【推荐1】On a number of drives throughout my childhood, my mother would suddenly pull over the car to examine a flower by the side of the road or rescue a beetle from tragedy while I, in my late teens and early twenties, sat impatiently in the car.

Though Mother’s Day follows the Earth Day, for me, they have always been related to each other. My mum has been “green” since she became concerned about the environment. Part of this habit was born of thrift(节俭). Like her mother and her grandmother before her, mum saves glass jars, empty cheese containers and reuses her plastic bags.

Mum creates a kind of harmonious relationship with wildlife in her yard. She knows to pick the apples on her trees a little early to avoid the bears and that if she leaves the bird feeders out at night, it is likely that they will be knocked down by a family of raccoons(浣熊). Spiders that make their way into the house and are caught in juice glasses will be set loose in the garden.

I try to teach my children that looking out for the environment starts with being aware of the environment. On busy streets, we look for dandelions(蒲公英)to fly in the wind; we say hello to neighborhood cats and pick up plastic cups and paper bags. This teaching comes easily, I realize, because I was taught so well by example. Mum didn’t need to lecture; she didn’t need to beat a drum to change the world. She simply slowed down enough to enjoy living in it and with that joy came mercy and an instinct for protection.

I am slowing down and it isn’t because of the weight of my nearly forty years on the planet. It is out of my concern for the planet itself. I’ve begun to save glass jars and reuse packing envelops. I pause in my daily tasks to watch the squirrels race each other in the trees above my house.

Last summer, in the company of my son and daughter, I planted tomatoes in my yard. With the heat of August around me, I ate the first while sitting on my low wall with dirt on my hands. Warm from the sun, it burst on my tongue with a sweetness. I immediately wanted to share with my mum.

1. Why does the author say the Earth Day is connected with Mother’s Day?

A．Because Mother’s Day always falls shortly after the Earth Day.

B．To stress that all the women in her family are environmentalists.

C．To stress how much her mother cares about the environment.

D．Because her mother shows her concern to nature on Mother’s Day.

2. Which of the following in NOT related to Mum’s “green life”?

A．Rescuing a beetle from a certain tragedy.

B．Saving glass jars, empty cheese containers.

C．Setting a caught spider free in the garden.

D．Picking dandelions on busy streets.

3. We can infer from the article that .

A．the author realizes that she should teach her children by example as well

B．the author’s mother knows how to get rid of the wildlife in her yard

C．the author believes that only by learning to slow down can we enjoy life

D．the author’s mother used to lecture her to protect the environment

4. What can be learned from the last paragraph?

A．Tomatoes make the author think of her mother.

B．The author likes eating tomatoes planted by herself.

C．Planting tomatoes is a way of protecting environment.

D．The author really appreciates her mother’s teaching.

【推荐2】My sister Jeanne and I were born only 14 months apart, but by the time we were teenagers we had lost touch. By age 19, I had moved away from our home in Wisconsin to live on my father's horse farm in Virginia. Jeanne got married at 18 and moved to Chicago. We lived separate lives, and our connection somehow ended.

Fast-forward about five years. I was 24 and on a trip with my fiancé to New York City, a place I had never been. It was overwhelming. I was used to riding my horse to the comer store where everyone knew everyone and everything going on in the quiet little town of Driver, Virginia. We went to Little Italy, the Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, and several Manhattan clubs. I had never seen so many taxicabs in one spot in my life.

During a day of sightseeing, we were crossing a very busy street loaded with people. Everyone was in a hurry, hustling and bustling. I had laughed at something my fiancé said, and I suddenly heard my name yelled from somewhere behind me: “Cheryl!” I froze in my steps in the middle of the road. Tears welled up uncontrollably in my eyes. I knew without a doubt that it was my sister Jeanne. I yelled back before even turning to look, “Jeanne?”

It was her. “Oh my God!” I screamed, and I began pushing people out of my way to get to her. The crowd started to part—even by New York standards, we must have seemed crazy. And there we were, standing in the middle of a Manhattan street, facing each other and smiling.

I later asked how she'd known it was me—she never saw me! She said it was my laugh. I wouldn't say my laugh is all that unusual, but I guess to a family member it's infectious. It hits your heart and echoes in your mind.

Since that time, my sister and I have never been separated. We both moved back to Wisconsin. We talk daily. Many years have passed, and we are now in our 50s. Our meeting by chance wasn't just a sign. I see it as more of a lesson, a reminder not to lose touch with loved ones.

1. What can we infer about the author according to Paragraph 2?

A．Riding was her favorite way of travelling.

B．She was shocked to see the scenes in New York.

C．She was a big figure in the little town of Driver.

D．The sightseeing didn't leave her a deep impression.

2. The author mentions “even by New York standards" in Paragraph 4 to          .

A．compare different people's reactions	B．emphasize how excited they were then
C．show how crazy people are in New York	D．state she has known more about the city life

3. In the author's eyes, why could her sister recognize her laugh?

A．Because the street was quiet enough.	B．Because it had some particular features.
C．Because it stayed in her sister's memory.	D．Because they were apart for only 14 months.

4. What's the best title for the text?

A．Life: A Journey Full of Wonders	B．Family: A Source of Happiness
C．Laugh: The Most Familiar Sound	D．Hometown: The Destination of Our Life

【推荐1】Conor Grennan was unwilling to be a volunteer. The 29-year-old American was not sure if he had the skills or a strong feeling for it.

However, he went to work at an orphanage in Nepal. His first thought was to make people impressed.

"I thought that if I volunteered just once, I could retell the story over and over," Grennan said in a Huffington Post article.

However, his three-month stay in the orphanage turned into an unusual experience. It was in 2004 and Grennan had given up his job to begin a year-long around-the-world trip. His first three months were spent in Nepal.

When he arrived in the village, he knew nothing about the children or the local culture. When he opened the gate of the Little Princes Children's Home, he was faced by the excited children.

The young American ended up caring for 18 children. He later discovered that they were trafficked children. So he walked through the mountains with great difficulty to find the kids' families. "I started walking with photos of the kids," he told the Reuter's reporter. "I would show up in villages and show photographs around. I went with 24 photos, and I found 24 families."

At the same time, he put his heart into Nepalese culture.

Grennan said, "Volunteering is the single best way to see how the rest of the world lives."

He also encouraged others to do what he had done. He believes that volunteering needs only making decisions to show up.

Grennan's fight against child-trafficking has changed him. His book, Little Prince, came out last week.

1. At first, Grennan simply wanted to ________ by volunteering in Nepal.

A．write travel stories

B．learn the skills

C．help the kids there

D．impress people

2. When Grennan came to the Little Prince Children's Home, ________.

A．18 children were ill in bed	B．the children there felt excited
C．he decided to give up his job	D．he'd lived in Nepal for a year

3. From the passage we can learn that Grennan________.

A．found the kids' families easily	B．was good at taking pictures
C．wrote the book Little Prince	D．asked others to go to Nepal

4. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Volunteering changes a lot.	B．Volunteering is with the kids.
C．A volunteer becomes a writer.	D．A volunteer travels in Nepal.

【推荐3】阅读理解。
Chicago’s children’s Hospital is the lucky receiver of a surprise $18million gift from Gladys Holm．She once was a secretary who never earned more than $15000 a year and never married．She lived alone in a small flat in Chicago，and was a volunteer at the Children’s Hospital．She was called the “Teddy Bear lady” because she brought toy animals to sick children on her regular visits．But Miss Holm，who died in 1996 at the age of   86 ，was also a long-time buyer of stocks(股票)．Over the years，she saved money that rose up to $18 million ，which she left to the Children’s Hospital ．It was the largest single donation in the hospital’s 115-year   history．The hospital president，Jan Jennings，was shocked when she heard the news “when Miss Holm’s lawyer called to tell me how much that money was，I asked him to repeat it ，since I was certain I had misheard．”
Why did Gladys Holm fell so strongly about the Children’s Hospital? Jennings said the hospital first touched Miss Holm’s heart nearly 50 years ago，when doctors there saved the life of her friend’s daughter．She never forgot the happiness she felt all those years ago．
Holm’s gift will be devoted to heart disease research．People at the hospital said they regretted that they couldn’t thank Miss Holm for the surprising gift．
1. According to the text ，Miss Holm built up her fortune by_______．

A．playing Teddy Bear Lady

B．working as a secretary

C．helping in the hospital

D．buying stocks

2. Why did Jan Jennings ask the lawyer to repeat what he said?

A．she never expected Miss Holm would donate anything．

B．she want to make sure who Gladys Holm was

C．she had seldom received donations before

D．she thought there was a mistake

3. Miss Holm’s love for the Children’s Hospital grew from_______．

A．a happy life living with children

B．a satisfying job given by the hospital

C．an unforgettable experience many years ago

D．a valuable gift she received from the hospital

4. How will the donated money be used?

A．To built up a new children’s hospital

B．To help sick children and their parents

C．To improve research on heart disease

D．To buy more toys for sick children