【推荐3】When I moved into my apartment in Toronto, the path forward of my immigrant life wasn’t clear. I was busy figuring out a new language and culture. I didn’t know anyone well in Toronto and wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay. As time passed, I grew roots into the ground while taking pictures of the garden next door.

My studies required me to take exams which I prepared for in the evenings, after work. My mother visited to take care of me. Once she arrived in Toronto, I showed her a few places she could wander to in the neighborhood. One day, on arriving home in the evening, I found her waiting for me.

“You will not believe it,” she said “Your neighbor talked to me today. She called me over to show me her garden, but I did not want to go empty-handed, so I snatched (一把抓起) the garden pictures from the shelves and gave them to her. She wanted to know about us.” I rang them and got an invitation that same evening.

My neighbors were incredibly welcoming. They “adopted” me that evening. Immigrants themselves, Ann and John were curious about me. They told us about their lives and their grandchildren.

Over the years, I felt like I became an extended member of their family. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays, I was at Ann and John’s. They helped me embrace my new Canadian identity.

After graduation, I got a chance that meant I needed to move west. I didn’t get back to Toronto much, but when John’s 90th birthday came along, I couldn’t miss it.

Countless family and friends came to their house and its magic garden to celebrate John’s spirit. I stepped away to let myself navigate (穿行) those familiar garden paths, and there, I met Michael. Michael ended up joining me out west, and when we decided to get married, we immediately called Ann and John.

“You are having your wedding here!” they said. We could not refuse that offer. My parents couldn’t make it to our wedding. Age, disease and distance shattered (使破灭) my hopes of having them witness our happiness. But Ann and John, our other families and friends did not let any shadow fall over that day.

Many seasons have now passed. Ann still watches over her garden and perhaps secretly listens for John’s voice, now a memory. Life continues, but I know the garden will grow greener in spring. I cannot wait to wander its pathways again, wandering in Ann’s steps.

1. What do the first three paragraphs mainly talk about?

A．What the author’s new life in Toronto was like.

B．How the author met her neighbors.

C．How the author got along with her neighbors.

D．How the author’s mother interacted with their neighbors.

2. What does the underlined word “adopted” imply in paragraph 4?

A．Ann and John offered the author a place to live.

B．Ann and John made the author feel at home.

C．Ann and John helped the author get a new identity.

D．Ann and John became the author’s legal parents.

3. Why does the author say her neighbors’ garden was a magic garden?

A．It gave her a lot of hope and happiness.

B．It always attracted her to return to visit her neighbors.

C．It was where people gathered to celebrate John’s spirit.

D．It enabled her to meet her neighbors and her husband.

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

A．To tell how she got used to her life in Toronto.

B．To show the importance of a friendly neighborhood.

C．To introduce how she met her husband and married him.

D．To describe the close bond between her and her neighbors.

【推荐1】College is a big deal for American students as well as for Chinese students. During the college application, some parents become extremely worried. This only adds to the pressure.

Before I applied to the college, I told my parents I would get everything straightened out. If I needed any help, I promised that I would ask them.

As it turned out, I had no problem putting everything together on my own, including my resume and a basic outline of my activities in high school. The only part where I asked for my parents’ advice was the essays. In writing and revising the essays, I needed feedback from an audience. As my parents know me better than anyone, they were perfect for the job.

The essays are extremely important in college admissions. In a competitive pool of applicants, the test scores and activities, as well as the recommendations are all going to be very similar. The essays are the one area in which students can make themselves stand out. Essays don’t have to be big and complicated. I wrote three essays, all focusing on small matters and using simple sentences. The admission officers have to read hundreds of essays a day; they are always tired of SAT vocabularies and long sentences. Therefore, a straightforward writing style is refreshing to their eyes as well as their minds. Essays were the key to my success in the admission game. I just wrote about what I wanted to say, not what I thought the admission officers would like to hear.

In my main narrative-style essay, I told the story of my American journey at the age of 14. During that time, I was not bogged down by trying to fit into a new environment; Instead, I looked up to Mother Teresa for guidance and strength. I found my new self and grew to love the name Teresa and the memories it held.

In my two minor essays, I explained the major events of my life, why I loved writing and why my dad is the person who has the greatest influence on me. Both provided details of my character. The essays about writing, which is titled, “I Shall Not Live in Vain” (inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem), earned a lot of praise.

It is because I really looked into my heart and thought deeply in order to reach my answers.

1. Why did the writer ask his or her parents for advice about the essays?

A．Because they are extremely worried about his or her application.

B．Because they are the only people he or she relies on.

C．Because they know him or her perfectly well.

D．Because they are more experienced.

2. In order to impress the admissions officers, the applicants should write their essays_______.

A．They should write their essays with a big vocabulary

B．They should write their essays with simple sentences

C．They should write their essays about small matters

D．They should write their essays in a straightforward style

3. What helped the writer to be admitted more easily?

A．Good essays.

B．Good recommendations.

C．High scores.

D．Interesting stories.

4. Who has the greatest effect on the writer according to the passage?

A．Mother Teresa.

B．Emily Dickinson.

C．The father.

D．Admission officers.

5. What does the writer mainly talk about?

A．The writer’s experience in college admissions.	B．The importance of college education for students.
C．Tow parents’ worries add to students’ pressure.	D．The importance of essays in college admissions.

【推荐2】My name is Nasilele and I am from Zambia. I’ve been working as a UN Peacekeeper in the Central African Republic for the past two years. Before this, I was a pilot in my country’s army and I enjoyed my work a lot. However, Zambia is a very peaceful country and I was aware that there are other countries in Africa, where there has been a lot of violent conflicts. I felt it was my duty to help innocent people who are caught in the middle of these conflicts, so I signed up with the United Nations.

The Central African Republic is a relatively small country of five million people. Since it got independence from France in the 1950s, there have been many violent conflicts between the government and rebels (反叛者) who do not want the leaders in power. Often the army has been in conflict with leaders, which has led to many problems. In 2012, a civil war began. Conflicts between different religions and ethnic groups (种族) were the main causes. Due to this civil war, over one million people were forced to flee their homes and there were many deaths and injuries. In response to this, in 2014, the United Nations established a peacekeeping mission in the country.

My fellow peacekeepers are from many different countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Rwanda and others. This is a good thing as it ensures that there are many different cultures and backgrounds all working towards the same goals. Our roles vary with many different tasks from one day to the next. We monitor cities and villages to ensure that no conflict is occurring, help bring supplies of food and medicine to those who need it and write reports on everything we do and see. Our role never involves violence against others. We are a barrier that can keep people in conflict apart.

As a woman, I am particularly valued by the United Nations Peacekeepers as I can act as a role model for many women and girls in the country. When they see my role and how others respect me, I hope they feel that they also deserve to be respected and treated equally to men.

My life is not glamorous (富有魅力的) in any way! It’s long hours in a very tough environment. I have basic accommodation with just a bed in a shared room and a small kitchen and bathroom. Of course, being away from my family and friends is also very hard at times. However, I know that the Central African Republic is safer because of the UN Peacekeepers, and that makes it all worthwhile.

1. What motivated the author to be a peacekeeper?

A．Helping ordinary people in ethnic conflicts.

B．Being a pilot in the United Nations Army.

C．Living in the Central African Republic.

D．Preventing racial conflicts.

2. What could be inferred from Paragraph 2 about the Central African Republic?

A．It did not gain independence until the mid-19th century.

B．The mission of the peacekeeping force there is to end the civil war.

C．The UN has sent peacekeepers to the country since its independence.

D．More than one in five people were made homeless during the civil war.

3. What could we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．Peacekeeping forces must ensure local cultural diversity (多样性).

B．Peacekeepers have many different jobs to do every day.

C．Peacekeepers are not required to record their daily work.

D．The job of the peacekeepers is to monitor the behavior of the local people.

4. Why do peacekeepers value the author?

A．Because she is a unique woman.

B．Because women are desperately needed in peacekeeping forces.

C．Because she can be a role model for local women.

D．Because she’s a respectable woman.

5. How did the author feel about being a peacemaker?

A．Puzzled.

B．Interesting.

C．Frightened.

D．Helpful.

【推荐3】Nearly every family trip we went on when I was a kid was spent flying across the plane from Boston to Rio de Janeiro, and then driving to the tiny town where my grandparents grew up in Minas Gerais. There you’ll find rolling hills as far as you can see. That’s where my cousins live, work and grow coffee. That trek — a five-hour flight, then an eight-hour flight, and then a road trip — was always just the lead-up to the last leg of the journey.

I here we’d drink the coffee out of little glass cups and get to catching up by the wood stove. My brother and I would sometimes wander out while the adults were talking. Coffee in Minas Gerais is usually served sickly sweet, but never with milk, and never iced, even in the middle of summer.

Most of the highest-quality beans in Minas Gerais are sold abroad. When I was a kid especially, there wasn’t really a coffee culture in Brazil the way there is in New York or Boston.

But in college, I worked at a cafe. There I was taught to notice all those things I’d never learned about coffee, even though I’d seen the coffee fruit on the trees and watched firsthand as my cousins spread the fruit onto big, wavy multicolored sheets under the sun to dry.

I learned then that my cousins’ process for preparing coffee was just one of many ways to do it — you could dry it in the sun or in a big machine, or it could be fermented, or washed first. All these methods could change the way the coffee tasted. I also learned that different regions have different taste profiles. I learned to think about tasting coffee as playing a word-association game. What does it make you think of? What memory comes up for you?

Today when I get up and make my first cup of coffee, I do it like performing a sacred ritual. I know that those beans traveled far, and were cared for. They were grown, and watered, and dried, and then roasted. Someone probably lost sleep over them when frost was in the forecast. And when I take my first sip, I make sure to let my brain go blank, listen to the coffee and see where it takes me.

1. What was the author’s family journey to Minas Gerais like?

A．Short but tiring.	B．Long but exciting.
C．Long and wearing.	D．Short and appealing.

2. What does paragraph 5 mainly talk about?

A．What effect the coffee culture had on the author.

B．Why coffee from different regions tastes different.

C．How the author’s cousins’ farming differs from other regions’.

D．What the author obtained during his dealing with coffee.

3. Why does the author make coffee with great respect?

A．It’s a kind of coffee culture.

B．It is his daily routine.

C．The coffee comes from his hometown.

D．It takes great effort to grow and produce coffee.

4. What message is conveyed in the author’s story?

A．Live to learn.	B．Love what you do.
C．Cherish something after knowing it.	D．Prepare before acting.

【推荐1】In 2018, a major new exhibition opened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The show brought together more than a hundred works by a single Brazilian artist: Tarsila do Amaral. Although widely celebrated in her native country, the artist was relatively unknown outside Brazil. So who was Tarsila?

Born in 1886, Tarsila do Amaral is considered the mother of modern art in Brazil. She first developed a love for art after her parents sent her to study in Spain. She returned to Europe a few years later, and settled in Paris. Several artists there, including Picasso, were beginning to experiment with new forms — less realistic and more abstract. The new approaches continued to influence Tarsila after she returned to Brazil.

   

Approaches to art in Brazil at that time were relatively conservative (保守的). Traditional European styles dominated, with works mainly featuring natural, religious, or historical scenes in soft colors. Tarsila decided to take a different direction: “I want to be the painter of my country,” she wrote. Her images began to reflect Brazil’s diverse identity — a mix of native, African, and European peoples. She used strong, vivid colors to paint real-life scenes of the nation’s farmers, countryside, and wildlife. This had never been done before in Brazilian art.

One of Tarsila’s most famous works is Abaporu (1928), which means “Man Who Eats People.” The painting has a playful quality, but its look and feel are distinctly Brazilian. The work later inspired a Brazilian art movement called antropofagia. Brazilian artists began to take in styles from other cultures and mix them with local influences. The result was something uniquely Brazilian.

Tarsila do Amaral died in Sao Paulo in 1973, age 86. But her artwork and legacy live on in her native Brazil. “For Brazilians, her recognition is off the charts,” says James Rondeau, director of the Art Institute of Chicago. “She is the Picasso of Brazil.” Now, with the MoMA exhibition, Tarsila’s art is being appreciated by a new audience of admirers around the world.

1. What can we learn about Tarsila’s experiences?

A．She was born in Brazil.

B．She did experiments in Paris.

C．She was taught by Picasso in Spain.

D．She worked for New York’s MoMA.

2. What make Tarsila’s works unique?

A．High quality and European styles.

B．Strong colors and real-life scenes.

C．Conservative style and natural scenes.

D．Religious background and historical topics.

3. What does the underlined phrase “off the charts” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Original.

B．Outdated.

C．Unbeatable.

D．Dynamic.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Tarsila do Amaral, the Picasso of Brazil

B．Antropofagia, a Brazilian art movement

C．The development of Brazil’s Modern Art

D．The MoMA exhibition of a Brazilian artist

【推荐3】Tod Morgan was born blind, mentally challenged, and autistic. So he couldn't see, he could not learn like other children, and he didn't interact with people very much. He did not seem to have much of a chance. Then, when he was two years old, he began to play little songs on his tiny toy piano. He could play perfectly some of the children's tunes he had heard.

Today, Tod works as a professional pianist. He plays jazz, Broadway songs, and classical pieces. After hearing a tune, he can imitate it almost perfectly the first time he plays it. He doesn't only imitate; Tod is creative too. He can change a classical piece to a jazz, a jazz to a polka, and a polka to a waltz. In addition to the p1ano, Tod plays 13 other instruments and also sings. Tod's list of musical heroes includes Louis Armstrong, Mozart, and Beethoven. How can this be? How can such a severely challenged person be so musically talented?

Tod has what is called “savant syndrome'' — a condition in which a mentally challenged person has a tightly developed talent of a specific kind. Savant syndrome is a mystery to medical researchers. One person who is studying savant syndrome is Dr. David Brighton. He says that he has never seen a musical savant like Tod. Most musical savants are limited to simply repeating tunes they hear. Dr. Brighton points out that Tod's ability to come up with his own tunes is a giant step beyond memorization.

As for Tod, after studying jazz piano at the Music School at Rivers in Massachusetts, he attended and graduated from the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. Tod is encouraged by his parents as he performs all over the world, appearing on TV and radio shows.

1. What does the author mean by saying that Tod “did not seem to have much of a chance"?

A．Tod was not likely to be completely cured.

B．Tod's chances of success in life were small.

C．Tod's ability to learn music was very limited.

D．Tod would have few opportunities to meet others.

2. A person with savant syndrome is ________.

A．mentally disabled but specially gifted

B．socially inactive but musically talented

C．physically disabled but highly intelligent

D．psychologically challenged but physically gifted

3. What distinguishes Tod from most musical savants?

A．His memory.	B．His creativity.
C．His sociability.	D．His learning speed.

4. What can be concluded from the text?

A．Tod is a typical case of a serious disease.

B．Family support is vital to Tod's recovery.

C．Music connects Tod to the world around him.

D．Music education is a cure to the mentally disabled.