【推荐1】Over the years I’ve been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept - the ant philosophy (哲学). I think everybody should study ants.

They have an amazing four-part philosophy, and here is the first part: ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy.     1    , they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over, they’ll climb under, and they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.

    2    . That’s an important viewpoint. You can’t be so naive (天真的) as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, “Don’t build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice.’?     3    . In the summer, you’ve got to think storm. You’ve got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun. Think ahead.

The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And on the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down.     4    . They can’t wait to get out.

And here’s the last part of the ant-philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow, what a great seminar to attend - the ant seminar. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

A．Second, ants think winter all summer

B．If they go somewhere and you try to stop them

C．Ants think summer all winter

D．Summer and winter are both important to ants

E．However, they will come out at once when it gets warm

F．Because it is important to be realistic.

【推荐2】When I was learning calligraphy my teacher told me a story．
A calligrapher taught handwriting．One or his students who often practised handwritihg with old sheets of newspaper complained that he made very little progress though he had learned it with the calligrapher for a long time．His teacher said to him,“Try to use the best paper．Maybe you’ll write better．”
The student did as he was told．It really worked．He made headway not long afterwards and felt curious．He asked his teacher about the reason．The calligrapher answered,“When you used old newspaper to practise handwriting ,you would think you were writing a draft．It didn’t matter if you wrote badly as old newspaper was plenty in supply．In that case you wouldn’t pay much attention to it．Now you use the best paper and you ’ll treasure it．Each time you write you feel strongly about the rarity of chances and you’ll devote to it with all your heart and soul ; you’ll do the handwritihg much more attentively than practising．Of course you’ve made rapid progress．”
Indeed , we spend our ordihary days just as they are worthless “ old newspaper ”．We don’t care if we scrawl and waste it ,thinking that it will come endlessly---the “ old newspaper ” is inexhaustible．In such a mood we may each day pass by opportunities but fail to catch any of them．
Life is not a military exercise but an actual war in which real weapons are used ．In everyday life there’s no chance for us to draft．That’s because what we call“draft” actually is the answer sheet we write that cannot be changed．
Every day of our life is something new．Let us take every day as a sheet of the best paper．
1. The calligrapher in the story told the student to write on the best paper because he thought        ．

A．the student would practise more carefully on the best paper

B．it was comfortable to write on the best paper

C．the student had enough money to buy the best paper

D．the student could write more on the best paper

2. The student didn’t make much progress at first because        ．

A．he regarded his writihg on old newspaper just as a draft

B．he was too poor to buy better paper to write on

C．he didn’t follow his teacher’s advice

D．he was not used to the calligrapher’s teaching manner

3. We learn from the passage that        ．

A．the student finally gave up

B．the student made rapid progress by practising more carefully

C．the caligrapher was strict with his students

D．old newspaper is not useful

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．What teachers say is always true．

B．Success calls for attentiveness．

C．Handwriting is easy to practise．

D．New things are always better than old ones

5. The writer want to tell us that        ．

A．there are some good ways to practice handwriting

B．life is like old newspaper

C．we should learn from the student in the story

D．life will not give us a chance to draw a draft

【推荐3】A famous doctor Lord Robert Winston took a train from London to Manchester, and he found himself becoming angry. A woman picked up her phone and began a loud conversation, which lasted an unbelievable hour. Furious, Winston took pictures of the woman and post them on the social media.

As the train arrived at its destination, Winston had had enough of the woman’s rudeness. Meanwhile the press were waiting for her on the platform. And when they deliberately showed her the message, she used just one word to describe Winston’s actions: rude.

The story of Winston is something of a microcosm (缩影) of our age of increasing rudeness fueled by the social media. What can we do to fix this?

Studies have shown that rudeness spreads quickly and virally, almost like the common cold. Once infected, we are more aggressive, less creative and worse at our jobs. The only way to end this is to make a conscious decision to deal with it. We must have the courage to point it out, face to face. We must say, “Just stop.” For Winston, that would have meant approaching the woman, telling her that her conversation was disturbing other passengers and politely asking her to speak more quietly or make the call at another time.

The anger and injustice we feel at the rude behaviour of a stranger can drive us to do odd things. In my own research, I surveyed 2,000 adults, and discovered that the acts of revenge people had taken ranged from the ridiculous to the disturbing. Winston put the spotlight on the woman’s behaviour — but in a way that shamed her.

We must fight with rudeness directly. When we see it occur in a store, we must step up and say something. We must defend strangers in the same way we’d defend our best friends. But we can do it with grace, by handling it without any trace of aggression and without being rude ourselves. Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end that rude behaviour themselves.

1. Why did the woman use the word “rude” to describe Winston’s actions?

A．He said rude words to the woman.

B．He lost his temper due to other people’s rudeness.

C．He behaved improperly and spoke loudly on the train.

D．He pointed out the woman’s rude behaviour in a wrong way.

2. What is the function of paragraph 3?

A．To draw a conclusion from the above story.

B．To form a connecting link between the previous and the following.

C．To tell us the ways to deal with rudeness.

D．To show us the positive and negative effects of the social media.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．We can deal with rudeness in an indirect way.

B．Rudeness and manners can hardly coexist in a civilized society.

C．Both strangers and acquaintances deserve our friendly warning.

D．Rude people can’t see their rudeness through others’ eyes.

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

A．Don’t Ignore Online Rudeness	B．Civilization Calls for Civility
C．How to Handle Rudeness Spread Online	D．Rude Behaviour Makes a Rude Society

【推荐1】Workers are returning to their careers, or starting new ones after age 65.

More than ever, work is where many of us get our sense of purpose. That doesn’t end at age 65. After being retired for only three months, Sue Ellen King returned to work at the University of Florida Health in Jacksonville, Florida, where she had been a care nurse and nursing educator for 38 years. She is now working part-time in a position created just for her. “It’s perfect,” she told The New York Times. “I get the satisfaction of having people appreciate what I do.” With the average life span for those who reach age 64 now getting all the way to 84 years old, those who reach retirement age still have many potential years of work to go.

Job sites connected toward part-timers, temporary positions, and some can also turn up opportunities that may lead to longer-term work. Fred Dodd tried a part-time job after his unemployment as a clerk for large banks at age 63. He’d thought about retiring then. “But part of me just wanted to keep working partly for the money, but more just because I felt I wanted to do more in my career,” he said.

The retired have the advantage of not needing to focus on the earnings potential of whatever jobs they take on, so these older workers are attracted to more meaningful work. And since they are voluntarily putting their skills and experience to good use, they may well have more flexibility than mid-career people. Two-thirds of retirees who’d come back to the work world were doing meaningful work they enjoyed. Legal work and community service were popular choices, as was teaching—all areas in which older workers might have an opportunity to make their own schedules.

Earning more money rarely seems like a bad idea, but it can cause issues for retirees, including effects when they claim Social Security (申请社会保障) benefits early.

1. How does Sue Ellen King like her work?

A．Interesting.	B．Satisfying.
C．Boring.	D．Encouraging.

2. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Giving an example of successful returning to work after retirement.

B．Why Sue Ellen King found a nursing job.

C．What is Sue Ellen King’s work.

D．Giving an example of working full-time in a university.

3. What was the main reason for Fred to have a part-time job?

A．He was out of work.	B．He could help large banks.
C．He had personal crisis.	D．He liked continuing working.

4. Why do the retired like meaningful jobs?

A．These jobs have more flexibility.

B．These jobs have lots of potential.

C．They don’t care much for salary.

D．They can’t do very hard jobs.

【推荐2】An idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.

In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.

In Chicago, the mayor (市长) appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book, One Chicago” program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, it appeared that parents and children read to each other at night and strangers chatted away on the bus about the stories and character.

The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse (多样的) population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.

Finally, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not judged by how many people read a book, but by how many people are benefited by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not have shared a word.

1. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

A．To invite authors to guide readers.	B．To encourage people to read and share.
C．To involve people in community service.	D．To promote the friendship between cities.

2. Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?

A．They had little interest in reading.

B．They were too busy to read a book.

C．They came from many different backgrounds.

D．They lacked support from the local government.

3. The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean ______.

A．communicated with each other	B．discussed the meaning of a word
C．gained life experience	D．used the same language

4. According to Nancy, the degree of success of the project is judged by ______.

A．the careful selection of a proper book

B．the growing popularity of the writers

C．the number of people who benefit from reading

D．the number of books that each person reads

【推荐3】The Chinese government ends its one-child policy (政策) and allows families to have three children. The policy is meant to balance population development, stop a falling birth rate (出生率) and strengthen the country’s labor force (劳动力).

China, with the largest population in the world, started the one-child policy in 1980. But the government allowed only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some families in the countryside could have two children, if the first-born child is a girl. In 2016, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children if one of them was an only child. Because of aging of population, in 2021, it allowed families to have three children.

To the newest policy, different families have different opinions. “Too many young people in the cities are no longer interested in having two or three children,” an official said. “People in the countryside are more interested.”

At the end of 2021, China had a population of more than 1. 4 billion people. A total of 900 million of them have jobs. But the labor market population will drop in 30 years. That is to say, the country will be in great need of labor by the year 2050. With the three-child policy, an increase in births can solve this problem.

Boys and girls, what do you think of the three-child policy? Do you want to have new-born brothers or sisters?

1. Why does the Chinese government end the one-child policy?

A．Because China needs a larger population.

B．Because a falling birth rate must be stopped.

C．Because most families want to have a second or third child.

D．Because there will be less old people.

2. How do most young people in the cities react (反应) to the three-child policy?

A．They strongly support the policy.	B．They don’t think it is good.
C．They’re not interested in it any more.	D．They are interested in it.

3. What may happen after we have the “three-child” policy?

A．The population development will be balanced.	B．The labor market population will drop.
C．There will be more old people.	D．There will be less newborns.

【推荐1】Kids always have many doubts like: why do people have to die? Are mistakes always bad? Can you be happy and sad at the same time? Children often say that they lie awake at night thinking about things like why the world has the colors as it does, the nature of time and whether dream are real. These are not the kinds of questions that can be answered by googling them or asking Siri.

When children raise these questions, adults tend to respond with explanations that try to resolve the issue, at least temporarily. It’s natural to attempt to comfort a kid who is feeling puzzled by the world. But simple explanations may not be what the child wants. Sometimes, kids simply want to talk about their questions and thoughts.

Most kids start wondering about big questions almost as soon as they learn to speak, and they continue to think about them throughout childhood. Being full of curiosity about things that most adults take for granted, children all over the world are wide open to the mysteries in human life. But as they get older, kids ask questions less and less.

While children do need adult help and guidance, parents don’t always have to be in position of the experts providing the answers. Thinking with children about their bigger questions can make way for a more mutual kind of interactions. Because these kinds of questions tend not to have settled and final answers, discussions about them allow parents and children to wonder together. In this way, adults feel less pressure to be the experts.

Most of children have few long-held assumptions about bigger questions. Kids often suggest original and creative ways of looking at them. Talking with kids about what they are thinking without always feeling compelled to offer answers can help them explore their own concerns and ideas.

1. How will adults probably react when kids ask questions according to the text?

A．Attempt to raise their curiosity.	B．Help surf the Internet for answers.
C．Give them simple explanations.	D．Praise their courage and bravery.

2. What can we learn about kids’ asking questions from paragraph 3?

A．It needs adults’ guidance.

B．It starts from a very young age.

C．It helps improve their academic performance.

D．It makes a difference to their speech.

3. Which can best replace the underlined word “compelled” in the last paragraph?

A．Respected.

B．Forced.

C．Inspired.

D．Convinced.

4. What does the text mainly discuss?

A．Why children ask big questions.	B．When parents join in kids’ questions.
C．How parents handle kids’ questions.	D．What kinds of questions children raise.

【推荐2】In the classic episode (剧集) of the Simpsons, Homer’s class reunion ends in shame when one of Homer’s guilty secrets is exposed: he never graduated from high school. To get his diploma, he must pass a science test. As he sits down to retake the exam, he holds one of his trademark dialogues with his brain. “All right, brain. You don’t like me and I don’t like you. But let’s just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.”

Many a true word is spoken as a joke. Homer Simpson’s Everyman character really is an Everyman. For most people, engaging in the kind of effortful thinking that is required to pass a science test feels too much like hard work. It is so much easier to quit and let the brain’s autopilot take over.

And no wonder. Evolution has blessed the brain with all kinds of mental shortcuts that make life manageable. If we had to think about every action or weigh up every decision, we would break down. As a result, certain ideas and modes of thinking come naturally to us, such effortless thinking.

But at huge lost. Our mental shortcuts work fine at the level of individuals and small-scale societies, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, they are a danger to society. Effortless thinking is at the root of many of the modern world’s most serious problems: terrorism, hatred, inequality and religious extremism. All are caused by people disengaging their critical thinking and going with their gut (非理性的) feeling.

Everybody is capable of gut feeling, but also of the critical thinking. Both thinking styles are needed to make the world go round. Unfortunately, the latter requires training that is unavailable or unappealing to many people.

One of the bright spots in 2017 was the start of a movement called the March For Science. Those who believe in the power of science need to keep on marching, or give more power to people who don’t much like their own brains - or other people’s.

1. What does the author want to convey through Homer’s story?

A．Homer’s thinking is nothing but a joke.

B．Most people hate effortful thinking like Homer.

C．High school seniors should work hard.

D．Science is essential for all high school seniors.

2. How do you read between the lines of the underlined sentence according the passage?

A．Most people prefer to kill their brain cells by drinking beer as Homer.

B．Most people don’t want to bother themselves about scientific tests.

C．Most people would find it much easier to engage in effortful thinking.

D．Most people like Simpson’s ordinary character are willing to think simple.

3. What dose the author think of critical thinking?

A．It makes the world go round.

B．It needs necessary training.

C．It works fine at the level of personal affairs.

D．It leads to the March For Science in 2017.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Critical Thinking Is Urgently Needed.

B．Effortless Thinking Is Out of Date.

C．We Need to March Towards Science.

D．Thinking Contributes to Social Problems.

【推荐3】Life can bring us down from time to time. At some point, you may find yourself in what you will consider as your darkest hour. As you try to find your way out of that bad situation, you should try to remind yourself that there is still a reason to be grateful.

If you look at your situation now and compare it with someone who is in much deeper trouble than you, I am sure that you’ll find something to be thankful for. We all have our share of problems. But complaining about them so much only makes us blind about the fact that there are the miracles that happen around us every day.

When all your needs are provided, then you should be content and happy. If you have a roof over your head, some decent(得体的) clothes to wear, enough food on the table, a comfortable place to sleep, clean water to drink and you are free to make your own choices, then you should be happy and grateful. Many people all around the world, especially those who are at war or those in very poor countries would give anything to be in your conditions.

Even if you lose all your money or possessions and your heart is broken for some reason, as long as you are still alive, then everything material you have lost can be regained again. If you have a few good friends who will be there to support or help you, then be glad because true friends are hard to find. As long as you have someone to love and someone to love you back, then you are a very fortunate person. Remember to be patient and trust that things will get better.

1. According to the author, complaints about our sufferings only result in ________.

A．being teased by others

B．taking everything for granted

C．having doubts about self-value

D．ignoring the good things in life

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

A．People should try to make a difference.

B．People should be satisfied with what they have.

C．People should work hard to gain what they want.

D．People should practice kindness to those in need.

3. What does the author intend to tell us?

A．It’s not so easy to make a living.

B．It’s important to have faith in life.

C．Show appreciation of what we have.

D．Never compare ourselves with others.

4. What’s the author’s advice for those people faced with difficulties?

A．They should believe in miracles to happen.

B．They should take a grateful attitude to life.

C．They should have confidence in themselves.

D．They should remind themselves to keep calm.