【推荐1】The idea of changing the world seems very crazy, but there are a number of small everyday things we can do to make the world better. Community centers, parks, libraries, homeless shelters (避难所), hospitals and schools are all places where students can make a difference through service.

Alisia Orosco, 10, wanted to show her love and care to the sick kids at University Children’s Hospital in Texas, where her brother had been a patient. She earned money by doing part-time jobs and used it to buy different toys for the children in hospital. Now she visits three hospitals every year with bags of toys. "I hope to help as many kids as I can," Alisia says. "It makes me happy to make them smile."

High school students in a town of Washington made a difference in the lives of some needy children by building a playground at a workers’ camp. They got a lot of help from a building supply store which provided free building materials for the project.

Teens in New Jersey decided to offer their help at the local soup kitchen where people with no homes can get free food. But there wasn’t one. They created a one-day soup kitchen and were able to feed 60 needy people and allowed them to take the rest home. Their efforts got more people to understand the great need of the poor in their community. Because of their efforts and success, a permanent soup kitchen was created with the $10,000 National Award they received from Newman’s Own Inc.

High school students in Las Vegas helped 30 homeless adults prepare resumes during a job fair they held at the area’s largest homeless shelter. At least nine of the adults later found jobs.

1. The underlined part "the project" in Paragraph 3 refers to the work of ________.

A．taking part in a camp	B．building a playground
C．making a workers’ camp	D．opening a building supply store

2. Which of the following can best describe the students mentioned in the text?

A．Kind.	B．Brave.
C．Proud.	D．Honest.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Students can make a difference only through community centers.

B．Alisia Orosco earned money by doing part-time jobs.

C．High school students made a difference by building libraries for the homeless.

D．Teens decided to buy some expensive food for the patients.

【推荐2】Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite food. And reading is my favorite hobby. When you ^are deeply absorbed in a book, you stop paying attention to what’s going on around you. People describe it as being “lost in a book”. It’s a wonderful feeling, but it can be risky.

One day I was home alone doing two of my favorite things: Eating a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs and reading. At the time, my family had a pet bird, a big white cockatoo named Luke. He was free to leave his perch (栖木)and fly around inside the house. Luke enjoyed “talking” to people, but he wasn’t trained to use real words.

As I was reading and eating, Luke was talking to me, but I was lost in my book. So Luke decided to get closer. He flew from his perch, and before I knew it, he’d landed right on top of my spaghetti and meatballs!

I was so surprised that I didn’t even have time to think. My reaction was the same as yours would be: I shooed (发出嘘声赶走)him off my food! This wouldn’t have been so bad except for one thing: When Luke had landed on my plate, he had grabbed (抓住)my spaghetti with both feet. So when Luke took off again, the spaghetti-still in his feet-went flying everywhere, landing on my shirt and hitting me in the face. Red sauce splattered (泼溅)up the wall and onto the ceiling. As I pulled noodles out of my hair, Luke flew back to his perch, dropping spaghetti sauce all the way.

He wasn’t hurt, except for his dignity-the sauce in his beautiful white feathers turned him orange for several weeks. So next time if you find a spy novel at the library with red, spots on two pages near the middle, you’ll know that I’ve read that book ,too!

1. What do we know about Luke?

A．He is lost in reading a spy novel.

B．He is good at communicating with people.

C．He is fond of eating Spaghetti and meatballs.

D．He is permitted to fly freely inside the house.

2. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．I reacted properly to Luke’s behaviour.

B．Luck was attracted by my Spaghetti.

C．Luck made the room in a mess.

D．I was addicted to my reading.

3. How does the author sound when telling the story?

A．Puzzled.

B．Humorous.

C．Anxious.

D．Annoyed.

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

A．Love Me, Love My Dog	B．More Food Hurts the Body
C．Reading Can Be Dangerous	D．Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds

【推荐3】On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out. The first alert my husband, Jimmy, 67, and I, 65, got came around 9 pm, from some scrolling text on the TV Jimmy was watching. He ran upstairs to find me in our third­floor bedroom, and we changed the channel from the presidential primary debate I had been watching to our local Pensacola, Florida, station.

No sooner had we found coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. Suddenly, the bones of the house shook, the power went out, and the wind began to roar through blown­out windows. We had three flights of steps to navigate to the safety of the first floor, where a closet fixed underneath a brick staircase might be the firmest place to wait things out. Everything around rattling, we struggled forward, uncertain whether we would make it.

As we reached the last flight of steps, our front door blew out. Shards of glass flew everywhere. A three­foot­long tree branch whipped, missing us by inches.

By the time I reached the closet, the tornado had been over us for about a minute. Jimmy pushed me down to the closet floor, but the wind kept him outside. I grasped his arm as the tornado constantly sucked the door open and tried to bring him with it. My knees and scalp were full of glass, but I felt no pain. If I had let go, Jimmy would have flown right out the back of the house and into the bay. Then everything stopped. In those first quiet moments, I couldn't believe it was over.

The storm lasted four minutes. Four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.

1. The author and her husband were caught unprepared by the tornado mainly because   ________.

A．they were watching the presidential debate on the TV

B．they missed the first alert from the TV

C．no signs indicated the disaster

D．the government didn't warn them of the severe weather

2. The author didn't feel the pain in her keens and scalp because ________.

A．she lost her consciousness

B．she was concerned about her husband's safety

C．she got to the closet safe and sound

D．she was glad that the tornado was over

3. How did they feel after the tornado?

A．Blessed.	B．Depressed.
C．Annoyed.	D．Shocked.

【推荐1】George Washington Carver was born some time in the early-mid 1860s. A sickly child, Carver was unable to work in the fields, so he did gardening. He was left with many free hours to walk in the woods — beginning his career with nature. He soon became known as the “Plant Doctor” and would help friends and neighbors manage sick plants.

In 1890, Carver began to study music and art at Simpson College. His artwork was on show at the 1893 World’s Fair. Painting gave him the chance to combine his two loves — art and nature. Yet it was his talents (天赋) for gardening that took him in another direction in 1891. Carver became the first African-American to attend what is today Iowa State University. He proved to be a first-class student and upon graduation he became the school’s first African-American teacher.

In 1896, he received an invitation from Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School in Tuskegee, Alabama. Upon arriving, he found that the school was short of money so Dr. Carver had to equip his own lab. He and his students would search trash heaps (垃圾堆) for things to use. This proved that Dr. Carver was well ahead of his time.

In 1916, he published a research report on peanuts, which helped many farmers turn to peanuts as a cash crop and saved the economy (经济) of the South when it was destroyed by the cotton insects attack. Carver continued his research with the peanut. He went on to find many uses for the peanut. But he didn’t invent peanut butter (花生酱).

Dr. Carver’s research earned him much worldwide praise. Dr. George Washington Carver died on January 5, 1943, and was buried at Tuskegee. Carver contributed his whole life savings to Tuskegee. Upon his death, Franklin D. Roosevelt gave him this title “an inspiring example to youth everywhere.”

1. How was Carver’s childhood?

A．He took up gardening.	B．He grew crops in the fields.
C．He enjoyed good health.	D．He dreamed of being a doctor.

2. What do we know about Carver’s life in Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School?

A．He was well paid by the school.

B．He relied on himself to build his lab.

C．He saved money by picking up trash.

D．He published his findings ahead of time.

3. What can be learned about Carver’s report on peanuts?

A．It made a contribution to the economy.

B．It included new findings on peanut butter.

C．It prevented peanuts from insects attacking.

D．It helped farmers find many other uses of peanuts.

【推荐2】A one-armed 13-year-old basketball player in a video moves China. He is Zhang Jiacheng, from Guangdong Province. In the video, facing a taller, stronger, and older opponent （对手），he isn't afraid at all.

Attracted by his good skills in the video, many people even fail to know that Zhang Jiacheng has only one arm. Although the young boy lost one of his arms in an accident, he became crazy about playing basketball at 12. "Work hard or just give up," he always says. Thus, he spent all of his free time on it without considering his body condition.

People's attention has encouraged him to work harder towards his goal---to become a top basketball player "I just keep practising every day to improve myself whether at home or in the playground, he says, "My biggest challenge is to control the ball much better." After only a year of hard practising, Zhang Jiacheng has improved his skills greatly. Through patience, confidence and determination, the young basketball player is getting closer to his life goal.

His effort and courage finally caught the attention of Yi Jianlian, a Chinese professional （MR 业的）basketball player, who shared the video on his own Weibo.

1. Why do people fail to know the boy has only one arm?

A．Because his good skills attract people.

B．Because his life goal encourages people.

C．Because he jumps to an amazing height.

D．Because he hides the other arm carefully.

2. What is the biggest challenge for the boy?

A．Controlling the ball better.	B．Keeping his balance.
C．Making some more friends.	D．Getting closer to his family.

3. What is the boy's goal according to the text?

A．To live a comfortable life.	B．To become a top basketball player.
C．To set up a basketball team.	D．To build a large gym for his school.

4. Which of the following can best describe the young boy?

A．Humorous.

B．Confident.

C．Careless.

D．Noisy.

5. What will probably be talked about in the following paragraph?

A．Yi Jianlian's cute pets.	B．Yi Jianlian's courage.
C．The video's influence.	D．The video's quality.

【推荐3】Armenian musician Astrid Poghosyan now works as an assistant to the president of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra(管弦乐队). She takes great pride in the Chinese name she picked for herself, Ma Xingxing. The given name “Xingxing”, literally meaning stars, is inspired by her Armenian first name, while the surname “Ma” is taken from Ma Chao, a famous fighter from China’s Three Kingdoms Period.

Poghosyan has been busy preparing for a series of in-person and online music events and cultural exchange programs. She always puts all her energy into all the projects in which she participates, as she believes every little effort will help realize her music-related dreams. “I believe music knows no borders, and cultural exchanges through music are especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

Having studied and worked in China for 12 years, Poghosyan has now become a real China hand, expert in the country’s language and culture. Such a multicultural background has certainly helped herstand out at her job. “Poghosyan plays a special role in our orchestra,” said Zhou Ping, the president of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. “She has lived in China for a long time and loves the Chinese culture, and she knows how to use the advantage of a multicultural background in her work.”

For Poghosyan, the life she now leads is a far cry from when she first came to China in 2009 to study violin at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. “At that time I could not speak a word of Chinese, let alone my poor English,” she said. “So I decided to learn Chinese to solve the communication problem.” Her love for Chinese culture, including Jackie Chan movies and stories of Mulan, helped her through all the difficulties.

As she graduallyabsorbs herself in the Chinese language and culture, she also starts to make Chinese friends and explore the exciting city life of Shanghai.

1. Why did Poghosyan choose the given name Xingxing?

A．Because she loves Chinese culture.

B．Because she is proud of her cultural background.

C．Because it reminds her of a famous fighter Ma Chao.

D．Because she draws its inspiration from her Armenian first name.

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A．Poghosyan believes that no pains no gains.

B．Poghosyan thinks music can defeat COVID-19.

C．Poghosyan now has difficulty in communicating in Chinese.

D．Poghosyan is busy now just because of her online music shows.

3. What can we infer from the words of Zhou Ping?

A．The life Poghosyan lives now is different.

B．Poghosyan is the leading role in the orchestra.

C．Love for Chinese culture can conquer any challenges.

D．Multicultural background benefits Poghosyan a lot in her job.

4. What difficulty did Poghosyan meet when she first arrived in China in 2009?

A．Cultural difference	B．Language barrier
C．Different eating habit	D．Difficulty with violin

【推荐2】Tall people are seen as life’s winners, the ones you want to be, the ones who get everything their own way. But it just isn’t the case. Rosamund Beattie (6ft 4in), a member of the Tall Persons Club—not a joke, they really do find life difficult—says it’s like being famous but without the money.

I’m not actually that tall—6ft 1in—but even I meet problems. Hotel beds are too short, train seats don’t have enough leg room, and I regularly have to bend at the knees to use mirrors. Clothing can be troublesome too. “Most shirts expose my navel(肚脐) when I stretch(伸展).” Trousers are a nightmare. “You’re desperately hoping you’ll find a pair of trousers that go all the way down to your shoes.” Then there’s the matter of relationships. How often do you see a woman with a man shorter than her? There’s exception but for most people it seems to be a no-no. Some tall women bend their shoulders in an attempt to hide their height. The habit never goes away, no matter how successful they become.

Yes, I know all this is going to sound admirable to someone of below average height. “I’ll swap places with you,” they’ll be saying. Fair enough. On balance I’d rather be 6ft 1 than 5ft 5. But it’s still true that, as so often, a supposedly desirable outcome in life is slightly less desirable than you might think. Before you look at a tall person and say you wish you were them, walk a mile in their shoes.

(Notes: 1ft≈0.3m; 1in ≈ 0.25m)

1. According to the text, what is tall people’s life like?

A．A life which is not always easy.

B．A fancy but less wealthy life.

C．A life of personal accomplishments.

D．A life suffering prejudice by short people.

2. It can be learned from the text that ________.

A．short people may buy clothing as they like.

B．short people may find train seats not enjoyable.

C．tall men usually feel comfortable sleeping in a hotel.

D．tall women usually prefer taller men to be their boyfriends.

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

A．To compare the life of tall people with that of short people.

B．To reveal that being tall is not always seemingly desirable.

C．To convey his wish to swap places with a short person.

D．To urge other people to stand in tall people’s shoes.

【推荐3】That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theater. With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.

As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers. Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.

About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.

Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.

Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck pulled up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eyes: “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.

It was nearly 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.

1. How did the author feel when she was walking home after work?

A．Cold and sick.	B．Fortunate and hopeful.
C．Satisfied and cheerful.	D．Disappointed and helpless.

2. What is the author’s problem in Paragraph 1?

A．She didn’t know how to learn acting in an evening school.

B．She failed to balance her part-time job and acting.

C．She had to take part in various city activities.

D．She gave up both acting and San Francisco.

3. On her way home the author ______.

A．lost her wallet unknowingly	B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver
C．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man	D．found some homeless people following her

4. In the fifth paragraph, why did the author say she was dreaming?

A．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck.	B．Someone offered to take her back home.
C．She heard someone call her name.	D．A red-haired man came to see her.

5. From the passage, we can infer that the author ______.

A．would stop working at night	B．would stay on in San Francisco
C．would make friends with cleaners	D．would give up her job at the bank

【推荐1】The flu season arrives so predictably, and affects so many of us, that it’s hard to believe that scientists have had very little idea why cold weather helps germs to spread.

Worldwide, up to five million people catch the illness each flu season, and around a quarter of a million die from it. Part of its power comes from the fact that the virus changes so quickly that the body is hardly prepared. “The antibodies we’ve built up no longer recognize the virus – so we lose our immunity,” says Jane Metz at the University of Bristol. It also makes it harder to develop effective vaccines, and even if one comes out, governments often fail to persuade enough people to take it up.

The hope is that by understanding better why flu spreads in winter, but naturally fades in summer, doctors could find simple measures to stop its spread.

Previous theories had centred on our behaviour. We spend more time indoors in the winter, meaning that we’re in closer contact with other people who may be carrying germs.

Another popular idea concerned our physiology(生理机制): the cold weather weakens your body’s defenses against infection. In winter, without much sunlight, we may run low on Vitamin D, which helps power the body’s immune system. Moreover, when we breathe in cold air, the blood vessels in our nose shrink, which affects the normal function of white blood cells, allowing viruses to slip past our defenses unnoticed.

While such factors both play some role, analyses suggested another ignored cause may have been lying invisible in the air that we breathe. Thanks to the laws of thermodynamics(空气热力学), cold air can carry less water vapor before it reaches the “dew point” and falls as rain. So while the weather outside may seem wetter, the air itself is drier as it loses the moisture. And researches in the past few years has shown that these dry conditions seem to offer the perfect environment for the flu virus to flourish.

In wetter air, the epidemic struggles to build strength, while in drier conditions it spreads like wildfire. And comparing 30 years’ climate records with health records, Jeffrey Shaman at Columbia University found that flu epidemics almost always followed a drop in air humidity.

1. What can we infer from the second paragraph ?

A．We lose immunity due to the absence of our antibodies.

B．The antibodies fail to function due to variation of virus.

C．Government should come up with better ways to persuade people.

D．One in four of the infected die from the influenza each flu season.

2. What is the purpose of understanding better why flu spreads in winter?

A．To help develop effective vaccine.

B．To seek ways to treat people infected with flu.

C．To figure out ways to cut off its transmission.

D．To explore how to defend our immune system.

3. In what weather condition a flu epidemic is more likely to occur ?

A．Destroying bodies’ immune system.

B．Powering our bodies’ immune system.

C．Killing numerous viruses that we take in.

D．Stopping us acquiring enough Vitamin D.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Ways to prevent infection of flu	B．Flu-A disease not so hard to prevent
C．A predictable flu season	D．Why germs spread in winter

【推荐2】Wagga Wagga Gardens

The gardens are at the base of Willans Hill. The rainforest part will keep kids occupied for hours. The Willans Hill Miniature Railway operates the first and third Sunday of each month. Train rides operate between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm, and 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm.

Oakvale Wildlife Park

The park lies north of Sydney in beautiful Port Stephens. It is home to Australian native animals. All children and adults are encouraged to enjoy the chance to play with the animals as they walk freely around the park. Oakvale’s Splash Bay, sitting within the grounds of Oakvale, is an amazing water activity area and is included in your ticket.

Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park

The park is the only wildlife sanctuary (庇护所) in New South Wales (NSW) with free-walking Australian animals and ancient rock art places, open to the public every day! Visit any day of the week from 9 am to 5 pm. Kids with parents can also stay for the night and meet the nocturnal (夜间的) animals.

Australian Reptile (爬行动物) Park

The park is on the Central Coast of NSW, about one hour north of Sydney and one hour south of Newcastle. It is well-known as a place for a great family-fun day out. Kids of all ages can watch the reptile show and enjoy the playground and exhibits.

1. What can visitors do in Wagga Wagga Gardens?

A．Enjoy water activities.	B．Take train rides.
C．Meet various animals.	D．Watch funny shows.

2. Which place allows visitors to stay for a night?

A．Wagga Wagga Gardens.	B．Oakvale Wildlife Park.
C．Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park.	D．Australian Reptile Park.

3. What do the four places have in common?

A．They are all in Sydney.	B．They are all kid-friendly.
C．They are all closed on Monday.	D．They are all wildlife parks.

【推荐3】American cities are similar to other cities around the world. In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture. American cities are changing, just as American society is changing.
After World War II, the population of most large American cities decreased; however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increased. Los Angeles and Houston are cities where population shifts(转移) to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents(居民) became wealthier. They had more children so they needed more space. They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs(郊区)。
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young professionals are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.
This population shift is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again.
1. What does the author think of cities all over the world?

A．They are alive.	B．They are hopeless.
C．They are similar.	D．They are different.

2. Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War II?

A．Because older American cities were dying.

B．Because they were richer and needed more space.

C．Because cities contained the worst parts of society.

D．Because they could hardly afford to live in the city.

3. According to the 4th paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities ________.

A．are faced with housing problems	B．are forced to move to the suburbs
C．want to sell their buildings	D．need more money for daily expenses

4. We can conclude from the text that ________.

A．American cities are changing for the worse

B．people have different views on American cities

C．many people are now moving from American cities

D．the population is decreasing in older American cities