【推荐1】We all know the saying, “Nobody is perfect.” It has been planted in our brains since we were children, and of course, it is the truth. So if nobody is perfect, why do we have such a hard time admitting when we are in trouble or need help?

Like many other young people trying to get through their first year of college. I felt anxiety, and it had its grips on me pretty tight. It began getting in the way of my life and I had to sit down and tell myself that my behavior was not healthy and there was a solution. Finally, I decided to turn to therapy.

Therapy. It has such a negative reputation, but why? Does going to therapy mean that you are failing as a person or that you cannot fix your problems on your own? No. Going to therapy means that you are strong enough to recognize that something inside your head is not working correctly, and you are brave enough to try to fix it.

After a couple of weeks, many parts of my life became so much clearer. I began to understand that I, myself, am my worst enemy, which was pretty frightening. But, although frightened. I knew that it was only I who could guide me towards feeling better, and that was extremely helpful.

I have been guided towards a healthier way of thinking，one that is positive and powerful. I have been able to understand that no matter what happens in my life. I will always be okay.

A lot of people do not understand that it is normal to have negative feelings and sometimes to feel like we have lost control over certain parts of our lives. Seeing a therapist can greatly change your way of thinking about something if you keep your mind open and I am so thankful that I decided to go and do something for myself.

If you are in need of help, you can go to therapy and then everything will be okay.

1. In the author’s opinion, going to therapy __________.

A．means you are failing as a person	B．means you’re brave enough to solve your problems
C．can be quite unnecessary and helpful	D．can make others think wrongly about you

2. After a couple of weeks, how did the author react?

A．She became too frightened of her own life.	B．She became more positive and confident.
C．She became worried about her anxiety.	D．She realized college was her worst enemy.

3. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To tell us how to think positively.	B．To show it is OK to be imperfect.
C．To share her college life with us.	D．To help us know better about therapy.

【推荐2】Little Tom down the street calls our dog “The keep dog”. Zip is a sheep dog. But when Tom tries to say “sheep”, it comes out “keep”. And in a way Tom is right. Zip is always bringing things home for us to keep! I'll tell you about some of them.

Zip’s first present was a shoe. It was made of green silk.

We didn’t know how Zip found the shoe. But after a moment, Mary, my big sister, told me the shoe had a strange smell. I nodded(点头) and held my nose. “What do you think it is?”

“It smells like something for cleaning. I think someone tried to clean a spot(污点) off the shoe. Then he put it at the door to dry.”

“Along came Zip. And good-bye shoe!” I said. “We should take it back.”

“We can’t ”, said my sister.

“Maybe little Tom is right,” Mary said. “Maybe Zip is a keep dog!”

1. The writer and Mary didn’t know       .

A．what Zip’s first present was	B．how Zip carried its first present home
C．who owned Zip’s first present	D．what Zip’s first present was made of

2. Tom calls Zip “the keep dog” because        .

A．the dog likes keeping things	B．the dog likes playing with shoes
C．he doesn’t know the dog’s name	D．he can't pronounce the word “sheep” well

3. What made the shoe strange was         .

A．its color

B．its smell

C．its size

D．that it was a silk one

4. The word “keep” in the last sentence means “          ”

A．keeping things for itself	B．bringing things for other to keep
C．not letting it run about	D．taking care of a small child

【推荐3】It was already dark when an old man came to a small town.He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night.After he had gone to his room,the owner said to his wife,“Look at his bag,dear.I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it.I want to steal it when he is asleep.”

“No,no,” said the woman.“He must look for his bag tomorrow morning.Then he’ll take you before the judge.”They thought and at last the woman had an idea.“We have forgetful grass,” said the woman,“Why not put some into his food?If he has the food,he will forget to take his bag away.”“How clever you are!” said the owner,“Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”

The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed.The next morning,when the owner got up,he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag.He woke his wife up and said angrily,“What a fool!Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.”

“No,no,” said the woman.“I don’t think so.He must forget something.”

“Oh,I’ve remembered!”The owner cried out suddenly,“He forgot...”

1. The old man came to the inn 　　　.

A．in the morning	B．in the afternoon
C．in the evening	D．at night

2. The owner and his wife wanted to 　　　.

A．get the man’s bag	B．steal the man’s money
C．make the man pay them more	D．hide the man’s bag

3. The owner and his wife put the forgetful grass into the food because 　　　.

A．the old man always forgot something

B．they wanted to make the food better

C．they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn

D．they wanted to know if the grass was useful

4. According to the passage the old man forgot 　　　.

A．to take his bag away	B．to tell the owner when he left
C．to close the door when he went to sleep	D．to pay them the inn money

5. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Both the owner and his wife were clever.

B．The owner of the inn got nothing from the old man.

C．The old man left the inn without his bag.

D．The woman forgot to put the forgetful grass into the food.

【推荐1】When an editor called to ask if I could photograph a story about fireflies in Mexico. I didn’t check my schedule before I said yes. I’d seen these insects light up the forests in Tlaxcala once before, and I jumped at the chance to go back.

While studying, I began exploring Mexico, crossing the country several times by bus. Now I work as a photojournalist in Mexico and along the border, documenting desperate situations that face everyday Mexicans. Though necessary and important, news stories don’t reflect the Mexico that I fell for and that is home to so many people I love. A task focused on the country’s natural beauty was a welcome reprieve for me.

I had three nights to film the magical scene in the forest. According to our guides, visitors are usually not allowed to photograph the fireflies because the presence of artificial light from electronics can affect their habits. As I started shooting, I adjusted my exposures constantly to account for the fading light. In order to get the composition that I wanted, I placed my tripod (三脚架) on a steep, rocky path and had to steady it during the long exposures. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the fireflies were very interested in the camera and, by extension, in me. I stood completely still while they were all over me-my arms, my hair, my face. From what I observed, peak (高峰时期的) firefly presence lasts for only about 20 minutes each night, so I had time for just a few tries.

On the last night everything came together. The weather cooperated. I had improved my method for focusing and composing photos in the dark with quick flashes from a powerful flashlight—and I’d grown accustomed to insects on my face.

I was rewarded with the image you see here. Each dot of light is one of several bursts that a firefly makes as it travels within a 30- second exposure. You can track the insects’ paths: Some make small circles, like those in the bottom center of the frame, while others move steadily in one direction or another.

1. How did the author feel about the editor’s request?

A．Nervous

B．Delighted

C．Confused

D．Regretful

2. Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “reprieve” in paragraph 2?

A．Relief

B．Return

C．Trend

D．Victory

3. What did the author intend to do during the first two nights?

A．Learn about the local travel rules.

B．Research the habit of the fireflies.

C．Communicate constantly with the guides.

D．Find the suitable spot and time to take photos.

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

A．To tell findings about fireflies.	B．To share the story behind a photo.
C．To record a travelling experience.	D．To show the author’s working conditions.

【推荐2】I live in an area where most parents would rather cut back on personal hobbies for themselves than stop paying for their children’s activities.

Music lessons,horseback riding,summer camps,sports teams﹣the list goes on and on. Often,so do the costs. And even if the money is not there,some parents find a way. I know people who have borrowed from family and run up their credit cards to pay for all the stuff they believe their children just cannot miss.

“The experiences we thought kids had to have before high school has moved down to junior high and now elementary,” said William Doherty,a professor of family studies and director of the marriage and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota. Soon,we’ll be talking about leadership opportunities for babies.”

Somehow,not offering our children every possible opportunity”feels like bad parenting,”said Wendy Mogel,a clinical psychologist.

But in an effort to give their children everything. some parents end up not just using up financial resources,but also their own emotional energy.“A lot of parents are exhausted by their own overparenting,”said Bryan Caplan,an economics professor at George Mason University.”They make so many sacrifices and are so stressed out by driving around so much that they explode at kids for changing the radio station.”

“It’s easy to take a look at the more successful kids and assume that all the activities are why they are more successful,”Professor Caplan said. But research doesn’t bear that out. On a recent National Public Radio program,Steven D. Levitt,a professor of economics at the University of Chicago,said he and another economist could find no evidence that that sort of parental choices could be correlated at all with academic success.

1. What can we infer from William Doherty’s argument？

A．Kids need to experience so many activities at a young age.

B．Kids should seize leadership opportunities when they were babies.

C．Kids are taking part in extracurricular activities at a much younger age.

D．Kids should take part in extracurricular activities before elementary school.

2. Why do parents offer their children so many lessons according to Wendy Mogel？

A．They want to show off their love to their children.

B．They think that is the kind of life their children want to live.

C．They want to be good parents and be responsible for their children.

D．They believe the lessons can help their children achieve academic success.

3. What does the underlined phrase "bear that out" in the last paragraph mean？

A．Prove.

B．Deny.

C．Examine.

D．Understand.

4. What is the bad effect of offering children too many extracurricular activities？

A．The children may make no sacrifice.

B．The parents may get extremely tired.

C．The parents may ask too much of their children.

D．The children may not be successful in the future.

【推荐3】Each year there are many new inventions. This list includes some of the most exciting inventions coming out in recent years.

Xbox Adaptive Controller

The Xbox Adaptive Controller made by the Microsoft is designed to make the game world easier. It can help those with limited hand and arm mobility play games. It connects devices such as switches, buttons and joysticks （操纵杆）to create a custom controller experience.

Solar Charged Jacket

If you are a night runner, then this one is for you. Created by a company named Vollebak, the Solar Charged Jacket' s special material takes in any light during the day and gives off its green energy for

those who need it to ensure safety after dark.

Gravity Blanket

A gravity blanket is a magic blanket, which weighs around 10% of your body. It provides stress and sensory input for you. Covered with it, you’ll feel like being hugged to sleep. The super comfortable blanket helps those who are stressed or can not fall asleep easily.

LynQ

Getting separated from friends or family members in a vacation travel can be boring. A LynQ helps you solve the problem. It is a compass-like wireless communication module, which can help you find your beloved ones when you get separated from the group. In positioning, unlike a smart phone, a LynQ does not need any WiFi to stay connected.

1. Why was the Xbox Adaptive Controller invented?

A．To help users feel safe in the darkness.

B．To help those disabled in the hand and arm play games.

C．To cure people with limited hand mobility.

D．To help people find the lost.

2. Which of the following inventions is designed for those who lose sleep?

A．Gravity Blanket.	B．LynQ.
C．Solar Charged Jacket.	D．Xbox Adaptive Controller

3. What makes a LynQ different from a smart phone in positioning?

A．It is a wireless communication module.	B．It doesn't rely on WiFi connection.
C．It can separate people from the group.	D．It can give off green energy.

【推荐1】Cause and effect is one way to explain things that happen around us. Many things happen because something caused or influenced them to happen. Sometimes it is hard to look at a cause and find out what causes the effect. It may help you to start with the effect and use your reasoning (推理的) skills. Think about all the things you know that could be reasons for the effect you can see.

For example，you may see someone putting on a heavy jacket. This is the effect. To look for a cause，think to yourself，“What would make someone put on a heavy jacket？”Maybe the person is going outside into very cold weather. Maybe the person works in the penguin pen (企鹅圈养地) at Sea World. Maybe the person is going to visit an ice skating rink where the air is kept very cold. All of these things could be a cause for putting on a heavy jacket.

Now，think about a second example. The effect is a boy named Abi has to go to the head teacher's office. What are the possible causes？Maybe he bullied (欺负) another student. Maybe he is just being picked up early. Maybe he is being given a prize!

Here is another example for you to think about its cause and effect. Cait，13，was trying to fall asleep when her 8­year­old brother，Doug，came into her room. He looked around a bit，but seemed really out of it. Then Doug went back into the hallway(走廊) and stood there looking straight up at the hall light for quite a while. Little brothers can be very strange，but this was really much too strange. Cait didn't know what to do. Just then，Cait's father appeared and explained that Doug was sleepwalking. What's the cause and effect，could you tell?

1. According to the second paragraph，which of the following is an effect?

A．Someone puts on a heavy jacket.

B．Someone works in the penguin pen.

C．Someone will go outside into cold weather.

D．Someone will go to visit an ice skating rink.

2. Abi has to go to the head teacher's office. Which of the following isn't the possible cause?

A．He bullied another student.

B．He is going shopping.

C．he is being picked up early.

D．He is being given a prize.

3. What was Doug doing when his sister Cait tried to fall asleep?

A．He was going outside.

B．He was reading a story.

C．He was sleepwalking.

D．He was looking for his dad.

4. Which of the following is cause and effect?

A．Tony got up and had a glass of water.

B．We came home and found him sleeping.

C．The ball was lost and a window was broken.

D．Tim was late again and his teacher got angry.

5. What is the best title for the text?

A．Truth and lies	B．Work and sleep
C．Cause and effect	D．Life and dreams

【推荐2】Open data-sharers are still in the minority in many fields. Although many researchers broadly agree that public access to raw data would accelerate science, because other scientists might be able to make advances not foreseen by the data's producers, most are reluctant to post the results of their own labours online (see Nature 461, 160-163; 2009). When Wolkovich, for instance, went hunting for the data from the 50 studies in her meta-analysis, only 8 data sets were available online, and many of the researchers whom she e-mailed refused to share their work. Forced to extract data from tables or figures in publications, Wolkovich's team could conduct only limited analyses

Some communities have agreed to share online - geneticists, for example, post DNA sequences at the GenBank repository, and astronomers are accustomed to accessing images of galaxies and stars from, say, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a telescope that has observed some 500 million objects - but these remain the exception, not the rule. Historically, scientists have objected to sharing for many reasons: it is a lot of work; until recently, good databases did not exist; grant funders were not pushing for sharing; it has been difficult to agree on standards for formatting data and the contextual information called metadata; and there is no agreed way to assign credit for data.

But the barriers are disappearing in part because journals and funding agencies worldwide are encouraging scientists to make their data public. Last year, the Royal Society in London said in its report Science as an Open Enterprise that scientists need to shift away from a research culture where data is viewed as private preserve. Funding agencies note that data paid for with public money should be public information, and the scientific community is recognizing that data can now be shared digitally in ways that were not possible before. To match the growing demand, services are springing up to make it easier to publish research products online and enable other researchers to discover and cite them.

Although exhortations to share data often concentrate on the moral advantages of sharing, the practice is not purely altruistic. Researchers who share get plenty of personal benefits, including more connections with colleagues, improved visibility and increased citations. The most successful sharers - those whose data are downloaded and cited the most often - get noticed, and their work gets used. For example, one of the most popular data sets on multidisciplinary repository Dryad is about wood density around the world; it has been downloaded 5,700 times. Co-author Amy Zanne, a biologist at George Washington University in Washington DC, thinks that users probably range from climate-change researchers wanting to estimate how much carbon is stored in biomass, to foresters looking for information on different grades of' timber. "I would much prefer to have my data used by the maximum number of people to ask their own questions," she says "It's important to allow readers and reviewers to see exactly how you arrive at your results. Publishing data and code allows your science to be reproducible ".

1. What do many researchers generally accept?

A．It is imperative to protest scientist' patents

B．Repositories are essential to scientific research

C．Open data sharing is most important to medical science

D．Open data sharing is conducive to scientific advancement

2. What is the attitude of most researchers towards making their own data public?

A．Opposed

B．Ambiguous

C．Liberal

D．Neutral

3. According to the passage, what might hinder open data sharing？

A．The fear of massive copying

B．The lack of a research culture

C．The belief that research is private intellectual property

D．The concern that certain agencies may make a profit out of it

4. Dryad serves as an example to show how open data sharing ___

A．is becoming increasingly popular

B．benefits sharers and users alike

C．makes researchers successful

D．saves both money and labor

【推荐3】Barbara McClintock was one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. She made important discoveries about genes and chromosomes(染色体).

Barbara McClintock was born in 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her family moved to the Brooklyn area of New York City in 1908. Barbara was an active child with interests in sports and music. She also developed an interest in science.

She studied science at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Barbara was among a small number of undergraduate students to receive training in genetics in 1921. Years later, she noted that few college students wanted to study genetics.

Barbara McClintock decided to study botany, the scientific study of plants, at Cornell University. She completed her undergraduate studies in 1923. McClintock decided to continue her education at Cornell. She completed the master’s degree in 1925. Two years later, she finished all her requirements for the doctorate degree.

McClintock stayed at Cornell after she completed her education. She taught students botany. The 1930s was not a good time to be a young scientist in the United States. The country was in the middle of the great economic depression. Millions of Americans were unemployed. Male scientists were offered jobs. But female geneticists were not much in demand.

An old friend from Cornell, Marcus Rhoades, invited McClintock to spend the summer of 1941 working at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. It is a research center on Long Island, near New York City. McClintock started a temporary job with the genetics department. A short time later, she accepted a perpetual position in the laboratory and got continual incomes. This gave her the freedom to continue her research without repeatedly asking for financial aid.

By the 1970s, her discoveries had had an effect on everything from genetic engineering to cancer research. McClintock won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her discovery of the ability of genes to change positions on chromosomes. She was the first American woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize.

1. When did McClintock get a doctorate degree?

A．In 1921.

B．In 1923.

C．In 1925.

D．In 1927

2. In the middle of the great economic depression in the US, ________.

A．male scientists were in great demand

B．male scientists were out of work

C．female geneticists were not in demand at all

D．young female scientists might have trouble finding a job

3. Which of the following jobs was beneficial to McClintock’s research?

A．A permanent position in the laboratory.

B．A temporary job in the genetics department.

C．A job as a botany teacher.

D．A job to research cancer.

4. Why was McClintock awarded a Nobel Prize?

A．Because she received a degree in genes and chromosomes.

B．Because she contributed to genetic engineering and cancer research.

C．Because she made important discoveries about genes and chromosomes.

D．Because she was the first American woman who studied genes and chromosomes.

【推荐1】Honey can be used to measure air pollution, according to a new study from researchers at the University of British Columbia’s Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR).

The research, which was recently published in Nature Sustainability, drew on a survey of urban beehives (蜂房) around Vancouver that contained small levels of lead, according to The New York Times. Using beehives to measure pollutants could be a cost-effective way to monitor what is in the air.

“The good news is that the chemical composition of honey in Vancouver reflects its environment and is extremely clean,” the study’s lead author Kate E. Smith told the school’s website. “We also found that the concentration of elements increased the closer you got to downtown Vancouver, and that the lead largely came from man-made sources.”

The Vancouver area honey showed levels that were below the global average for things like lead, and the University of British Columbia website said someone would “have to consume more than 600 grams, or two cups, of honey every day to exceed tolerable levels.”

Hives for Humanity, a nonprofit in Vancouver, started the study when it asked a professor at the University of British Columbia to look at honey for pollutants. Through the honey samples alone, Smith said the researchers could find higher concentrations of lead in areas with heavy traffic or industrial activity. Researchers also noted that the lead wasn’t traceable to any local sources, which led them to think that large ships entering Vancouver from Asia could be the source of the pollutants.

“One of the exciting parts of this study is that it bridges science with community interests,” Smith told the school’s website. “Honey sampling can easily be performed by citizen scientists in other urban centers, even if they lack other environmental monitoring skills.”

1. Using beehives to measure pollutants could _______.

A．be an efficient method to see what is in the air

B．keep the environment from being polluted

C．monitor what happened to the air

D．cost a large amount of money

2. What can we know from Kate E Smith’s words?

A．Downtown Vancouver is pretty clean.

B．The lead comes from man-made product.

C．The environment of Vancouver is not bad.

D．Human is responsible for the concentration of lead.

3. What can we infer from the fifth paragraph?

A．The problem of lead is easy to settle.

B．Ships from Asia are related to the pollutants.

C．Honey can be used to reveal lead and other pollutants.

D．Heavy traffic and industrial activity produce more lead.

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

A．The Importance of Honey

B．Environmental Monitoring Skills

C．Honey--Measure Lead and Pollution

D．How to Look at Honey for Pollutants

【推荐2】College for $1 a day? If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not. Walmart, the largest private sector employer in the U.S., announced a new plan to pay for college for its 1.4 million employees.

Walmart will offer all full-time, part-time and salaried Walmart staff an opportunity to attend college for $1 a day for the study of their college program. Walmart will cover the full cost — beyond financial aid — of tuition, fees and books. According to personal finance comparison site Make Lemonade, there are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe more than $1.4 trillion of student loan debt. With this program, Walmart wants to ensure that its staff can earn a college degree without being involved in student loan debt.

Walmart has partnered with three non-profit universities where its employees can earn a degree online while working. Walmart staff are qualified to apply once they have worked at Walmart for at least 90 days. Walmart expects that all Walmart staff who apply will be accepted. If an employee leaves the company before completing a degree, the employee does not have to pay back any costs to Walmart, but will no longer have his/her education subsidized (被资助).

Currently, Walmart will only cover Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees in business and supply chain management since they are “parts of a broader approach to preparing the workforce to succeed today and into the future.”

“Investing in the personal and professional success of our staff is vital to Walmart’ s future success,” said Greg Forman, CEO of Walmart U.S., in a statement. “We know training and learning opportunities enable the staff to deliver for customers while growing and advancing in their career.”

Walmart is partnering with Guild Education, a leading education benefits platform, which will provide academic counselors to help Walmart staff with everything from the application process to choosing the right degree. According to The Washington Post, Walmart expects as many as 68,000 staff members to join the program in the first five years.

1. What does Make Lemonade expose to us?

A．Walmart helps employees out of student loan debt.

B．Millions of students are under the weight of debt.

C．44 million students have paid off their debts.

D．$1.4 trillion has been donated to students.

2. What does Walmart expect its employees to do?

A．Apply for a top university.

B．Pay back the education fees.

C．Gain a degree while working.

D．Offer good service to its customers.

3. What does Greg Forman think of the new plan?

A．It is a waste of time and money.

B．It could bring benefits to Walmart.

C．It aims to make contributions to society.

D．It stops employees from learning further.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Walmart offers employees college for $1 a day

B．Guide Education helps Walmart win attention

C．Walmart first turns impossible to possible

D．68,000 Walmart employees have a college degree