【推荐1】You might be the apple of your mother’s eye, which could only be a good thing. But adults who believe they are their mother's favorite child are at an increasing risk of depression, according to a study.

“It is a huge cost for those who think they get closest to their mothers, and these children report higher depressive symptoms（症状）,” said Professor Jill Suitor from Purdue University in Indiana, who led the study.

The academics used date collected from 725 adult children with an average age of 49, analyzing levels of emotional closeness, conflict, pride and disappointment.

The researchers added that previous studies had found that those who were closer to their mothers experienced less closeness with their siblings (兄弟姐妹).

Though few mothers or fathers would admit that they have a favorite son or daughter, studies have suggested they often do.

One such piece of research, which was carried out by the University of California in 2005, found that 65 percent of mothers and 70 percent of fathers showed a preference for one of their children over their siblings.

A previous study carried out by Professor Suitor and Dr Gilligan found that mothers tended to favor an adult child who was similar to them, in terms of values and beliefs.

Arabella Russell, a professor in Dorking, Surrey, said family problems, such as the siblings cannot get along well with each other, can often spill over into our romantic relationships, by influencing how we relate to our partners.

1. What does the underlined word “It” refer to in the second paragraph?

A．More chances to suffer from depression.

B．More time spent staying with their mothers.

C．More money spent on their growing up.

D．The disability to get along well with others.

2. Why do some mothers give more care to a certain child?

A．Because the child performs better.

B．Because they have similar attitudes.

C．Because the child is smarter.

D．Because they look similar.

3. What will happen if the family has a bad relationship?

A．The parents will be disliked.

B．The members will never make up again.

C．More members will have mental problems.

D．The children may have problems in their romantic relationships when growing up.

4. Who is the passage mainly written for?

A．The children.	B．Parents
C．The researchers.	D．The adult children.

【推荐2】My husband and I used to think we had all we had ever wanted.A beautiful house,three healthy children and one more on the way,two cars,a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment—We really had it all and we loved it. Then,the market turned and my husband's job at a construction company was gone.The company was closing down forever.

We both started looking for jobs right away,but there weren't any to be found.With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through.The more we pulled together,the closer we got.I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn't felt for years.

That's why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for ou present situation.I continually asked him to stop but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job.

Finally,one afternoon I pulled him aside and said,"We have four healthy children and each other.That's what's important.That makes you a rich man."

"But what if we lose the house?They will hate me—you'll hate me,"he replied.

I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye."No matter where we live I will be happy—as long as I have you,"I smiled again as I realized that I wasn't just saying that.In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said "I do".

I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed.He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn't for quite some time.It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family.

We are still struggling for our better life,but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can't buy and no one can take away from us.

1. We know from the story that       .

A．they both found good jobs at last

B．her husband was out of work for his not working hard

C．both of them felt anxious about their unemployment

D．they didn't love each other any longer after they got married

2. By saying "The more we pulled together,the closer we got",the wife means       .

A．her husband worked harder for being closer

B．they had closer affection as they struggled together

C．their house was closer to the company than before

D．they were closer to another employment as time went by

3. What is their present life like?

A．Hard but warm.	B．Wealthy but annoying.
C．Hard and disturbing.	D．Comfortable and admiring.

4. Which of the following might be the best title?

A．Better Life Comes	B．Hard Time Goes
C．We Have It All	D．We Lose It All

【推荐3】They had a dozen children, six boys and six girls, in seventeen years. One reason Dad had so many children was that he was confident anything he and Mother teamed upon was sure to be a success.

Our house at Montclair, New Jersey, was a sort of school for scientific management and the removal of wasted motions — or “motion study,” as Dad and Mother named it.

Dad took moving pictures of us children washing dishes, so that he could determine how we could reduce our motions and thus hurry through the task. Each child who wanted extra pocket money put forward an offer saying what he would do the job for. The lowest bidder got the contract(合约).

Dad put process and work charts in the bathrooms. Every child old enough to write — and Dad expected his children to start writing at a young age — was required to sign their names on the charts in the morning after he had brushed his teeth, taken a bath, combed his hair, and made his bed. At night, each child had to weigh himself, mark the figure on a graph, and sign the process charts again after he had done his homework, washed his hands and face, and brushed his teeth. Mother wanted to have a place on the charts for saying prayers, but Dad said as far as he was concerned prayers were voluntary.

It was strict management, all right. Yes, at home or on the job, Dad was always the efficiency expert. He buttoned his vest from the bottom up, instead of from the top down, because the bottom-to-top process took him only three seconds, while the top-to-bottom took seven. He even used two shaving brushes to make his face smooth enough, because he found that by so doing he could cut seventeen seconds off his shaving time. For a while he tried shaving with two razors, but he finally gave that up.

“I can save forty-four seconds,” he complained, “but I wasted two minutes this morning putting this bandage on my throat.” It wasn’t the injured throat that really bothered him. It was the two minutes.

1. Why was the author’s house considered a sort of school?

A．It had a team of twelve children there.

B．The children were taught how to work well in it.

C．The parents could teach their children better at home.

D．The parents could have the children’s daily activities recorded.

2. What is the purpose of signing the charts?

A．To help to do things efficiently.	B．To manage the big family effectively.
C．To look after the children better.	D．To remind the children to obey the rules.

3. What did the father complain about one morning?

A．He should have given up shaving.	B．His bleeding throat bothered him.
C．He couldn’t shave with two razors.	D．He failed to cut short his shaving time.

4. We can we infer from the text?

A．The kids had to bid for everything they wanted.

B．The author took pride in his father’s management.

C．The couple were always troubled by their children.

D．The father’s work was to teach the children at home.

【推荐1】A couple of weeks ago，my dad，who is seventy－six，had an operation on his left knee. He came through the operation just fine and although they told him he would be in hospital for five days，he only stayed there for three days. He had a local anesthetic(局部麻醉)and was able to see and hear everything that went on in the operating room.

Later in his room，he was laughing as he told the story of hearing the hammer and saw as they took out the bone. With a smile on his face，he advised that the doctors should sharpen the saw，since he could smell the bone burning as they removed it.

The other day，one of the rubber tips on his walker wore out. Not wanting to damage the carpet or the kitchen floor，he went to his shop to find a new rubber tip. I was talking with my mom and after some time we got concerned，so I went out to see if he was OK. I walked into the shop to find him sitting on his work bench laughing. I asked what he was doing. He explained that since the rubber tip would not fit his walker，he was changing legs. It seems Mom’s walker，which she used five years ago，was broken on the top，but the legs were better than the ones on his walker.

Together my dad and I worked and worked，laughing all the time. The more trouble we had，the harder we laughed. I have been fortunate enough to have many such minutes with my dad.

1. When advising the doctors to sharpen the saw，the author’s father really intended to________.

A．be humorous

B．express his anger

C．make a complaint

D．make fun of the doctors

2. The author’s father went to his shop to________.

A．change legs

B．change his walker

C．find his wife’s walker

D．replace the rubber tip

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

A．Stupid.	B．Smart.
C．Optimistic.	D．Stubborn.

4. The author writes the text probably to ________.

A．warn us

B．encourage us

C．make us laugh

D．call on us to care for the disabled

【推荐2】Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.

Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.

Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.

Another 15 minutes passed and I grew exhausted. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.

This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined’ it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized (使……永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.

Perhaps we all live in each other’s’ spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.

That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.

1. Why did the writer and the woman both came here?

A．To have fun together.	B．To enjoy the beautiful scenery.
C．To take pictures of the landscape.	D．To do research on the environment.

2. What made the writer feel annoyed?

A．The woman was too noisy.	B．Her camera stopped working.
C．She was forbidden to take photos there.	D．The woman blocked her view.

3. In the author’s opinion, what makes the photo so alive?

A．The rich color of the landscape.	B．The perfect positioning of the camera.
C．The woman’s existence in the photo.	D．The soft sunlight that summer day.

4. The passage can be seen as the author’s reflections on________

A．the art of photography.	B．the friendship between two strangers.
C．the writer’s attitude to the landscape.	D．a particular life experience of the writer.

【推荐3】I have worked as a keeper at the National Zoo, Paris for 11 years. Spot and Stripe are the first tiger cubs(幼崽) that have ever been born here. Globally, a third of Sumatran cubs in zoos don’t make it to adulthood, so I decided to give them round-the-clock care at home.

I’ve got two children—the younger one, Kynan, was extremely happy about the tigers arriving—but all of us really looked forward to being part of their lives and watching them grow. I wasn’t worried about bringing them into my home with my wife and kids. These were cubs. They weighed about 2.5kg and were so small that there was absolutely no risk.

As they grew more mobile, we let them move freely around the house during the day, but when we were asleep we had to contain them in a large room, otherwise they’d get up to mischief. We’d come down in the morning to find they’d turned the room upside down, and left it looking like a zoo.

Things quickly got very intense due to the huge amount of energy required to look after them. There were some tough times and I just felt extremely tired. I was grateful that my family was there to help. We had to have a bit of a production line going, making up “tiger milk”, washing baby bottles, and cleaning the floors.

When Spot and Stripe were four months old, they were learning how to open doors and jump fences, and we knew it really was time for them to go. It was hard for us to finally part with them. For the first few days, Kynan was always a bit disappointed that the cubs weren’t there.

I’m not sad about it. I’m hands-on with them every day at the zoo, and I do look back very fondly on the time that we had them.

1. Why did the author bring the tiger cubs home?

A．To teach them life skills.	B．To ensure their survival.
C．To observe their differences.	D．To let them play with his kids.

2. What do the underlined words “get up to mischief” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Miss their mom.	B．Lose their way.
C．Sleep soundly.	D．Behave badly.

3. Why did the author decide to send Spot and Stripe back to the zoo?

A．They became difficult to contain.	B．They frightened the children.
C．They annoyed the neighbours.	D．They started fighting each other.

4. What did the author think of raising the tiger cubs at home?

A．Boring and risky.	B．Tiring but worthwhile.
C．Tough and disappointing.	D．Costly but delighted.

【推荐2】Travel information

Places of interest名胜	the Water Cube 水立方	the West Lake	Disneyland	the Dragon Tower龙塔
Location	Beijing	Hangzhou	Hong Kong	Harbin
Phone number	010­28135589	0571­68345579	00852­28029822	0451­81187899
Price of the ticket	￥60	￥50	￥300	￥150
Feature特点	Special bubbly(充满气泡的) design	The Broken Bridge	Cartoon characters	Skywalk(人行天桥)

1. If a person in Hangzhou feels like visiting the Water Cube, he should call          to get information.

A．0451－81187899	B．00852－28029822
C．0571－68345579	D．010－28135589

2. Two travelers plan to have a bird's­eye view (鸟瞰) of Harbin, and they two need to pay          from the information above.

A．￥120

B．￥100

C．￥300

D．￥600

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the travel information?

A．The Water Cube is special in design.

B．The price of a ticket for the West Lake is the highest.

C．In Disneyland, you can't see any cartoon characters.

D．The price of a ticket for the Dragon Tower is the lowest.

【推荐3】As a parent you might never guess all the ways a good imagination benefits your child. It helps a preschooler:
Develop social skills
As children play pretend, they explore relationships between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more about how people interact. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients. Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about their children. Imaginative play helps develop sympathy for others. If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.
Build self-confidence
Young children have very little control over their lives. Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a superhero defending the planet is empowering to a child. It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.
Boost intellectual growth
Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. Children who can see a king’s castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically. This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numerals symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.
Practice language skills
Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps boost their vocabulary, improve sentence structure and enhance communication skills.
Work out fears
Playing pretend can help children work out their fears and worries. When children role-play about the big, bad monster under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn’t seem quite so big or so bad. Imaginative play also helps kids let out confusing feelings they might have, such as anger toward a parent or rivalry (竞争) with a new sibling (兄弟姐妹).
To encourage your youngster’s imagination, read to him every day. Books offer children the opportunity to visit other worlds and create new ones of their own.
For generations children have enjoyed reading the story of Peter Pan because Peter takes them on fascinating adventures. Reader’s Digest Young Families offers a beautiful vintage Disney edition of Peter Pan, which is an iParenting Media Award winner. Click here to find out how you can get this classic story along with 2 free books -- Bambi and Pinocchio.
1. Where can you probably find the article?

A．Newspaper.

B．Magazine.

C．Internet.

D．Book.

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word?

A．improve.

B．limit.

C．pull.

D．praise.

3. What’s Not the advantage of children having a good imagination?

A．Understanding the other people’s feelings and problems.

B．Expressing their feelings like anger.

C．Having a strong faith in their own abilities and potential.

D．Helping them form a good habit of reading story.

【推荐1】Humans have a habit of delaying their own progress. From coffee to refrigerator to genetically changed food, history is filled with innovations that caused resistance before they become necessity in everyday life. Calestous Juma, a professor of Harvard University, explores this phenomenon in his latest book, Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies.

Among Juma’s claims is that people do not fear innovation simply because the technology is new, but because innovation often means losing a piece of their identity or lifestyle, and separating people from nature or their sense of purpose.

Juma identified in his research three key sources of opposition to innovation: those with commercial interests in existing products, those who identify with existing products, and those who might lose power as a result of change. The first group is perhaps the most obvious. Many industries have been affected by innovation. Just take a look at the pointless efforts of music publishers to stop the change to digital music. Some consumers might oppose an innovation because the existing product is deeply rooted in their identity, culture or customs. The British preferred tea time at home to sitting in a coffee shop, for example. Finally, the rise of new technologies can also result in a change redistributing wealth and influence away from some groups, and toward others. The expansion of harvesters and other mechanical equipment reduced the need for farm labor, and the change in population away from rural areas had significant political consequence.

Humans make decisions about new innovations with their instinct rather than evidence. Opponents and enthusiasts of a new technology will often make shocking claims to support their arguments. Juma said beneath those arguments was typically obvious concern of new technologies, rather than a reasoned response. Juma said, “People see a new product and there is an emotional reaction to that product because it challenges their outlook on the world. This has been the story with almost every new product.”

Historically, technologists have been more concerned with the functionality of the products they create, paying less attention to the consequence it may have on society at large, Juma claims. Fortunately, that may be starting to change.

1. According to Para. 2 and 3, what is the key reason why people resist innovation?

A．The reliability of the existing technologies.

B．The difficulties of mastering new technologies.

C．The concern over the development of technologies.

D．The fear for the changes caused by new technologies.

2. What is the author’s attitude to people’s opposition to innovation?

A．Uncertain.

B．Disapproving.

C．Supportive.

D．Neutral.

3. What does the passage imply?

A．Technologies’ effect on society should be valued.

B．The use of new products reduces the need for labor.

C．Enthusiasts of the technologies are more reasonable.

D．The functionality of new products causes more worries.

【推荐2】I was at the funeral of my dearest friend-my mother. She finally had lost her long battle with cancer. The hurt was so intense; I found it hard to breathe at times. Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held the box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak, comforted me at my father's death, and prayed for me my entire life

When mother's illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently married his childhood sweetheart, so it fell on me the 27-year-old middle child, to take care of her. I counted it an honor. My place had been with our mother, preparing her. meals, taking her to the doctor, reading the Bible together. Now she was in heaven. My work was finished, but I was alone

Deep in sorrow, suddenly, I heard a door open and slam shut at the back of the church. Quick footsteps hurried along the carpeted floor. A young man looked around briefly and then sat next to me. He folded his hands and placed them on his lap. His eyes started to be filled with tears.

"I’m late”, he explained, though no explanation was necessary."

After several eulogies(悼词), he leaned over and commented, "Why do they keep calling Mary by the name of Margaret?

"Because, that was her name, Margaret. Never Mary.” I whispered, wondering who the stranger was anyway.

"Isn't this the Lutheran church?"

"No, the Lutheran church is across the street."

"I believe you're at the wrong funeral, Sir."

The solemnness (庄重) of the occasion mixed with the realization of the man's mistake bubbled up inside me and came out as laughter: Sharp looks from other mourners(x # 4) only made the situation seem more stupid. I peeked at the confused, misguided man seated beside me. He was laughing too, as he glanced around, deciding it was too late for an uneventful exit. I imagined Mother laughing.

At the final 'Amen, we rushed out a door and into the parking lot. "I do believe we'll be the talk of the town. By the way, my name is Rick. he smiled

That afternoon began a lifelong journey for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral, but was in the right place. A year after our meeting, we were married at a country church. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time.

In my time of sorrow, God gave me laughter. In place of loneliness, God gave me love. This past June, we celebrated our twenty-second wedding anniversary. whenever anyone asks us how we met Rick tells them, Her mother and my Aunt Mary introduced us, and it's truly a match made in heaven

1. Only author could take care of her mom mainly because________.

A．she was the only child in the family

B．a lovely baby came into her brother’s family

C．she was the only child without a new family’s burden

D．her mom loved her much more than other children

2. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The author and Rick met 22 years ago for the first time

B．The author was supposed to have been in Lutheran Church

C．Margaret should be the name of Rick’s aunt.

D．The mourners considered the author’s joy improper.

3. What could be the best title of the passage?

A．Hope Remaining at the Funeral

B．A Heavenly Encounter

C．Two Funerals at One Time

D．Seeking God's Everlasting Love

【推荐3】It's amazing how we grow from careless kids to responsible teens. What happens in the course that makes us responsible now? It’s the seed that we sow in the beginning which grows and becomes a huge tree.

As a kid, I used to read a lot of story books. In one particular book, I read a story of a bird. It described a male bird which takes a lot of pain to build a nest and the female bird takes shelter in it and nourishes the baby. When the bird learns to fly, the whole family flies off to a different place leaving behind the beautiful nest for other birds to grow their family in it. It made me wonder. How could they so easily sacrifice their house built with so much effort?

One night, when I was deep in sleep, I got this particular dream. I was walking miles on the endless road, totally isolated but lined with beautiful trees on either side. I happened to stop upon seeing something. It was a wonderful house with every corner touched artistically and lovingly. I don’t know why I felt that it was done lovingly. Maybe because, things turn out to be beautiful only when we put our love into it - just like the food prepared by mom which tastes more delicious with her love.

I explored the house only to fall more in love with it. There was a sloping roof which matched with the greenery around; the large central open courtyard reminded me of the activities that might have taken place there which felt lively even now when it is completely deserted. The small water body that kept the house cool added to the beauty of the house - of course, it was all dried up now. It's really wonderful how such things add life to the spaces which otherwise just become structures. Such liveliness and happening turns the house into a home.

When I woke up from the dream, I was clear about everything. I realized where that mile of walk was intending me to lead. I realized what message my dream wanted to convey me. And years later, when finally my turn of choosing my destination came, I simply closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I was sure what to do. I decided to choose the road - less traveled. Yes, I took up architecture as my profession because this is what I am destined to do. I wanted to do the same thing that the male bird in the story did, to take pain in building a beautiful house and let others stay in it.

1. When the writer read the story of the bird, he probably felt _______.

A．upset	B．confused
C．amazed	D．amused

2. To the writer, ''the seed that we sow in the beginning'' (Paragraph 1) is _______.

A．the story of the bird	B．his mother's food
C．the house in his dream	D．his story books

3. Mom's food always tastes better because _______.

A．mom cooks with her love	B．we are so familiar with mom's food
C．moms are better cooks than fathers	D．mom is experienced in cooking

4. In the writer's dream, what part of the house attracted him most?

A．The greenery surrounding the house.

B．The body of water that keeps the house cool.

C．The liveliness he sensed around the house.

D．The fact that the house was very large.

5. The above passage is mainly about _______.

A．how the writer finally becomes an honest citizen

B．where the true meaning of responsibility lies

C．what we need to do when we are seeking fortune

D．why the writer takes up architecture as his career