【推荐1】Compassion(同情) is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register(收款机) with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if fortune had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable, “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

1. What did the aged gentleman intend to do?

A．He promised to obey the store rules

B．He hoped to have the food first and pay later

C．He forgot to take his credit card with him

D．He could not afford anything more expensive

2. Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A．Kind and lucky.	B．Friendly and helpful.
C．Poor and lonely.	D．Hurt and disappointed.

3. Why did the author refuse the old gentle man’s request first?

A．He considered the old man dishonest.

B．He felt no pity for the old gentleman.

C．He wanted to keep his present job.

D．He expected someone else to pay for the old man.

4. What lesson did the author learn from this experience?

A．Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

B．Wealth is most important in older age.

C．Experience is better gained through practice.

D．Compassion means helping in some way.

【推荐2】I walked to Mrs. Windsor’s house as I always did when I heard the piano. Before ringing the bell, I stood against the wall and sighed (叹息) sadly. I had been taught enough to read, understand, and even write some musical pieces, but I just didn’t have a gift for it. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lesson for free, so I felt it my duty to try.

The door opened. Today Mrs. Windsor introduced her niece Pasha to teach me. With a smile, Pasha sat beside me on the piano bench. Then I frowned (皱眉) and concentrated to make the notes on the page match finger movements. I have to admit (承认) I played the piano without much thinking, just like a robot. I considered myself a mechanical pianist.

After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. “Jennifer, what are you hearing in the music?” I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn’t know what she meant.

“Here, let me try and you listen,” Pasha advised.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play.

“See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water running beside you?”

Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. “Now the princess appears and she’s picking flowers from the water’s edge.” A happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha’s dancing fingers. “Oh, but she falls over!” The music changed. “And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, her horse sees the trouble,” Pasha continued, “and races to the river’s edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. They make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse and promises she will never again wear princess skirts that weigh her down. She will only wear jeans and T-shirts from now on.” Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.

I was happy and advised to try another one. Pasha smiled and together we played that afternoon, finding the story in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.

1. What did the author mean by describing herself as a mechanical pianist?

A．Her fingers could move freely and gently.

B．She was playing the piano without feelings.

C．She could remember the notes in a short time.

D．It has been a long time since she played last time.

2. Which of the following can best describe Pasha?

A．Skilled and patient.	B．Smart and strict.
C．Funny and practical.	D．Brave and optimistic.

3. What is the secret of Pasha’s playing the piano?

A．She imagined herself as a princess.

B．She wanted to become a great musician.

C．She had a strong wish to make friends.

D．She connected the music with a story.

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

A．A Friend Forever.	B．A Story of Music.
C．The Magical Piano Lesson.	D．My Favorite Piece of Music.

【推荐3】Exactly five years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I was invited to a children’s ball by a man high up in the business world, who had his connections, his circle of acquaintances, and his close friends. So it seemed as though the children’s ball was merely an excuse for the parents to come together and discuss matters of interest to themselves, quite innocently and casually.

I was an outsider, and , as I had no special matters to air, I was able to spend the evening independently of the others. There was another gentleman present who like me had just stumbled upon this affair of domestic happiness. He was the first to attract my attention. His appearance was not that of a man of noble birth. He was tall, rather thin, very serious, and well dressed. Obviously he had no heart for the family celebration. The instant he went off into a corner by himself the smile disappeared from his face, and his thick dark brows knitted into a frown. He knew no one except the host and showed every sign of being bored to death, though bravely keeping the role of thorough enjoyment to the end. Later I learned that he was a provincial, had come to the capital on some important business, had brought a letter of recommendation to our host, and our host had taken him under his protection, not at all with love. It was merely out of politeness that he had invited him to the children’s ball.

They did not play cards with him. They did not offer him cigars. No one entered into conversation with him. Possibly they recognized the bird by its feathers from a distance. Thus, my gentleman, not knowing what to do with his hands, was compelled to spend the evening stroking his whiskers. His whiskers were really fine, but he stroked them so eagerly that one got the feeling that the whiskers had come into the world first and afterwards the man in order to stroke them.

1. According to the author, the real purpose of the children ball was that ________.

A．the parents wanted to make their children happy

B．the parents had a chance to meet and socialize

C．the host hoped to make the guests happy

D．the host wanted to give a welcome to an important guest

2. The gentleman was unhappy because ________.

A．he was one of the poor relatives of the host	B．he was from the countryside
C．he was trying to do some business with the host	D．he was not really welcome in the ball

3. The gentleman touched his whiskers eagerly just because ________.

A．he liked his whiskers very much	B．he had the habit of doing so
C．he was embarrassed in the ball	D．he felt uneasy wearing whiskers

【推荐1】Jules Verne was born on 8 February 1828 in the French city of Nantes. From an early age, he had a fascination with exploration and discovery. When he was six, his teacher, Madame Sambin, told him stories about her husband, who disappeared while traveling the world on a ship 30 years before. She told her class that he was like Robinson Crusoe, a fictional castaway who lived on a desert island. Verne would later write stories about similar characters.

In 1847, Verne was sent by his family to study law at a university in Paris, but he preferred to write novels, poems and plays. After graduating, he realized he wanted to write adventure stories based on science and technology. This had never been done before, but Verne was sure that it would be a success. His first story, Five Weeks in a Balloon, was published in September 1862. His career lasted for more than 40 years, during which time he wrote more than 60 gripping stories.

To begin with, Verne wrote positive and optimistic books. Many of these were to be his most popular creations. Although some included fantastical elements, they were usually based in scientific fact, making them believable. These happy stories weren’t to last. As he got older, Verne became less confident in the idea that science and technology were always good for the planet. His books started to include more scientists who used technology for their own-sometimes evil - purposes. Verne died on 24 March 1905, but new books continued to be published until 1919. These stories were based on ideas Verne had written about while he was still alive, but featured new characters and plots created by his son, Michel.

In the 20th century, his books were translated into more than 140 languages and several successful film versions were released. His creations have been recognized as an inspiration for many scientists and inventors. Many of the futuristic ideas from his most popular books have since come true.

1. What is the purpose of Paragraph 1?

A．To show Verne’s discovery.

B．To offer the background information of Verne.

C．To tell of the adventure of Sambin’s husband.

D．To explain how Verne began his writing career.

2. What does the underlined word “This” refer to in Paragraph 2:

A．Writing novels, poems and plays.

B．Studying law.

C．Graduating from university.

D．Wring adventure stories.

3. What can be learned about Verne’s late works?

A．They covered happy elements.

B．They were unbelievable stories.

C．They revealed Verne’s doubt on science.

D．They were partly written by Berne’s son.

4. Which of the following best describes Verne?

A．Talented and productive.

B．Popular and caring.

C．Optimistic and generous.

D．Friendly and honest.

【推荐3】Author Walter Dean Myers died at the age of 76 after a brief illness. Walter Dean Myers was the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults and received many top awards.

The prolific author was loved for his vivid description of the lives of African American children, and for writing books for young people that covered different subjects. “Myers has written about all those subjects with deep understanding and a hard-won, qualified sense of hope,” said Leonard S. Marcus in 2008.

He was born in 1937 and was adopted by Florence Dean and Herbert after his mother died while giving birth to his younger sister. They loved him very much and his mother read to him from a very young age. Reading pushed him to discover worlds beyond his landscape.

He began writing at an early age. He wrote well in high school and an English teacher recognized this and advised him to keep on writing no matter what happened to him. “It’s what you do,” she said.

He dropped out of high school at 17 and joined the army. After finishing his service, he entered a dark period in his life. Myers began writing at night to pull himself through that miserable time.

In an essay published in The New York Times earlier this year, Myers described how a short story by James Arthur Baldwin helped change the course of his life. “I didn’t love the story, but I was lifted by it,” he wrote, “for it took place in Harlem, and it was a story concerned with black people like those I knew. By humanizing the people who were like me, Baldwin’s story also humanized me. The story gave me a permission that I didn’t know I needed, the permission to write about my own landscape, my own map.”

“I write books or the troubled boy I once was,” he wrote, “and for the boy who lives within me still.”

1. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?

A．How popular Myers was.	B．How Myers became successful.
C．What makes Myers’ works popular.	D．What people think of Myers’ works.

2. Who discovered Myers’ writing talent?

A．James Arthur Baldwin.

B．His mother.

C．Leonard S. Marcus.

D．One of his teachers.

3. What does the underlined word “prolific” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Productive.

B．Unfortunate.

C．Conservative.

D．Humorous.

4. Why was the short story by James Arthur Baldwin so important for Myers?

A．It helped him survive the dark period.

B．It inspired him to pursue his writing career.

C．He learned many writing techniques from it.

D．The author of the story permitted him to write.