【推荐1】On a farm in England, Gavin and Alice Munro are taking sustainability to the next level: they harvest trees which they grow into chairs.

The couple have a furniture（家具）farm in Derbyshire where they are growing 250 chairs, 100 lamps and 550 tables. It is their answer to what they see as the inefficient（无效率的）process of cutting down mature trees to create furniture.

"Instead of force-growing a tree for 50 years and then cutting it down and making it into smaller and smaller bits…the idea is to grow the tree into the shape that you want directly. It’s like a kind of 3D printing, "said Gavin.

Part of the inspiration for the idea came when Gavin was a young boy. He spotted an overgrown bonsai tree（盆栽） which looked like chair.

The 44-year-old began experimenting in 2006. In 2012, Gavin and Alice set up the company Full Grown. Within several years, the couple developed the most effective way to shape a tree without limiting its growth. They guided shoots（嫩枝）already heading in the right direction, rather than force them the wrong way against their natural growth.

The average chair takes six to nine years to grow-and another year to dry out. The labor and time involved in producing the organic pieces means they do not come cheap. Chairs sell for ￡10,000 each, lamps for ￡900 to ￡2,300 and tables for ￡2,500 to ￡12,500.

1. How could the couple grow trees into a shape they needed?

A．They used 3D printing.

B．They limited their growth.

C．They forced trees into different shapes.

D．They guided their shoots in the right direction.

2. When did Gavin get the idea of growing furniture?

A．When he was a child.	B．When they got married.
C．When they bought the farm.	D．When they began experimenting in 2006.

3. Which can best describe the furniture?

A．Big and eco-friendly.	B．Natural but expensive.
C．Hand-made and creative.	D．Traditional but organic.

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

A．A Couple Grow Furniture	B．Expensive Grown Chairs
C．It’s A Good Try Of Sustainability	D．Grown Trees Gain Popularity

【推荐2】阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

In a memory – based competition between you and a chimp (猩猩); who do you think would win? If you put yourself on top, you might want to guess again.

In a test that challenged participants to remember numbers, a young chimp performed better than Japanese college students.

Here's how the test worked. At Kyoto University in Japan, human students and chimpanzee participants sat in front of a computer. Five numbers, ranging from 1 to 9, were combined with one another and then, they appeared at random places on the screen.

The numbers stayed on the screen for less than a second. In the first test, for example, participants saw the numbers for 650 milliseconds (about two- thirds of a second).

Then, each number disappeared and they saw a white square instead. Participants had to touch the squares in numerical order, based on the numbers that had been there a moment before.

In this test, the students touched the boxes in the correct order about 80 percent of the time. A young chimp named Ayumu performed equally well.

During a harder test, participants were only able to see the numbers for 210 milliseconds.

This time, students only succeeded in putting the boxes in the correct order about 40 percent of the time. But Ayumustill could select the boxes in the right order nearly 80 percent of the time.

Some people have what's called a "photographic memory", which allows them to remember a surprising number of details after just a quick glimpse of something. Ayumu's memory might work in a similar way, says lead researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa.

The chimp's young age might have something to do with his impressive performance, too. In previous tests, the Japanese researchers found that young chimps performed better than their mothers.

The scientists are interested to see whether Ayumu loses his strong memory as he arrows older. They already know that young children sometimes have sharp memories when offered something photographical, but they lose this ability over time.

Topic	A     1     competition between human beings and chimps
Purpose	To judge whose memory is better
The    2     of the first test	◆A chimp and some Japanese students participated in the competition and sat before a computer. ◆Different     3       of five numbers appeared on the screen. ◆Each of the number was     4     by a white square.
The results of the second test	◆Students     5       to put the boxes in the right order about 40% of the time. ◆Ayumu got the right order     6     the time of the students
Conclusion	◆Some people have “photographic memory”,     7     some people to remember numbers after they     8     at something. ◆The chimps have the similar     9     to human beings’. ◆Young children, just like chimps, have strong memory but they’ll lose it when they    10    .

【推荐1】Do you live in a city? You’ve probably noticed how noisy and crowded life in a city can be. What if you could live next to a calm lake instead?

As it turns out, living near bodies of water – lakes, rivers, ponds, even oceans – can help us feel both happier and healthier. Those who live less than a kilometer from the coast are around 22 percent less likely to have mental health problems than those who live 50 kilometers or more away, according to a study by researchers from the University of Exeter, UK. People who visit the coast at least twice a week tend to experience better general and mental health as well.

So how does “blue space” make us feel better? For one thing, aquatic environments tend to have less pollution and more sunlight, both of which are linked to better mental and physical health. People who get more sun tend to be happier than those who do not.

There’s also the air above the sea. After spending time near the ocean, you might find that you feel more relaxed than usual. This is because sea air is filled with negative ions（负离子）. These ions balance our levels of serotonin（血清素）, a chemical that affects our moods. With balanced serotonin levels, we feel more calm and relaxed, according to Daily Mail.

Finally, people who live near water tend to be more physically active, according to the Guardian. Water sports like swimming and rowing can help us stay in shape, which in turn keeps us healthy.

1. What did the researchers from the University of Exeter find?

A．Living near water can improve our mental health.

B．An increasing number of people don’t like living in cities.

C．Living near water has more advantages than living in cities.

D．People with mental health problems mainly come from cities.

2. The underlined word “aquatic” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to “_____”.

A．natural

B．outdoor

C．oceanic

D．clean

3. What do we know about negative ions?

A．They are chemicals in our bodies.

B．They can only be found in sea air.

C．They can help people reduce stress.

D．They increase serotonin in our bodies.

4. In which column can you find this passage?

A．Health.

B．Travel.

C．Environment.

D．Entertainment.

【推荐2】You probably laugh at something you find funny, but how much do you really know about jokes and humour? Reader's Digest (RD) questioned several experts to give us some facts about them.

RD: What’s the oldest joke in the world?

“We can't know the oldest joke in the world because it would have existed earlier than writing,” says Christie Davies, professor of sociology at the University of Reading in the UK. The oldest joke book that's been found so far is the Greek Philogelos. It dates from the 4th century AD, although the jokes date from an earlier time. According to psychologist Steve Wilson, director of National Humor Month (April in the US), it contains 265 jokes.

RD: Do some people fail to develop a sense of humour?

Rod Martin, professor of psychology at the Western University in Canada, believes that while everyone is born without a sense of humour, as we develop, humour and laughter begin to appear. “Of course, some children are more serious, quiet, and less likely to laugh frequently, but this doesn't mean they don't have a sense of humour.” And according to Steve Wilson, there are no adults who don't have a sense of humour. “Almost everyone is able to develop a sense of humour, and I teach people how,” he says.

RD: Do people share a sense of humour unique to their own nation?

Sense of humour does differ a lot by country, according to an author named Scott Weems. British humour is thought to be absurd (荒谬的) in nature, while American humour has an aggressive quality. According to a study, Germans are found to find everything funny.

1. What do we know about the oldest joke book?

A．It remains unknown.	B．It was written in Greek.
C．It was found in the UK.	D．It contains the oldest joke.

2. What does Rod Martin agree with about people's sense of humour?

A．Nobody is born with a sense of humour.

B．Some adults lose it when they grow up.

C．Childhood is the best time to develop such ability.

D．Children have a poorer sense of humour than adults.

3. What kind of humour has an aggressive feature?

A．British humour.	B．German humour.
C．Canadian humour.	D．American humour.

4. Where can you probably find the text?

A．In a popular magazine.	B．In a research paper.
C．In a personal diary.	D．In a textbook.

【推荐1】Hundreds of years ago, Native-American tribes lived in Mexico. The Aztecs built beautiful cities. They had a calendar (历法) and a written language. However, the Spanish destroyed the Aztecs in l521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That’s why Mexicans speak Spanish.
Every September l6 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country’s capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled. Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.
Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn’t always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from l846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.
Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.
1. According to the passage, what happened second on historical timeline?

A．Mexicans declared their independence from Spain.

B．The Spanish ruled Mexico.

C．The Aztecs lived in Mexico.

D．Americans fought a war with Mexico.

2. The passage says that President Polk wanted ________.

A．the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean

B．Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th

C．Mexico to become one of the states of the Union

D．Americans to adopt the Mexican language

3. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ________.

A．inspect	B．cover
C．change	D．determine

4. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ________.

A．building styles	B．vocabulary
C．clothes	D．food

5. Before the Aztecs were conquered(征服), these Native Americans probably ________.

A．didn’t speak Spanish

B．couldn’t read or write any language

C．didn’t have tools

D．didn’t understand the concept of time

【推荐3】Life beneath the sea surface can be lovely and lively. But many organisms there produce poisonous chemicals to hunters. Divers are now collecting such poisons as drugs for human medicine.

Sharks aren't the scariest things in the ocean for scientists who dive to work. Powerful currents, creating where the ocean floor drops away, can be just as deadly. But the scientists who work underwater are trained to deal with these dangers. The rewards of research and underwater adventures are greater than the risks.

The sea may seem like a strange place to look for new drugs. But organisms in the ocean have had to adapt to a tough environment. The chemicals they make for survival might help people, too. More than 50 years ago, scientists discovered a new anti­cancer drug in a sea sponge. Since then, researchers have been hunting for more of such useful natural products in the seas.

With the help of underwater robots and small submarines, scientists are searching the seas—from shallow reefs to the ocean's great depths.

Bacteria living in the Arctic's cold waters break down their food using more different ways than organisms on land do. This process of turning food into energy for growth, activities and reproduction is called metabolism (新陈代谢). These pathways also produce chemicals called “secondary metabolites”. One day they also might help people.

During a four­year project called PharmaSeas, scientists made thousands of extracts from those seafloor samples. In about a dozen of them, researchers found mixtures that can kill bacteria that some of today's antibiotics (抗生素) cannot kill. Three other newfound chemicals reduce epileptic seizures (癫痫病发作) in mice. Yet another compound may reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

1. Why do sea organisms produce chemicals?

A．To warn themselves in the sea.	B．To benefit other creatures.
C．To change their environment.	D．To struggle for survival.

2. In what way does Arctic bacteria differ from organisms on land according to the text?

A．Medicinal value.	B．The way of hunting.
C．The way of breaking down food.	D．Importance to humans.

3. What is special about the mixtures from seafloor samples?

A．They have the same effects as today's medicine.

B．They have unique functions.

C．They can treat most diseases.

D．They can kill all bacteria.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Diving for New Medicines	B．Threats from the Ocean
C．Future Sources of Bacteria	D．Danger of Diving in the Sea