【推荐1】My son has poliomyelitis（小儿麻痹）and he suffered from it a lot. When he was young, my wife and I took him to see so many doctors and got different kinds of treatments. But still, he couldn’t walk like a normal kid. So he was laughed at by his peers for his walking style. His tears burnt our eyes like sulphuric acid（硫酸）. Then, he became afraid of going to school. He wouldn’t go any more.

One night, my wife had a breakdown and shouted at him, “I tell you, my kid, you might be like this forever. you are a freak in other people’s eyes, and perhaps it would never change. But in my eyes, in your dad’s eyes, you are not a freak! You are not! Even if you are, we love you and we will love you forever!” My son spoke nothing for two days. He didn’t eat or sleep. We could read he was hurt. We hoped something wonderful would fall in our family. On the third morning, he struggled to walk to my car, with his school bad in his hand of course. He raised his head high and hugged me, saying “want to go to school. Nothing will beat me.”

You know, from then on, he was never afraid of being mocked or despised anymore. If he couldn’t avoid these looks, he chose to look at them in the eyes. Later, something nice really happened and me son went to MIT. When he was asked how he managed to bear the pressure, he said, “Because of my parents.”

My dear fellow, if you care too much about how other people look at you or what their opinions are, you will never become what you want to be.

1. What does the underlined phrase mean in paragraph 2?

A．a minor nervousness	B．a serious illness
C．a severe depression	D．an outburst anger

2. The author’s son was laughed at by his peers, because _________.

A．he was from a poor family	B．he didn’t do well in his lessons
C．he walked in a strange way	D．he often burst into tears

3. After hearing what the mother said, the son ________.

A．didn’t say anything without eating or sleeping for two days

B．went to school unwillingly without speaking anything

C．burst out crying complaining about his bad experience

D．quarreled with his mother and left home angrily

4. Which of the following is NOT right according to the passage?

A．The boy owed his success to his parents and was grateful to them.

B．The boy was brave to face any difficulty after being encouraged by his mother.

C．The boy achieved success and admitted to a famous university.

D．The boy finally could walk like a normal child after some treatments.

5. From the passage we can say the boy is ________.

A．brave and hard-working	B．determined and brave
C．wise and easy-going	D．confident and outgoing

【推荐3】When I was only 3 years old, my mother taught me to memorise and recite poems. She was my first teacher of the arts, and my father was the first to appreciate my performance. Even at that young age, I had a simple understanding of how art and culture affect us as human beings and how we can connect to each other through the arts, which shapes my life to this day.

When I was growing up, my parents supported my interest in taking acting classes and doing community theatre. Their faith in me and the professional training I was getting from my theatre teachers gave me a sense of purpose and a sense of self-confidence. I learned what artistic achievement actually was and what hard work the business was. While many people see the rosy picture to our business, I was really learning what it would require for me to become a professional.

I became an actress, but arts education isn’t just about preparing our young people for a job in the arts. I recently talked to some of the kids attending theatre education. Some of them want to work in theatre, and some don’t. They are learning not only theatre skills, but also about the world around them. They learn about discipline and hard work and what’s required and what they have to do to bring themselves to the work. They learn how they can be of service in the world through the arts. They learn how to work with a team. By studying the arts, these students are open to worlds and lives that they might not have any other way of knowing about or any other way to connect with in their lives the way they are right now.

These young people are our future. We are passing the torch to them. And I think that’s one of the most important reasons why we need to foster(培养) the arts.

1. When the writer was 3 years old, she 　　　.

A．learned many kinds of arts

B．did well in communication

C．recited poems to her father

D．had a deep understanding of the arts

2. What does the underlined word “rosy” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Bright.	B．Funny.
C．Terrible.	D．Hopeless.

3. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?

A．It was hard for the writer to start business.

B．It is not easy for one to succeed in arts field.

C．Parents’ faith is a must for one to be professional.

D．The writer’s self-confidence led to her artistic achievement.

4. According to Paragraph 3, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Attending theatre education does the kids much good.

B．Students studying the arts should travel around the world.

C．Discipline and hard work are not included in arts education.

D．Arts education can only prepare the youth for jobs in the arts.

【推荐1】“It’s the best…uhh…What? You don’t want it?...,” the inexpertienced young man uttered, his hope dashed.

“Again, you disappointed me, Andrew. When are you going to learn? You have to be sure and confident. And think how best to make him part with his money. Apply yourself, Son. All your college education will not help if you don’t put your mind to selling. Think on your feet. Use psychology,” Andrew spoke with confidence overwhelmed by his father’s criticism.

“You’ve been in this shop for six months and you haven’t succeeded in selling a single computer. I tell you what. I’ll give you one more chance. I’ll give you another three more weeks. If you still can’t make one sale, I’ll call in your elder brother to replace you. He will also take over the shop when I retire. There. I’ll just give you one last chance to prove yourself,” said Mr. Whitely, his patience wearing thin.

Andrew’s heart missed a beat. This time he would have to do it. Do or Die! A sense of urgency gripped him. Somehow he must prove himself to his father.

It was now the end of the day and the shop was being closed. The assistant employed by his father, called Mike, chuckled and put his arms round poor Andrew to comfort him,“ Sort it out yourself. It’s gotta come from yourself.” he said.

The shop was located in a bustling shopping center. Andrew left the shop and walked round the complex aimlessly and by chance entered a large bookstore. He glanced at the books and was about to leave when his eyes caught some interesting titles: “How to increase your confidence,” “The art of communication,” “How to sell well” among others.

The next minute he was out of the store with the shopping bag bugling with books. In his apartment (for he loves separately from his parents and little sister),he settled himself in his easy chair and devoured the contents of the books, one by one. His keen intelligence enabled him to focus the details that matter and pick out the ideas and techniques expounded. In a week his image underwent a transformation. Gone was the stubble that used to give him an untidy image likened to a heroin addict. He was also smartly dressed now. Instead of his usual slurred speech and incoherence, he spoke with clarity, purpose and forcefulness. He was more convincing and persuasive. Above all, confidence flowed from his being and he seemed to have learned a few tricks of the selling trade. He worked hard at his sales pitch and one day he succeeded in selling a computer. His first sale. He had finally achieved the quota of one sale within the given time frame of three weeks. The job, the shop, was his. He had to thank Mike for it. And now he had to go beyond his first success and score, consistently and persistently. Nevertheless he had proved himself at last and the future looked bright and promising.

1. We learn from the story that at the beginning Andrew’s father_________.

A．holds the view that Andrew is hopeless

B．has lost his patience with Andrew

C．has given the shop to Andrew

D．still hopes Andrew will improve

2. We learn from the story that Andrew_________.

A．has turned himself into an experienced sales manager

B．has tried in vain to get his job done in six months

C．has let his father down in the end

D．has done well with the help of Mike

3. What’s the most significant change of character in Andrew?

A．He’s more convincing.	B．He’s more hard-working.
C．He is more confident.	D．He is more intelligent.

4. What conclusion can we draw from the story?

A．Success depends on hard work, talent, and willingnesss to make changes.

B．However hard you try, you won’t achieve success without others’ help

C．It takes time to succeed, you have to try again and again and never give up

D．It’s good communication skills and some tricks that result in big business.

【推荐2】My wife Hannah, and I don’t usually keep houseplants. Anything in pots gets either over watered or under watered. But after my diagnosis (诊断) with a brain cancer, I loved the idea of having something new and green around.

My friend Mitch gave me what he said was a lucky bamboo plant in a deep-green pot. I told Hannah I wanted to care for the plant myself. The cancer limited my ability to walk, and the treatment made it hard for me to accomplish everyday tasks. Tending to the plant gave me a sense of accomplishment at a time when I sometimes felt useless. Over the next few months, I recovered from an operation. Even after I returned to work, I continued to care for the plant. Soon, it had nearly doubled in height and its leaves were shiny and lush (茂盛). Both the tree and I were thriving.

Then, surprisingly, it began to show signs of stress. I increased my watering, then decreased it. I fed it commercial plant food. No matter what I did, the leaves kept browning and dropping to the floor. I grew more and more frustrated. “I can’t even care for a simple plant!” I yelled. “I’m failing!” Hannah reminded me that we’d seen houseplants die before. She asked me why I was getting so worked up about this particular one. “If my lucky bamboo dies,” I blurted out (脱口而出), “I might die too!” Now that the tree was struggling, I felt increasingly fearful. Its browning leaves, I worried, might signal the recurrence of my brain cancer.

Sunk in thought, I realized I had wrongly connected my careful nurturing of the plant—something over which I had at least some control—with my own survival—something over which I had no control. As my anxiety lessened, I began to learn online guides to help me figure out how to care for my plant. Following the instructions, I transplanted the tree to a larger pot, untangling its roots to give it room to grow. When it was back in the sunny window, we both began to thrive again.

1. What can we learn about the bamboo plant?

A．It was Hannah that cared for the bamboo.

B．The writer showed no interest in the bamboo.

C．The bamboo gave the writer a sense of accomplishment.

D．The leaves of bamboo kept dropping to the floor because of lack of water.

2. What is the meaning of the underlined word?

A．harmful

B．fast-growing

C．scared

D．deadly

3. Why was the author so frightened after seeing the leaves fall to the ground?

A．The plant was a gift from his best friend.

B．He didn’t want to see the plant die like before.

C．The plant had become a symbol of his own threatening health.

D．His wife did not understand his special feelings for this plant.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．My lucky bamboo	B．My wife and bamboo
C．The benefits of keeping bamboo	D．The way to keep bamboo