【推荐1】Powerful storms had rocked Columbia, Missouri, leaving behind deep floodwaters that continued to rise. Monica Viet’s 16-year-old son Dominic Viet and his 17-year-old friend, Joseph Diener, had gone out to ride bikes and check out the storm damage. With more storms on the way, Monica thought it was best for children to stay home in this situation. Then, she texted him. However, she needn’t have worried. Dominic sent her a reply saying, “Mom, we just saved a girl’s life.”

Here’s what happened. The teens were riding past a basketball court that was deeply flooded when they spotted a girl holding on to a pole and calling out for help. They realized she was seriously in trouble. Fortunately, in school, they had both earned lifesaving medals that included water rescues, and as they glanced around at the other concerned bystanders, they knew they needed to take action. Together, they jumped into the water and fought the fast-flowing water to push the drowning 18-year-old girl to shore. Ten minutes later, they made it.

Once on dry land, the girl began to throw up water. First responders quickly arrived and took her to the hospital, where she is recovering.

The boys’ headmaster said being prepared for emergency situations is attached great importance to in the daily training of our school. He hopes the teens will get special medals for their extraordinary actions that day!

The two boys are now regarded as heroes for risking their own lives to help a stranger. “I feel like if you’re able to save somebody like that,” Joseph said. “You certainly will, because that’s what every one of us will do.” “We didn’t think much about it, and we just had to get her out. That’s it! Besides, we’re trained for this!” Dominic added.

1. Why did Dominic’s mum text him?

A．To warn him of the coming storms.	B．To urge him to come back quickly.
C．To have him go to the basketball court.	D．To tell him to record the storm damage.

2. What did the boys depend on to rescue the girl?

A．Their training and skills.	B．Their parents’ encouragement.
C．First responders’ instant help.	D．The support from the passers-by.

3. Which word best describes the boys as rescuers?

A．Ambitious.

B．Demanding.

C．Modest.

D．Honest.

【推荐2】A Canadian addicted to Chinese ink wash painting

Canadian Brandon Collins-Green calls himself a Chinese culture “addict”. He has lived in China for over six years, spending his time in painting in the Chinese ink wash style and translating Chinese classics into English.

Collins-Green, 37, is a doctoral candidate in classical Chinese literature at Jiangxi Normal University in Nanchang. About 15 years ago, his first encounter with a stage adaption of the classic Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber in Singapore inspired him to study Chinese in the following years. Learning Chinese as a second language, Collins-Green found it was not easy to understand a novel written in Chinese. “Besides the stories, I am interested in the poems, dialogues and lantern riddles in the book,” he said, “Because of The Dream of the Red Chamber, I wanted to get a closer look at China.”

His strong curiosity about China and Chinese culture prompted Collins-Green to travel to the city of Nanchang in 2015, in the hope of learning what the real China was like. During a visit to Badashanren Memorial Hall in Nanchang, where paintings of a famous Chinese artist were on exhibition, Collins-Green was interested in how a tiny brush could depict (描画) the curves of hills, shade and light on paper.

In his years spent translating The Dream of the Red Chamber into English, he has gradually found his way of combining Chinese and foreign cultures into his paintings, writing poems in English as the backdrops of his figures. As of this year, Collins-Green has completed over 2,500 works, including translations of The Dream of the Red Chamber, landscape paintings and portraits.

He lives a life greatly influenced by The Dream of the Red Chamber, renting a loft of about 9 square meters beside his university as a studio. Since this March, his paintings have been exhibited at art festivals in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi’an, bringing him a group of fans. Some have sent him emails, asking about the meanings of the poems in his paintings.

“We can see from Collins-Green that traditional Chinese culture is becoming more attractive to people in other countries,” said Li Shunchen, Collins-Green’s mentor at Jiangxi Normal University. “I really recommend that more people come to China to see how fast it is changing and to enjoy the charm of its culture,” Collins-Green said.

1. What first inspired Collins-Green to study Chinese according to the passage?

A．His love for Chinese paintings.	B．The stage version of a classic Chinese novel.
C．The need of his translation work.	D．His second language learning.

2. Which of the following words can best describe Collins-Green’s feeling on the exhibition in Nanchang?

A．amazed.

B．disappointed.

C．relaxed.

D．frightened.

3. What can we mainly learn about Collins-Green from paragraph 4 and 5?

A．His strong curiosity about China gradually faded away.

B．He studied Chinese well in China.

C．He made great achievements as an addict to Chinese culture.

D．His works produced some negative reactions in viewers.

【推荐3】To the cheering of taxi drivers and the honking of horns, the comedian and actor Eddie Izzard ran into London yesterday to complete his 43rd marathon in 52 days. In total he had covered 1,100 miles. His 43 marathons were in aid of the charity Sports Relief, which raises money for the poor all over the world. So far Izzard has raised more than £200,000.

Fighting blisters (水疱) that have caused the nails on his smaller toes to fall off, he ran up The Mall and into Trafalgar Square, where he had started 7.5 weeks ago. In finishing he proved what many thought was an impossible task: that a 47-year-old comedian with no sporting experience could do something a top athlete might find difficult.

After only six weeks’ training he started out on a journey that would take him to every corner of the British Isles. “The first three weeks were the hardest,” he said. The non-stop pressure on his body made him unable to sleep at night and he would wake exhausted with “blisters on top of blisters”.

But the people he met along the way cheered him up. “People stopped their cars and cheered, they gave me money and food.” More than 500,000 people “followed” the comedian, in a different sense, on Twitter. Running into London he looked lean and muscular. “Everyone says my legs look very good but I thought they looked quite good beforehand,” he said.

Simon Blease, 51, a sports doctor and mountain runner who has been following his progress, was waiting on Tower Bridge. “I didn’t think he could do it,” he said. “Like a lot of people I thought he would have a good try, but his body would break down. Someone with so little training. I find it extraordinary that he has done it.”

Asked what he had gained, Izzard said “I know now I can do that. Sport is one of those words that stopped being part of my life when I was about 14. Sporting success was not something I ever associated myself with.” He now plans to continue jogging and hopes to inspire others into sport.

1. Which of the following statements is true about Eddie lzzard？

A．He took part in 43 marathon competitions in 52 days.

B．He was sponsored by Sports Relief in the running

C．He ran 1,100 miles for the purpose of helping the poor.

D．He took the challenge to prove he could be a top athlete.

2. What difficulty did Eddie Izzard meet with during the running?

A．Injury in his ankles.	B．Sleeplessness at night.
C．Pressure to win.	D．Inadequate time.

3. What does Simon Blease imply？

A．He used to think Eddie would give up halfway.

B．Training may not be necessary for marathon runners.

C．Eddie was a good model for others to follow.

D．He owed Eddie’s success to his strong body.

4. According to the passage, which of the following words can NOT describe Eddie Izzard?

A．Humourous .	B．Persevering
C．Loving	D．Creative

【推荐2】Sammie Vance, 14, knows there’s nothing worse than feeling left out. For years, she’s been helping kids who feel lonely make friends. What she was doing was running the Buddy Bench program. The idea was that anyone at school who was feeling lonely could sit on the “buddy bench.” That let other kids know someone needed a friend. “It’s really helpful to have other people be able to notice you,” Sammie says.

The idea quickly caught on. The bench brought kids together. Since then, Sammie has helped communities all over the country set up buddy benches. “It means a lot to me,” she says, “that this is making a difference in people’s lives.”

Sammie got the idea for the Buddy Bench program at summer camp in 2017. She thought it would be cool to have a buddy bench in her school, so when she got home, she presented the idea to her principal, her teachers, and her parents.

Getting approval for the project was just the first step. “There have been a lot of small challenges, like money,” Sammie says.

To reduce costs and be eco-friendly, Sammie decided to make the bench out of recycled material. So she called on her community to gather bottle caps.

Word of the project got out, and soon Sammie was getting caps from people in all 50 states. She even got them from people in Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries. In the end, she collected more than 1,200 pounds of bottle caps. A company called GreenTree Plastics was able to upcycle these into three benches.

In addition to all the kids her project has helped, Sammie is grateful for how it has changed her. “It just helped me grow in so many different aspects of my life,” she says.

Before long, Sammie was helping other schools acquire benches. She has donated more than 200 benches to schools and parks all around the country, and in Mexico and Australia. Her work continues to spread kindness far and wide.

Even small acts of kindness can be powerful. “It can make someone’s day and lead to a chain reaction,” she says. “You never know. Just be kind, in general.”

1. What do we know about the Buddy Bench program?

A．It helps lonely kids to make friends.	B．Only lonely kids can sit on the bench.
C．The program brought all the kids together.	D．It made Sammie Vance popular among the kids.

2. What is probably not a challenge of the program?

A．lacking money	B．collecting materials for the bench
C．gaining support from her classmates	D．getting approval of her school and her parents

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．She collected the bottle caps from all over the country.

B．The benches were made to be eco-friendly and low-cost.

C．A company upcycled the caps into three benches for free.

D．She donated benches to schools and parks all around the country.

4. What’s the influence the project has on Sammie?

A．It helped her grow in many respects.

B．She became popular among the students.

C．It can brighten her day and lead to a chain reaction.

D．Her work continues to spread kindness far and wide.

【推荐3】“They’re following me!” I thought to myself, as I watched the two young men on motorbikes slow down next to me as I drove. “Ignore them. They’ll go away.” I decided and turned my attention back to the road. As a woman living in a big city, such encounters were not new, but I was unusually disturbed by a strange sadness that day. I realized that whenever I stopped at a signal, the two bikers would also pause alongside, staring intently (热切地).

This continued through three traffic signals, leaving no room for doubt. I drove as fast as I could to stay ahead of them, but I couldn’t shake them off for the busy evening traffic. I finally reached home and released a sigh of relief until I realized that they had chased me all the way to my doorstep. Even scarier, they were now off the bike and at the gates, trying to talk to me.

Feeling safer on familiar ground, I turned back to tell them off. “Please don’t get us wrong,” one of them said, his tone low and concerned. “We saw you weeping inside your car and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I realized in an instant what must have happened. The men had seen me breaking down in my car and followed me out of concern. I thanked them sincerely. My emotions got better at the time. I never saw them again. But even more than 10 years later, I still am struck by their selfless concern for a stranger and remember them with gratitude.

1. Why was it difficult for the author to get rid of the bikers?

A．They rode so fast.	B．The road was crowded.
C．She wasn’t good at driving.	D．She wanted to know who they were.

2. Why did the bikers follow the woman?

A．To ask for help.	B．To figure out why she broke down.
C．To make sure that she was fine.	D．To find out where her home was.

3. What made the bikers believe the woman was down?

A．Her weeping in her car.	B．Her unusual driving way.
C．Her telling of her trouble.	D．Her stop at every traffic signal.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the two strangers?

A．Admirable.

B．Hateful.

C．Satisfied.

D．Grateful.