【推荐1】It seems that the great desire among the young is to be popular. The desire to be popular can force you into looking and acting like everyone else. You can lose yourself in a sea of identical hairstyles and thinking styles.

I was forced to think about popularity not too long ago in a talk I had with my daughter. Margy had to change schools when my busy work schedule made it necessary for me to move houses. I suppose that，for a girl in her teens，entering a new school is like spending a season alone in the tropical jungles. At least that's how Margy found it at first. However，as the school year drew to a close，one student after another came to her.I told Margy that I would have been more concerned if she had been an instant social success in her new school. Nobody can please everyone. If you try to do so，you will find values as lasting as soap bubbles blown into the air.

Some teenagers claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in a certain way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon into a larger cocoon.

I know that it has become harder for a young person to stand up against the popularity wave. Our way of life makes a young nonconformist stand out like a Martian. These days there's a great barrier for the young person who wants to find his or her own path. But the barrier is worth climbing over. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. Well，go to it. Be yourself .Popularity will come with the people who respect you for who you are. That's the only kind of popularity that really counts.

1. Why was the author worried about his daughter's popularity in her new school?

A．She might find no true friends.

B．She would ignore her academic performance.

C．She had no idea of her own.

D．She might betray her true self.

2. What does the author think of most teenagers?

A．They're afraid of getting lost in life.

B．They lack the courage to be truly different.

C．They have difficulty understanding each other.

D．They find it hard to gain popularity as expected.

3. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “nonconformist” in Paragraph 4?

A．Someone who behaves in his own way.

B．Someone who desires popularity greatly.

C．Someone who cares about others' opinion.

D．Someone who wants to please others.

【推荐2】Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized (归类) as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings.
       Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
       Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
       Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
       In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action, we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
       There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
1. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ________.

A．self-respect	B．financial rewards
C．advertising ability	D．friendly relationship

2. The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to ________.

A．lying	B．stealing
C．cheating	D．advertising

3. The phrase “bringing the error to the clerk’s attention” (in Para.5) means ________.

A．telling the truth to the clerk

B．offering advice to the clerk

C．asking the clerk to be more attentive

D．reminding the clerk of the charged item

4. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A．How to Live Truthfully

B．Importance of Peacefulness

C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D．Happiness through Honorable Action

【推荐1】In 1997, Mary gave a present of $ 500, 000 to the University of Southern Mississippi. She wanted to help poor students. It was a very generous thing to do. But her friends and neighbors were surprised. Mary was a good woman. She went to church. She was always friendly and helpful. But everyone in her town knew that Mary was not rich. In fact, she was poor.

How did a poor 89-year-old woman have so much money? Mary was born in 1908 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She had to leave school when she was eight years old to help her family. She took a job washing clothes. She earned only a few dollars a day. She washed the clothes by hand. Then she hung the clothes to dry. She did this for nearly 80 years. In the 1960s, she bought an automatic washer and dryer. But she gave them away. She did not think they got the clothes clean enough！At that time, many people started to buy their own washers and dryers. Mary did not have much work, so she started to iron clothes instead.

Mary never married nor had children. Her life was very simple. She went to work and to church. She read her Bible. She had a black-and-white television. But she did not watch it very much. It had only one channel.

Mary saved money all her life and eventually had about $ 800, 000. When she was 89, a lawyer helped her make a will. She left the money to the church, her relatives and the university. Mary wanted to help others. She did not think she was a special person. But then people found out about her present to the university. She received many honors. She even flew in an airplane for the first time！Mary died in 1999. She was a shy and ordinary woman who became famous.

1. Mary gave $ 500, 000 to the University of Southern Mississippi___________.

A．to surprise her friends and neighbors	B．to prove she was a rich woman
C．to help the poor students	D．to show her generosity

2. From the passage we can learn that___________,

A．Mary left school young to help support her family

B．Mary’s parents asked her to wash clothes for others

C．an automatic washer and dryer were too expensive for her

D．Mary started to iron clothes because she didn’t get other skills

3. Which of the following tells us Mary lived a very simple life?

A．She didn’t have much work to do.

B．She only had a black-and-white television with one channel.

C．She went to the church every day with friends.

D．She didn’t like others to buy an automatic washer..

4. What kind of person is Mary according to the passage?

A．Rich and friendly.	B．Poor and silly.
C．Well-educated and special.	D．Hard-working and helpful.

【推荐2】Enter Nick Spigler’s room and you’ll find the delicate nest of a tree swallow and rows of books about birds. Clearly, this 16-year-old boy has his head in the clouds and his feet off the ground. Several times a week, Ellie Andreen, 15, visits a park near her home to check on her little family. The boxes she placed there last winter have produced several babies of bluebirds, which Ellie fusses over like a mother hen.

These young bird-watchers are not the only youngsters who enjoy birding in the United States county of Harford, Maryland. Local schools there offer programs in ornithology (鸟类学), even if some kids can’t yet spell the word.

Both Nick and Ellie took up birding early on. They call themselves the Early Birds, Feathered Friends or Bird Buddies. Once a month, they join groups of 20 to 30 students to walk through nearby fields before class at 7:30 am, hoping to spot a woodpecker or oriole (黄鹂) with binoculars.

“Being part of the bird club since second grade made it seem more common than just some strange hobby,” Nick said. “I had to get up at 6:30 am for the walks. That was for the birds, so I didn’t mind.”

Since then, he has attended bird camps, studied bird habits and migratory patterns, and personally seen 190 of the more than 400 species in Maryland.

Raising youth awareness is a must, longtime birders say. Mary Murray, 65, a leading member of the Harford Bird Club, said, “These children are going to inherit Earth, and we need to teach them early how to take care of it. Birds are an indicator species, like canaries (金丝雀) in a coal mine, and if kids pay attention to what birds are doing, they will understand the health of their environment.”

1. What does the underlined phrase “fusses over” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Looks at.	B．Fights with.
C．Plays with.	D．Gives attention to.

2. What do we know about bird-watching in Harford County?

A．It is considered a strange but cool hobby.

B．It interests more local young people than adults.

C．Ornithology classes have helped make it popular.

D．Students must pass a bird-watching class at school.

3. What does Mary Murray think birding means for children?

A．It will allow them to know more about different species.

B．It will improve their understanding of their environment.

C．It will teach them how to appreciate non-bird species.

D．It will raise their awareness of teamwork.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Bird protection is in action	B．Bird camps in Maryland
C．How to take care of birds?	D．Nick Spigler’s bluebird boxes

【推荐3】Families are taking down their decorations and throwing out their trees when Christmas has come to an end. However, one man in Texas is reusing the trees for a good cause. Jamie Willis set up Canes (拐杖) for Veterans (退伍军人) Central Texas, an organization that makes free canes out of waste wood for veterans in need. Willis started the organization when he found himself in need of a strong cane, he told CBS News.

Jamie Willis had served in the army for eight years, but was left disabled. He would use a cane to get around, but didn’t like the one he received from Veterans Affairs. He decided to ask for a suitable replacement (替代品) from the organization Free Canes for Veterans. Oscar Morris, who ran the organization, apologized to Willis because they were all handed out.

He then considered making one for himself. Luckily with the help of Morris, Willis made his first cane. Morris encouraged him to make another cane for someone else in need, which gave Willis an idea. He started the Canes for Veterans Central Texas.

During its first year, Willis simply collected thrown-away trees and wood. Now, after getting some attention, Willis has received many donated Christmas trees from neighbors and natives. Since 2016, Willis and his team have made 222 canes for veterans in need. He’s even started to make the canes with slogans (标语) and designs chosen by the veterans, making each one meaningful to those veterans.

“It’s a great feeling,” he told CBS News. “It takes their eyes off their so-called disability and it takes their eye to the cane. Because when people look at a person with just a metal cane, everyone just wonders what happens,” Willis added. “But now, when they’re walking around with canes that we make, they’re looking at the cane, a piece of artwork.”

1. Why did Jamie Willis finally decide to make himself a cane?

A．He doesn’t liked the cane without a slogan.

B．The cane he received cannot help him to get around.

C．He failed to apply a proper cane from Free Canes for Veterans.

D．The canes in Free Canes for Veterans were too expensive to him.

2. What made Willis start his organization?

A．His requirement.	B．Morris’ encouragement.
C．Public support.	D．The waste of Christmas trees.

3. What is the local people’s attitude to Willis’ behavior?

A．Curious.

B．Doubtful.

C．Objective.

D．Supportive.

4. What can we learn about Wills’ canes from the last paragraph?

A．They distract people’s attention from the veterans’ disabled body.

B．They are designed to attract public attention to disabled veterans.

C．They are popular because of the special and meaningful slogan.

D．They are likely to keep people away from the disabled veterans.

【推荐1】You know all about the dangers of exhaustion. You even know that working too many hours affects your productivity, and yet there’s always one more task that needs finishing one more email to write, or one more impatient customer or boss who doesn’t want to wait till Monday. Here are some tips that may help you deal with pressure at work when you feel exhausted.

Don’t save sleeping time.

Not only does a good night’s sleep improve your mood and cognitive(认知的) ability, but it helps you grow brain cells. Sleep deprivation(匮乏) is associated with a lot of mental and physical illness, and will actually make you age more quickly. Whatever else you have to forego to give way to work and meet the demands of your crazy job, make sure getting a good night’s sleep every night is one of your priorities.

Get plenty of exercise.

Exercise is a known mood elevator and stress killer, as well as something that your body needs to remain healthy. There’s evidence that a daily two-mile walk can help your cognitive function. So fit some exercise in your schedule every day or follow Steve Jobs’ example and conduct meetings while walking.

Take brief breaks during the day.

Even a few minutes between meetings and phone calls will make a big difference. And also, go outside during these breaks. Sunlight and fresh air can do a lot of good.

Put a vacation on your calendar.

Having a vacation on your calendar will give you something to look forward to. And as the date approaches, do not reschedule whatever happens. Taking a vacation will give your mind a rest. You might be surprised at how reinvigorated(振作的) and inspired you’ll be getting back to work.

Schedule evening and weekend activities.

This will give your week some variety ---- it won’t all be about your job. It will be better if your off-hours activities involve other people you care about, such as your spouse, partner, kids, or friends.

1. What might be the purpose of the passage?

A．To show the danger of stress and overwork.

B．To tell us some skills of improving work efficiency.

C．To persuade people not to work overtime.

D．To tell us how to get through high-stress times at work.

2. What does the underlined word “forego” in Paragragh2 mean?

A．Carry out.	B．Focus on.
C．Give up.	D．Get over.

3. What can you do to give your mind a rest?

A．Conduct meeting while walking.	B．Save sleeping time.
C．Take a vacation.	D．Plan weekend activities.

【推荐2】I hope you will join us to develop the project．The idea struck me in early 2017．We were sitting in our class when our head teacher announced．"There'11 be a new boy starting school tomorrow．He comes from the circus so he'll be with us for a while．"Immediately I heard remarks like"Those are dirty people"；"They eat raw meat"；and"Watch out your bags"．The teacher must have heard them and said in a very serious voice，"Jake is our guest．Make sure you treat him well．"

It was the first time I had met anyone from a circus．Fortunately he sat in the only spare seat next to me．Of course I didn't want to mind others'business，but I couldn't help looking at him sideways．I noticed Jake was smaller than me and had dirty finger nails．His shirt was clean but had been repaired in many places and his trousers were held up by a wide，leather belt．As he was sniffing loudly，I passed him my handkerchief．Immediately the boys began to whisper"Leave him be!"From my left a slight movement showed that Jake must have heard the remarks too．He seemed to be having great difficulty with his maths work and was struggling to hold his pen correctly．He looked around as if for help．I looked around too．The teacher was busy so I offered to explain the problems to him．As he listened he smiled．His eyes lit up and he returned to the exercises with enthusiasm．He finished them quickly and proudly presented them to the teacher．"Well done，Jake"，she approved．Jake smiled．

I thought about how Jake's life would be．I remembered seeing the campsite and thinking how poor the facilities（设施）were．So I decided to help．As it was my turn to suggest a project for our grade．I put forward this idea．Our head teacher accepted it and so we began to prepare our plans to improve the campsite．Hope you will join us．

1. Why did the students dislike Jake even before they saw him？ ______

A．A newcomer was not welcome at that time．

B．They always judged a person by what he looks like．

C．The teacher hadn't introduced Jake to them beforehand．

D．They must have heard terrible stories about circus people．

2. What's the author's attitude towards Jake？ ______

A．He copied the other boys'behavior．

B．He was distant about what Jake's life was like．

C．He had sympathy for the people who were in need．

D．He couldn't ignore what other people said about Jake．

3. With the help of the author，Jake became more ______ ．

A．friendly and brave

B．confident and proud

C．easygoing and helpful

D．optimistic and warm-hearted

4. What's the author's main purpose in writing this passage？ ______

A．To call on more people to help Jake．

B．To show what is in need for a circus．

C．To ask the readers to join in his project．

D．To argue circus people should be fairly treated．

【推荐3】Parking your car in a parking garage has a lot of advantages. You do not have to constantly move your car for alternate side parking, or snow removal, and you do not have to go in and out of your vehicle in unpleasant weather. Now, in Munich, Germany, there is an additional benefit--artificial intelligence can reward drivers for not using their cars.

A trial program, led by UK-based Fetch. ai and Datarella, a German company, at a downtown Munich office building, uses AI to communicate with drivers to tell them when the garage is filling up and a price increase will go into effect, or suggest that drivers find an alternative place to park. Actually, it can be used as a motivation for people to leave their cars and use environmentally-friendly methods of transportation. People who do not use their cars to commute to work will be rewarded with public transit passes.

The AI is based on a multi-agent technology where agents can perform specific tasks and by communication with each other, sort out complex situations. The drivers' apps will be programmed to know when the cars will be in use and the parking garage agent will tap into a camera system that will analyze the amount of spaces and then set the price accordingly. Then the drivers can decide whether and where to park through the apps.

The city council（议会）made some comments on the new project: it is still immature but it is likely to improve parking space management and organize traffic flow to prevent traffic jams. "Our system encourages community use of public transport or other sustainable transportation through a distribution system while reducing the congestion（拥堵）that accounts for a great deal of Munich's CO₂ emissions（排放）," Michael Reuter, CEO of Datarella said.

Even a 10 percent reduction of car use will save 37, 000 tons of emission. That is the equivalent emissions of all yearly energy use for 4, 000 homes.

While the system is being trialed in only one garage, Fetch. ai plans to expand the trial to other parking garages around the city in 2021.

1. What does the trial program encourage drivers to do?

A．Avoid public transport.	B．Use green transportation.
C．Pay more for the parking.	D．Park in traditional garages.

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．How parking prices are increased.	B．How drivers benefit from parking.
C．How normal parking garages operate.	D．How the AI parking system works.

3. What is the city council's attitude towards the project?

A．Generally positive.	B．Extremely worried.
C．Barely hopeful.	D．Totally admiring.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．You Will Be Rewarded for Not Parking.

B．Parking Your Car in the Garage Matters.

C．A Parking Garage Is Using AI for Parking.

D．A Trial Parking System Is Expanding Fast.

【推荐1】There are fifty states in the United States. The largest in population is California, the largest in area is Alaska. Alaska is the smallest in population and Rhode Island is the smallest in size. The oldest states are the ones along the Atlantic coast. The newest states are Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska is also the coldest state. California and Florida are the warmer. Henry and his family live in Seattle, a big city, on the Pacific coast. But Los Angeles and San Francisco, also on the Pacific coast, are larger than Seattle. Henry's cousin, Susan, lives in New York. It is the largest city in the United States. Thousands of people visit New York each year. The most important city in the United States is Washington, D. C. It is the capital, but it is much smaller than New York.

1. How many states are there in the U. S. A.?

A．Five

B．Forty- Five.

C．Fifty

D．Fifteen.

2. Which state is the largest in population?

A．California.

B．Rhode-Island.

C．Alaska

D．Los Angeles.

3. Which of the following is true?

A．The oldest states are the ones along the Pacific coast.

B．Washington is the most important and the largest city.

C．New York is the largest city in the United States.

D．Henry's cousin lives in the Seattle.

4. Why is Washington, D. C. the most important American city? Because _________.

A．it is the largest city	B．it is the largest in population
C．it is the most beautiful city	D．it is the capital of the United States

【推荐2】It’s reported that scientists in London have found the best diet for both humans and the planet.

If the world followed the so-called “planetary health” diet, each year more than ll million early deaths could be avoided according to the scientists. For the health of the planet, they say the same diet will reduce (减少) greenhouse gases and save more land, water and animals. This new food plan is the result of a three-year project organized by The Lancet health journal.

Tim Lang, a professor at Britain’s University of London. He said, “The food we eat and how we produce it decide the health of people and the planet.” Lang added, The world’s population is expected to grow to 10 billion people by 2050. If we want to feed everyone, we all need to change what we eat and the way we eat by improving food production and reducing food waste”. So, what do you eat on the “planetary health” diet?

The scientists who created the “planetary health” diet say it is largely plant-based but still has a little milk, fish and meat. The diet calls for cutting down red meat and sugar by 50 percent and increasing nuts, fruits, and vegetable.

Walter Willet of Harvard University in the United States also talked about the “planetary health” diet. He said, “More than 800 million people around the world do not get enough food while many more people have very unhealthy diets.”

The scientists think it difficult to reach their aim. But for them, doing nothing is also not a choice Willet said, “If we can’t make the best diet, it’s better to try and get as close as we can.”

1. What decides the health of people and the planet according to Tim Lang?

A．The taste of the food.

B．The number of population.

C．The climate and our living conditions.

D．The food we eat and the way we produce it.

2. What does the “planetary health” diet mainly contain?

A．Milk.	B．Meat.
C．Sugar.	D．Plants.

3. What do scientists say about the “planetary health” diet?

A．It is very easy to produce it.

B．It is better to try their best to make it.

C．It is better to do nothing than fail.

D．It is impossible to make it.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Humans Health Is Very Important.

B．Many People don’t Get Enough Food.

C．A New Kind of diet may Save the Plane.

D．Different People have Different Eating Habits.

【推荐3】Do you find yourself unable to go more than 15 minutes without reaching into your pocket, pulling out your smart phone and checking your e-mail or WeChat? Don't panic. You are hardly alone. A recent survey shows that smart phone users have developed "checking habit"—frequently checks of e-mails and other Apps. The checks normally lasted less than 30 seconds and were often done every 10minutes.

On average, the study subjects check their phones 34 times a day. And the strangest part is that they don't even realize they are doing it. "I hadn't told my hand to reach out for the phone. It seemed to be doing it all on its own," wrote Elizabeth Cohen, a medical correspondent for CNN who watched her right hand sneaking away from her side to grab her phone while sitting on the table at dinner with friends.

Loren Frank, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), explains that checking smart phones is rewarding in some way. "Each time you get an e-mail, it's a little bit exciting, because it means a positive feedback that you're an important person," Frank told CNN. Once the brain becomes used to this positive feedback, reaching out for the phone becomes an automatic action you don't even think about consciously, said Frank. Professor Clifford Nass of Stanford University added that constantly checking your smart phone is also “an attempt to not have to think hard but feel like you are doing something".

However, every coin has two sides. This habit can cause problems. Study show that whenever you take a break from what you are doing to check your smart phone, it is hard to go back to your original task, according to Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist at UCSF. That's not the worst. A survey by South Korean marriage consulting agency Duo earlier this year shows that smart phones are destroying intimate relationships, reports The Korea Herald (韩国先驱报). About half or the respondents said they had had fights with their boyfriend or girlfriend because of smart phones. And 32.8 percent of them fought about smart phone obsession. In this respect, checking smart-phones at regular intervals is a bad habit. But just as an old saying goes, "Bad habits die hard.”

So to get rid of the checking habit, Cohen suggests establishing phone-free times and zones.

1. What is the most unusual part of the study subjects?

A．The times of phone checks.

B．The lasting time of phone checks.

C．The unawareness of checking phones.

D．The high frequency of checking phones.

2. What does Loren Frank think of checking smart-phones frequently?

A．It is worthwhile in some way.

B．It is necessary to think hard.

C．It is unimportant for those busy people.

D．It is likely to cause neurological diseases.

3. Which of the following is the worst effect of the “checking habit” has on phone users?

A．They might not have a good rest.

B．They would be taken in by other people.

C．They might get distract from their work.

D．They would lost time to keep close relationship.

4. What is the main purpose of writing this passage?

A．To introduce a smart-phone consumption survey.

B．To present the obsession with smart-phone checking.

C．To list the advantage of smart-phone checking habit.

D．To offer the ways to quit smart-phone checking habit.