【推荐1】Alicia Quarles has her hands full these days — both of them, at all hours of the day and night.

“Having a baby unexpectedly at 41 is one thing; having twins is a whole other beast,” says the global entertainment editor.

Actually, until her pregnancy Quarles had been living at breakneck speed. It went so until last year. “I was exhausted,” she says. “I’d been working three jobs, doing my charity and going nonstop. I was afraid my mental health was getting worse.” In early August she took herself to the hospital, to see if she was OK. Doctors ran multiple tests and told her that she had had an anxiety attack, and she was 11 weeks pregnant.

“She was stressed and decompensated (代谢失调的), so everything just came to more than she could handle at the time,” explains doctor Miriam Barnes, who began treating her. “Fortunately, she tried to be positive and seek help from me immediately. I told her not to have any medication at that stage and advised her to take natural therapy (疗法).”

A week later Quarles learned that she was having twins. But instead of that news adding to her anxiety, “a total peace came over me, and it felt like it all made sense,” she says. Quarles, who did not take any medication, returned home to her loved ones in North Carolina, where she gave birth to Hudson and Harlow on Feb. 16. “There’s nothing like family,” she says. “I found out through working on myself in natural therapy that there were a lot of things I hadn’t dealt with. I just kept going.”

These days Quarles uses social media to document her joyful motherhood journey. Quarles has put her anxiety behind but remains in therapy — and wants to encourage others who feel stressed to get help. “At first I felt guilty and embarrassed,” she admits. “I don’t anymore. My message is you can fall down. But you can stand up, by yourself or with the help of others. It’s not a shame, and it’s a blessing.”

1. Which of the following best explains “breakneck” underlined in paragraph 2?

A．Safe and slow.	B．Fast and dangerous.
C．Exciting and terrifying.	D．Gentle and comfortable.

2. What does Quarles suggest people under pressure do?

A．Keep standing up.	B．Fall down if needed.
C．Face whatever comes.	D．Obtain assistance when necessary.

3. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．An Anxious 41-year-old Mother

B．A Mother’s Astonishing Experience

C．An Interesting Taste of Motherhood

D．A Mother Fighting Her Mental Breakdown

【推荐2】I remember waking up early on Saturday mornings when I was 12 to go and see patients with my dad. He volunteered once a month at a health center in downtown that served the city’s Spanish-speaking population. He would bring his own equipment — a lamp and a large machine called an auto-refractor (自动验光仪). There was always a line of people waiting when we arrived. I’d sometimes help with translating, but often my father would ask me to run the auto-refractor, which would give a judgement of the patients’ vision.

After completing checks and treatments, my dad would offer a deeply discounted operation on a later date to those who needed it. Besides volunteering, my father was one of the few in the area that accepted people without insurance, despite the risk of losing money. He sometimes came home with a piece of artwork or some food from patients who couldn’t pay for their care and instead offered a gift of their talents. He thought all the patients should receive the same care, regardless of their ability to pay.

Volunteering seemed like a task to me at the time. Little did I know that my father was planting the seeds of serving the Spanish-speaking community in my mind and heart. He never forced me to go into medicine, but what I saw through him was that one person can truly make a difference in the world.

It’s this type of character of devotion and service that has inspired so many people to apply for medical school every year. I am fortunate that my father has given an example of this in his 40 years as a doctor because it was what he had done that inspired me to dive into this great job. I can only hope that I can be that same type of light for others.

1. What did the author usually do on Saturdays at 12?

A．He taught Spanish to local people.

B．He helped repair medical equipment.

C．He translated paperwork at a health center.

D．He conducted medical visits with his father.

2. Which of the following can best describe the author’s father?

A．Plain but serious.	B．Considerate but strict.
C．Careful and open-minded.	D．Generous and warm-hearted.

3. What can be inferred about the author from Paragraph 3?

A．He was forbidden to study medicine early.

B．He was affected by his father unconsciously.

C．He enjoyed serving Spanish-speaking people.

D．He planted the seeds of volunteering in his heart.

4. How does the author most probably feel about his father’s role in his career?

A．Surprised.

B．Skeptical.

C．Admirable.

D．Concerned.

【推荐3】As a first responder you never know what type of situation you might walk into.Of who you will meet along the way. That's definitely been the case for Jeffrey Lanenberg-51-year-old paramedic(急救医务人员) since 1984.

Ten years into the job. Lanenberg received a call that reported that a man in his carty30s had fallen down in the Mall of America. When Lanenberg and his partner arrived at the scene, they found the young male face down on the ground. He had gone unconscious. making weak attempts to breathe. His wife stood beside him holding their small son in horror. They quickly rushed to defibrillate(除颤)and calm the man to keep him under control. After Lanenberg dropped the patient off at the neighboring hospital. he thought about the man and his family for a long time.

Lanenberg thought he had experienced everything under the sun until one random visit to Office Max three years ago, where he met a man repeatedly walk back and forth while staring at him. As it tuned out, the man was the patient he had saved 20 years earlier.

“You gave me 20 years more than l ever thought I’d have,” the man said. He thanked Lanenberg repeatedly and told him he had someone he wanted him to meet. He stepped around the corner and reappeared with a 20-something-year-old man. Lanenberg instantly knew that it was the son he had seen standing by his mother all those years ago.

“That day changed my life,” Lanenberg said. “Before that everything was about work...When I talk to my beginner-training class, I tell them you never know the impact you can have on someone’s life. ”

1. What did Lanenberg do with the young man?

A．He gave the man the first aid	B．He cured the man at the scene.
C．He only sent the man to hospital.	D．He took care of the man's wife and son

2. What did Lanenberg think of the encounter with the man?

A．It was a dangerous situation.	B．It was a common routine
C．It was a matter of course.	D．It was unbelievable

3. Why was the man thankful to Lanenberg?

A．Lanenberg helped bring up his little son.

B．Lanenberg donated to support his family.

C．Lanenberg gave him the present happy life.

D．Lanenberg taught his son to be a new doctor

【推荐1】On a flight from Dallas, Texas, to Cincinnati, Ohio, to visit a friend in 2008, event planner Paige Chenault daydreamed about the grand birthday parties she’d throw for her daughter one day. (Paige was five months pregnant at the time.) Then, flipping through a magazine, she saw a photo of an impoverished Haitian boy, skinny. “I thought, this kid has nothing,” Paige says.

The image stayed with her, andshe resolved to do something to help. “I decided I would use my talents to throw birthday parties for homeless kids,” Paige says. For the next four years, Paige and her husband, Colin, took time out from parenthood to visit shelters to determine how best to pull off the parties.

Finally, in January 2012, Paige launched the Birthday Party Project, a nonprofit organization, and recruited friends and family to help decorate Dallas’s 75-occupant Family Gateway Shelter with balloons and streamers, celebrating the birthdays of 11 boys and girls, with 60 more homeless kids in attendance. “That first party was better than I could have ever imagined,” says Paige.

Now Paige and her staff of three paid employees work with regional volunteers to plan monthly themed parties at 15 shelters across the country, some of which house abused or abandoned kids. Each child celebrating a birthday that month gets a$30 gift, a decorative place mat, and an individual cake or cupcake.

One of Paige’s favorite parts of each party is when the kids make a wish and blow out the candles. “They rarely get a chance to dream big,” says Paige.

Her daughter, Lizzie, now seven, often helps out at the parties. Paige says, “The one thing I’ve always wanted is for my kid to be generous.”

1. What was it that made Paige want to help the homeless children?

A．A flight from Dallas to Ohio.	B．Her daughter’s birthday.
C．The photo of a Haitian boy.	D．Her talent for throwing parties.

2. What does the underlined word “impoverished” mean?

A．adorable	B．poor
C．talented	D．dead

3. What can be learnt from the passage?

A．A total of 75 full-time workers are employed by Paige at present.

B．After unsuccessful attempts, Paige finally threw a wonderful party for the homeless kids.

C．Kids can spend $30 to celebrate their birthday.

D．Paige commits herself to the cause of helping the homeless kids.

4. What kind of person do you think Paige is?

A．Caring and sensitive.	B．Competent and loyal.
C．Kind and perseverant.	D．Responsible and disciplined.

【推荐2】Alexis, 17, sat quietly in the passenger seat of her dad’s car, looking out of the window. Then a deer came into view about 200 yards in front of them. “Dad, there’s a deer there!” Alexis said.

As the car moved closer, Alexis heard a scream and saw an arm fly up near the deer’s head. Alexis realized the deer was attacking a woman. Sue, a 44-year-old mother, had been out for her morning run. The deer followed her and edged closer. “I knew I was in trouble,” Sue says. She went to pick up a stick for self-defense, and the deer charged. It lifted her with its antlers (鹿角) and threw her into the air. Sue could feel blood flowing down her leg.

When Alexis and her father pulled up, the deer was throwing Sue like a doll. Alexis looked into the woman’s terrified eyes, and before her father had even stopped the car, the teenager jumped quickly out of the car and ran toward the deer. “I was kicking it to get its attention,” she says. Then her father, who had followed his daughter, tried to push the deer away from the women.

Alexis helped Sue into the car, and then applied a piece of cloth to Sue’s injured leg. “We’re going to get you to a hospital,” Alexis said. Then she heard her father shout loudly. He had been knocked to the ground. Alexis took hold of a hammer from the car and ran to where her father lay on his back. She beat the deer’s head and neck, but the blows didn’t scare it away. “I was losing faith,” she says. “A couple more strikes, Alexis,” said her father. “You can do it.” Turning the hammer around, Alexis closed her eyes and beat the deer’s neck with all her strength. When she opened her eyes, the deer was running away. Alexis got in the driver’s seat and sped toward the nearest hospital.

1. What was Sue doing when she was attacked by the deer?

A．She was going to school.	B．She was taking exercise.
C．She was resting by the road.	D．She was watering plants.

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

A．Changed.

B．Cut.

C．Moved.

D．Attacked.

3. What did Alexis do to save her father and Sue?

A．She pushed the deer away.	B．She hit the deer with her feet.
C．She drove the car to hit the deer.	D．She beat the deer with a hammer.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Alexis?

A．Brave.

B．Cruel.

C．Energetic.

D．Strong.

【推荐3】It was a cold night in Washington, D.C., and I was heading back to the hotel when a man approached me. He asked if I would give him some money so he could get something to eat. I’d read the signs: “Don’t give money to beggars as most of them are swindlers.” So I shook my head and kept walking.   

I wasn’t prepared for a reply, but with no hesitation, he followed me and said, “I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!” But I kept on walking.   

The incident kept bothering me for the rest of the week. I had money in my pocket and it wouldn’t have killed me to hand over a dollar or two even if he hadn’t been a real beggar. On a freezing cold night, no less, I assumed the worst of a fellow human being.

Flying back to Anchorage, I couldn’t help thinking of him. I tried to reason my failure to help by supposing government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you’re not supposed to give money to beggars.   

Somewhere over Seattle, I started to write my weekly garden column for The Anchorage Daily News. Out of the blue, I came up with an idea. Bean’s Cafe, a local charity service kitchen, feeds hundreds of hungry local people every day. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row of vegetables or flowers in their gardens for Bean’s?   Plant a row for Bean’s. It’s clean and simple.   

We didn’t keep records back then, but the idea began to take off. Folks would fax me or call when they took something in. It’s food for the spirit and comfort for my conscience.   

In April 1995, the Garden Writers Association of America(GWAA) held their annual meeting in Anchorage and after learning our program, Plant a Row for Bean’s became Plant a Row For The Hungry. The idea then was to have every member write or talk about planting a row for the hungry, which brought the program to national attention.

As more and more people participated, new variations cropped up. Many companies gave free seeds to customers and displayed the logo for the program. Donations poured in. It was then that I could really stop feeling guilty.

1. The underlined word “swindlers” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

A．policemen

B．writers

C．cheaters

D．beggars

2. Why did the author think he assumed the worst of a fellow human being?

A．Because he didn’t show fair respect to a beggar treating him badly.

B．Because he could have helped a hungry man but he passed by.

C．Because he believed that no people begged because of real hunger.

D．Because he thought that charity work was the government’s duty.

3. How did the author make up for what he had done?

A．He set up a local kitchen to help the poor.

B．He planted a row of vegetables for charity.

C．He called on people to donate money to the Bean’s.

D．He initiated the idea of Plant a row for Bean’s.

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The beggar gave up the first time he was turned down by the author.

B．The author invented the program inspired by the Anchorage Daily News.

C．GWAA expanded the program concept and made it nationwide in 1995.

D．The program was later taken over by some seeding companies.