【推荐1】Howard Weistling wanted to be a comic strip （连环漫画） artist． But when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor， he joined the Army．

After flight engineer training， Howard was shipped off to Europe． On his maiden flight， his plane was shot down over Austria． The entire crew of eight men landed safely． But a farmer found Howard hiding in his barn and turned him over to a prison of war camp in Barth， Germany． It was freezing and the men almost starved to death eating the guards' garbage．

Hungry and homesick Howard coped the only way he knew how． He drew a comic strip． The book， made of cigarette wrappers bound together with   scrap   metal，   was   sent   around   the   camp． Every couple of days he would add a new panel． One panel at a time would be passed around the whole camp． And they'd have something to look forward to．

After an entire year of this， they woke one morning to find their guards gone． They fled and Howard finally got to go home． Just lucky to get out alive， he left the book behind．

Back home in California， Howard soon had a wife and kids to feed so he had to set aside his dream of becoming an artist． He took a job as a gardener instead．

Morgan shared his father's artistic gifts． At 15 his parents sent him to art school． And Howard got to see his son become a well﹣known painter before he died in 2002． That's how， seven decades after the war， when a stranger in New York googled the name "Weistling，" he found Morgan online．

"I get an email from a gentleman and he says， ‘I think I may have some drawings your father did when he was a POW （prisoner of war） in World War II，'" Morgan recalls． "‘Would you like them？' And I just stared at that email and started crying．"

Luckily Howard had engraved his name on the comic book， which is how the man from New York City had connected with Morgan． A couple of days later when it arrived in California， Morgan couldn't believe it． "It was like getting my father back，" Morgan says． "It was like him being able to tell me the story over again ﹣ only this time it was real in my hands．"

1. The passage details Howard's life as a POW to show that　 　．

A．war cannot stop his pursuit of success.

B．passion for art helped ease his sufferings.

C．loss of freedom encouraged his creativity.

D．misery drives him to fight against his fate.

2. What can we infer about Howard's comic strip in prison？

A．It satisfied prisoners' curiosity．

B．It aroused the guards' sympathy．

C．It was popular among the prisoners．

D．It raised prisoners' confidence in freedom．

3. What contributes to the stranger's success in finding Morgan？

A．The email from a gentleman．

B．Howard's experience in the war．

C．Morgan's recalling of his father．

D．Morgan's status in the field of art．

4. What can we infer about Morgan from the last paragraph？

A．He didn't believe the stranger's story．

B．He was excited to get the comic strip．

C．He couldn't wait to tell others his good news．

D．He hadn't heard about his father's war stories．

【推荐2】 “Have you checked the oil in the car?” my father used to say to me, his way of “Hello, hope you are well.” Sometimes our phone calls would begin with a question about the oil and end with a question about the oil, with not a lot in between.

Fathers have a lot of love to give, but it’s often offered by means of practical advice. In my experience: It’s mostly about my car. “How’s the car running?” “Did you get it serviced?” My car — an old green Toyota Corona bought for $500 — was where my father showed his love.

Why can’t we fathers just say “I love you” or “It’s great to see you”? The point is: that’s exactly what we are saying. You just have to translate from the language that is Fatherlish. Listen closely enough and the phrase “I love you” can be heard in the slightly longer “I could come around Saturday and repair your chair.” The words “You made my life better from the moment you were born” may be hardly heard, but the main meaning is there in the more common “I’ll hold the ladder while you get the leaves down from the roof.”

When I was 17, I went on my first road trip — a friend and I in that old car. My father stood on the corner on a cold morning to say goodbye. “Highways are dangerous,” he said, “so don’t try overtaking anything faster than a horse and buggy. And take a break every two hours. And every time you stop for gas, you really should check the oil.” At the time we thought his speech was pretty funny and would sing “horse-and-buggy” every time I tried to overtake some other speeding cars.

Dad’s long gone now. But after all these years, I realize that had I owned a copy of the Fatherlish-to-English dictionary, I’d have understood that the speech my friend and I so carelessly laughed at was simply Dad’s attempt at love.

1. Why did the author’s father often ask about the car?

A．To show his love for the car.	B．To see if there is enough oil.
C．To express his care to his son.	D．To check the condition of the car.

2. Which of the following sentences is an example of Fatherlish?

A．I love you deeply.	B．It’s great to see you.
C．You made my life better.	D．I can check the oil for you.

3. What does the underlined word “overtaking” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Outrunning.	B．Approaching.
C．Crashing into.	D．Knocking over.

4. What can be inferred about the author in the last paragraph?

A．He wanted to own a dictionary.	B．He regrets his childish behavior.
C．He is sad about his father’s death.	D．He realized his father’s love then.

【推荐3】Three years ago I worked for a few weeks as a doctor in a new dental clinic (牙科诊所) at Victor Harbor, to the south of Adelaide and an hour further away than my usual workplace. My first day there was a rush — driving to a new clinic and getting used to the clinical environment.

As it was all new to me, I took off my rings: my wedding ring, and one that was an anniversary (周年纪念日) gift from my husband. I put them in a tissue (纸巾) and placed them beside my computer. During my lunch break, I noticed the tissue and thought that it did not look very clean and threw it into the rubbish bin. I went about my work and my day went well; I met new patients and felt that I had been productive.

Driving home at the end of the day, just moments before I reached my house, I noticed that my rings were missing. I felt the heat in my body rise, my cheeks (脸颊) burning red. I felt sick to my stomach.

I spent an hour or so making calls, trying to find my rings. The first people I called were my manager and clinical leader and they gave me a few phone numbers for cleaners. I got in touch with a lady who managed the cleaning services for the clinic, and she told me that the bins had already been collected.

I knew nothing could be done now. I had lost my rings. But after two or so hours, I received the most amazing phone call. The cleaner had gone through the bins and found my rings! I was so thankful to her, someone who had taken the trouble to go through the bins — which is not a pleasant task — to find my priceless rings.

I worked at that clinic the following day, so I bought chocolates to thank this wonderful person. Unfortunately I did not get to meet her as she was not at work that day.

1. What can we say about the author’s first day at the clinic?

A．Busy but fruitful.	B．Relaxing and good.
C．Tiring and boring.	D．Disorganized but special.

2. What happened to the author?

A．She made mistakes during work.

B．She received a gift from her husband.

C．She failed to finish her work in time.

D．She threw her rings away carelessly.

3. How did the author feel after calling the lady?

A．Thankful.	B．Surprised.
C．Heartbroken.	D．Frightened.

4. What can we learn from the author’s experience?

A．Smiles brighten people up.

B．Strangers are usually of little help.

C．Where there is a will, there is a way.

D．An act of kindness can mean a lot.

【推荐2】We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up（挂断电话） hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly go into a panic (恐慌) and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up（排成长龙） behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meanwhile, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!
1. According to the author’s opinion, ____.

A．troubles always come in groups

B．accidents may happen anytime

C．a small matter may cause great trouble

D．anyone may have trouble any day

2. When the telephone rings,____.

A．you should never go to answer it in a hurry

B．your trouble is sure to come

C．you’d better just let it ring all the way

D．you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before answering it

3. What did the police do after the accident?

A．They helped the driver clean up the road.

B．They tried to stop the people from arguing.

C．They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.

D．They would find out who should be responsible

【推荐3】81-year-old Harry Smith of Port St. Lucie, Florida takes his 9-year-old dog Sarah Jane for a walk around the lake across the street from his house twice a day, every day. Smith, who uses an electric wheelchair to get around, was on one of his regular walks earlier this month when something out of the ordinary happened. The left wheel of his wheelchair got stuck in some loose mud (泥土), and as he tried to reverse (倒车)out of it, his wheelchair lost balance. He ended up turning over his wheelchair and rolling down the bank into the lake.

Sensing her owner was in trouble, Sarah Jane began barking (吠叫)loudly as Smith struggled to keep his head above the water. Her continuous barking caught the attention of two neighbors working in their driveway across the street, who rushed over to see what was wrong.

One of those men was Edward Shuling, who said in the beginning he thought the dog might have gotten into a fight with a crocodile (鳄鱼), before he saw Smith's head sticking out of the water.“Immediately I just jumped in,”Shuling told TCPalm.“It's just a natural reaction.”A second neighbor, Aby“Jacob”Chacko, was following closely behind and happened to spot Officer Adam Doty on his way down to the water. Together, the three men pulled Smith out of the water and back to safety, much to his—and Sarah Jane's—relief.

With no serious injuries, Smith was cleared to go home but his electric wheelchair was no longer working due to water damage. And in a post showing the sweet moment by the Port St. Lucie Police Department, Officer Doty and Sarah Jane, of course, helped Smith get back to his house.“We are thankful to Mr. Smith's dog and the two passers-by that helped save his life!”the post reads.

1. What caused the accident?

A．The wheelchair tripped over a dog.	B．Harry Smith tried to move closer to the bank.
C．The wheelchair took a sharp turn to reverse.	D．A wheel of the wheelchair got caught in the mud.

2. What did Edward Shuling think was happening at first?

A．A dog was struggling with a crocodile.	B．A man was being run after by a dog.
C．A dog was warning people of a crocodile.	D．A man was fighting with a crocodile.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Harry Smith got a new electric wheelchair.

B．Sarah Jane was praised by the post for what she did.

C．Harry Smith was seriously injured in the accident.

D．The police looked into the case and found out the reason.

4. Which of the following sayings agrees with the story?

A．Every dog has its day.	B．A barking dog does not bite.
C．A man's best friend is his dog.	D．A friend in need is a friend indeed.