【推荐1】My neighbor Orlando is a paramedic (急救医士). He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met. A few years back we started this sort of “favor war”, where one of us would do something for the other, such as shoveling (铲) their driveway or helping them build a shed, and next time the other would try to top it with another favor.

Yesterday morning there was maybe 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground and I remembered he shoveled my driveway for me last snowfall. So I took out my shovel and took care of both our sidewalks and driveways because it was my turn to do a favor back. It took a while but I finished and got into my car for work. What I didn’t realize was that Orlando had to work that day too.

Fast forward to this morning I got a knock on my door. It was him. He immediately shook my hand and informed me that because I shoveled his driveway and sidewalk for him, he was able to get to work earlier. As soon as he started his shift, a call came through that a young boy was in a medical emergency. Luckily he and his partner were only about 2 minutes away, but the next closest ambulance was in 10 minutes. This kid did not have 10 minutes. He barely had 2 minutes. Because my neighbor got to work sooner, the young boy got to live his life.

This isn’t a humble brag (吹牛). This is to inform others that even the smallest favors can have the biggest impacts. It wasn’t too much of trouble to shovel his driveway for him, but because I did, the young kid got to see his family again, go back to school again, talk to his friends again and live his life.

1. What can we know about the writer and Orlando?

A．They once had a conflict.

B．They signed a favorable agreement.

C．They favor shoveling snow together.

D．They are always ready to help each other.

2. Who saved the boy before it was too late?

A．The writer.	B．The boy’s parents.
C．Orlando and his wife.	D．Orlando and his partner.

3. What does the writer intend to tell us?

A．Never ask for trouble.	B．No favor is too small.
C．One cannot always be lucky.	D．Don’t lose heart in an emergency.

【推荐2】Our non­profit organization had just received a large donation of clothing. As three of us walked home for dinner, we saw a woman begging by the bridge. She was old and had no legs. She shivered in her thin sari(纱巾), which offered little protection from the cold wind. Her hunger forced her to beg. My friends and I looked at each other：here was a perfect opportunity, but first it was necessary to do a little bit of research.

We went up to the woman to hear her story. She spoke very little due to her poor health and fear, but we learned enough. She lived alone in her small home. She had no one to look after her and ate whatever people gave her. The desire to help her grew stronger. After speaking to her, we headed back to get something to keep her warm. Finding the perfect sweater, we set out again to see the woman. This time, the fear was replaced by distrust as we presented her with the sweater.

“Are you robbers?” she asked. “You came here before and are back so suddenly with clothes.” I was surprised by her principles．Even in her state, she did not want to wear anything that was stolen and gained through ill means.

“No, we are out doing service work.” Her shoulders relaxed a bit. I then helped her put the sweater on and said, “Please don't sell the sweater.” “I swear, I won't,” she said.

A week later, I was out walking with my mother to get some food when I saw the woman again. This time the picture was a little different. She was still begging, but with the gray sweater wrapped around her body and a smile on her face when she saw us. I guarantee that the smile on my face was bigger.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．The organization had too many clothes.

B．The writer offered help without hesitation.

C．The woman wanted to make a fortune by begging.

D．The writer was careful before offering help to the beggar.

2. What do the underlined words “her principles” in the third paragraph refer to?

A．She never trusted strangers.

B．She never accepted donations from the poor.

C．She wouldn't accept anything gained illegally.

D．She wouldn't take advantage of others' kindness.

3. What contributed to their smiles at last?

A．Kindness and trust.	B．Caution and fear.
C．Doubt and distrust.	D．Optimism and generosity.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Trusting the Beggars	B．A Beggar’s Morality
C．The Sweater to a Beggar	D．Learning to Judge a Real Beggar

【推荐3】阅读表达

I am a member at the Blue Ridge Mountains Writers Conference. This is the conference where I got my start about 15 years ago, so it feels special whenever I go back there.

I usually teach multiple sessions, host a table at meals where I can talk with conferees, and often have about 40-50 private appointments with attendees. I take great pleasure in giving my personal advice on the beginners' writing journey after listening to their puzzlement.

And then I realized something, as I looked across the room and saw Al Gansky and Eva Marie Everson whom I'd had private appointments with many years ago when I was one of the conferees. The only reason I am a member there now is because countless people like them have invested in me. As a new writer, I once expressed my book ideas to Al and Eva, and they encouraged me a lot. Award-winning authors Yvonne Lehman and Steven James welcomed me to their group and shared their knowledge. And Edie, Vonda, Linda, Lynette, Michelle and so many others became my writing friends, offering encouragement and support along the way. I'd never have made it on this journey without them.

Last week, I was invited to experience the life in the countryside with some writer friends. I refused the invitation at first. I was away from home a lot because of the numerous book releases and conferences. I felt so exhausted that I just wanted to stay at home. However, my sweet husband said, "Honey, why don't you go? It will be good for you. It can be a great source of inspiration for you."I'd never have made it without the support of this precious man who's been my chief encourager. It moves me to tears to think about all the times he's cleaned the kitchen, folded the laundry, taken care of our children and lugged my suitcases to the car so I can chase my dreams.

I wouldn't be where I am today without all the supportive people and I want to give them a much-deserved shout-out today.

1. What does the author enjoy doing at the Blue Ridge Mountains Writers Conference?(No more than 9 words)
2. How do you understand the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 ? (No more than 10 words)
3. Why did the author refuse the invitation ? ( No more than 7 words )
4. What did the author's husband do to support her ? ( No more than 10 words )
5. Is there anyone who helps you to follow your dream? What does he/ she do? (No more than 20 words)

【推荐1】Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other gold.
This song expresses a nice rule: increasing friends. Sometimes things actually work out that way. I’ve met adults who’ve said, “We’ve been friends since kindergarten!” A friend who has known you forever is a treasure. But friendships don’t always last — especially for children.
When I was growing up, my family moved about every three years. The advantage of this was that I got to see different parts of the world, and it made my family very close. I also learned to be pretty good at making new friends, and, to keep in touch with old friends, I became a great letter writer. But I always admired those kids who stayed in one place and kept their friends for a long time. I didn’t learn that children’s friendships can disappear even when no one moves until I was much older, with children of my own.
Sometimes friendships end in quarrels and hurt feelings. But perhaps the most painful end to a friendship is the one-sided rejection — one friend turns away, or chooses someone else as a close friend, and the other child is left feeling sad and wondering why this thing happened. The end of a friendship is often sad, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Often the end of one friendship makes more room for other friendships to grow.
1. What does the children’s song really mean?

A．Friendships don’t last forever.

B．New friends are more important.

C．Only old friends are important.

D．Old friends are as important as new ones.

2. When his family moved often, the author couldn’t              .

A．make friends easily

B．become a good letter writer

C．stay with his friends for a long time

D．see many different places

3. What is the most painful end to a friendship?

A．Friends quarrel with each other.

B．Friends each have grown up.

C．Friends stand apart.

D．One friend ends friendship himself.

【推荐2】Growing pains and gains

It’s not easy to grow up. Actually it’s far from easy. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren’t allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude (态度), we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!

As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They’ve always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest! We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps (凸块) on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!

1. What was the girl forced by her parents to do when she was young?

A．Take music lessons.

B．Turn gains into pains.

C．Take a look back on hardships.

D．Live a successful life by suffering a lot.

2. What’s the author’s attitude towards her parents now?

A．Concerned.

B．Thankful.

C．Passive.

D．Unfriendly.

3. What does the underlined phrase “to its fullest” mean?

A．Directly.

B．Terribly.

C．Carefully.

D．Completely.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Growing pains are necessary for us to grow up.

B．We all have to experience growing pains.

C．A little hard work and sweat are harmful to us.

D．Life without fear is a better choice for us.

【推荐2】When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book and a poor man got it.

The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum (羊皮纸) on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone (点金石)”. The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his house, bought a tent, camped on the seashore and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up normal pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebbles hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold — throw it into sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into months and the months into years.

One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

1. According to the passage, the touchstone is a stone ________.

A．that you can touch

B．that can turn common metal into pure gold

C．that can bring you thousands of pebbles

D．that can bring you good luck

2. The man threw the touchstone into the sea because ________.

A．it was cold

B．it was a normal pebble

C．he was too tired to hold it

D．he had formed a habit

3. How did the man probably feel when he realized it was the touchstone?

A．Excited.	B．Moved.
C．Interested.	D．Regretted.

4. What does the writer want to tell us?

A．Opportunity knocks but once.

B．Use it or lose it.

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

D．Practice makes perfect.

【推荐3】Once a rich and clever boy had practically everything a boy could want, so he was not interested in most toys. Because he couldn’t get a very old mirror, he convinced his parents to buy it from a mysterious old man. When the mirror arrived home, the boy went to see his reflection in it. His face looked very sad indeed. He tried smiling and making funny faces, but his reflection continued with its sad expression. “What a terrible mirror! It’s the first time I’ve seen a mirror that didn’t work properly!” the boy jumped violently.

That same afternoon he went into the street to play and bought a few toys, but on his way to the park he saw a little girl who was crying her heart out. The girl was crying so much and looked so lonely that the rich boy went over to help her and to see what had happened. The little girl told him that she had lost her parents.

Together the two set off in search of the girl’s parents. As the little girl wouldn’t stop crying, the boy spent his money buying her sweets to cheer her up. Finally, after much walking, they found her parents who were much worried and were looking for her everywhere.

The rich boy said goodbye to them. As it was getting late, he decided to head for home, without being able to play. At home, he went to his room, and noticed a shining light in the corner, the same corner he had left the mirror in. Seeing this, he went over to the mirror, and realized that the light was coming from his own body, so radiant (闪亮的) with happiness he had become.

And so he understood the mystery of that mirror, the only mirror which could faithfully reflect the true joy of its owner. He realized it was true. He felt very happy at having helped that little girl. And since then, each morning when he looked in that mirror and failed to see a special shine, he knew what he had to do to bring it back.

1. How did the boy feel when he first looked into the mirror?

A．Embarrassed.

B．Angry.

C．Worried.

D．Satisfied.

2. Why was the little girl crying so hard?

A．She couldn’t find her parents.

B．She couldn’t get the mysterious mirror.

C．Her parents couldn’t buy toys for her.

D．The boy refused to give his toys to her.

3. What could the boy see in the mirror after he went back from the park?

A．A shining toy.

B．A broken mirror.

C．A radiant light.

D．The lovely girl.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To tell us a horrible story.

B．To introduce to us a strange mirror.

C．To warn us not to be selfish.

D．To encourage us to help others.