【推荐1】Throwing a rock into a calm body of water creates a ripple (波纹；波浪般起伏) effect across the calm water, until those ripples reach the edge of the water. It also explains how our actions affect other people. When we show love and kindness to others, the powerful effect of our actions spreads out further. The same goes for dislike or anger. It is important that we should begin being more thoughtful about our actions and words.

Love can reach so many different people, making it a powerful force in the world. Anger has the same effect. The world would be a better place if we learn to love and show kindness to others. We can’t always control what others do, but we have power over our actions and contribute our own ripples into the world.

We don’t always know the effect that our actions have on others. There will be times when you are angry. Some people may feel a sense of short-lived relief when they throw a rock of anger into the world, but that feeling usually changes into shame and anger towards oneself eventually. Anger hurts yourself and the world in the meanwhile. I suggest walking away for a while when you feel angry. Spreading love and kindness not only has positive effects on others but also on ourselves. You get to enjoy it, and the people around you can enjoy it too. Personally, I feel my best when I help others and I feel my worst when I’ve made someone upset. When we put kindness into the world, we’ll feel thankfulness, sympathy, and understanding. Let my kindness guide my decisions and this allows love and connection to ripple out into the world.

It’s important that we take care of ourselves when we show love and kindness for others. When we love ourselves, we’re then able to love others. And when we let this love and kindness guide our decisions, the world will become more beautiful.

1. For what reason does the author mention the experience of throwing a rock into a pond?

A．To introduce the topic of this text.

B．To see how ripples spread in water.

C．To teach us how to make big ripples.

D．To share the very interesting experience.

2. Why does the author advise you to walk away for a while when you are angry?

A．To find a place to think over what has happened.

B．To talk about your problems with someone else.

C．To stop those ripples of anger from spreading.

D．To avoid seeing the person making you angry.

3. How is the third paragraph mainly developed?

A．By referring to a theory.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By giving some examples.	D．By analyzing cause and effect.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Dislike usually leads to shame and anger in the end.

B．Anger has a similar effect on our actions to kindness.

C．Kindness or anger ripples out to other people nearby.

D．Love and kindness make the world much more beautiful.

【推荐2】Back in 1963， a company in the US was suffering from low employee（员工） spirit． Everyone was worried that they might lose their jobs， since the company had just joined up with another company， which meant there were suddenly more employees than needed．

That was when Harvey Ball（1921﹣2001）， an artist， was invited by the company to find a way to raise the workplace's spirit． It took Ball less than 10 minutes to draw a smiley face on a bright yellow background， which was then made into buttons that employees could wear on their jackets as a reminder to smile at each other． The face soon became part of the companies culture and was introduced across the country， and﹣ before Ball realized it﹣to the world．

However， as much effort as Ball made， that "message"soon grew to become twisted（歪曲的）． Just think about it： How many of us still use the simple smiley face emoji just to say， "I'm smiling "？ Chances are when we use it， we often mean， "I'm just going to ignore you or"That' s just perfect"﹣ in a sarcastic（讽刺的）way． And our favorite emojis perhaps also include the upside﹣down face or the face with tears of joy ﹣both changed from Ball's former smiley face﹣ and yet， both are often used sarcastically．

Indeed， in today's world， we deal with many things with sarcasm instead of with a smile， perhaps because were finding it harder and harder to be happy． but we keep forgetting about the fact that happiness and smiling go both ways． As Vietnamese spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hanh once said， "Sometimes， your joy is the source of your smile． But sometimes， your smile can be the source of your joy That was probably what was in Balls mind when he first came up with the smiley face： A smile brings joy， and joy brings people closer together．

1. Ball drew the smiley face in order to　 　．

A．show his gift for drawing

B．decorate the employees jackets

C．cheer up the employees in the company

D．spread the company's culture to the world

2. According to Paragraph 2， the smiley face has been　 　．

A．changed gradually

B．used in a bitter way

C．ignored completely

D．recognized as a happier sign

3. What can we learn from the text？

A．Smiling can bring about happiness．

B．Smiling is not popular in today's world．

C．We should make ourselves happier in a different way．

D．We haven't understood the true meaning of the smiley face．

【推荐3】My neighbor’s eight-year-old daughter used to stay in the countryside, her native place. Recently her parents brought her to town to live with them. Wild and uneducated, she would swear or use dirty words when she was displeased. Sometimes she went so far as to roll on the ground, to the shock of all people around. Her parents tried to tame her by beating and kicking, only to result in more violent outbursts. Finally they became thoroughly disappointed with her.

One day their next-door neighbor, a retired woman teacher, gave the girl a snow-white dress, which was very beautiful. It immediately caught the girl’s eyes and made them shine brightly.

The girl put on the dress and became quite another person. She no longer abused or hit others, even less rolled on the floor. She knew running wild was beneath her in such a beautiful dress. Since then the girl has been gentle, neat, and lovely.

The story set me thinking a lot. Perhaps everyone has a beautiful dress hidden somewhere in his or her heart. Only some people are not aware of it, forget it or give it up. Beauty is a power force or weapon—that’s something unrealized by many of us. It can arouse fine qualities that humans are born with but have so far hidden somewhere. It has a soul-shaking influence that is indeed unmatched.

1. The little girl behaved badly because ______ .

A．her parents often bear her .	B．she was not properly educated
C．she was not used to life in town	D．she was not well dressed.

2. The little girl changed greatly because of _____.

A．the encouragement from a teacher	B．her parents’ being strict with her
C．her sudden awareness of her beauty	D．a beautiful dress given by a teacher

3. The passage is written to tell us ____ .

A．education is important to children	B．beauty exists everywhere
C．beauty can arouse fine qualities in us	D．children all like beautiful dresses

【推荐1】Sarah came running in. “Look what I found.” Over the top of the paper I was reading came a crispy (松脆的) object that caused me to jump. It was a snake skin that had been shed by one of our many garden snakes. “Isn’t it beautiful?” said my wide-eyed seven-year-old.

I stared at the organic wrapper and thought to myself that it really wasn't that beautiful, but I have learned never to appear uninterested with children. They see only good quality and excellence in the world until educated otherwise.

“Why does it do this?” Sarah asked.

“Snakes shed their skin because they need to renew themselves.” I explained. “Why do they need to renew themselves?” Sarah asked.

I suddenly remembered an article on this page many years ago where the writer was expressing her concept of renewal. She used layers of paper over a wall to describe how we hide our original selves, and said that by peeling away those layers one by one, we see the original beneath. “We often need to shed our skins and those coatings that we cover ourselves with.” I said to my now absorbed daughter. “We outgrow some things and find other ones unwanted or unnecessary. Tills snake no longer needs this skin. It is probably too crinkly (起皱的) for him, and he probably doesn’t think he looks as smart in it as he once did.” Sarah was getting the point. As we talked, 1 knew that she began to understand, although slightly that renewal is part of progress.

“I see, Dad.” said Sarah and jumped off my tap and ran off.

I hoped she would remember this. That often, in order to find our real selves underneath the layers of community and culture with which we cover ourselves year after year, we need to start examining these layers. We need to gently peel some away, as we recognize them to be worthless or unnecessary; or at best, store the ones thrown away as mementoes (念想) of our promotion to a better vitality or spirit.

1. At the first sight of the snake skin, the author was ________.

A．scared	B．puzzled
C．uninterested	D．excited

2. Sarah learned from her father that renewal is ________.

A．to recover he layers outside one’s real self	B．to review what has been done
C．a natural part of getting mature	D．the process of finding the unwanted

3. It can be inferred from the passage that the author ________.

A．dislikes the snake skin at all

B．shows concern for nature and culture

C．can grasp the chance to educate children

D．often encourages his daughter to raise questions

【推荐2】“Who does the cooking in your home?” I’m often asked by my colleagues. “My wife and I share it 50/50,” I usually say without hesitation.
It’s a lie, of course. We’re pretty much even（相等的）when it comes to the children and the elderly. But the paying of bills isn’t 50/50-my wife pays all sorts of household expenses, so I never even have to set eyes on them. And the cooking isn’t 50/50, either.
The truth is that I am the cook. On my recent 40th birthday, I received the following gifts from my children: a new pot, two mini bottles of truffle oil, a decorative salad-dressing pourer, and a juice-making machine. For a moment I longed for something more manly, a cricket bat, perhaps, and then had to admit that all these things would be useful for me.
It’s not that my wife can’t or doesn’t like to cook (she makes delicious Welsh cakes). Nor has it always been this way. In the early years of our marriage I’d be relaxing with a glass of wine while my wife prepared for dinner after work.
But at some point that changed and I became the cook. Ten years with my wife gave me the rewards-I can throw together a roast, and I can make much foreign food. But I have truly become a monster(怪物) in the kitchen, unable to keep myself away from cooking. “You have to add Dijon to the sauce; it brings out the taste of the cheese,” I volunteer, as my wife is cooking. “Quick, stir in the butter so the dish becomes delicious.”
Is it any wonder that my wife has given up coming into the kitchen while I find the whole process of chopping, mixing, and adding things deeply satisfying?
1. What do the writer and his wife probably share evenly at home?
a. Cooking in the kitchen.
b. Taking care of the children.
c. Paying household expenses.
d. Taking care of the elderly at home.

A．ab

B．bc

C．bd

D．ac

2. The gifts that the writer received on his 40th birthday show that               .

A．his children don’t know him at all

B．he is in charge of the cooking at home

C．he doesn’t get along well with his children

D．his children have made wrong choices

3. What do we know about the writer’s wife?

A．She can’t cook.

B．She doesn’t like cooking.

C．She used to cook for the family.

D．She only knows how to make Welsh cakes.

4. From Paragraph 5 we learn that the writer               .

A．likes sticking his nose into other people’s business

B．doesn’t think his wife is good at cooking

C．studies very hard in order to cook well

D．enjoys cooking in the kitchen

【推荐1】Dear Dad,
Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards．They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you．Yet as I selected and read，it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you．
You'll soon be 84 years old，Dad，and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together．I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart．
You know，Dad，there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap．You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other．
The Father          Daughter Duel shifted into high gear ( 档位) when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the '54 Chevy whether you liked it or not．The police officer who sent me home，after you reported the Chevy stolen，didn't have much tolerance for a stub¬born 16 year old，while you were so tolerant about it，Dad，and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life．
Our relationship greatly improved when I married a man you liked，and things really turned around when we began making babies right and left．Somewhere along the line，the generation gap disappeared． I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together，rather like a fine wine．
But the strangest thing happened last week．I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car．It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car．It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere．Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day．
I guess what I'm trying to say，Dad，is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today．Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking．It's about loving someone more than words can say，and it's wishing that never had to end．
I love you，Dad．
Love,
Jenny
1. How did Jenny probably feel on the night she was sent home by the police？

A．Disappointed

B．Nervous

C．Guilty

D．Frightened

2. We can learn from the passage that Jenny and her father_________．

A．kept in touch by writing each other

B．are separated due to the generation gap

C．have been getting along very well

D．had a hard time understanding each other

3. Why did Jenny feel strange when she saw her father last week？．

A．She seldom saw him driving that huge car．

B．She had never realized his being old and weak．

C．She didn't expect to meet with him there．

D．She had never seen him driving so slowly before．

4. Jenny wrote his father this letter to _________

A．tell him about their conflicts

B．say sorry for her being stubborn

C．express her gratitude to him

D．remind him of the early incident

【推荐2】My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay, it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person could have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dream of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb (番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field--- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.
1. The writer’s first job was ___________.

A．to stand down the fairway at the golf course

B．to watch over the sugar-cane plantation

C．to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields

D．to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them

2. The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ___________.

A．difficult

B．boring

C．interesting

D．unusual

3. The writer learned that ________ from his first job.

A．he should work for those who he liked most

B．he should work longer than what he was expected

C．he should never fail to say hello to his owner

D．he should show respect and faith to the people he worked for

4. ________ gave the writer self-esteem.

A．Having a family of eight people

B．Owning his own golf course

C．Bringing money back home to help the family

D．Helping his father with the work on the plantation

5. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．He wanted to be a successful golfer.

B．He wanted to run a golf course near his house.

C．He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.

D．He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.

【推荐3】Ask most people anywhere in the world what they want out of life and the reply will probably be: “to be happy.” Ed Deiner, an American psychology professor, has spent his whole professional life studying what makes people happy, comparing levels of happiness between cultures and trying to find out exactly why we enjoy ourselves.
Many people would say that this question does not need an answer. But Professor Deiner has one anyway. “If you’re a cheerful, happy person, your marriage is more likely to last, and you’re more likely to make money and be successful at your job. On average, happy people have stronger immune systems, and there is some evidence that they live longer.”
So who are the world’s happiest people? It depends on how the word is defined. There is individual happiness, the sense of joy we get when we do something we like. But there is also the feeling of satisfaction we get when we know that others respect us and approve of how we behave. According to Professor Deiner, the Western world pursues individual happiness while Asia prefers mutual satisfaction.
“In the West, the individualistic culture means that your mood matters much more than it does in the East. People ask themselves if they are doing what is fun or interesting. They become unhappy when they can’t do any of these things. If you ask people from Japan or China if they are happy, they tend to look at what has gone wrong in their lives. If not much has gone wrong, then they are satisfied.”
People from Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries had the happiest culture, Professor Deiner found. “The biggest cultural difference is to do with pride and shame. Hispanic (西班牙语言的) cultures report much more pride and much less shame than others.”
Income also made a big difference to people’s happiness, but only at the lowest levels. Average income earners in the US were much happier than people in poverty. But millionaires were only a little bit happier than people on average incomes. It seems that money makes us happy when we have enough to feel secure.
1. According to the passage, happy people enjoy the following benefits EXCEPT ______.

A．a long marriage

B．better health

C．profession success

D．respect from others

2. In Professor Deiner’s opinion, ______.

A．Asians focus more on others’ respect and approval than westerners

B．Westerners care more about mutual satisfaction than Asians

C．Asians have a culture to enjoy individual happiness

D．Westerners value individual happiness as much as mutual satisfaction

3. What can be inferred from the fifth paragraph?

A．Hispanic cultures lay stress on pride and shame.

B．Spanish people take too much pride in themselves.

C．Attitude towards pride and shame results in Spanish happiness.

D．If you are from Spain, you are the happiest.

4. In the last paragraph, the author seems to tell us ______.

A．poor people enjoy the same happiness as millionaires.

B．the higher income one gets, the happier life he lives

C．enough money can make us feel safe and happy

D．average income earners live the happiest life

5. The passage mainly discusses______.

A．Hispanic cultures

B．reasons for happiness

C．the happiest culture

D．benefits of happiness

【推荐1】In 2000, Andrea Speranza achieved her dream of becoming a firefighter, joining the Halifax Regional Fire Service. Her job was exactly as satisfying as she imagined it would be, except for one thing: she still hadn’t seen another woman in her role-not in a magazine, not on television, not in real life. Even today, less than five percent of firefighters in Canada are women. Speranza decided that she wanted to help young women see that they, too, could have a career like hers.

The result is Camp Courage, a program for girls aged 15 to 19 who want to learn more about firefighting in 2006. Speranzs and about 20 volunteers welcomed their first 17 participants. recruiting (招募) attendees through advertising in schools and recreation centers Over the course of eight days, the girls discovered the ins and outs of being first responders: learning how to put out fires, deliver first aid and even use the jaws of life (救生钳) on a car.

Camp Courage now runs one session every year in Halifax and is free to attend. To offset costs, Speranza and her fellow campers fundraise by holding everything from car washes to comedy nights Hopeful campers must also submit an essay describing how they plan to help their community, or a specific individual in need. And they have to deliver on the plan-from building a bench (长椅) for a senior at a bus stop to launching a local chapter of the Kids Help Phone.

Hundreds of girls have passed through Camp Courage, and 36 percent are doing exactly what 52-year-old Speranza hoped they would working as first responders across the country. This past summer, the camp held its first session for young women in Halifax, as well as its first national camp in Calgary-with plans to roll out more in 2023.

1. What was probably Speranza’s wish in 2001?

A．To see more female firefighters

B．To make contact with more teenage girls

C．To be recruited to the Halifax Regional Fire Service.

D．To work part-time m schools and recreation centers.

2. What does the underlined part “ins and outs” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Risks

B．Chances

C．Details

D．Purposes

3. What can be inferred about Camp Courage?

A．It is a nonprofit international organization.

B．It teaches the value of being helpful to others.

C．It requires its campers to write an essay every week.

D．It introduces boys and girls to the emergency services.

4. Which of the following can best describe Speranza?

A．ambitious and adventurous	B．plain and patient
C．intellectual and scholarly	D．brave and inspiring

【推荐2】Emerson, my 11-year-old daughter, is on a wild ride with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and our mail carrier, Doug. She has a serious letter-writing habit and maintains correspondence with her favorite people. If you’ve been the receiver of her hand-decorated letters and envelopes, then I know they really make your day.

A letter from Emerson is likely to include some art, a joke and enough questions to guarantee a response. But when she wrote a letter to Doug, she put something new in it. “You may know me as the person living here that writes lots of letters...You’re very important to me, helping me stay in touch with friends. I cheer people up with my letters, but you do too!” Emerson wrote.

The next day, a package arrived with two letters. One was from Doug and the other from his superior, Sara, saying she had shared Emerson’s note in the internal newsletter (内部通讯) of the USPS and believed many postal folks wanted to thank Emerson. Emerson was so pleased with the letter that it perturbed me much, for the possible result of no reply would come as a blow to her.

Surprisingly, today, we saw Doug come with two boxes of letters from around the country. These letters were so human, filled with family, pets and a sense of kindness. But there was something more in them. People felt seen—some for the first time in a long time. “I work alone in a small rural post office...” “Not many people think about how hard we work...” Emerson wrote back seriously.

I’m not sharing this because I’m a proud dad, but because it’s relatively easy, if we take the time, to give others links they need to be well. We all want to be seen, known and loved. Send a letter. Give a call. Take a step of bravery, like Emerson.

1. What do we know about Emerson?

A．She brings much joy to others.

B．She likes to make fun of friends.

C．She is really skilled at writing.

D．She is helping with the mail work.

2. Why did Emerson write Doug a letter?

A．To make friends with him.

B．To cheer him up.

C．To express her appreciation.

D．To share her daily life.

3. What does the underlined word “perturbed” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Touched.	B．Concerned.
C．Delighted.	D．Astonished.

4. What does the author suggest people do at last?

A．Connect with others actively.

B．Care more about mail carriers.

C．Face challenges with bravery.

D．Show kindness to other people.

【推荐3】阅读理解
A cancer-stricken British teenager said on Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online "Bucket List" of things she wanted to do before dying.
Alice Pyne, 15,created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. " I've been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one,"she wrote.
For her list, at the site www. alicepyne. blogspot. com,she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor (骨髓捐赠者)， swimming with sharks, meeting boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer.
Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter.
"Oh dear ！ And I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends! " she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me."
Alice, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed (透露)the manager of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.
1. What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List" ？

A．People around the world sent messages to support her.

B．People sent gifts to her from all over the world.

C．A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her.

D．The media called on people to help her.

2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne________.

A．is unaware of her own condition

B．is very sad to know that she will die

C．is calm to know that death is approaching

D．is still quite confident in fighting against cancer

3. Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne's "Bucket List" ？

A．To ask people to donate bone marrow.

B．To get a cool computer.

C．To swim with sharks.

D．To meet a boy.

4. Take That will arrange to________.

A．meet Pyne in person

B．help Pyne in any possible way

C．donate money to Pyne

D．invite Pyne to join the band