【推荐1】When I got home after dropping out of college in my junior year because of depression, I didn’t want to get out of bed every day. But my parents wanted me to, so I just removed myself from the living room to the couch. Sometimes I would turn on the TV and watch marathons, but mostly I just sat there, lost in thought.

One day when I was lying on the couch, not knowing what to do, I thought since I had been out of school for a long time, I had better do something productive in my life. I looked at what I could do. I could attend online college classes, go to in-person events just to get out of the house, or take up a hobby. But none of these things made me happy, and my depression seemed to follow me inseparably.

However, there was something that was my thing. No matter what kind of day I’m having now, the mere mention of start-ups still cheers me up. I have been doing business in some kinds of forms ever since I was a kid, and despite everything, this enthusiasm has always been in my heart.

So I started thinking of ideas, seeing which one could become practical. I spent my days being glued to a wide purple notebook and a pen in hand, sometimes moving from the couch to the table on our back porch (门廊) in the mornings. If I got up early enough, I’d watch the sun come up. It was there, in the still mornings, that I learned about life and started to look back on mine.

With time going on, the depression started to lift. I was making more progress in my recovery, and the good days were more frequent than the bad. I started a couple of different businesses, eventually settling on a web design business, and did a lot of experiments, which changed my ideas. After a period of time, things started to work.

1. What seemed to trouble the author all the time?

A．Various daily routines.	B．Parents’ complaints.
C．Attractive TV programs.	D．Certain mental problems.

2. What did the author begin to think of doing one day?

A．Finding a way out.	B．Going back to school.
C．Escaping from home.	D．Hosting out-door activities.

3. What exactly lifted the author’s spirits?

A．Taking notes attentively.	B．Appreciating early mornings.
C．Recalling the cheerful childhood.	D．Following the passion in business.

4. What do you think of the author?

A．Lonely but talented.	B．Passive but productive.
C．Stressed but optimistic.	D．Uncreative but changeable.

【推荐3】If someone said they’d pay you $ 1,800 to stay off social media for six years, would you do it? Could you?

Sivert Klefsaas did just that. “I thought it was awesome,” Sivert told CNN Tuesday, “I thought, ‘Ah what’s 6 more years?’”

In 2016, Lorna Goldstrand Klefsaas challenged her 12-year-old son Sivert to stay off social media until he was 18. If he completed the challenge, she’d award him the cash on his eighteenth birthday. On February 19, 2022, Sivert claimed his prize.

Lorna was inspired by a challenge she heard on the radio called the “16 for 16”, where a mother gave her daughter $1,600 when she turned 16 if she stayed off social media, she told CNN. She decided to up the ante (期限) to two extra years and $200 more.

Sivert said it wasn’t too difficult to live without social media, and he didn’t think about it much during the six years. As a 12 year old, Sivert said he wasn’t using social media much anyway. The only app he had prior to the bet was Snapchat—which he deleted a day after trying it out. “I wouldn’t say there was ever a time when I thought I was about to break,” he said. “As it went on, it was more of a pride thing.” He also had his friends to keep him up to date on the latest information or trends.” I got to avoid all the unnecessary drama that was on there.” Sivert added.

Lorna said she never had to check for any sneakily downloaded apps. “He’s so competitive, it was definitely more for proving a point.” she said. It also meant he had more time to focus on his grades and sports instead, Sivert told reporter.

Now $1,800 richer, Sivert told CNN he hasn’t thought about what to buy (when he was 12, he joked he’d get a house), but it’ll likely be something for his dorm room at the University of Northwestern St. Paul, which he’ll attend in the fall.

After Sivet’s success, Lorna took to Facebook to share the challenge. She said it was some of the best money she ever spent. Other parents have seemed interested in trying it out too, she told CNN.

“We are certainly not against social media, but it’s the healthy using of it.” Lorna noted. “It’s about not letting yourself get weighed down by it, or addicted to it, or affected by things that people post.” She added she thinks her son now has a “different perspective” on social media than he would have at age 12.

1. What do we know about Lorna?

A．She posted the challenge on CNN.

B．She has a different perspective on social media now.

C．She offered Sivert the cash on his sixteenth birthday.

D．She got inspiration from a similar challenge over the radio.

2. What mainly made Sivert win $1,800?

A．His eagerness to prove himself.	B．His mother’ support.
C．His friends’ encouragement.	D．His casual attitude.

3. What’s the attitude of other parents towards the challenge?

A．Indifferent.

B．Objective.

C．Favorable.

D．Doubtful.

4. What advice did Lorna offer at Last?

A．Avoid using social media.

B．Develop a healthy living habit.

C．Try not to be addicted to social media.

D．Escape being influenced by people around you.

【推荐1】Math had never been something I was good at since middle school. Classes became harder in high school, and I was even further from a math teacher’s dream student. So at the start of my freshman year, I had an aversion to math. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do well, but simply that I didn’t think I was able to do well. “I can’t“ became my state of mind in all things related to math.

However, I was soon to learn that “I can’t” was not a choice in Mr. A’s class.

Mr. A always greeted us with open arms as he said, “Welcome! Smile! It’s a great day to be alive!”It was clear that Mr. A had a true passion not only for math but for teaching. If Mr. A ever experienced bad days in life, he never showed it. Mr. A greeted us with that same smile every day. He encouraged each student, from the top achiever to the “I can’t” student.

I found myself looking forward to math class, although I still hated the subject itself. Being in Mr. A’s presence made me feel good, as if I had the chance to succeed. As the year progressed, I spent increasingly more time on my homework, and I met with Mr. A weekly. My classmates began to do the same, and it became “cool” to have lunch and talk with Mr. A. We didn’t know it at the time, but he was changing our attitudes.

Though my story is not one of overnight success and I didn’t become a straight-A math student, my hard work did begin to pay off and my grades slowly began to climb. There were hard times, of course. Difficult math questions sometimes succeeded in bringing me down, but Mr. A kept reminding me, “Kate, smile! It’s a great day to be alive!”

1. What does the word “aversion” underlined in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．interest.

B．preference.

C．misunderstanding.

D．dislike.

2. What first made the author look forward to math class?

A．Mr. A’s attitude.	B．Her interest in math.
C．Her friends’ encouragement.	D．The top achievers in her class.

3. How did the author feel about her talk over lunch with Mr. A?

A．It was straight.

B．It was efficient.

C．It was challenging.

D．It was impressive.

【推荐2】I still remember I was 11 years old when I asked my mom for piano lessons in 2010. We were in the fallout of the recession (经济衰退). She said a polite “no”.

That didn’t stop me. I Googled the measurements for a keyboard, drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one - keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. I spent six months playing without touching a real piano. Once my mom saw that I was serious, she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.

I still remember the first one. I was struck by how real the sound of the piano was. I sat my grade one after eight lessons. Once I started secondary school, we couldn’t afford lessons again. I passed grade three, then grade five, practicing only on my piece of paper.

One evening, when I was about 13, my mom said she had a surprise for me; it was an electronic keyboard, bought with more borrowed money. It was the first time I’d played for her. She was in shock.

My school didn’t offer music A-level. I found the Purcell School for young musicians. The tryouts were difficult. Some of the questions involved an estimation (评价) of the composer or when it was written. I felt overwhelmed. To my amazement I was offered a place.

At Purcell, I spent two years working as hard as I could. I performed to raise money and saved enough to buy my first piano.

When I left Purcell, I was awarded the senior piano prize and senior academic music prize. I am now at the Guildhall School in London. I feel proud: it’s been 10 years since I drew my paper piano, and I’m at one of the world’s leading music schools.

The irony is that I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano: what we call mental practice. The paper piano helped spark my curiosity about how music works, the building blocks that form the pieces.

1. Why did the author’s mom buy him lessons at last?

A．She suddenly made a fortune.	B．She had no doubt of his talent for piano.
C．She realized he meant what he said.	D．She was shocked by his first performance.

2. Which of the following can best describe the author?

A．honest and practical.	B．determined and hardworking.
C．humorous and reliable.	D．rebellious and pessimistic.

3. The word “irony” in the last paragraph shows that the author was _______.

A．surprised	B．absurd
C．satisfied	D．curious

4. What’s the author’s main purpose of writing this article?

A．To introduce the method of mental practice.

B．To share how he convinced his mom to buy a piano.

C．To encourage people to stick to their dreams.

D．To describe how costly it is to learn an instrument.

【推荐3】Having grown up in northern Arizona with the immortal Grand Canyon and the iron red plateaus of Sedona in my backyard, I believed that the southwestern state is home to the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. Towering mountain titans, a cozy valley and an infinite blue sky promised fantastic potential for exploration. For me, no newly discovered sights or foreign landscapes can compare with its beauty.

That is, until I was invited to explore Guizhou province by the China Storyteller Partnerships Tour. Had someone vividly described how beautiful Guizhou can be in poetic detail, they would not have done it exactly. There is no substitute for seeing with one’s own eyes. I will attempt to do so.

During my trip around the city of Xingyi, in Guizhou, I saw the artwork of the Bouyei ethnic group. They use dyes produced from local plants to make clothing of striking blues and greens. Local elders still practice weaving with artful wooden machines and pass that tradition on to their grandchildren.

My father used to drag my brothers and me on yearly fishing trips around Arizona. We would compete to catch the largest fish, and in the mornings, Dad would cook us a basic breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. I sat in a small boat in the middle of the lake, with fishing pole moving slowly in my impatient hands, and held my bored tongue while my father attempted to share with me the whispers of the wind, a fish dancing on the surface of the lake or the majesty of a hawk hunting for prey overhead. On my trip to Guizhou I had the opportunity to paddle on Wanfeng lake. At one point I rested, floating at the center of the lake, listening to the spaces between silence and taking in the surrounding karst (喀斯特) mountains. I thought about my childhood, and wished I had listened more closely to my father while fishing.

I’ve lived away from Arizona for 10 long years, carving my own destiny in China. I’ve managed to build myself a family, a career, a livelihood, and various projects. I feel as though I have everything that I need. For a moment, in Guizhou, I felt home.

1. What do we know about the author’s hometown?

A．Situated in the north of US, it is home to Grand Canyon.

B．It has varied landscapes, ranging from plateau to valley.

C．Apparently, there’s no comparison in terms of beauty.

D．The author spent his childhood and adulthood in his hometown.

2. What does the underlined word “substitute” probably mean in paragraph 2?

A．Experience.	B．Replacement.
C．Objection.	D．Agreement.

3. What is the purpose of paragraph 4?

A．To express his regret not listening to his father closely.

B．To recall the most unforgettable experience with his family.

C．To compare the trip on Wangfeng lake with his former fishing trips.

D．To suggest that his trip in Guizhou takes him back to his childhood.

4. What does the author think of his life in Guizhou?

A．Unavoidable.	B．Favorable.
C．Demanding.	D．Astonishing.