【推荐1】Thousands of people have headed to an area in the western United States to search for a hidden treasure. A wealthy art collector and businessman from the area named Forrest Fenn says he hid the treasure. The searchers follow nine clues (线索) from a poem that Fenn wrote. They consider the poem their “treasure map.”

The treasure hunters believe the prize could be hidden in an area that starts in New Mexico and stretches all the way to the northern state of Montana. Many believe the treasure is real. Others, however, think it does not exist.

An estimated 350, 000 hunters from around the world have come to the area seeking the treasure. One of them is Sacha Johnston. She is a single mother, “I have been hunting for the treasure for five years and I’m not regretful about my choice,” Johnston said. She thinks she has made good progress on guessing some of the clues. So, she’s happy and has kept her search going.

Forrest Fenn spoke to VOA from his home in Santa Fe. The house is filled with priceless art pieces collected over his lifetime. He talked about volunteering to fight in the Vietnam War in 1968 and narrowly escaping death several times during his service.

Fenn said doctors found cancer in his body in 1988 and told him he only had about six months to live. So he decided to put pieces of gold, jewels and other valuables in a bronze box and leave it for others to enjoy after he was gone. But Fenn ended up beating cancer. Years later, in 2010, he decided to hide the box. “I wanted to give people something to look forward to and everyone is hopeful,” he said.

When asked whether he thinks people are close to finding the treasure, Fenn said he really has no idea. “It is possible my treasure box could be found this afternoon, or it could be 100 years or 500 years. Who knows?” he said.

1. According to the first two paragraphs, what can we learn about the treasure hunt?

A．The clues are hidden in nine poems.

B．The searching area is very large.

C．Only a few people have taken part in it.

D．Most people don’t believe the treasure exists.

2. How does Sacha Johnston feel about her hunt?

A．She is uncertain about her hunt.	B．She is tired of her hunt.
C．She is satisfied with her hunt.	D．She is relaxed by her hunt.

3. Why did Forest Fenn start the treasure hunt?

A．To bring people a goal as well as hope.

B．To celebrate his recovery from cancer.

C．To let more people know about his poems.

D．To draw people’s attention to war survivors.

4. The purpose of the passage is to ______.

A．introduce a successful treasure hunter to the readers

B．persuade the readers to join in a treasure hunt

C．show the readers how to be a good treasure hunter

D．tell the readers that a treasure hunt is going on

【推荐3】China’ Forbidden City----traditionally off-limit at night for anyone except emperors and visiting dignitaries (显要人物）---- was decorated with lanterns as China celebrated the end of the Chinese New Year holiday. The complex, home to Chinese emperors for five centuries, was opened at night for the first time since it was reopened as the Palace Museum 94 years ago.

The complex and palace walls were illuminated with red lanterns and a light show, designed to recreate the feelings of the royal court, while the China National Traditional Orchestra and the Peking Opera performed. An image of a treasured scroll called A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains was cast onto the palace roof.

Most of China’s 1.3 billion people, however, had to watch the show on television. Only 3,000 people were allowed in: 2,500 invited guests and 500 people who booked their tickets online. “The 3,000 visitors can show off for the whole year,” one person said on Weibo. When booking for the second day opened at midnight, the booking system crashed for more than an hour due to great demand. The free tickets were quickly taken when it reopened. A lively secondary market soon appeared. Scalpers were selling tickets for as much as 9,999 yuan on online trading sites.

The Palace Museum is now on a campaign to attract more visitors, with its former curator Shan Jixiang saying he wants to make traditional Chinese culture more accessible to the general public. More than 80 percent of the palace is now accessible to visitors, up from 30 percent in 2012. Shan has set a target of 85 percent by 2020 to mark the palace’s 600th anniversary . Creativity today has made the Palace Museum younger and drawn traditional culture closer to the public.

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

A．Cared for.	B．Lit up.
C．Picked out.	D．Kept safe.

2. How do most Chinese admire the night view of the Forbidden City ?

A．By watching TV at home .

B．By grabbing free tickets online

C．By buying tickets from the secondary market.

D．By receiving invitation from the Forbidden City.

3. What will happen in 2020 according to Shan Jixiang?

A．The campaign between museums will be better.

B．Creativity will make the Palace Museum younger.

C．Traditional Chinese culture will be recreated by foreigners.

D．About 85 percent of the palace will be accessible to visitors.

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

A．A Brief Introduction of the Forbidden City

B．Difficulties in Getting Tickets to the Forbidden City

C．Performances During the Light Show in the Forbidden City

D．Forbidden City’s First Opening to General Public at Night

【推荐2】Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel you are already close friends. They are always good talkers.

Here are several skills that good talkers have in common. If you follow the skills, they’ll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.     1    .

First of all, good talkers ask questions. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question. One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning.     2    .” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions.     3     . Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully.

Real listening at least means some things. If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he’s really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice.     4    

Finally, good talkers know well how to “say goodbye”. If you’re saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you.”     5    . Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away, happy and satisfied.

A．You can become a popular person.

B．Common as the question is, it will get things going.

C．Don’t be afraid to say so if you want to see that person again.

D．You’d better change the subject if the voice sounds dull.

E．It’s polite to listen to others with a smile.

F．And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

G．These people have something in common.

【推荐1】I was driving my newly acquired motorcycle across the vastness of North Dakota when all of a sudden it froze up on the road. I would later be told the timing melt had slipped and this caused one of the pistons（活塞） to crack a cylinder（气缸） head, or something like that.

Anyway, I sat on the side of the road for what seemed like hours. I even pretended to have been in an accident, which didn't help. Finally, a young man pulled over and offered me a ride, but given that he already had two motorcycles in the back of his truck, he could only take me.

He drove me to the next town, where I asked to be dropped off. Rather than drop me off, he waited while I asked around if anyone could help me to pick up my motorcycle. One elderly gentleman was working and said that I could use his pickup! Can you imagine that a stranger gave me the keys to his pickup?

It was quite an experience, I must say. So, as I drove back 20 miles to get my motorcycle, the gentleman who first stopped to help me followed me. We both put the motorcycle in the back of the truck, and then I followed him another 50 miles or so and we both unloaded the motorcycle at his place. Then, he followed me back to the small town so I could return the man's truck. I didn't have much cash on me, maybe $40, but I gave it to the man for the use of his truck.

Two strangers helped rescue me from spending the night on the side of the road in ND. I don't recall their names, but when I close my eyes I can see their faces as if it were yesterday. Thank you, strangers. You may be reading this right now.

1. Why did the author pretend to have been in an accident?

A．To go for a ride.	B．To make repairs to the car.
C．To block the cars.	D．To try to get assistance.

2. From the underlined sentence in paragraph 3, we can infer ________.

A．the author didn't understand the gentleman's intention.

B．the author was deeply touched by the gentleman's offer.

C．the elderly gentleman was ready to help any strangers .

D．the elderly gentleman ran a risk in offering the keys.

3. Why did the author write the article?

A．To show his appreciation to the two strangers.

B．To share his miserable experience on the road.

C．To try to persuade us to give a helping hand.

D．To tell the trouble the strangers took to help him.

【推荐2】Alexis, 17, sat quietly in the passenger seat of her dad’s car. She let her eyes lazily scan the landscape for wildlife. Then a deer came into view about 200 yards in front of them. “Dad, there’s a deer there!” Alexis said. It was a male deer with sharp antlers (角) on each side of its head.

As the car moved closer, Alexis saw that the deer’s head was bent toward the ground. Then she heard a scream and saw an arm fly up near the deer’s head. Alexis realized the deer was attacking a woman. Sue, a 44-year-old mother, had been out for her morning run. The deer followed her and edged closer. “I knew I was in trouble,” Sue says. She went to pick up a stick for self-defense, and the deer charged. It lifted her with its antlers and threw her into the air. Sue could feel blood flew down her leg. Within seconds, the deer had pushed her off the road.

When Alexis and her father pulled up, the deer was throwing Sue like a doll. Alexis looked into the woman’s terrified eyes, and before her father had even stopped the car, the teenager jumped quickly out of the car and ran toward the deer. “I was kicking it to get its attention,” she says. Then her father, who had followed his daughter, pushed the deer away from the woman.

Alexis helped Sue into the car, and then applied a piece of cloth to Sue’s injured leg. “We’re going to get you to a hospital,” Alexis said. Then she heard her father shout loudly. He had been knocked to the ground. Alexis took hold of a hammer from the car and ran to where her father lay on his back. She beat the deer’s head and neck, but the blows didn’t scare it away. “I was losing faith,” she says. “A couple more strikes, Alexis,” said her father. “You can do it.” Turning the hammer around, Alexis closed her eyes and beat the deer’s neck with all her strength. When she opened her eyes, the deer was running away. Alexis got in the driver’s seat and sped toward the nearest hospital.

After Sue was treated, she tearfully thanked her rescuers. “You expect a teenage girl to get on the phone and call for help,” she says, “not to beat up a deer.”

1. What was Sue doing when she was attacked by the deer?

A．She was driving home.	B．She was resting on the road.
C．She was taking exercise.	D．She was feeding wild animals.

2. What did Alexis do to save Sue?

A．She pushed the deer away.	B．She hit the deer with her feet.
C．She drove the car to hit the deer.	D．She beat the deer with a hammer.

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A．A Woman Was Seriously Injured	B．A Dangerous Deer Attacked a Woman
C．A Girl Rescued Her Father Successfully	D．A Teenager Saved Others from a Deer Attack

【推荐3】At the end of my senior year of high school, I got a job working at a local coffee shop．I thought the job would be easy and stress-free．I pictured myself pouring the best coffees, making delicious doughnuts (炸面包圈), and becoming friends with regular customers．
I wasn’t expecting the people with enormous orders, the women who complained that the coffee was much too creamy (含乳脂的), or the men who wanted their iced coffees remade again and again until they reached perfection．I couldn’t seem to please anyone．
One rainy day, one of my regular customers came in looking upset．He said he felt like getting in bed, pulling the sheets up over his head, and staying there for a few years．I knew exactly how he felt．
Before he left, I handed him a bag along with his iced coffee．He was surprised, since he hadn’t ordered anything but coffee．I had given him his favorite type of droughnut．
“It’s on me,” I told him．“Have a nice day．”
He smiled and thanked me before heading back out into the rain．
The next day, it was still raining．I spent my afternoon hanging out the window handing people their orders．I was completely wet and freezing cold．Worse, no one was tipping that day．Every time I looked into our empty tip jar, I grew more depressed．
In the evening, the customer from the day before drove up to the window．He handed me a pink rose and a note．He said that not many people took time to care about others and he was glad there were still people like me in the world．With a friendly wave, he drove away．
I ran to the back of the shop and read the note．It read:
Christine,
Thanks for being so sweet, kind and thoughtful yesterday．It is so nice to meet someone who’s indeed nice．Please don’t change your ways! Have a great day! –Hank
After that, whenever I felt depressed or sick of coffee, I thought of Hank and his kindness．Then I would smile, hold my head up high, clear my throat and ask politely, “How can I help you?”
1. Why wasn’t the writer happy with her job at first?

A．The customers didn’t tip her enough

B．It was difficult to make iced coffee perfect

C．Everybody had an enormous order

D．The job didn’t turn out as she had expected

2. The man came to the coffee shop to ______

A．buy his favorite doughnut	B．complain to the author
C．buy a cup of iced coffee	D．get out of the rain

3. The man felt thankful for the writer because ______

A．she was indeed kind to him in a time of need

B．she knew exactly how the man felt

C．she offered him coffee and food for free

D．she comforted him by sharing his pain

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Don’t count your eggs until they are hatched

B．If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path

C．The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships

D．A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy