【推荐2】It all began with a stop at a red light.
Kevin Salwen was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006 . While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes Coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal.”Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered （纠缠）her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”
Warning! ____________________________ Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually, that’s what the family did. The project —crazy, impetuous （鲁莽的） and utterly inspiring — is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: “The Power of Half.” It’s a book that, frankly, I’d be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it. An impressionable child reads this, and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.
At a time of enormous needs in Haiti and elsewhere, when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes, the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference — for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help. In a column a week ago, it described neurological evidence from brain scans that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction. The Salwens’ experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.
Mr. Salwen and his wife, Joan, had always assumed that their kids would be better off in a bigger house. But after they downsized, there was much less space to retreat to, so the family members spent more time around each other. A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.
1. The best title for the passage should be “______”.

A．The Less, the Better

B．An Expected Satisfaction

C．Something We Can Live Without

D．Somewhat Crazy but Inspiring

2. What does the underlined word “inequity” most probably mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Unfairness.	B．Satisfaction.
C．Personal attitude.	D．Reasonable statement.

3. What does the underlined sentence “Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.” means? ______

A．Never give a quick answer to an idealistic teenager.

B．Unless a child is realistic, never give an answer immediately.

C．Give an answer if the child is reasonable.

D．Don’t respond to a child's demands firmly without consideration.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．The Salwens regretted selling their house.

B．The relationship between the family members of the Salwens is much closer.

C．Small houses can bring happiness.

D．The Salwens intend to buy another big house.

5. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Mercedes Coupe is only an ordinary car which is quite cheap.

B．Unselfishness has nothing to do with people’s primary satisfaction.

C．Hannah asked her parents to do something charitable and they sold their house.

D．The writer’s children asked him to sell their house.

【推荐3】A Few Tips for Self-Acceptance

We all want it to accept and love ourselves. But at times it seems too difficult and too far out of reach. Where do you start?    1      

●    2     Do not follow the people who make you feel not-good-enough. Why do you follow them? Are you hoping that eventually you will feel empowered because your life is better than theirs? Know that your life is your own; you are the only you in this world. 

●Forgive yourself for mistakes that you have made. We are often ashamed of our shortcomings, our mistakes and our failures.     3     You’re not GOD. You will make mistakes, time and time again. Rather than getting caught up in how you could have done better, why not offer yourself a compassionate (有同情心) response? “That didn’t go as planned. But, I tried my best.” 

●Recognize all of your strengths. Write them down in a journal. Begin to train your brain to look at strength before weakness. List all of your accomplishments and achievements. You have a job, earned your degree, and you got out of bed today.     4      

●Now that you’ve listed your strengths, list your imperfections. Turn the page in your journal. Put into words why you feel unworthy, why you don’t feel good enough. Now, read these words back to yourself.     5     Skip (跳过) the pages saying you’re not good. Turn to a page in your journal to your list of strengths and achievements. See how awesome you are?

A．Feeling upset again?

B．Nothing is too small to celebrate.

C．Remember, you are only human.

D．Set an intention for self-acceptance.

E．Stop comparing yourself with others.

F．When does the comparison game start?

G．Here’s a handful of ways that will set you in the right direction.

【推荐2】There’s no doubt that positive thinking impacts one’s life. However, in recent years, I’ve come to understand that perhaps positive thinking can result in toxic (有毒的) positivity, which has negative results. What we should be aiming for instead is emotional validation (确认) .

Toxic positivity is the maintenance of positive thinking even in situations where it isn’t appropriate. “It often comes at the risk of denying(否认) our own real feelings or the feelings of others,” says Nina Vasan, MD. While positive thinking in general is a great thing, toxic positivity isn’t. It’s the act of denying anything negative that’s actually happening, and it can involve making people feel bad for having normal human emotions. Someone practicing toxic positivity might say things like “everything happens for a reason” or “just look on the bright side” when a friend shares something difficult in his/her life.

Vasan tells us that with toxic positivity, emotions like sorrow and anger are pushed aside. However, emotional validation allows you to have your feelings. To be exact, emotional validation is about allowing people to experience their feelings and acknowledging that having negative feelings is real and often important. That doesn’t mean it promotes and encourages negative thinking endlessly, though.

Toxic positivity encourages us to focus only on the positive, which can stop us from dealing with the feelings we need to work through. Practicing emotional validation is a healthier option for you and the ones you love. “This can be as simple as saying ‘I understand you’re really sad’.” explains Vasan. Offering your understanding shows our loved ones that we care about their feelings. Besides, instead of telling someone to look on the bright side, you should offer words and thoughts of support instead.

Toxic positivity has become prevalent, and you probably know a lot of people who dismiss your negative experiences with statements like “you’re too sensitive”. Now you can say: Whatever you’re feeling is temporary and allowing yourself to feel it will help you get through it.

1. What is emotional validation?

A．Avoiding risks in terrible situations.	B．Denying people’s negative feelings.
C．Maintaining positive in hard times.	D．Accepting emotional ups and downs.

2. What may the author recommend you to say to a sad person?

A．Perhaps something fortunate is still waiting for you.

B．I’m sure there’s a good reason for what has happened.

C．You have every right to feel upset and I am here for you.

D．I understand your sadness but being sensitive is no good.

3. What does the underlined word “prevalent” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Creative.

B．Widespread.

C．Challenging.

D．Enormous.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Admitting negativity is reasonable.	B．Promoting positivity is worthwhile.
C．Sticking to positivity is significant.	D．Expressing negativity is inappropriate.

【推荐3】How to Support a Friend Struggling with Their Mental Health?

Maybe you’ve noticed a friend is opening up to you for the first time about their anxiety.     1    . Here is what you can do when supporting someone who’s struggling with their mental health.

    2    

Instead of making assumptions about what would be helpful to your loved one, ask them directly, “How can I support you?” Remember what you may need when you’re struggling may not be what someone else needs when having a hard time.

Offer to help with everyday tasks

Many people struggling with their mental health may find it difficult to make basic decisions. Instead of using a common phrase “I’m here if you need me”, try to be specific about what you’re offering.     3    

Celebrate their wins, including the small ones

When a person is struggling with their mental health, every day can be full of challenges.     4    . This can help affirm (肯定) their feelings of agency. This could look like thanking them for being so honest or congratulating them for going to work.

Read up on what they’re struggling with

    5    . Take the time to educate yourself on what they’re going through. For example, learning more about depression, so you can understand their lived experience and be aware of risky behaviors to look out for.

A．It’s challenging to know what to say or do

B．Do check in with them regularly

C．Not all mental health challenges look the same

D．Visit them, look round and see what you can do—like weeding

E．Ask what they need from you

F．So cheer on their accomplishments

G．You can learn about mental illness

【推荐2】请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意:每个空格只填一个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。

Australia is becoming an increasingly lonely place, so much so that one party is turning it into an election issue. Social isolation affects one in ten Australians, while one in six experience periods of emotional loneliness. As the Australian population gets older, rates of social isolation are expected to increase.

In Victoria, one political party thinks the problem is so severe it requires government involvement with it. Fiona Patten, the upper house MP, has proposed that Victoria introduce a minister for loneliness to work across health, infrastructure, justice and communities portfolios, and handle what experts say is becoming a growing health problem.

Scarce public transport options, a lack of support for people with disabilities to engage in community events and satellite suburbs that force long commutes and leave little time for socialisation have all been identified as possible structural triggers. “We know that everyone is at risk of loneliness in periods of life transition,” says Tegan Cruwys, a psychological research fellow at Australian National University. “Whether that’s moving to university, becoming a mum, retiring from the workforce, changing jobs, moving cities. If you were someone who experienced loneliness during life transitions, that has less to do with you and much more to do with the world in which you are living.”

Kevin O’Neill is 56 and divorced in his early 40s. He says the transition from living with a wife and kids to living alone was tough. Things improved when he moved back to Keilor in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and reconnected with friends he grew up with.

Avril Hannah-Jones, a Uniting Church minister, is also considering the risks associated with that transition. “At the moment the time I spend alone is by choice, and is a relaxation from a very people-oriented job,” she says. “Maybe in retirement, if being alone is no longer by choice, I’ll feel more lonely.”

Brook says retirees can protect against the health risks of loneliness by joining one or two community groups or volunteer communities. “If you’re 65 and you retire and you just sort of potter around the house … your chances of dying within six years are 12% – that’s an early death,” she says. “If you retire at 65 and you join one interest group ... choir, knitting, woodworking, men’s shed, anything, your chances of dying in that six years has reduced by half.”

The risk of an early death decreases with every group or meaningful activity you join. “I think that’s a really profoundly simple but profoundly powerful message of optimism about this issue.” Cruwys says the social risk of retirement should be discussed and planned for as openly as the financial risks. There is a demonstrated connection between being financially strained, such as living on welfare or the pension, and an increased sense of isolation. “Staying connected costs money, so more financial aids should be provided, ” she says.

‘Loneliness minister’ proposed to handle Australian social isolation
Introduction to the problem	♦ Ten percent of Australians are affected by social isolation, while a higher     1       of them experience periods of emotional loneliness. ♦ With the Australian population       2    , rates of social isolation are expected to increase. ♦ The       3     of the problem requires government to be involved in it. ♦ Fiona Patten has advised that Victoria introduce a minister for loneliness to handle the growing health problem.
Causes of the problem	♦ Inconvenient       4    , a lack of support for community events and satellite suburbs all lead to loneliness. ♦ Everyone is most likely to feel lonely when their life changes from one state to another. ♦ Loneliness has more to do with the world where one is living than with     5    . ♦ Being financially strained is connected with an increased sense of being     6       isolated.
7    to the problem	♦ After       8     with his friends again, O’Neill does not feel lonely. ♦ Retirees will       9     their life by joining a club to protect against the health risks of loneliness. ♦ Offering financial aids to retirees is another way to       10     the risks of loneliness.

【推荐3】Many years ago，when I was in high school and working on weekends to pay for the extras that my family couldn’t really afford，I lost my wallet.

My old car needed gassing up. I prepaid and then put my wallet on the bumper（保险杠），and drove off. I hadn’t even had time to miss it when my phone rang and a man asked me if I had lost my wallet. I checked my pocket and to my surprise，I didn’t find my wallet. He asked me to tell him how much money was in it. He then told me where to pick up my wallet.

As I pulled into his driveway，I noticed his handicapped van（残疾人车）and the ramp going up to the house. I was thinking that there was no way this man easily got out of his van and got my wallet off the street. He had to pull over，get in his wheelchair，lower the lift，and then pick it up. I was just surprised. I felt grateful.

I knocked on the door and he told me to come in. I thanked him like 10 times for finding my wallet. I was stuck，though. While I didn’t want to insult him by offering money，I really felt like offering something. So I asked him if there was anything I could do to repay his kindness，and he said，“Just pass it on. ”I said I would be certain to do that. I was raised to be honest in any situation and I would have done so，without promising this fellow I would，but I wanted to repay his kindness，so I willingly promised I would.

1. Where did the writer lose his wallet?

A．At the shop.

B．At the gas station.

C．At the hospital.

D．At the garage.

2. We can know the man who picked up the wallet couldn’t _______ freely.

A．walk	B．hear
C．speak	D．see

3. What did the man ask the writer to do?

A．He asked the writer to be careful.

B．He asked the writer to pass his kindness on.

C．He asked the writer to repay his kindness.

D．He asked the writer to be honest.

4. What can we learn from the man’s action?

A．Where there’s a will there’s a way.

B．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

C．Good is rewarded with good.

D．Help others, but not ask for anything.

【推荐1】Dear Kind-Trustee-Who-Sends-Orphans-to-College,
Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train．It’s a funny feeling, isn’t it? I never rode in one before．
   College is the biggest, most puzzling place—I get lost whenever I leave my room. I will write you a description later when I'm feeling less confused; also I will tell you about my lessons. Classes don't begin until Monday morning, and this is Saturday night. But I wanted to write a letter first just to get acquainted.
It seems strange to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It seems strange for me to be writing letters at all—I've never written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if these are not a model kind.
Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very serious talk. She told me how to behave all the rest of my life, and especially how to behave towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for me. I must take care to be very respectful.
But how can one be very respectful to a person who wishes to be called John Smith? Why couldn't you have picked out a name with a little personality? I might as well write letters to Dear Flagpole or Dear Clothes-line.
I have been thinking about you a great deal this summer; having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable feeling. I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: I, You are tall. Ⅱ. You are rich. Ⅲ. You hate girls.
   I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's rather rude to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's rude to you, as though money were the only important thing about you. Besides, being rich is such a very external quality. Maybe you won't stay rich all your life; lots of very clever men get broke in Wall Street. But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I've decided to call you Dear Daddy-Long-Legs. I hope you won't mind. It's just a private pet name we won't tell Mrs. Lippett.
The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided into sections by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. It's very lifeful. There it goes! Lights out. Good night.
   Observe how precisely I obey rules--due to my training in the John Grier Home.
Yours most respectfully,
Jerusha Abbott
to Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith
1. Jerusha felt “confused” because ______.

A．she had never written to the trustee before

B．she was not familiar with the college yet

C．she could never find the way to her home

D．she had never traveled on a train berore

2. Jerusha thought that she couldn’t be very respectful to “John Smith” because _______．

A．he was a total stranger to her

B．she was sure it was a false identity

C．the name was too common

D．nobody would like to be called that name

3. The fact that her day is “divided into sections by bells” makes Jerusha feel______.

A．busy

B．restricted by rules

C．pressed for time

D．full of energy

4. Jerusha decided to call the trustee Dear Daddy-Long-legs______.

A．in order to show her respect for him

B．because it was one of his inner quality

C．in older to make them feel closer to each other

D．because she had always wanted a father

【推荐2】A couple had two little boys aged 8 and 10 who were very naughty．They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that if any trouble occurred in their town their sons were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman（牧师） in the town had been successful in educating children so she asked if he would speak with her boys．The clergyman agreed but asked to see them individually．So the mother sent her 8-year-old first in the morning with the elder boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming （嗡嗡） voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him strictly, "Where is God?"
The boy's mouth dropped open but he made no answer, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed．So the clergyman repeated the question in an even stricter tone "Where is God?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer．So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and shouted" Where is God?"
The boy screamed and escaped from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him．When his elder brother found him in the closet, he asked "What happened?"
The younger brother replied out of breath, "We are in big trouble this time．God is missing--and they think we did it．"
1. What were the two boys like?

A．They always made trouble．	B．They were brave.
C．They were easygoing.	D．They were honest.

2. What did their parents plan to do?

A．They gave up their children.

B．They liked their children very much.

C．They wanted the clergyman to persuade their children．

D．They helped their children to make trouble.

3. What do you suppose the boy felt when he was asked by the clergyman?

A．Happy．	B．Sad.
C．Afraid．	D．Surprised.

4. What do you think the underlined word "slamming" in Paragraph 5 means?

A．Open．

B．Shut．

C．Knock．

D．Pull.

【推荐3】Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the             shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down             without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous             areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different Spots for free. Larry didn’t even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful             underwater expedition.
1. In what way was this expedition different for Larry?

A．His daughter had grown up.

B．He had become a famous diver.

C．His father would dive with him.

D．His daughter would dive with him.

2. What can be inferred from Paragraph2?

A．Larry had some privileges.

B．Larry liked the rented diving suits.

C．Divers had to buy diving equipment.

D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive.

3. Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?

A．To protect himself from danger.

B．To dive into the deep water.

C．To admire the underwater view.

D．To take photo more conveniently.

4. What can be learned from the underlined sentence?

A．Larry didn’t wear a watch.

B．Larry was not good at math.

C．Larry had a poor memory.

D．Larry enjoyed the adventure.

5. What did Larry expect his daughter to do?

A．Become a successful diver.

B．Make a good diving guide.

C．Take a lot of photo underwater.

D．Have longer hours of training.