【推荐1】When I was young, my mother didn't have the money to send me to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4：30 in the morning.

We need every one of you to develop your talents and your skills so that you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you quit(离开,放弃) on school-you' re not just quitting on yourself , you 're quitting on your country. No one's written your destiny(命运) for you ,because you write your own destiny. You make your own future. That's why today I 'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time reading a book.

But whatever you decide to do , I want you to commit to(使致力于) it. I want you to really work at it. I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work-that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a good athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．The writer's home was very rich.

B．The writer was born in a poor family.

C．The writer didn't like reading books.

D．The writer's mother was a teacher.

2. Why does the writer call on everyone to set his/her own goal?

A．Because everyone's future is to do simple work.

B．Because everyone's future is determined by themselves.

C．Because everyone should do their homework.

D．Because everyone should pay attention in class.

3. How can people realize their great dream?

A．By rapping.	B．By playing basketball.
C．By working hard.	D．By being a reality star.

【推荐2】I drove a taxi for extra money east of Toronto thirty years ago. Each time a taxi drove up to the front of the Greenwood Racetrack, a group of local kids would run along the sidewalk angling for position by the passenger door. One lucky kid, or rather, the most aggressive one, would open the passenger door and say “Good luck, Mister!” The man getting out of the cab would vaguely say thanks and throw the kid a quarter. It was a routine everybody knew.

Throughout the summer, one kid caught my eye. He was bigger than most of all the other kids but pushed away by even the smallest. He never made it but never gave up. One day, his chance arrived. As I was pulling up to the sidewalk, all the kids were pushing for a cab just ahead of mine. The boy saw me and walked toward my taxi. As I positioned the passenger door right beside him, he never paused and opened the passenger door, warmly saying, “Good luck, Mister!”

But the man neither said thanks nor flipped him a quarter. He pushed him aside so hard that the boy fell on the sidewalk. I knew it hurt him badly. I got out in less than 10 seconds, but the man was gone in the crowd. So I looked for the kid. I decided to give him $20 for the effort. By the time I spotted him he was far up ahead, walking away in the opposite direction through the crowd and his head hanging down. When I got the cab turned around I lost sight of him. I never saw him again. I’d like to find him one day and tell him that if only he had stuck around a little longer I would have given him a whole $20.

I learned from this kid that when things seem so hopeless that you are ready to give up, it’s the time when things are most likely to turn around for you.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．The passenger was ready to give a tip to the kid.

B．The author was a professional taxi driver at that time.

C．The lucky child was the toughest among the local kids.

D．The driver would work with and benefit from those children.

2. Why did the kid never succeed in opening the passenger door?

A．He was modest.	B．He was the shortest.
C．He made no effort.	D．He pushed his way.

3. Why did the author get out of his taxi?

A．To catch up with the kid.

B．To encourage the disappointed kid.

C．To give the kid some money.

D．To intend to demand the tip for the kid.

4. According to the passage, which goes with the author’s intention?

A．Never give in to difficulties.	B．Sunshine comes after a storm.
C．Face up to competitions.	D．Each road leads to Rome.

【推荐3】Some people view a bad situation as a disaster. It’s not. It’s an opportunity. Once your old world collapses(倒塌), you can recover and rebuild. Now you have the chance to start fresh and do things more intelligently. I built my business on an unstable structure. I kept it going for years, but the business collapsed last year. I had to leave my office, selling off all the furniture and equipment. I got kicked out of my apartment because I couldn’t pay the rent. I couldn’t pay my bills or debt. I declared bankruptcy.(破产)
For years there was the worry that this might happen if I didn’t keep straining（尽力） to keep the business going. And my worries were right. What I worried about would happen did happen .But you know what? Going through that experience wasn’t really so bad. It was interesting. Some of it was actually pretty easy. Throughout most of it, I felt increasing relief and a renewed sense of freedom and possibility. All the old baggage was gone. No more office. Fewer possessions. Fewer obligations. No more debt. Most of all , no more straining. Life became a lot easier.
I got a cheaper and smaller apartment. I became debt-free. I learned to live within my means. Those were actually good things. The others were just feelings. The reality wasn’t actually painful. After that, I kept going with the same business but completely changed the business model. I avoided the earlier mistakes, and that business recovered just fine and worked great. It was profitable every year from then on. But I had to go through the collapse first to reach that point.
If you’ve been feeling out of control with your current work or lifestyle, and you’re currently straining to keep it going ,consider letting it go. Try allowing the old world to collapse, many or all of your fears and worries might actually come to pass, but that’s ok. You don’t have to keep the old world alive. If it keeps falling apart on you ,let it collapse. Experiencing the collapse isn’t as bad as fearing the collapse
1. The author regards the collapse of the old world as an opportunity to_____

A．get a new world started in better ways

B．turn to others for help to save ourselves

C．sum up the failure and make up for the mistakes

D．bury ourselves in the disasters and then recover ourselves

2. In the author’s opinion, the old baggage in Paragraph 2 included______

A．the freedom and possibility of refreshing himself

B．the experience he learned from his former failure

C．the old possessions and the invisible pressure

D．the business knowledge and skills he got from various media

3. What did the author do after his business failed last year?

A．He cleverly transformed his business model.

B．He started another completely different business.

C．He received further training about doing business at college

D．He borrowed some money from his friends and relatives to pay off his debts.

4. According to the author, when our work or life is out of our control we can_____.

A．prevent it from falling apart on us.

B．set it free or just let it completely break down

C．keep straining and go on with determination

D．keep it alive with the courage to change it again

【推荐2】Scientists and marine biologists(海洋生物学家) had something to celebrate last week when two lost humpback whales(座头鲸) returned to the Pacific Ocean. Delta and Dawn — a mother and a baby — had circled the Sacramento Bay area for two weeks before going back to the ocean.

＂We all shouted loudly like ‘Yay’!＂said Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center. ＂It’s been really exciting.＂

The humpback whales were last spotted on May 29 near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Scientists are sure that the whales swam into open water during the evening of May 29 or early the next morning, since there have been no further sightings of the whales. Even so, boats were sent out to look for them, just in case the whales made another wrong turn.

Officials spent two weeks trying to get the whales to turn back towards the ocean. Biologists played recordings of whale-feeding as well as unfamiliar sounds to try to make the whales head back to the Pacific Ocean.

However, Delta and Dawn gave scientists an unexpected chance to study humpback whales in the wild. Scientists were able to gather sound recordings and watch their behaviors. This is especially exciting because humpback whales are an endangered species. What’s more, scientists don’t usually have the chance to observe (观察) them in their natural habitat.

＂All those things are very hard to get,＂ said Oswald,＂So what we are doing is filling up the knowledge blank on humpback whales in the wild. ＂ Scientists should be able to use this information to help other lost whales in the future.

1. Jim Oswald was very happy because____________.

A．the whales traveled to Sacramento Bay

B．he found the lost humpback whales

C．the scientists held a great celebration

D．the whales returned to the Pacific Ocean

2. In order to make the whales go back to the ocean, the biologists____________.

A．fed them with other animals	B．swam into open water
C．played music for them	D．played strange sounds to them

3. The fifth paragraph mainly tells us that____________.

A．humpback whales will disappear in the future

B．humpback whales were excited in their natural habitat

C．scientists learned more about humpback whales

D．scientists are worried about humpback whales

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

A．Looking for the Lost Whales	B．Helping the Lost Whales
C．The Lost Whales Returned	D．Two Whales Were Lost

【推荐3】My husband and I wanted desperately the instant transformation from typical consumers to eco-conscious people. We switched our light bulbs to CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs to conserve energy. We went about the house turning off lights and unplugging appliances, that weren’t in use. But the rate of global warming exceeded our snail’s pace conversion to greenhood. So I pressed onward.

I decided to put veganism（素食主义）at the top of our agenda. Vegans refuse any animal flesh or commercial goods made from any animal byproducts such as milk or fats. All the family applauded this option except for my husband. Some kind of animal needed to sacrifice its dear life for his meal or it wasn’t dinner. I cooked up a storm, struggling to prepare nutritious meals dominated by not-so-obvious vegan dishes like bean burritos and high-fiber vegetable stir-fry. It took a few days before he realized that he hadn't been eating any meat.

“I feel like eating beef.” he announced. So that night, I took full advantage of a zucchini（一种南瓜）, cut it into chunky（粗大的）pieces and cooked them. Then I covered them with spices. My beef-starved husband had some and a curious look crossed his face.

“Where’s the beef?”

“Living peacefully somewhere on an open plain where it belongs.”

“I knew it,” he murmured. “You’ve surely made great contributions to the boom in cattle.” His taste buds were developed completely around the flavor of every kind of animal: cattle, pigs, deer, lamb, chickens and ducks. Converting（改变）him was like feeding grass to a lion.

I’m all for preserving our planet, but what good would it do to save the earth for tomorrow’s generation if today’s died of starvation? The next day, we went out for burgers. I was very careful to place the paper bag into our recycling bin.

1. Which of the following best explains “exceeded” underlined in Paragraph 1?

A．Defeated.

B．Absorbed.

C．Bound.

D．Distributed.

2. What do we know about the author’s husband from Paragraph 2?

A．He supported the meat-free diet.	B．He was a preserver of animals.
C．He was regarded as a meat lover.	D．He played a dominant role in cooking.

3. What do we know about the author?

A．She had a perfect recipe for cooking meat.

B．She successfully transformed her husband.

C．She advocated raising more cattle.

D．She had a good sense of humor.

【推荐2】Traveling through time

As children, we dream of growing older; when we are older, we dream of being children. We let our lives pass us by because we have yet to learn that the harder you yearn for time, the faster it passes. This is how my story begins.

In October of my freshman year, I took an accidental trip down memory lane. One day after school, I decided to take the long way home. I needed time to think. So off I went, walking through the grass. That was how I came to find a gap in the fence lining the school property. I passed through this gap and followed the treeline until I found myself in the far fields behind the neighborhood.

Suddenly, I remembered it was here through the fence between the school and the fields that I watched older kids having their high school graduation ceremony. In cap and gown （长袍）, they stood in the middle of the field. They looked like they were having the most fun I had ever seen anyone have; they looked free.

Years later, I walked through that field on my way home from that same high school. The soccer nets were long gone, and the paint lines had washed away with the rain, but there it was, just as I remembered it. The old field felt like a moment trapped in time, a long-forgotten memory. Here I was, standing in between my past and my present and trying so hard to figure out just how all of those years had passed me by so quickly. The gap in the fence seemed like a distinct line between my years. A doorway between 5 and 15.

I’ve since given this place a name, Tempus Illud, a place between places. I try to take the long way home at least once a month now. Sometimes, when I cross that bridge, I see that younger version of myself. She is so young and so desperate to speed up time. I see her peering through the fence at those graduates in the cap and gown, and she’s wishing she could be just like them. She, too, could feel so free that she might just grow wings and fly away. Now I’m preparing to wear the cap and gown in a few short months. But this time, I wish to leave time to its own devices.

The harder you yearn for time, the faster it passes you by. So I no longer yearn. The passage of time is inevitable, and you can’t avoid it, but you can appreciate it. James Taylor sings, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time … Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill, but since we’re on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride.”

1. How did the author feel when she saw the older kids’ graduation ceremony?

A．Jealous.	B．Curious.
C．Admiring.	D．Unconcerned.

2. What is the significance of Tempus Illud to the author?

A．It honors her best childhood memory.

B．It bridges her past, present and future.

C．It shows the miracle of frozen time.

D．It symbolizes high school graduation.

3. What is the author’s perspective on time at the end?

A．She is addicted to the past.	B．She yearns for time to pass quicker.
C．She wants to run after time.	D．She decides to enjoy the moment.

4. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To suggest that time brings the truth to light.

B．To show that tough times never last.

C．To explain how time changes everything.

D．To share her changing attitude toward time.

【推荐3】It’s strange, but I don’t really remember much about the hurricane itself.     1     I was sitting in my room with my cat, Smartie, on my lap, when the roof just flew off. All of a sudden, there was sky where the roof had been. I was so frightened that I just froze(保住不动).

Mom cried to get out quickly, but it was already too late by then. The rain was coming down so hard and so fast.     2     We were going nowhere.

At first, I was pleased we could stay at home, but soon it got really difficult.     3     There was water everywhere, but we couldn’t drink any of it or else we’d get really sick. We just had drinking water that was sent to us by helicopter, but it was never enough. It was August, so it was really, really hot and it smelled so bad everywhere! I just spent the days watching the boats going up and down the street and looking out for Smartie.     4    

Living in the open air, we became breakfast, lunch and dinner for the mosquitos(蚊子). But Mom said that whatever happens, we should always try to see the good side of things.     5     We had lost our home and everything in it. All we had left were the clothes on our backs. But thankfully, Smartie came home just in time. As Mom kept on reminding(提醒) us, we were all together and safe. Mom’s words made us feel better and gave us hope for the future.

A．It all happened so quickly.

B．We were so happy to take him with us.

C．It was difficult to stay positive, though.

D．Our street turned into a river in seconds.

E．He had disappeared the moment the storm hit.

F．Now, one year has passed and I’m back home.

G．Without a roof, staying inside was too dangerous.