【推荐1】On the last evening of my mom's most recent trip to visit in London, she sat across the table peeling pomegranate(石榴) seeds into a big bowl.

''Eat this tomorrow after I'm gone, you lazy bee, '' she teased, dismissing the piles of books, clothes and electronics across the table waiting to be packed into her luggage.

Mom knows me too well: pomegranate seeds are my favorite. They never appear on my food schedule though, as I lack the patience to peel them property. Mom doesn't have the patience either, except when it comes to feeding me.

Her hands moved gently and swiftly, while her eyes looked carefully at the small watery little seeds, attentively trying not to crush(压碎)them.

When I woke up the next day and opened the fridge. Sure enough, waiting for me was a clear jar of perfect smooth and shiny pomegranate seeds.

Ever since I left home to study in London ten year ago, food bas been a big part of mom's London visits. With each trip, she would be sure to fill the entire fridge with hand-made dumpling, rice cakes, rice puddings, sesame filled sweet dumplings and many other sweets I struggle to find English translations for.

I love watching her turn the loose white flour into moon-shaped dumplings magically, and place them neatly into a tray.

Whenever it's time to say goodbye, mom would never say that she misses me, or that she loves me. Instead, she'll just say. ''don't starve yourself while I'm not with you.'' That's because she belongs to a generation where food is an expression of love. At that time, her favorite after-school activity was visiting an old granny, who would feed her rice mixed with sesame oil. ''Mmm… that's the best food we could hope for back then.” she would say.

In her generation, people would greet each other saying ''Have you eaten? '' We don't do that in China anymore, but I still look forward to the tradition of my whole family gathering together no prepare food across a big kitchen table at special occasions, such as the Chinese New Year Such sweet childhood memories have stayed with me.

It's funny that living in the super health-conscious city of London has taught me to think about food in terms of calories and carb content. Well, mom's home-made dumplings don't have any food labels. No calorie calculation, no fat percentages, nothing on the package telling me to eat my ''five a day''. Instead, every bite of mom's food tastes of love, and of the feeling of home.

1. Mum peeled pomegranate seeds on the last evening because         .

A．she was good at peeling fruit	B．she loved me - her daughter
C．they were her own favorite fruit	D．I was too lazy to peel them for her

2. Each time my mom came to London, she would         .

A．buy different kinds of fruit for me	B．make traditional British food for me
C．make traditional Chinese food for me	D．fill the kitchen with all kinds of things

3. According to the passage, people of my mother's generation greet each other by         .

A．saying ''Have you eaten? ''	B．making home-made dumplings
C．visiting an old granny with food	D．sharing food like cakes and puddings

4. Which of the following is most likely to be the title?

A．A Chinese mom's favorite food	B．Food that a Chinese mom can make
C．The healthiest food in the world	D．Food -- a cheerful way to show love

【推荐2】阅读理解。
Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student(技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls(光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it , but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son ,with other motorheads,fixed the car. They got parts(零件）from ajunkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The lost was $25 instead of $80.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?

A．To avoid becoming his clone.

B．To resemble him in appearance.

C．To develop in a different direction.

D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals.

2. What can we learn about the author’s children?

A．His daughter does better in school.

B．His daughter has got a master’s degree.

C．His son tried hard to finish homework.

D．His son couldn’t write his book reports.

3. The author let his son repair the car because he believed that_______.

A．His son had the ability to fix it.

B．it would save him much time.

C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss

D．other motorheads would come to help.

4. In the author’s eyes, motorheads are _______.

A．tidy and hardworking	B．cheerful and smart
C．lazy but bright	D．relaxed but rude

5. What did the author realize in the end?

A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path.

B．It is important for one to make the honor roll.

C．Architects play a more important role than builders.

D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers.

【推荐3】My grandmother was from a town in the main area of Michigan. I enjoyed staying with my grandparents as a young child.

Grandma was always using her hands for something exciting. She would make little sandwiches and we would have tea parties; she would plant flowers and carefully look after them. I remember the small thimble she would use while sewing something. Placing her thimble on her finger, she would remark, “I wouldn't want to sew without one.”

A few years ago, Grandma left this earth. How quickly our lives changed! We had just had tea together a couple of months earlier, on her 91st birthday. I missed her very much, especially on my birthday, as there was no usual card from Grandma. She had never forgotten my birthday!

On one particular birthday when I was feeling a little low, something happened to make me feel like she was sharing that special day with me. I was arranging some colorful pillows that she had made, and suddenly I felt something small and hard inside one pillow. I moved the object to a joining and carefully opened the pillow. I was terrible astounded because a tiny silver thimble was in the pillow.

How happy I was to find something that had been a part of her! Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, she sewed it in my little pillow carelessly. I carefully laid the thimble alongside the others I've collected over the years, where I could continue to see the gift God chose to expose to me.

What a precious memory of a very special lady who somehow was delighted at sewing her thimble inside my pillow. I made some tea, using my best china, as Grandma always did, and enjoyed my tea and Grandma's thimble. I will never forget that birthday.

1. What birthday present did the author usually get from his grandmother most probably?

A．Tea parties.

B．Sandwiches.

C．Birthday cards.

D．A special pillow.

2. What does the underlined word“astounded” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A．Disappointed.

B．Angry.

C．Surprised.

D．Embarrassed.

3. What did the author think of that special birthday?

A．Tiring.

B．Unforgettable.

C．Stressful.

D．Upsetting.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The author likes making pillows as his grandma.

B．The author loves and misses his grandma very much.

C．The author's grandma had a habit of collecting thimbles.

D．The author's grandma put the thimble inside the pillow purposely.

5. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Grandma's thimble	B．A precious memory
C．Birthday presents	D．God's gift

【推荐1】The United States Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C., is recognized around the world as a symbol of the U.S. government. Since last November, the dome has been surrounded by metal poles, or scaffolding(脚手架), and heavy cloth as part of a repair project.

The last major repair work on the U.S. Capitol took place in 1960. Since then, the dome has become weathered and worn. The Architect of the Capitol group reports the dome has more than 1,000 narrow breaks in its surface and other damage.

The dome was completed around 1863. U.S. Senate Historian Don Ritchie says the dome’s cast iron frame(铸铁钢架) is at special risk of weathering. “The capitol dome, being cast iron, has been hit by lightning countless times. And so the present construction(=building) is to repair the leaks, to fill in the cracks, to take off unnecessary layers of paint.”

Workers are removing old paint. They covered a large part of the building in plastic and a special cloth to protect workers from the wind and other elements. Much of the work is done at night, when lawmakers are not in the building.

Some recent visitors to the Capitol were unhappy about its present appearance. They had hoped to get a picture of the usually shining dome. Joyce said, “It was dramatic, and very fantastic, and all white, but when I come here today, it is under construction so my family cannot see it clearly. It is kind of a disappointment.”

Others were more understanding of the repairs. Rick Jones, another visitor, said, “It’s a little inconvenient for us not to see the dome but you have to think about the future and the people will be coming to this place for centuries...and you know, there just needs to be preventive maintenance(保养). I am not upset with that at all.”

The project is expected to take more than two years to complete. The dome should be ready for the inauguration of a new president in January 2017.

1. We can learn from the passage that the United States Capitol Dome is ______.

A．worn by exposure to the weather

B．surrounded by many repair projects

C．well kept and in excellent condition

D．regarded as a symbol of the U.K. government

2. According to Don Ritchie, the present repair work involves ______.
a. stopping the leaks
b. changing the frame
c. removing the old paints
d. replacing the lights e. filling the narrow breaks

A．abc	B．bcd
C．bde	D．ace

3. Which of the following can describe the recent visitors to the Capitol Dome?

A．They could get a clear look at the dome.

B．They were impressed by the white dome’s fantastic beauty.

C．They held different views on the Capitol’s current appearance.

D．They were all disappointed at the sight of the Capitol building.

4. The underlined word “inauguration” in the last paragraph most probably means _____.

A．tour	B．taking office
C．interview	D．taking photos

【推荐3】Most people agree that it’s important to have a sense of humour. Having the ability to laugh can help one overcome anxiety, and make better decisions in difficult situations. People with a well-developed sense of humour appear to be happier, and some are healthier as well. This suggests that having a sense of humour is good for you. Humourless people may find themselves being treated as a fool, and become anxious and upset.
A sense of humour also plays an important role in human relationships. However, not everyone has a sense of humour. People with developmental disabilities (发展性能力丧失) can sometimes have no sense of humour, or have a very strange one.
A number of factors affect a person’s sense of humour, with the age probably being the main one. Young children are often highly amused by simple jokes or shows, while teenagers prefer to enjoy the ironic (讽刺的) events. Educational level, culture, and religious faith also affect one’s sense of humour. While Christians, for example, may have a deep appreciation of jokes about the Bible, others may find them disrespectful.
Many people believe that a sense of humour is something that develops on its own, and that you cannot teach someone to understand why jokes, certain comments, situations or events are funny. However, things can be done to____one’s sense of humour. Children, for example, benefit from being told jokes and encouraged to laugh, although some children’s jokes might seem rather strange to adults. If you have children, try to encourage them to tell jokes and think about what makes things funny. And it will help them develop a sense of humour.
1. The purpose of the passage is to _______.

A．explain what influences a person’s sense of humour

B．tell readers the importance of being healthy

C．explain how to make better decisions

D．tell readers how to understand jokes

2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 4 "enhance" probably mean?

A．Enjoy.

B．Reduce.

C．Improve.

D．Prevent.

3. According to the passage, which of the following doesn’t influence one’s sense of humour?

A．Culture.	B．Age.
C．Educational level.	D．Family backgrounds.

【推荐1】Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? Many people would think of Confucius, whose birthday was September 28. Although he lived over 2,000 years ago, people still remember and respect him for his contribution to the education today.

Confucius lived in the Kingdom of Lu, which lies in Shandong Province. He lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. He had a hard childhood. His father died when he was only 3. His mother brought him up. As a child, he had to work to help his mother, but young Confucius didn’t give up studying. He visited many famous teachers and learned music, history, poetry and sports.

Later, he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history. At that time only children from noble families could go to school, but Confucius believed everyone should go to school if they wanted to learn. He had about 3,000 students in his lifetime.

Today, people still follow Confucius’ lessons. He told us that we all have something worthy to be learned. “When I am with three people, one of them must be better than me in some areas. I choose their good qualities and follow them.”

He also taught us that thinking is very important in study. He said, “All study but no thinking makes people puzzled, while all thinking but no study makes people lazy.” Confucius is not only a great teacher, but also a famous thinker with wise thoughts about the world and society. His most important teachings are about kindness(仁) and good manners(礼). He said, “A person should be strict with himself, but be kind to others.”

1. Today we still remember Confucius mainly because________.

A．he lived a poor life in his childhood

B．he traveled with his students from state to state

C．he lived during the Spring and Autumn Period

D．he had wise thoughts and great views about education

2. The underlined word “noble” in Paragraph 3 has the closest meaning to   .

A．poor

B．wealthy

C．fool

D．cute

3. What can we learn from Confucius according to the passage?

A．Thinking is very important in study.

B．We can learn everything from others.

C．We should always care for ourselves.

D．Learning music and sports is popular.

4. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．Confucius’ teaching methods

B．A great man with a hard childhood

C．A person who changed Chinese history

D．Confucius-a great teacher and thinker

【推荐2】It was a hot morning when I started my flight training. Nearly two hundred of us stood at attention. We were very excited about that on this day, we would finally begin the ''hands-on'' part of fight training. We had been through thirteen tough weeks of basic training.

That morning, we were delighted to wait for the moment to climb into the training plane to actually begin learning to fly. Each of us was sure that we would soon fly ''above the best''.

As we stood facing the officers, waiting for instructions, a tiny bird jumped out in front of us. It seemed confused and a little frightened. Suddenly, its mother flew over, as if encouraging it to fly. Everyone's eyes followed the birds. Even our officers turned to watch, mesmerized by the scene.

Over and over, the tiny bird ran as fast as its little legs could move, but it still failed to fly into the sky no matter how hard it had tried.

Completely ignoring the crowd of staring bystanders, the mother bird went on flying to and encouraging her little bird. All two hundred of us watched breathlessly. Each time it made its way across the grass in front of us, we sighed at its failure.

Finally, after we had stood at attention for what seemed like hours just watching, those tiny wings could fly at last. You could almost see the little bird feel very proud. Then, we burst into wild cheers. We watched, as the little bird followed its mother to fly into the sky. Our officers turned back to us, smiling. We learned a lot from the little bird.

1. Why was the author excited before his flight training?

A．Some birds would accompany him during the training

B．His outstanding ability to fly would be proved soon.

C．He would begin to get practical experience on planes.

D．There would be no boring basic training any more.

2. What does the underlined word ''mesmerized'' in Paragraph 3 mean?.

A．attracted	B．touched
C．influenced	D．puzzled.

3. What did the author learn from the experience?

A．Keeping practice can make a person braver.

B．One should not give up when meeting with failure.

C．The young must be modest to learn from the old.

D．Nothing is more important than mother's love.

【推荐3】Society looks down on people who collect the wastes of others, but what they don’t realize is that they could get more money in one day than what they get in one week working at their daily job from selling other people’s unwanted goods.

I am no “make-money-quick guru” but I have made a couple thousand dollars from selling what others throw out to the garbage. As the saying goes: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

You don’t have to start a business. You could simply sell second-hand things people give away and profit from it. In my high school days, I had my first experience selling an old pre-loved Logitech keyboard to a buyer on Gumtree.com.au for $50. I remember how exciting it was for me to make money from something I no longer needed. I technically made a $50 profit in less than an hour.

How to make $1,000 with $0 in a day?

Go on platforms such as Facebook market or Gumtree and find things people are giving away for free in your local area, then sell them. I found an abundance of household items like cupboards, shelves, mirror cabinet, and chairs that sell very well. Don’t worry what people think of you, remember that you could get a few hundred for those.

Reinvest your money and buy something with a higher value that someone might be happy to get rid of, and sell that for a profit of $600, etc. Your action is not just about making money, but also seeing it as using the earth’s resources efficiently and not wasting them in the trash.

If there is one thing I learned from this practice, it is that: there is always someone out there who considers one man’s trash as treasure, no matter what the item is.

1. What may a “make-money-quick guru” do in paragraph 2?

A．A person who works in a company.

B．A person who throws unwanted things.

C．A person who makes money by selling second-hand things.

D．A person who teaches people how to make great profit.

2. How did the writer start his business?

A．By buying valuable things.	B．By collecting others’ trash.
C．By selling his old things.	D．By giving away useless things.

3. Why did the writer suggest others buy more valuable things?

A．To collect them for later use.

B．To sell them and get a higher profit.

C．To learn from the practice.

D．To get rid of the unwanted things.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．Sell Unwanted Things

B．Make Money in a New Business

C．One Person’s Trash, Another Person’s Cash

D．Live an Environmentally Friendly Life