【推荐2】Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world to have completed a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, setting the record for the oldest female to complete a marathon.

Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Come rain or shine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t take up running until she was 46 years old —after a friend suggested running two miles per day.

“The Honolulu Marathon is my favorite marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate at a certain time, which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races. Fantastic registration (注册), set-up and management make it a joy to run the race.”

Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her down, thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.

Mathea said it was her career as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind respond to diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress rather than ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”

Mathea thought getting through the finish line and winning a Guinness World Record title was the excitement of her life. “My family completely surprised me after the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, in which I achieved the world record, by wearing matching T-shirts stating my achievements,” she said.

1. What do we know about Mathea from the first two paragraphs?

A．She used to be in poor health．

B．She is the oldest to win a marathon．

C．She runs daily regardless of the weather．

D．She was encouraged by her patient to run．

2. Why is Mathea keen on the Honolulu Marathon?

A．It gives winners the best awards．

B．It provides runners with quality service．．

C．It has no time limit for runners to finish．

D．It allows runners to set a world record easily．

3. What led to Mathea’s understanding of the connection between moving and health?

A．Her professional experience．	B．Her training courses．
C．Her views on stress in life．	D．Her hobby from young．

4. What message does Mathea’s story deliver?

A．Practice makes perfect．

B．Interest is the best teacher．

C．Age is no barrier to success．

D．Ups and downs make one strong．

【推荐3】Photographer Lindsey Villatoro gave one family the most beautiful gif. She organized a fake wedding ceremony so that a terminal（不治的）ill father could walk his Il-year-old daughter down the aisle.

Jim Zetz, 62, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and knew that he wouldn't be around for all the big moments in his daughter Josie's life. So when Villatoro heard about the family's heartbreaking story, she decided to do something special for them.

"One day you'll wake up and realize you're given the opportunity to change someone's life for the better, "Villatoro wrote in the description of the wedding video. "If you get an idea, don't think twice and run with it. It was an honour doing this for them. "

Villatoro first met Zetz and his family when she was invited to take one of their final family photos together. When Zetz's wife mentioned that Josie was upset that her father wouldn't be around for "memories down the line", Villatoro decided to help out.

Amazingly, the photographer managed to organize a mini-wedding in the family's backyard within 72 hours! With the help of financial contributions from the local community, she gathered a wedding cake, a dress, flowers, and make-up for the little girl. Friends, family, and even strangers attended the event to show their support.

"Your dad may not live to see you get married, but he is here to walk you down the aisle today, "Gary Galbraith, the pastor（牧师）, said in the ceremony. "The daddy and daughter relationship is one of the most special relationships in life. "

At the ceremony Zetz placed a ring on Josie's finger as the pastor called them "daddy and daughter". Josie's mini-wedding coincided（同时发生）with her 11th birthday. Her mother said, "I knew it would be her last birthday with her dad. If I were Josie, this would be the best gif anyone could give. "

"It was a beautiful ceremony, "the neighbour Jennifer Stout said. "It's sad to think of someone so young losing her dad but at least she will have a memory of this event. "

1. Why did Villatoro help to organize the wedding ceremony?

A．To celebrate Josie's birthday.	B．To meet Zetz's demand.
C．To comfort the dying father.	D．To satisfy Josie's wish.

2. From the passage, we can know that ________

A．Josie didn't know about his father's illness

B．Josie was not satisfied with the wedding ceremony

C．the wedding ceremony gained much support

D．Zetz was fighting his illness bravely

3. Which of the following words can best describe Villatoro?

A．Greedy.

B．Skilful.

C．Helpful.

D．Hard-working.

4. What's the main idea of the passage?

A．The dying father walked his daughter down the aisle.

B．The 11-year-old daughter was sad for losing her father.

C．Photographer Lindsey Villatoro filmed an important event.

D．Josie spent her last birthday with her dying father.

【推荐2】What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of wheat straw? Most people would probably just see it as a pile of waste in a farmer’s field. However, Wu Cui, an intangible cultural inheritor, can turn the straw left over from harvested wheat into beautiful and eye-catching functional artworks.

The earliest straw-weaving (草编的) products were discovered at Hemudu Cultural Ruins, a Neolithic cultural site located in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The Book of Rites, one of the classical works of Confucianism, also records that there were already mats made of cattail grass and professional straw-weaving craftsmen during the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256 BC).

Straw weaving is a method of manufacturing daily items or artworks. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Wu explains the process of straw weaving: selection of materials is the first step of a complicated, time-consuming and labor-intensive process that can take weeks, or even months, to complete. You need to sketch (素描) the piece on paper, which requires drawing skills. Next comes weaving, shaping and preserving of the work. Even by finishing that process, it does not mean that you will always create a good piece of work, and the hardest part is to make it vivid.

In the past, woven straw items could be found almost in every household in the countryside, such as straw hats and straw shoes, because they were practical in everyday life. But due to the impact of industrialization, manufactured goods have replaced such products, which produce low profits, and there are only about 100 individuals engaging in the work across the country. “The world has changed, and craftsmen need to transcend practicality and seek the beauty and artistry of straw culture to help the craft survive and develop,” Wu says.

As far as she is concerned, straw weaving should respond to people’s needs and preferences, while still drawing inspiration from traditional culture. “Craftspeople should make a great effort to grasp the trends and opportunities of the times to create new and relevant products,” she says. When asked about her plans, Wu says she wants to dig deeper into local traditional culture and create cultural creative products by developing the straw-weaving technique.

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about straw-weaving products?

A．Their major uses.	B．Their cultural value.
C．Their historic origins.	D．Their manufacturing process.

2. Which is the most difficult part for straw-weaving craftsmen according to Wu Cui?

A．Making the artworks lifelike.	B．Drawing sketches on paper.
C．Selecting suitable materials.	D．Preserving finished products.

3. What does the underlined word “transcend” in paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Rely on.

B．Turn to.

C．Throw away.

D．Go beyond.

4. What can we learn from Wu Cui’s opinion according to the last paragraph?

A．Straw-weaving products are out of favor with customers.

B．Seeking fashion should be the first task for craftspeople.

C．Local people benefit a lot from the straw-weaving techniques.

D．Craftsmen should create the craft based on traditional culture.

【推荐3】Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to all the buildings in the historic area of the city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons for example, economic (经济的) reasons why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should you do then if a new building is needed?

In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own hometown of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.

It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoiled (破坏) the area they have in. But the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative (保守的) and do not like change.

Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If you always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice.

1. What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?

A．Most of them are too expensive to preserve.

B．Some of them are not attractive.

C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings.

D．They have nothing to do with the historic view of an area.

2. Which of the following is true according to the author?

A．We should reproduce the same old buildings.

B．Buildings should not dominate their surroundings.

C．No one understands why people speak against new buildings.

D．Some old buildings have spoiled the area they are in.

3. By “move things forward” in the last paragraph, the author probably means _________.

A．destroy old buildings

B．put things in a different place

C．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings

D．choose new architectural styles

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To explain why people dislike change

B．To warn that we could end up living in caves

C．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas

D．To admit how new buildings have ruined their surroundings