【推荐1】TEENAGERS lead an exciting life in high school, making friends and dreaming about the future. However, as all young people know, teenagers have plenty of worries too.

Do you know what British teenagers worry about most? A survey by the UK’s Department of Health shows that the top worries are losing weight (减肥) and fitting in (适应). Over 100,000 teenagers took part in the research.

Losing weight is a big concern among teenagers. This may be an effect of famous people with perfect bodies around them.

Adolescence is a physically and emotionally difficult time. Teenagers want to feel good about their bodies.

It’s also important for them to be accepted. Many teenagers were picked on (作弄) in high school. “Who should I eat lunch with?” “Who should I hang out with?” “Will I be accepted?” These questions are troubling many UK teenagers, according to the survey.

It’s interesting to see that family background has an effect on teenagers’ worries. Teenagers from low-income families worried more about losing weight and bullying (欺凌弱小). Teenagers from higher income families were more likely to worry about fitting in and peer pressure (同辈压力).

1. According to the survey, British teenagers are most worried about ______.

A．fitting in and making money	B．finding jobs and making friends
C．losing weight and being accepted	D．making money and losing weight

2. Many teenagers are concerned about losing weight because ______.

A．they see thin famous people	B．they care a lot about health
C．they don’t have much money	D．they face problems in life

3. The word “adolescence” in the fourth paragraph means ______.

A．幼儿期

B．青春期

C．青年期

D．老年期

4. Suppose Jack is from a poor family; what do you think he may worry more about?

A．Fitting in and losing weight.	B．Fitting in and peer pressure.
C．Losing weight and bullying.	D．Losing weight and peer pressure.

【推荐2】Are you worried about moving up to Senior High school? It can be a new experience, but you shouldn’t worry. We’ve put together a guide on how to survive the first week.

You’re not alone!

Remember everybody else in your year is on the same boat. They may not realize it, but they’re just as nervous as you are. Moving to Senior High school is an opportunity, not a problem. Things are different and all you need to do is be polite and learn the new rules.

Teachers are ready to help!

If you’re unsure what to do or are worried about anything, then you had better ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to as they’ re experienced in helping new students. Some Senior High schools also have a “friends system”. If your school has this, then you will be paired with an older student. They will look out for you and help you if you have any problems or questions.

____________________

There are lots of differences between Junior High school and Senior High school. One of them lies in learning methods. In Junior High School, the learning process can be completed without much difficulty if you have a good memory. While study in Senior High requires both deep comprehension (理解) and memorizing, but the former (前者) is much more important. So that explains why many students can deal with the study in Junior High but can’t adapt to the learning process in Senior High. Besides you will need a homework diary or a student planner to help yourself get organized, or you will not be able to finish different tasks.

Other points

If you’ve got an elder brother or sister at the school then ask them for advice. Be yourself! It sounds simple, but people will know you much better if you just act naturally.

Having early nights makes a difference and you’ll find it easier to get up in the morning!

1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A．Other students have similar feelings to yours.

B．Other students have to learn boating with you.

C．Other students will help you solve your problems.

D．Other students will teach you politeness and new rules.

2. The new students turn to teachers first when having problems because___________

A．teachers are more patient than parents	B．teachers are good at helping solve problems
C．teachers are nice to every student	D．parents are too busy to help them

3. Which subtitle best suits paragraph 3?

A．Different learning methods	B．More homework
C．More organized	D．All change

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To tell students the importance of learning.

B．To ask students to take friendship seriously in Senior High school.

C．To make a difference when moving up to Senior High school.

D．To help new students to get used to the life in Senior High school.

【推荐3】School is a place that is familiar to everyone. Let’s find out what American students do in school.

An official dance party is held about twice a year in high schools in the United States. When the final football game is over for the season there is a homecoming party. Sometimes, students select a king from among the football players, and a queen from among the girls. Every student can attend and have fun with the help of their teachers. Sometimes, to the surprise of everyone, students, who devote all their time to study, come to the party in a beautiful dress.

The most exciting party that students can go to would have to be a prom (毕业舞会). Students attend it in dresses similar to those of Hollywood stars and the atmosphere is comparable to an Oscar Award party. Since such a party is for seniors, students usually stay up the night trying to enjoy their last year in high school.

In American schools, instead of the teachers going to different rooms, students have their own class schedules and go to different classrooms. When a student is away from school, they must have an explanation for being away along with the signature (签名) of a parent. The signed paper is then handed in to the school office. American students also enjoy a number of activities out of school like cheerleading (啦啦队), student government and a host of different sports.

1. Whose presence at the homecoming party can make others amazed?

A．The king and the queen acted by students.	B．Students who study hardest.
C．The teacher who offers advice.	D．The laziest student in study.

2. Why do students hold the prom till the next morning?

A．Because they would like to dance and sing madly.

B．Because this is the only chance that they get dressed like film stars.

C．Because students make it as exciting as an awarding party of Oscar.

D．Because this perhaps is the last chance that they can enjoy their high school life.

3. According to the passage, American students in school ______.

A．study in the same classroom	B．have the same class with each other
C．attend different classes in different places	D．wait for their teachers in their classroom

4. What is this passage mainly about?

A．The organizing of dance parties.	B．A homecoming party.
C．The class in America.	D．School life in America.

【推荐2】A few years ago, I stood in a small classroom, watching a high schooler named Serena Stevenson answer math questions. An instructor read out numbers-7447,7089,9842, and Stevenson added them in her head. For each question, she closed her eyes, and then the fingers of her right hand began to move. She answered most of the problems correctly.

The key to her success was an ancient technology called the abacus (算盘). For much of that evening, Stevenson used a practice called “mental abacus”, imagining the abacus in her mind and then using her fingers to work through the problem.

From watching Stevenson, I knew that gaining skills on the abacus was more than a matter of counting beads (珠子), so I decided to sign up for an abacus course with my two daughters to see if we could also improve our math skills. I was one of the many who harbored some math doubts and I felt a touch of fear of math. My usual solution was avoidance, and if I had to figure out something like percentage change, I would go online.

Then after a few abacus classes and a good amount of practice, math seemed a little less frightening. I hadn’t become Euclid. But the practice brought my fear of math down a level. This is a long-proved power of the abacus. Confidence grows easily on the device, and abacus students are less likely to be nervous about an upcoming math test, according to one study. Part of the reason, it seems, is that practice and outcomes appear to move in step, with hard work related highly to performance.

My kids had gained some math confidence as well. My youngest daughter would beam broadly after getting a math problem correct, while my older child brought her abacus to school to show to her classmates and teacher. These were small successes. But that’s how they ultimately develop confidence.

1. What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To prove the difficulty of math.	B．To introduce the topic of the abacus.
C．To show the intelligence of Stevenson.	D．To recommend teaching abacus in schools.

2. What can we infer about the author from paragraph 3?

A．He was not good at math.	B．He had no interest in the abacus.
C．He regarded math as really useful.	D．He learned mental abacus from Stevenson.

3. What does the author realize from his learning experience?

A．The old methods hardly work today.	B．The simplest way is the best way.
C．It pays to put theory into practice.	D．Practice makes perfect.

4. What does the underlined word “beam” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Smile.

B．Reflect.

C．Explore.

D．Agree.

【推荐3】Nelson Mandela was a person of international fame，and many details of his life and career were public knowledge. But here are some things you may not have known about him.

In his youth，Mandela enjoyed boxing. Even during the 27 years he spent in prison，he would exercise every morning. “I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. Boxing is equal. I never did any real fighting after I entered politics. My main interest was in training，”he wrote in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.

Rolihlahla Mandela was nine years old when a teacher at the primary Methodist school where he was studying，gave him an English name—Nelson—according to the custom to give all school children Christian names.

Rolihlahla is not a common name in South Africa.It means “troublemaker”．His circumcision name was Dalibunga，meaning “founder of the Bunga”．

However，in South Africa，Mr. Mandela was often called by his clan(宗族)name—Madiba—which South Africans used out of respect.

After going underground because of his ANC activities，Mr. Mandela's ability to evade (躲避)the securities services earned him the nickname “the black Pimpernel”，after the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel，about a hero with a secret identity.

A fake(伪造的)passport in the name of David Motsamayi was used by Mr. Mandela. He had pretended to be a driver，a gardener and a chef in order to travel around the country unnoticed by the authorities.

Mr.Mandela studied law on and off for 50 years from 1939，failing about half the course he took. In August 1952，he and Oliver Tambo founded South Africa's first black law firm，Mandela and Tambo，in Johannesburg. He persevered (坚持) to finally get a law degree while in prison in 1989.

1. Why did Nelson Mandela become a boxing fan?

A．He hoped to find a better job.

B．He was interested in the training.

C．He enjoyed the violence of boxing.

D．He wanted to take the championship.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about Mandela's name?

A．Madiba was his Christian name.

B．His original name was not Nelson.

C．His parents gave him the name—Nelson.

D．Rolihlahla is a popular name in South Africa.

3. Mr. Mandela made a fake passport to        ．

A．travel around the country	B．go abroad easily
C．escape from the authorities	D．pretend to be an actor

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Mr. Mandela was a determined person.

B．Mr. Mandela set up South Africa's first law firm.

C．It took Mr. Mandela over fifty years to get a law degree.

D．Mr. Mandela got his law degree after being released from prison.