【推荐1】I now work 40 hours a week at a weather company and I love it Compared to when I became a mom, I don't feel bad about being away from my three kids. When I had my first child, I was a busy manager. My husband had a part-time job and cared for her the rest of the time. Once I became pregnant with my second kid, I quit my job to focus fully on writing.

At first I felt like I was living the dream. I was a work-from-home mom who never had to be away from my children. But working from home can end up being more stressful than working full-time or being a stay-at-home mom.because you're frequently exhausted between work, keeping house and telling sweet faces you don't have time to play. Ever tried writing an article with a baby screaming? It was awful.

I was so stressed that I eventually started taking my kids to 8 day care center a couple of days a week. The whole reason I worked so hard to be able to write for a living was to be at home with my kids and here I was taking them to a day care center.I thought I was a failure then.

Over the past five years of being a freelancer(自由作家), I've realized a couple of things. As I wrote six months  ago, "I though I felt bad leaving my daughter for ten hours a day but now she is old enough to ask me to read her a story .Try telling your kid no, 20 times a day. It's cruel. You end up feeling worse for having to ignore them." I also realize not socializing with people weren't good for my mental well-being.

Not only that, but I can now show my kids that Mom is important and has a job at a flashy office building, something they didn't realize when1 sat around in yoga pants typing on my computer all day long.

1. The underlined part " living the dream" in Paragraph 2 refers to "      "

A．earning a lot of money

B．working from home

C．no suffering from stress

D．no taking care of her kid

2. How did the author feel about taking her kids to 8 day care center ?

A．Excited

B．Stressed

C．Relaxed

D．Guilty

3. While working as a freelancer, the author       .

A．made a great many friend

B．was not good at telling stories

C．felt terrible for ignoring her kid

D．left her daughter for a long time

4. We can infer that now the author’s kids       .

A．understand why their mom works so hard

B．are much prouder of their mom

C．are feeling sad for leaving their mom

D．realize why their mom is important

【推荐2】Every year, I tell my sons what I'd like for Mother's Day: a letter, something written from the heart and offered freely rather than bought from a store and wrapped neatly. I don't always get my wish, nor do I always take the time to write to my own mother.
This year, my boys will be in two different states on Mother's Day. My mom and dad will be away together, and I'll be driving home from a writer's workshop in Massachusetts. Thinking of the fact that many friends have already lost their mothers and that a few have lost children, I am deeply grateful that what separates us, for now at least, is only distance. It won't always be so, and there is no way to prepare for that fact other than to appreciate the moment that is. My sons know that they can please me on Sunday with a phone call or an e-mail, and that is enough as I love their words. The very best gift they can possibly give me is their own happiness, the very fact of their busy, full and well-lived lives.
Still, knowing that my years of staying with my sons are over, I do feel doleful. The truth is, I miss being the center of the universe to two little boys. And this holiday can be a bit painful.
I wonder if my own mother ever felt nostalgic (怀旧的，乡愁的) for the passing of my childhood. I wonder if she realizes that she is still at the center of my universe and always has been. I don't often pause to think about it, but of course she is the one who has been right there, at my side from the moment I drew my very first breath. How to ever fully appreciate the woman whose presence and love and example have shaped me into the adult I am?   How to describe even a small part of the sharing, sacrificing, and support she has given me over the years?
1. The author mainly wants to tell us through the first paragraph that_______.

A．she hopes to get her son's letters very much

B．her sons don't often write to her on Mother's Day

C．Mother's Day is the very date that she looks forward to most

D．Children are often careless about their parents’ request (请求).

2. The author is deeply grateful for the present life because_______.

A．her sons don't live far away from her home

B．her parents and children are still alive

C．her parents are coming to her house to spend Mother's Day

D．her sons can please her on Sunday with a phone call

3. What does the underlined word "doleful" in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．sad	B．disappointed
C．exhausted	D．amused

4. What will the author probably tell about after the last paragraph?

A．She'll tell the reader about her mother's present situation.

B．She'll describe the reunion of her family on Mother's Day.

C．She'll talk about how her mother educated and cared for her.

D．She'll tell the reader about her mother's achievements in her career.

【推荐3】An 80－year－old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45－year－old highly educated son.

Suddenly a crow(乌鸦)perched on the tree near their window.

The father asked his son，“What is this? ”

The son replied，“It is a crow.”

After a few minutes，the father asked his son the 2^nd time，“What is this? ”

The son said，“Father，I have just now told you ‘It's a crow’.”

After a little while，the old father again asked his son the 3^rd time，“What is this? ”

“It's a crow，a crow，a crow.”said the son loudly.

A little after，the father again asked his son the 4^th time，“What is this? ”

This time the son shouted at his father，“Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this? ”

A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary，which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page，he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it，the following words were written in the diary：

“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa，when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was，and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel annoyed; I rather felt affection for my innocent child.”

1. What does the underlined word “perched” mean in the passage?

A．knocked	B．landed
C．hit	D．flew

2. Why did the Father ask the same question again and again?

A．Because he couldn't understand what his son said.

B．Because he was too old to remember anything.

C．Because he wanted to make his son angry.

D．Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be.

3. How old was the old man when his son asked him 23 times “What is this”？

A．80 years old.	B．45 years old.
C．38 years old.	D．35 years old.

4. What is the most suitable title for the passage?

A．A crow.	B．An old man.
C．An old dairy.	D．Father's love.

【推荐1】There is a strange tendency nowadays it has become fashionable to blame all of social evils on school teachers.

The fact is that teachers are being loaded down with ridiculously high expectations. Some studies have shown an association between student performance and teacher "effectiveness", depending on how this elusive education quality is measured, but there is also confirming evidence proving the stronger connection between student performance and a much more important variable: family income. Yes, I'm talking about poverty. Sorry to be so gauche, but when teachers point out the relationship between income and achievement, they're not escaping responsibility, but merely stating an embarrassing truth.

According to figures by the College Board, students from families making more than $200,000 score more than 300 points higher on the SAT, on average, than students from families making less than $20,000 a year. There is, in fact, a clear relationship all the way along the scale: Each rise in higher family income translated into points on the test. Sean Reardon of Stanford University concluded in a recent study that the achievement gap between high-income and low-income students is actually widening. It is unclear why this might be happening. Maybe it is due to increased income inequality. Maybe the relationship between income and achievement has somehow become stronger, and maybe there is some other reason.

Whatever the cause, our society's answer seems to be: Beat up the teachers. We tend to believe that most of the teachers in low-performing schools are incompetent—and, by extension, that most of the teachers in upper-crust schools, where students perform well, are paragons（典范）of virtue. But some of the most dedicated and talented teachers I've ever met were working in "failing" rural schools. And yes, in award-winning schools where "all the children are above average", I've met some unimaginatively boring teachers who should never be allowed near a classroom.

It is reasonable for teachers to take on responsibilities for their performance, but it is not to hold them accountable for factors that lie far beyond their control. It is fair to insist that teachers approach their jobs with the assumption that every single child, rich or poor, can succeed. It is not fair to expect teachers to correct all the imbalances that result from growing inequality in our society.

1. The text mainly ________.

A．discusses the social inequality

B．explains why teachers are treated badly

C．argues that it is wrong to blame teachers for all education problems

D．lists reasons beyond teachers' control for students' poor performance

2. The underlined word "gauche" in para.2 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．serious	B．awkward
C．confident	D．proud

3. According to the text, which one of the following is strongly related with student performance?

A．Teacher effectiveness.	B．Parental involvement.
C．School ranking.	D．Family income.

4. Which of the following would the author most probably agree with?

A．Whether all teachers are competent in one school has nothing to do with its overall student performance.

B．None of the students from poor family perform well in the school.

C．Most of the teachers in low-performing schools are lacking in competence.

D．Parents should work hard to earn money to ensure their children's performance in the school.

【推荐2】Many years ago, when we were a young couple with two small children, aged 2 and 4, we were practically impecunious. My in-laws lived from hand to mouth, so we didn’t expect any help from them. My parents lived a great distance away, and I was too ashamed to let them know about our situation.

My husband was trying to earn a living with an old pick-up truck, carrying groceries for local shopkeepers, but it was constantly breaking down. It took almost all the money we had to have it fixed. The truck was also the only means of transportation for us.

We lived in the countryside, and we always used the back door because the driveway led to it. One winter evening, I stepped outside to take a bag of trash to the barrel and almost tripped over something. It was nearly dark, and I had to bend down to see what it was. I could hardly believe my eyes. There sat a large basket loaded with food.

It was heavy, so I called to my husband to carry into the house. Once inside, we discovered two loaves of bread, some butter, several cans of vegetables, a can of orange sauce, and a large turkey. There was so much that I can’t remember it all, but it was everything we needed to fix a wonderful dinner — everything except potatoes.

A little while later I remembered that I hadn’t taken the trash to the barrel. By now it was dark, so I had to turn on the yard light — and that’s when I spotted a small bag of potatoes sitting on the porch.

That dinner was the best I can remember.

We weren’t able to thank our donators, though, because we never found out who had been so generous in helping a struggling young family. Whoever it was, we are forever grateful.

1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “impecunious” in Paragraph 1?

A．Adequate.

B．Penniless.

C．Harmonious.

D．Stubborn.

2. How did the author’s husband support the family?

A．By starting a garage.	B．By selling food door to door.
C．By working as a shop assistant.	D．By delivering goods.

3. How did the author feel when she saw the basket?

A．She was annoyed.	B．She was astonished.
C．She was terrified.	D．She felt a sense of relief.

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．A tale of potatoes	B．A reward from a stranger
C．A helping hand in time	D．A struggling young couple

【推荐3】阅读下面短文，根据题目要求回答问题。

Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing? How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door? If your awareness is as sharp as it could be, you'll have no trouble answering these questions.

Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child's day is filled with fascination, newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But distinctions that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb（麻木的）to new stimulation, new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.

The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it occurs. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students, I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream, and they unwillingly walked ahead. They were almost knee-deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted they'd felt cold water at first.

Another block to awareness is the obsession（痴迷）many of us have with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a “ruby-crowned kinglet”and checked. it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.

The pressures of “time” and “destination” are further blocks to awareness. I encountered many hikers who were headed to a distant camp-ground with just enough time to get there before dark. It seldom occurred to them to wander a bit, to take a moment to see what's around them. I asked them what they'd seen. “Oh, a few birds,” they said. They seemed bent on their destinations.

Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, take in all the sights, sounds and sensations. Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life.

1. What does it take to regain the art of seeing the world?
2. Why did the students unwillingly walk ahead in the mountain hiking?
3. Please decide which part of the following statement is false, then underline it and explain why.
Many hikers would get to the destination before dark, because it is easy to observe birds at day time.
4. Please share your experience of feeling nature. (About 50 words)

【推荐1】Several years ago, Chris Williams was driving home on a Wednesday night in Conroe, Texas, just like he always did. “It was dark and raining hard, and I could barely make out two people walking on the road,” he recalled. Born and raised in Louisiana, Williams often watched his father go out of his way to help people in trouble. So he did something his dad would have done. He asked the two women if they needed a ride.

They jumped in, and Williams learned why they were walking. Their truck had been in the repair shop for nearly three months. “I asked the woman who owned the truck why it was in the shop so long, and the woman hung her head and told me, ‘I can’t afford to fix it,’” Williams continued.

Williams had always dreamed of opening his own auto repair garage that would help women in need. “Right then and there, I decided I needed to figure out a way to get my dream of opening a free garage off the ground,” he said.

As a father of two girls, Williams had a calling to help single moms, widows and military wives. Williams borrowed money and asked people he knew for donations to start his new career, and several months later, he opened The Garage, a nonprofit that repairs vehicles for women in need-at no cost. The organization gives renewed vehicles away, too.

Williams understood the economic difficulty being carless can cause, and how his nonprofit could help. “Car repairs can be expensive, and where I live, it’s very rural.” Williams explained. “So if you don’t have a car, you can’t get a job. And if you don’t have a job, you can’t buy a car. It’s a cruel dilemma.”

The Garage ended that dilemma for a whole lot of women in the surrounding community last year. The nonprofit gave away 146 vehicles and repaired 127. One of those recipients was Jeanne McGowan. “Several years ago, I became ill and could not maintain my job and I lost my car because I could not work,” she told a local TV reporter. “I’m thrilled to be a receiver of one of their cars.”

1. Why did Williams give the two women a lift?

A．He was asked to lend a hand.

B．He was doing some voluntary work.

C．He wanted to follow his father’s footsteps.

D．He was going to the same destination as theirs.

2. What do the underlined words “off the ground” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．At a loss.

B．In progress.

C．Out of sight.

D．Beyond reach.

3. What do we know about The Garage?

A．It was set up by Williams for his daughters.

B．It has donated 127 vehicles to those in need.

C．It helps poor women repair their vehicles for free.

D．It has won financial support from the government.

4. What did McGowan mean by her words?

A．She expected local TV to do her a favor.

B．She was seriously ill after losing her job.

C．She was excited to have a car from The Garage.

D．She determined to donate her old car to the poor.

【推荐2】It was 1504 Columbus was making another trip to the New World. Columbus and his men needed fresh water and food after three months at sea. They saw an island. On the island there were unfriendly Indians who did not give them food. Columbus and his men were afraid of the Indians, but he had a clever idea. He used the body language to tell the Indians about his mysterious (神秘的) power to turn off the light in the sky. He knew about a lunar eclipse (月食) the next night because the information was in his almanac (天文历书). Columbus told the Indians,“Tomorrow night I will turn off the light of the moon in the sky. ”But they did not believe him. When the eclipse (月食) began the next night, the Indians became very frightened. The Indians begged Columbus to turn on the light again, and they quickly gave him all the food and fresh water he wanted. Immediately Columbus and his men hurried back to the ship and sailed away in the moonless night.

1. Columbus and his men stopped at the island because__________.

A．they wanted to meet the Indians there.

B．they hoped to get some food and fresh water.

C．they had never been there before.

D．they had planned to visit it.

2. The Indians __________ Columbus and his men.

A．were glad to see	B．were kind to
C．welcomed	D．were not kind to

3. Columbus __________ to tell the Indians that he had mysterious power.

A．used movements of hands and expressions in his face

B．spoke in the language of the Indians.

C．drew a lot of maps.

D．wrote in the language of the Indians.

4. “The light in the sky” here means__________.

A．the sun	B．the moon
C．the stars	D．the daylight

【推荐3】Apple, a 34-year-old doctor, had been on call at Atlanta Medical Center for more than two days, with only a few hours’ sleep. And now tiredness was clouding her eyes as she drove to a meeting in Kentucky, nearly seven hours away. She tried turning on her CB radio, which enthusiasts used to warn one another about road conditions, but the airwaves (广播频道) were silent. Soon Apple’s car started to weave.

A 41-year-old trucker named Woody Key found a car ahead, drifting (漂移) off the road. Key shouted into his CB microphone (麦克风), “Four-wheeler, are you all right?”

Apple woke up. She talked on her CB radio. “I’m tired, and I’m lucky I’m still alive driving this tired. Thanks!”

“Call me Woodpecker, my CB nickname (昵称),” the trucker said. “I’m going to Kentucky. And you?”

“Kentucky.”

“I’ll travel behind and help keep you awake. What’s your CB nickname?”

“Dr. Froot Loops,” she told him.

As they drove, they shared stories, and the time passed quickly. They parted near the Kentucky state line. She thanked him for keeping her awake and safe on the long, dark road.

Years later, Apple found several doctors checking a person brought in from an accident. His head was badly hurt. She put both hands on his head, hoping to calm him. “It’s not your time to die!” she said.

Then, he asked for her name.

“Dr. Sherry Apple,” she replied.

“No ... your CB nickname.”

“How did you guess I have a CB?”

“... I know your voice ...”

“My nickname is Dr. Froot Loops.”

“Oh … It’s me … Woodpecker!”

It was her truck driver! She said, “It’s not your time, Woodpecker!” Then Key was rushed into the operating room.    

The first days out of the operating room were very painful for Key. Often Apple would get home and find her phone ringing. Nurses, unable to calm Key, asked her to return. She always did.

About two months after his accident, Key was ready to leave the hospital. As he was leaving, he told Apple, “I don’t think I could have made it without you.” Apple’s eyes welled up. “And I wouldn’t have made it without you.”

1. What happened to Apple on her way to Kentucky?

A．She was called back to hospital halfway.

B．.She was disconnected from her friend.

C．She fell asleep as she drove.

D．She met with a car accident.

2. How did Key help Apple reach Kentucky?

A．By giving her a lift.

B．By driving her car instead.

C．By talking with her by phone.

D．By keeping her eyes on the road.

3. What can we learn about Key after his accident?

A．He fought to survive.

B．He returned home quickly.

C．He stayed quite calm in the hospital.

D．He was looked after by Apple every day.

4. How did Key and Apple look at their relationship?

A．It was heart-breaking.

B．It was life-saving.

C．It was serious.

D．It was strange.