【推荐1】I was typing papers for new school students when Mama called. We talked about some senseless things for a while before she finally told me about it. “Well, Donner, there’s this class up at the high school this summer.” She said. “They say they can teach me to read and write. I’m trying to decide whether.”

“Of course, you should do it! That would be so wonderful. I’d be so proud of you.” I answered. She was 63 and had survived two alcoholic husbands and was an expert at buying and selling garage sale junk to keep food on her own table and buy Christmas presents for me and my brother’s kids. She used food stamps to buy food and other goods. Mama laughed, seemingly with relief. “Well, you know, I’d about gotten used to being the silliest old lady in town,” she said.

It turned out that her neighbor had found the class for her. The young woman had been doing Mama’s “business” for a while in my absence, helping to relieve my guilt over leaving Mississippi. The friend was a little crazy, but Mama liked her. She was real and, by then, I hated pretension as much as Mama did. When I was little, she would tell me: “Remember, Donner Kay, nobody’s better than anybody else.”

Three months into the class. Mama left a message on my answering machine: “Donner, I taught a class tonight!” She was almost singing the words. “The teacher let me teach the class!” She soon wrote me a letter in a careful, boxy print I had never seen, instead of the strange way she had long written family names she had memorized.

The next time I flew home to visit, we both laughed like 12-year-olds as she read words from billboards on the way from the airport. Her grammar was getting better. She kept talking about her classes and the other students.

1. Why did Donner’s mother phone her according to Paragraph 1?

A．To advise Donner to take a course.	B．To show her support for Donner.
C．To tell Donner her decision.	D．To ask Donner for advice.

2. How did Donner’s mother feel when she left a message for Donner?

A．Shocked.

B．Delighted.

C．Puzzled.

D．Worried.

3. What does the author want to tell us in the last two paragraphs?

A．What progress Donner’s mother made.

B．The difficulty Donner’s mother had in learning.

C．How Donner’s mother learned to read and write.

D．The effects other students had on Donner’s mother.

【推荐2】I was doing some Christmas shopping in a toy store and decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces. A nicely dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls as well. As she was looking, a little boy came to the Pokemon toys. He was dressed neatly, but his clothes were obviously old. He was with his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokemon video toys. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father, his father shook his head and said, "No."

The little girl had chosen her Barbie. However, she stopped and was watching them. Rather dejectedly, the boy had to give up the Pokemon toys and choose something else. The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the Pokemon toys. She excitedly picked up one and raced towards the checkout. I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them. Then, much to the little girl's delight, the little boy and his father got in line behind me. After the toy was paid for and bagged, the little girl handed it back to the cashier and whispered something in her ear. The cashier smiled and put the package under the counter.

I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things when the little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier checked his purchases and said, "Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you win a prize!" With that, 'she handed the little boy the Pokemon toys, and he could only stare in surprise. It was exactly what he had wanted!

The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during all of this. Then they walked out. As I walked back to my car, I heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I'll never forget what she said to him. "Daddy, didn't Grandparents want me to buy something that would make me happy?" He said, "Of course they did honey." To which the little girl replied, “Well, I just did!"

I feel very shocked to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas in that toy store, in the form of a little girl who understands more about the meaning of this festival than most adults I know.

1. The underlined word "dejectedly" in Paragraph 2 probably means

A．delightedly

B．excitedly

C．disappointedly

D．unexpectedly

2. How did the little boy get the Pokemon toys?

A．His father bought him the Pokemon toys happily

B．The little girl bought the Poknemon toys for him

C．The cashier felt sympathy and gave him the Poknemon toys

D．He was the 100 customer and won the Poknemon toys

3. What did the little girl mean when saying "Daddy, didn't Grandparents want me to buy something that would make me happy?"

A．Making the little boy happy made her happy	B．Her Grandparents wanted her to be happy
C．The Poknemon toys made her happy	D．Her Grandparents hoped that she could help others.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．The story happened in a shop just after Christmas

B．The little girl preferred the Poknemon toys to Barbie

C．The boy actually had enough money to buy the Pokemon toys

D．The author was deeply moved by the behavior of the little girl

【推荐3】When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London, a very interesting place, to try his fortune.

There was the famous London Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and palaces and markets and long streets full of shops.

Then, too, there were the daily crowds where could be seen people from all over the world. Knights, scholars and the highwayman (拦路强盗）or thieves, who had been infamous for their clever robberies, passed by each other.

Here, also, were noblemen dressed in gold, from Italy and Spain and France; slaves from Spanish America, sea captains and ministers, soldiers and servants—all held by chances or interests within the gray walls which circled London, and whose gates gave welcome to as strange a crowd as could be found in the world.

Into this curious crowd came Shakespeare, quick to see and eager to learn. And before long all these strange sights were as familiar to him as the faces of his own town’s residents. Each one told its story to him so plainly that, as before he had learned the secrets of the fields and woods, so now he learned men and men’s interests that make up the great world.

And he learned these lessons so well that when he came to write his plays, he made such use of them as no writer ever made before or since; for it is the use of this knowledge of the world, combined with his own genius, that makes Shakespeare the greatest dramatist that has ever lived.

1. What was London like in Shakespeare’s eyes when he first went there?

A．Dirty and small.	B．Strange and interesting.
C．Infamous and terrible.	D．Familiar and modern.

2. Which of the following best describes Shakespeare?

A．Shakespeare got inspiration to write from his hometown, London.

B．Shakespeare was eager to make friends with the noblemen in London.

C．Shakespeare was good at observing and learning from the daily life.

D．Shakespeare became the greatest dramatist owing to his own genius.

3. What does the word “one” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Crowd.	B．Resident.
C．Face.	D．Sight.

4. The passage probably comes from______.

A．a poster	B．a textbook
C．an advertisement	D．an announcement

【推荐1】When I was two years old, I was diagnosed with a hearing loss. My mother cried when she found out—she wanted her son to be happy and able to experience everything life had to offer. I went to a special playgroup twice a week where a nurse discovered I had taught myself to read. At the age of five I attended a school for the deaf from age three to six.

I remember looking around the room there. People talked and signed to each other. I had a best friend and I did very well in class. But I told my mother that I wanted to go to the regular school with hearing people, because I felt more like a hearing person than a hearing-impaired (听力受损) one. I didn’t even use sign language! I lip-read and listened with my hearing aids. After visiting a public school for a day, my mother agreed to let me go. Without doubt, I have functioned very well.

Many people don’t even know I am hearing-impaired until they see my hearing aids. My classmates often forget that I have any problem, and I feel fortunate that they do not look down upon people like me. The only problem I have with this hearing loss is that some people discriminate against me. The fact is that I am just as normal as anyone else. The only differences are that others need to speak up, and I have some help from my hearing aids.

The next time you see hearing-impaired people, don’t feel sorry for them because that just gives them an excuse to mistreat themselves and hurt their own advantages. Instead, encourage them and tell them that a disability only hurts a person if he or she lets it.

1. Which is TRUE about the author when he was 5?

A．He went to a special playgroup.	B．He attended a school for the deaf.
C．He stayed at home with his mother.	D．He was diagnosed with hearing loss.

2. Why did the author want to attend the regular school?

A．He even didn’t know sign language.

B．He had few friends at the deaf school.

C．He didn’t believe his handicap was a big problem.

D．He found it very hard to get along with his classmates.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “functioned” in Para.2?

A．remembered

B．translated.

C．challenged.

D．performed.

4. What can we infer from the last sentence?

A．A disabled person should be well treated.

B．If a person is disabled, he will hurt himself.

C．The disabled should regard themselves as normal.

D．A normal person is disabled, he will hurt himself.

【推荐2】People always regret asking me and my wife how we got together. It’s a long story, involving other relationships and several countries, and to be honest, it’s not that interesting, so I’ll spare you the details. We were at a restaurant in Tuscany on our summer holiday last year though, when we met another English couple who had a far more interesting story than us. Lynn and Andy had actually met online before they got together, or at least they thought they had. After a few casual conversations through an online dating agency, they decided to meet for real. Lynn arrived at the restaurant first, and shortly after was approached by Andy, who thought she was someone else. It turns out they’d both arranged to meet different people, but liked the look of each other, and that was that!

And they’re not alone. It seems there are all sorts of places you might meet that special someone. Lukas met Sofie for the first time when he crashed into her car—on his bicycle. “It was raining and I was coming downhill really fast, so I couldn’t really see where I was going. Sofie opened her car door and I went straight into it, and off my bike,” explains Lukas. “I was unconscious for a few seconds, and when I came round there was this beautiful young woman asking me ‘Are you OK?’ Well, after that, she went to the hospital with me and was just really kind, really caring, and we hit it off.”

Every cloud has a silver lining, so they say, and Nick McKiddie would most likely agree. He was leaving the office late one night when he got robbed by a group of young men. He wasn’t hurt, but they stole his phone and wallet, so he called the police. Susan Harris, a young police officer at the time, attended the call. Nick explains, “I don’t know whether I was in shock because of what had happened, but I think it was love at first sight. I would never usually be so confident, but I just asked if she wanted to go for a drink sometime, and to my surprise, she said yes! “Nick and Susan got married last December.”

Animals don’t have the same social inhibitions (顾虑) as humans do, and this was certainly the case when Ri took her dog, Ben, to the local dog park. “As soon as I took his leash off, he ran straight to another dog on the other side of the park, and started getting very friendly indeed,” she laughs. “I actually had to pull him away, and that was when I met Ben, the other dog’s owner. We had a good laugh about it all, especially when we realized he had the same name as my dog. We became friends after that, and well, the rest is history.”

1. According to the passage, Lynn and Andy________.

A．first met in a restaurant in Tuscany

B．had originally arranged to see other people

C．regretted talking to each other online

D．preferred casual conversations to serious dating

2. ________got to know each other due to an accident.

A．The author and his wife

B．Nick and Susan

C．Lukas and Sofie

D．Ri and Ben

3. By “Every cloud has a silver lining” (in paragraphs), the author means that________.

A．every day is a good beginning	B．every misfortune contains something good
C．people do not always behave as usual	D．what you value in life matters greatly

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How the author and his wife met each other.

B．The places where people usually get together.

C．How great relationships may grow out of random encounters.

D．What people do in order to meet their ideal partner.

【推荐3】It was the first snow of winter — an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through first snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.

I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and if made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes. At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots (靴子).

In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence (信心).

I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.

I announced, “They’re on the wrong feet.”

She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.

“They’re my brother’s boots, you know,” I said. “I hate them”.

Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying (烦人的) little girl. She pushed and pushed, less gently this time. With а greater sigh, seeing the end of her struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens?”

I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots.

1. The little girl was more satisfied with her_____.

A．trousers

B．jacket

C．boots

D．hat

2. Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl’s boots mainly because_____.

A．the girl got them from her brother	B．the girl put something in them
C．they were on the wrong feet	D．they did not fit the girl well

3. Why does the author say Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?

A．Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes.

B．Because it was the most exciting day of the winter.

C．Because the little girl played a trick on her.

D．Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf.

4. We can learn from the text that Miss Finlayson____.

A．was losing confidence in the little girl

B．gradually lost patience with the little girl

C．became disappointed with the little girl

D．was getting bored with the little girl

【推荐2】Manfred Steiner had a successful and productive career as a doctor, helping generations of medical students learn about hematology (血液学). But all along, he felt that he should be doing something else: studying physics. At age 89, he has finally fulfilled that dream, earning his Ph. D. in physics from Brown University.

“I always had this dream: Someday I would like to become a physicist,” Steiner said.

Steiner was a teenager when World War II ended. By then, he was fascinated with physics. On the advice of his family, he decided to pursue a medical career instead. But during his studies, physics still tugged at him.

“When I was a medical student in the early 1950s, I used to slip into the physical institute, which was very close to the medical school,” he said, “and listen to some talks there because I was so interested in quantum physics (量子物理学), the new stuff at that time.”

It was only after Steiner retired from his career in medicine in 2000 that he was able to officially occupy himself with quantum physics. He started taking classes at MIT. He had to do a lot of physics classes at MIT before being allowed to start graduate studies. He transferred to Brown, to minimize his commute (通勤).

Steiner worked slowly — he’s a grandfather who likes to spend time with his family, and health issues have been a concern — but the credits kept piling up. “You know, it took a long time,” he said. “There were medical problems in between that were very serious. But fortunately, I’m here now and I’ve overcome these problems.”

Despite fulfilling a long-held dream of becoming a physicist, Steiner says he doesn’t regret spending most of his life in academic medicine. He also has some advice to offer: “All the young people, if they have a dream, follow that dream. Don’t give up on it.” If it doesn’t work out, he said, they can go into something else. “But first, follow your dream.”

1. What does the underlined part “tugged at” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Confused.	B．Attracted.
C．Benefited.	D．Challenged.

2. When did Steiner start to devote himself to the study of quantum physics?

A．When World War Ⅱ ended.	B．In the early 1950s.
C．In 2000.	D．At age 89.

3. What can we know about Steiner?

A．He is a brave dream-seeker.

B．He regretted learning medicine.

C．He learned physics all by himself.

D．He liked working alone at a slow pace.

4. What lesson can we learn from Steiner’s story?

A．You can’t judge a book by its cover.

B．A good beginning makes a good ending.

C．A young idler, an old beggar.

D．Where there is a will, there is a way.

【推荐3】Thein Shwe is sitting with one of his students, 14-year-old Nur Hakim, outside a small classroom built of wood. Thein Shwe has been working at this non-formal primary education centre since it was first set up five years ago. He says, “I love teaching. I was a personal tutor (家庭教师) before. When I learnt that this centre was looking for teachers, I applied.

Thein Shwe is very popular among his students. Even Nur Hakim, who at first was very shy, becomes more confident as his teacher smiles, nodding to encourage him. “I come from a poor family,” says Nur Hakim. “My father died when I was a baby.”

Nur Hakim’s father, who was a factory worker, was the main provider. Since his father’s death, his mother has had to support the family of six by herself. Nur Hakim was not attending school until the age of 12, when he got the chance to attend this non-formal primary education centre. “I love English and I love my teacher because he is always on time and teaches us well,” says the boy.

Nur Hakim says he hopes to join Grade 5 students next year in a nearby government school. Nur Hakim holds on to his dreams. “I want to be a doctor,” he says. “In my village, I see a lot of illnesses.”

Thein Shwe admits (承认) he finds it difficult to support his family working as a volunteer. But Thein Shwe talks more about the successes and difficulties he has faced keeping his students in class. He says over the four years, about 80%of the students continue on to the government school or vocational (职业的) training.

When Thein Shwe is asked about his main success as a teacher, he needs no time to think. “It’s being able to keep the poorest children in school,” he says.

1. What can we learn about Thein Shwe?

A．He started teaching when he was 14.

B．He used to work in a government school.

C．He has worked as a volunteer teacher for five years.

D．He helped set up the non-formal primary education centre.

2. How has Nur Hakim changed after attending school?

A．He has begun to have a dream.

B．He has fallen in love with English.

C．He has come to understand his parents.

D．He has had a growing belief in himself.

3. What does Nur Hakim want to do in the future?

A．Be a worker like his father	B．Work in the field of medicine.
C．Teach in a government school.	D．Be a volunteer teacher like Thein Shwe.

4. What does Thein Shwe think is his main achievement as a teacher?

A．Teaching kids useful life skills.

B．Providing chances of education for poor kids.

C．Changing children’s ideas on education.

D．Sending his students to schools of higher education levels.