【推荐1】Immigration is the act of coming to a foreign country to live. The act of leaving one's country to settle in another is called emigration. Immigrants who flee their country because of persecution, war, or such disasters as famines or epidemics are known as refugees or displaced persons. Most people find it very hard to pull up roots in their native land and move to a strange country. But throughout history, countless millions of people have done so. The heaviest immigration worldwide took place from the early 1800's to the Great Depression, the economic hard times of the 1930's. In that period, about 60 million people moved to a new land. Most came from Europe. More than half immigrated to the United States. Other destinations included Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Today, the availability of fast, safe, and cheap transportation helps make migration easier. Asia is replacing Europe as the major immigrant-sending area. The United States remains the chief receiving nation.
People abandon their homeland and move to another country for various reasons.
The main reason for immigration has long been economic opportunity----the desire for better land or a better job. During the 1800's, for example, the rich prairie land of the United States attracted many European farmers. Today, professional people commonly emigrate because of better opportunities elsewhere. Such emigration has sometimes been called brain drain. Many doctors and nurses and numerous engineers and scientists have moved to the United States.
Religious persecution has led many people to move to a new land for the freedom to practice their faith. Such immigrants include Jews expelled from England in the 1200's.
Wars, revolutions, and political unrest have driven innumerable people to find new homes. In the 1990's alone, millions of refugees fled from warfare in Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Iran, Uganda, Southeastern Asia, and Central America.
Some immigrants were brought to a new land against their will. From the 1500's to the 1800's Europeans shipped black Africans to the Western Hemisphere as slaves. The United Kingdom transported prisoners to Australia from the late 1700s to the 1860s to relieve over crowding in British jails. Before that time, the United Kingdom sent prisoners to the American colonies.
Immigrants have made enormous contributions to the culture and economy of such nations as Australia, Canada, New Zealand the United States. But their accomplishments have been made with great difficulty. At times, the United States, like many receiving countries, has restricted immigration to maintain a more homogeneous society in which all the people share the same ethnic, geographic, and cultural background. Although some immigration laws have been relaxed, many new comers of different backgrounds still face challenges in gaining acceptance.
1. Most Immigrants to the United States in the nineteenth century came from _______.

A．Europe

B．Asia

C．Australia

D．South Africa

2. There are altogether______ reasons   of immigration listed in the passage.

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

3. The main reason for immigration is __________according to the passage.

A．slavery trade	B．religious persecution
C．economic opportunity	D．political unrest

4. In the last paragraph ,“a homogeneous society” is one in which__________.

A．immigration laws have been relaxed.

B．people from different backgrounds live harmoniously together.

C．a brain drain occurs.

D．people share the same ethnic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds.

【推荐3】Sayings(谚语) are quite common in spoken English. We don’t normally put them in a composition or a letter. Sometimes it is helpful if you know what common proverbs mean. Here are a few examples.
“ Once bitten, twice shy.” If a dog bites me, I shall be twice as careful in future when I see it. This proverb is also used to apply to many things and not only to dogs. For example, if you have been cheated at a shop, you will not go to the same shop again.
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” If I am a hunter, trying to catch birds, it is better to catch one than to see two birds in a bush but not able to catch them. Thus this means that what you have already got is better than the chance of being able to get something bigger in future.
“ Don’t be a dog in a manger(槽)” means “ Don’t be selfish.” In a stable (马棚)，the manger is the place where the horse’s food is put. Sometimes a dog will sleep in the manger and bark when a horse comes to get its food. The dog doesn’t want to eat the horse’s food in the manger but it will not let the horse eat it.
“ He who pays the piper calls the tune (调子).” A piper is a musician. The man who pays a musician can say what tunes the man will play. Thus this means that if a man provides the money for a plan, he can say how it will be carried out.
“To pour oil on troubled waters” is to try to calm things down. Oil is lighter than water. If a ship is in trouble at sea, another ship may come to help it. The second ship can send small boats to rescue people. However, it may first pour oil on the sea to make the sea less rough.
1. Peter has a bicycle which is much too small for him but he does not want to let his young brother ride on it. What would Peter’s mother say to him?

A．“ You can’t get blood out a stone.”

B．“ Don’t be a dog in a manger.

C．“ The early bird gets the worm.”

D．“ To pour oil on troubled waters.”

2. Mr and Mrs   Smith had a quarrel. Their friend, Mr Brown, wanted to talk to them. When he came back, he told his wife that he had been trying to help the Smiths by ______ .

A．pouring oil on the troubled waters

B．getting blood out of a stone

C．being a dog in a manger

D．sitting on the fence

3. Mr Wang paid for a new school. Some people didn’t like the design of the school but they didn’t argue with Mr Wang because ______.

A．he was sitting on the fence

B．once bitten, twice shy

C．he who pays the piper calls the tune

D．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

4. Mrs Lin wanted to buy a new dress. Her husband suggested that she buy it from a shop near their home. Mrs Lin disagreed because she had been cheated by that shop. So she said, “ I won’t go there again because ______ .”

A．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

B．he who pays the piper calls the tune

C．once bitten, twice shy

D．I don’t want to be a dog in a manger

5. Mr Brown had quite a good job in Hong Kong but he thought that if he went to Singapore, he might get a much better job with more money and a larger house. His wife didn’t want him to leave his job in Hong Kong and she reminded him that ______ .

A．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

B．don’t be a dog in a manger

C．he who pays the piper calls the tune

D．once bitten, twice shy

【推荐1】Since the pre-historic times man has had an urge to satisfy his needs. Be it hunger, shelter or search for a mate, he has always controlled the situations to his advantage. Probably this might be the reason why we humans are the most developed of all living species on the earth. As we climbed the steps of development we somehow left behind common sense and logical thinking. We forgot that we have stopped thinking ahead of time.

If you are hungry, what do you do? Get a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet. Just like your stomach even your mind is hungry. But it never lets you know because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover favorite star and many such things. So, it silently began to care about your needs and never let itself grow. When mind looses its freedom to grow creativity gets a full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think “What happens next?” “Why can’t I think?” “Why am I always given the difficult problems?” Well this is the result of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things.

Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through reading. Now why reading and not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life we have to turn to reading. You have innumerable number of books in this world which will answer all your “How to?” questions.

Once you read a book, you just don’t run your eyes through the lines, but your mind decodes it and explains it to you. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed if used many times can help you link and relate a lot of things of which you would have never thought in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity. More the number of books you read your mind will open up like never before. Also this improves oral skills to a large extent and makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary. Within no time you start speaking English or any language fluently with your friends or other people. And you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.

1. What helps man become the most advanced species in the world?

A．Searching for food and shelter.

B．Taking good care of the young.

C．Making the best of the surroundings.

D．Adopting a great deal of logical thinking.

2. Why do people ignore their mental starvation?

A．They are occupied with absurd thoughts.

B．They are too engaged with the daily routine.

C．They lose the freedom to grow.

D．They think little of mental health.

3. How does reading benefit people’s creativity?

A．By enlarging their vocabulary.

B．By answering “how to” questions.

C．By explaining the content of a book.

D．By assisting in the formation of new ideas.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Reading helps realize one’s dream.

B．Reading meets man’s hunger in mind.

C．Reading is a best habit for teenagers.

D．Reading can replace food for human.

【推荐2】A new study shows that the increased heat from Arctic (北极的)rivers is making sea ice in the Arctic Ocean gradually disappear. The study published this week in Science Advance was led by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, together with other scientists in the United States, United Arab Emi rates , Finland and Canada.

According to the research, the main Arctic rivers bring more heat to the Arctic Ocean than they did in 1980. River heat is one of the reasons that cause sea ice loss of the Arctic Ocean. That loss is equal to about 120,000 square miles of 1-mcter thick ice. "If Alaska were covered by 1-meter thick icc. 20% of Alaska would be gone," explained Igor Polyakov, a re- searcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' International Arctic Research Center.

Rivers have the greatest influence during spring. The wanning water pours into the ice covered Arctic Ocean and spreads below the ice， slowly destroying it. Once the sea ice melts(融化), the warm water makes the temperature go up. The research found that much more river heat energy entered the air. Since air is mobile, this means river heat can influence areas of the Arctic far from river deltas (三角洲).

The influence was the most prominent in the Siberian Arctic, where several large rivers go into the Arctic Ocean. Canada's Mackenzie River is the only river large enough to contribute to sea ice meh near Alaska, but the state's smaller rivers are also a source of heat.

Polyakov says that rising global air temperatures will continue to warm Arctic rivers in the future. As rivers heat up, more warm water will flow into the Arctic Ocean, melting more sea ice,

1. What does the increased heat from Arctic rivers cause?

A．Dry weather in the Arctic.

B．A strange disease in the Arctic.

C．The gradual loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.

D．The death of fish in the Arctic Ocean.

2. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．Alaska will disappear.

B．There's more and more sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.

C．10% of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean melts each day.

D．Arctic rivers bring more heat to the Arctic Ocean.

3. What does the underlined word "prominent" in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Obvious.

B．Important.

C．Famous.

D．Generous.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Arctic Rivers Will Disappear

B．Arctic Rivers Are Melting Arctic Sea Ice

C．Arctic Rivers Will Create a New River Delta

D．Arctic Rivers Bring More Sea Animals to the Arctic Ocean

【推荐3】Plastic waste is choking our planet. People are trying to help fix it by recycling, but their efforts aren’t going far enough. Even when plastic producers are held responsible and attempt to solve the problem, it doesn’t always go smoothly. Such has been the case for the company Torus Pak, which produces novel packaging for frozen meals on a large scale.

Like many other black plastic products, the Torus Pak packages used a carbon-based pigment (颜料). This pigment troubles the sorting technology which is used by many recycling facilities, so black plastic usually ends up being thrown away because the machines can’t identify it. Now the company is midway through the complex process of phasing out that pigment and switching that pigment to one that doesn’t use carbon.

But that doesn’t mean the problem is solved, for the recycling rate at the waste facility itself is not encouraging. Your discarded plastic may end up in a landfill even if you send it to be recycled. Worldwide, only about nine percent of all the plastic waste has been recycled, which amounts to less than 600 million tons out of over 6 billion. While one might assume the proportion of plastic being recycled is on the increase due to improved tech and increased public awareness of environmental protection, it’s actually become even lower in many places in recent years.

“The world wasn’t always flooded with single-use plastic products,” said Lisa Ramsden, senior plastic campaigner for Greenpeace USA. “We know how to live without them. We’ve just got used to a convenience culture that relies so heavily on them.”

The solution is obvious. To get out of this habit, we should stop using so much plastic, starting with many of the items we use just once for a few minutes. Companies need to shift toward using more refillable and reusable containers, and packaging made from materials that are less harmful to the environment. Governments must mandate (强制执行) such changes — a goal we’re now finally inching closer to every day.

1. What is the problem with the Torus Pak packages?

A．They are expensive for customers.

B．Their pigment is hardly appealing.

C．They are hard to define as “recyclable”.

D．Their production process is very complex.

2. What does the author mainly stress in paragraph 3?

A．The reason for recycling plastic waste.

B．The outcome of recycling plastic waste.

C．The potential of recycling plastic waste.

D．The objective of recycling plastic waste.

3. What is advised to solve the plastic pollution in the text?

A．Making some stricter laws.

B．Reducing the use of plastic products.

C．Advancing the technology of recycling.

D．Setting some higher environmental goals.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Recycling fails to solve plastic pollution

B．A company contributes a lot to recycling

C．Great changes happen in recycling plastic

D．Plastic pollution is increasingly worsening