【推荐1】I’m Alice. From childhood, my sister and I each received a new calendar every Christmas from my parents. And even though we shared a bedroom and could have shared a calendar, too, we always got our own. My sister is three years younger than me, and for many years she requested a teddy bear calendar. My calendars always contained photos of a princess.

Even after I began my family, I still told my husband there was only one Christmas present I’d want most every year—a family photo calendar. And each year, he’s delivered.

Each month of my calendar features a few photos taken in the same month of the year that just passed. These photos are a way for our family to revisit fun events or to realize just how much my son Ryan has grown in one year.

At the end of the year, the completed calendar will go on the bookshelf with every other photo calendar that’s come before it. Through those calendars you can know what our family was like then—what we looked like the year before and how we will fill our days in the new year.

When I was a kid, unwrapping(打开) each new calendar gave me a sense of hope and promise for the year to come. Times have changed. Now, unwrapping the new calendar is different. I feel a sense of pride and joy when I look at our family and revisit our good times. But there is also a sense of sadness when I realize how big Ryan has gotten.

As I look through the pages, I don’t know exactly what the year ahead will hold for us. However, we can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious(意识到的) of our treasures(宝藏).

And that is the true gift.

1. What can we learn about Alice’s childhood from paragraph 1?

A．Alice and her sister both had a bedroom of their own.

B．They shared only a calendar because they were poor.

C．It’s a tradition to receive a new calendar each year.

D．Alice had a miserable time with her younger sister.

2. What does Alice’s yearly completed photo calendar bring Alice now?

A．A time capsule(胶囊).	B．Knowledge.
C．A rubbish bag.	D．A family tree.

3. What feelings does unwrapping each new calendar bring Alice now?

A．Promising.	B．Mixed.
C．Sad.	D．Joyful.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．My Wonderful Childhood	B．The Use of a Calendar
C．A Year at a Time	D．A Timeless Gift

【推荐2】It lasted just 24 seconds, but it’s an unforgettable moment that has caught hearts everywhere. During a basketball game at Zeeland East High School in Zeeland, Michigan, the crowd fell quiet, giving high school junior Jules Hoogland an opportunity to take a shot.

Hoogland, who is blind, followed along as a woman tapped (轻敲) a yellow pole against the backboard and a teammate guided her to the perfect position. Thirteen seconds later, the 11th grader nailed a free throw and the silent audience erupted in roaring cheers and applause.

Zeeland Public Schools shared the extraordinary moment, filmed by Brandy Navetta, the school district’s communications and marketing director on Twitter, along with the words, “You thought national basketball tournaments were infusive, but Zeeland Public Schools Unified Basketball took over the court this morning. And the crowd went wild!”

Hoogland’s mom Karen said she was so proud of her achievement. She also praised the young students for their respect and sensitivity towards her daughter. Hoogland set a new record on what blind people can achieve and wanted this video to inspire all those who are facing challenges. “I’m hoping this video will inspire others to keep trying no matter what their challenges are,” she said.

Students from both Zeeland East and Zeeland West High School witnessed Hoogland’s uplifting shot, part of an inclusive basketball game with zLinks. Nathan VandeGuchte, a special education teacher with Zeeland West, added that inclusive sports has made a significant impact on students at Zeeland schools since the zLinks program started. “It was so moving to see Hoogland hit that shot again in front of 2,500 people,” said Nathan. “The lens (视角) with which many of our special education students are viewed has now been forever changed. They know that they are important, and they recognize that they are contributing members of our student body!”

1. Why did the crowd go wild as Hoogland nailed a free throw?

A．Because she couldn’t see.	B．Because she was competitive.
C．Because it was her first shot.	D．Because it was the end of the game.

2. What does the underlined word “infusive” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Addictive.	B．Puzzling.
C．Informative.	D．Exciting.

3. What message does Hoogland convey to us through her story?

A．Dream big, dream early.	B．Never fear to fight challenges.
C．Interest is the best teacher.	D．The more one does, the more one can do.

4. What can we infer about the special education students from Nathan’s words?

A．They were usually overestimated.

B．They got confidence from the program.

C．They should be given more opportunities.

D．They were eager to explore the unknown.

【推荐3】Founder and Creative Director, Zeelicious Foods, Winifred Emmanuel Nwania has said that her love for cooking is a passion that has grown into a cooking business. While very few people have the perseverance(毅力) and diligence to go after their dreams, and make it a successful career, she is among the few living out their dreams.

Nwania grew up in Lagos with her mom and six siblings. She enjoyed a loving relationship with her dad, who passed away when she was only 12 years of age. Losing him aroused an intense desire to succeed within her. She decided making a success of her life will be the most ideal way to honour her absent father and make her dogged mother proud of the woman she raised. She grew up deprived(剥夺) of most of the comforts her father provided for the family. But, she didn’t let this bother her. Instead she learned to turn all the sour lemons life threw at her into sweet lemonade.

After graduating from the University of Lagos, with a degree in Economics, she landed a high-paying job with an oil and gas firm in Lagos. Her career seemed to have taken off to a flying start. But her heart was pulling her in a different direction. With zero business connections, and little to no savings, she quit her job. And the Zeelicious Foods brand was born.

“Frankly, I didn’t know much about business. I just knew I love to cook and I love to see people enjoy my culinary creations. I also loved helping the people who contacted me asking for recipes and cooking tips. I knew if I did this for the rest of my life I will be one of the happiest women in the world”, Nwania said.

Zeelicious Foods is now making inroads onto the big screen. The cooking show airs on free TV channels in Nigeria and Ghana. And talks are ongoing for it to get picked up by seven other TV stations across Africa. But, this young lady isn’t done yet. Nwania is working on two cookbooks for healthy eaters. She’s also working on completing the new Zeelicious website, which she’s so excited about.

1. Which of the following words best describes Nwania?

A．Brave and calm.	B．Generous and caring.
C．Perseverant and optimistic.	D．Hardworking and cautious.

2. Why did Nwania set up Zeelicious Foods?

A．She wanted to make her father proud.

B．She wanted to follow her inner voice.

C．She wanted to provide comforts for her family.

D．She found her career in the oil and gas firm not rewarding.

3. What does Nwania’s story tell us?

A．The first step is the hardest.

B．He who laughs last laughs longest.

C．Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

D．A good beginning makes a good ending.

【推荐1】This time there was no showboating for the cameras — or dark and long nights of the soul. Instead, on a heart-warming afternoon at the Genting Snow Park, the Winter Olympics witnessed the greatest story in its history.

For 16 years Lindsey Jacobellis has been known as the snowboarder who was miles clear of the Turin 2006 Olympics board cross final — until she fell on the last jump while showing off by taking a celebratory grab (抓取) of her board. It was an act that turned gold into silver, and led to her spending years trying to process what had happened. Yet somehow, in her fifth Olympics, the woman sprang a considerable shock by finally winning a gold medal at the age of 36.

For good measure, her gold in the snowboard cross was also her nation’s first of these Games. As Jacobellis motored towards the finish in the final, she could hear the French boarder Chloé Trespeuch closing. But this time she wasn’t going to let gold slip away. Afterwards she acknowledged that without that mistake in 2006 she may never have won gold in Beijing. “ Probably not, and I probably would have quit the sport at that point because I wasn’t really having fun with it. There was so much pressure on me to be the golden girl. I’d won so many races going into it and it’s a lot for a young athlete to have on their plate, ” she said.

But this day was mostly about Jacobellis, a five-time snowboard cross world champion, who finally secured the first prize. Afterwards she said that when she got to the start line of the final, she felt unusually calm. She said, “ They can keep talking about it all they want. Because it really shaped me into the person that I am. It kept me hungry and really helped me to keep fighting in the sport. ”

1. What does the author mainly want to convey in Paragraph 1?

A．There were dark and long nights in the winter of Beijing.

B．There was a champion born in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

C．There was a heart-warming story happening in the boating race.

D．There was the greatest photo taken in the competition in 2022.

2. Why did Lindsey Jacobellis fail to get a gold medal in 2006?

A．She fell on her last jump as grabbing her board to celebrate.

B．She had a mental disorder during her board cross competition.

C．She had her leg broken while training before the competition.

D．She was forbidden to join in the competition for some reason.

3. What does the author think of Lindsey Jacobellis?

A．Warm-hearted.	B．Strong-minded.
C．Well-educated.	D．Born-gifted.

4. What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?

A．To stress the power of social media.	B．To mark an experience of an athlete.
C．To show the importance of not giving up.	D．To share the greatest joy with others.

【推荐2】Benjamin Alexander, a 38-year-old man from Northampton shire, became the first athlete to represent Jamaica in an alpine skiing event (高山滑雪) at the Winter Olympics.

But his story started in 2015. When he saw friends did the sport so skillfully, he was in awe and decided to take a ski lesson.” That first time, I fell 27 times on the way down the hill. I think a lot of people would have given up at that point.” “But I kind of just took that as the baseline. If I can aim for falling less than 27 times on the next hill, then I am progressing.”

However, it wasn’t until two years later that Benjamin considered seriously competing in the sport. “In 2018, I went to the Winter Olympics as a spectator,” he said. “I noticed that there were only three athletes representing Jamaica. I found that very strange since my mother country is a powerhouse full of athletes in the summer game. So coming into 2019, I just had a plan to say, ‘Let’s see if this crazy idea of going to the Olympics is even possible. Let’s just go and ski for a little while and see what happens.’” he said.

Alexander has no full-time coach. He built a support network that included Stokes and the US skier Gordon Gray, who called Alexander’s technique “terrible” but thought his lack of fear would give him an advantage in competition. A strategic approach and fearless technique have led the engineering graduate and former DJ not only to make sporting history but find success as a black athlete in a historically white sport. Alexander bills himself as a “reinvention expert” and has used skills learned in his other careers to develop his pursuit of skiing success. “I’ve been to 67 countries. I’ve spent a lot of my life on the road.” he said. “I’ve always loved to travel and a big part of my previous role as a DJ was getting myself out there, marketing myself in the right way, figuring out ways to get into venues, clubs and festivals that I wanted to perform at.”

1. What made Benjamin decide to compete in Olympics?

A．His love for his motherland.	B．His friends’ encouragement.
C．His desire to change his life.	D．His enthusiasm for alpine skiing.

2. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The challenges Benjamin met.	B．The advantages Benjamin has.
C．The way of Benjamin’s training.	D．The reason behind Benjamin’s success.

3. What can we learn from Benjamin Alexander?

A．Better late than never.	B．Failure is the mother of success.
C．Never judge a book by its cover.	D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

4. In which column will you read this passage on the Internet?

A．Entertainment.

B．Health.

C．Sports.

D．Culture.