【推荐1】How many of us have heard that question, “Where was GOD when the World Trade Center (世贸中心) and the Pentagon (五角大楼) were attacked?” Well, I know where my GOD was the morning of September 11, 2001, and He was very busy!

He was trying to discourage anyone from taking these flights. Those four flights together held over 1000 passengers and there were only 266 aboard.

He was on 4 commercial flights giving frightened passengers the ability to stay calm. Not one of the family members who were called by a loved one on one of the hijacked (被劫持的) planes said that passengers were screaming in the background. On one of the flights he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the hijackers.

He was busy trying to create obstacles (阻碍) for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 were at the towers when the first jet hit. Since the buildings held over 50,000 workers, this was a Miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had traffic delays.

He was holding up 2-110 story buildings so that 2/3 of the workers could get out. I was so amazed that the top of the towers didn’t fall when the jets crashed. And when they did fall, GOD made them fall inward, as many more lives would have been lost.

So when anyone asks, “Where was your GOD on September 11,” you can say “everywhere”! And yes, although this is without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God’s miracles in every bit of it. I can’t imagine going through such a difficult time and not believing in GOD — life would be hopeless. So shines a good deed in a weary world!

1. In what way the author tried to prove his point in the passage?

A．By telling a story.	B．By giving examples.
C．By answering questions.	D．By performing experiments.

2. Which one of the following is TURE according to the passage?

A．There were three planes together hijacked in the attack.

B．The passengers on the planes were not frightened at all.

C．Many people working at WTC were delayed by traffic jams on Sept. 11.

D．Many more people were killed in the buildings than we could imagine.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “Miracle” in the context?

A．Something funny.	B．Something important.
C．Something reliable.	D．Something unbelievable.

4. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

A．Everyone has a GOD.

B．Where was the GOD?

C．Never forget September 11

D．September 11 — A Disaster To America

【推荐3】Adolescent girls seem to use eye rolls as a means of daily communication. Adults on the receiving end often think it a rude manner. Actually, the meanings behind the manner tell us a lot about what it’s like to be a teenager.

Adolescents usually hate being told what to do, and will unconsciously resist even suggestions with which they agree. Imagine a girl who is planning to put on her warmest coat when her well-meaning mother urges her to bundle up. Not a cell in her body is willing to respond with a sincere “Great idea, Mom! I was just thinking the same thing.” But the girl still wants to be warm. With an eye roll the girl advertises her resistance while doing as she intended all along.

Since teenage girls desire independence strongly, taking orders can be especially annoying for them. So how should Mary respond when her parents say she can’t go out until she unloads the dishwasher? She sees no point in fighting back, but still wants to broadcast her objection. Again, by rolling her eyes while putting away the plates, Mary proves that she’s an independent young woman.

Girls also roll their eyes to cover their sorrow. Anna, who is hurting over a fight with a friend, might shoot a skyward look when her dad asks gently, “How’s Julia? She hasn’t come over for a while?” What seems to be a rude behavior might actually be the girl’s brave attempt to hold herself together. Unwilling to rely on her parents for support, Anna turns her dad away with an eye roll to avoid bursting into tears in his presence.

Of course, girls occasionally use eye-rolling as an immature act of aggression. But more often than not, teenage eye-rolling serves as an efficient solution to the typical challenges adolescents face. And it presents adults with a choice: you can take the. behavior personally, or you can try to see things from their perspective.

1. What does the underlined phrase “bundle up” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Tie up.	B．Hurry up.
C．Put on warm clothes.	D．Keep cool.

2. What is Mary’s reaction to her parents’ demand in Paragraph 3?

A．She doesn’t obey the order.

B．She displays her annoyance anyway.

C．She fights back against her parents strongly.

D．She proves her independence by putting away the dishes.

3. When Dad inquires about her friend softly, Anna.

A．refuses his kindness.	B．bursts into tears
C．relies on him for support	D．looks at the sky all the time

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．What’s Behind Eye Rolling?	B．What Does It Mean to Be a teenager?
C．How to Understand More About Girls?	D．Why Do Teenage Girls Roll Their Eyes?

【推荐1】How to Support a Friend Struggling with Their Mental Health?

Maybe you’ve noticed a friend is opening up to you for the first time about their anxiety.     1    . Here is what you can do when supporting someone who’s struggling with their mental health.

    2    

Instead of making assumptions about what would be helpful to your loved one, ask them directly, “How can I support you?” Remember what you may need when you’re struggling may not be what someone else needs when having a hard time.

Offer to help with everyday tasks

Many people struggling with their mental health may find it difficult to make basic decisions. Instead of using a common phrase “I’m here if you need me”, try to be specific about what you’re offering.     3    

Celebrate their wins, including the small ones

When a person is struggling with their mental health, every day can be full of challenges.     4    . This can help affirm (肯定) their feelings of agency. This could look like thanking them for being so honest or congratulating them for going to work.

Read up on what they’re struggling with

    5    . Take the time to educate yourself on what they’re going through. For example, learning more about depression, so you can understand their lived experience and be aware of risky behaviors to look out for.

A．It’s challenging to know what to say or do

B．Do check in with them regularly

C．Not all mental health challenges look the same

D．Visit them, look round and see what you can do—like weeding

E．Ask what they need from you

F．So cheer on their accomplishments

G．You can learn about mental illness

【推荐2】Anger can feel like its eating you up inside as it practically ruins your entire day    1    Let's cool it a little shall we?

    2    Effectively, to constantly water it would mean you've created the habit of anger. You're probably even addicted to it. To stop being so angry, you've to break out of anger. Stop watering the angry seed within, live your life and start planting other seeds!

Anger is not a primary emotion. It's secondary.    3    What is it? Fear? Rejection? Sadness? Guilt? It's going to be terrifying, but you've to be honest with yourself and start asking the bigger questions in order to overcome anger.

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness. It's only logical. Getting angry is not allowing other positive emotions to come in and that is time and space you'll never get back. And life is way too short to be pissed off(使生气) all the time.    4    

Happiness cannot come from hatred or anger. Nobody can say, “Today I am happy because this morning I was angry.”    5    They can say “Today I am not very happy, because I lost my temper this morning.” This is so straight-forward. Anger in the end, cannot sustain(维持) you. It can perhaps propel you with energy, but if you use it to create more anger, then happiness will never come to you.

A．On the contrary, people feel uneasy and sad.

B．You’re responsible for your anger.

C．You’ve found the root cause of your anger.

D．People will find a way to make you angry.

E．while filling your head with a bunch of angry, negative thoughts.

F．and it states how easy it is to be angry.

G．You're going to die eventually, so be smart about it!

【推荐3】Many people tend to complain about not having good friends in their lives. Sadly， they seem to think that their own company is not enough to make them happy. Nothing could be further from the truth though. In order to get along with others， the first thing you need to do is learn to get along with yourself. Only in this way will you succeed in developing healthy， solid relationships with others.
Listen to your inner voice. Remember that inner voice that keeps whispering to you what you really want and need as well as what you do not really want and need. It is about time you started listening to it. In order to get to know yourself in depth， it is important to learn and accept what you want and what you do not want.
Learn to enjoy your own company. You will be surprised to find out how many things you can do by yourself and actually have fun in the process. Reading romantic novels， poetry or science fiction is only a few of the things that you can do by yourself， which not only can offer you hours of enjoyment， but also the chance to get to know yourself better.
Satisfy yourself. Pay special attention to your personal hygiene(卫生). Do your hair and nails often and experiment with new styles. Follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly to stay in good shape. No matter how busy your daily schedule is， always find at least an hour per day for yourself， when you can either relax doing absolutely nothing， or doing something that you enjoy.
Learn to respect your ownboundaries. Find out what your boundaries are and learn to respect them. You are the only one who knows what you can and what you cannot accept；no one else can point that out to you， or force you to compromise(妥协).
1. If you want to have a good relationship with others， you should first　　　　.

A．get into the habit of living alone

B．make many friends in society

C．always tell the truth

D．learn to be your own best friend

2. What is the purpose of listening to your inner voice？

A．To keep a good state of mind.

B．To know more about yourself.

C．To enjoy the time by yourself.

D．To form a relationship with others.

3. In order to please yourself， the writer gives some suggestions EXCEPT　　　　.

A．eating healthily

B．exercise regularly

C．experimenting with new hair style

D．keeping on struggling

4. The underlined word “boundaries” nearly means “　　　　”.

A．weaknesses

B．aims

C．ambitions

D．limits

5. What is the structure of the passage？

A．	B．
C．	D．

【推荐1】Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they are meant to be there.     1     They teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

    2     They may be a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger. Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible at first, but later you will find that without those difficulties you would have never realized your potential.     3     It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and completely pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, help to create who you are and who you become.     4     In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

If some people love you, give love back to them not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

    5     They have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart to.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment.

A．They serve some sort of purpose.

B．You never know who these people may be.

C．Learn a lesson in life each day that you live.

D．Even the bad experiences can be learned from.

E．If some people hurt you, or break your heart, forgive them.

F．Without these small tests, life would be like a smooth road to nowhere.

G．If you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

【推荐2】阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

An American woman, Missy Armstrong, has made a life changing decision to make her dying best friend’s last wish come true by adopting (收养) her three young children.

Sara is 36 years old. Her husband died and now she is in the final stages of a serious illness and is not expected to make it to Christmas. “She said she can deal with the fact that she’s dying, but she can’t deal with the fact that her kids will be separated,” her best friend, Missy Armstrong, said. The two women have been friends for over a decade after first meeting in 1999 while at the same school. Taking their friendship a step further, Missy, 42, who is already a mother to two of her own children, adopted Sara’s three young children, 11-year-old Cayden, nine-year-old Micah and eight-year-old Amara.

As Missy prepared to take on the huge task, one of her longtime friends, Rhonda DeBruyn, lent her a helping hand. Rhonda posted a message on a Facebook page asking for gifts to be donated so the growing family can have a great holiday. Since posting the message, donations have been pouring in for the family. “Missy is a kind friend and person. I’ve known her for 11 years and she has never been anything less than what you see. This doesn’t surprise me that she stepped in. Missy and Sara’s friendship is one of a kind. A friend in need is a friend indeed.” said Rhonda.

“Missy now lives in a three bedroom home, which is not large enough for the growing family. She needs to gain more support to buy a five bedroom house,” Rhonda said in a Facebook post. “Once we get her into the new house, then everything left over that we raised will go to future financial expenses.”

To donate, an account has been created at the Southeast National Bank under the name of Missy Armstrong.

1. Why did Missy adopt Sara’s three children?
2. What did Rhonda do to help Missy in the third paragraph?
3. How do you understand the underlined sentence “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”？
4. Do you support Missy’s action of helping Sara and explain why? (about 40 words)

【推荐3】Over the last few years, there has been a trend to focus on gratitude. We can buy different kinds of gratitude journals, or download some apps to write down our blessings.     1     “We should also bear in mind that gratitude is free.” says Laurie Santos, who teaches a course on the science of well-being and happiness at Yale University.

    2     Studies have found that keeping a gratitude journal can decrease materialism and enhance generosity among adolescents. Giving thanks can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships.     3     “It is one practice that really wins out from the field of positive psychology.” she says. Her students, in addition to keeping gratitude journals, are asked to write a thank-you letter and then read it out loud to the recipient (收信人). “They show measurable improvements in well-being even a month after they’ve done this.” she says.

What works for some people may not work for others. There’s a lack of research on how gratitude exercises help people with anxiety or clinical depression. Indeed, for all the research on the broad benefits of expressing gratitude, it is not for everyone.     4     It can’t make injustice, loss or pain disappear.

During really tough times, like when she suffers from poor health, Santos feels like she is reaching for reasons to be grateful. But she still tries to find some. “I’m grateful for the sun that’s shining or being able to wake up.” she says.     5    

A．That is, it’s not a cure-all.

B．So it does not feel pleasant.

C．Gratitude allows her to remember what is going well.

D．Those products just remind us to take time to be grateful.

E．Noting down gratitude and expressing it seem to pay off.

F．Practicing too much gratitude may have undesired effects.

G．That’s why gratitude features heavily in Santos’ happiness class.

【推荐1】Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets. But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.
That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”－events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to forget the past “Where are you from?”
Mr. Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.
The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”
As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain. Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another. “We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says. “But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”
The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer. The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom with for hours. But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.
“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up. “What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”
Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.”
1. What can the “conversations” be best described as?

A．Deep and one-on-one.	B．Sensitive and mad.
C．Instant and inspiring.	D．Ordinary and encouraging.

2. In a “feast of conversations”, participants ______.

A．pair freely with anyone they like

B．have a guided talk for a set of period of time

C．ask questions they themselves would not answer

D．wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features.

3. From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is ______.

A．an attempt to promote thinking interaction

B．one of the maddest activities ever conducted

C．a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas

D．an effort to give people a chance of talking freely

【推荐2】“I love you Bob.” “I love you too, Nancy.” It was 2 a.m., and I was hearing my parents’ voices through the thin wall separating my bedroom from theirs. Their loving words were sweet, touching —and surprising.
My parents married on September 14, 1940, after a brief dating. She was nearly 30 and knew it was time to start a family. The handsome well-educated man who came by the office where she worked looked like a good bet. He was attracted by her figure, her blue eyes. The romance didn’t last long.
Seeds of difference grew almost immediately. She liked to travel; he hated the thought. He loved golf; she did not. He was a Republican, she a loyal Democrat. They fought at the bridge table, at the dinner table, over money, over the shortcomings of their parents.
There was a hope that they would change once they retired (退休), and the angry winds did calm somewhat, but what remained changed itself into bright, hard bitterness. “I always thought we’d …” my mother would begin, before making a detailed list of my father’s faults. The complaints were recited so often, I can repeat them by heart today. As he listened, my father would say something angrily in a low voice.
It wasn’t the happiest marriage, but as their 60^th anniversary (纪念日) came nearer, my sister and I decided to throw a party. Sixty years was a long time, after all. Why not try to make the best of things? We’d provide the cakes, the balloons, the toasts, and they’d follow one rule: no fighting.
The agreement was honored. We had a wonderful day. When we thought back, we found it was an important celebration, because soon after, things began to change for my parents.

1. Bob married Nancy because of ______.

A．her nice appearance

B．her good education

C．her romantic nature

D．her position as an office girl

2. When the writer told the story, the mother was probably ______ years old.

A．60

B．70

C．80

D．90

3. What do we know about the writer’s parents?

A．Their marriage is a total failure.

B．They had different hobbies.

C．They had serious money problem.

D．They stopped quarrelling after they had children.

4. The purpose for the writer to hold the party is ______.

A．to recall the 60 years’ marriage life of her parents

B．to stop the long fighting between her parents

C．just to celebrate her parents’ 60th anniversary

D．to have a good time for family’s reunion

5. Suppose this passage is taken from the Reader’s Digest, which column do you think it is taken from?

A．Everyday Heroes	B．My Planet
C．Turning Point	D．Unforgettable

【推荐3】Christmas was two days away. Had the packages with a camera in already been placed under the Christmas tree? That was the only thing that I had longed for. A million times I had kept dropping hints to my parents. Taking photos is my favorite. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to snap(抓拍) those wonderful moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.

I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor --- a big pink cat. My heart sank.

Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Jenny, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.

The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.

“Mom, may I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.

And so it came ---how upset I was that I was getting a cat!   

“Jenny, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.

“Then what am I getting” I asked.

She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find …

My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.

Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera --- my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile --- and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.

1. The underlined phrase “fall short” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.

A．be too expensive	B．be not good enough
C．become short after falling	D．drop to the ground

2. Why did Jenny’s heart sink at first?

A．Her mother refused to talk to her.	B．She mistook her sister’s Christmas gift for hers.
C．Her present was not well wrapped.	D．Her mother forgot to buy her any Christmas gift.

3. We can learn form the passage that ________.

A．Jenny was happy to accept the pink cat

B．Jenny’s mother bought her a camera after discovering her disappointment

C．Jenny thought it was OK to have an old camera

D．Jenny’s mother knew what she wanted as a Christmas gift

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Love can not be bought	B．Love is more important than gifts
C．A Christmas wish that came true	D．My Mother is always in my heart