【推荐1】One of the biggest complaints I hear from people is that their friends just aren’t there for them. More than that, sometimes friends are downright rude or even mean. You can’t change people, but you can surround yourself with more positive people. Here are some benefits that spending time with positive friends can provide.

With positive friends, you don’t need to beg for help when you need it because chances are that they will be there for you without asking. Positive individuals want others to be happy, and will go out of their way to help you when you’re feeling down. As About. com’s Guide to Stress states, “Ideal friendships provide support when you’re down, fun when you’re up, wisdom when you’re lost.”

Compare that to toxic friends, who might snipe at (诽谤，中伤) you or even laugh at you behind your back. Negative people celebrate the downfall of others, and as a result you’ll end up feeling worse about yourself or the situation you’re dealing with. Friends who aren’t positive will add to whatever amount of stress you are feeling.

Your positive friends will not only help you recover from negative hits you take in life, but they will also inspire you to be the best you can be. For example, perhaps you always wanted to be a writer. The negative people in your life will probably tell you all the reasons why you won’t succeed. But who needs that? Chances are you have already gone over the reasons why you might fail and this is what has prevented you from trying. But with positive people in your life, you’ll feel more comfortable sharing these types of goals because your friends will give you the emotional push you need to go after what you want in life.

You naturally attract the kinds of friends who are most like you. So if you’re a downer, you’ll probably find that negative people come to you. The same is true for being positive. The more you are able to keep a positive attitude, the more like-minded people you’ll attract in return.

1. Who are probably your true friends according to the passage?

A．Those who you can change gradually.

B．Those who will stay with you when you’re in need.

C．Those who will not turn to you whenever in trouble.

D．Those who are always polite and never waste anything

2. Why does the writer mention the statement of About. Com’s Guide to Stress?

A．To emphasize the importance of friendships.

B．To point out everyone may meet with difficulties.

C．To explain to us what ideal friendships are in reality.

D．To compare the differences between success and failure.

3. What does the writer intend to tell us by saying “The same is true for being positive”?

A．It is true that everyone is positive in life.

B．If you are positive, you’ll attract positive friends.

C．The negative people don’t like the positive ones.

D．The positive people would like to stay with everyone.

4. Which of the following is conveyed in this passage?

A．Positive friends can benefit you a lot.

B．Friendship is love with understanding.

C．Old friends and old wine are the best.

D．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

【推荐2】As a senior high school student, my future is always on my mind. To be exact, thoughts of the future have kept me up countless nights and made me worry enough to do poorly on more than one test. Because of this, words of wisdom are a source of comfort. Steve Jobs gave a speech to Stanford’s graduating class in 2005 and his words resound repeatedly in my mind whenever I think about my future.

It started when I became a junior, when college came into view. It’s the first big step to making your life your own. So when Jobs discussed his life as a student, some fears were eased. He, too, felt the need to attend college to make something of himself. He faced what many are extremely afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college and focus on what he felt was important. His story had a happy ending, of course, since everything turned out well.

This doesn’t mean that students shouldn’t attend college, but rather that they shouldn’t worry so much. You’ll get where you need to go, even if your path is a bit more winding than you’d like.

Jobs talked about the hardships in his work. His love of his work helped him carry on and he got where he was meant to be, which restates the point: don’t panic. One particular part of his speech stayed with me. Steve Jobs quoted the saying “Stay hungry, stay foolish” and it has become my motto. Staying foolish is realizing that you are still a fool, no matter how much you’ve learned or experienced. There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things about which you are still uneducated.

Steve Jobs’ level of success is possible to achieve, and I aim to prove that. With the willpower to go into the world living every day like my last and allowing the future to take care of itself, I will do great things. In the last moments of my life, I’ll be proud of what I have done and hope to have all the wisdom a person could wish for.

1. The author felt worried when ________.

A．he had to take tests at school

B．he had lots of sleepless nights

C．he thought about his future

D．he searched for words of wisdom

2. It is suggested in Paragraphs l and 2 that ________.

A．the author is a college student

B．Steve Jobs’ words had no effect on the author

C．Steve Jobs failed because of his decision

D．the author cares much about his future

3. What did the author gain from Jobs’ speech?

A．Courage to drop out of school.

B．Bravery to face uncertainties.

C．Interest in computer industry.

D．Confidence in defeating Jobs.

4. What did NOT Steve Jobs encourage students to do in his speech?

A．Be content with what they know.

B．Have the desire to learn more.

C．Stay calm in the face of hardships.

D．Be modest so as to learn more.

5. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．an experience of a speech

B．a memorable meeting with Jobs

C．the most impressive quotation in life

D．the wisdom drawn from a speech

【推荐3】You’ve flown halfway around the world; you’ve sniffed out this place that nobody in Falongland or Thailand seems to have ever heard of; so what on earth is there to do here? You consider this question as you sink into an old wooden beach chair that holds you above the sand.

It was a long journey from Bangkok to Huaplee. By the time you found the bus station and got yourself sorted out, it took almost as long as the flight from Falongland.

Huaplee is located just south of Hua Hin, about two hundred kilometres from Bangkok, down the west side of the Gulf of Thailand. Not many tourists find this place, and the ones that do wonder if finding it has been their purpose all along.

There’s an apparent laziness that surrounds you here. It’s what this place offers, and it’s free of charge. The small waves that tap the shoreline seem to slow everything down. You settle into your beach chair in preparation for a long rest. You sit there and watch the sea.

It’s early afternoon, so the cook comes out and asks what you’d like to eat this evening. Before long he’s rushed off to the market to buy the ingredients for whatever it was that you ordered—every meal fresh and to order. No menu here.

There is no poolside noise here but just that wonderfully warm, clear blue sea. There’s no street noise. The only sounds are the murmurs of nature. For now you just count your blessings (福祉), listing them in the sand with your toe (脚趾). You don’t have to worry about being late for work. You don’t have to do anything.

The beach to your right stretches off to the horizon (地平线), slowly narrowing to nothingness only to re-emerge again on your left, now steadily widening until it covers the chair beneath you. Sand to your left and sand to your right; it’s unbroken, endless. No start, no end, just sand, sun, and peace. Step off it, and you re-enter the world of traffic, stress, work, and hurry.

Normally you’re the type who can’t sit still for more than ten minutes, but you’re on Huaplee Lazy Beach now and, in the right frame of mind, it stretches all the way around theworld.

“How could it take me so long to find it?” you wonder.

1. When the author first went to Huaplee Beach,____

A．he found it unworthwhile

B．he failed to sort himself out

C．he became sensitive to smell

D．he had difficulty in finding it

2. What is special about the food service at Huaplee Beach?

A．No menu.

B．Free food.

C．Self service.

D．Quick delivery.

3. In the author’s opinion, a tourist can enjoy Huaplee Beach most when he____     .

A．sits in a beach chair

B．forgets his daily routine

C．plans a detailed schedule

D．draws pictures in the sand

4. What does the author imply by his question at the end of the passage?

A．He shouldn’t have counted his blessings.

B．He should have understood the wonder of nature.

C．He shouldn’t have spent so much time on the trip.

D．He should have come to the place earlier.

【推荐3】Ever since I graduated from high school I’ve worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer. However, making the transformation between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be unacceptable, getting to a factory by 6 o’clock each morning is suffering. My friends never seem to understand why I’m so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.

There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.

The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like being laid off and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.

After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. “This job pays well, but it’s hell on the body,” said one co-worker. “Study hard and keep reading.” she added. When I’m back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale now ring true.

My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.

1. What does the author think of his summer holiday?

A．It was a relief from his hard work at school.

B．It brought him nothing but suffering.

C．It was no holiday for him at all.

D．It offered him a chance to make more friends.

2. What can we infer about most college students?

A．They are confident when they work.

B．They think too highly of themselves.

C．They do better in the real world.

D．They are expert at handling machines.

3. What is the biggest pressure for blue-collar workers?

A．The lack of security

B．Less break

C．An unstable location

D．A low income

4. What is the author’s attitude toward his working experiences?

A．Approving

B．Doubtful

C．Appreciative

D．indifferent