【推荐2】When I was first married to my wife, I lived and worked in Ontario, moving from small town to big city as I pursued my career as a radio broadcaster. We have two sons, both of whom were born in Toronto, but they moved, with us, to Ottawa when they were quite young. They grew up there, and then, chasing their own careers, they also moved. One went to Canada’s east coast near a city called Halifax and the other headed to the west coast to Vancouver. We had a dilemma; we were left in the middle.

At the time I was still working and my job was in Ottawa. However, as we began to consider retirement we wondered where we should spend our final years. We couldn’t be close to both of our children and there was no telling when they might again relocate. For several reasons we settled on a small town on Vancouver Island. At least we were close to one of them. However, he had his sights set on Hollywood and, when an opportunity presented itself, he left Canada and headed south. I helped him move.

So, there we were, and still are, in our little west coast town. We love our little corner of paradise but we have paid a price. We have not been there for some important events such as the births of two of our grandchildren. We have missed watching each of them grow up; we have missed the normal, noisy households that have young people in them. Our home, while very comfortable, is also very quiet.

Every fall we travel to see the children. We usually fly, first to California to see our son Scott and spend a week or more with him trying to catch up on everything we’ve missed. Then, usually in November, we make the even longer trip east across Canada to see Travis and our grandchildren, who are now teenagers, actually into their twenties. They seldom come to visit us. The distances are just too great and it is costly.

Fortunately, both our boys are doing well and our grandchildren are growing up straight and tall. We love all of them and we are secure in the knowledge that they love us but the reality is that they don’t need us. We have done our jobs and, at least in theory, we can sit back, relax and enjoy the time remaining to us. They have also missed having a set of parents and grandparents around.

Life has been good for our family but we have all paid a price.

1. What does the author mean by saying “We had a dilemma.”?

A．They were not happy about their sons’ absence.

B．They were unwilling to separate from their sons.

C．They were not yet prepared for retirement at that time.

D．They couldn’t decide which son to live close to.

2. Why does the author say they have paid a price?

A．They have lost lots of money because of his retirement.

B．They have to give a large sum of money to their sons.

C．They have been absent from their children’s life.

D．They have to afford very expensive fare to visit their sons.

3. Why do not the author’s grandchildren visit them regularly?

A．They are quite occupied with their homework.

B．It’s not easy for the kids to visit their grandparents.

C．They don’t need their grandparents any more.

D．The weather of winter in Canada is very awful.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Grandparents’ Love	B．Suffering Separation
C．A Price to Pay	D．Hidden Emotions

【推荐3】This is my son Matthew’s last night at home before college. I know that this is good news. I feel proud that Matthew will go to a great school. I know that this is his finest hour. But looking at the suitcases on his bed sends me out of the room to a hidden corner where I can’t stop crying.

Through the sorrow, I feel a rising embarrassment. “Pull yourself together!” I tell myself. There are parents sending their kids off to battle zones. How dare I feel so shattered?

One of the great gifts of my life has been having my boys, Matthew and John Owen. Through them, I have explored the mysterious, complicated bond between fathers and sons. As my wife and I raised them, I have discovered the love and loss between my father and me. After my parents’ divorce, I spent weekends with my dad in Ohio. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was unable to enjoy the day’s activities because I was already afraid of the goodbye of the evening.

Now, standing among Matthew’s accumulation of possessions, I realize it’s me who has become a boy again. All my sadness and longing to hold on to things are back, sweeping over me as they did when I was a child.

His bed is tidy and spare. It already has the feel of a guest bed. In my mind I replay wrapping him in his favorite blanket. That was our nightly routine until one evening he said, “Daddy, I don’t think I need a blanket tonight.” I think of all the times we lay among the covers reading. I look at the bed and think of all the recent times I was annoyed at how late he was sleeping. I’ll never have to worry about that again, I realize.

For his part, Matthew has been a rock. He is treating his leaving as just another day at the office. And I’m glad. After all, someone’s got to be strong. I’m proud that he is charging into the first chapter of his adult life with such confidence.

1. What is the probable meaning of the underlined phrase “Pull yourself together” in Paragraph 2?

A．Take up

B．Make up

C．Cheer up

D．show up

2. What can we infer about Matthew from the text?

A．He is on good terms with his family.	B．He has a preference for sleeping early.
C．He doesn’t cherish his father’s love for him.	D．He is prepared for the new life.

3. How does the writer feel about his son’s leaving for college?

A．Relieved

B．Pleased

C．Heartbroken

D．Bittersweet

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

A．Unforgettable Memories	B．Unavoidable Goodbye
C．Unconditional Love	D．Glorious Moment

【推荐2】“Smombies”— people walking while staring at their smartphones are very real and a growing cause for concern. To let people pay more attention to their surroundings to avoid serious accidents, government in a small German town has come up with a more positive solution — embedding (嵌入) traffic lights in the pavement to make them noticed by people always looking down at their phones.

The safety measure was taken. Authorities in Augsburg decided to act, installing ground level traffic lights at two tram (电车) stops last Tuesday. The lights flash red when a tram is coming, or when the regular traffic light turns red. “We realized that the normal traffic light isn't in the line of sight of many pedestrians these days,” said Tobias Hermes, a city official. “So we decided to have an extra set of lights — the more lights we have, the more people are likely to notice them.”

Some Augsburg people appear to be quite happy with the idea. “I think it makes sense,” Jack Smith said, speaking to The Augsburg Alleghenies. “One always sees young people these days running over red lights. This makes it more obvious that you need to stop.”

Others, however, found the need for ground traffic lights unnecessary and even frightening. “I find it scary that smartphone users are so engrossed that they need to install lights in the ground so that they notice the tram coming,” one person told the local paper.

But do this kind of pavement-embedded lights actually work? One interviewed teenager believes not really. “To be honest, I didn't even notice it,” he told The Augsburg Alleghenies. "Maybe it’d be useful at night, but I didn’t realize it was there until just now.”

1. From the text we can know that smombies refer to people           

A．who are fond of walking.

B．who look at phones while walking.

C．whose smartphones are embedded traffic lights.

D．who pay more attention to their surroundings.

2. What can we learn from Tobias Hermes?

A．The tram is the main cause of traffic accidents.

B．The tram's lights should flash while running.

C．Many people can't see normal traffic lights clearly.

D．The pavement-embedded lights are easier to be seen.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “engrossed” in Paragraph 4?

A．Disturbed.	B．Scared.
C．Engaged.	D．Inspired.

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

A．The Serious Smartphones Problems.

B．Advocate People to Celebrate Traffic Rules.

C．The Importance of Ground Traffic Lights.

D．Ground Traffic Lights for People Staring at Their Smartphones.

【推荐3】The tradition of giving gifts didn’t start with the modern holidays we celebrate. Many ancient cultures celebrated holidays with the exchange of gifts. People who love to give gifts often can’t wait until it’s time for the recipients to open their gifts. If you’ve ever been given a gift, you know that part of the fun is the curiosity that builds as you wonder what the gift is.

The wish to hide the identity of a gift until just the right moment led people to wrap gifts long, long ago. Historians believed wrapping gifts in paper probably started not long after paper was invented thousands of years ago.

Wrapping paper like what we use today, though, is a much more recent invention. More than 100 years ago, gifts were usually wrapped in heavy brown paper. Before that, cloth was often used. The technology to mass-produce wrapping paper didn’t come along until the early 1900s. The first American gift wrap company— Hy-Sill Manufacturing Inc. — was founded by Eli Hyman and Morris Silverman in 1903. It wasn’t as easy to wrap presents then as it is today, though, because adhesive tape (胶带) wasn’t invented until 1930.

Over the years, wrapping paper has developed into what we see in stores each holiday season. But scientists say that the United States alone produces an extra 5 million tons of waste over the holidays, most of which is from wrapping paper and shopping bags. To cut down on this waste, some people carefully unwrap presents, so that the wrapping paper can be reused. Others have started to use reusable gift bags instead of wrapping paper.

1. What is the interesting part of people giving a gift?

A．Hiding their gifts and their feelings.

B．Giving the recipients a surprise.

C．Letting the recipients open gifts at once.

D．Following a century-old tradition.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．People didn’t wrap gifts until 1903.

B．People only used heavy brown paper to wrap gifts.

C．Technology made wrapping paper widely available.

D．Adhesive tape was first created by gift wrap companies.

3. What do scientists worry about?

A．The future of reusable gift bags.

B．The waste produced by Americans.

C．Wrapping paper’s influence on the environment.

D．People’s awareness of saving paper.

4. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．The popularity of wrapping gifts.

B．The start of wrapping gifts in paper.

C．The problems caused by wrapping paper.

D．The story behind wrapping paper.

【推荐1】Zebra crossings－the alternating dark and light stripes on the road surface－are meant to remind drivers that pedestrians may be trying to get across. Unfortunately, they are not very effective. A 1998 study done by the Department of Traffic Planning and Engineering at Sweden’s Lund University revealed that three out of four drivers maintained the same speed or even speeded up as they were approaching a crossing. Even worse, only 5% stopped even when they saw someone trying to get across.
Now a mother-daughter team in Ahmedabad, India has come up with a clever way to get drivers to pay more attention－a 3-D zebra crossing with an optical illusion (视错觉).
Artists Saumya Pandya Thakkar and Shakuntala Pandya were asked to paint the crosswalks by IL&FS, an Indian company that manages the highways in Ahmedabad. The corporation was looking for a creative solution to help the city’s residents to cross the busy accident-prone   (易出事故的) roads safely. Thakkar and Pandya, who had previously seen images of 3-D zebra crossings that gave drivers the illusion of logs(原木)of wood on the streets in Taizhou, China, decided to test if a similar way would work in India.
Sure enough, in the six months that the 3-D crosswalks have been painted across four of the city’s most dangerous highways, there have been no accidents reported! The artists say that while it may appear that the zebra crossing could cause the drivers to brake suddenly and endanger the vehicles behind, such is not the case. Because of the way the human eye works, the illusion is only visible from a distance. As they get closer, the painting looks just like any other ordinary zebra crossing. The creators hope that their smart design will become increasingly common throughout India and perhaps even the world. So let’s look forward to it.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Most drivers will slow down at zebra crossings.

B．Common zebra crossings don't function well.

C．Drivers have to stop when approaching zebra crossings.

D．About 95% of the drivers choose to speed up when approaching zebra crossings.

2. Why do drivers seeing the 3-D zebra crossings slow down?

A．Because the drivers consider the safety of pedestrians.

B．Because the drivers don’t want to brake suddenly and endanger the vehicles behind.

C．Because the drivers are afraid of being fined for breaking the traffic rules.

D．Because the drivers mistake them for logs of wood on the streets.

3. The last paragraph is mainly about ____________

A．the theory of the 3-D zebra crossings.

B．the popularity of the 3-D zebra crossings.

C．the shortcoming of the 3-D zebra crossings.

D．the positive effect of the 3-D zebra crossings.

4. What is the author's attitude towards the 3-D zebra crossings?

A．Approving

B．Doubtful

C．Cautious

D．Objective

【推荐2】Algae(水藻) are very simple plants. They grow in fresh water or salty water. Seaweed is algae that grow in salty water. Seaweed is red or brown in color. The Japanese people use these plants from the sea in many ways. From it, they make a food called Kombu. Kombu is seaweed that has been dried, cooked and pressed together. Then it is dried again and cut into long pieces. The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu and like it very much.
Japanese farmers often use seaweed as fertilizer. It makes their plants grow better. Many farmers also find seaweed makes a fine food for their animals.
From seaweed the Japanese also get iodine(碘), which they sell to other countries. Iodine is used in many ways all over the world. It is used in making medicine. It is added to the salt we use at the table. Scientists even use one form of iodine to “ seed clouds” when they want rain to fall.
1. Kombu is a kind of ____ according to the text.

A．plant

B．medicine

C．food

D．fertilizer

2. In the last sentence of the text, “seed clouds” means ____.

A．clouds spreading like seeds

B．the seeds like clouds

C．to make rain fall with human power

D．dropping seeds by clouds

3. The main idea of the story is that ____.

A．The Japanese eat seaweed when they want rain to fall.

B．Kombu is made into medicine for farmers.

C．The Japanese use seaweed in many ways.

D．The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu.

【推荐3】The cheerful smiles and legendary strength of the Sherpas(夏尔巴人) have been an essential part of Mount Everest climbing expeditions(探险) from the very beginning. Indeed, very few significant successes have been achieved without them.

When Western mountaineers first set their sights on the world’s highest peak, they found in the Sherpas a people ideally suited to the hardship of high-altitude climbing, unfailingly positive, stout at altitude, and seemingly resistant to cold.

Sherpas did not venture into the high peaks until European mountaineers began arriving to climb in the world’s greatest mountain range. Mount Everest, known as Chomolungma or “Goddess Mother of the Land” to the Sherpas, was long considered as a living place of the gods where humans were not allowed to go.

Although Everest now sees many a human footprint, the Sherpas still regard the mountain as a holy place. All modern expeditions begin with a Puja ceremony in which Sherpas and other team members leave offerings and pay respect to the gods of the mountain, hoping to remain in their good graces throughout the climb.

Sherpas were first employed as porters, tasked with carrying large amounts of equipment to supply the military-style expeditions of the day. The early climbers were amazed at the strength of these people, from the fittest of mature men to the young and elderly. In addition to their heavy loads, some of the women even carried along their babies. The whole troop of Sherpas slept outside, using only rocks for shelter, as temperatures dropped well below freezing.

Stronger Sherpas soon graduated from porter status and began to undertake challenging climbing. Those who distinguished themselves were awarded the Tiger Medal, and many desired this honor and the higher pay rate it afforded. Despite the potential dangers, the Sherpa people remained enthusiastic about taking part in Everest expeditions, which even then were becoming an important source of income for a poor mountain folk.

1. Sherpas didn’t go into the high peaks before Europeans’ arrival mainly because ________.

A．they enjoyed staying at low altitudes	B．they were short of proper equipment
C．they were unaware of their potentials	D．they considered the mountain as holy

2. By mentioning the “rocks” in Paragraph 5, the writer emphasizes _______.

A．the intelligence of the Sherpas	B．the challenges for the climbers
C．the physical ability of the Sherpas	D．the wild landscape of Mount Everest

3. Which of the following can best describe the Sherpas according to the text?

A．Talented for high-altitude climbing.	B．Adventurous and crazy about wealth.
C．Generous and willing to help climbers.	D．Professional in treating altitude sickness.

【推荐1】Educator of the Year Contest

Do you know an outstanding junior high or high school teacher, coach, guidance advisor, librarian, or headmaster? Nominate （提名）that special person you'll always remember and give him/her the chance to be recognized in Teenink !

Guidelines

■ The national magazine will only consider essays written by teens, and nominations must be for junior high or high school educators only. Primary school educators are not included.

■ Convince us your nominee is special. Tell us about his or her style of teaching, involvement in school activities, and community service. What has your educator done for the entire school, your class, for you or another student? Give examples with specific details. Keep your essay between 200 and 1,000 words.

■ Include the first and last, name, position, and school of your educator.

■ Submit entries through our website. See our submission guidelines for more information.

Prizes

Cash awards will be given to educators from across the country honored as TeenInk Educators o£ the Year. Winning essays are published in Teenink magazine.

Deadlines

The deadline for submitting Educator of the Year essays for 2021 is May 1, 2021. Entries are accepted and considered for publication in TeenInk magazine throughout the year. Winners will be informed after the June issue is published.

1. Who can be recommended for the contest?

A．A national volunteer.

B．A community educator.

C．A primary school teacher.

D．A high school headmaster.

2. What is the requirement for the essay?

A．It covers at least 100 words.

B．It is to be submitted after May.

C．It should include specific details.

D．It must be written by a candidate.

3. What will the essay winners get?

A．A large sum of cash money.

B．A chance to publish their essays.

C．The big prize from their school.

D．The honor of Educator of the Year.

【推荐2】Earthworms (蚯蚓) often lay on sidewalks or streets after a heavy spring rain, but why do they do this? Researchers give several reasons why heavy rain storms bring earthworms out of their soil homes.

For years scientists seemed to think the only reason earthworms came to the soil surface after a good rain was to prevent drowning in their water-filled homes. “This is not true as earthworms breathe through their skins and actually require wet in the soil to do so,” said Dr. Chris Lowe, lecturer in the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, United Kingdom. Earthworms are unable to drown, and they can even survive several days fully in water.

Soil experts now think earthworms surface during rain storms for the purpose of moving to another place. “It gives them a chance to move greater distances across the soil surface than through soil,” said Dr. Lowe. “They cannot do this when it is dry because of their requirements of wet in the air. "Certain earthworms surface to mate (交配), but only a few of the 4, 400 existing types, making it unlikely that mating is a primary reason for widespread surfacing.

Another explanation is that rain drop vibrations (振动) on the soil surface are similar to mole (鼹鼠) vibrations. Earthworms often come to the surface to escape them. “Rain can set up vibrations on top of the soil like mole vibrations,” said Professor Josef Gorres of the University of Vermont’s Department of Plant and Soil Science. “Similar to how earthworms move upwards when mole vibrations are felt.” Similarly, humans create vibrations when catching earthworms. To cheat earthworms out of their homes, fishermen run a piece of steel or a saw across the top of a stick, which causes a sound as the stick vibrates. Earthworms then move to the surface, much to the fishermen’s delight.

1. What do we know about earthworms from Paragraph 2?

A．They will drown in water.	B．They can’t breathe in the rain.
C．They breathe through skins.	D．They can always live in water.

2. Why do earthworms surface when it rains according to Dr. Lowe?

A．Because they want to travel longer.

B．Because there is more water inside.

C．Because there are more suitable mates.

D．Because there are fewer dangers on the ground.

3. Why does the author mention the fishermen in the last paragraph?

A．To show that they treat earthworms badly.

B．To provide evidence of earthworms escaping.

C．To explain why we seldom see earthworms now.

D．To show how people's behavior affects earthworms.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Why earthworms surface after rain.	B．All knowledge about earthworms.
C．How earthworms help people.	D．Why people love earthworms.

【推荐3】One of the newest “smart” devices is an old favorite, a camera. And smart cameras are getting smarter all the time. Some are now built with machine learning tools to help them think for themselves. Machine learning involves patting large amount of data into a computer for processing.

Google Clips

One of the latest to launch is Google Clips. It is the first camera developed by the web search giant that is not built into a phone.

The small and light device is designed to be put somewhere in a room to take pictures by itself. It can also be stuck to an object or a person’s clothing.

Google says machine learning helps the camera choose the best times and situations for taking pictures and video clips. It can also recognize the faces of people or pets chosen by the user and take pictures of them in a more natural way.

The device is not yet being sold, but interested buyers can join a waiting list to be informed when it is available.

GoPro Hero

GoPro is another company developing machine learning technology. GoPro also uses machine learning to power its QuikStories feature. This tool takes existing photos and videos and automatically creates a finished video piece, complete with music and effects.

Snap Spectacles

Messaging app Snapchat sells a pair of sunglasses with a built-in camera that can record short video clips with the push of a button. Snap Inc. says the product, called Spectacles, is designed to “capture the moment, without taking you out of it.” Many smart phones already have facial recognition technology built into the devices.

Snap Inc. has started selling its Spectacles sunglasses online in the United States.

Apple iPhone X

Apple’s new iPhone X is being launched with its new Face ID system that it says will unlock the phone just by having the user look at it. This replaces the Touch ID on previous devices that used a fingerprint to unlock the phone.

Apple says the system works by projecting more than 30,000 dots on the face to create a kind of map. Apple claims its facial recognition is even secure enough to allow payments through its Apple Pay service.

1. What can machine learning tools help cameras do?

A．Get much smarter.	B．Process more roughly.
C．Keep data for ever.	D．Store more natural photos.

2. What can we know about Google Clips?

A．It can only be put in a room.

B．People can buy it online easily.

C．It can be built into a phone,

D．You can take photos automatically with it.

3. What is the special function of GoPro Hero?

A．It has to use power to work.

B．It can record videos vividly.

C．It provides music and effects for videos.

D．It uses technology of machine learning.

4. Which of the following can now be bought surely on the Internet?

A．Google Clips.	B．GoPro Hero.
C．Spectacles sunglasses.	D．Apple iPhone X.

5. How is Apple iPhone X unlocked?

A．By a fingerprint.	B．By facial recognition.
C．By pushing a button.	D．By making a map.