【推荐1】When my son Rob came home from school in tears，he told us two older kids had beaten him up. Rob wanted to stay home from school so he wouldn't have to meet the boys in the future.

We called the school. “We'll be happy to call the boys' parents,”we were told.“And you should call the police.”

The next day was Saturday. Rob happened to look out the window and said in alarm,“There are the boys who beat me up!”Two older boys were standing in front of our house, as if they were waiting for Rob to step outside.

I immediately began to think of what I wanted to say to them, but my wife Bev acted first. She opened the door and said with a smile,“Hi, guys. Would you like some ice cream?”

They looked at each other in puzzlement. But they were children, after all, so they shrugged their shoulders and one of them said,“Sure. Why not?”

They followed her indoors and Bev introduced herself, Rob's younger brother Tony and me. She even introduced the dog Rusty. “And I think you already know Rob,”she said, pointing to our son. Her idea was to help them to see that Rob was a person, not a target. He had a family, he lived in a neighborhood and he even owned a friendly dog.

Bev drew the boys into a conversation while we ate ice cream. She said,“I know there's been some trouble. I think there may be a misunderstanding.”They nodded.

“Rob wants to be your friend,”she continued.“Maybe we can talk about the misunderstanding so you can all be friends.”

They nodded their heads in agreement and we talked. Eventually the boys apologized and said there would be no more trouble.

The headmaster of the school called back the following week and asked about the fighting. “Did you call the police?”he asked.

“No, but we've taken care of it,”I said.

“What did you do?”he wondered.

“We fed them ice cream.”

1. Why did the author call the school?

A．Because his son had been beaten by two schoolboys.

B．Because his son no longer wanted to go to school.

C．Because he wanted to teach a lesson to two schoolboys.

D．Because he wanted to inform the two boys' parents.

2. The underlined part in the fifth paragraph means that the boys ___________.

A．were frightened of Rob's parents and had to come into the room

B．were so brave that they didn't care about what would happen

C．were attracted by the ice cream though they felt confused

D．were such young children that they didn't understand Bev's purpose

3. By introducing Rob's family and the friendly dog，Bev meant ___________.

A．to threaten and warn the two boys

B．to inform the two boys of the fact

C．to tell the two boys Rob should not have been beaten

D．to suggest Rob had no good friends in life

4. The best title for the passage is ___________.

A．My Son's Trouble

B．An Ice Cream Treat

C．A Meaningful Change

D．Enemies or Friends

【推荐2】It used to be a matter of fact when Peter Pan-a character from James Matthew Harrie’s 1911 book-said: “All children, except one, grow up.”

But this “fact” doesn’t seem to apply to today’s world anymore.

According to the NPD Group, a US market research company, sales of toys to adults in the UK increased by more than 20 percent in 2016, three times the pace of the children’s toy market itself. These toys varied from puzzles and Lego building sets to vehicle models and action figures. And more than half of the sales came from millennials-people born between the 1980s and 2000s.

“Adults of the 21st century are channeling their inner child, one toy at a time,” commented website Koreaboo. This is also why these adults are sometimes looked to as “kidults”.

According to Frederique Tutt, an analyst at NPD, the motivation of these grown-ups is to escape the stress of today’s fast-paced world. They are driven toward the more immediate pleasures brought by toys than those brought by, say, getting a promotion, which is far less easy to achieve.

“It reminds me of the playful side of life,” Rob Willner, a 25-year-old PhD student in the UK, told The Telegraph when talking about his love for Lego, which he said brings him both comfort and pleasure.

Despite this, some social scientists see the trend as disturbing. To Frank Furendi, a professor at the University of Kent in the UK, the fact that so many adults are seeking “the excitement of youth” is the evidence that “adulthood has got nothing attractive about it anymore”, he told The New York Times. “That’s actually quite sad.”

But scientists are probably just worrying too much. According to Canadian comic book artist Todd McFarlane, collecting toys could simply be a way for people to express their individuality. “It’s just pop culture stuff. It’s stuff that says, ‘I like a little of this and I like a little of that’,” he told ABC News. “It’s no big deal.”

So now that over 100 years have passed since Peter Pan, perhaps it’s time to introduce a new “fact”, as stated in the tagline(标语) of the UK fashion brand KIDULT: “Growing old is mandatory (被迫的), but growing up is optional.”

1. Why does the author mention Peter Pan in Paragraph 1?

A．To show the influence of his book

B．To explain why many millennials become kidults

C．To introduce the trend of millennials’ love for toys

D．To tell the similarities Peter Pan and millennials share

2. What does Paragraph 2 imply?

A．Old things are not suitable for today’s world

B．All children will grow up as they become adults

C．Many adults still have some childlike characteristics

D．It’s not easy for some children to grow up in today’s world

3. Why do many adults feel like collecting toys according to Frederique Tutt?

A．They find it brings them both comfort and inspiration.

B．They consider it a way to relieve stress.

C．They want to make up for the pleasures they missed during childhood.

D．They usually don’t get along well in their lives and need an emotional outlet.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the trend of growing kidults?

A．Negative	B．Concerned
C．Doubtful	D．Supportive

【推荐1】National Museums in London

British Museum

Address: Great Russell Street, London WC1, England, UK

Attention schedule: daily 10:00- 18:00

One of the best museums of the world, British Museum, founded in 1753, has around 7 million objects and presents over two million years of human history. Take the history of the 5 continents illustrating every place of the world. World-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures, and Egyptian mummies are visited by up to six million visitors per year.

Design Museum

Address: 28 Shad Thames London SE12YD

Attention schedule: daily 10:00- 17:50

The museum was founded in 1989 and became the first museum of modern design in the world. It offers inspiring insights into the world of design with exhibitions on fashion. architecture, furniture, transport and digital design. Alongside its cutting edge program of permanent exhibitions, the museum also hosts a variety of talks and family activities.

Natural History Museum

Address: Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD, UK.

Attention schedule: daily 10:00- -17:45

Created in 1881, the Museum has more than 70 million objects with areas of botany; mineralogy, paleontology and zoology. Other treasures from the Museum's unique exhibitions can be seen across its many permanent galleries, which include one of the world's most impressive dinosaur skeletons(骨架). There are also exciting after-hours events featuring early morning yoga, silent discos practice and plenty of interactive activities.

Victoria & Albert Museum

Address: Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL

Attention schedule: daily 10:00-17:30

The Victoria & Albert Museum is the world's leading museum of art, design, and performance, representing more than 3,000 years of human creativity. Founded in 1852, one of its main attractions is the architecture of the museum, carvings and designs of great artists. In recent years, the V&A has undergone a dramatic program of renewal, expansion and restoration.

1. According to the text, which museum has the longest history?

A．British Museum.	B．Design Museum.
C．Natural History Museum.	D．Victoria & Albert Museum.

2. W hat exhibition do visitors prefer to see in Natural History Museum?

A．The Rosetta Stone.	B．Early morning yoga.
C．Dinosaur skeletons.	D．Silent discos practice.

3. What do Natural History Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum have in common?

A．Both are located on the same road.	B．Both have been rebuilt and expanded.
C．Both host different interactive activities.	D．Both are famous for great artists' works.

【推荐2】A Brief History Of Waterstone’s

Waterstone’s is the largest bookstore chain in the UK and Ireland, with 296 stores and 4500 employees, but its market share has recently declined and sales have been poor. The book market suffered during the   economy declines and the emergence of new e-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle, was pulling more customers away from the high street. A&NN will pay for Waterstone’s in two parts, one of £40million and one of £13million.The deal will only complete if HMV can renegotiate its bank facilities, though HMV says the banks are supportive of the sale. Pension trustees and the pensions regulator also have to approve. HMV chief executive Simon Fox said A&NN would be a good home for Waterstone’s, while the sale will reduce borrowings and enable HMV to focus on plans for transforming the business into a broad-based entertainment business. A&NN will appoint James Daunt as managing director of Waterstone’s once the deal completes. Mr. Daunt currently runs Daunt Books, a small chain of London-based bookshops he founded in 1990.

Waterstone’s founder Tim Waterstone opened his first store in 1982 at a time when fellow book-lovers were presented with few options on the high street. The top bookseller was WH Smith, Mr. Waterstone’s former employer of eight years before he was dismissed, which he felt was failing to go into a broad market of literature fans. The first store was opened in Old Brompton Road, and the former banker’s intuition was correct as the chain went from strength to strength. Mr. Waterstone, who has written four novels, saw a recovery in the market driven by demand for the works of a new wave of literary stars including Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, John Banville and Martin Amis. Having founded the firm with his £6,000, Mr. Waterstone sold the chain to his former employer WH Smith in 1993 for £47million.

1. According to the passage, who is the most likely to be the managing director of Waterstone’s in the near future?

A．Mr. Waterstone	B．John Banville
C．James Daunt	D．Simon Fox

2. What does the word “intuition” mean in the passage?

A．instinctive knowledge	B．mental image
C．calm consideration	D．indirect suggestion

3. Which one of the following is not true according to the passage?

A．At present the brand Waterstone’s belongs to HMV.

B．During the economy declines, the book market was hit and sales were poor.

C．Waterstone’s has long been the largest bookstore chain in the U.K and Ireland.

D．Mr. Waterstone made £41,000 when he transferred the chain to WH Smith.

【推荐2】At the end of August this year I moved from London to a small town in Quebec, Canada, called Matane to work as an English teacher. Patience is a word that has appeared in many forms over the past two months.

I don't see myself as being the most patient person in the world, but I was deeply impressed by my experience in the first week of teaching. I had just finished a discussion with two students and just as they were leaving the classroom, one of them turned back and said "Thank you for your patience." That was an early reminder of the importance being patient as a teacher. Moreover, patience in the classroom can be the difference between building students' confidence in a language and breaking down their confidence entirely. Being patient as a teacher means empathizing with students. It is not easy to learn a new language and allowing students to find their way will benefit them in the long term.

Living my life in French is not easy but the people of Quebec are very patient. Quebecers repeat things several times and they are more than happy to wait while I find the correct words to express myself. It's a learning process, but with the patience of others the process is less frightening.

When I first arrived in Matane, I kept getting headaches from having to concentrate all the time due to the language. I had to keep reminding myself that it would take time, and two months later the headaches are a distant memory and my ears have become more used to the Quebecois accent. The key is to be patient with yourself. There is no short cut to learning a language, but it will be worth it in the end.

1. The author moved to Quebec in order to ___________.

A．learn French

B．teach English

C．visit a friend

D．see a doctor

2. What language do people of Quebec mainly speak?

A．French.

B．English.

C．Spanish.

D．Russian.

3. The underlinedwords "empathizing with" in Paragraph 2 mean ___________.

A．refusing to accept someone's opinions

B．disagreeing with someone in a similar situation

C．discussing with someone about something important

D．understanding someone else's feelings and experiences

4. While Quebecers are talking with the author, they ___________.

A．laugh loudly

B．wait patiently

C．speak quick

D．think seriously

5. What lesson has the author learned from the experiences?

A．It is difficult to make a living in France.	B．It is wrong to move from London to Quebec.
C．Being patient in learning a language is worth it.	D．Students should know the importance of patience.

【推荐3】I would never forget the time when we were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
“Look down, Elsa，” Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the criss­cross (纵横交错) of streets leading to the square. “See, my dear，” Father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere (干涉). Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner. _____________She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, “The cook must have gone bad！” Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.
1. The author's father took her to the top of a church tower to ________.

A．find out how many ways lead to the square

B．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town

C．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day

D．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem

2. What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?

A．Do something delicious for lunch.

B．Speak to the school about lunch.

C．Taste her awful lunch.

D．Dismiss the cook.

3. The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________.

A．the cook agreed to serve the soup to Mother

B．the matter of lunch was successfully settled

C．her father persuaded her mother successfully

D．the method the author thought of was effective

【推荐1】Scientists say a huge percentage of bird species are in danger because their habitats are disappearing.

The scientists studied the migration, or flight, paths, of almost 1,500 species and decided that 91 percent of them passed through dangerous areas. The major danger for migratory birds is development. Building and paving have covered over nature where birds stop and feed as they move from one part of the world to another.

For example, a bird called the bar-tailed godwit migrates from its breeding grounds in the Arctic. It flies all the way to Australia and New Zealand. The problem, according to investigators, is that many of these small birds die along their migration because they don't have a safe place to eat and rest. There is no place to restore their energy for the next part of their journey. "They simply perish along the way," says one of the scientists.

Countries in North Africa, Central Asia and those along the coasts of East Asia are having the most difficult time conserving land. The scientists say these countries do not have enough areas that are safe for birds.

"Our world gets poorer every time we lose a species,’’ one of the scientists says.

The researchers say countries need to work together and come up with safe stopover areas for birds that pass through their boundaries.

For example, one country might have preserved safe zones for migrating birds. But a neighbor country might not. A bird might die.

One scientist who is not involved in the report tells the Los Angeles Times that while some habitats are changing, more work can be done to make urban areas safe for birds. He says small changes—like planting more native plants or keeping cats out of areas birds would be likely to use—could make a big difference.

1. What’s the major danger for migratory birds according to the passage?

A．They can’t find enough food along the way.

B．They have lost their way because of human development.

C．Human development has occupied their natural habitats.

D．They are sometimes struck by human diseases.

2. What do we know about bar-tailed godwits?

A．They fly from the Arctic south to Australia every year.

B．They can pick out good resting place along the way.

C．They have died out because of human hunting.

D．They have their conserved land in Australia.

3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "perish" in Paragraph 3?

A．Continue.	B．Die.
C．Settle.	D．Migrate.

4. What suggestion does the scientist say to the Los Angeles Times?

A．Countries working together to protect the sea.

B．Protecting the original habitats for the migrating birds.

C．Reserving some land for the birds to rest along the way.

D．Planting some native plants for the migrating birds to use.

【推荐2】I Was the Doughnut Lady

In university I had a part-time job at a shop that sold doughnut s and coffee. Situated on a block where several buses stopped, it served the people who had a few minutes to wait for their bus.

Every afternoon around four o'clock, a group of school children would burst into the shop, and business would come to a stop. Adults would glance in, see the crowd and pass on. But I didn't mind if the children waited for their bus inside. Sometimes I would hand out a bus fare when a ticket went missing-always repaid the next day. On snowy days I would give away some doughnuts. I would lock the door at closing time, and we waited in the warm shop until their bus finally arrived.

I enjoyed my young friends, but it never occurred to me that I played an important role in their lives—until one afternoon when a man came and asked if I was the girl working on weekdays around four o'clock. He identified himself as the father of two of my favorites.

“I want you to know I appreciate what you do for my children. I worry about them taking two buses to get home. It means a lot that they can wait here and you keep an eye on them. When they are with the doughnut lady, I know they are safe.” I told him it wasn't a big deal, and that I enjoyed the kids.

So I was the Doughnut Lady. I not only received a title, but became a landmark. Now I think about all the people who keep an eye on my own children. They become, well, Doughnut Ladies. Like the men a t the skating rink, who let my boys ring home; Or the bus driver who drove my daughter to her stop at the end of the route at night but wouldn't leave until I arrived to pick her up; Or that nice police officer who took pity on my boys walking home in the rain when I was at work—even though the phone rang all the next day with calls from curious neighbors. “Was that a police car I saw at your house last night?”

That wasn't a police car. That was a Doughnut Lady.

1. According to the passage, the author sometimes ______.

A．sold bus tickets to the children	B．gave the children free doughnuts
C．did business with the children's help	D．called the children's parents to pick them up

2. By saying “...it wasn't a big deal (Para. 4),” the author meant that ______.

A．she hadn't done anything significant

B．she hadn't spent much time with the children

C．she hadn't made a lot of money from the children

D．she hadn't found it hard to get along with the children

3. What can we learn about the police officer? ______

A．He took the boys to the police station.

B．He helped the boys look for their mother.

C．He drove the boys back home in a police car.

D．He managed to make sure of the boys' identity.

4. Why did the neighbors call the next day?

A．They called to comfort them.

B．They tried to make sure they were fine.

C．They wanted to confirm it was really a police car.

D．They wondered what the police brought them on such a rainy night.

5. The passage suggests that ______.

A．running a business requires skill	B．taking responsibility is a moral virtue
C．devotion should be everything in life	D．there are always no small acts of kindness.

【推荐3】Despite the corona-virus pandemic, NASA and Space X are fueling up a historic flight. In a press conference (新闻发布会)，NASA and Space X shared details about the upcoming flight.

Nearly everything about this mission is new, including the touchscreen-equipped Crew Dragon spacecraft, the shiny white spacesuits and the life support systems in the spacecraft. Its control rooms have been reorganized so that the control desks are 2 meters apart from one another to allow the support staff to obey the social distancing rules after the corona-virus pandemic broke out.

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken make up the crew. They have finished thousands of hours of training for the mission to the International Space Station (ISS), but they said . this crewed flight carries more risk than flying on a previous craft. "The big difference for us is that the vehicle that we' re going on has never flown before with crew," said Behnken. "It's all been walked through, but never with any real danger. ”

As this is a test flight, much of the mission involves running through steps for various emergency situations. The astronauts will test the spacecraft as a lifeboat for ISS astronauts. '"Everything needs to be checked so that future astronauts won' t have to do any emergency steps for the first time during a crisis. " Hurley said. It hasn't yet been decided exactly how long Hurley and Behnken will remain on the ISS before heading home. Their stay will depend on how long it takes to prepare a Space X' s craft for next crewed mission.

1. The following about this mission are new EXCEPT ______.

A．The spacecraft	B．The spacesuits
C．The support systems	D．The control desks

2. What is the influence of corona-virus pandemic on the mission?

A．NASA and Space X start to add fuel into the flight.

B．Everything about this mission has to be new.

C．The control rooms have been reorganized.

D．It isn't clear when the astronauts will return.

3. What can we learn about the flight?

A．The astronauts have spent thousands of hours on the International Space Station.

B．The astronauts have walked through the spacecraft without meeting any real danger.

C．This flight is to make sure future astronauts won't have to deal with emergency.

D．Hurley and Behnken won' t be back before Space X' s next crewed mission is ready.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．NASA and Space X's First Test Flight with Crew

B．A Historic Lifeboat for ISS

C．The Cooperation of NASA and Space X

D．An Emergency Mission