【推荐1】If you have ever had a cat, or have watched one of the many funny cat videos online, you’ll know that cats have a mind of their own. A lot of the things they do are hard to understand—they like to climb up tall furniture, fit themselves in small spaces and attack small objects for no reason at all.

Now scientists have managed to figure out what exactly is going on in the brains of our little friends. According to Tony Buffington, a professor at Ohio State University in the US, cats’ strange behavior largely comes from their way of life back in the wild. “Cats today still have many of the same instincts that allowed them to live in the wild for millions of years.” he said in a TED Talk. “To them, our homes are their jungles.”

In the wild, cats are hunters. Their bodies and great balancing abilities allow them to climb to high spots to better look at the environment. Even though they don’t have to hunt any more in human houses, they still keep the old habit of viewing the living room from, for example, the top of the refrigerator.

Cats’ hunting instinct is also what makes them attack small things like keys and USB drives. In the wild, they hunt whatever they can get, and most of the animals they kill are small.

However, cats can also be prey. This explains why they like to stay in small spaces like drawers or washing machines— they are hiding, or they think they are hiding, from more dangerous animals. This is also why cats prefer a clean box: a smelly one could easily show enemies where they are.

Knowing how cats’ minds work is not only useful for better understanding them. It may also help cats’ owners to better meet cats’ needs. For example, owners could try to make climbing easier for cats by moving their furniture around. They could also use “food puzzles” to make eating feel more like hunting instead of just giving food to the cats.

1. According to Tony Buffington, ________.

A．cats’ strange behavior is difficult for humans to understand

B．cats are more used to living in the wild than in humans’ homes

C．cats’ instincts are as helpful to them today as they were millions of year ago

D．cats behave strangely mainly because they still have some instincts in the wild

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．Cats like to climb up high because they want to hide from dangerous animals.

B．Cats attack keys and USB drives because they have a habit of hunting small animals.

C．Cats enjoy staying in small spaces because they usually live in small caves in the wild.

D．Cats’ preference for a clean litter box has something to do with their hunting habits.

3. The underlined word “prey” in Paragraph 5 probably means ________.

A．an animal that is hunted

B．an animal that is too shy

C．an animal that keeps itself clean

D．an animal that likes hiding games

4. This article is mainly written to ________.

A．describe cats’ past wild experience to readers

B．explore the reasons for cats’ strange behavior

C．tell cat owners how to make life easier for cats

D．compare cats’ behavior in human homes with that in the wild

【推荐3】Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you， you will find that there are two kinds of plants： flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed， some have two， three or four， and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（胚芽）. Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places， they usually grow into new plants.
1. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________.

A．plants are important for life	B．plants cannot grow without air
C．there are many plants in the world	D．we can not live without water

2. What can we infer(推断) from the passage？

A．Of all living things animals are most.

B．Spores are seeds.

C．All fruits of flowering plants have seeds.

D．Without plants, man will die out.

3. What is the meaning of the underlined word?

A．Kept.	B．Guarded.
C．Prevented.	D．Surrounded

4. This passage may be taken from ________.

A．a medicine book	B．a novel
C．a science magazine	D．an experiment report

【推荐1】The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness. People believe that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold, and it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.

During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.

In the Second World Was prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp, naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.

At the Common Cold Research Unit England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be dipped with cold water, and them stood about dripping wet in wind. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.

In the cold we have nothing to do with catching colds. Why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.

No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and painkillers such as aspirin, but all they do is to relieve the symptoms(症状).

1. Besides the experiments in England, the writer offered more examples to support his argument.

A．3

B．4

C．5

D．6

2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?

A．The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.

B．Colds are not caused by cold.

C．People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.

D．A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.

3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when       .

A．they are working in the inolated arctic regions

B．they are writing reports in terribly cold weather

C．they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions

D．they are coming into touch again with the outside world

4. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit      .

A．suffered a lot	B．never caught colds
C．often caught colds	D．became very strong

【推荐2】Everyone knows a power nap feels good, but do you know that power naps fit right into your normal sleep or wake cycle? And, if done right, they can really help you get through the day.

We are built to nap

Our bodies have an inside timekeeper called the circadian rhythm. The term “circadian” comes from the Latin words meaning “about (circa) a day (diem)”. It is based on 24-hour light/dark cycle and allows your body to keep with the light/dark environment. The circadian rhythm helps you fall asleep and wake up. It changes during the day, as shown in the picture.

Keys to power napping

Your body’s circadian rhythm falls and rises throughout the day. With the largest fall in the afternoon, your body becomes more tired during this time. That is to say, in the afternoon, you are designed for napping.

In studies, a nap lasting a quarter can do the most help in school performance and thinking ability. It helps you to concentrate on your class and reduce stress without affecting your ability to fall asleep at night. As for when to start, the best answer will be around 2:00 pm according to the variation of circadian rhythm.

In addition to the length and the timing, there are other ways you can make the most of your power naps:

Try deep-breathing or another relaxation technique as you start.

Choose a quiet, darkened location. A sleep mask may help.

Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair.

Listen to soft music or white noise.

Try a bit of stretching and walking around to refresh after your nap.

1. At which time does the circadian rhythm decrease?

A．From 7:00 am to 10:00 am.	B．From 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
C．From 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.	D．From 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

2. Which of the following nap length best helps your study?

A．15 minutes.

B．30 minutes.

C．45 minutes.

D．60 minutes.

3. How can we recover after a nap according to the text?

A．Stay in a quiet place.	B．Listen to soft music.
C．Stretch our bodies.	D．Remove the eye mask.

【推荐3】In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
1. Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbours

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don’t want others to know they are rich

D．want to be happy

2. It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.

A．live outside New York City	B．live in New York City
C．live in apartments	D．have many neighbours

3. The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.

A．a person who lives near another	B．people living in an area
C．an area near the place referred to	D．an area in another town or city

4. Arthur Momand used the name ‘Jones’ in his series of short stories because’ Jones’ is ________.

A．an important name	B．a popular name in the United States
C．his neighbour’s name	D．not a good name

5. According to the writer, it is to keep up with the Joneses.

A．correct

B．interesting

C．impossible

D．good

【推荐1】

Ralph Modjeski (1861—1940) Ralph Modjeski was born in Poland. He moved to the US in 1876. By the early 1890s, he had opened his own bridge-building firm in Chicago. He built suspension and railroad bridges all over the country. His most famous bridge is the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. He also employed Joseph B Strauss. Strauss later opened his own firm and changed the idea of Bascule bridges. Strauss is most famous for building the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

John A. Roebling (1806—1869) John A. Roebling moved to the US from Germany in 1830. He invented a way to make wire rope to hold suspension bridges. He built his first railroad suspension bridges from Niagara, New York to Canada. His most famous bridge is New York’s Brooklyn Bridge. He died after an accident during the construction. His son Washington completed the bridge by following his careful plans.

Conde B. McCullough (1887—1946) Conde B. McCullough grew up in Iowa. His fame took off when he moved to Oregon in 1926. He oversaw the state’s Department of Transportation for 25 years. During that time, he helped build many bridges along Oregon’s newly constructed coastal Highway 101. He combined artistic styles with practical function. He became known for his use of simple but attractive arches.

Othmar Ammann (1861—1965) Othmar Ammann was born in Switzerland. He settled in New York City in 1904. He worked on some of the most famous bridges that keep that city connected. They include the George Washington Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Goethals Bridge, and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Ammann was known for his ability to create bridges that combined beauty with strength.

1. Which bridge was completed by Washington A. Roebling?

A．The Golden Gate Bridge.

B．The George Washington Bridge.

C．New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.

D．The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

2. Who was famous for the use of arches?

A．Ralph Modjeski.	B．Othmar Ammann.
C．John A. Roebling.	D．Conde B. MeCullough.

3. What do the persons mentioned in the text have in common?

A．They all set up their firms.	B．They were famous bridge engineers.
C．They were born in the same place.	D．They were famous in the early 1800s.

【推荐2】Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today, people did not have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.

Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and affects our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It affects every living thing in the world.

Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the pollution is so thick that it is like a quilt(被子) over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.

Many countries are making new laws to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away; they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air.

We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not throw them on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the some car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.

Laws are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.

1. Life was harder hundreds of years ago because _________.

A．the weather was bad	B．there were no cities
C．people had no modern machines	D．people couldn’t make machines

2. _______ makes the rivers and lakes dirty.

A．Swimming

B．Polluted water

C．Growing population

D．Warmer weather

3. More and more people become angry easily because _________.

A．they can’t get enough money	B．They are often hungry
C．there’s much traffic on the roads	D．there’s much noise around them

4. The writer of the passage thinks_________.

A．everyone should do something to fight pollution

B．all the laws can stop factories going on polluting

C．few countries can stop the air and water being polluting

D．people have to live in the polluted air..