【推荐2】How do young children learn to have good values? How can parents teach their children about the importance of kindness and patience? At a time when more and more parents worry about the violent images(暴力形象) their children see on TV, some are turning to fairy tales(童话).

It is believed that fairy tales have a great influence on children because they describe the two sides of good and evil(邪恶) very clearly. When children hear the stories, they learn to care about others’ feelings. In each tale, they can see that there are many different kinds of people in the world and that we all have a choice about what kind of person we want to be. We can choose to do good actions, rather than bad ones, in our lives.

What kind of values can children learn from fairy tales? In The Princess and the Pea(《豌豆公主》), a poorly dressed girl, who insists she is a princess, is given a difficult test by the Queen. When she passes the test, we learn that her dream comes true because she stays true to herself. In The Little Mermaid(《小美人鱼》), the mermaid, who lives under the sea, wishes to be with the humans on land. Through her experiences, we learn about the importance of living with and accepting other cultures. In Pinocchio, a wooden puppet(木偶) turns into a boy when he finally learns how to tell the truth.

Teaching values is the reason most often given for encouraging children to read stories. These fairy tales can teach children lessons about human relationships that are accepted around the world for many countries. This might be the reason why they have been around for so long and will not disappear any more soon.

1. Why do fairy tales have a great influence on children?

A．Fairy tales can teach them how to make a choice.

B．Fairy tales can help them get higher scores at school.

C．They can learn how to avoid most difficulties in their lives.

D．Good and evil are shown in a way they can easily understand.

2. The Little Mermaid may be helpful when children ________.

A．are given a difficult test	B．make friends with foreigners
C．wish to be a princess or prince	D．are going to lie to their parents

3. The author writes the text mainly to ________.

A．introduce some fairy tales

B．talk about the history of fairy tales

C．discuss how to improve human relationships

D．show how fairy tales help children shape values

【推荐3】The novel, Of Human Bondage, is considered a masterpiece of the 20th century. It is also a semi-autobiographical（半自传的）story of author W. Somerset Maugham.

At first glance，the book seems like an anti-fairytale, going against the usual moral values of courage and kindness. However, readers will see that the English author was exploring the same kind of values. The only difference is that he delivered his message through a story with more suffering.

The main character, Philip Carey, leads a difficult life. Besides having to live with a clubfoot （畸形足）, his peers make fun of him for it. Though he is offered a scholarship from Oxford, he turns it down. He would rather study “things that matter” in Germany. He generously helps a woman with whom he is fascinated, but this causes him to drop out of medical school---he gave her all his money. Penniless, he becomes a hunger-stricken vagabond（流浪汉）, takes a low-paid job for the sake of survival, and finally gets back to medical training and settles down.

Philip's altruism（利他主义）is often regarded as a weakness by other characters, but does this lead to his downfall？

Quite the opposite. Philip's goodwill to a patient, Mr. Athelny, led to him marrying the eldest Atpelny girl, who cherishes（珍惜） him with all her heart.

What is more, even in his"unsuccessful"early days, Philip's courage in unfavorable circumstances helps him form friendships and a support network that get him through tough times. This is how he finds his most valued long-term companions. Last but not least, his hardships give him empathy（共情）.

As French writer Romain Rolland put it, “There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is, and to love it.” Of Human Bondage demonstrates（验证） that.

1. What is the third paragraph mainly about？

A．Philip Carey's bad marriage.	B．Philip Carey's foot disability.
C．Philip Carey's tough life.	D．Philip Carey's generosity.

2. What can we conclude from Philip Carey's story?

A．It is never too late to mend.	B．Kindness wins out.
C．Experience must be bought.	D．No gains without pains.

3. What is the author's attitude towards the novel Of Human Bondage？

A．Doubtful.

B．Reserved.

C．Objective.

D．Appreciative.

【推荐1】Many children love using a trampoline（蹦床）for fun. They love the excitement the activity brings to them. But are trampolines safe to use?

Starting in the early 1990s, trampolines saw a major increase in popularity. In 1989, 140,000 trampolines were sold in the United States and by 1998 that number had increased to 640,000. But with the increase in popularity there was a rise in pain. From 1990 to 1995, trampolines-related injuries jumped by 98% and in 1999 over 100,000 kids were treated in the emergency room because of using trampolines.

The data behind the danger is clear, but parents may not know that even though trampolines are made for children, they are not suitable for kids under the age of six. Kait Ellen posted an article on Facebook about her visit to a trampoline gym with her son Colton. Actually the visit was anything but enjoyable for the little guy. Colton, who was three years old, broke his bone while jumping up and down on a trampoline. And in her article there was a warning from a government department, which advised that children under the age of six should never use a trampoline.

In 2004, the first indoor trampoline park opened Thursday in LasVegas, Nevada and parks have been growing rapidly ever since. Parents should keep in mind the advice of experts for keeping their kids safe. To keep your kids from getting injured while using trampolines, you’d better keep them away from them.

1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing Paragraph 2?

A．To make comparisons.

B．To show trampolines’ popularity in America.

C．To advise people to buy trampolines.

D．To prove trampolines are unsafe.

2. How did Kait Ellen learn the danger of trampolines?

A．Through the advice of expert.

B．Through a government department.

C．Through her son’s accident.

D．Through the data behind the danger.

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards trampolines?

A．Negative

B．Cautious

C．Uncertain.

D．Approving.

4. What’s the passage mainly about ?

A．Kids can easily get hurt while playing.

B．Trampolines are dangerous for kids under 6.

C．Parents often make trampolines for their children.

D．Trampolines are very popular with children.

【推荐2】People are being attracted to Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up large amounts of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.

Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal information is worth.

The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things—your city, your photo, your friends’ names—were set, by default (默认) to be shared with everyone on the Internet.

According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a ＂less satisfying experience＂.

Some people think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which was about selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?

The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites.

I think that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy is only the beginning, which is why I’m considering stopping using it. Facebook is a convenient site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t know. That’s too high a price to pay.

1. According to the text, Facebook is ____________.

A．losing more customers	B．becoming a more useful site
C．improving its service gradually	D．stealing and selling users’ information

2. At the beginning Facebook’s business model includes selling ____________.

A．its service	B．ads
C．its products	D．personal information

3. Why do Facebook make changes to its rule?

A．To provide better service to its users.

B．To follow the Federal guidelines.

C．To encourage its users’ communication.

D．To gain its users’ more personal information.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward Facebook?

A．Admirable.	B．Negative.
C．Unclear.	D．Supportable.

【推荐1】Half decade ago, at the end of my first semester teaching at Wharton, my student Kevin stopped by for office hours. He sat down and burst into tears. My mind started cycling through a list of events that could make a college junior cry: His girlfriend had broken up with him; he had been accused of cheating in exams; he forgot to turn in papers before the deadline. “I just got my first A-minus(减),” he said with his voice shaking.

Year after year, I watch in depression as students are crazy about getting straight A's. Some sacrifice their health; a few have even tried to charge their school after falling short(倒挂). All hold the belief that top marks are a ticket to best graduate schools and rewarding job offers. I was one of them. I started college with the goal of graduating with a 4.0. It would be a reflection of my brainpower and willpower, showing that I had the right stuff to succeed. But I was wrong.

The evidence is clear: Academic excellence is not a strong predictor of career excellence. Across industries, research shows that the connection between grades and job performance is modest in the first year after college and unimportant within a handful of years. Take Microsoft for example, once employees are two or three years out of college, their grades have no bearing on their performance. (Of course, it must be said that if you got D's, you probably didn't end up at Microsoft.)

Academic grades rarely assess qualities like creativity, leadership and teamwork skills, or social, emotional and political intelligence. Yes, straight A students master large amounts of information and reproduce it in exams. But career success is rarely about finding the right solution to a problem—it’s more about finding the right problem to solve. This might explain why Steve Jobs finished high school with a 2.65GPA, and Martin Luther King Jr. got only one A in his four years at Morehouse.

1. Why did the student Kevin feel sad?

A．He was caught cheating in exams.	B．His girlfriend abandoned him.
C．He didn’t hand in his papers before headline.	D．He failed to get straight A's.

2. What did the author once believe?

A．Marks didn’t reflect willpower and brainpower.

B．Top marks meant well-paid job offers.

C．It was wrong to care too much about marks.

D．Straight A's don't bring creative performances.

3. Why are the employees at Microsoft mentioned?

A．To stress the company values employees with top marks.

B．To indicate academic performance is important.

C．To show academic excellence isn’t a strong predictor of career performance.

D．To introduce successful example in the technology industry.

4. What should people focus more on to succeed according to the passage?

A．How to be a creative leader.	B．What to do with detailed information.
C．How to solve a problem.	D．What problems to be solved.

【推荐3】The clothes you wear. The food you eat. The color of your bedroom walls. Where you go and how you get there. The people you hang around with. What time you go to bed. What do these things have in common? You’re asking. They’re just a few examples of many hundreds of things that your parents controlled for you when you were a child.

As a kid, you didn’t have a say in everything; your parents made decisions about everything from the cereal (麦片) you ate in the morning to the pajamas (睡衣) you wore at night And it’s a good thing, too—kids need this kind of protection on their own.

But finally, kids grow up and become teens. And part of being a teen is developing your own identity — one that is separate from your parents’. But as you change and grow into this new person who makes your own decisions, your parents have a difficult time adjusting (调整).

In many families, it is this adjustment that can cause a lot of fighting between teens and parents. And issues like the type of friends you have or your attitudes to partying can cause bigger arguments, because your parents still always want to protect you and keep you safe, no matter how old you are.

The good news about fighting with your parents is that in many families the arguing will lessen as parents get more comfortable with the idea that their teens have a right to certain opinions. It can take several years for parents and teens to adjust to their new roles, though. In the meantime, focus on communicating with your parents.

Sometimes this can feel impossible — like they just don’t see your point of view and never will. But talking and expressing your opinions can help you gain more respect from your parents.

Keep in mind, too, that your parents were teens once and that in most cases, they can relate to what you're going through.

1. In the first two paragraphs, the writer      .

A．complains that parents control kids too much

B．proves that kids have no right to give their opinions

C．describes how carefully parents look after kids

D．explains that it is necessary for parents to control kids

2. Why does a lot of fighting break out between teens and parents?

A．Parents aren’t used to losing control of kids.

B．Teens like to have everything decided.

C．Parents blame teens for not respecting them.

D．Teens are eager to develop their own identity.

3. Why do parents control teens in the writer’s opinion?

A．To prevent them from having their own ideas.

B．To protect them from being hurt.

C．To make them respect parents in the family.

D．To make sure that children have a good future.

4. What might be the most suitable title of the passage?

A．What Do Parents Control Their Children for?

B．How Do Parents Take Care of Children?

C．How to Get Rid of Your Parents’ Control

D．Why Do I Fight with Parents So Much?