In 1599, the Globe Theatre was built in London. It was in this theatre that some of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. In 1613, the theatre was destroyed by a fire. However, a modern reconstruction of the theatre was built near the original site in 1997, so even today you can go to the Globe Theatre to see one of Shakespeare’s plays.

His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets and some other poems. He is best known for his plays, which have been translated into every major language and are performed more than those of any other playwright (剧作家) in the world. Shakespeare’s works remain very popular. But why do we like these old plays? Perhaps it is because they all contain fantastic stories. His characters suffer bloody battles, deaths by poison, and dramatic family battles. His plays are full of exciting storylines and lessons about morality.

Hamlet, for example, is about revenge (复仇) and also about how difficult it is to take action sometimes, even when it is important to do so. Hamlet’s father is murdered by another man, who then marries Hamlet’s mother. Everybody wants to see Hamlet dead. Hamlet must take revenge. But will he be able to? The famous quote “To be or not to be, that is the question” comes from this play.

1. How is Paragraph 2 organized?

A．In order of time.	B．In order of location.
C．In order of importance.	D．In order of preference.

2. Paragraph 3 mainly talks about Shakespeare’s ________.

A．poems	B．characters
C．childhood	D．achievements

3. Modern people still like reading Shakespeare’s works to ________.

A．experience history	B．enjoy good stories
C．admire heroes	D．gain knowledge

4. What can be learned about Hamlet?

A．He is afraid of death.	B．He hates his father.
C．He is in a dilemma.	D．He never takes action.

【推荐2】Book lovers all over the world have read, enjoyed, and appreciated some of the most famous writers of all times. And today compiling them in a list is a great pleasure.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Fondly known as The Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare has been perhaps the most revered British poet, playwright, and author in English literature, who has been a great influence on the literature, art culture, films and theatre since time immemorial. Some of his famous works include, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear.

Jane Austen (1775-1817): Jane Austen, a romantic fiction writer from British, published many of her books anonymously (匿名地). Her books usually revolved round women, family, and marriage and through her books she highlighted the fact that if a woman wants to feel secure emotionally, socially and financially she needs to find the right man in her life. Her books are termed as classic today with some of them finding a place in the school syllabus as well. Some of her famous works include Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870): Who can forget Charles Dickens while compiling the list of most famous British writers? An author of the Victorian Era, Dickens wrote fiction and non-fiction novels, short stories, poems and plays and some of his famous works include, A tale of two cities, Great expectations, David Copperfield, and The Adventures of Oliver Twist.

J. K. Rowling (1965): A list of famous British authors will be incomplete without the mention of the contemporary author J.K., Rowling, who has brought the youth and the children "back to reading” in this day and age of computers and Internet. She has become a rage the world over with the Harry Potter Series, which have sold more than four hundred million copies, the world over.

1. Which of the following is true of William Shakespeare?

A．He was good at writing short stories.	B．He made a great contribution to movies.
C．David Copperfield is one of his works.	D．He was born in the 17th century.

2. One of Charles Dickens’ well-known books is __________.

A．The Adventures of Oliver Twist	B．A Midsummer Night's Dream
C．Harry Potter Series	D．Pride and Prejudice

3. Who are skilled in writing poems according to this passage?

A．Jane Austen and J. K. Rowling	B．William Shakespeare and Jane Austen
C．Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare	D．J. K. Rowling and Charles Dickens

4. All the authors mentioned in the passage are mostly likely to come from __________.

A．England	B．America
C．German	D．France

【推荐3】Pearl S. Buck was born in Virginia, the United States in 1892 and her parents were missionaries. When Buck was four months old, her parents took her with them to China.

From childhood, Buck spoke both Chinese and English. She grew up playing with Chinese children. She never developed a feeling of superiority toward the Chinese. Rather, Buck was better equipped to recognize some of the absurdities (荒唐的行为) her parents’ profession.

Buck returned to the United States to attend Randolph-Macon Women’s College. However, the country of her birth was largely unfamiliar to her, so she felt like a foreigner. After graduation, she returned to China to take care of her sick mother. Her first and only biological child, Carol, was born a few years after she got married. Due to a tumor, Buck had to have an operation. Soon afterwards her daughter was severely ill. Almost at the same time, her mother died after her long illness. Despite these misfortunes placed on her life, she refused to be defeated.

The Good Earth, her best-known book, was published in 1931. The novel quickly gained an international reputation. It was cited in the decision to award her the Noble Prize for Literature, “for her rich and truly great descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces” a year later. Pearl Buck’s works after 1938 are too many to mention. Her novels continued to deal with the confrontation (对抗) of East and West, her interest spreading to such countries as India and Korea.

Buck also devoted herself to humanitarian causes. With her husband, she founded an adoption agency for mixed-race Asian and American children. These children were often outcasts in Asian countries because of their mixed blood and because they were often the illegitimate (私生的) children of American servicemen.

Buck spent all her life trying to help people in the USA understand Chinese culture. She wanted to prove to her readers that the universality of mankind can exist if they accept it.

1. What can we know about Buck?

A．She couldn’t speak English when she was young.

B．She couldn’t get on with her parents.

C．She was proud of her parents’ profession.

D．She grew up in China.

2. What is The Good Earth mainly about?

A．Conflicts in India and Korea.	B．What Buck saw in China.
C．Children’s life in an adoption agency.	D．Why Buck chose to live in China.

3. What does the underlined word “outcasts” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Children whose parents were Asians.	B．Children whose parents were busy.
C．Children who were disabled.	D．Children who were abandoned.

4. Which of the following can best describe Buck?

A．Ambitious and polite.	B．Brave and patient.
C．Determined and generous.	D．Positive and humorous.

【推荐2】阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题

One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word "Poems" appeared in big, hot pink letters.

"Is it good?" I asked her. "Yeah," she answered. "There's one I really like and you'll like it, too.” I leaned forward “Patty Poem,” she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began:

She never puts her toys away.

Just leaves them scattered where they lay,…

The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:

When she grows and gathers poise,

I`ll miss her harum-scarum noise.

And look in vain for scattered toys.

And I'll be sad.

A terrible sorrow washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock.

"It's you, honey," My mother said sadly.

To my mother, the poem revealed a parent's affection when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the "she" in the poem was horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible I burst out crying.

"What's wrong?" "my mother asked.

"Oh Mama," I cried. "I don't want to grow up ever!"

She smiled. "Honey, it's okay. You' re not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I'll still love you, okay?"

"Okay," I was still weeping. My panic has gone. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple I could plainly understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now fascinated by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person's world.

I have since fallen in love with other poems, but "Patty Poem" remains my poem. After all, "Patty Poem" gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, but because it was the one that hurt me the most.

1. Why was the writer attracted by the book Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again?(no more than 10 words)
2. Why didn't the writer want to grow up?(no more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word weeping mean?(1 word)
4. What did the writer think of the language of "Patty Poem"?(no more than 8 words)

【推荐3】Even successful poets may be frightened the first time they sit down to write a poem. This is hardly unusual. But the good news is that once ideas begin to flow, the craft of poetry is remarkably satisfying.     1    

Don’t be absorbed in your first line. If you don’t feel you have exactly the right words to open your poem, don’t give up there.     2     The opening line is just one component of an overall piece of art. Don’t give it more outsized importance than it needs.

Accept tools. If a rhyming dictionary will help you complete a poem, you should definitely use it.     3     Just be sure you understand the true meaning of the words you put into your poem. Some synonyms (同义词) listed in a dictionary will be different from the meaning you wish to convey.

Enhance the poetic form with literary devices.     4     Develop your poetry writing skills by using metaphor, imagery, and other literary devices into your poems. This can be relatively easy in an unrhymed form like free verse, and more challenging in poetic forms that have strict rules about rhyme.

    5     Writing poetry is so much more fruitful when you’re involved in the work of others. Make the language of poetry second nature by reading other poets — both the classics and living, working artists.

A．Start small.

B．Read poetry whenever possible.

C．Here are tips to help you start writing.

D．Form choice is the most essential component of a good poem.

E．Keep writing and come back to the first line when you’re ready.

F．Like any form of writing, poetry is enhanced by literary devices.

G．You’d be surprised how many professional writers also make use of these tools.