【推荐1】Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.

On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said goodbye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.

“Wait a minute, sir, ” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!” Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry, “Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam!I didn’t mean it!”

Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women. ”She thought.

1. We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was________.

A．a conductor .	B．a worker.
C．a thief   .	D．an umbrella maker.

2. Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?________

A．Because he was lost in thought.

B．Because it was much like his own umbrella.

C．Because he thought the woman would not notice it.

D．Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown.

3. When looking at Mr. Brown with four umbrellas, the woman felt________.

A．surprised .	B．angry.
C．fortunate	D．sad.

4. How did Mr. Brown get the four umbrellas?________

A．He picked them on the train.

B．He brought them from his small town.

C．He bought them in London.

D．He stole them from four women.

【推荐3】The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.
　　Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
　　Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.
　　It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.
　　Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.
1. According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.

A．his special tricks and supernatural power	B．his unusual ability and a skeleton key
C．his magic tricks and supernatural powers	D．his wisdom and magic tricks

2. In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.

A．his first prison escape	B．the year 1898
C．the publicity	D．Harry Houdini’s success

3. It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.

A．in 1894	B．before he married
C．at the age of 17	D．when he was about 24

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

A．A Skeleton Key	B．A Man of Many Secrets
C．World-wild Fame	D．Great Escape

【推荐2】Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.

We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.

I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.

I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.

I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity(囚禁) my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.

The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.

Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”

Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.

1. Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?

A．He had just got a new cage.	B．He liked its beautiful feather.
C．He wanted it to sing for him.	D．He wanted a pet for a companion.

2. The mockingbird died because it ______.

A．was frightened to death	B．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
C．refused to eat anything	D．drank the poisonous water by mistake

3. An ornithologist probably means ______.

A．a religious person	B．a kind person
C．a schoolmaster	D．an expert in birds

4. What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?

A．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.

B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long.

C．You should keep the birds from their mother.

D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds.

【推荐3】School had just started in August when Conner began throwing up for no reason. It wasn’t long before the boy also began suffering terrible headaches. In February, a 1.7-inch tumor was found in his brain and Conner was set to begin to receive radiation treatments. Before treatments start, technicians make a white plastic mask to keep patients immovable and protect unaffected parts of the brain while radiation is directed at the tumor.

It’s an unpleasant experience and a frightening time. The doctor Cook decided that the masks could at least be made to look like something fun—maybe Batman or Mickey Mouse. “I started thinking these masks are white and not fun at all for kids,” she told The Greenville News. “I felt like if we could make it a little more fun for them, they might be a little more excited about coming in for the treatment. Because the kids are afraid. While the treatment itself isn’t physically painful, it can cause a lot of anxiety. And the treatment is required daily for up to six weeks.” And the masks really make a difference. “The kids really like them,” Cook said. “It makes what is, let’s face it, a terrible experience, a nice experience because they get to choose something themselves.”

When new children come in for the treatment, Cook finds out what their favorite movies or cartoon characters are. Then she sets about creating the mask by drawing the image she wants onto paper, sticking it with glue, and once it’s dry, she applies the colors using paints. Each child can take the mask home once the treatment ends.

“Coming to the doctor always means fear and pain. I wanted to make it fun,” she said. “The kids really love it. It’s something they enjoy and can relate to. And it fills an interest I have. I get great pleasure from it.”

1. Why was the plastic mask used according to Paragraph1?

A．To check the patient’s brain.	B．To reduce the patient’s headache.
C．To prevent the patient from throwing up.	D．To protect the patient’s brain during the treatment.

2. What can we know about the radiation treatment?

A．It can be received at home.	B．It has to be finished in a month.
C．It may make the patients feel worried.	D．It will cause huge physical pain for patients.

3. What does Cook do to help the children being treated?

A．Offer them some free masks as gifts.	B．Show them their favorite movies or TV shows.
C．Dress them up as cartoon characters.	D．Make the masks more attractive to kids.