【推荐1】Four Good Books to Help You Relax

Most of you may sometimes feel stressful in your daily life. Therefore, it is necessary for you to relax yourself. Apart from your friends, family members, or colleagues, good books can also bring you relaxation.

There and Back: Photographs from the Edge, by Jimmy Chin

Enjoy breathtaking pictures and the stories behind them from Jimmy Chin, Oscar-winning director of Free Solo and National Geographic. The adventure photographer takes you from Tibet to Antarctica. It’s the perfect way to explore places you probably never imagined you’ll go to and meet people you’ve never had the chance to meet without ever leaving your home.

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

Based in part on her about 20 years’ researching lion groups in Africa. Delia Owens tells the story of Kya Clark, the “Marsh Girl” of North Carolina. who comes to the remote (偏远的) wild after experiencing a difficult childhood. She has made herself at home in the natural world and grows up there. This is a shocking but beautiful story in the human and natural world.

The Dogist, by Elias Weiss Friedman

We have already known that our four-legged friends are the perfect company when we need to relax ourselves. However, sometimes it may happen that we just can’t have them near by. For those times, look through this wonderful photo book. Each photo of a sweet dog will be sure to turn around a difficult day.

Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl

This heartwarming book from well-known food writer Ruth Reichl brings readers into the kitchens of her childhood, where her love for cooking and eating began. From cooking at home with her mother to eating her first soufflé (蛋奶酥), each story about delicious food will make readers laugh. Warning: Your stomach may grumble (咕哝).

1. What is Where the Crawdads Sing about?

A．A girl’s growth.	B．Travel experience.
C．A lovely dog.	D．Family fun.

2. What does There and Back: Photographs from the Edge and The Dogist have in common?

A．They are set in difficult times.	B．They are photo collections.
C．They share the similar story.	D．Their authors live in the wild.

3. Whose book may attract a food lover?

A．Jimmy Chin’s.	B．Delia Owens’.
C．Elias Weiss Friedman’s.	D．Ruth Reichl’s.

【推荐2】Writing a summary of a book, or making notes of a book, is a great way for you to absorb what you’re reading.     1     To write a good summary, read the book carefully while taking notes on important ideas, plot, and main characters. Here are ways to guide you to make notes.

Make notes on the text as you read. It will help you find important passages easily while you are writing the summary. Circle, highlight, or note anything that's confusing, important, surprising, or interesting. If the book belongs to you, feel free to highlight passages and write in it.     2    

Write notes while you’re reading.     3     Taking notes as you read will allow you to record things correctly. This will create less work for you than if you try to go back and check on details later. It might be a good idea to keep several different pieces of paper next to you for notes. One can be for general impressions and quick thoughts. You can also make notes to keep track of words you don’t recognize.

    4    Write down the main characters’ names and a brief description of their personalities or major characteristics. Include a line or two about each of the main characters’ desires and goals. You can also make a timeline of the major events that occur in the book, especially if the plot is complicated or confusing.

Break the book down into sections. To keep yourself from getting puzzled, think about the book in three parts. The story will have a beginning, middle, and end.     5     The beginning will be focused on introducing the major character. The middle will explore the major “problem” of the book. The end will resolve the book’s major problem.

A．Identify the main point of each section.

B．Organize your notes based on these sections.

C．Keep a list of the main characters or a timeline.

D．Use a dictionary to look these up and then write down the definitions.

E．Keep a notebook next to you while you read so you can put down your thoughts.

F．If the book does not belong to you, use sticky notes to mark the passages instead.

G．It also gives you a quick reference to remember the main points anytime you need it.

【推荐3】The following are our monthly top picks among the recent nonfiction publication.

Four Battlegrounds

By Paul Scharre

Scharre examines the trends and expectations for the future applications of AI, whose battlegrounds are data, computing power, talent, and institutions. This study of the struggle over AI is well-written, widely sourced, and detailed. Readers knowledgeable about computer science will find it clarifying, while others will gain understanding of an important subject.

Saving Time

By Jenny Odell

With Saving Time, Odell aims at our concept of time. The idea of making as much output as possible from our time is fully rooted in modern life. Odell mixes cited research, philosophy, ecology, and history, finding the hidden markers of time along the highways and coast of her Bay Area home. Saving Time will find a long life on any library’s shelves.

Wisdom of the Wild

By Sheri Mabry

This title provides easygoing spiritual guidance inspired by everyday wonders of the natural world. Each section concentrates on an aspect of nature with a desirable quality, consisting of a one-page, science-based observation with advice and encouragement. Readers seeking inspiration will appreciate this charming offering.

Microjoys

By Cyndie Spiegel

During hard times, Spiegel began searching for a way to gently hold sadness in one hand and joy in the other. In a series of thoughtful essays, Spiegel begins with observations about various experiences, opening her heart to share emotional events made by what she calls “microjoys”. And finally, she urges readers to open their hearts and welcome glimpses (一瞥) of joy and beauty.

1. Whose book should you read if you are a fan of future technology?

A．Paul Scharre’s.	B．Jenny Odell’s.
C．Sheri Mabry’s.	D．Cyndie Spiegel’s.

2. Which book gives advice on how to obtain inspiration from nature?

A．Microjoys.	B．Saving Time.
C．Four Battlegrounds.	D．Wisdom of the Wild.

3. What is the book Microjoys mainly about?

A．Getting life lessons from nature.	B．Pressing hard for more time in life.
C．Learning the power in the age of AI.	D．Finding the bright side when life is uneasy.

【推荐3】What’s on

Bluedot

Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, 21-24 July

Bluedot returns for four days of music, art and space science. Among the treats are talks by physicist Jim AI-Khalili, astronaut Tim Peake, space scientist Monica Grady and BBC Sky at Night’s Chris Lintott, alongside a bill of stand-up comedy, art and music by the likes of Bjork and Groove Armada. Day tickets ￡35/visitor, weekend tickets ￡179/visitor.

Late Night Explorer

Kielder Observatory, Northumberland, weekends, 11:30 pm

Wonder at the Moon, planets and galaxies under the guidance of expert astronomers, and use the observatory’s high-quality telescopes. Also enjoy a log-burning stove (炉子) and a hot chocolate. ￡46/visitor.

Herschel to Hawkwind

Observatory Science Centre, Herstmonceux, 2 July, 7:30 pm

Rock guitarist and astronomer William gives an entertaining talk that explores the connection between music and the sky, including live music and a singalong. ￡16/adult; ￡13/child.

Craig Telescope Talk

Bredhurst Village Hall, Gillingham, 29 July, 8 pm

Greg Smye-Rumsby brings to life the story of the Craig telescope, for a brief time in the mid-19th century the largest refracting telescope (折射望远镜) in the world. Was this strange instrument just an expensive folly? ￡18/visitor; ￡24 with food.

1. What might Bjork do for visitors during 21-24 July?

A．Serve them a hot chocolate.	B．Entertain them with music.
C．Give a lecture on the universe.	D．Discuss how music relates to the sky.

2. How much should a young couple pay for William’s talk?

A．￡13.

B．￡16.

C．￡26.

D．￡32.

3. Where should visitors go if they’d like to learn about the Craig telescope?

A．Observatory Science Centre.	B．Jodrell Bank Observatory.
C．Bredhurst Village Hall.	D．Kielder Observatory.

【推荐2】It was so dark. It was like being locked in a closet. It was almost cold enough to damage important plane parts. The flight on a small, overloaded bush plane to the South Pole was nine hours each way. So to the outside world, the Antarctic rescue flight of two sick Americans from a remote South Pole station sounded dangerous.

In an Associated Press interview on Tuesday, chief pilot Wallace Dobchuk and first officer Sebastien Trudel said they weren’t comfortable being called heroes and were just doing their jobs.

“This wasn’t as risky as it may seem because of proper training, planning and experience, as well as some good luck,” said Kelly Falkner, head of a polar program office. “The weather in Antarctica is fickle, but for the mission it had to be just perfect. And it was ideal at just the right time, changing to bad hours after the rescue,” Falkner said.

The U.S. National Science Foundation runs a station at the South Pole. But one person, and then a second, got sick. After much discussion, Twin bush planes were hired for the rescue.

The two planes arrived at a British base 1,500 miles away, rested and one flew to the South Pole and flew back with the two patients. The other took their two patients on to Chile, where they were treated before being sent home.

With 11 hours’ worth of fuel put in the plane, it’s no bigger than a delivery truck, along with survival and medical equipment. It got crowded and heavy. Dobchuk said that made it harder to take off and land. But they managed.

1. The Antarctic rescue flight was dangerous because          .
①the lack of survival tools                           ②the extreme low temperature
③the long distance of the journey               ④the small and overloaded plane

A．②③④

B．①③④

C．①②③

D．①②④

2. What does the word “fickle” mean in Paragraph3?

A．Ideal

B．Predictable

C．Comfortable

D．Changeable

3. Why were Twin bush planes sent for the rescue?

A．One plane provided fuel to the other.	B．Each completed part of the journey.
C．The first plane failed to save the patients.	D．Both carried a large number of survival tools.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Two heroic Pilots.	B．An Impossible Mission.
C．A South Pole Rescue.	D．An Adventure in Antarctic

【推荐3】I was very thrilled to go to camp the year I turned 11 — the first time I would venture so far from home. Leading up to the date, I convinced my mother I was ready to go for two whole weeks.

Finally, the day came. We reached the camp after a six-hour drive. After registering and meeting my counselor, I waved my mom away with confidence, eager to take the swim test and start having fun. Camp was more than I had imagined: crafts and games; singing and swimming; making bracelets (手镯) for new friends; listening to our counselor read to us before falling asleep to the sound of rain on a metal roof.

When the weekend arrived, there was a luncheon (午宴) for visiting parents and families. I met some of my camp mates’ relatives, then suck away with a sandwich. I went down to the dock to watch the water bugs skate across the surface of the lake. My counselor came and companionably beside me. She quietly asked me if I was okay. I told her it was too far for my family to visit.

I remember not looking at her or saying anything for what seemed like a long time. It felt like talking might change the magic of the place. But I also wanted her to know me just a little better, so I told her that my dad had died only a few weeks before whispering “cancer”, just like I had heard the adults say it.

She put her arm around my shoulder, and we sat for a while longer. It felt like she understood.

Summer camp gave me the opportunity to be an ordinary kid for a brief time that year — just a girl learning, laughing and having fun like everyone else.

1. What was the author’s feeling on hearing about her first adventure?

A．Proud.

B．Angry.

C．Excited.

D．Disappointed.

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．A tough long journey.

B．The author’s camp life.

C．Some after-class activities.

D．The challenging practice in nature.

3. What can we learn about the author from the text?

A．She had trouble with communicating.

B．She was unwilling to be visited by parents.

C．She lived a happy childhood before the camp.

D．She was treated by her counselor in a kind way.

4. From which is the text probably taken?

A．A personal blog.

B．A healthy magazine.

C．A fiction on childhood.

D．A summer camp brochure.