【推荐1】One evening at a busy crossroads, I noticed a sister struggling to keep her little kid under control while she talked on the pay phone. She wanted him to stay still next to her, but he wanted to run and play by the road, close to rushing buses and taxis. One could sense the woman’s frustration, that she was pulled in too many directions: She was angry at the person on the telephone and shouting at the younger that she would “snap（折断）his leg” if he moved again. As I waited for the traffic light to change, the child began to complain and struggle to free himself from the woman’s grasp. She dropped the phone, seized（抓住）the neck of his tiny. T-shirt and gave him a back-hand blow across the face that I know made his little head spin.

The light changed, and passers-by continued on their way. But I stood there, fixed to the pavement. I knew this extremely upset woman would carry through on her threat of violence to the child. Before, I had wanted to get close to her and offer to watch the youngster while she dealt with the troubling situation on the phone. Now I wanted to comfort the little boy. I also wanted to speak to the sister to calm her and to caution（告诫）her, as I wish someone had cautioned me when I was passing my pain on to my daughter and causing her emotional suffering. But I was chicken. I thought, she may think I’m out of line, or I may be her next target.

Often I’ve thought about that child and the many others abused（虐待）by adults. I wonder how they will internalize（使……藏在心底）their pain, and if it will crush their spirits. Will this little boy grow up to be an abusive man? Will he be gloomy（阴郁的，沮丧的）and withdrawn（孤僻，内向的）? Will he find it hard to communicate with women, with other men? Or will he survive and be sensitive, caring and determined not to continue the cycle?

There is too much cruelty（残忍）in the world, too much cruelty between people. I tremble at the increasing verbal（言语的）bitterness and violence among Black girls, and among young mothers trying to discipline their children. This behavior isn’t class-or age-related: I hear sharp words from Black women from all walks of life who are overworked and stressed out and have grown impatient. At times I, too, become impolite to others, or, like the sister on the phone, strike out at（抨击）those closest to me.

Often we’re tired because we've made the wrong choices. Young girls who still need mothering are loaded with children. We sisters easily get hurt and annoyed when we don’t compromise with our own sense of self. Our personal fulfillment requires knowing what is best for us, setting our boundaries（界限）and keeping them undamaged. We will always be asked to do more than we are comfortable doing. When we know our boundaries, we can decline comfortably. People—and we ourselves—will act in ways we don’t like. But they, like us, are still worthy of love.

Whatever irritates（激怒）us about a person should be examined. Is the person reflecting behavior in us that needs to be changed? Often, when I find people irritating, I find they mirror something about me that I need to correct.

What’s needed in our personal relationships is a return to gentleness and tolerance（容忍）. We must allow one another our learning experiences. Just as violence results to violence, verbal violence—the hard words and sharp tones we use to release inner stress—adds to the distance between us.

What we people of African root must do to become, and continue to be strong begins with love, sensitivity and our ability to work together. We Black women have these spiritual resources in abundance（丰富）. Now we must encourage them to create a peaceful place—for ourselves, our children, our men.

1. We can learn from the passage the mother of the little kid must be ________.

A．frustrated and hot-tempered	B．cruel and talkative
C．confused and quick-minded	D．considerate and sensitive

2. By saying “She may think I am out of line”, the author meant the woman might say ________.

A．“You’re not standing in the queue.”

B．“You can watch and comfort my kid.”

C．“Walk away. It’s none of your business.”

D．“You are walking in the wrong direction.”

3. The wrong choices the author mentions in Paragraph 5 include ________.
a. We sisters refuse to marry young
b. We aren’t satisfied with ourselves
c. We have our boundaries damaged
d. We decline others’ requests for help

A．a, b	B．c, d
C．a, d	D．b, c

4. According to the author, when we find a person irritating, we should ________.

A．return to gentleness and tolerance

B．reflect on our behavior that needs correcting

C．avoid the hard words and sharp tones

D．examine if anything is wrong with him

【推荐2】I was in a charity shop looking at the second hand books.It just so happened that the book shelves were next to the toy section.After a few minutes I became aware of a group of women standing behind me.They were poorly dressed and spoke in what sounded like an eastern European language.As they looked through the clothes rails a little girl,about three years old,came over to the toy section.Immediately her attention was caught by a toy pram（婴儿车）. What is it about little girls and toy prams? I don't know,but whatever it is its incredibly cute!       She spoke to her mother and,in halting English her mother asked the shop assistant how much it cost.Three pounds was the answer---about five dollars.The mum looked down at her child,perhaps calculating what she still had to buy and how much money she would have left.Then she simply shook her head.         The child didn't react badly as some might.Being told“no”was obviously not a new experience for her.But she couldn't keep the disappointment from her face.       I had the grand total of four pounds in my pocket,two two-pound coins.A moment later I tapped the mother on the shoulder,pointed to the coins which I had left in the pram and said,“Buy her a dolly too.”       I didn't hang about to see the end result.After all,it's not about being thanked.I made my way out of the shop and into the sunshine.       The money was an investment in the happiness of the world.Was there any better way,I wondered,to get so much happiness for so little money than to buy a little girl a toy pram? And a dolly to sit in it!

1. What did the little girl say to her mother according to the second paragraph?

A．She asked her mother to calculate her money.

B．She asked her mother to buy the toy pram for her.

C．She asked her mother to borrow money from the author.

D．She asked her mother to ask the shop assistant the price of the toy pram.

2. The mother shook her head because ________.

A．she thought the toy wasn’t worth the money

B．she found it difficult to calculate her money

C．she found she didn’t take enough money with her

D．she thought the toy was not suitable for her daughter

3. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that ________.

A．the girl usually behaved badly

B．the mother usually treated her daughter badly

C．the mother was not rich enough to meet her daughter’s need often

D．the little girl was often refused because she asked for too many toys

4. What words can be used to describe the author?

A．Optimistic and energetic.	B．Pleasant and grateful.
C．Wealthy and healthy.	D．Sympathetic and helpful.

【推荐3】Complaining happens a lot, probably much more than we even realize. Complaining is easy to do, but it’s not good for us. Doctors have found that people who complain about their health can actually worsen the symptoms of their disease.     1    People who complain frequently can end up losing friends because of their complaints.

If complaining is so harmful, why do we complain? Many people complain to get attention.     2     Sometimes we complain as a way of connecting with others, starting a conversation. We can complain to make ourselves look better by comparison. There are lots of excuses for complaining.

    3    It’s harder to find the positive or just stay quiet. Maya Angelou once said, “If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

You can have gratitude (感激) or take action to find solutions rather than just complain about problems.     4    It can lead to a new vision. Robert Kennedy once said, “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

But how can you stop yourself from complaining? It requires a plan. You could start by not complaining about anything for a week. It won’t be easy but it can be done. When we stop complaining about what’s missing in our lives and start being thankful for all we have, life changes for the better.     5    

A．Anyone can complain.

B．So, complain no more!

C．Complaining makes no sense.

D．Complaining does harm to health.

E．Complaining also hurts our relationships.

F．Dissatisfaction does not have to lead to complaining.

G．They use complaining as a means to draw attention to themselves.

【推荐3】A rainy day can be a chance to recharge. While you relaxed on the sofa with a movie, the raindrops falling on your windows might one day provide the power for your TV. This is the idea behind an invention that harvests energy from water.

The technology is based on the triboelectric (摩擦电的)effect. An engineer at the University of Hawaii, David Ma knew that it’s possible to generate electricity by rubbing two things together. So, he thought, “Why don’t we use water?”

A drop of water sliding across a surface coated with two different materials would generate enough friction to create an electrical charge. By placing metal wires that the drop of water touched as it moved, it should be possible to harvest electricity, he reasoned.

It worked. In fact, the researchers lit up 15 LED bulbs with a single moving water drop.

This is not the first time that scientists have got electricity from water-generated friction( 摩 擦 ). Earlier experiments, though, harvested the charge produced in a surface by a sliding drop of water. There, the surface had acted as an electrode(电极). This is different. The energy of friction is being harvested from the water itself.

“It turns out,” Ma says, “the charge in the water drop is way more than the charge produced in the other electrode.” In fact, his team’s model generated almost 100 times more power than previous experiments from a single drop of water.

“The technology could someday power phones, sensors or other small electronics,” says Christopher Oshman, an engineer at the Colorado School of Mines. “This work is a step toward harvesting the energy of moving objects all around us, including ourselves, to power the electronic appliances we use every day,” he says.

Ma has shown that the technology can work in a lab, Oshman says. Next, the Colorado researcher would like to see it tried on a larger scale, such as on an umbrella.

1. How did the author introduce the topic of the text?

A．By telling a story.

B．By raising a question.

C．By giving an example.

D．By imagining a situation.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The wire.	B．The drop of water.
C．The surface.	D．The electricity.

3. What is unique about Ma’s technique compared with earlier experiments?

A．The water itself acts as an electrode.

B．It is based on the triboelectric effect.

C．It produces electricity from water-made friction.

D．It uses a surface coated with two different materials.

4. What does Oshman say about Ma’s technology?

A．It has a promising future.

B．It will do well on an umbrella.

C．It works well in the real world.

D．It will replace batteries someday.