【推荐1】Flying High

Barrington Irving landed his record-breaking light at age 23 and founded an educational nonprofit organization. His message for kids: “The only thing that separates you from scientists is determination, hard work and a strong liking for what you want to achieve.” The secret, he believes, is having a dream in the first place.

The moment of inspiration for Irving came at the age of 15 in his parents’ bookstore. One customer, a professional pilot, asked Irving if he’d thought about becoming a pilot. “I told him I didn’t think I was smart enough; but the next day he took me to the cockpit (驾驶舱) of the commercial airplane he flew and just like that I was hooked.”

To follow his dream, Irving Turned down a football scholarship to the University of Florida. He washed airplanes to earn money for a flight school and increased his flying skills by practicing at home on a $40 flight simulator (模拟) video game. Then another dream took hold: flying alone around the world. He faced more than 50 rejections for sponsorship before convincing some companies to donate aircraft components. He took off with no weather radar, no de-icing system, and just $30 in his pocket.

After 97 days, 26 stops and dozens of thunderstorms, he touched down to a cheering crowd in Miami. “It was seeing so many young people watching and listening that pushed me into giving back with my knowledge an experience.” Irving has been doing it ever since. He set up his non-profit organization, Experience Aviation (航空), aiming to increase the numbers of youth in aviation career. By bring challenging project-based learning, hands-on and other educational opportunities to school districts and local communities nationwide, the organization has excited the hearts and minds of youth. “We want to create chances for students to accomplish something amazing,” he notes. Perhaps Irving’s most powerful educational tool is the example his own life provides.

1. According to Irving, what is the most important in achieving success?

A．Meeting people to get sponsorship.

B．Having something specific to accomplish.

C．Communicating with different organizations.

D．Getting chances to study technical knowledge.

2. What do we know about Irving in paragraph 3?

A．He finally raised enough money to keep going.

B．he chose to reduce his budget as low as possible.

C．He took on a further challenge while learning to fly.

D．He got the most useful flying tips from video games.

3. Why did Irving set up his non-profit organization?

A．To become a well-known public figure.

B．To start a business in other related fields.

C．To set an example to the young to follow.

D．To direct more youth to a career in aviation.

4. Which of the following best describes Irving as a pilot?

A．Caring.	B．Demanding.
C．Generous.	D．Determined.

【推荐2】It is 4:45 am in Samasati village in north-western Zambia and the Chimwanga family, champion beekeepers of the village, are already on their way to collect honey from one of their many hives（蜂房）. Samasati has been famous for beekeeping but it is only in the last ten years that the business has begun to make a difference to the lives of the producers, since they began to trade through an organization guaranteeing them a fair price for their crop.

Samasati is a beautiful place, where nature provides and pollution is non-existent. Here, 61 miles from the nearest telephone or source of electricity, the 322 inhabitants support themselves from the forest and rivers and the only income available to the villagers is from selling their honey.

It is a half-hour walk from the Chimwangas’ house to the hive. On reaching the site, the Chimwangas tear off low, leaf-covered branches from nearby trees. They place these in a pile on the ground as a bundle（捆）and put some dry plants in the middle. A match then sets the plants alight and thick smoke is produced as the fire spreads from the dry plants to the green leaves.

Mr. Chimwanga climbs quickly up the tree trunk and moves carefully along a branch towards the hanging hive, carrying the smoking bundle with him. When he reaches the hive, he waves smoke into the entrance to calm the bees. The bees circle his head continuously. Unafraid, he pulls up a bucket and fills it with the precious delicious honey, fragrant but not too sweet ‒ the result of hundreds of wild flowers the bees have enjoyed in the forest.

This honey is sold straight to the exporting company, North West Bee Products, through Bon Malichi. He is the vital middleman for the beekeepers. Bob believes the honey is Zambia’s future. “Our honey is produced without adding anything.” he says. The honey is transported to Dares Salaam, in neighbouring country Tanzania, for export. Within a month of a Zambian beekeeper climbing to his hive, his honey can be spread on bread anywhere in the world.

1. What are the Chimwanga family going out so early to do?

A．Look for bees.

B．Get honey in the forest.

C．Make honey for trading.

D．Sell their honey crop.

2. Mr. Chimwanga lit dry plants in order to ________.

A．get light and see the hives clearly

B．scare away the bees by thick smoke

C．produce smoke to protect him from the bees

D．keep warm by the burning plants

3. Why does Bob believe the honey is Zambia’s future?

A．It is popular for its superior quality.

B．It has a large quantity of production.

C．He can guarantee a fair price for it.

D．He can help export it to neighboring countries.

4. What can we learn about Samasati from the text?

A．It enjoys beautiful nature and less pollution.

B．It has an abundant supply of electricity.

C．It is well known for processing honey.

D．It is a small, poor and backward village.

【推荐3】The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. In winter, with its cloudy days and bitter cold, we dream of those days at the beach, lying on the sand and enjoying the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.
As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and experienced bad weather for those short ten weeks of freedom.
On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a bird in a cage. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was at work. It was those days that I would watch whatever was on television or read any books that I could find lying around. I’d pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.
As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as exciting. Everything seems uninteresting. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I hate how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which makes me comfortable. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful — and quite cooler — weather tomorrow.
1. When the author was a child, he ______.

A．liked staying indoors	B．hated rainy days
C．dreamed on summer days	D．preferred cooler weather

2. We can learn from the passage that the author ______.

A．could enjoy the brilliant sun in winter

B．preferred reading to playing outside

C．had no brothers or sisters

D．was often left alone at home

3. As an adult, the author views summer rain differently because ______.

A．rain makes the weather cooler

B．his summer holiday is very short

C．he knows it won’t last long

D．he can better deal with his spare time

【推荐1】Last summer, Katie Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She rolled down her window and shouted, “I’m driving around giving free haircuts. Do you want one right now?” The man looked to be in his 60s. He was heavyset, balding, and missing a few teeth. He laughed, then paused. “Actually,” he said, “I have a funeral to go. I was really hoping to get a haircut.”

Few minutes later, the man, named Edward, took a seat on a red chair moved down from Steller’s car, and she trimmed his curly graying hair. He told her about growing up in Mississippi, about moving to Minnesota to be closer to his children, and how he still often phoned his mom. After Steller was done, Edward looked in a mirror. “Wow, I look good!” he grinned.

To date, Steller has given 30 or so such haircuts to people around the city. She is keenly aware of the power of her cleanup job. “It’s more than a haircut,” she says.

Steller knows that a haircut can change a life. One changed hers. As a teen, she suffered from a severe bowel disease and her hair thinned drastically. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.

“To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just an illness, it helped me feel cared about and less alone,” she says. After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon. Soon after finishing cosmetology (美容) school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, reaching out to people on the streets.

“Part of what broke my heart was just how lonely people looked,” she says. “I thought maybe I can’t fix their problems, but I can help them feel less alone sometimes.”

1. Which of the following best describes Edward?

A．He related everything to Steller.

B．He lived with his mom in Mississippi.

C．He was satisfied with his new haircut.

D．He sat by the roadside asking for a haircut.

2. What do we know about the free haircuts?

A．They made people full of power.

B．They helped people solve their problems.

C．They conveyed care and love to people in need.

D．They made Steller’s salon obtain good reputation.

3. What inspired Stellar to start her Red Chair Project?

A．Her wish to talk to people.

B．Her personal experience in her teens.

C．Her mother’s encouragement.

D．Her ambition to start a unique salon.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．A Special Hair-dresser	B．Edward’s Free Haircut
C．An Amazing Encounter	D．More Than a Free Haircut

【推荐2】Dr. Scott Witt was at home with his family when he received a call from the hospital he works at informing him that they were going to evacuate(疏散) the patients because a deadly wildfire was spreading.

Witt decided to head to the hospital since he needed to make sure his patients were safe. He felt like these patients were like his own families. ＂The only way I could take was to get on my motorcycle,＂ said Witt, who failed to get to the hospital in his truck since the parts of the roads were closed off or impassable in big vehicles. ＂I had to avoid where the fire had spread to,＂ he said.

By the time he arrived, the fire was reaching the parking lot. The hospital already smelled with a lot of smoke and he wanted to move everybody to safety. With the hospital staff’s help, Witt managed to evacuate all his eight patients into an ambulance that rushed them to a nearby hospital. Even though Witt had done more than enough, he decided to follow the ambulance onto the freeway to make sure the patients would be made to the hospital. ＂At one point, there was some fire and live wire on the freeway,＂ Witt said. ＂After getting far away from the fire, I said to the ambulance driver, ‘I don’t know if it’s the most scary thing I’ve seen but close to it.'＂

After sending the patients to safety, Witt then went back to check on his home, which was burned to the ground by the time he got back. Fortunately, he was grateful his family was unharmed in spite of their blame.

Now, Witt is being known as a hero, but he insists he just did what he felt was right.

1. What is Dr. Scott Witt’s purpose to go to the hospital?

A．He must escape from the wildfire to safety.

B．He was evacuated by the local government.

C．He wanted to move his patients from danger.

D．He had to deal with the injured in the wildfire.

2. Which of the following words can best describes Scott Witt？

A．Selfless.	B．Professional.
C．Experienced.	D．Undetermined.

3. According to Scott Witt, what is the wildfire like?

A．It was impossible to be put out.

B．It was very horrible for him.

C．It spread less quickly than expected.

D．It was sure to cause many injuries and deaths.

4. How would Scott Witt’s family feel about his behavior?

A．Dangerous.	B．Responsible.
C．Praiseworthy.	D．Complaining.

【推荐3】阅读下面短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who had lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift—$7000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.   

But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in other, it was more than $100,000.   

It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.   

Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They thrived on (喜欢) comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.

Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”

Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents —should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come. Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story .

1. Why did the Fusses almost lose their home a year ago? (no more than 15 words)
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2. What does the underlined phrase “going under financially” mean? (no more than 10 words)
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3. Why were people surprised to know that the Hatches had more than $3 million? (no more than 15 words)
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4. What was their purpose of doing so many things for other people? (no more than 10 words)
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5. What do you think of Ish and Arlene? Give your reasons. (no more than 25 words)
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