【推荐1】My father asked me to chat with him for a while. Actually, I was unwilling to listen to his talking endlessly as he always did. My father was a lawyer, but I never wanted to go to law school or follow his path through life.

As was expected, he cleared his throat and started to say, ”Er…What…What do you really want to do in the gorgeous future?“

I was silent for a moment playing with the cell phone. I kept thinking, ”Should I tell him my true thoughts? What if he gets angry? What if I let him down?” Later I replied, “Well, I want to be a writer.”

I guessed this may not be the answer he would expect. But surprisingly, “Interesting idea!” he answered. I was shocked, speaking in a low voice with hesitation.

“Are you serious, dad?”

“Well, you need confidence and good preparations, and you still have plenty of time. You need to find out what you really enjoy now. Look, it’s late. Let’s take the boat out tomorrow morning, just you and me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner, and we can talk more.”

Early next morning we packed up the equipment and set off for the coast. We didn’t talk much, but enjoyed the sound of the seabirds and the sight of the coastline.

There were no big waves and blinding sunlight at that time. “Let’s see if we are lucky,” he said, picked up a web basket with a rope tied and threw it into the sea. We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, “Give me a hand with this,” and we pulled up the crab cage onto the deck.

To our joy, the cage was filled with dozens of soft-shell crabs. Squatting(蹲)down, we watched them for a moment. At first, they fought against each other to climb out hard, trying to escape. Many were pulled back into the cage. Later, some gave up, but there were still some crabs trying to escape again and again.

At that moment my father pointed to the cage, ”Look at that crab, there!“ Staring at the crab, I found that every time he wanted to escape, he was pulled back into the cage. However, he didn’t give up his fight. Fortunately, he survived from the struggle eventually. Shocked and amazed, I suddenly understood why my father had suggested catching crabs that morning. I thought the future would be filled with many possibilities. Everyone would need to find out what he enjoyed and held on to it.

1. How did the author initially feel about having a conversation with his father?

A．Enthusiastic and eager to share.	B．Concerned and reluctant.
C．Neutral with no particular feeling.	D．Excited about the upcoming adventure.

2. During the crabbing expedition, what observation did the author make that influenced his perspective on life and the future?

A．That crabs worked together to escape.

B．Some crabs gave up trying to escape.

C．One crab persistently tried to escape despite being pulled back.

D．Crabs fought among themselves for dominance.

3. Which statement reflects the author’s new understanding of the future and demonstrates that he comprehended his father’s intention?

A．I found that every time he wanted to escape, he was pulled back into the cage.

B．I suddenly understood why my father had suggested catching crabs that morning.

C．I thought the future would be filled with many possibilities.

D．Everyone would need to find out what he enjoyed and held on to it.

4. The best title for this passage is_____________.

A．A Morning Adventure: Crabbing with Dad

B．Lessons from the Sea: A Father-Son Bonding Experience

C．The Art of Crabbing: A Guide for Beginners

D．Father and Son: Deeper Understanding Through a Shared Activity

【推荐2】I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in “Section L”. I found out later that everyone called Section L “Loserville”. It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that. Ana’s texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, and I had to try to make things better.

The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn’t. I was still stuck in “Loserville”, and some people were still mean (苛刻) to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

But what did change was me — I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

I still miss Illinois sometimes, but life in New Jersey isn’t so hard anymore. Even though I couldn’t change my situation, I could change my attitude — and that made all the difference.

1. “Loserville” is a section for __________.

A．new comers	B．class leaders
C．smart students	D．low achievers

2. The writer complained all the time in the new environment because ___________.

A．she was unfairly treated	B．her friends hurt her feelings
C．her teachers didn’t like her	D．Ana didn’t text back to her

3. What made a difference in changing the writer’s situation?

A．She ended the friendship with Ana.	B．She began to make friends with others.
C．She managed to go back to Illinois.	D．She fought back with her classmates.

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．An Incident at School	B．Everlasting Friendship
C．Say Goodbye to “Loserville”	D．Unhappiness in “Loserville”

【推荐3】As a student, I heard the line “graduate school is stressful” so many times that it began to bear no meaning.

Sure, there were campus resources that encouraged healthy behaviors, including deep thought, and the benefits of self-care, but self-care sounded expensive and time-consuming to me; I had work to do. And I was not a fan of deep thought: The thought of sitting still for 30 minutes only caused me greater stress. But one thing I couldn’t stay away from was walking my dog.

Tessa is a six-year-old lovely coonhound (猎浣熊犬) that I got as a gift to myself, for completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. I first saw Tessa as a thin and little dog in a photo on the Internet. She was found, huddled (蜷缩) up with her friends, in a deserted house in Alabama.

Because of Tessa, I took frequent walking breaks while studying for a master’s degree in public health at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. I discovered the best corners and crannies (缝隙) on campus, including the sloping grassland behind the school, filled with squirrels and sticks-a safe place for dogs. I found a tree accidentally with a swing, overlooking the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, which offered the best sunset view in town. On our daily walks, I found calm in the woods and quiet in the early morning enveloping the city streets.

Now, as I work from home, Tessa continues to help me deal with a lonely existence. Just like in graduate school, she demands that I stop working, however briefly, and accompany her on a walk. These forced breaks throughout the day take me away from my computer and help me to stay active, greet my neighbors and comeback to work refreshed. And although I certainly haven’t escaped stress, and I am still trying to find my footing in research, I will continue to make time for walks every day. I recommend it very much.

1. How did author feel after a deep thought?

A．Disordered.	B．Time-consuming.
C．Anxious.	D．Encouraged

2. What does the author think of Tessa when seeing it at the first time?

A．Poor.	B．Gifted.
C．Lovely.	D．Courageous.

3. What does the author intend to express in paragraph 4?

A．Tessa likes walking very much.

B．The Yale University is very beautiful.

C．The author likes both the city and the University.

D．Tessa is helpful in spending graduate school happily.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The author often feels lonely at home.

B．The author works hard but exercises less.

C．Walking with Tessa benefits the author much.

D．Both the author and the neighbors like Tessa.

【推荐2】When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy holiday presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.

I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a hand basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. After choosing his presents, he came to the checkout counter (交款处) and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.

Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. “You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you,” said the woman. “It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, I know you will feel as good about it as I do now.”

Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.

I would like to say "thank you" to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.

1. When they got to the supermarket, Mark went in________.

A．with the writer	B．by himself
C．with the woman	D．with his friends

2. What happened to Mark in the supermarket?

A．His gifts were stolen.	B．He broke his basket.
C．He lost his money.	D．He lost his way.

3. What did the woman ask Mark to do after paying for him?

A．To help others.	B．To give her money.
C．To say “thank you” to her.	D．To foget the experience.

4. What’s the best title for this passage?

A．A big supermarket	B．A kind woman
C．A happy family	D．A wonderful gift

【推荐3】A four-year-old boy who was crazy about collecting rubbish has finally fulfilled his dream of being a cleaner. Riley McCourt has admired the local rubbish collectors for ages, spending his days picking up waste on his street and wheeling bins (垃圾桶) to the side of the road to help out his neighbors. He loves cleaning and binning waste. His favorite chore is to empty the rubbish from the chip shop his mum runs. Two weeks ago, however, a disaster struck: Riley accidentally knocked over one of the bins and was accused of causing trouble.

Someone posted in the local Facebook group that Riley had put rubbish in the street, clearly unaware of his love for keeping the streets clean. Thankfully his innocence (清白) was quickly proven, and his local council decided to make his dreams come true by allowing him to work alongside the cleaners for a day.

Riley joined the waste collection crew on Wednesday, chatting with the team, helping with the recycling, and riding in the waste collection vehicles. He even got his own jacket. Riley’s mum, Toni McCourt, said, “He loves the bins and trucks. “Riley’s favorite day is definitely bin day. He goes round collecting the rubbish up on the street. The cleaners all know him when they spot him. He goes outside as soon as he sees the cleaners collecting rubbish in the community. He helps his neighbors put their bins out for collection.

Riley clearly made a good impression during his first day on the job, as community services manager Jane Carrol said she was very pleased with his enthusiasm for the role. Jane said, “Riley is clearly a keen recycler and who knows, when he is older I’m sure he would make an excellent member of the team here. It was a pleasure for the team to show him around the vehicles.”

1. What is Riley’s dream?

A．To prove his innocence.	B．To collect much rubbish.
C．To work as a real cleaner.	D．To work in his mother’s shop.

2. What happened to Riley two weeks ago?

A．He was wronged by someone.	B．He was knocked over by a bin.
C．He had an accident in the shop.	D．He forgot to empty the rubbish.

3. What do cleaners probably do on bin day?

A．They go out to celebrate it.	B．They only collect bins at their own homes.
C．They help Riley collect rubbish.	D．They collect rubbish in the community.

4. How does Jane Carrol think about Riley’s action?

A．It is dangerous to do so on the street.	B．It is good for the community to follow him.
C．It is worthwhile to give Riley high remarks.	D．It is unnecessary for such a little boy to do so.