【推荐1】When he was a little boy, his uncle called him "Sparky' after a comic-strip   (连环画)   horse named Spark Plug. School was all but impossible for Sparky. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. And while he did manage to make the school's golf team, he lost the only match of   the season straight away.

Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn't that the other students dislike him. It's just that no one really cared that much. In fact, Sparky was astonished if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. Sparky was a loser. Him, his classmates ... everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind early that if things were meant to work out, they would.

One thing was important to Sparky, however-drawing. He was proud of his artwork. No one else appreciated it. But that didn't seem to matter to him. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the yearbook. The editors rejected his ideas. Despite that, Sparky was convinced of his ability.

He even decided to become an artist. So, after completing high school, Sparky wrote to Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples of his artwork. In spite of careful preparation, it too was rejected. One more confirmation was that he was a loser.

But Sparky still didn't give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the boy who always lost and underachieved. You know him well because Sparky's cartoon character went on to become a kind of cultural phenomenon. People readily understand this "loveable loser". He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and shared humanity. The character soon became famous worldwide: "Charlie Brown". And Sparky, the boy whose many failures kept him from trying, whose work was rejected again and again, is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip Peanuts continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us, as someone once commented, that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.

1. By saying "he learned to live with it" in Paragraph 2, the author means that Sparky_________.

A．decided not to make an effort in school

B．learned to ignore being treated badly

C．didn't care as long as no one called him a loser

D．came to accept being ignored by other students

2. Before Sparky started the Charlie Brown cartoon,_________.

A．he thought poorly of himself in drawing

B．some editors encouraged him to keep trying

C．his artwork was rejected time and again

D．his artwork was accepted by Walt Disney Studios

3. Sparky's cartoon character became so popular because_________.

A．people were touched by Sparky's never-give-up spirit

B．people felt they could relate to it

C．it inspired people to fight for their dreams

D．it mirrored people's life outlook

4. We can learn from the passage that_________.

A．nothing is impossible for a willing heart

B．a loser is meant to be a winner

C．opportunities always favor the prepared mind

D．life is to be enjoyed but not be complained about

【推荐3】Stained glass artists create different designs by making cuts on the glass to “score” it and then breaking off the pattern that they want to use in the finished product. The most difficult cut in stained glass is called an inside cut. Basically, it’s a curved line where you throw away the part inside of the curve. The problem with inside cuts is that the edges of the curve tend to break off when the pieces of scored glass are broken apart.

As the artist talked about inside cuts, he said, “The glass will break into pieces if you try to cut too much off at once. The best way to do an inside cut is to slice off smaller curves piece-by-piece. In fact, it’s not just the best way lo do it, but it’s the only way to do it.”

How many times do you try to make a big change and cut the entire piece at once? We convince ourselves that we can do this all the time. We’ll commit to transforming our diet overnight or we get inspired to launch a business in a weekend or we finally get motivated to work out and push ourselves to the edge of burning out.

Why not approach your goals and dreams like a stained glass artist? Starting by slicing a shallow curve and breaking a small piece off, you cut a slightly deeper curve and break that off until you have your full inside cut. By slowly cutting deeper and deeper curves, you prevent the glass from breaking as it change shape.

Of course, change isn’t easy — no mailer how you do it. Slow gains are boring, but if we keep making small improvements, then pretty soon we will end up with a beautiful masterpiece on our hands instead of a bunch of broken pieces.

1. Why is an inside cut believed to be most difficult?

A．It needs a one-and-only design.	B．It calls for nothing but inspiration.
C．The edges of the curve break easily.	D．The glass inside the curve is easily broken.

2. What mistakes are easily made according to paragraph 3?

A．Being too eager to make improvements.

B．Being too worried about the final outcome.

C．Trying to make a complete change all at once.

D．Developing to focus on progress instead of achievements.

3. What does the author suggest by saying “slicing a shallow cure”?

A．Moving forward with a clear aim.

B．Starting slow and improving little by little.

C．Developing a new habit with great determination,

D．Handling something major first and ignore the minor part.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To show his love of stained glass.	B．To introduce the skill of an inside cut.
C．To appreciate designs of stained glass artists.	D．To share his opinions on how to make a change.

【推荐1】America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while—then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily, but truly can't manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes,

For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for pure business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

1. Where are we expected to call our American friends if we go there by plane?

A．On the bus.

B．At the airport.

C．Near their home.

D．At our own hotel.

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

A．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

B．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

C．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

D．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

3. Which is the typical(典型的)way of American hospitality?

A．Treating friends at home.

B．Sharing everything they have.

C．Taking days off to be with friends.

D．Meeting friends at the airport at midnight.

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

A．Americans' hospitality.

B．The mobility of Americans.

C．Friendships between Chinese.

D．Americans' views of friendships.

5. In which part of a newspaper can this article be found?

A．Culture.

B．News.

C．Story.

D．Travel

【推荐2】I woke up after surgery with my leg bandaged beyond recognition, with tubes coming out of various limbs, with my mouth sandpaper dry and my mind confused. The operation had required two bone grafts (移植). I wouldn’t walk for three months, optimistically. I couldn’t drive. I couldn’t navigate the steps in our house. I couldn’t even shower on my own.

I turned to my husband, Adam, and asked, “How are we going to manage?” Who would get the kids to the bus at 7: 15 a.m., since my husband was in his office by 6 a.m. each day? Who would deal with the dogs, who relied on my companionship and long walks? Who would prepare dinner?

“We’ll figure it out,” Adam said. I nodded, because what was the alternative? But nowhere in any of my cells did I believe him. Not even a tiny bit.

I posted about my accident on Facebook. And something unexpected happened: friends both near and far asked me how they could help. I wrote back, thanking them all but not taking them up on their kind offers. But by the time we returned home, a friend had already set up a dinner train: Meals for my family were taken care of for the first month of my recovery. Parents at our school bus stop offered to drop my kids off each afternoon. Friends sent care packages of books and food.

My children learned to be both autonomous and sympathetic. They ran up the steps each day after school to check on me; my daughter set up her karaoke machine by the couch to keep me entertained while I embarked on (开始准备) my slow, cruel PT exercises. My son dutifully fetched my laptop charger or a fork or a bottle of water when asked, never complaining, as he would have in the past.

My kids no longer had the luxury of my setting out their school clothes or packing their lunches or ensuring that their homework was filed. So they learned to do it themselves, and in a surprise perhaps only to me, everyone was all the better for it.

1. What did the author worry about?

A．Her legs couldn’t fully recover.	B．She would have two operations.
C．She couldn’t manage daily life.	D．Her operations would be put off.

2. How did the author feel when Adam tried to comfort her?

A．Excited.	B．Confused.
C．Embarrassed.	D．Unconvinced.

3. How did the author’s friends give her a hand?

A．By keeping her entertained.	B．By taking her to the hospital.
C．By sending her children to school.	D．By making dinners for her family.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．When Mom Was Away	B．How Kids Helped Mom
C．How Mom Made Friends	D．When Mom Broke Her Leg

【推荐1】I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans.” I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their ideas, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.

My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state-owned enterprises and global companies. They were without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.

In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well-developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.

With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there's the “thousand talent scheme.” this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign-trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China's research environment. It's hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.

At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnership with top western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It's about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It's not that simple.

1. Why does the writer feel disappointed at his students?

A．Because there is one group presenting a catering service.

B．Because the six groups did not cooperate well in the brainstorm.

C．Because all the students copied a case for the difficult topic.

D．Because the students' ideas were lacking in creativeness.

2. Which of the following scenes is NOT considered as lack of creation?

A．Papers were often downloaded from the Internet.

B．Students often said that copying is a preferable business strategy.

C．Students combine knowledge and critical thoughts to solve a problem.

D．Case study debates were written up as well as recited.

3. We can infer form the passage that ________.

A．China can make and sell any product all over the world from its own creation.

B．high pay may not solve the problem of China's research environment.

C．cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand.

D．the new government program is aimed at encouraging imagination.

4. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Look for a new way of learning	B．Reward creative thinking
C．How to become a creator	D．Establish a technical environment

【推荐2】Real financial security and freedom is not in our job but in our passion. It’s easy to define and evaluate a man by his pursue Joseph Campbell once said, “Follow your dream and the universe will open doors where there are only walls.”

In life, we’ll always be found doing any of these two things: either making a living or making a difference. Pensions (养老金)and salaries stop many from pursuing excellence while passion unlocks hidden potentials that equip us for challenges and opportunities. A job helps us make a living while passion enables us to make a difference.

I want to sincerely help to adjust and clarify the misguided belief among workers that a job is a means of livelihood. Rather, it should be a means to fuel our passion. The earlier you realize this basic truth of life, the more clearly you'll be able to position yourself in living a life of impact and value.

The success of Kentucky Fried Chicken（KFC）shows how meaningful it is to pursue your passion instead of your pension. Its founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, didn’t realize this until he was given his first social security check of 105 dollars. But he decided that there surely was something to do for himself and other people instead of living on that small pension. He was determined to engage himself in what brought him impact and value. Drawing inspiration from his mother's special recipe for fried chicken, he invented “finger-licking” seasoning with eleven spices and herbs. Despite much rejection, he managed to round up some investors and promote company's rapid expansion to more than 6,000 locations. Sanders’ life pointed towards two facts about making a difference: one, there is no age that is too old to make a difference; two, there is nothing too small or insignificant to make a difference with, as long as it is your passion.

1. How does the author support his argument in paragraph 2?

A．By listing examples.

B．By showing contrast.

C．By including a quote.

D．By sharing his experience.

2. How did Sanders probably feel when offered his first social security check?

A．Deeply moved.	B．Pleasantly surprised.
C．Greatly relieved.	D．Internally motivated.

3. What does the author suggest we do?

A．Pursue our passion.

B．Get a well-paid job.

C．Secure our position.

D．Get career guidance.

4. What is the best title for this text?

A．Passion or Pension?

B．Following Your Dreams

C．Working for Pension

D．To Work or not to Work?

【推荐3】The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin’s older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.
Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin’s Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed from will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers(广告商)，readers, market value, and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor(主编) of the Times said recently, “At places where they gather, editors ask one another, ‘How are you?’, as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case.” An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guandian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”
Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock(股票) drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company’s income.
1. What can we learn about the New England Courant?

A．It is mainly about the stock market.

B．It marks the beginning of the American newspaper.

C．It remains a successful newspaper in America.

D．It carries articles by political leaders.

2. What can we infer about the newspaper editors?

A．They often accept readers’ suggestions.

B．They care a lot about each other’s health.

C．They stop doing business with advertisers.

D．They face great difficulties in their business.

3. Which of the following found a new way for its development?

A．The Washington Post.

B．The Guardian.

C．The New York Times.

D．New England Courant.

4. How does the author seem to feel about the future of newspapers?

A．Satisfied.

B．Hopeful.

C．Worried.

D．Surprised.

【推荐1】For underwater photographer Brian Skerry, there are good days. The sun shines, the water's clear. But most days aren't like that. The whales don't show up, or there are particles (颗粒)in the water, or wind brings the waves, or the sun dips behind a cloud at the worst moment.

A National Geographic photography fellow and the 2017, Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, Skerry free dives — which means no scuba tanks, no equipment except his fins, mask, and camera. Over the past two years he's spent nine weeks off the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica in a 30-Foot boat running after sperm whales around their warm-water habitat.

Sperm whales are intelligent, and mad, escaping to ocean depths when pursued. Still, their ranks have been thinned by whaling, overfishing, and other contact with humans, to the point that the world's conservationists assess them as either vulnerable or endangered. Skerry wants his photos to inform the scientific research and education efforts that will bring whales more attention and potentially some relief. “I feel a sense of responsibility and urgency to make people care about the marine giants,” he says. “I want to give them, for lack of a better word, some humanity.”

Scientists know sperm whales as the ocean's largest toothed animals that kills other animals. They have the biggest brains of any known animal, can weigh up to 45 tons, and have been observed displaying humanlike qualities, such as curiosity and playfulness. But despite their size and their expressiveness, sperm whales remain one of the ocean's biggest mysteries. Do they share complex ideas?

1. What is "free dives"?

A．Diving without charge.	B．Diving without sponsors.
C．Diving with little equipment.	D．Diving with few regulations.

2. What does the underlined word "vulnerable" probably mean?

A．Easily attacked.	B．Strongly built.
C．Desperately driven.	D．Distantly removed.

3. What can we learn about the sperm whales from the text?

A．Sperm whales are the largest fish in the sea.

B．Sperm whales are as clever as the human being.

C．Sperm whales enjoy being photographed by photographers.

D．Sperm whales' population has declined due to illegal fishing.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．Technology magazine.	B．Tourism advertisement.
C．National geography.	D．Entertainment report.

【推荐2】Born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, Robert Wyland began his career in painting at the age of three. With a few cans of house paint found under the kitchen sink, he painted his first mural（壁画），dinosaurs, on the headboard of his parents’ bed.

Today you never know where you might find Wyland, but chances are that you will have to look up. This painter, sculptor, and muralist now paints giant-sized murals of sea animals on much larger canvases（画布）: walls and ceilings of hotels and other buildings, and even the outside of a stadium.

His project, the Whaling Walls, began in 1981 when Wyland painted a life-sized mural of a gray whale（鲸） and her baby on the side of a hotel in Laguna Beach, California. His goal was to paint one hundred whaling walls, which has been achieved. Painting so many murals would be a huge project for any artist, but the size of these murals is what has really made this a giant task.

How does Wyland go about creating such huge lifelike murals? Wyland says he relies on what he calls his “mind’s eye”. He explains that through his mind’s eye he can look at a blank canvas and form a picture of the finished mural in his mind.

To cover such large areas, Wyland, who is afraid of heights, depends on scaffolding（脚手架） to help him move around and produce his murals. But unlike most artists who can step back to survey their work, Wyland has to rely mostly on his memory.

For accuracy in his artwork, Wyland spends as much time underwater as he does painting. He dives to study his subjects and learn more about them in their natural environment. Through his artwork, Wyland hopes to inspire people to care more about our oceans and to respect and protect the life within them. The whales he works so hard to protect may not know it , but Wyland might just be the best friend a whale could have.

1. Where did Wyland paint his first mural?

A．In a hotel.	B．In the open air.
C．In his parents’ bedroom.	D．In the kitchen of his home.

2. What is Wyland’s “mind’s eye”?

A．His eyesight.	B．His memory.
C．His enthusiasm.	D．His imagination.

3. What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Wyland may be whale’s best friend.	B．Wyland is good at painting whales.
C．Wyland may know whales very well.	D．Wyland tries his best to protect the ocean.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．100 Whaling Walls	B．The Prince of Whale
C．Look up, Enjoy the Murals	D．Never Stop, Follow Your Dream

【推荐3】Don’t just learn languages, fall in love with them! Language learning couldn’t be more fun and easy than with free mobile apps.

Google Translate

Most language learning apps teach you a language through exercises, while Google Translate simply tells you how to write and speak anything you run through it. This language learning app can also translate even when you don’t have an Internet connection (just be sure to download the language pack ahead of time).

Works With: iOS, Android, Web

AccellaStudy Essential Apps

AccellaStudy is extremely simple to use, and supports offline use. Different methods of learning are included in these apps, such as flash cards, audio quizzes, spaced repetition, and others. A hands-free mode is perfect if you’re driving, so you can learn without looking at your device.

Works With: iOS

Busuu

Busuu provides an app that’s easy to use and is convenient in how you work with the courses. Just choose a supported language you’d like to learn, log in, and then decide where in the course you’d like to start—Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate, Upper, or Travel.

Works With: iOS, Android, Web

Pimsleur

Interactive mobile apps are great when you can spare the attention of your eyeballs and fingers, but what if you have an idea of learning while driving or walking the dog? For that, there’s Pimsleur. It’s designed in a way that really makes you think and work hard to build your language skills.

Works With: iOS, Android, Web

Is this page helpful?

1. Which app might cost user’s money?

A．Busuu	B．Pimsleur
C．Google Translate	D．AccellaStudy Essential Apps

2. If you are a language beginner, you’d better choose to learn by ______.

A．translating anything you run through apps

B．downloading the language pack ahead of time

C．logging in Busuu and choosing the suitable course

D．keeping on learning while driving or walking the dog

3. Where can readers find the passage?

A．A language text book	B．A science magazine
C．An entertainment newspaper	D．An information website