【推荐1】There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers，he used two buckets(水桶).One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one，which had seen many years of service，but was now past its best.

Every morning，the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path，one on each side，to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled. The old bucket felt very ashamed(惭愧的)because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds，much water had leaked(渗漏)along the path.

Sometimes the new bucket would say，"See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me water the flowers every day! I don’t know why he still uses you. What a waste of space you are!"

And all that the old bucket could say was，"I know I am not very useful，but I can only do my best. I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me ，at least.’’

One day，the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual，he said，"You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back，and I want you to look carefully along the path."

Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed，on the side where the new bucket was carried，there was just bare earth；on the other side where the old bucket was carried，there was a joyous row of wild flowers，leading all the way to the garden.

1. What was the old bucket ashamed of?

A．Its   past.

B．Its aging.

C．Its   manner.

D．Its leaking.

2. What does the underlined word "dilapidated" probably mean?

A．Dirty.

B．Dark.

C．Worn out.

D．Ordinary-looking.

3. The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to________.

A．take pity on the old one	B．laugh at the old one
C．show off its good look	D．praise the gardener's kindness

4. Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?

A．Because it was used to keep a balance.

B．Because it stayed in its best condition.

C．Because it had its own advantage.

D．Because it was thought of as a treasure.

【推荐2】When I was a child，I stayed with my grandmother a lot of the time while my mother was at work. One day some money problems started to arise for my grandmother and the family. They needed a little more income so she decided to sing at the nearby retirement home(养老院)．

So I had to go with her. I wasn't sure about it at first，but as soon as my grandmother actually persuade me to get on stage and start singing，I loved it. I just loved seeing that sparkle(光亮)in those people's eyes. They would stand up and dance and clap to the beat of the music. Eventually，we were singing at many of the homes in the surrounding area 5 out of 7 days a week.

Making other people happy has always made me happy. And during that experience I even discovered my gift，singing. My grandma still sings to those people 15 years later，only for no charge now. I moved to North Carolina when I was 13，leaving my grandma in Florida，but I still carry on her effort and try and go out of my way to do something kind，even if very small，for at least one person every day. There is no better feeling in the world than the one you get when you hear appreciation in someone's voice.

1. The author stayed with her grandmother as a child because ________.

A．her mother was busy working

B．her mother had no ability to care for her

C．her grandmother liked her more

D．her grandmother was richer

2. The author's grandmother sang at the nearby retirement home probably to ________.

A．bring joy to the old people there

B．start a new career

C．make some money

D．satisfy her husband

3. We can infer from the second paragraph that ______.

A．the author had great confidence when she started to sing

B．the audience were surprised that the author could sing at such an early age

C．the audience didn't like the author at first

D．the author was loved by the audience

【推荐3】About five weeks ago, I noticed the skin of our pet lizard (蜥蜴) was growing dusty. It worried me. I reported the strange surface on the skin of the lizard to my husband and children the next morning. Seconds later, our lizard emerged from its tank with its old skin flowing behind it.

I didn't think about it much until a morning last week when I knocked my favorite teapot off the table. It burst into hundreds of pieces. As I swept up the mess, I wondered why we had been breaking so many things over the months.

The destruction started three months ago. It was my husband's birthday. He had just lost his job. The uncertainty was starting to wear on us, so I wanted to do something special.

"Let's make a cake for Dad!" I cried.

My kids screamed with joy. We baked, iced and sprinkled for most of the day. Candles on the cake! Balloons on the walls! Flowers on the table!

Two hours before my husband came back home from another job interview, my daughter climbed up to grab a glass vase from a high shelf. It fell and crashed beside the cake. Tiny pieces of glass were everywhere. She sobbed loudly as I threw the cake away. My husband had banana pudding for his birthday.

Three days ago, the light in our living room suddenly went out. After several frustrating hours of unsuccessful attempts to fix it, my husband suggested watching the Michael Jordan documentary (纪录片) series The Last Dance.

The poignancy (酸楚) of Jordan retiring from his beloved basketball to play baseball and what had pushed him to make such a tough decision took me by surprise. As I watched him take off his basketball uniform and replace it with a baseball uniform, I saw him leaving behind the layer that no longer served him, just as our lizard had. Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.

Humans do not shed skin (脱皮) as easily as other animals. The beginning of change is upsetting. The process is tiring. Damage changes us before we are ready. I see our lizard, raw and nearly new.

Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.

1. What can we learn about the pet lizard from Paragraph 1?

A．Its tank grew dirty.	B．Its old skin came off.
C．It got a skin disease.	D．It went missing.

2. Why did the author's husband have banana pudding for his birthday?

A．The birthday cake was ruined.	B．The author made good puddings.
C．Pudding was his favorite dessert.	D．They couldn't afford a birthday cake.

3. The underlined part "leaving behind the layer" in Paragraph 8 can be understood as________.

A．letting go of the past	B．looking for a new job
C．getting rid of a bad habit	D．giving up an opportunity

4. What does the author most likely want to tell us?

A．Love of family helps us survive great hardships.

B．It's not the end of the world if we break things.

C．We should move on no matter what happens.

D．Past experiences should be treasured.

【推荐2】When I was about 12, I had an “enemy”, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings (缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much; I was too proud, and so on. At last, I couldn’t stand it. I cried and ran to my father. He listened to me quietly. Then he asked, “Sweetie, are the things she says true or not? Didn’t you ever wonder what you are really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and find out the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told. To my surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Dad. He refused to take it. “It’s just the case for you,” he said, “you know better than anyone the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of great help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don't shut your ears, listen to them all, but hear the truth only and do what you know is right to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

1. What did the father do when he heard the writer’s statements?

A．He told her not to stand what the “enemy” said.

B．He let her get on well with her “enemy”.

C．He told her to make a list of all her “enemy” had said about her.

D．He agreed with her “enemy”.

2. The writer felt ________ when she did the things as her father had told her.

A．angry

B．surprised

C．disappointed

D．sad

3. Which of the following can we know from the passage?

A．The writer and her “enemy” became best friends at last.

B．The “enemy” thought the writer studied hard.

C．The father thought the writer was pretty good.

D．The writer is thankful to her father.

4. What message does the writer want to tell us?

A．We should get along well with our friends.

B．What people say about you is always right.

C．It would be helpful to learn how to take the advice.

D．Friendship will be based on trust