【推荐1】The other day I was shopping at the local Chinese grocery store. There was a line at the fish counter, but only one staff person was there to take care of the customers. Some customers ordered quite an amount of fish for that staff person to work on. At last I was the second in line. All I wanted was a couple of crabs and should get out of there in no time.

Noticing it was very busy at the fish counter, another staff person came over to help. I was ready to be served, but the staff person went to the end of the line and began to help a couple of ladies with snail (蜗牛). The customers in front of me, being served, turned around and looked at me sympathetically and the customer behind me called to the staff person, “You should start here,” pointing at me. He was, well, ignored.

If someone asked me, “What is the most important rule to follow in America?” I would reply without hesitation. “Wait your turn at all times.” Wherever you go here in this country, you will find people waiting in a line quietly to get anything: whether in the supermarkets, department stores, bus stops, or gas stations, it’s just a matter of waiting your turn. In a larger sense, “wait your turn” is more than just a guideline — it is a very basic rule that reflects the fundamental value of the western cultures. But in some situations your turn does not always come based on when you get there and how long you have waited in line, just like my case at the store. Even though this did not often happen, it did make me feel upset.

1. What happened to the author at the store?

A．He was ill-treated by a customer.	B．He wasn’t served upon his order.
C．He was asked to be served later.	D．He was asked to do others a favor.

2. What does the underlined word “this” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．His belief.	B．His culture.
C．His experience.	D．His rule.

3. Why did the author write the text?

A．To emphasize his kindness to others.	B．To introduce some western cultures to us.
C．To express his belief and his feeling.	D．To show his disbelief in Queuing Rule.

【推荐2】Whenever I heard strangers singing out loud, whether it was in the supermarket or on the street, I used to think how annoying it was. That was until a few months ago.

Recently, my daughter Zoe started her second year of middle school with a new sense of awareness, asking me to fix the "little girl" pattern on her wheelchair seat. Not wanting her to stand out at school, I spent hours filling in pale yellow stars with a black marker, eager to erase whatever childish signs I could. Shortly after, Zoe got really sick and had to miss 20 days of school. This meant our days were filled with rushing between hospital appointments and meetings with the school, as we tried to make sure she didn't fall behind on her schoolwork.

I felt pulled back to a time when she was little and her sickness was a huge part of her life. Back then, it seemed like Zoe lived in hospitals, as she spent so much time in them. No matter how sick she got, however, she always had a positive attitude. But this was different: Zoe was no longer singing like she normally did. Zoe usually sings all the time, whether she's playing, riding in the car, or just doing her homework. There was no need for a radio in our house； Zoe provided the music for us. Consumed (被折磨)with my motherly worries, it was more concerning to me than her sickness.

One day, however, I heard her beautiful voice as I was cooking dinner. I stopped what I was doing and just smiled. “Pure delight. ’’ I thought to myself. Her voice slowly grew stronger, and soon, both the car and the house were filled with her music once more. How had I not noticed her singing had completely stopped, weeks and weeks ago? Now, thankfully, she's back in school, smiling and singing, and I'm thankful for each and every song she sings.

These days, whenever I hear a stranger singing a song to themselves, I don’t get mad. Instead, I smile, as I know that by singing out loud, they're simply sharing their happiness with the world.

1. When did the author feel bothered?

A．When hearing strangers singing.	B．When her daughter started middle school.
C．When fixing stars on the seat.	D．When her daughter became sensitive.

2. Which of the following best describes Zoe?

A．Considerate and helpful.	B．Competitive and hardworking.
C．Optimistic and strong-willed.	D．Self-aware and modest.

3. What does "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Zoe's love for music.	B．Zoe’s falling behind at school.
C．Zoe's silence during her sickness.	D．Zoe's slow recovery from her sickness.

4. What does singing mean to people, according to the author?

A．A way to get rid of stress.	B．A way to express love to others.
C．A way to communicate with others.	D．A way to share joy.

【推荐3】Growing up, Deka Ismail said she let labels define what she could be. “I was a black girl, from a refugee (难民) family,” said Deka. “It was as if I was only allowed to explore in this predetermined box.”

After a high school chemistry class inspired her to think about a career in science and gave her confidence in the field, Deka learned to live outside labels and began making big plans for her future. Now she is about to begin her freshman year at the University of California, planning to become a professor.

Born and raised in San Diego’s City Heights neighbourhood, Deka is the daughter of a Somalia refugee couple. While some might say Deka’s success happened in spite of her background, she would say differently, that her experiences shaped her and inspired her to be a driven (奋发努力的), young scientist.

When Deka was eight years old, her mother got a job by studying hard back in school in order to support the whole family. That made Deka realize that education could make a difference to one’s life. She spent a lot of time in the library reading books, and didn’t do many of the things her peers did, like partying or having romantic relationships.

“I always felt like I had to be the perfect girl for my family,” said Deka. “You have to not even do your best but two times better than everyone else. I felt like the whole world was waiting for me to mess up.”

Deka’s effort paid off. The summer before her senior year of high school, she was accepted into the American Chemical Society Project SEED Programme. “She brought both enthusiasm and focus,” Botham, a researcher at this research institute, recalled. “She arrived every day ready to work, ready to learn and ready to resolve new challenges regardless of whether or not she had done anything similar.”

When asked what advice she would give to others like her, Deka warned them not to underestimate themselves. “Don’t tell yourself that scholarship is too big, this programme is too competitive or I’ll never get into this school,” she said. “I was not sure whether I could make it until I started seeing the acceptance letters rolling in.”

1. From the passage, we can learn that 　　　.

A．Deka was adopted by a refugee family	B．Deka spent a lot of time going to parties
C．Deka became a professor after graduation	D．Deka’s experiences drove her to work hard

2. Deka realized the importance of education 　　　.

A．from her mother’s experience	B．after her chemistry class
C．by reading books in the library	D．through working at the institute

3. According to the last paragraph, Deka advised that students should be 　　　.

A．patient	B．positive
C．ambitious	D．enthusiastic

4. What does the story intend to tell us?

A．Life is not all roses.	B．Practice makes perfect.
C．Well begun is half done.	D．Hard work leads to success.

【推荐1】Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it repaired as there are a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth, so I decided that my approach must be wrong, and I should try another way.

I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I'II give you twenty pounds.” “It's got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that. It's nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I'll buy it.” I said, “What would you mean? You've just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes. I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy.” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You're right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you repair this chair for me?’” “I wouldn't have agreed to do it.” he said. “We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I'll repair this for you, shall we say for five pounds?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

1. We can learn from the passage that in the first shop the writer ________.

A．was rather impolite

B．was warmly received

C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2. What does the underlined word “approach” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．plan for dealing with things	B．way of doing things
C．idea of repairing things	D．decision to sell things

3. The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________.

A．saw the writer's purpose	B．accepted the offer
C．changed his mind	D．decided to help the writer

4. From the passage, we can learn that the writer was ________.

A．honest

B．careful

C．clever

D．funny

5. Which of the following statements is true?

A．The writer wanted to sell his chair for 20 pounds.

B．It was very easy to repair the writer's broken chair.

C．The writer succeeded in getting his chair repaired at last.

D．The man in the first shop thought the chair was too old.

【推荐2】A Teacher's Life Saving Call

In the midst of the COVID-9 pandemic, Julia Koch began what was only her second year as a first-grade teacher in a virtual classroom at Edgewood Elementary School in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. One September afternoon a few weeks into the school year, she received a call from Cynthia Phillips, who was having technical difficulties with her granddaughter's tools for online learning.

Koch immediately knew something was wrong with Phillips. The two women had spoken numerous times before, but Koch had never heard the grandmother sound quite like this. Her words were so jumbled that Koch could barely understand her, though she was able to make out that Phillips had fallen four times that day. Koch called her principal, Charlie Lovelady, who assured her that he would call and check on Phillips himself.

Just like Koch, Lovelady could barely understand Phillips. He suspected she might be having a stroke — he recognized the signs from when his own father had suffered one. Lovelady was able to make out the word kids and immediately became concerned that Phillips's two grandchildren, ages six and eight, were probably home alone with her — she is their primary guardian — and scared. Lovelady asked his office manager to send an ambulance to the grandmother's home. Then Lovelady called Vandiebilt Mathews and Keytria Burt-Walker, two deans in the school district, to tell them what was going on. Both of them dropped everything and drove to the family's home.

When they pulled up less than ten minutes later, the EMTs were treating Phillips while the two girls, looking visibly shaken, were outside with a neighbor. The quick response from Koch and Lovelady saved Phillips's life. She arrived at the hospital in time to get treatment and before chronic damage occurred.

“If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here,” said Phillips from her hospital bed about a month after her stroke. Thanks to an extended stay in the hospital, she has regained most of the movement throughout her body except for one hand and a portion of her mouth, which affects her speech.

Virtual learning has been a challenge across the country, but ifs fair to say that in Muskegon Heights it has helped the community grow closer. Many teachers there gave their personal phone numbers to students and families in case they needed extra help. In this case, the exchange was literally life-altering.

1. When Koch received Phillips's call, she found ______.

A．Phillips had difficulties with online learning	B．Phillips could barely understand her
C．Phillips had fallen for a long time	D．Phillips couldn't express herself clearly

2. How did Lovelady help to save Phillips's life?

A．He sent an ambulance to her home.	B．He offered her treatment in time.
C．He drove her to the hospital immediately.	D．He made a quick response to her disease.

3. What is one of the bad effects the stroke left on Phillips?

A．She could not move about properly.	B．She could not speak clearly.
C．She could not have meals properly.	D．She could not use her hands as before.