【推荐1】When I first met George, I was in my early 30s. My children were just entering school life allowing me to escape from endless housework. At 65, George had recently left work and was seeking a rewarding hobby for his golden years. For both of us, we loved painting and we met at a local TAFE painting class. Thus began a friendship that was to last for 25 years—until the day he died.

George was an energetic man who lived life to the full. He loved his family, his friends, and was loyal and outspoken. As the only male in a painting class full of women, George quite enjoyed it. He ruled the roost (栖息处) and we were his hens. He loved his singular (单一的) role and looked after his hens with the same attention he gave to everything.

He took to painting with passion and devotion. He carefully housed his expensive painting tools in a box—a red metal tool box—built to bear hard knocks. Not fancy, but smooth and shiny and very red.

In 2004, I learned that he was very ill and went to visit him. “He's very confused and may not recognize you,” Penny, his daughter, warned. But as I bent over, George opened his eyes. “Betty!” he said, and with surprising strength, held my hand. “I've always been hoping to leave my box to you. I'm afraid I can't paint anymore, and you have the best talent and are most likely to use it,” he said. With tears in my eyes, I accepted the gift on the proviso (附带条件) he could take it back at any time. He never did. He died two days later.

Today I still use much of his equipment kept in the box. The box is still in good shape, very red. The original shop sticker is still firmly in place although the price has worn off.

But that's all right because to my mind some things, like friendship, are beyond price.
1. Why did George go to painting class?

A．He wanted to please his children.

B．He wanted to enjoy school life again.

C．He wanted to make new friends there.

D．He wanted to develop a worthwhile hobby.

2. What's the author's purpose of writing the text?

A．To introduce a popular hobby.	B．To describe a precious friendship.
C．To remember a red tool box.	D．To appreciate her friend's help.

3. Which word can describe George according to the text?

A．Honest.	B．Brave.
C．Caring.	D．Lucky.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．The tool box is well kept by the author.

B．George took the red tool box back in the end.

C．George was shy and didn't talk much in the class.

D．The author thought their painting class was boring.

【推荐3】Most people have neighbors wherever they live. You want to be friends with your neighbors, not enemies. Here are some tips to make that happen.

Get to know your neighbors. If you are the one moving in and nobody has come to greet you, introduce yourself to your neighbors.    1    If you see someone with a moving truck moving in, introduce yourself and offer to help. Take them a home-treat, such as cookies or bread, welcoming them to the neighborhood.

    2     Take a loaf of bread or cookies and wish them a Merry Christmas. You can take a little bag of candies to them and wish them a Happy Halloween.

Invite your neighbors for dinner. You can get to know them over a delicious meal. Don't ask them to bring anything.    3    You can also invite your neighbors to your house if you are watching a football game, a baseball game or other sports matches you think they might be interested in.

Put yourself in your neighbors' shoes and care about their reaction.     4    You don't want to be the selfish neighbor who has no consideration for others in the neighborhood. Keep your arguments within the walls of your house. Don't run outside shouting at each other, creating a huge scene. Nobody wants to know about your personal or family problems.

Let your children play together. Don't discourage your children from playing with your neighbor's children because of religion, race or other petty things.    5    

A．Share your bread and cookies.

B．Wish them happy holidays.

C．If they offer, express your thanks and accept it.

D．Go up to your neighbor's house and say hello.

E．If you see your neighbor working out in his or her yard, offer a helping hand.

F．Don't play super loud music in the early morning or after nine o'clock at night.

G．They will probably grow up together, so avoid creating enemies and make friends instead.

【推荐1】When presented with a Make-A-Wish grant, most 13-year-old boys would buy a gaming system or take a trip to Disney World. But Abraham Olagbegi is not like most teens!

Abraham is recovering from a bone marrow transplant (骨髓移植) resulting from rare genetic blood disorder. Last year was a scary time for him and his family, but the transplant was successful, and he’s now on a path to good health. When he found out he was qualified for Make-A-Wish, he shocked everyone with his request.

“I remember we were coming home from one of his doctor appointments and he said, ‘Mom, I thought about it, and I really want to feed the homeless,’” said Miriam Olagbegi, Abraham’s mother. “I said, ‘Are you sure, Abraham? You could do a lot… You are sure you don’t want a PlayStation?’”

Abraham’s whole family thought it was a great idea, especially since they’ve tried to teach their kids to give freely and openly to others whenever possible. In the 13-year-old’s words, “My parents always taught us that it’s a blessing to be a blessing.”

Make-A-Wish granted Abraham’s special request, spending a day in September handing out free plates of food to people experiencing homelessness in Jackson, Mississippi. Local businesses donated all of the food and supplies, and together they managed to feed about 80 people!

Abraham said seeing the gratitude on their faces made his wish come true and “warms our hearts”. Now, the Make-A-Wish team will continue Abraham’s program named Abraham’s Table every month.

We’re just very excited to be able to continue on this program. It’s just so rewarding.” Miriam said. “If I was out there on the streets, homeless, I would want somebody at some point to think of me and to do something special for me. So, that’s what I try to teach my kids and we just try to pay it forward, by doing what we were raised to do.”

1. What did Abraham Olagbegi request as a wish?

A．A gaming system.	B．A trip to Disney World.
C．Free food for the homeless.	D．Donation of his family’s income.

2. How did Abraham’s family react to his request?

A．They felt confused.	B．They were unsatisfied.
C．They tried to change his mind.	D．They fully supported it.

3. What do we learn about Abraham’s parents?

A．They are rich and generous.	B．They are very strict parents.
C．They influence Abraham positively.	D．They decide everything for Abraham.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Abraham’s Special Wish	B．Abraham’s Journey to Good Health
C．Influence of Family Value on Abraham	D．Community Support in Abraham’s Table

【推荐2】阅读理解。
I sat with a friend a few weeks ago as she scrolled through photos of her college freshman daughter on her phone. She asked me, “Doesn't she look happy? She looks OK, right？” Her daughter had recently had a difficult time, which was now over, but her mother — like all mothers would — still worried, sometimes, that something might be wrong.
For generations of parents, sending children off to college meant knowing little to nothing about how their children were doing. Other than the occasional letter or call from a dorm room phone, children who had left home were mostly unseen and heard from infrequently. College kids could get into all kinds of trouble and their parents would know nothing about it until Christmas vacation or summer break.
Now, of course, that's not at all how it is. Parents of college students can spend hour upon hour examining photos on Instagram or Facebook of their children. They look for hints of sadness in their eyes, the way their clothes fit, whether they're really smiling or just sort of smiling.
However, I don't think it's necessary. College is a time of intense personal growth. Pain is a necessary lesson for the emotional leap from childhood to adulthood. Mothers shouldn't be able to see photos in real time that capture their children when they're at their worst — whether because of too much alcohol or too little happiness.
The blessing of social media is the ability to connect at any time with your child, no matter where he or she may be in the world. Facebook, Instagram and the rest are keeping our helicopters flying long after they should have landed. Maybe it would be better for all of us to be a little less aware of the state of our children's lives once they leave home. Better for the children, and certainly better for the parents.
1. That friend scrolled through photos on her phone most probably because she ________.

A．was bored and wanted to kill the time

B．wanted to make sure her daughter was alright

C．wanted to help her daughter through the difficulty

D．was sure something was wrong with her daughter

2. What does Paragraph 2 tell us about parents of college students in the past?

A．They were often worried about their children.

B．They usually let their children do whatever they liked.

C．They were usually too busy to care about their children.

D．They lacked means of knowing about their children's situation.

3. What does the writer think of children's experiencing pain at college?

A．It is helpless.	B．It is necessary.
C．It is nonsense.	D．It should be prevented.

4. The passage is written to show that ________.

A．children don't really have freedom at college

B．social media make our life much easier than before

C．today's parents contact their children more frequently

D．parents shouldn't follow their children at college through social media

【推荐3】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 girlfriend often forgets that I have any problem, and I feel fortunate that she does 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 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 was diagnosed with hearing loss.

B．He stayed at home with his mother.

C．He attended a school for the deaf.

D．He went to a special playgroup.

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．performed.

B．translated.

C．challenged.

D．remembered.

4. What was the author’s problem at the regular school?

A．He couldn’t catch up with others.

B．Some people looked down upon him.

C．His girlfriend discriminated against him.

D．He performed poorly with hearing aids.

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

D．The disabled should regard themselves as normal.

【推荐1】Sweat slips down my cheek as I glide (滑动) my fingers through the cool water. I’ve reached the turnaround point of the day’s kayaking (皮划艇) trip. I attempt a shoulder stretch and look around. It’s just me, a couple of seabirds, and shining freshwater to the horizon. This, I whisper to myself, is awesome.

Solo (独自的) outings had never crossed my mind before because I always had a friend with me. But three years ago, I moved to Cleveland. Meeting friends in a new city was tough.

In October 2020, I decided to take adventure on a solo hiking trip. I went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) to admire the autumn leaves. Four miles in, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so alive. I was more aware of my surroundings than I’d ever been while hiking that day. I studied the markings of trees, focused my ears on each forest sound and did something I almost never made time for: I listened to my own thoughts. Every word bubble in my mind pointed to a newfound truth-solo hiking is my happy place.

When spring arrived, I decided to check off another solo sport: kayaking. My chest, initially tightened by nerves, was bursting with happiness when I finally reached the middle of the river that I’d long admired back on shore.

Since that first solo hiking, adventuring alone has become like medicine for me. It has also pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone and to meet new people. Through meetups and social media, my adventure-friend circle has ballooned. But at least once per month, I schedule time to hit nature with my favorite friend: me.

1. What pushed the author to start going on solo outings?

A．A longing for a peaceful life.

B．A desire to challenge herself.

C．Living close to a national park.

D．Difficulty in finding companions.

2. What did the author do during her first solo hiking trip in CVNP?

A．She explored a new route for hiking.

B．She paid attention to her inner voice.

C．She collected a variety of autumn leaves.

D．She recorded the forest sounds on her phone.

3. How did the author feel after her first kayaking trip?

A．Surprised.

B．Delighted.

C．Nervous.

D．Lonely.

4. What does the underlined word “ballooned” in the last paragraph mean?

A．restarted

B．transformed

C．disappeared

D．expanded

【推荐3】Quite a few years ago, as I celebrated my 25th birthday with a party, I was surprised to receive an unusual present. The gift-giver smiled widely and said loudly, “It’s a nice, strong plant, so even you can’t kill it.”

I was well known in my circle of friends as an “anti-gardener” — how was I going to care for this piece of greenery?

For four years the plant received little care. I felt guilty (内疚的) just looking at it!

As a non-gardener, my offers to look after friends’ houses were met with laughter: “We appreciate (感激) the offer but, really, we don’t want to come home to a dead garden!” It didn’t occur to (想到) them that I just had no interest in having a garden. It was a choice, not a failing.

Some time later my husband accepted a job in Belgium. Because I couldn’t throw away a gift, I decided to ask my neighbor to care for my plant.

Our lovely house in Belgium had a beautiful garden. Slowly gardening became a part of my daily life, teaching me to slow down and to be happy in the silence of the garden. It was with regret that I left that garden to return to Sydney some months later.

Back home life soon went back to normal. Then one day, it occurred to me that I could start my own little garden. So, I went to collect my unwanted plant from my neighbor. I took the plant home, watered it and watched as its leaves turned from a lifeless yellow to a rich green within weeks. Many years on, I still don’t know the name of my first plant, but I do know that as it grows, so do I. It symbolises a change in me when I stopped listening to the voices around me and started to believe in myself.

1. When the author received a plant as a birthday gift, she felt _____.

A．funny

B．guilty

C．excited

D．displeased

2. What did the author’s friends think of her?

A．Her anti-gardening was a weakness.

B．She was bored with gardening.

C．She was a good housekeeper.

D．Her dead garden was ugly.

3. How did the author deal with the plant before moving away?

A．She threw it away.

B．She asked for help.

C．She left it in the house.

D．She gave it to a neighbor as a gift.

4. The author’s stay in Belgium made her _____.

A．miss her days back in Sydney

B．feel sorry for her first plant

C．fall in love with gardening

D．become strangely silent

5. What does the author want to tell us from her experience?

A．We should try to be perfect.

B．Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.

C．We should learn to make clear choices.

D．Don’t refuse something you’ve never tried.