【推荐1】Tough Man

What is Tough Man?

Tough Man is a race to the limit (极限). Every year, more than 3,000 people take part in it in the UK. They run, swim and climb around the 15 km course. But this is no normal race. These runners have to crawl (爬) through tunnels, run across a field of nettles and jump over fire. What’s more, the competition takes place in January, so temperatures are low—sometimes as low as -6°C.

Why do people take part?

The competition is quite dangerous and every year there are accidents. Injuries like broken bones and cuts are quite common. The race is very hard: one-third of the people do not finish it. Runners have to be very fit and healthy and most of them train all year to prepare for the event. There are similar events, but this was the first one in the world. Many people do the competition. Every year the organizers change the event and add new things. This means that the competition stays exciting and challenging, so people go back year after year.

The course

First, the runners run for 1 km along a muddy road. Next, they crawl under low nets on the ground. After the nets, the runners jump into a lake and swim for 1 km. Then, they reach the field of fire. Here, the runners run across a field and jump over small bonfires. Next, they must crawl through a long tunnel. It is partly under water. Finally, the runners run 2 km through nettles before they reach the finish line.

1. What is Tough Man? (不多于七个单词)
2. When does Tough Man take place every year?   (不多于两个单词)
3. Why do people go back year after year?   (不多于七个单词)
4. What does the picture show?   (不多于四个单词)

【推荐3】The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May. Here are some helpful suggestions for your first trip to the Kentucky Derby!

Fashion vs. Comfort

In many ways, the Kentucky Derby is the world’s largest and most entertaining fashion show, with impressive hats and clothes! You’ll be on your feet and walking a lot, so pack a pair of comfortable shoes to change into during the day.

Your Tickets

You MUST have your tickets in order to get through the gates. Please note that the only place that has official permission to buy and resell Kentucky Derby tickets is the Kentucky Derby Ticket Exchange. Law enforcement officials will be on site to prevent people from selling tickets at a much higher price.

If you have questions about your tickets in advance of the Derby, please call Churchill Downs customer service at 502-636-4400.

Finding Help

With over 14,000 employees throughout the track on Derby day, you aren’t too far from someone who can help. If you can’t find an employee to help you, please text the word HORSE to 69050 and you will be placed in touch with Guest Services.

Safety & Security

For the safety of all our guests, your bag may be searched by security. A number of items are forbidden from entering the facility(场所).

For security and crowd control reasons, you can’t enter the facility again after you get out. This means that you will not be able to go outside the gates to fetch items from your car once you have passed through security. Please be sure to bring everything you need.

1. What is the dressing tip?

A．Dress in popular sports clothes.

B．Bring several sets of clothes to change into.

C．Prepare a pair of comfortable shoes.

D．Put on a hat to provide protection from the sun.

2. What should you do if you want to resell your ticket?

A．Call Churchill Downs customer service.

B．Consult law enforcement officials.

C．Find a buyer by yourself.

D．Go to the Kentucky Derby Ticket Exchange.

3. What can we learn from Safety & Security?

A．You can’t enter the facility after the game begins.

B．You are not permitted to re-enter the facility.

C．You can bring whatever you need into the facility.

D．Your car needs to be examined by security.

【推荐1】I worked in a small drug store when I was very small. I worked long and hard because that was my father’s store. I treasured my lunch breaks, not for the food or the rest, but for reading comic books about superheroes. And I could read comic books only during my lunch breaks.

Now I close my eyes and think back, I know what I wanted to be when I was a small kid—a superhero! Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and Iron Man were some of my heroes. In all of the comic books that I read, there were two patterns.

First, there was always a battle between good and evil. The battle was always tough. No matter how strong or how many powers the superhero had, evil could almost defeat him. Second, the superhero was never paid for his contribution to society. Superman made money as Clark Kent, a newspaper reporter. Batman made money as Bruce Wayne, a rich businessman. Spider-Man made money as Peter Parker, a photographer. Iron Man made money as Tony Stark, a rich scientist. None of them was paid for keeping peace or helping others.

The real superheroes don’t get paid for what they do for society!

I clean the local park with my friends every weekend. I help cheer up kids in the hospital. I send food to disabled people. I don’t get paid for doing these in my free time. It’s correct to be fairly compensated but I simply choose not to. I feel my dream has come true!

Volunteering and helping people without getting paid is what superheroes do. You can be a superhero, too.

1. Why did the writer value the lunch breaks?

A．He could take delicious food.	B．He could free from the hard work.
C．He could do what he liked to do.	D．He could act as a superhero.

2. The underlined word “compensated” can be replaced by “            ”.

A．rewarded

B．refused

C．admitted

D．bargained

3. How did the writer realize his dream?

A．By working hard in the store.	B．By performing voluntary work.
C．By doing a lot of reading.	D．By choosing the right job.

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

A．Volunteering is fun.	B．Comic books and my childhood.
C．Be a superhero.	D．Do superheroes get paid?

【推荐2】My father had died when I was young, so if I didn't acknowledge my mother's birthday, likely no one would. On her birthday, I decided to bake her some cookies, take them to her house and leave them with a little note for her.

But what to write about? My mother and I had not always been close. Pouring out words of love seemed insincere, but there were plenty of things I did appreciate, so I wrote a letter expressing my appreciation for what she had taught me. She taught me to live within our means, and not to go into debt. She taught me the color of someone's skin was irrelevant. She taught me helping others in need was its own reward. She taught me to value the elderly. She taught me how to see the shapes in the clouds. She taught me to appreciate the way the air smelled after a rain ...

Having finished the letter, I sent the cookies and the handwritten letter to my mother. That evening, she called and thanked me, saying it was a wonderful birthday present.

Two years later, she suffered a fatal heart attack. While cleaning out her house, I came across a photocopy of the birthday letter I had written to her in the drawer of the bedside table in the guest room. And then room after room, drawer after drawer revealed more photocopies of the same letter. There was one in the kitchen drawer and one taped to the inside of the kitchen cabinet. I also found one in a drawer in both bathrooms, another in the living room and two more in her bedroom.

Finally, I opened the drawer beside her bed, where I found an old handkerchief and as I pulled it out, a wrinkled piece of paper fluttered to the floor. It was the original birthday letter. It had been smoothed over and over again. I realized at that moment that the best things I could have given my mother weren't really things at all.

1. What did the author learn from her mother?

A．Live a happy life regardless of how much money one has.

B．We should treat people of different skin colors differently.

C．One can be rewarded a lot of money when helping others.

D．It's of great importance to explore the beauty of nature.

2. How many photocopies of the birthday letter did the author find in her mother's house?

A．Six.

B．Seven.

C．Eight.

D．Nine.

3. What does the author mean by saying the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A．What her mother value was her love not the gift itself.

B．She should never have sent any present to her mother.

C．Of all the gifts she had given her mother, nothing was best.

D．No gift was better than what she had given her mother.

【推荐3】One cold December morning in 2017, I boarded a bus with my four large bags at Chandigarh, where I’d been working. I was headed home to Rampur Bushahr, Himachal Pradesh. A few hours into the journey a well-dressed young man got in at Shimla and took the seat next to mine. I was very cautious. I’d often come across men eager to chat up a girl traveling on her own. So I wasn’t surprised when he spoke up.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Rampur,” I replied and put on my earphones. He didn’t bother me after that.

It started to rain and water was dripping through the roof right on to my lap. Seeing that, the man emptied a plastic shopping bag full of clothes, which he pushed into his travel bag. He then handed me the plastic bag. I accepted it with a sheepish “thanks” before spreading it on my lap.

Minutes later, the bus broke down! The conductor announced we’d have to move to another bus that would reach us shortly, and that there’d be no more buses after that, since there had been heavy snowfall near Shimla. My co-passengers got off and stood on the road, ready to rush into the next bus. The conductor reluctantly helped me offload my luggage.

When the bus finally arrived, it had many passengers already. The crowd struggled to get in and I was pushed aside. As I stood there feeling very upset, I saw a hand waving out to me from the entrance to the bus. It was the same young man. He stood there blocking the doorway. I passed my bags to him and he placed them inside one by one, as if we were family traveling together. He then gently helped me in. I soon got pushed to the middle of the bus, where I stood for the next two hours. As we approached Rampur, I craned my neck to look for him – I knew he had been standing right in front. He was not there, and I badly wanted to talk to him. He must have got off at an earlier stop without letting me know. Why would he? He’d done what he had to. I was the one who couldn’t apologize for my attitude or thank him.

1. At first, the author assumed the young man was trying to ____.

A．steal her belongings

B．seek her help

C．make small talk with her

D．lend his hand

2. Why did the man empty one of his plastic shopping bags?

A．To find a coat for the author to get changed into.

B．To cover the window and prevent the rain from coming in.

C．To remove his clothes from inside it and put them into his travel bag.

D．To help the author to keep out of the rain.

3. How is the article mainly developed?

A．By cause and effect.

B．By comparison.

C．By time order.

D．By examples.

【推荐1】When it comes to work, workers, and jobs, much of the concern of the modern age boils down to the fear that we're witnessing the final stage of the game, and that there will be nowhere for humans to withdraw as machines take over the last few tasks. The most recent example comes from the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Is there no area of human experience that can't be replaced by AI? And if not, what is left for humans to do except the tasks involved in taking care of the machines?

At the heart of this concern is our desire for good jobs — jobs that make the most of workers' natural abilities and where the work provides the worker with motivation and work-life balance. More importantly, good jobs support workers in learning by doing—and, in so doing, deliver benefits on three levels: to the worker, who gains in personal development and job satisfaction; to the organization, which reforms as staff find new problems to solve and opportunities to pursue; and to the community as a whole, which harvests the economic benefits of hosting positive organizations and workers. This is what makes good jobs productive for the organization, as well as engaging and fulfilling for the worker.

Does the ongoing advance of AI threaten to get rid of all the learning, creativity, and meaning that make a job a good job? Certainly, some have blamed technology for just such an outcome. Headlines today often express concern over technological innovation(革新) resulting in bad jobs for humans, or even the complete disappearance of certain professions. Some fear that further technology advancement in the workplace will result in jobs where employees are being asked to work in split times or for longer periods over more days.

The problem here isn't the technology; rather, it's the way the technology is used — and, more than that, the way people think about using it.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The human fears in the age of AI.

B．Human experiences were replaced by AI.

C．How to take care of the AI machines.

D．The relations among work, workers, and jobs.

2. What jobs are supposed to be good according to the passage?

A．The ones that provide basic benefits.

B．The ones that require no economic return.

C．Those that don't bring new problems to workers.

D．Those that offer chances to progress professionally.

3. How do news media respond to the development of AI?

A．Supportive.

B．Optimistic.

C．Negative.

D．Ambiguous.

4. What will the author probably talk about next?

A．The proper attitude towards AI.	B．The future jobs humans will do.
C．The possible application of AI in the future.	D．The approaches to handling the issues of AI.

【推荐2】The old man fished alone in a small rowboat and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s patents had told him that the old man was now bad luck, and ordered the boy to join another boat, which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his boat empty and he always went down to help him carry in the fishing lines or take down the old, patched sail.
“Santiago,” the boy said to him as they dragged up the boat to the sand. “I could go with you again. I’ve made some money.” the old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him. “No,” the old man said. “You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them. You must obey your father.” “We can be lucky again too. Remember when we didn’t catch a fish for 10 days, then caught a big one each day for a month?” said the boy. “Can I offer you a beer on the balcony and then we’ll take the stuff home,” said the boy. “Why not?” the old man said.
“Santiago,” the boy said as they sat on the balcony, “If I cannot fish with you, I would like to serve in some way.” “You bought me a beer,” the old man said, lifting the bottle to his mouth. “Do you remember the first time I took you out to fish?” the old man asked. “I was five. I remember the tail of a huge fish slapping against the boat, the noise of you clubbing him and the sweet blood smell. I remember everything from when we first went together,” the boy said. The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, loving eyes.
“May I get some sardines for tomorrow? Let me get four fresh ones,” said the boy. “One,” the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening like a sea breeze. “Two,” the boy said. “Thank you,” the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained modesty. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride. “Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this wind,” he said. “I will row far out before it is light. There will going to be a good day with this wind,” he said. “I will row far out before it is light. There will be a big fish?” asked the boy. “I think so. And I know many tricks.”
1. Why was the boy forced to stop working for the old man?

A．It was too dangerous to continue fishing.

B．It was time for the boy to return to school.

C．The old man was thought to be a poor teacher.

D．The boy couldn’t earn enough money with the old man.

2. In paragraph 2, the boy probably mentioned their past fishing experiences in order to
__________.

A．convince the old man that he should not retire

B．explain why he had to stop working for the old man

C．persuade the old man to let him return as his assistant

D．warn the old man about the danger of fishing in the deep sea

3. Which of the following did the boy NOT do for the old man?

A．Buy him a beer.	B．Repair the sail.
C．Drag up the boat.	D．Take in the fishing equipment.

4. What can we lean about the old man from the last paragraph?

A．He remained optimistic about catching fish.

B．He was the most skillful fisherman in the village.

C．He would stay out longer than any other fisherman.

D．He would usually go out further than any other boat.

【推荐3】“Dad,” I say one day, “Let’s take a trip. Why don’t you fly and meet me?”

As a manager from IBM, my father’s job filled his day, his thought, his life. While he woke up and took a warm shower, I had fun under the Eiffel Tower. While he tied a tie and put on the same Swiss watch, I rowed a boat across Lake of the Ozarks.

My father sees me travelling without a purpose, nothing to show for my 33 years but a passport full of funny stamps. He wants me to settle down (安定下来), but now I want him to explore the world.

He agrees and we meet four weeks later in Rapid City.

“What is our first stop?” asks my father.

“What time is it?”

“Still don’t have a watch?”

Less than an hour away is Mount Rushmore. As he looks up at sculptures of the four Presidents in granite(花岗岩), his mouth and eyes open slowly, like those of little boy.

“Amazing,” he says, “How was this done?”

A film in the information center shows sculptor(雕塑家) Gutzon Borglum devoted 14 years to the sculptures.

We look up and I ask myself, “Can I devote my life to anything?”

No directions, no purpose. I always used to hear those words in my father’s voice. Now I hear them in my own.

The next day we’re at Yellowstone National Park, where we have a picnic.

“Did you ever travel with your dad?” I ask.

“Only once,” he says. “I never spoke much with my father. We loved each other---but never said it. Whatever he could give me, he gave.”

The last sentence---it’s probably the same thing I will say about my father. And what I want my child to say about me.

In Glacier National Park, my father says, “I’ve never seen water so blue.” I have, in several places of the world. I can keep traveling. I realize--- and maybe a fixed job won’t be as boring as I think.

Weeks after our trip, I call my father. “The photos from the trip are wonderful,” he says. “We have got to take another trip like that sometime.” I tell him I’ve decided to settle down and find a fixed job, and I’m wearing a watch.

1. We can learn from Paragraphs 2 and 3?

A．The father followed the fashion

B．The father got bored with his job

C．The father was unhappy with the son’ lifestyle

D．The father liked the author’s collection of stamps

2. From the underlined paragraph, we can see that the author__________.

A．wants his children to learn from their grandfather

B．begins to understand what parents’ love means

C．learns how to communicate with his father

D．hopes to give whatever he can to his father

3. What can we infer(推断) about the author and his father from the end of the story?

A．The call makes them sad.

B．The son has found a job.

C．They decide to learn photography together.

D．They begin to change their thoughts about life.

4. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．Love Nature, Love Life	B．A Son Lost in Travelling
C．A Journey with Dad	D．The Art of Travel

【推荐1】Chinese Valentine’s Day(情人节)is on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.(阴历)It is a traditional festival for Chinese people.It comes from a romantic ancient Chinese story.Niu Lang and Zhi Nu,two lovers who got separated by the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens,can only meet that night.Thanks to this touching story,Chinese people call it“Qixi”.

Meanwhile,February 14 of the solar calendar is European Valentine’s Day.It is related to a moving story too.The story goes that,there was a cruel king in ancient Rome whose name was Claudius.He forbade the youth to get married during the wars,which made the lovers angry.There was a minister named Valentine who was very angry at the rule and the king.One day a couple of lovers came to his church to ask for help to get married.Valentine helped them.Later,many couples got married with Valentine’help.But Claudius knew it soon.He put Valentine to death cruelly.And that day was February 14,the year of 270.

Compared with European Valentine’s Day，Qixi is less popular in China though it is a traditional Chinese festival.There may be many reasons.First of all,the lunar calendar is not easy to remember for most of the young people who are used to the solar calendar.Secondly,to many businessmen,European Valentine’s Day is not only a festival for lovers but also a good chance to make money.Most of the flower shops can sell their flowers at a good price on European Valentine’s Day while the business drops in Qixi，because on European Valentine’s Day lovers know more about how to enjoy it.They exchange cards,flowers and go out to date.But most of them don’t know the culture of Chinese Valentine’s Day or how to celebrate it.

1. This text is mainly about_______.

A．two moving romantic stories

B．something about Qixi and Valentine’s Day

C．why young people prefer Western festivals

D．how Qixi is different from European Valentine’s Day

2. Qixi is less popular than European Valentine’s Day because______.

A．the lunar calendar is not easy to remember and people don’t know how to enjoy Qixi

B．the government encourages people to celebrate foreign festivals

C．the costs on Qixi are higher than those on European Valentine’s Day

D．businessmen think that European Valentine’s Day is more important than Qixi

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．Lovers exchange cards,flowers and go out to date on Qixi.

B．Valentine helped a couple of lovers kill the cruel king.

C．European Valentine’s Day was named after a person.

D．Old people in China dislike young people celebrating European Valentine s Day.

4. From the last sentence of this text,we can conclude that______.

A．Young people should fight for love and happiness

B．Chinese people should treasure traditional Chinese festivals more

C．Qixi will also become an international festival in the future

D．Chinese people should stop celebrating European Valentine’s Day

【推荐2】Early in the morning of June 29, 1991, Carrie and Morgenstern were watching the field. Although they could see nothing through the thick fog, they kept their camera running.

By 6 a.m. the fog began to lift. A pair of circles had been flattened. The wheat were bent but not broken. Outside the circles the wheat was untouched, and there were no footprints or other marks. The circles seemed to have come from nowhere. “ I can’t explain it at all ,” Mike Carrier said to himself with his eyes wide open.

Carrier is not alone since the early 1980s, more than 2000 circles have appeared in farmer’s fields. Most circles form at night between May and August.

Some believe the circles are caused by deer or some other animals. Others think of UFOs. “The circles are messages given by those who come from outer space,” says Michael Green. “Perhaps they are trying to get in touch with us.”

Pat Delgado has done research on crop circles since 1981. He believes that they are caused by “ some form of earth energy.”

Most scientists think that there’s no scientific basis to back up Green’s or Delgado’s theories. In September 1991, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley told newsmen that since 1979 they had made circles throughout southern England to fool people who believed in UFOs. Since the early 1980s, Dr. Terence Meaden has visited more than1000 circles. Now he thinks he may have the answer. He believes true crop circles are made by vortex(旋风) which can flatten the crop.

Now crop circles are still found in southern England each summer. Are they really the traces of UFOs?

1. On the morning of June 29, 1991, Carrier and Morgenstern hoped to________.

A．record the important thing	B．draw a conclusion
C．find some footprints	D．see something funny

2. When he saw the crop circle, Mike Carrie was________.

A．satisfied

B．frightened

C．surprised

D．interested

3. Most scientists consider that theories of Green and Delgado are_________.

A．meaningful

B．undoubted

C．instructive

D．unreasonable

4. According to the article we may know that all the crop circles______.

A．are caused by some animals	B．are formed by earth energy
C．are not tricks made by someone	D．are made by UFOs from outer space

【推荐3】A new type of robot could help industries to cut costs and make better products.

Industrial robots have long been dangerous, caged creatures. But in recent years, the barriers between robots and humans have been coming down. A friendlier type of robot has begun appearing on the factory floor – and with it, a new way of working that could cut costs in many industries.

One area that has benefited hugely is the car industry. “In a car plant, a vehicle is produced every minute, and approximately 1,000 cars are made a day,” said Adolfo Suarez Roos, the Airbus Group expert who works with robotics on the French National Research Agency project ICARO. On the project, robots are able to help workers with repetitive tasks.

Suarez is hopeful the same success can be enjoyed while making planes. But given that robotics isn’t as widely used, the challenges are very different. “When making cars ,a robot has 40 seconds to do its job and the complete programming task takes about a month,” he said. “At Airbus, we produce 1.5 aircraft per day, so we have to look at tasks that will last several hours. We need mobile robots and a very simple way to program the robot.”

At Cranfield University, the EPSRC Centre in Intelligent Automation is trying to make this a reality for flight. An important part of the work is understanding how tasks can be divided between industrial robots and human operators to make use of the skills of both. When man and machine are working together over long periods of time, engineers are looking at how human can improve the robot or the robot can improve the human.

The project, called Futurassy, last year began introducing the robots to perform the processes that could be used across other sites by Airbus, an aircraft company.

The first robotic unit bought by Airbus arrived last year, and is now used at the A380 station, where humans now work with the robot. Key to the success of this project is safety, and making sure that the barriers between human and robot are just enough to still allow a productive working relationship.

Prof Phil Webb claims there is no doubt that the number of robots putting together aircraft will increase significantly over the next few years. Cost pressures placed on the traditional centers in North America and Europe mean they soon won’t have a choice but to move ahead with robotics.

1. Which industry has benefited a lot from robotics according to the article?

A．The car industry.	B．The plane industry.
C．The computer industry.	D．The service industry.

2. What are the main difficulties of using robots to make planes?
a. The high cost of robots.                         
b. The safety of using robots.
c. The poor creativity of robots.                 
d. Task division between human and robots.
e. Finding an easy way to program the robots.

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

3. What is the main factor that has pushed the aircraft industry to move ahead with robotics?

A．Technology development.	B．Cost pressures.
C．A shortage of workers.	D．The low efficiency of workers.

4. What is the article mainly about?

A．Safety tips for robotics in industries.

B．The aircraft industry’s difficult situation.

C．The use of robots in the aircraft industry.

D．The advantages and disadvantages of robots.