【推荐1】For years I have had no idea what I have been doing with my life. I was a 30-year-old lawyer in New York. But being a lawyer is never my dream or goal in life. I honestly wanted to be a writer. I have a good imagination and would write amazing stories in my mind. But I always knew that being a writer was never possible for me because it was a better financial decision to stay a lawyer.

Recently, I couldn’t fall asleep at my usual time of 10 p.m. and when I did fall asleep I had the same dream over and over again. The dream starts with my trying to go for a swim in the ocean and searching for something, but then in the dream I start to drown and have no control over my body. Then a light shines through the water and when I look up all I can see is myself in a bright white room writing a novel. Then I hear a voice say repeatedly, “Now it is time to try something new!”

It wasn’t just a dream;it was my opportunity to make something good out of my life. That afternoon, I quit my job at the law firm and I couldn’t have been any happier. My life started at 30, and since that point I haven’t stopped enjoying life. I started to write and have been on the best-seller list for the last two months. Things have definitely turned around. 

Change is a good thing; it gives us an opportunity to take a chance. So my two favorite words I live by and so should you are “change” and “chance”.

1. What can we know from the first paragraph?

A．The author is now 30 years old.

B．It is impossible for the author to become a writer.

C．A lawyer can be likely to earn more than a writer.

D．The author prefers to be a lawyer rather than be a writer.

2. The second paragraph mainly talks about the author’s 　　　.

A．difficulty in sleeping at night	B．strong desire to become a writer
C．wish to have a swim in the ocean	D．terrible swimming experience in the ocean

3. The underlined part in the third paragraph probably means the author 　　　.

A．regretted having quit his job as a lawyer

B．was unhappy after giving up his job as a lawyer

C．was upset because he had to give up his job as a lawyer

D．was pretty happy after he quit his job as a lawyer

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Lawyer or Writer	B．Change and Chance
C．Change and Regret	D．Risk or Opportunity

【推荐3】Society looks down on people who collect the wastes of others, but what they don’t realize is that they could get more money in one day than what they get in one week working at their daily job from selling other people’s unwanted goods.

I am no “make-money-quick guru” but I have made a couple thousand dollars from selling what others throw out to the garbage. As the saying goes: “One man’s trash (垃圾), another man’s treasure.”

You don’t have to start a business. You could simply sell second-hand things people give away and profit from it. In my high school days, I had my first experience selling an old pre-loved Logitech to a buyer on Gumtree.com.au for $50. I remember how exciting it was for me to make money from something I no longer needed. I technically made a $50 profit in less than an hour.

How to make $1000 with $0 in a day?

Go on platforms such as Facebook market or Gumtree and find things people are giving away for free in your local area, then sell it. I found an abundance of household items like cupboards, shelves, mirror cabinet, and chairs that sell very well. Don’t worry what people think of you, remember that you could get a few hundred for those.

Reinvest your money and buy something with a higher value that someone might be happy to get rid of, and sell that for a profit of $600, etc. Your action is not just about making money, but also seeing it as using the earth’s resources efficiently and not wasting them in the trash.

If there is one thing I learned from this practice, it is that: there is always someone out there who considers one man’s trash as treasure, no matter what the item is.

1. What may a “make-money-quick guru” mean in Paragraph 2?

A．A person who throws unwanted things.

B．A person who works in a big company.

C．A person who makes much money by himself.

D．A person who teaches people how to make much money.

2. How did the writer start his business?

A．By collecting wastes.	B．By selling his old things.
C．By buying valuable things.	D．By giving away useless things.

3. Why did the writer buy more valuable things?

A．To collect them for later use.	B．To get rid of the unwanted things.
C．To learn from the practice.	D．To sell them and get a higher profit.

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

A．Sell Unwanted Things	B．Make Money in a New Business
C．One Person’s Trash, Another Person’s Cash	D．Live an Environmentally Friendly Life

【推荐1】Several years ago, I was living in New York and working for an airline, so I never got back home for Christmas. But this Christmas was different. I was lucky. I had the whole day off, which meant I could spend Christmas Eve with my family.

When Christmas morning came, I awoke to a small hand rubbing my face. "Dad, Merry Christmas!" my younger son said. I got downstairs just to see the little boys' faces as they looked at the pocket rockets Santa Claus had left them. The real Christmas was for the children who had deep belief in the amazing power of Santa Claus. At first, their fingers went almost shyly over their toys. When their inspection（检查）had been completed, the two boys dragged everything into the centre of the living room.

Delight flooded the room. As their mother began giving out gifts, I smiled to myself, wondering what unexpected gift this year I would receive. The children were happily opening packages but I received not a single one. I had to admit that my disappointment was growing steadily, but I tried not to show it.

My youngest son was so kind. He passed me a box saying, "Daddy, it is a gift from Santa Claus for me. But he won't mind that I will give it to a poor dad, right?" I smiled knowing the gift was the one I put in the stocking. I thanked him and gave him a big hug.

Suddenly my wife said, "We haven't forgotten you. Look at the tree." There was an envelope in the tree, addressed to me. I opened it and read, "You have one day off from your job to spend with us. Welcome back home. Merry Christmas!"

Outside, snow was falling, a usual event for a New York Christmas. I was surrounded by an act of love, I smiled at first and cried like a little boy.

1. Why did the author feel lucky this Christmas?

A．Because he had a job in an airline.

B．Because he could spend Christmas at home.

C．Because he got a pay rise before Christmas.

D．Because he had a newborn son before Christmas.

2. When the author found no gifts for him at first, he was ________.

A．angry but pretended to be happy

B．relaxed knowing his wife was too busy

C．surprised to find no one remembered him

D．disappointed but pretended nothing serious

3. Who gave the gift to the youngest son of the author?

A．His mother.	B．Santa Claus.
C．His father.	D．His elder brother.

4. How did the author feel about this Christmas?

A．He felt lonely without other members remembering him.

B．He felt excited at so many gifts given by Santa Claus.

C．He felt proud his son would share everything with him.

D．He felt surrounded by love at the special Christmas.

【推荐2】At a young age, Patti Wilson was told by her doctor that she was an epileptic (癫痫病患者). Her father, Jim Wilson, is a morning jogger. She ran with her father every day. After a few weeks, she told her father, “Daddy, what I’d really love to do is to break the world’s long-distance running record for women.” Her father checked the Guinness World Records and found that the farthest any woman had run was 80 miles.

As a freshman in high school, Patti announced, “I’m going to run from Orange County up to San Francisco.”(A distance of 400 miles.) “As a sophomore (二年级学生),” she went on, “I’m going to run to Portland, Oregon.”(Over 1,500-miles.) “As a junior, I’ll run to St. Louis.”(About 2,000 miles.) “As a senior, I’ll run to the White House.”(More than 3,000 miles away.)

In view of her handicap (缺陷), Patti was as ambitious as she was enthusiastic, but she said she looked at the handicap of being an epileptic as simply “an inconvenience”. She focused not on what she had lost, but on what she had left.

That year she completed her run to San Francisco wearing a T-shirt that read, “I Love Epileptics.” In her sophomore year, Patti’s classmates got behind her. They built a large poster that read — “Run, Patti, Run!”

On her second marathon (马拉松), a doctor told her she had to stop. “Doctor, you don’t understand,” she said. “I’m doing it to break the chains on the brains that limit so many others.”

She finished the run to Portland, completing her last mile with the governor of Oregon. After four months of almost continuous running from the West Coast to the East Coast, Patti arrived in Washington and shook the hand of the then President of the United States. She told him, “I wanted people to know that epileptics are normal human beings with normal lives.”

Because of Patti’s efforts, enough money had been raised to open up 19 multi-million-dollar epileptic centers around the country. If Patti Wilson can do so much with so little, what can you do to outperform (超越) yourself in a state of total wellness?

1. How did Patti look at her illness?

A．She thought of it as a gift.

B．She devoted all her attention to it.

C．She faced it with discouragement.

D．She considered it a small difficulty.

2. What did Patti do when a doctor asked her to stop her run?

A．She continued without quitting.

B．She focused on her treatment.

C．She followed his advice.

D．She asked for her classmates’ assistance.

3. Why did the author ask the question in the last paragraph?

A．To ask readers to answer it.

B．To get inactive people to run.

C．To encourage deep thinking.

D．To show his view on success.

【推荐3】Sitting among the cheering fans of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team in Rio de Janeiro, a Polish fan caught a lot of attention. It is not because he is not Chinese, but because he has followed the team closely from the very beginning.

The 60-year-old Jozef fell in love with the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team at the first sight when he he watched the girls at the London Olympics on TV in 2012. The Polish man was crazy about the performances of the young team, especially by its core player Hui Ruoqi. Before that Jozef was a loyal fan of his home team — the Polish men’s volleyball.

Since then, Jozef has become crazy about the team and has kept track of almost all their international competitions. Back in the 2013 Montreux Volley Masters of Switzerland, the Polish man, for the first time, came to cheer up for the team on site. He also drove all the way from Poland to Italy to lend support for the girls during the 2014 Women’s World Volleyball Championship.

The hardcore fan traveled hundreds of miles from Polancl to Brazil, and booked tickets for all matches of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball.This time, Jozef was interviewed by TV and has been recognized by not just fans, but millions or Chinese TV audience.

The “Polish grandpa” was a nickname given by Chinese volleyball Fans. He has 18,000 followers on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, where Jozef has been sharing his obsession with Chinese Internet users since 2013.

1. Why did Jozef get much attention?

A．He was interviewed by Chinese TV.

B．He is a famous and loyal Polish fan.

C．He has supported the Chinese team from the start.

D．He was sitting among the fans of the Chinese team.

2. When did Jozef first become interested in the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team?

A．In 2012.	B．In 2013.
C．In 2014.	D．In 2015.

3. How did Jozef come to Italy to support the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team?

A．By car.	B．By bus.
C．By bike.	D．By plane.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Jozef has already had millions of fans in Poland.

B．Jozef has been a fan of his home team since 2012.

C．Jozef first cheered up for the Chinese team on site in 2014.

D．Jezef has followed most of the international matches of the Chinese team.

5. What has Jozef been doing on Sina Weibo?

A．Giving support to the Polish team.

B．Sharing his love for the Chinese team.

C．Answering questions about playing volleyball.

D．Booking tickets for matches of the Chinese team.

【推荐1】Young children often “read” picture books. They’re attracted by the colorful scenery and the realistic characters that contribute to fascinating plots.

Unfortunately, some children can’t use these resources, even if they do know how to read. Take three-year old Elodie Bateson, for example. Elodie was born with under-developed eyes and has retinal detachments（视网膜脱落），making her visually impaired.

It is because of people like Elodie that Tom Yeh, head of the Tactile Picture Books Project, has started printing 3D books, so they can feel the illustrations in picture books.

The first book Tom Yeh printed was Goodnight Moon, a popular children’s book about a rabbit going to sleep and wishing good night to his surroundings. In the 3D version of this book， children can feel each thing that the rabbit says good night to, whether it is a cow jumping over the moon, a balloon, or a dollhouse.

Generally, when children grow older, they read by using Braille, a language that was invented by Louis Braille in 1824. It uses different patterns of raised dots representing different letters. Readers can then feel the dots and mentally translate the patterns they feel into words. The only problem is that many blind children do not start learning Braille until they are about six years old.

Another reason why 3D printed books are such a valuable resource is that children don’t have to know how to read to understand them. However, without these, visually impaired kids are losing six developmental years vital to their growth since they can ’t take advantage of picture books.

When 3D picture books are printed, plastic is layered（分层放置）repeatedly over a single shape: the shape of the illustration. These raised pictures created through layered plastic serve as substitutes for the Braille letters that little children have no knowledge of.

1. What does the underlined word “impaired” in paragraph 2 mean？

A．Unmatched.	B．Disappeared.
C．Defeated.	D．Damaged.

2. What can we know about Braille from Paragraph 5？

A．The blind at any age can read by using Braille.

B．Most people can translate Braille into words.

C．Blind kids begin learning Braille at about six years old.

D．Braille uses similar patterns of raised dots to stand for different letters.

3. We can know that the illustrations in 3D books are raised ______ .

A．dots	B．pictures
C．letters	D．plastic

4. What is the aim of the Tactile Picture Books Project？

A．To teach the blind children Braille.

B．To encourage kids to read books.

C．To cure visually impaired children.

D．To help the blind children read picture books.

【推荐2】A miser (吝啬鬼) buried his gold in a secret place in his garden. Every day he went to the place, dug up the treasure and counted it piece by piece to make sure it was all there. He made so many trips that a thief, who saw him, guessed what the miser had hidden. So one night, he quietly dug up the treasure and left with it.

When the miser discovered his gold was lost, he was very sad and cried and tore his hair.

A passerby heard his cries and asked what had happened.

“My gold! Oh my gold!” cried the miser wildly. “Someone has robbed (抢劫) me!”

“Your gold! There in that hole? Why did you put it there? Why did not you keep it in the house where you could easily get it when you had to buy things?”

“Buy!” shouted the miser angrily. “Why? I never touched that gold. I couldn’t think of spending any of it?”

The stranger picked up a large stone and threw it into the hole.

“If that is the case (情况) ，” he said, “cover up that stone. It is worth just as much to you as the treasure you lost!”

A possession (所有，拥有) is worth nothing if you don’t use it.

1. Every day the miser went to his garden to ________.

A．take a walk	B．look for some gold and hide
C．meet a stranger	D．see if his gold was still there

2. After the gold was lost, the miser ________.

A．found the thief	B．called the police
C．was sad and cried	D．put a large stone in the hole

3. From the miser and the passerby's conversation, we know that ________.

A．the miser wouldn’t spend his gold buying things

B．the passerby stole the miser’s gold

C．someone often robbed the miser

D．the passerby spent the gold buying stones

4. The underlined word “worth” probably means ________ in Chinese.

A．廉价的

B．等值的

C．无形的

D．无价的

5. What’s the writer’s attitude (态度) towards a possession?

A．A possession should be kept in a safe place.

B．A miser should not have a possession.

C．If you don’t use a possession, it is worth nothing.

D．If you have a possession, you should spend it quickly.

【推荐3】As an adult, you have to do things like waking up before noon, going to the grocery store on your own, and trying to keep a steady job. And some jobs will require you to speak before more than two people. Don't worry. We've done the research to make you a better public speaker. Now all you have to do is to follow the rules we have collected.

Confidence

Believe in yourself if you want to be a better public speaker. Many speakers are no prepared and lose confidence because of that. But others lack confidence because they are afraid of being judged and they become nervous and sweat a lot just like when they were in high school speech class. Yes, that's the mature (成熟的，成年人的）world we live in. Build your confidence by using all your tools and realizing that you are the centre of public speaking.

Know what's up

You have to know your topic inside and out. Nothing kills your speech like "um" and "uh" appearing in every sentence. You are possibly picked to make this speech because you know something about the topic, so that's half success. Now get in there and learn everything about the topic.

Practice

Researching and knowing your topic is one thing, but actually expressing that information is a wholly different thing. When the lights go down and the spotlight (聚光灯） is on you, no matter how much you know your topic, expressing the information suddenly seems frightening. It is necessary to practice your speech before standing on stage. You should do the rehearsal (排练） again and again in front of the mirror. So when you stand on stage, it will be like riding a bike unless you don't know how to ride a bike.

Dress properly

Of course, you will want to dress properly for the speech-which could be a suit (套装）. Regardless of the dressing, you will want to make sure it is also comfortable for you. If the suit is too tight, stiff, or whatever, it will take your attention away from the speech.

Be Robin Williams

You may not be naturally funny. In fact, you can learn to be funny from other people who happen to be funny. While we are not suggesting you become Robin Williams, we suggest you arm yourself with a joke or two to make sure that your speech is not so boring. Or at least google some funny words or stories you can use in your speech.

1. What is the meaning of "know your topic inside and out" in Paragraph 3?

A．You can't speak with "um" or "uh" in your speech.

B．Do some research to decide on your topic.

C．Try to know something about the topic.

D．Learn everything about the topic.

2. What does the underlined word "Practice" in this passage refer to?

A．Researching and familiarizing oneself with the topic.

B．Doing the speech again and again before standing on stage.

C．Expressing the information under the spotlight.

D．Knowing how to ride a bike.

3. If the suit is too tight and stiff, you will ____ when you speak publicly.

A．fail to focus

B．be nervous

C．feel formal

D．sweat a lot

4. According to the whole passage, which of the following statement is true?

A．If you know the topic of your speech very well, you will be half successful.

B．All speakers lack confidence because they are afraid of being judged.

C．Expressing the information is the same as researching and knowing your topic.

D．You can dress in anything for the speech as long as it makes you comfortable.

【推荐1】The Olympic Games are seen as the greatest test of an athlete’s ability and are supposed to celebrate the spirit of fair play. But in fact, sportsmen have been using drugs to cheat their way to victory since the Games first began.

In the early years, athletes ate mushrooms(蘑菇)and plant seeds to improve their performance. Nowadays, this kind of cheating has a name doping(服用兴奋剂).

Just last month, Britain’s top sprinter(赛跑选手) Dwain Chambers and several American athletes tested positive(呈阳性)for the drug THG. Until a coach secretly gave a sample of THG to scientists, no one knew how to test for it.

“We’re like cops(警察)chasing criminals—athletes are always adapting and looking for areas we haven’t investigated,” said Jacquew de Ceaurriz, a French anti-doping expert.

Since the first drugs test was carried out at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, many cheats have been caught out. The most famous case in history is that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson. He broke the 100 meters world record in winning gold at the 1988 Seoul(汉城)Olympics. But days later, he tested positive for drug use, lost his gold medal and was banned from the sport. Five years later, he returned to action—only to be found positive again and banned forever.

China has also had problems with drug cheats. At the 1994 Asian Games, 11 Chinese athletes—seven of them swimmers—tested positive for banned drugs. Sports organizations promised that cheating on this scale would not happen again.

Experts are also worried that doping can damage a person’s health. It is believed to increase the risk of liver and kidney(肝肾)diseases, and women may experience reproductive(生育) problems. As long as they can stay ahead of the scientists, it is unlikely the cheats will stop. But experts say there is a limit to what can be achieved and that athletes will not be able to change their bodies using gene(基因)technology.

“For the moment, genetic doping does not exist,” said de Ceaurriz. “Even in 10 or 15 years it will not be done easily—the scientific community(界)will not let it happen.”

1. Which of the following is not the way that some athletes cheat to their better sports achievements?

A．Eating mushrooms.	B．Taking drug THG.
C．Taking genetic doping.	D．Eating plant seeds.

2. How many countries are mentioned in the passage in which there were athletes doping?

A．Two.	B．Four.
C．Six.	D．Eight.

3. We can infer from the passage that ____.

A．scientists get a lot of information about drugs before the athletes take doping

B．taking doping will never happen again because of the serious test

C．few athletes used drug cheats before the first drugs test was carried out at the 1968 Olympics

D．problems with drug cheats are still serious though they are severely tested

4. Which statement of the following is true?

A．Many police are sent to chase criminals of taking doping during the Olympic Games.

B．The drug test was carried out until the 1968 Olympics.

C．There is the possibility that women athletes taking doping will give no birth to a child.

D．Ben Johnson was banned from sports forever for being tested positive for drug use at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

【推荐2】Justin’s bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated（瘪掉的）basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.
“What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack--a smaller version of his bedroom--a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.
Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin.
“Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?” he asked. “I lost the piece of paper it was written on. I have a science class in two minutes and if I’m late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked really worried.
“Relax,” Justin said, taking his backpack off and unzipping the top. “Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the combination down? Well, I know how we can recover what you wrote.”
He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint marks on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the marks. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white, set off by the gray pencil rubbings.
“That’s amazing!” Kenny said. “I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.
It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
1. Why is Justin’s room such a mess?

A．He always forgets to clean it.	B．He shares the room with his brother.
C．He has no time to clean it.	D．He never throws anything away.

2. In what way is Justin’s backpack a smaller version of his bedroom?

A．He uses it as a place to store objects.

B．He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment.

C．His parents tell him to clean it all the time.

D．He’s had it for as long as he can remember.

3. The underlined phrase "pleaded with" means ________.

A．ignored

B．asked

C．pushed

D．ordered

4. How does Kenny feel toward Justin?

A．Annoyed.

B．Disinterested.

C．Grateful.

D．Angry.

【推荐3】In the years of my growing up, Dad was hard on me. He made sure I made my bed and did my homework. As a school girl and young adult, I feared him and felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.

He would call in advance to make sure there was no alcohol at the party. I got so angry with him for laying down the law. I would scream, “I hate you!” Dad would yell back, “Good! I don’t care!” Deep down I knew he did.

One time at a party, I drank too much alcohol and got so sick. I said, “Call my dad.” Next thing, Dad was carrying me to the car. I woke up the next morning, thinking I would definitely be criticized. As expected, I got a roasting, but I now understand why I need discipline.

Dad was 29 when he got his big roles in films. I had an early start at the age of nine with a role in a 1990s TV series, but it wasn’t until I finished film studies that I pursued my career as an actress. Like those early days for Dad, I faced lots of rejections. Working in such a competitive industry, I’ve sometimes thought, “I can’t do this any more.”

Once, after a trip to Hollywood, I returned to Australia so depressed and spent months in my bedroom painting, listening to Eckhart Tolle’s music and trying to find myself again. Dad sat me down and said, “Alice, I know it’s hard, but it’s all about persistence(坚持不懈).”

Now I get to work with Dad a lot, which I love. We are both enthusiastic about acting, which comes from us being so interested in people. If it weren’t for Dad, I wouldn’t be where I am today. He’s my biggest fan, and when you have that in your life you can go a long way.

1. Which of the following is similar in meaning to the underlined part?

A．I was blamed.	B．I was pulled out of bed.
C．I got out of trouble.	D．I was comforted.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．As an actor, her father’s career is always smooth.

B．It is her father who has helped shape the author who she is.

C．She would feel tired when going out with her father on weekends.

D．She was bitter about her father as a school girl as he was too proud of himself.

3. Which of the following best describes the writer’s father?

A．Severe and impatient.	B．Talkative and hard-working.
C．Proud but gentle.	D．Strict but caring.