【推荐1】In May， 1977， I lived in a Howard Johnson's motel (汽车旅馆). My dad and I shared a room with two double beds and a bathroom way too small for a modest 15﹣year﹣old girl and her father. Dad's second marriage was in trouble and my stepmother had kicked us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no idea what to do with me. That's when my other family showed up.

Barbara and Roland Beach took me into their home because their only daughter， Su， my best friend， asked them to. I lived with them for the next seven years.

Barbara made sure I had lunch money， doctors' appointments， help with homework， and nightly hugs. Barbara and Roland attended every football game I took part in， every drama performance I was in even when I had no speaking lines. For the Beaches， there was no difference between Su and me: I was their daughter， too. When Su and I left for colleges， they kept my room the same for the entire four years when I attended school. Recently， Barbara presented me with an insurance policy they bought when I first moved in with them and had continued to pay for 25years.

The Beaches knew all about me when they took me in. When I was seven， my mother died. By the time I went to live with the Beaches， I believed that life was entirely unfair and that love was tenuous (脆弱的)and untrustworthy. I believed that the only person who would take care of me was me.

Without the Beaches， I would have become a bitter and unhappy woman. They gave me a home that allowed me to grow and change. They gave me the confidence to open my heart.

1. What can we know from Paragraph 1？

A．The author lost her mother in 1977.

B．The author's stepmother was selfish.

C．The author's father bought a motel.

D．The author got on well with her stepmother.

2. What's Paragraph 3mainly about？

A．How the Beaches took good care of the author.

B．How the author tried to be a good daughter.

C．What the author's best friend had done for her.

D．What help the author had given to her best friend.

3. Which of the following words can best describe the Beaches？

A．Generous and kind

B．Kind but selfish

C．Warmhearted but stubborn

D．Selfless but dishonest

4. What do we know about the author from the text？

A．She believed that life is unfair.

B．She was not confident enough.

C．She felt lucky to live with the Beaches.

D．She didn't get on well with her father.

【推荐2】Confidence is at the heart of every successful person and it holds the key to success. Regardless of how knowledgeable you are in your professional field, your success will be limited if you lack confidence. Actually, confidence isn’t what you’re born with, but something learned over time.     1    

Know yourself. Take a long look in the mirror and make an honest and accurate judgement of your strengths and weaknesses. Continue to build upon your strengths, as this will increase your confidence.     2     We all have areas in our professional and personal lives that need to be improved.     3     Instead, it only holds back your success and keeps your confidence low.

    4     Whether you like it or not, people make judgments about you based upon how you dress. You only have one chance to make a good first impression. How you dress directly shows how you feel about yourself. Research shows that you will feel differently about yourself if you are wearing a business suit or sweat pants and a T-shirt. Therefore, be highly aware of your appearance. Dress in a manner that reflects who you are.

Go step by step. You can increase your confidence by seeking out one new challenge at a time.     5     Move on to the next one when one challenge is successfully achieved. Success builds upon itself, therefore success brings success—all fueled by increased confidence!

A．Dress for success.

B．Put pressure on yourself.

C．Forgetting them does not make them go away.

D．Research shows confident people always seek out new challenges.

E．Meanwhile, take an effective method toward improving your weaknesses.

F．The following are three key tricks you may learn to increase your confidence.

G．What you wear will unintentionally show your weaknesses to those around you.

【推荐3】I have been worrying for weeks now about what to give my mother for Mother's Day. For most people, this is a modest problem, solved by the purchase of a bathrobe or a box of candy. For me, however, Mother's Day represents an annual challenge to do the impossible—find a gift that will make neither Mama nor me feel terrible.

Expensive gifts which Mama defines as costing over $10 are out, because they make Mama feel terrible. "This is awful, " she once said, examining an apron. "I feel just terrible. You shouldn't have spent that much on it." Inexpensive presents - under $10—please Mama, but they make me feel terrible.

The story always goes this way: a gift given to Mama will bounce swiftly back to me. If I buy her something wearable, she perceives in an instant that it could be let in here, let out there, and it would fit me perfectly. If I give her a plant, she cuts off the top for me to take home and root in a glass of water. If I give her something edible, she wants me to stay for lunch and eat it.

Papa, a sensible man, long ago stopped trying to shop for Mama. Instead, on Mother's Day, her birthday, and other appropriate occasions, he composes a short romantic poem in which he tells of their meeting, unforgettable things, and marriage. After nearly 30 years of poems, Papa sometimes worries that the edge of his poetic inspiration has dulled, but Mama doesn't complain. She comes into the room while he is struggling over a gift poem and says, "It doesn't have to rhyme as long as it's from the heart."

This year, finally, I think I, too, have found a painless gift for Mama. I am going to give her a magazine article, unrhymed but from the heart, in which I wish her "Happy Mother's Day" and tell her there's nothing Papa or I could ever buy, find, or make her that would be half good enough anyway.

1. Why Mother's Day is regarded as an annual challenge by the author?

A．Most gifts are too expensive to afford.

B．Her mother has never been pleased with gifts.

C．She lacks the experience of choosing gifts.

D．It's hard to buy a satisfying gift for her mother.

2. What can we know about the author's mother from paragraph 3?

A．She is particular about gifts.	B．She doesn't like receiving gifts.
C．She always cares about her child.	D．She always gives something in return.

3. Which words can best describe the author's Dad?

A．Loving and wise.	B．Energetic and kind.
C．Brave and inspiring.	D．Optimistic and talented.

4. Why will the author give her mother a magazine article?

A．To show her love for her mother.

B．To show off her literary competence.

C．To offer a better present than .her dad's.

D．To avoid the difficulty of choosing

【推荐1】A little girl ran to her bedroom and pulled out her piggy bank (储蓄罐) from a secret drawer in her closet. She took the change from it and counted it carefully three times.

She carefully placed the coins in a jar and twisted on the cap. She took the jar and slipped out of the back door. She made her way six blocks to a drug store. She waited patiently for the pharmacist (药剂师) to give her some attention but he was too busy attending other customers at that moment. She tried several times to get his attention but failed. Finally, she took a quarter from her jar and hit it on the glass counter, which was finally able to get her some attention.

“What do you want, little Miss?” the pharmacist asked the tiny girl in the front of his counter. “My brother is really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle,” the girl answered back. “I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist. “My brother is really sick and my daddy says only a miracle can cure him now. So, I want to get a miracle for him. How much does it cost?” “I’m sorry but I can’t help you. We don’t sell miracles here, little girl,” the pharmacist said, softening a little.

Next to the little girl was a tall well-dressed man. He lowered himself and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?” “I don’t know,” the girl replied with her eyes in tears. “I just know he is very sick and has something bad growing inside his head. Doctor says he needs an operation. But daddy can’t afford it, so we need a miracle to save him now. I can use all my money to save my brother.” “How much do you have?” asked the man. “One dollar and twelve cents, it’s all the money I have now, but I can get some more if needed,” the girl answered in a whisper. “Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “That is the exact price of a miracle for a little brother. Take me to your brother. Let’s see if I have the miracle your brother needs.”

The man was a famous nuerosurgeon (神经外科医生). He was just the right person needed to save the little boy’s life. The operation was completed without any charges and it went successfully.

Her mommy wondered how much it would have cost. The little girl just smiled, but said nothing.

1. The girl took the money out of the piggy bank to ______.

A．keep it in her bank account	B．buy her brother a miracle
C．cover the debt at the drugstore	D．donate it to a needy child

2. Why did the little girl hit a quarter on the glass counter?

A．To let off her steam.	B．To show off her wealth.
C．To get timely service.	D．To attract other customers.

3. What can we learn from the conversation between the girl and the doctor?

A．Her father was embarrassed for lack of money.	B．Her brother suffered from head injuries.
C．She was confident in saving her brother.	D．He was ready to help the little girl.

4. What the surgeon did implies that he is ______.

A．considerate and honest	B．gentle and open-minded
C．brave and creative	D．kind and professional

5. What’s the best title of this passage?

A．The Price of a Miracle	B．A Special Day at the Drugstore
C．A Doctor with Kindness	D．The Survival of a Strong-willed Boy

【推荐2】Harsukh Bhai Dobariva, of Gujarat, India, is very popular with birds. Every day, about 3000 birds visit his 4-acre farm to eat tasty grains and build their nests away from natural enemies.

Nicknamed “The Birdman”, Harsukh has spent the last 17 years of his life looking after the birds and transforming his land into a safe place for them.

Many people would consider such a large number of birds making a mess outside their windows, but Harsukh couldn’t be happier about it. As more birds started visiting him and the limited space on his balcony became a problem, he built a stand(台)out of old pipes and put grains on them, so the birds could eat in comfort.

Harsukh and his family used to live in the middle of the city, but as the number of birds visiting them increased, they became a problem for the neighbors. In 2012, Harsukh moved to a 4-acre piece of land on the suburbs, where the birds didn’t bother anyone.

“In my old house, neighbors would get disturbed by the constant chirping(鸣叫声)of birds,” Harsukh said. “Though they would never complain(抱怨), I still thought that these birds need space of their own.”

Today, about 3,000 birds visit Harsukh’s farm several times a day. He and his family have built several stands for them, and make sure to add grains twice a day.

Over 1000 birds build their nests on the farm, and have their babies here Harsukh and his family protect them from enemies until they are ready to fly. During the rainy season, the doors of the Harsukh’s house are always open to birds that are seeking shelter from the rain.

1. Why did Harsukh build the first stand for the birds?

A．Because it could be used to put grains.

B．Because he wanted to attract more birds.

C．Because the balcony was too crowded.

D．Because he had to feed about3000 birds.

2. What can we infer about Harsukh’s old neighbors?

A．They sometimes complained about the noise.

B．They thought these birds needed another space.

C．They were kind and easy-going.

D．They wouldn’t get disturbed by birds.

3. What else does Harsukh do for the birds besides feeding them?

A．He builds nests for them.	B．He kills their natural enemies.
C．He protects their young birds.	D．He treats the sick birds.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．The way to feed birds	B．The Birdman-Harsukh
C．A house with noisy birds	D．The importance of protecting birds