【推荐1】        Life is filled with challenges．As we get older we come to realize that those challenges are the very things that shape us and make us who we are，it is the same with the challenges that come with friendship．When we are faced with a challenge，we usually have two choices．We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing presenting the challenge isn’t worth the trouble and call it quits．Although there are certainly times when calling it quits is the right thing to do，in most cases all that is needed is commitment(承诺)and communication．
        When we are committed to something， it means that no matter how painful or how uncomfortable something is，we will always choose to face it through instead of running away from it．Communication is making a space for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong．If you can say to a friend，“I got my feelings hurt．” rather than“You hurt my feelings．”you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster．
        In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for what they are：small hurdles you need to jump or get through on your way through life．Nothing is so big that it is impossible to get over, and hurt only serves to make us stronger．It is all part of growing up，it happens to everyone，and some day you will look back on all of this and say,“Hard as it was，it made me who I am today．And that is a good thing．”
1. What is the underlined word“committed”can be replaced by ____________．

A．devoted B satisfied	B．smpdsed
C．interested

2. It can be inferred from the text that _____________．

A．friendship needs challenges

B．challenges shape our character

C．small hurdles aren’t worth the trouble

D．commitment promotes friendship

3. The writer suggests that _____________ when faced with a challenge．

A．one should call it quits

B．one should temporarily run away from it

C．one should be committed and communicable

D．one should lay it a side for a while

4. According to the passage，if your friend hurts your feelings，you are well advised to _______________．

A．forget it

B．talk to him／her about it directly

C．communicate properly with him／her

D．run away from it

5. The whole passage is centered on the relationship between _____________．

A．friendship and challenges

B．commitment and communication

C．communication and friendship

D．challenges and the ways to get through

【推荐2】 Katie was in big trouble. She was such a sweet kid; a third-grade teacher always dreamed of having a classroom filled with Katies; she was never ever a discipline(纪律) problem. I just couldn’t imagine why she had made her parents so angry.
It seemed that Katie had been running up sizable charges in the lunchroom. Her parents explained that Katie brought a great homemade lunch each day, and there was no reason for her to buy school lunch. They assumed a sit-down with Katie would solve the problem, but failed. So they asked me to help them get to the bottom of this situation.
So the next day, I asked Katie to my office. "Why are you charging lunches, Katie? What happened to your homemade lunch?" I asked. "I lose it," she responded. I leaned back in my chair and said, "I don't believe you, Katie. " She didn't care. "Is someone stealing your lunch, Katie?" I took a new track. "No. I just lose it," she said. Well, there was nothing else I could do.
The problem was still unsolved the next week when I noticed a boy who was new to the school sitting alone at a lunch table. He always looked sad. I thought I would go and sit with him for a while. As I walked towards him, I noticed the lunch bag on the table. The name on the bag said "Katie".
Now I understood and I talked to Katie. It seemed that the new boy never brought a lunch, and he wouldn't go to the lunch line for a free lunch. He had told Katie his secret and asked her not to tell anyone that his parents wanted him to get a free lunch at school. Katie asked me not to tell her parents, but I drove to her house that evening after I was sure that she was in bed. I had never seen parents so proud of their child. Katie didn't care that her parents and teacher were disappointed in her. But she cared about a little boy who was hungry and scared.
Katie still buys lunch every day at school. And every day, as she heads out of the door, her mom hands her a delicious homemade lunch.
1. What did the author think of Katie?

A．She performed well at school.

B．She was a girl filled with love.

C．She often made trouble at school.

D．She used to be a discipline problem.

2. Why did Katie eat school lunch instead of her homemade lunch every day?

A．She lost her homemade lunch.

B．She had her homemade lunch stolen.

C．She didn't like the taste of her homemade lunch.

D．She gave her homemade lunch to a hungry boy.

3. What was Katie's parents' reaction to the truth about the lunch?

A．They were very angry.	B．They were proud of Katie.
C．They were disappointed.	D．They were rather upset.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Katie was informed that her parents had known her secret.

B．Katie told the author the truth of her lunch during their first talk.

C．Katie's secret of lunch was discovered by the author by accident.

D．Katie stopped buying lunch at school after her secret was discovered.

【推荐1】Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides, following the rules, planning your next move, acting as a team member…. These are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.

Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating.

Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones，which sharpens the hand-eye coordination(协调)needed in hunting.

Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.

Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it—some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.

Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.

1. Through playing hide-and-seek, children are expected to learn to .

A．be a team leader

B．act as a grown-up

C．obey the basic rules

D．predict possible danger

2. The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means that games can .

A．describe life in an exciting way

B．turn real-life experiences into a play

C．change people’s views of sporting events

D．make learning life skills more interesting

3. According to the passage, why is winning Olympic medals so encouraging?

A．It proves the exceptional skills of the winners.

B．It inspires people’s deep love for the country.

C．It helps the country out of natural disasters.

D．It earns the winners fame and fortune.

4. Iribarne’s goal of forming the foundation is to .

A．bring fun to poor kids

B．provide soccer balls for children

C．give poor kids a chance for a better life

D．appeal to soccer players to help poor kids

【推荐2】It is probably the strangest sport anyone has ever invented. And at first sight, it looks like the easiest. Competitors have to do two things. The first is to stand still. The second is to place their hands anywhere on the body of a car, and keep it there.

This is where things start getting difficult. Lots of people are doing the same thing. And the winner of the “handstand” contest is the person who can carry on doing it for the longest time. That person gets to own the car.

It still seems to be an easy thing to do. At the beginning it is. Anyone can stand still. But when the contest has been going for four or five days, standing still seems like the most difficult job in the world . And keeping the hand in place over this time becomes an act of serious attention. After a few days, the hand seems to belong to someone else----someone who wants to go home and get some sleep.

Competitors are allowed to take a five-minute break every hour to eat, drink or do whatever else is necessary. No one is allowed to lean on the car for support. Winners need to be able to show great powers of attention. They also need to be able to develop special skills.

Maybe the popularity of the “handathon” is due to the fact that it is not necessary to be a trained athlete to enter. Competitors in the Longview handathon certainly don’t seem to do much preparation. Most say they will prepare by “getting lots of sleep”. Others say they will “eat healthy food” or “pray for success”.   The whole event gives ordinary people the chance to do something interesting and win something in the end.

Handathons are competitions, but there is little rivalry (竞争) between competitors. They help each other out and keep each other’s spitits up. People who drop out early return with food, drink and encouragement.

1. What ability is most important in a handathon?

A．Not leaning on the car	B．Standing without any support
C．Having strong powers of attention	D．Eating and drinking in five minutes

2. Why is handathon popular?

A．Anyone who is interested can join in it.

B．Someone can win with special training

C．It doesn’t need to make any preparation

D．People get along well with each other in it.

3. Which of the following statements about the “handathon” is right?

A．Competitors are not allowed to drop out

B．Competitors don’t encourage each other

C．Competitors can sit down and take a 10-minute break every hour

D．A competitor has to place his or her hand anywhere on the body of a car.

4. Which is the writer’s opinion about the “handathon”?

A．It is the easiest of all sports.

B．It can last a whole day.

C．It is not as easy as it looks at first.

D．It is no good competing in a “handathon”

【推荐3】You may have heard that a young man named Abner Doubleday invented the game known as baseball in Cooperstown, New York, during the summer of 1839. Doubleday then went on to become a Civil War hero, while baseball became America's beloved national pastime. Not only is that story untrue, it's not even in the ballpark( place for baseball).Doubleday was still at West Point in 1839, and he never claimed to have anything to do with baseball.
In 1907, a special commission(委员会) created by the sporting goods merchant and former major league player A. J. Spalding used weak evidence-namely the claims of one man, mining engineer Abner Graves-to come up with the Doubleday origin story. Cooperstown businessmen and major league officials would rely on the myth's lasting power in the 1930s, when they established the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in the village.
As it turns out, the real history of baseball is a little more complicated than the Doubleday legend. References to games resembling(相似) baseball in the United States date hack to the 18th century .its most direct ancestors appear to be two English games: rounder a( a children's game brought to New England by the earliest colonists) and cricket. By the time of the American Revolution, variations(演变) of such games were being played on schoolyards and college campuses across the country. They became even more popular in newly industrialized cities where men sought work in the mid-19th century-.In September 1845, a group of New York City men founded the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club .One of them would make a new set of rules that would form the basis for modern baseball.
Cartwright's changes made the game faster-paced and more challenging from older games like cricket. In 1846, the Knickerbockers : played the first official game of baseball against a team of cricket players, beginning a new, uniquely American tradition.
1. What can we know according to the first paragraph?

A．Baseball was really invented by Abner Doubleday.B, Abner Doubleday fought against slaves in the Civil War.	B．Doubleday stayed at West Point for some reason.
C．Doubleday said he had much to do with baseball.

2. Why did the Doubleday origin story come up?

A．Because a special commission was founded.

B．Because Doubleday provided false evidence.

C．Because Abner Craves told a Doubleday story.

D．Because Abner Craves worked with Doubleday.

3. The real history of baseball is _____

A．much simpler than the Doubleday legend

B．that baseball comes from two English games

C．that a children’s game came from New England

D．more interesting than rounder and cricket

4. It can be inferred from the passage that____

A．Doubleday is the most respected in the USA

B．Doubleday must have been an army officer

C．Doubleday in fact came from Britain

D．Doubleday invented rounder and cricket

【推荐1】When Americans Kay and Larry Day found a store selling kites nearly 20 years ago, they decided to buy a few kites. And Larry went out to fly a kite as soon as he got one. Surprisingly, he felt so good that he decided to go back and get a better one.

Since then, he and his wife have loved flying kites. They own many kites and plan trips to fly them. They also organize a kite-flying event each winter in their hometown in Iowa. “I’m at peace when I’ m flying,” said Larry.

Kite-flying has a long history as an activity for adults and children. The custom of flying a piece of cloth in the sky began more than 2,000 years ago in China. Since then, kites have been used to do scientific experiments, power boats, and take pictures from the air and much more.

Sometimes the best flying conditions happen in winter—on a frozen (冰冻的) lake, said Kay Day, who with her husband organizes the Color the Wind Kite Festival. It takes place every February on Clear Lake in Iowa.

“The festival adds color to the winter sky and gives people a reason to go outside,” she added. The Days invited, expert fliers to come and share their knowledge for kites with locals and visitors. And this year, more than 100 children attended a kite-making class. “Fliers are a really good group of people. It’s a family.” Larry Day said.

            Kay said that the kiting community makes everyone feel welcome. She said her two children started flying kites about three yeas ago after attending a kite festival. Her sons, Dylan and Cardin, fly with people of all ages. “I do enjoy seeing different people,” Dylan said. The 13-year old also likes the happy feelings that he experiences when his kite moves through the sky.
1. Why did the couple decide to buy kites?

A．Because they wanted to have fun.

B．Because they got used to flying kites.

C．Because they would attend a festival.

D．Because their children wanted to fly kites.

2. What will happen if you attend the Color the Wind Kite Festival?

A．You will fly kites on a summer day.

B．You will enjoy the flowers along the way.

C．You will get some advice from experts.

D．You will not be allowed to take your children.

3. What does Larry Day think of the kite festival?

A．It improves human relations.

B．It makes everyone an expert.

C．It makes their hometown famous.

D．It’s the biggest festival in the country.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．All the children are good at flying kites.

B．Parents’ interest can affect their children.

C．People of all ages love playing with children.

D．Children should fly kites from a very young age.

【推荐2】More than four decades ago British scientist Robert Edwards first witnessed the miracle of human life growing inside a test tube at his Cambridge lab.Since that ground-breaking moment,more than four million babies have been born through IVF(体外受精）and in 2010 his great contribution to science was finally recognized as he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

The prize for Dr Edwards,who was given a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award in 2008, includes af900,000 cheque.The Nobel Assembly described IVF as a"milestone in modern medicine".

With the help of fellow scientist Patrick Steptoe,the Manchester-born physiologist developed IVF-leading to the birth of the world's first test tube baby.Dr.Steptoe died 10 years later but their work has transformed fertility(生育能力）treatment and given hope to millions of couples.

It was a scientific breakthrough that transformed the lives of millions of couples.They said,"His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility,a disease which makes human unable to have a baby.This condition has been afflicting a large percentage of mankind including more than 10%of all couples worldwide."

Louise Brown,the world's first test tube baby made international headlines when she was born in Oldham,Gtr Manchester,in 1978 to parents Lesley and John who had been fruitlessly trying for a baby since 1969.Each year,more than 30,000 women in Britain now undergo IVF and 11,000 babies are born as a result of the treatment.

But his work attracted widespread criticism from some scientists and the Catholic Church who said it was"immoral". Martin Johnson,professor of reproductive sciences at the University of Cambridge,said the award was"long overdue".He said,"We couldn't understand why the Nobel has come so late but he is delighted-this is the cherry on the cake for him".

Professor Edwards was too ill to give interviews but a statement released by his family said he was"thrilled and delighted".

1. What is Robert Edwards' s contribution to science?

A．Curing a disease which stops human having a baby.

B．Seeing the wonder of the first tube baby growing.

C．Enabling millions of couples to live a better life.

D．Helping couples with infertility to have babies.

2. What does the underlined word"afflicting"in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A．Troubling.

B．Developing.

C．Improving.

D．Confusing.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that ____.

A．some people envied Professor Edwards for his award

B．different opinions were voiced on Professor Edwards 'finding

C．Professor Edwards deserved the prize for his morality

D．the prize was late because the finding was first considered useless

4. What might be the best title for the passenger?

A．Life Stories of Robert Edwards

B．Preparations for Having a Baby

C．Nobel Prize for IVF Expert Edwards

D．Treatment of Infertility in a Lab