【推荐1】A Florida teen is gaining national attention with her graduation speech and a basket of strawberries. “Care for some strawberries?” Brenda said at her graduation from Mulberry High School. After jokingly admitting there might not be enough, she went on, “These are no ordinary strawberries.” She held up a series of strawberries, revealing what each represents: sweat, dirt aches, and pains — they’re her motivators.

Brenda described herself as the daughter of two tireless farmers who immigrated (移民) from Mexico and spent most of their days working in fields of strawberries, blueberries, and cucumbers. “My motivation has been rooted in my immigrant culture.” Because of this, she chose to focus on that in her address. “Many students used to be ashamed of their upbringing but today, we’re proud of what makes us.”

She explained how she grew up under poor conditions. “I’m motivated by my parents’ hands that lose feeling from farm work. Despite the hot sun and body pains, they back me up heart and soul in my education, which weighs more strongly with me than anything else. I must work hard and succeed.” Brenda’s heading to Stanford University this fall. She also credited some of her outstanding achievements to her teacher Higgins, who helps immigrant students and the poor.

Her speech has been viewed by thousands online. “Hearing it touched other people’s hearts who said they understood my message, I’m struck the same,” Brenda said later. The principal of Mulberry High School, Michael Young, was one member of the audience getting emotional “The speech was very powerful-her fruit did help paint a good picture of things she wanted to convey,” Young said.

As for her message to young people struggling, Brenda said, “Past circumstances aren’t in charge of your future. If you’re from a poor family, use every resource and try to better yourself. You’re the author of your story.”

1. Why did Brenda bring strawberries to her graduation?

A．To share her home-grown fruit.

B．To better explain her speech’s topic.

C．To show hardship her parents faced.

D．To stress the importance of motivators.

2. What contributes most to Brenda’s academic success according to her speech?

A．Her native culture.	B．Her life experience.
C．Support from her parents.	D．Help from her teacher.

3. What did Brenda convey to the young?

A．Your life is what you make it.

B．Every cloud has a silver lining.

C．Everyone deserves a good life story.

D．Resources in hand decide your future.

【推荐2】I always figured that comedians were the best kind of people to hang around with as a kid. They tell funny stories，make jokes，and happiness seems never to leave them.But with time going on，we come to see these same people as clowns on the outside，but crying on the inside.Comedy from thesepeople comes from a deep pain and sadness in theirlives，or out of deep-seated anger they have in the world around them.

Look at Richard Pryor.Need I say more？Richard seemed to have everything.For Superman IⅢ，he ended up getting more money than Christopher Reeve did，yet he said while he was in his forties that the last truly happy moment he remembered in his life was when he was jumping around in the dirt while he waspretending to be a cowboy at the age of 10.This guy set himself on fire，and he played that for fun while performing live at the Sunset Strip！Comedy was his constant weapon against pain，and he never held anything back.

The movie Funny People understands very well this gloomy field in which many comedians have tosurvive.It stars Adam Sandler as George Simmons，afamous comedian in the movie. Simmons has it all: a beautiful house overlooking the sea，a swimming pool，great cars，and so on.But in his eyes，we see that he is a sad man who has come to truly look down upon himself for what he has become. All the wealth he has collected only serves to separate him from the rest of the world and it makes him defensive when he is around total strangers who cannot see him as a normal person.But now，he hears from his doctor that he has a terminal（不治的）disease and has only months left to live.Simmons reacts to the news as if someone took away his blood in the heart，and it makes him clearlysee just how much he hates his life.So now he has to make every minute count. Then come a series of funny stories.

Comedy is just life as it is，isn't it？

1. What can we infer about "comedians" according to the text?

A．Comedians like to get along with kids.

B．Comedians' life is full of jokes.

C．Comedians often use their sad experiences.

D．Comedians often cry in their daily life.

2. When was the real happy moment for Richard Pryor?

A．Playing the part of Superman.

B．Getting more money than Christopher Reeve.

C．Performing live at the Sunset Strip.

D．Pretending to be a cowboy in the childhood.

3. Why is George Simmons unhappy?

A．He has no friends at all.

B．He spends too much on his house.

C．He isn't accepted by the outside world.

D．He is hated by all the strangers around.

4. By saying"Comedy is just life as it is, isn't it?" the author means ________.

A．life is like comedy which will make you happy

B．comedy comes from the sadness in real life

C．comedy is as happy as real life

D．life is full of comedy in reality

【推荐1】Visiting a festival abroad can be a great reason to travel and a way to experience different cultures. These days there is such a number of choices that it’s possible to spend the whole summer watching live music in exciting places. Of course, it’s also a chance to meet people from across the world.

Melt! Festival, Germany

This festival takes place on the site of an open air museum for industrial machinery. There’s also a lake which can be used for swimming when it’s hot. This year’s line-up has over 120 different bands (乐队). Around 90% of the people attending the festival are German providing a perfect chance to practise speaking the language.

Exit Festival, Serbia

Set on the banks of the Danube in an old fortress (城堡), the festival began as a way to show people’s dissatisfaction with the government. These days it’s less political (政治的) but still worries about people who are poor, ill, old, etc and tries to help them. This year’s festival will host many famous bands. From electronic music and dance music to hard rock, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Scotland

Set on a Scottish estate (庄园) near Inverness, this year Belladrum will welcome artists from around the world. The most enjoyable part of the weekend is the ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance and party) which is always a lively event. It doesn’t even matter if you’re a beginner because the band teaches you each dance.

Open’er Festival, Poland

Held in an airfield near the northern city of Gdansk, each year Open’er has a seriously good selection of bands. This year is no exception, with many famous bands set to play. Not only are there amazing artists, but both Poland and the festival itself also provide very excellent value for money.

1. What is special about Melt! Festival?

A．It provides German lessons.	B．It is held by a local museum.
C．Most of the festival goers are German.	D．The bands are from 120 countries.

2. Why did Exit Festival begin?

A．To offer help to the poor.	B．For personal reasons.
C．To help stop a fight.	D．For political reasons.

3. What makes Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival different from the others?

A．It falls in summer.	B．It is a live music festival.
C．It teaches people Scottish dances.	D．It invites the most famous bands.

【推荐2】Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.

Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents (洲).

In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen. It is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone．It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.

Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document（记录）his adventures. He said he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,” said the 30-year-old．

Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that was ready to deal with anything”. He said: “The feeling of having conquered something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”

The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said: “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.

1. Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?

A．Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.

B．It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.

C．It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.

D．Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.

2. What can we infer about Chris Richardson?

A．He started traveling at an early age．

B．He was once shot in the arm.

C．His website inspires others a lot.

D．He used to work as a salesman.

3. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Travel Abroad	B．Travel Alone
C．Travel Light	D．Travel Wide and Far

【推荐1】Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time; _________________, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way children, learning to do all the other things without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances（表现）with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes for himself, let alone correct them. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Soon he became dependent on the teacher.
Why should we teachers waste time on such tiring work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let’s end all this nonsense（荒谬的）of grades, exams and marks. Let us throw them all out, and let the children learn what all educated persons must someday learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know.
We should, of course, offer help to them just as they ask for it. The idea that there is a body of knowledge to be learnt at school and used for the rest of one’s life is nonsense in a world as complicated（复杂的）and rapidly changing as ours. Don’t worry! If something is basic, they will go out into the world and learn it.
1. What is the main idea of the passage? (No more than 8 words.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
Teachers seem to think that a child can’t find out a mistake or correct it without their help.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Please fill in the blank in the first paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.
(No more than 10 words.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. According to the passage, what should a teacher do? (No more than 15 words.)
A teacher should ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the author’s attitude towards grades, exams and marks at school?
(No more than 5 words.)
The author thinks _____________________________________________________________

【推荐2】To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution.

In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is

unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due tothe practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn’t admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends.

On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn’t even stand seeing them in a film.Bosom says years of hearing

constant playing has caused her “psychological injury”. Medical reports show she has suffered
from a variety of problems, including insomnia (失眠), anxiety, and panic attacks.
She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up to10 decibels (分贝) higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof (隔音) the room. The family told the court that they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued.

The court hasn’t made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May.

1. Bosom wants to send Martin to prison because _______.

A．Martin’s playing the piano damaged her health

B．Bosom suffered from heart attack

C．Martin refused to take regular classes in other towns

D．Martin flew a jet over her head

2. How did Laia Martin respond to the complaints?

A．She stopped playing the piano.

B．She soundproofed the room.

C．She didn’t admit she played at home.

D．She took her neighbor to court.

3. Which of the following may probably be the best title for the passage?

A．A 7-year Sentence Caused by the Piano

B．A Pianist Accused of Noise Pollution

C．Health Problems of a Spanish Woman

D．Actions Against Noise by Local Authority

【推荐1】Teenagers have their own TV channels， websites and magazines. So what about books？

Last year one publisher， Martins， started publishing a series called Waves. We spoke to the director Julia Smith. She explained， "Teenage fiction has been published since the 1970s but publishers have never been very successful in getting teenagers to buy and read books. Now they're realizing that teenagers are just older children， but are not adults either. They are often not interested in adult fiction. For this series we are looking for new writers who write especially for teenagers.

Athene Gorr's novel was published in the series last year and is selling well. Its title is The Purple Ring. She says， "The important thing is to encourage teenagers to pick up your book. I'm a new writer. Although I've got an unusual name which people might remember， nobody knows it yet! But my book has a fantastic cover which makes people want to look inside. Then they realize what an excellent story it is!"

And what do teenagers themselves think about the series？ We talked to Sophie Clarke， aged 15. She said？ "I've read a few books in the Waves series. They say they are for 14-19 year olds and I agree with that. We're not interested in the same things as people in their twenties and thirties. I like them and I think they look really good too. The only thing is that because bookshops put them in the children section， lots of teenagers won't find them so they may not do very well. And it's a shame there's no such series as I think lots of teenagers， especially boys， might buy."

1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2？ ______

A．The Waves series are suitable for adults.

B．It is necessary to publish books aimed at teenagers.

C．Teenagers are more interested in reading nowadays.

D．Teenagers should be encouraged to read.

2. What makes The Purple Ring catch people's eye？ ______

A．Its writer.

B．Its cover.

C．Its price.

D．Its title.

3. What do we know about the Waves series？ ______

A．They have attractive covers.

B．They are about real facts.

C．They are popular with teenage boys.

D．They are wrongly placed in the children section.

4. What does the author intend to do with the passage？ ______

A．To compare different series of teenage fiction.

B．To give information about a new series of books.

C．To encourage more writers to create fictions for teenagers.

D．To explain why teenage fiction is easier to write than adult fiction.

【推荐2】If you had to guess which direction Apple would be headed in 2019, what might you say? The company’s iPhone business has been stricken because of an economic slowdown and a maturing smartphone market. It’s clear Apple needs to adapt to face new realities.

Some might say the obvious answer is to lower the prices on the iPhone. Others want it to expand its services beyond Apple devices to Android and Windows.

But what’s more likely to happen is this: iPhones will get even more expensive. The evidence for this is already starting to appear. A new report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple is going to give its entire 2020 iPhone line OLED screens(有机发光二极管屏幕)—the same very expensive tech currently only found in the iPhone X and XS.

This may seem surprising, but it’s all of a piece with Apple’s strategy: Make high profit, desirable tech, and get the rewards of creating a closed ecosystem.

So Apple wants to focus on the high-end in order to satisfy choosy customers, while also recognizing that in a mature market, people will replace smartphones less often. This means high-profit devices will be key to maintaining a healthy profit, which helps explain the shift to an all-OLED lineup. That shift also allows for more basic design updates, like curved screens or edges.

It is important to note, too, that even though iPhone sales are down, sales for the Apple Watch and iPad are up. For the future, Apple will continue to put more emphasis on those categories. And looking even further out, it is almost certain that Apple will enter new sectors.

Apple has made some mistake policies in recent years. But the company is not down and out. Far from it: By focusing on high-end, high-profit tech, plus services, all while keeping an eye to the future, Apple will likely keep its dominant position for many years to come.

1. What can we know about OLED screens?

A．They haven’t been used by Apple.	B．They will make iPhones expensive.
C．They will let Apple save cost.	D．They have been used in computers.

2. What does Apple think of market?

A．It’s not fully mature.	B．It needs more smartphones.
C．It needs many design updates.	D．Its customers are hard to be satisfied.

3. Which of the following can best describe the future of Apple in the author’s opinion?

A．Uncertain.

B．Terrible.

C．Concerning.

D．Promising.

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

A．IPhones Will Be More Expensive	B．The Advantages Apples Will Have
C．IPhones Will Work Harder	D．Apple Is Facing Difficulty

【推荐3】Many students give up sleep to get good grades: but research shows that students should do the opposite.

It's no secret that college students tend to reduce sleep to squeeze the most out of 24 hours. But this generation is different, and researchers are increasingly focusing on college students because they are one of the most populations lack of sleep. College students go to bed one to two hours later and sleep less per night on average compared to previous generations. As a result, 75% of undergraduates did not sleep enough to feel rested on five or more days per week, and 19% reported that sleep difficulties had an influence on academic（学业） performance in the past year.

The amount of sleep that a college student gets is one of the strongest predictors of academic success. Sleep plays a key role in helping students fix and Improve memories. while preventing drops in memory. Without sleep, people work harder but don't do as well.

Members of the Student Health Advisory Council(SHAC)consulted famous sleep researchers and gave suggestions to University Health Service（UHS） clinicians（临床医师） on how to address sleep with student patient. Here are some suggestions for UHS clinicians to consider in their work with students.

Encourage students to adjust(调整)wake-up time, as it may be easier to adjust than bedtime.

Emphasize( 强调)behavioral changes to improve sleep. Medicine is rarely. Students can practice relaxation techniques before bed to increase quality of sleep, avoid doing homework immediately before(or in)bed, and avoid TV and computer use before bed.

Encourage napping, Most students don’t get a full night sleep every night, and naps help them make up the difference. Research shows that napping for 10-45 minutes(before entering REM sleep)can increase performance.

Advise students to avoid caffeine, especially later in the afternoon or night.

1. What does the underlined part "do the opposite "in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Spend more time on study

B．Make better use of time

C．Get better grade

D．Get more sleep

2. What do we learn about today’s college students?

A．They have performed academically better than before.

B．They are lazier than previous generations.

C．They generally lack sleep

D．They often find it hard to fall asleep

3. Paragraph 3 mainly shows that______.

A．good study methods are very important

B．a lack of sleep harms students' performance

C．a student's academic success can be predicted

D．students should try to improve their memories

4. What may UHS clinicians suggest students do?

A．Try to wake up later

B．Go to bed much earlier.

C．Take some medicine when necessary.

D．Get some REM sleep through napping