【推荐1】It was decades ago now, but it’s still one of the most memorable conversations of my life. On a long, slow train heading north, with nothing to do but watch the rain, the man sitting opposite began trying to talk to me. Like most young women who have learned the hard way to be careful of strangers, I was unfriendly. But curiosity took over when he said that he was just bored, and liked talking.

So that’s what we did for hours and hours as the man turned out to be quite talkative. When the train finally pulled in, we didn’t change numbers. However, I still think about it sometimes on long, boring journeys, before getting a phone out and scrolling silently like everyone else. It’s a rare person who can cheerfully break the social rule about not talking to strangers without any ill intention, but life would be more interesting if more of us knew how to do it.

And that’s why I can’t be as cynical as I probably should be about “Tube Chat” campaign launched to encourage Britons to talk to each other. All anyone is being asked to do is to start a conversation they wouldn’t otherwise have had — maybe with a friend from whom they’ve been apart or a neighbor they don’t know.

Obviously, it takes more than a bit of small talk over garden fences to unite strangers together. More people live alone than did so a generation ago, and the rise in freelancing (自由职业) means more of us work alone too. We socialize increasingly through screens, sending texts instead of bothering to call.

It’s true that the “Tube Chat” campaign of a few years back failed in its attempts to make Londoners talk to each other on public transport. But even city people who would normally die rather than make eye contact with strangers still happily gather in large numbers by the Thames for the New Year’s Eve fireworks. They would get a far better view at home on television — it’s not really about the fireworks, but about being part of something communal (公共的).

There’s no guarantee (保证) that this latest campaign to reconnect will succeed wherever others have failed. But if there ever a moment to stop social disbelief it may start a fire to warm a world that sometimes feels cold. Wherever my train friend is now, I hope he’s still talking.

1. The author introduced her train friend to         .

A．share her most memorable but boring journey

B．express her deep regret for losing touch with him

C．show that talking to strangers can add interest to life

D．explain why people are becoming indifferent

2. The underlined word “cynical” is closest in meaning to        .

A．doubtful

B．supportive

C．confused

D．disappointed

3. The example of Londoners gathering for the New Year’s Eve fireworks is used to show that        .

A．“Tube Chat”, failed in its attempts to unite strangers together

B．it’s hard to break the social rule about not talking to strangers

C．people have a wish to be socially connected by nature

D．“Tube Chat” made some difference to reconnecting people

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Keep our desire to connect.	B．Avoid talking to strangers.
C．Show respect for social disbelief	D．Socialize with our friends.

【推荐2】I must have been about fourteen then, Carl Walter was my piano teacher.     1     I said three or four hours a day. He then suggested. “When you grow up, time won’t come in long periods. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life.”

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods and committee meetings filled my days and evenings.     2     And my excuse was that I had no time.

Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so.     3     Later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal (碎片时间) method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use.

    4     I found that the small piece meals of the day provided enough time for both writing and piano practice.

There is an important trick in this time-using method: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can’t afford to waste four chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task immediately when the time comes.     5     Carl Walter has greatly affected my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I start work without delay.

A．I even took up piano —playing again.

B．But life can be counted on to supply piece meals.

C．Once he asked how much practicing I was doing.

D．For two years I got practically nothing down on paper.

E．Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

F．Unexpectedly, at the end of the week I had a pages ready to revise.

G．I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes.

【推荐3】Dear Santa Claus,
My name is Amy. I am 17 years old. I have a problem at school. Can you help me, Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy. I just want one day when no one laughs at me or makes fun of me.
Love, Amy
At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters poured in for the Christmas Wish Content. When Amy’s letter arrived at the radio station, Manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He thought it wound be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special girl and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called up the local newspaper.
The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the “News Sentinel”. The story spread quickly. All across the country, newspapers and radio and television stations reported the story of the girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet remarkable Christmas gift—just one day without teasing.
Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation. They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy saw a world full of people who truly cared about each other.
Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to hold her head high.
Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne High School. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel.
That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially declared December 21^st as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city. The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson. “Everyone,” he said, “wants to and should be treated with respect, dignity and warmth.”
1. Amy’s letter showed that______.

A．she wanted to win Christmas Wish Contest

B．she is more independent than before

C．she is often ignored in and out of class

D．her schoolmates can’t understand her disability

2. The postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house because ____.

A．he went to encourage Amy frequently

B．he was quite curious about Amy

C．he had to send letters to Amy daily

D．he was moved by Amy’s story

3. We may infer from Amy’s story that_____.

A．the disabled hate those who laugh at them

B．the news media played a key role in helping Amy

C．Amy will still be made fun of by her classmates

D．there are few disabled people in Amy’s country

4. The mayor officially declared Amy Jo Hagadorn Day _______.

A．to tell how bad teasing can make others feel

B．to encourage people to hold their heads high

C．to explain how brave Amy was by making her wish

D．to call on the public to treat everyone properly

【推荐1】Many teens make risky decisions， such as careless driving or too much drinking． Some of those choices can kill them． Teens may behave in this way because they don't know the possibility of a bad result． Or they may do it because they don't care． In fact， a new study suggests that the second choice is the more likely one．

Wouter van den Bos and Ralph Hertwig are psychologists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin， Germany． They study how people search out information and make decisions according to what they have learned and made an experiment to see if they could solve why teens behave this way． They recruited（招募）105 people， all from 8 to 22 years old． By including different ages， the researchers could test how behavior changes from childhood through to young adulthood．

All played a kind of game． Over and over， they had to choose between taking a guaranteed（确保的）prize of five euros or turning a wheel． The wheel was divided into 10 parts． Some were orange， others blue． If the wheel stopped turning on an orange part， the player won or lost money． This could be between 3 and 32 euros． But if the wheel stopped on a blue part， they got nothing． Each of them played the game 108 times．

① The flve-euro choice was a guaranteed win． It had no risk． However， players who chose to turn the wheel had anywhere from a 10- to 90- percent chance of winning - or losing money． So turning the wheel was a risky choice．

② Teens were more likely to turn the wheel， van den Bos and Hertwig found． The teens didn't care about the lack of information on the risk they were taking． Children and adults， however， avoided those uncertain situations． Instead， they chose the guaranteed reward in the game．

③ "In the teenage years， there is a lot to explore and to learn by exploration，" van den Bos says． Many experiences are new， he says， and teens don't know how they will turn out． "Many of situations are not dangerous and are helpful in becoming an independent adult． So in general， this seems to be good for them，" he says．

④ But， he warns， it's also good to consider whether a behavior may have very harmful results． Where that's the case， he points out， teens should stop to think before they act．

The results are exciting， says Valerie Reyna． A psychologist at Cornell University in Ithaca， N．Y．， she was not involved with the new work． "The most important part of this research is the careful use of lab tasks that separate exploring the unknown from taking risks，" she says．

1. According to the passage， teens prefer to behave in a risky way because ______ ．

A．they don't care much about the result

B．they don't know the possible result

C．they try to avoid uncertain situations

D．they care about the guaranteed prize

2. Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment？ ______

A．It studies how people search out information and make risky decisions．

B．Valerie Reyna was excited because she took part in the experiment．

C．People of different ages were included to see how behavior changes．

D．Teens were able to win money when wheels stopped on orange parts．

3. The researchers think that teens' choices ______ ．

A．are too risky

B．have both good and bad sides

C．do them good

D．have no effect on their life

4. The sentence "Teenagers' risk-taking behavior is meaningful．" should be best placed in ______ ．

A．①	B．②
C．③	D．④

【推荐2】Driving a car is not just handling controls and judging speed and distance. It requires you to predict what other road users will do and get ready to react to something unexpected. When alcohol is consumed，it enters your bloodstream and acts as a depressant (抑制药)，damaging eyesight，judgment and co­ordination(协调)，slowing down reaction time and greatly increasing the risk of accidents. Even below the drink driving limit，driving will be affected.

Alcohol may take a few minutes to be absorbed into the bloodstream and start action on the brain. Absorption rate is increased when drinking on an empty stomach or when consuming drinks mixed with fruit juice. To get rid of alcohol from the body is a very slow process and it is not possible to speed it up with any measures like taking a shower or having a cup of tea or coffee.

The present Road Traffic Ordinance states clearly that the limit of alcohol concentration is：

50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood；or

22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath；or

67 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of urine (尿液)．

Drivers who cause traffic accidents，or who commit a moving traffic offence or are being suspected of drink driving will be tested.

Any driver found drinking beyond the limit will be charged. The driver declared guilty may be fined a maximum of HK $ 25000 and be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison and punished for 10 driving­offence points；or temporarily banned from driving.

The same punishment applies to failing to provide specimens (样本)for breath，blood or urine tests without good excuse.

Drink driving is a criminal offence. Be a responsible driver，think before you drink. For the safety of yourself and other road users，never drive after consuming alcohol.

1. The first paragraph is mainly about ________.

A．the introduction of driving skills

B．the damage of drinking to your body

C．the process of alcohol being absorbed

D．the effect of drinking on driving

2. The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “________”．

A．process	B．absorption
C．blood	D．alcohol

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Drinking below the drink driving limit has no effect on driving.

B．Alcohol is taken in more quickly when drunk with fruit juice.

C．Having a cup of tea helps to get rid of alcohol from the body.

D．50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of breath is below the drink driving limit.

4. A driver suspected of drink driving ________.

A．will be forbidden to drive for 3 years

B．should provide specimens for testing

C．will be punished for 10 driving­offence points

D．should pay a maximum of HK $ 25000

【推荐3】Saving money is a golden rule in everyday life. And in the western countries it is especially obvious. As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend in the US continues to grow.

“We need furniture for our living room”, says John Rose, “and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try to making a few tables and chairs.”

John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Roses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they make all their furniture and repairs around the house.

Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe-making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”

John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can do to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a DIY, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who didn’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.

1. It can be inferred that many newly married people _________________.

A．find it hard to pay for what they need

B．seldom go to a department store to buy things

C．have to learn how to make their own furniture

D．must take some courses to better their life

2. John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to______________.

A．make furniture	B．improve the quality of life
C．make or repair things	D．save money and time

3. What does the sentence “He has a full time job at home” mean?

A．Jim makes shoes in his home

B．Jim needs to do housework and looks after his children

C．Jim does some extra work at home

D．Jim runs a shoe-making factory at home

4. Jim decided to become a DIY when ________.

A．he had to raise the children all by himself	B．he becomes an unusual person
C．the car repair class wasn’t helpful	D．his car repairs cost very much

5. According to the text, many US citizens want to become DIYs mainly in order to ________.

A．improve themselves	B．save money
C．attract government’s attention	D．show their anger

【推荐1】On August 29th, as Hurricane Dorian tracked towards America’s east coast, Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, an electric-car maker, announced that some of his customers in the storm’s path would find that their cars had suddenly developed the ability to drive farther on a single battery charge. Like many modern vehicles, Mr. Musk’s products are best thought of as internet-connected computers on wheels. The cheaper models in Tesla’s line-up have parts of their batteries disabled by the car’s software in order to limit their range. At the tap of a keyboard in Palo Alto, the firm was able to remove those restrictions and give drivers temporary access to the full power of their batteries.

Mr. Musk’s computerized cars are just one example of a much broader trend. As computers and connectivity become cheaper, it makes sense to bake them into more and more things that are not, in themselves, computers, creating an “internet of things”.

Such a world will bring many benefits. Consumers will get convenience, and products that can do things non-computerized versions cannot. Businesses will get efficiency, as information about the physical world that used to be uncertain becomes concrete and analyzable.

In the long term, though, the most obvious effects will be in how the world works. Ever more companies will become tech companies; the internet will become everywhere. As a result, a series of unresolved arguments will spill over from the virtual world into the real one.

Start with ownership. As Mr Musk showed, the internet gives firms the ability to stay connected to their products even after they have been sold, transforming them into something closer to services than goods. That has already made the traditional ideas of ownership unclear. When Microsoft closed its ebook store in July, for instance, its customers lost the ability to read titles they had bought (the firm offered refunds). That shifts the balance of power from the customer to the seller.

Virtual business models will jar in the physical world. Tech firms are generally happy to move fast and break things. But you cannot release the beta version (测试版) of a fridge. Apple, a smartphonemaker, provides updates for its phones for only five years or so after their release; users of Android smartphones are lucky to get two. But goods such as washing machines or industrial machinery can have lifespans of a decade or more. Firms will need to work out how to support complicated computerised devices long after their original programmers have moved on.

Data will be another flashpoint. For much of the internet the business model is to offer “free” services that are paid for with valuable user data, collected with consent (同意) that is half-informed at best. In the virtual world, arguments about what should be tracked, and who owns the resulting data, can seem airy and theoretical. In the real one, they will feel more urgent.

Predicting the consequences of any technology is hard — especially one as universal as computing. The emergence of the consumer internet, 25 years ago, was met with starry-eyed optimism. These days the internet’s faults dominate the headlines. But the people have the advantage of having lived through the first internet revolution — which should give them some idea of what to expect.

1. From the passage we can tell that Tesla can ______.

A．drive faster than usual in extreme weather	B．adjust the range of its battery power
C．charge the battery at the tap of a keyboard	D．operate when the battery is fully drained

2. Which of the following is NOT an example of the “unresolved arguments” mentioned in the passage?

A．Early adopters of certain apps find that they ceased to work after the firm lost interest.

B．The insurance company uses data from fitness trackers to adjust customers’ premiums(保费).

C．Computerized machinery can’t predict its breakdowns or schedule preventive maintenance.

D．A high-tech fridge company restricts its customers from repairing their fridges themselves.

3. The underlined word jar probably means _______ in this context.

A．boom

B．conflict

C．vanish

D．expand

4. This passage is mainly about _______.

A．how the world will change as computers spread into everyday objects

B．the adoption of electric vehicles and the possible problems to expect

C．what should be done to prevent the breakdown of computerized devices

D．different views on the current application of Internet Technology

【推荐2】It's common knowledge that the woman in Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting seems to look back at observers, following them with her eyes no matter where they stand in the room. But this common knowledge turns out wrong.

A new study finds that the woman in the painting is actually looking out at an angle that’s 15. 4 degrees off to the observer's right-well outside of the range that people normally believe when they think someone is looking right at them. In other words, said the study author, Horstmann, "She’s not looking at you. " This is somewhat ironic, because the entire phenomenon of a person's gaze( 凝视) in a photograph or painting seeming to follow the viewer is called the "Mona Lisa effect". That effect is absolutely real, Horstmann said. If a person is illustrated or photographed looking straight ahead, even people viewing the portrait from an angle will feel they are being looked at. As long as the angle of the person's gaze is no more than about 5 degrees off to either side, the Mona Lisa effect occurs.

Horstmann and his co-author were studying this effect for its application in the creation of artificial-intelligence avatars (虚拟头像) when Horstmann took a long look at the ”Mona Lisa" and realized she wasn't looking at him. To make sure it wasn't just him, the researchers asked 24 people to view images of the “ Mona Lisa" on a computer screen They set a ruler between the viewer and the screen and asked the participants to note which number on the ruler intersected Mona Lisa’s gaze. To calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze as she looked at the viewer, they moved the ruler farther from or closer to the screen during the study. Consistently, the researchers found, participants judged that?the woman in the “Mona Lisa” portrait was not looking straight at them, but slightly off to their right.

So why do people repeat the belief that her eyes seem to follow the viewer? Horstmann isn’t sure. It’s possible, he said, that people have the desire to be looked at, so they think the woman is looking straight at them. Or maybe the people who first coined the term “Mona Lisa effect” just thought it was a cool name..

1. What is generally believed about the woman in the painting “Mona Lisa”?

A．She attracts the viewers to look back.

B．She seems mysterious because of her eyes.

C．She fixes her eyes on the back of the viewers.

D．She looks at the viewers wherever they stand.

2. What gaze range in a painting will cause the Mona Lisa effect?

A．	B．
C．	D．

3. Why was the experiment involving 24 people conducted?

A．To confirm Horstmann's belief

B．To create artificial-intelligence avatars

C．To calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze

D．To explain how the Mona Lisa effect can be applied

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．Horstmann thinks it’s cool to coin the term "Mona Lisa effect”

B．The Mona Lisa effect contributes to the creation of artificial intelligence.

C．Feeling being gazed at by Mona Lisa may be caused by the desire for attention

D．The position of the ruler in the experiment will influence the viewers' judgment

【推荐3】When we speak to other people, they are not only listening to our actual words, but sensing our facial expression, tone of voice, gestures, level of eye contact, posture, and movements as well. Nonverbal communication, or body language, makes up approximately 65 percent of human communication. Body language has a major impact on how others perceive what we say. It can also be a tool for miscommunication when the speaker and listener are from different cultures or are communicating through technology that deprives them of vision cues. In fact, we often realize the importance of body language only when we cannot interpret someone else’s body language correctly.

In Eye to Eye： How People Interact, Dr. Peter Marsh explains that before we speak，our gestures, posture, and facial expressions are already broadcasting messages to those around us. While we are speaking，these gestures continue to communicate messages-usually clarifying what we are saying, but sometimes contradicting us in telltale ways.

Often, body language is an unconscious act that triggers the most developed senses in other people-hearing and sight. That is why body language is such a great way to emphasize words and ideas. Many people take advantage of this. Advertisers，for example, cast actors in their commercials who use body language that appeals to viewers.

Studies have shown that peopled body language changes when they are not telling the truth. If someone’s body language is inconsistent with what he or she is saying，people tend to believe what the body is telling them. A good way for people to convey a positive message is to avoid certain movements, like fidgeting or letting your eyes wander. Instead, good communicators maintain steady eye contact, nod in agreement, and smile. You may notice that people on television, like hosts of infomercials and talk-shows generally display this positive language when speaking.

1. The text mainly focuses on the ______________ of the body language.

A．development	B．significance
C．examples	D．acquirement

2. What is the main purpose of Paragraph 2?

A．To attract readers to go on reading.

B．To help readers know about Dr. Marsh and encourage them to read his book.

C．To offer a research to support the writer’s statement.

D．To introduce a different viewpoint from the writer’s.

3. The underlined word fidgeting most probably means making small movements of hands and feet, because of feeling ______________.

A．pleased	B．sad
C．satisfied	D．nervous