【推荐2】阅读理解。
Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student(技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls(光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it , but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son ,with other motorheads,fixed the car. They got parts(零件）from ajunkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The lost was $25 instead of $80.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?

A．To avoid becoming his clone.

B．To resemble him in appearance.

C．To develop in a different direction.

D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals.

2. What can we learn about the author’s children?

A．His daughter does better in school.

B．His daughter has got a master’s degree.

C．His son tried hard to finish homework.

D．His son couldn’t write his book reports.

3. The author let his son repair the car because he believed that_______.

A．His son had the ability to fix it.

B．it would save him much time.

C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss

D．other motorheads would come to help.

4. In the author’s eyes, motorheads are _______.

A．tidy and hardworking	B．cheerful and smart
C．lazy but bright	D．relaxed but rude

5. What did the author realize in the end?

A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path.

B．It is important for one to make the honor roll.

C．Architects play a more important role than builders.

D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers.

【推荐3】Does failure really exist?

If you believe you have failed, then you have. If you believe you don’t have the ability to succeed, then you don’t.     1    The moment you decide to give up or stop working toward your goals, failure is born.

    2    

Most people give themselves out without even realizing it. They are willing to work hard on reaching their goals, but only until the going gets too difficult or their energy dies down. Don’t do that!    3     Never quit, never admit failure, and never lose heart.

Don’t believe in a clear finish line for goals.

It’s a good idea to set a general timeline, but remember that something will be beyond your control.     4     If you lock yourself into a given timeline, you might make yourself feel like a failure! Instead, take it one day at a time and focus on making progress.

Be sure that you don’t see difficulties as failures.

Difficulties mean only one thing: it’s not time for your goal to be completed yet. That’s it! It doesn’t mean you failed; it doesn’t mean you’re weak; it doesn’t mean you’ll never achieve your goals.    5     You’ve got to keep moving forward and find a way over, around, or through the difficulties.

A．Never give up on yourself.

B．Failure only exists in your own mind!

C．That’s exactly how failure makes us feel.

D．It simply means you have not done enough yet.

E．You can never say exactly when your goal will be reached.

F．Instead, make up your mind to reach your goal!

G．Work hard and you will be likely to get good results.

【推荐2】The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has welcomed home two paintings by the Dutch master, more than 14 years after they were ripped (扯) off the museum’s wall in a nighttime theft. Museum director Axel Rueger called their return “one of the most special days in the history of the museum”. The paintings were discovered last year by Italian police while they were searching an Italian criminals’ farmhouse near Naples for evidence of drug dealing. They were in a box and hidden behind a wall in a toilet when they were found.

The paintings were considered among the artworks most searched for in the world. After years in darkness, they can now shine again. They are back on display at the museum before being taken to the conservation studio for repair. Fortunately, they suffered surprisingly little damage as thieves who had climbed up a ladder and broken a window to get into the museum in 2004 ripped them out of their frames.

“It is not only a surprise that the works have been recovered but it’s even more surprising they are in relatively unharmed condition,” Rueger said.

The museum director was on vacation when the call came last year from Italian authorities who believed they had recovered the paintings. He didn’t celebrate right away. He’d had calls like this before.

“I was hopeful but also a little hesitant. Over these years, we had so many occasions when people phoned us, contacted us, claiming that they knew something about the whereabouts (下落) of the works and each time it was false, the trace went cold,” he said. “So… the way has been full of disappointment.” But museum experts sent to Italy to check the authenticity (真实性) of the works quickly turned Ruegers doubts into delight.

Rueger said the paintings are now back at the museum, which is home to dozens of works by Van Gogh. “I’m very confident that everything is safe in the museum from now on,” he said.

1. How were the stolen paintings found?

A．The police found them by accident.	B．The arrested thieves gave information.
C．Some drug dealers offered clues.	D．The police knew the hidden place.

2. What surprised Rueger most about the lost paintings?

A．They were stolen at night.	B．They were found at last.
C．They suffered little damage.	D．The search took 14 years.

3. When Rueger got the call, he ________.

A．didn’t believe it at all	B．felt quite satisfied
C．planned to celebrate	D．doubted the news

4. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Rueger gradually lost interest in the search.

B．The number of false calls was greatly reduced.

C．Rueger felt cold because of too many false calls.

D．The chance to find the paintings became small.

【推荐3】Georiga O’Keeffe always thought of herself as an artist. By 1928, the rest of the world did, too. At the age of 41 she was living in New York City and becoming a well-known painter. Still, O’Keeffe wasn’t happy. New York had been a good source of ideas for almost ten years. Now those ideas were drying up. O’Keeffe felt like she needed a change. She had visited New Mexico in 1917 with her sister. The wide open space had thrilled her. “Maybe I should go back,” she thought. In April of 1929, O’Keeffe packed her bags.

The wide open space of New Mexico drew O’Keeffe in. She spent hours just watching the sky change. Because the light was so clear, she felt like she could see for the first time. The beauty of the land renewed her. She couldn’t wait to start painting. Cow and horse skulls and desert flowers filled her canvases (画布). The colors of the desert inspired O’Keeffe. As a result, she made new choices in her artwork. “The color up there is different,” she explained. She loved the dusty blues and greens.

That August, O’Keeffe went home to New York. It was the start of a pattern. Each spring, she traveled to New Mexico to paint. These trips restored her spirit. Then, in the fall, she would return to New York. There, she showed her work. Each time O’Keeffe visited New Mexico, she explored a little more.

The bleached animal bones and skulls that O’Keeffe found excited her because she could see their special beauty. The bones didn’t mean death to O’Keeffe. To   her, they showed the lasting beauty of the desert. The landscapes, clear light, and bright colors also spoke to her. She often painted close-ups of the rocks and mountains. Later, she began to travel more in search of new ideas. However, she always came back to New Mexico.

As O’Keeffe grew older, her eyesight began to fail. Still, O’Keeffe wasn’t ready to give up. Her friend Juan Hamilton helped her work with watercolors. He also taught her to sculpt. As a result, she made art into her 90s. When she died at the age of 98, Hamilton sprinkled her ashes over the desert. Her body became part of the land that had touched her art and her life.

1. O’Keeffe was unhappy in New York in 1928 because __________.

A．she was lack of the creative ideas	B．she felt disappointed about her job
C．she was not successful as an artist	D．she felt bored about life in a big city

2. After her trips to New Mexico, O’Keeffe __________.

A．received great reputation there	B．discovered the meaning in her life
C．chose to settle down in that country	D．got new thoughts from the scenery

3. What can we know about O’Keeffe from the passage?

A．She was never afraid of failure and death.	B．She was devoted and passionate about art.
C．She was patient with the coming chances.	D．She was curious about the nature of people.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for this article?

A．Lifestyle in the Desert	B．Special Love for Art
C．Inspiration from the Desert	D．Modern Women Artists

【推荐1】Beauty has always been regarded as something that deserves praise. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier，have better marriages and nave more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive（主管）circle, beauty can become a liability.

While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder，it is harmful to a woman. ①

Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men；effort and ability were thought to account for their success.

② Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones；their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable（能力强的）than the attractive female executives. Interestingly，though，the rise of the unattractive overnight success was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight success.

③ An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine（女性化的）and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus，an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the “manly” qualities required.

This is true even in politics（政治）, “When the only clue is how he or she looks，people treat men and women differently,” says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates（候选人）. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. Then the students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again，in the order they would vote for them.

④ The results showed that attractive males defeated unattractive men. but the women who had been ranked most attractive received the fewest votes.

1. The underline word “liability” in paragraph 1 most probably means

A．trouble	B．advantage
C．misfortune	D．opportunity

2. In traditionally female jobs，attractiveness ________

A．is beneficial	B．is decisive
C．ensures success	D．reflects honesty

3. The sentence “why are attractive women not thought to be able?” should be put in _______.

A．①

B．②

C．③

D．④

4. The author writes this passage to _______.

A．demand equal rights in politics for females

B．give advice on how to achieve success for men

C．stress the importance of appearance for job-seekers

D．discuss the disadvantages of attractiveness for women

【推荐2】Convincing someone to change their mind is really the process of convincing them to change their tribe (部落). If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind unless you take away their community too.

The way to change people’s minds is to become friends with them, to assimilate them into your tribe, and to bring them into your circle. Now, they can change their beliefs without the risk of being abandoned socially.

The British philosopher Alain de Botton suggests that we simply share meals with those who disagree with us: “Sitting down at a table with a group of strangers has the overwhelming and odd benefit of making it a little more difficult to hate them without punishment. Prejudice and conflict between groups of people from different nations or races feed off abstraction. However, during a meal, something like handing dishes around, unfolding napkins (餐巾纸) at the same moment, or even asking a stranger to pass the salt makes us less likely to hold the belief that the outsiders who wear unusual clothes and speak with distinctive accents deserve to be sent home or attacked. For all the large-scale political solutions which have been proposed to ease racial or cultural shock, there are few more effective ways to promote tolerance between suspicious neighbours than to force them to eat supper together.”

Perhaps it is not difference but distance that produces tribalism(部落主义) and unfriendliness. As proximity increases, so does understanding. I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Facts don’t change our minds. Friendship does.

The Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once wrote, “Always remember that to argue, and win, is to break down the reality of the person you are arguing against. It is painful to lose your reality, so be kind, even if you are right.”

The word “kind” originated from the word “kin (family and relatives)”. When you are kind to someone, it means you are treating them like family. This, I think, is a good method for actually changing someone’s mind. Develop a friendship. Share a meal. Gift a book. Be kind first, and be right later.

1. People are likely to change their minds when they ________.

A．change their beliefs

B．are made friends with

C．move to a new community

D．are given somewhere to go

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

A．Nearness.	B．Action.
C．Communication.	D．Politeness.

3. According to the passage, sharing meals is effective in building connections because it ________.

A．pleases people with different beliefs or accents

B．makes people focus on eating rather than conflicts

C．brings benefits to the people having dinner together

D．promotes understanding and tolerance among people

【推荐3】Sport is not only physically challenging, but can also be mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches, parents and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create too much anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical,emotional, or psychological and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.

The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches' criticisms to heart and find flaws in themselves.

Coaches and parents should also pay attention that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today's youth sport setting young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters' performances. Positive support should be provided regardless of the outcome. Research indicates that positive support motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress,which can lead to burnout.

1. An effective way to prevent the bumout of young athletes is________.

A．to make sport less competitive

B．to increase their sense of success

C．to reduce their mental stress

D．to make sport more challenging

2. According to the passage, sport is positive for young people in that________.

A．it can help them learn more about society

B．it enables them to find flaws in themselves

C．it can provide them with valuable experiences

D．it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves

3. According to the passage, parents and coaches should________.

A．pay more attention to letting children enjoy sport

B．help children to win every game

C．train children to cope with stress

D．enable children to understand the positive aspect of sport

4. The author's purpose in writing the passage is ________.

A．to teach young athletes how to avoid burnout

B．to persuade children not to worry about criticism

C．to stress the importance of positive support to children

D．to discuss the skill of combining criticism with encouragement

【推荐1】Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized (归类) as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings.
       Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
       Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
       Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
       In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action, we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
       There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
1. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ________.

A．self-respect	B．financial rewards
C．advertising ability	D．friendly relationship

2. The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to ________.

A．lying	B．stealing
C．cheating	D．advertising

3. The phrase “bringing the error to the clerk’s attention” (in Para.5) means ________.

A．telling the truth to the clerk

B．offering advice to the clerk

C．asking the clerk to be more attentive

D．reminding the clerk of the charged item

4. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A．How to Live Truthfully

B．Importance of Peacefulness

C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D．Happiness through Honorable Action

【推荐2】A group of scientists are hurrying to document and protect the ancient ruins along Puerto Rico's coasts. They are working as fast as they can before rising sea levels destroy a large part of the island's history.

The work started in August 2017. With the help of 3D imaging and other advanced technologies, the scientists have explored a large piece of land along Puerto Rico's north coast and identified an ancient ceremonial center used by the Taino Indians. About 2,000 years ago, the Tainoes lived on many islands in the Caribbean Sea. But after the arrival of Christopher Columbus and other Europeans, they were all killed.

Scientists also found a large living place just east of the site? which is seriously endangered by rising sea levels and other natural disasters. Puerto Rico's Department of Natural Resources has said the sea level around the island is rising by more than 3 mm every year.

However, climate change has more immediate effects. These include the destruction of the Puerto Rico coastline and natural habitats by storms.

Warmer temperatures in the Caribbean increase the number and strength of storms and Puerto Rico faces the possibility of storms every year for six months during the Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Maria had already washed away part of its history.

Scientists are now trying to find out how badly the hurricanes and loss of land have affected the heritage site they are studying. Eric Lo is an engineer who flew to Puerto Rico in August 2017 to start the project one month before Maria struck the island. Lo was surprised at what he saw when he returned months later.

“Pieces of land where I stood do not exist anymore. They are underwater,” he said.

1. Where did the scientists find the ancient Taino Indians' living place?

A．Under the Caribbean Sea.	B．In a European country.
C．On Puerto Rico's north coast.	D．Along Puerto Rico's east coast.

2. Why have the Tainos disappeared from the islands in the Caribbean Sea?

A．They were killed by the Europeans.	B．They were destroyed by Hurricane Maria.
C．They were driven away by the rising sea levels.	D．They were moved away by their government.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The serious damage caused by storms.	B．The plan to protect the heritage sites.
C．The loss of natural habitats in Puerto Rico.	D．The worsening climate conditions in the world.

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

A．The Obvious Effects of Global Climate Change

B．Efforts to Preserve Puerto Rico's Coastal Heritage

C．New Discoveries of Ancient Taino Indians' Ruins

D．Technologies Used to Identify the Ancient Ruins

【推荐3】A 23-year-old British woman has invented a product that she hopes will one day replace single-use plastic. The new product is made by combining fishing waste and algae (海藻). It could be used to replace plastic bags or containers that people use once and throw away.

Lucy Hughes created the material, called MarinaTex, for her final year project at the University of Sussex. The Reuters news agency says she continued her research after she left the university. MarinaTex is edible, meaning it can be eaten without danger. Hughes says it is also strong and stable. But unlike plastic, MarinaTex biodegrades (生物降解) in four to six weeks under normal conditions and does not pollute the soil.

The inventor said she is concerned about the growing amounts of plastics in ocean waters. She noted one report that there would be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans by the year 2050. The United Nations estimates that 100 million tons of plastic waste has already been dumped in the oceans.

Hughes also was investigating ways to reduce the amount of waste from the fishing industry. The industry produces an estimated 50 million tons of waste worldwide each year, UN officials say. Examining fish parts left over from processing helped to give her the idea for a material that was useful and did no harm to the environment. To create a strong material, Hughes added the molecule (分子) chitosan, which comes from sea creatures. After months of testing, Hughes produced a strong, flexible sheet that forms at temperatures below 100℃.

Inventor James Dyson said that MarinaTex is “stronger, safer and much more sustainable” than the material that single-use plastic bags are made of. It is also easier to break down. Hughes will receive about $ 41,000 in prize money as the first place winner of the James Dyson Award. She told Reuters that she plans to use the money to further develop I the product and ways to mass produce it.

1. What can we learn about MarinaTex from the passage?

A．It is strong and safe to eat.	B．It is quite soft and fragile to use.
C．It can replace all plastic products.	D．It can break down naturally withing six days.

2. What inspired Lucy Hughes to produce MarinaTex?

A．Her final year project.	B．Checking fishing waste.
C．The James Dyson Award.	D．One report from the United Nations.

3. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Fish.

B．Plastic.

C．Chitosan.

D．MarinaTex.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A 23-year-old college student won a prize.	B．A new product is made of ocean waste.
C．A British woman invented a substitute for plastic.	D．The ocean is becoming increasingly polluted.