【推荐1】When I was growing up my family was very poor. One year, we celebrated Christmas late because Dad needed to construct a tree from the roadside branches he could find the week after the holiday. Money was a hard-to-come-by thing.

By the time I was in primary school, I had become creative in obtaining money. I used to go to the local flea market on Sundays. On one such visit, I noticed a woman selling a popular toy, the Chinese Yo-Yo, ten for a dollar. I thought I could risk a buck, and I bought ten. By the end of the week, I sold all ten… each for a dollar. When I returned to the market the next Sunday, I reinvested my ten dollars and bought a hundred more.

Being in a difficult financial situation taught me perseverance (坚持不懈) and adaptability early on. I am an elementary school teacher, and every day I see our children are being handed far too much. Second graders are getting the iPhone for their seventh birthdays.

Kids also procrastinate and wait until the last moment to work on their Mission Projects. As a result, Dad runs out to the store, buys everything his daughter needs the night before the project is due, and he stays up long after the late night talk shows，making his daughter’s school project.

How can our kids persevere when Mom and Dad clear all of life’s obstacles (障碍)? How can kids push through and be creative and innovative when they are handed everything they desire?

I have seen parents who are struggling financially put themselves deeper in debt in order to clear a path for their children. This isn’t just bad news for parents and their finances-kids never get the opportunity to problem-solve, to figure things out, to come up with ideas, to engage their brains and feel empowered once they have moved themselves ahead.

1. The author’s family celebrated Christmas late one year possibly because __________.

A．their father was out of work.

B．their father had to clear the roadside branches.

C．they couldn’t afford a Christmas tree.

D．they father didn’t finish his work before Christmas.

2. What can we learn from the author’s experience in making money?

A．Kids can easily earn a lot of money.

B．Hardship teaches kids something valuable.

C．Business encourages and inspires kids’ creativity.

D．It’s important for kids be independent of their parents.

3. The underlined word “procrastinate” in Paragraph 4 probably means __________.

A．adapt.

B．recover.

C．progress.

D．delay.

4. What does the author advise parents to do?

A．Go through thick and thin with kids.

B．Set proper and practical goals for kids.

C．Let kids overcome their own obstacles.

D．Give kids chances to try a different lifestyle.

【推荐2】Sometimes life can seem challenging and we usually get the feeling that however happy we are，we never seem to be satisfied .We usually feel upset with the troubles that life throws at us．The best thing to do at that point of time is to close our eyes and start counting of all the blessings in life that God has given us．

If we think deeply, our life is full of blessings that we hardly recognize．Listening to the singing of birds early in the morning，we realize that there are many people who spend their life in a world that is silent while many others spend their lives in a world that is dark and may have never seen a rainbow（彩虹） or the setting sun．

When you go out for a drive，pull down the window and look at the poor beggar standing under the hot sun，begging for filling his hungry stomach．We get three meals a day without realizing its importance．Isn't that a blessing？

Whenever you are sad，look at the eyes of your parents and family filled with love and concern for you. There are many people who have never experienced the love of a family．Isn't that a blessing？

As Mother Teresa once said，"We don't need to do great things．We need to do small things with great love"．

The key to a happy life is when we consider others’ problems to be our own and try to help them．When we love people without any expectations and help them，our heart is filled with a sense of happiness and peace．

So next time whenever life knocks you down，close your eyes and start counting!

1. What does the author intend to tell us？

A．Love gives us courage．

B．Don’t be unsatisfied with our life．

C．True happiness lies in becoming rich.

D．The singing of birds can make us happy．

2. What should we do when we fell sad?

A．Drive outside and beg.

B．Close our eyes and cry.

C．Look for our parents’ love and concern.

D．Remember the happy time we’ve experienced.

3. What can be learned from the text？

A．It is a blessing to have three meals a day．

B．Mother Teresa calls on us to do great things in life．

C．It's natural to see a rainbow or the setting sun in life．

D．We have already known that life is filled with blessings．

4. What is the key to a happy life？

A．Considering our own things.

B．Learning to love and help others.

C．Letting our hearts fill with peace.

D．Helping others with many expectations.

【推荐3】I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square, It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of ________ nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be full - grown.
1. According to the passage, the Indians _______.

A．don’t have modern instruments in their homes

B．refused to move from round places

C．lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses

D．lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses

2. Two things being compared in the passage are _______.

A．the Indians’ past and present living conditions

B．the Indians’ past and modern beliefs

C．the Indians’ old and new power

D．people and nature

3. In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.

A．the four rooms of the Indian’s house

B．the four kinds of natural power

C．the four seasons

D．the four directions

4. According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _______.

A．they had to move to other houses

B．boys took more time to grow into men

C．they forgot the old way of life

D．everyone was not happy

【推荐2】Kindness and kids just seem to go hand in hand. But 62% of more than 2, 600 participants in the NBC News State of Kindness Poll believe that today’s kids are less kind than those in the past. Women (66%) feel about this kindness fall more strongly than men (58%). Most of the participants who feel that way (77%) thank parents caused the seeming lack of kindness among today’s children, with a few thinking that society, schools, or friends caused it.

At the same time, Americans say they don’t put kindness first when it comes to teaching kids values. Among all participants, honesty is taught more than kindness as well as other things like courage, leadership and storing work ethic (道德). But the younger generation—those aged 18～24—think highly of kindness rules. They choose kindness by 10% over honesty as the most important quality to teach kids.

The question of whether kindness is learned or taught—or somewhere in between—causes different opinions. According to the study, Americans have different opinions on whether kindness in something one is born with or needs to be learned and nurtured over time. Slightly more than half (52%) of the participants believe that all of us are born with the ability to show kindness, while 48% believe kindness must be developed.

Parenthood (父母身份) makes a difference to your thoughts on the causes of kindness. Those without kids (56%) are more likely to think that people are born to be kind, while 50% of the participants with kids think kindness is developed.

Also, 51% of dads and 54% of men with no kids believe kindness is something time is born with. Slightly more than half of the moms say kindness must be learned, while 48% believe it is what one is born with.

1. What do participants aged 18～24 consider the most important for kids?

A．Honesty.

B．Leadership.

C．Kindness.

D．Courage.

2. The underlined word “nurtured” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．kept

B．developed

C．replaced

D．protected

3. How many moms in the study believe kindness is what one is born with?

A．48%

B．51%

C．52%

D．54%

4. What is the test mainly about?

A．Causes of today’s kids being less kind.

B．The important qualities of today’s kids.

C．Different people’s opinion’s on kindness.

D．Findings of research on today’s kids’ kindness.