【推荐2】On my first day of high school, going into math class, I was pointed and laughed at by two of my classmates. I initially thought my fly was open, or that something was stuck in my teeth. But as I took my seat, I heard one student whisper, “Why is a black boy taking Honors?” So, my fly wasn’t open. An honors level class had simply been taken by a student whose skin was brown.

Many people think my clothes should be big enough for me to live in, or expect me to listen to only “black music.” In seventh grade, a group of my classmates fixed their cold stares on my clothes. They called out to me, “Go get your gangsta clothes.” In one of my Spanish classes, the teacher asked me, “Do you like rap music or rock music more?” I replied, “Rock.” The look of shock on my classmates’ faces made me uncomfortable.

Now I still take all Honors courses. I still wear clothes that fit me. My music library covers from rock to pop to techno, and almost everything in between. When it comes to choosing my friends, I am still colorblind. I continue to do my best to work in school in order to reach my goals; and yet, when I look in the mirror, I still see skin of that same brown.

I believe in being myself. I believe that I myself should decide who I am and what actions I take in life. In high school, popularity often depends on your willingness to follow trends. And I’ve been told that it doesn’t get much easier going into adulthood. But the only other option is to sacrifice my personality for the satisfaction and approval of others. This can be appealing, but I’m not going to do that.

1. Why did his classmates laugh at him?

A．His fly was open.

B．Something was stuck in his teeth.

C．He went into the wrong classroom.

D．They had prejudice against him.

2. What are black people usually believed to do?

A．Listen to rap music.	B．Wear small clothes.
C．Take Honors courses.	D．Attend Spanish classes.

3. What does the underlined word “colorblind” probably mean?

A．Making friends of the same skin color.

B．Having no idea what friends to make.

C．Treating people equally and fairly.

D．Feeling hurt and offended inside.

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

A．Following Popular Trends	B．Being Content with Myself
C．Having Faith in Skin Color	D．Changing My Personality

【推荐3】Following Mo Yan's Nobel Prize , the usually silent Chinese literary circle got warmed up again. A Shanghai writer named Jin Yucheng surprised nearly everyone by making his novel full of Shanghai dialect.

Published in 2012, the 350,000-word Blossoms （Fan Hua） is a novel about the changes in Shanghai over 30 years, drawing clear images of the city through the stories of many common people. There is no main story like most novels, but every story in it could run independently. While putonghua is the standard choice for Chinese literature today, Jin's use of the Shanghai dialect appears both different and bold.

"I have seen too many novels that look similar to each other. Chinese literature is getting monotonous in both language and form. I want to be special with my own language, " Jin told the Global Times.

In the novel, Jin makes a breakthrough by mainly using dialogues to unfold various plots and represent typical characters on a daily basis. He also abandons the use of some punctuation like quotation marks （引号）, showing a return to the traditional Chinese huaben genre.

Since its publication, the book has been widely recommended on Sina Weibo with many netizens rating the novel high for its unique use of dialect and vivid description of life using plain speech.

Jin said that he got the idea of writing the novel while chatting in an online forum where people use the Shanghai dialect. The praise he received from the netizens encouraged him to continue writing the random stories.

"I'd like to see more writers to follow my lead. It will enrich our literature and make it diverse," he said.

1. What can we know from the first two paragraphs?

A．The Chinese literary circle is never silent.

B．Mo Yan was surprised at Jin Yucheng's new novel.

C．The stories in the novel aren't linked to each other.

D．The novel represents the lifestyle in Shanghai in the 1930s.

2. The underlined word " monotonous" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to "            ".

A．lacking in variety

B．being short of expectations

C．wanting further improvement

D．requiring more consideration

3. How does Jin Yucheng make a breakthrough in his novel Blossoms?

A．By inventing lots of typical characters.

B．By creating a vivid background.

C．By employing dialogues to develop plots and represent characters.

D．By using beautiful words in Shanghai dialect.

4. What encouraged Jin Yucheng to continue writing in dialect?

A．The family's support.

B．The netizens’ praise.

C．The citizens comments.

D．Other writers encouragement.

【推荐2】Whenever you are traveling and have the good fortune to arrive at your destination in one piece, I think that you have to tell people your trip was fine. I had a fine trip last week!

I went an hour north to a speaking engagement. Fifteen minutes out of town my vehicle began to shake. The engine light began flashing wildly. Fortunately, I had several friends who lived not far from the next exit. I called one and asked if I could borrow her vehicle for the afternoon.

I went straight to my friend’s place and left my vehicle behind, now shaking like a mechanical bull, and then headed back. I was behind schedule, which was why I may have broken the speed limit passing a motorcycle.

Once I had slowly driven through several miles of construction, traffic began to sail. Until we came to the trucks with flashing lights blocking traffic. Workers were removing a deer that was no longer with us. And a second. And a third.

After a brief moment of silence for the deer, traffic got back up to speed. Then dark and ominous (不祥的) clouds came. They were the kind of clouds that make tornadoes. Rain fell heavily. Traffic slowed right down and came to a complete stop.

I was thinking how to word my apology for being late when the hail began. It was so dark I could barely see. Thank goodness for the lighting. It was killer hail, the kind that blows out windshields (挡风玻璃). I couldn’t decide whether to shield my eyes or look to see what was happening around me.

Open, eyes! No, close! Open! Close! Open! Close!

The hail ended, the windshield was still there, and the traffic started again. The cloud came back and dumped all five Great Lakes on us. Stopped again.

Maybe whoever was introducing me could do a song and dance.

Waiting for the second rain to pass, I programmed my destination into Google maps. As they closed the flooded highway behind us, I took my exit and headed to my destination.

I arrived at my destination late, wide-eyed and in a mess, but in one piece.

“How was your trip?” A warm young fellow!

“Fine, thank you. Just fine.”

1. What does the underlined word “engagement” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．date

B．conference

C．workshop

D．contest

2. Why was traffic blocked when the author arrived behind some trucks?

A．Because the author had broken the speed limit passing a motorcycle.

B．Because there were several trucks with flashing lights blocking traffic.

C．Because three dead deer were in the way and the road should be cleared first.

D．Because dark and ominous clouds came, which can make tornadoes.

3. What can be inferred according to this text?

A．Rain fell so heavily that traffic slowed right down and came to a complete stop.

B．The author got through the flooded highway to her destination despite the terrible rain.

C．The author managed to arrive at her destination on schedule, in a mess but in one piece.

D．The author’s introducer might try to earn the young fellow forgiveness for her being late.

4. What message does the author want to convey with the story?

A．No sweat, no sweet.	B．Being safe is a must.
C．Love me, love my dog.	D．Grasp all, lose all.