【推荐1】When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it a forest.

The good doctor had some interesting theories about plant care and growth. He never watered his new trees as others did. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them and that if you water them each successive tree generation would grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things tough for them and weed out the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture. I thought he meant that deep roots were to be treasured.

So he never watered his new trees. He planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. Smack! Slap! Pow! I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty five years ago. They’re extremely tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now. However, the trees in my garden trembled in a cold wind although I had watered them for several years.

It seems that adversity and suffering benefit these trees while comfort and ease never could. I stood there, deep in thought.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray for them. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But I think that it’s time to change my prayers because now I know my children are going to encounter hardship.

1. According to Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3, we can infer that Dr. Gibbs’ motto may be _________?

A．“Seeing is believing”	B．“Honesty is the best policy”
C．“Practice makes perfect”	D．“No pain, no gain”

2. The underlined word “robust” in Para. 4 probably means _________?

A．strange

B．deep

C．strong

D．old

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The writer is twenty-five years old.

B．Dr. Gibbs beat his trees with a rope.

C．Dr. Gibbs thought that watering trees might spoil them.

D．The writer will not pray for her children any more.

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

A．A Doctor

B．The Deep Roots

C．My Prayer

D．My Childhood Memory

【推荐2】Whether you went in for a hug only lo be met with a handshake, or simply had a fall in front of a crowded room, you’re probably wondering what to do next. Avoid the awkwardness or confront it? According to research, you’ll want to do a bit of both.

In one study, Joshua W. Clegg, an associate professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, found that the first thing you should do is acknowledge the situation. He wrote, “Direct responses were associated with a re-established sense of social harmony. He noted this is often best done through humor—saying something as simple as “Awkward” can put you at ease. Reminding others of your mistakes will only draw the moment out, and can make things more un-comfortable.

Facing the situation head-on also helps you realize how much of a non-event most awkward moments are. Withdrawing, on the other hand, “can actually make that anxiety and that sense of awkwardness worse because you’re not getting to find out that you can recover,” Bethany Teachman, a professor in the University of Virginian’s Department of Psychology, said.

Now that you’ve faced the situation—maybe even laughed it off—let it go. Still feeling uneasy? Remember that embarrassment is normal. u It is the price we pay for being messy, imperfect ,normal humans, Susan David, PhD, a Harvard Medical School psychologist, said. “A key part of moving on from embarrassment is to practice self-compassion and self-forgiveness. When you recognize that you are only human and imperfect, just like all other humans are imperfect, it gives us permission to let go of the past embarrassment with the knowledge that we did our best.”

1. What is Joshua W. Clegg’s suggestion about the situation?

A．To run away from it.	B．To speak out your feeling directly.
C．To cover your face to protect yourself.	D．To remember the people laughing at you.

2. What does the underlined word ^Withdrawing” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Getting back.	B．Moving away.
C．Coming from.	D．Stopping from.

3. Which of the following is wiser and better when people face “awkwardness”?

A．To try to recover soon.	B．To pretend to be all right.
C．To act skillfully and bravely.	D．To avoid what other people say.

4. In which section of a magazine can we read the text?

A．Advice.	B．Health.
C．Education.	D．Entertainment.

【推荐3】When I was a child, I stayed with my grandmother a lot of the time while my mother was at work. One day some money problems started to arise for my grandmother and the family. They needed a little more income so she decided to sing at the nearby retirement home (养老院).

So I had to go with her. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but as soon as my grandmother actually persuaded me to get on stage and start singing, I loved it. I just loved seeing that sparkle (光亮) in those people’s eyes. They would stand up and dance and clap to the beat of the music. Eventually, we were singing at many of the homes in the surrounding area 5 out of 7 days a week.

Making other people happy has always made me happy. And during that experience I even discovered my gift, singing. My grandma still sings to those people 15 years later, only for no charge now. I moved to North Carolina when I was 13, leaving my grandma in Florida, but I still carry on her effort and try and go out of my way to do something kind, even if very small, for at least one person every day. There is no better feeling in the world than the one you get when you hear appreciation in someone’s voice.

1. The author’s grandmother sang at the nearby retirement home probably to ________.

A．bring joy to the old people there	B．start a new career
C．make some money	D．satisfy her husband

2. The underlined “it” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to “________”.

A．how the author could please the old people

B．whether Grandmother could make money

C．whether the author could sing or not

D．what songs the author had to sing

3. We can infer from the second paragraph that ________.

A．the author had great confidence when she started to sing

B．the audience were surprised that the author could sing at such an early age

C．the audience didn’t like the author at first

D．the author was loved by the audience

4. What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．One can find his gift only through failure.

B．Others’ appreciation can make one happy.

C．One can succeed if he doesn’t give up halfway.

D．It’s hard to win others appreciation.

【推荐2】Scientists have made great discoveries. But how have they influenced our personal lives? Do kids in your classroom even know when Einstein lived? You may be wondering: why is it important to teach kids stories about modern-day scientists?

First, stories of scientists can encourage kids. Chris Hadfield is a Canadian who went to space, and he’s a real guitar-playing person. He makes singing videos on the website. His story can make kids think scientists are also common people. Hearing scientists’ stories makes kids think that they can do that too.

But not only that, the stories of famous scientists can encourage kids to explore and never give up. Bill Nye was always refused when trying to be an astronaut. But up to now, he has made a lot of successes in his role as a popular science educator and engineer. Besides, it’s no secret that scientific discoveries require trying, and trying again.

Another way some scientists can encourage kids is through their diversity. Neil deGrasse Tyson, for example, is an African-American, which is not common in his field. Such stories can make kids think anyone can be a scientist.

It’s important to know that scientists don’t need to be “gifted” or “good” at school. Often we consider a scientist as being an extremely smart kid at school, which doesn’t have to be true. They just need to have a great interest in science. Telling students stories of scientists can encourage them to show interest in science. As long as they are interested, they are likely to become a scientist in the future.

Modern scientists teach kids that knowledge builds upon the foundation others have laid. This is important—no one can do it alone. Scientists’ stories can encourage today’s young scientists to keep trying. They’ll be encouraged not to give up on the dream of exploring and making discoveries. Even if they haven’t made important discoveries, their research may help the following scientists.

1. What can Chris Hadfield’s story tell students?

A．Scientists are interested in different things.

B．Students should have a hobby of their own.

C．Scientists can be ordinary like people around us.

D．Students should consider scientists as their models.

2. Which of the following will the author agree with?

A．Scientists are not necessarily very smart at school.

B．Not all scientists really show interest in science.

C．Scientists are usually good at their schooling.

D．African-Americans are more likely to become scientists.

3. What can be learned according to the last paragraph?

A．Scientists should help each other.

B．A scientist should never give up trying.

C．Making discoveries is necessary for scientists.

D．New scientific discoveries may be based on others’ findings.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Why scientists are important to us.

B．Why students love stories of scientists.

C．Why scientists can make great discoveries.

D．Why students should be taught stories about scientists.

【推荐1】Researchers all over the world have been dreaming of “lab-grown” or “cultured” meat, for years. Today, their dream took one step closer to reality as the cultured chicken meat from the US company, Eat Just, has been allowed for sale in Singapore.

Lab-grown chicken is made of real chicken cells, but it's grown in a lab instead of growing in a live chicken.(Cultured meat is different from plant-based meats like the Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat or Quorn, which use plant proteins to create products that just taste very similar to the products made from real meat.)

To grow cultured chicken meat, cells are taken from a real chicken. These cells are then put in a special kind of water that encourages the cells to grow in the lab until they've produced chicken meat——without the chicken.

But many technical challenges of bringing lab-grown meat to the table are far from solved. No one has yet found out how to produce cultured meat even with the same texture and structure of real meat. Even replacing chicken products with lab-grown chicken products that are not very strict with such texture and structure would be a big success for the world.

The existing projects, like Eat Just's in Singapore, can only produce a very small amount of meat for special dishes, while the meat industry kills tens of billions of animals each year. Matching that will be a challenge.

The next challenge is cost. Lab-grown meat is much more expensive than factory farming. "Factory-farmed meat is unbelievably cheap," said Lewis Bollard, who researches animals at the Open Philanthropy Project. “The meat industry doesn't pay for the environmental and the public health problems they have caused. They have managed to produce a product that is just artificially cheap and hard to compete with.”

Although there are still many challenges ahead, today's success in Singapore is cause for celebration.

1. Which company's product is made of animal cells?

A．Quorn.

B．Eat Just.

C．Beyond Meat.

D．Impossible Burger.

2. What can we say about the cultured chicken meat?

A．It has been grown in a live chicken.	B．It has the same texture of real meat.
C．It still tastes different from real meat.	D．It has been produced in huge amounts.

3. What does Lewis Bollard mean?

A．Researchers have had a big success in Singapore.

B．There are many technical challenges to be solved.

C．Cultured meat still cannot compete with real meat.

D．Factory-farmed meat is very harmful to our health.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Cultured Meat Still Faces Too Many Problems

B．When Will Lab-grown Meat Become Reality?

C．How to Grow Cultured Chicken Meat in a Lab?

D．The First Lab-grown Meat to Be on Sale in Singapore

【推荐3】A new app aims to help parents interpret what their baby wants based on the sound of their cry. The free app ChatterBaby, which was released last month, analyzes the acoustic (声学的) features of a baby’s cry, to help parents understand whether their child might be hungry, fussy or in pain. While critics say caregivers should not rely too much on their smartphone, others say it’s a helpful tool for new or tired parents.

Ariana Anderson, a mother of four, developed the app. She originally designed the technology to help deaf parents better understand why their baby was upset, but soon realized it could be a helpful tool for all new parents.

To build a database, Anderson and her team uploaded 2,000 audio samples of infant(婴儿) cries. She used cries recorded during ear piercings and vaccinations to distinguish pain cries. And to create a baseline for the other two categories, a group of moms had to agree on whether the cry was either hungry or fussy.

Anderson’s team continues to collect data and hopes to make the app more accurate by asking parents to get specific about what certain sounds mean.

Pediatrician Eric Ball pointed out that evaluating cries can never be an exact science. “I think that all of the apps and technology that new parents are using now can be helpful but need to be taken seriously,” Ball said ,“ I do worry that some parents will get stuck in big data and turn their parenting into basically a spreadsheet(电子表格) which I think will take away the love and caring that parents are supposed to be providing for the children. ”

But Anderson said the aim of the app is to have parents interpret the results, not to provide a yes or no answer. The Bells, a couple using this app, say it’s a win-win. They believe they are not only helping their baby now but potentially others in the future.

1. How does the app judge what babies want?

A．By collecting data.

B．By recording all the sounds.

C．By analyzing the sound of their cries.

D．By asking parents about specific messages.

2. What was the app designed for in the beginning?

A．All new parents.	B．Deaf parents.
C．Ariana Anderson.	D．Crying babies.

3. What is Ball’s opinion about the app?

A．Parents should use the app wisely.

B．The app can create an accurate result.

C．Parents and babies are addicted to the app.

D．The app makes babies lose love and caring.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Parents should not rely too much on their smartphones.

B．A new app helps parents figure out why their babies are crying.

C．Parents can deal with babies’ hunger with the help of a new app.

D．A new app called ChatterBaby can prevent babies from crying.

【推荐1】What does an outdoor cat do all day? A study of more than 900 house cats shows when they kill small birds and mammals, their influence is concentrated in a small area, having a bigger effect than wild predators (食肉动物) do.

Roland Kays, a scientist at North Carolina State University and his colleagues collected GPS data from cats in six countries. “These cats are moving around their own backyard and a couple of their neighbors' backyards, but most of them are not ranging very much further,” Kays said. “So initially I thought, 'Oh, this is good news. They're not going out into the nature preserves.’”

Then Kays took how much cats kill m that small area into consideration. Some cats in the study were bringing home up to 11 dead birds a month, which doesn't include what they ate or didn't bring home.

“It actually ends up being" a really high rate of predation," Kays said. He calculates that cats can have 4-to-10 times the influence of a wild predator. Native predators, like jungle cats, also kill a lot of small animals, but their influence is spread out over a larger area. One study indicates that house cats kill billions of birds every year.

“The simplest thing to do is to keep your cat indoors,” Kays said.

For those who refuse to keep their cats inside, there are potential options. St. Lawrence University associate professor Susan Willson went looking for one. She found a special brightly colored collar online. “The whole idea is that the bird will be able to visually see the cat creeping (爬) up on it before the cat attacks it,” she said. Willson tested the collar on both her cat and dozens of others. It greatly reduced the number of birds the cats brought home.

“I'm not saying these collars can make a significant difference in the massive bird death that we're seeing,” she said. “But each individual bird that somebody in their backyard is not finding dead, I think matters.”

1. Why does Kays say “this is good news”?

A．House cats can be tracked by GPS.

B．House cats won't kill birds in large numbers.

C．House cats are protected from wild predators.

D．House cats feel comfortable in their own backyard.

2. How do wild predators differ from house cats in terms of killing animals?

A．They prefer to attack larger animals.

B．They kill 4-10 times the number of house cats.

C．Their victims are distributed in a bigger range.

D．They kill less than house cats on a monthly basis.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Birds can't sense the danger when cats attack them.

B．Willson considers keeping her cat inside a good idea.

C．The only way to protect birds is to keep them indoors.

D．The colored collar can be a sign of potential danger to birds.

4. Which word can best describe Willson's attitude to using collars to save birds?

A．Concerned.	B．Positive.
C．Doubtful.	D．Cautious.

【推荐2】It could be said that the northernmost part of our planet holds the secrets of our past as well as our future.

Through our exploration of the Arctic, scientists have discovered more about the biodiversity (生物多样性) of the area as well as how to preserve Earth’s ecosystems. Yet as one of the most severe but most primitive (原始的) places on Earth, the Arctic has been affected by human activities---research and exploration, booming tourism and above all, global warming---in recent decades.

Jonathan Smith, producer of the BBC documentary Blue Planet II, shared his filming experience in the Arctic. “We were all set and ready to film but we needed two major things---walrus (海象) and ice. I had expected that walrus may be hard to find, but I didn't expect it to be hard to find ice,” he told the BBC. “The crew was all commenting on how surprisingly warm it was.”

They were not mistaken. Scientists have been recording changes in the Arctic. Its sea ice minimum in summer, for example, has reduced by 40 percent in the past 30 years, NASA data showed. These changes have had bad influences on the Arctic and the human, animal and plant life that calls it home.

But the effects of these changes are not limited to the inhabitants of this area alone. In fact, it could be said that the weight of the world relies on this icy region. The Earth’s steady climate depends on the Arctic’s sea ice, which acts as a huge white reflector (反光体) at the top of the planet, bouncing some of the sun’s rays back into space. The more Arctic sea ice melts, the less light is reflected, and the more the dark oceans will absorb the sun’s radiation. The Arctic also helps circulate ocean movement, moving cold and warm water around the globe.

With visible changes in the global climate, the Arctic has given us a wake-up call---what happens “up in the North” doesn’t just stay there. It comes with a high cost to the world at large. It's time for us to pay attention to this chilly region and learn more about what’s happening there, as well as its past and possible future.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is the most threatening challenge the Arctic faces?

A．Coldness.

B．Darkness.

C．Global warming.

D．Wilderness.

2. Why does the author quote Jonathan Smith’s words in Paragraph 3?

A．To give an example.	B．To support an idea.
C．To clarify a question.	D．To provide more information.

3. Why are the effects of the changes in the Arctic so important to the whole world?

A．The sea ice absorbs the sun’s radiation to keep the Earth’s climate steady.

B．The Arctic helps circulate air around the world.

C．The Arctic is home to the human, animal and plant life.

D．The sea ice helps reduce global warming by reflecting the sunlight.

4. Which word best describes the author’s attitude to the present situation of the Arctic?

A．Concerned.

B．Approving.

C．Optimistic.

D．Contradictory.

【推荐3】American children are still eating lots of fast food---and in spite of restaurants’ promises of healthy options, most kids are sticking with fries over salads. Some infamous chains like McDonald’s and Wendy’s have promised to offer healthier options on their kid’s menus, but they aren’t all sticking it, according to a report from the Rudd Center.

In fact, nearly all parents are buying their kids at least one fast food meal a week. Healthy fruits and vegetables may be all the rage among adults, but busy parents still choose quick meals for themselves and their kids. It doesn’t look like fast food is going away any time soon.

Scientists at the Rudd Center surveyed about 800 parents in 2010, then again in 2013 and 2016. Things have not improved much over the years. Of the vast majority of parents who had made a trip to McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s or Subway in the last week, 74% ordered an unhealthy side or drink. The older the children, the more likely their parents were to choose fries instead of a fruit, or a similar less healthy menu item. And about 35% of parents ordered regular adult menu items for their 2 to 11--year-old children, meaning these kids were often getting larger, less nutritious lunches and dinners.

Even as they introduced options like fruit juices, low-fat milk and yogurt to their menus, some restaurants have also added desserts and other calorie-heavy options to their kids’ menu items. So despite what’s now on offer, kids are getting equally or less nutritious meals, nowadays, which is mostly because fast food restaurants still promote their unhealthy options, and sides like fries are still allowed.

“While most fast-food restaurants do have healthier kids’ meal drinks and sides available, many do little to make parents aware of the healthier options or to encourage parents to choose the healthier options instead of unhealthy ones,” said lead study author Jennifer Harris. “If restaurants are serious about children’s health, they will make the healthiest choice and easiest for parents and the most appealing choice for children.”

1. What do the underlined words “all the rage” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．popular.

B．necessary.

C．potential.

D．modern.

2. Which of the following can summarize the parents surveyed in the report?

A．Many parents like to eat in McDonald’s.

B．Many parents think eating fast food is healthy.

C．Many parents tend to choose unhealthy food in their daily life.

D．Many parents always ignore the healthy food in their daily life.

3. What should kids avoid eating in fast-food restaurants?

A．Fruits juices.

B．Desserts.

C．Low-fat milk.

D．Yogurt.

4. What does Jennifer Harris advise most fast-food restaurants to do?

A．Offer healthier meals for kids.	B．Take children’s health seriously.
C．Be honest about their business.	D．Guide parents how to order a healthy meal.