【推荐1】I was at the hardware store the other day and overheard a woman tell Ed., the manager, that fall was her favorite time of year. Ed., because he liked to keep his customers happy, agreed that fall was a wonderful season, but I could tell he was lying.

I was going through my mind recently, trying to find sweet memories of fall. I failed. I met my wife in the summer and married her two summers later. My sons were born in the winter and summer, my granddaughter in the winter. I’ve been fried twice in my life, both in fall. One October, a truck carrying tofu ran a red light and hit me, destroying my favorite car, combining the three things I most hate - trucks, tofu and October.

I'm not saying fall is without its attractions. The leaves are beautiful. But fall's vacillation (立场摇摆)is troubling, its effort (努力)to please everyone, its continuous search for the middle ground to be all things to all people. Say what you will about summer and winter, at least they have the courage to keep their opinions strong, even if they kill us with extreme heat or cold.

I recently read a story of a man coming out of a three-month coma (昏迷). It started in early fall and ended just as winter came. I hope if I were ever in a coma I would be just as lucky as the man.

Upon my awakening, one of my families who stood around my bed would ask. "Don't you remember anything from the past three months?"

"Not the first thing," I would happily report.

If I ever have enough money. I'm going to buy a second home in Australia, so that when fall starts here, I can move there for three months, just when spring is starting.

1. What did Ed think of the customers words according to the author?

A．Ed understood them and supported the customer completely.

B．Ed might hold a different opinion on the topic.

C．Ed believed the customer wasn't telling the truth.

D．Ed thought they stood for most peoples' opinion.

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A．The author has a big and loving family.

B．The author is having a hard time at work.

C．It is important to follow the rules of the road.

D．Nothing good has happened to the author in fall.

3. Why does the author say the man in Paragraph 4 was lucky?

A．Because he slept fall away.

B．Because he ho sweet memories of fall.

C．Because he dreamed of fill many times.

D．Because he was met by his family when waking up.

4. Which of the following does the author most want to do?

A．Drive tracks.	B．Eat tofu dishes.
C．Watch leaves falling in fall.	D．Move to Australia in October.

【推荐2】Cold Dew, the 17th solar term of the year, begins this year on Oct 8 and ends on Oct. 23. At this time, temperatures are much lower in most areas of China, The dew is greater and colder and there will be less rain. Autumn crops will be ripe.     1    

Foggy autumn

Temperatures drop significantly in October. The cold air encounters autumn rain.     2     When the humidity (湿度) is high, there will be foggy regions formed in many areas of China.

Season for fishing

People always say that fishing in shallow water in autumn does make sense.     3     Fish all swim to shallow water areas where the water temperature is relatively high.

Season for drinking chrysanthemum (菊花) wine

    4     To prevent autumn dryness, many regions in China have the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine. This is a tradition of the Double Ninth Festival, which often falls around Cold Dew. According to ancient records, drinking the wine made with chrysanthemums grants people long lasting youth.

    5    

During Cold Dew, North China takes on a look of late autumn with white clouds, red leaves and early frost. On the day of the Double Ninth Festival people often climb hills with comes, a kind of plant. This custom aims to dispel evils, and originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220).

A．a great time for hiking

B．Season for eating outside.

C．Chrysanthemum is the typical flower of Cold Dew.

D．Here are four things you should know about Cold Dew.

E．The abundant water vapor (蒸汽) turns into misty rain or fog.

F．Extracts of the Chrysanthemum have long been used in makeup.

G．Temperatures decrease quickly and sunshine cannot reach the deep water thoroughly.

【推荐3】The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Major Snow, the 21st solar term of the year, begins this year on Dec 7 and ends on Dec 20.     1    . Here are five things you should know.

Snowy winter

    2    , breaking tree branches and blocking the road. In the south, snowflakes fall and the world turns white. A proverb about the snow says, “A timely snow promises a good harvest”. As the snow covers the ground, the low winter temperature kills pests.

Appreciating plum blossoms

Plum blossoms usually flower in mid-to-late December in some southern cities of China, and sometimes bloom even earlier. The plum blossom is admired in Chinese culture for its toughness during severe winters.

Eating lamb

Lamb is a favorite food for Chinese people during Major Snow.     3    . People in Chongqing like to have potted lamb soup or stewed lamb soup with their families and friends.

Eating porridge

Hot porridge could help warm you and nourish (滋养) your body in cold weather. In China, it’s customary to eat red bean porridge on the first day of Major Snow.     4    , such as wheat porridge, sesame porridge, radish porridge, walnut porridge and tuckahoe porridge.

Preventing lung illness

During this period, Chinese people watch for outbreaks of lung illness, which can be prevented by properly drinking water. During Major Snow, it’s drier and colder, so people should drink more water. But you should not drink too much water at once.     5    .

A．In addition, there are other varieties

B．People in southern China make sausages

C．The snow falls at night and melts in the day

D．Don’t drink cold water after exercise, either

E．The snow in North China may last a whole day

F．It’s excellent for protecting the body against the cold

G．During this period, the temperature drops significantly

【推荐1】As the world sees more and more extreme weather patterns, it's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the effects of climate change.     1     Because of this, a type called climate fiction, or cli-fi, has found new life.

The term "cli-fi" was first used in 2007 by US climate activist and writer Dan Bloom.    2     According to Bloom, the term really gained popularity when Canadian writer Margaret Atwood used it in a tweet, introducing it to her half-a-million followers.

    3    These kinds of books can help us imagine what the world might be like in the future because of major climate change events.

The genre is also gaining popularity with high school and college students because it looks at topics that are relevant to what's really happening today.    4    

Cli-fi has also helped to inspire students to pursue science majors, with some universities even offering courses specifically focusing on climate fiction.

“These books aren't going to save the world in any straight form or way: Johns-Putra commented.” “    5    ”

As Atwood wrote in her dystopian cli-fi novel MaddAddam, “People need such stories, because however dark, a darkness with voices in it is better than a silent void (空间)”.

A．He considered cli-fi would be popular with young readers.

B．He wanted to make "climate fiction" more appealing.

C．But they're certainly going to help us think about how the world gets saved.

D．It is now a common topic of discussion and has even found its way into the books we read.

E．It's a feedback, as these books feed into our awareness and that feeds into our demand to read these books.

F．As the name suggests, climate fiction refers to stories with the central theme of climate change or global warming.

G．Also, many cli-fi novels tend to have dystopian (反乌托邦的) themes, which are very popular in young adult novels.