【推荐1】It’s not easy to grow up. Actually it’s far from easy. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren’t allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude, we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!

As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They’ve always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest! We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours!

A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps （凸块） on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!

1. According to Paragraph 1, we learn that when we are young, ________.

A．life is full of joy	B．life is easy for us
C．we know we can stay young forever	D．we sometimes can’t do things we like

2. What does the underlined phrase “to its fullest” mean?

A．Directly.	B．Completely.
C．Carefully.	D．Terribly.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Growing pains are necessary for us to grow up.

B．We all have to experience growing pains.

C．A little hard work and sweat are harmful to us.

D．Life without fear is a better choice for us.

【推荐2】It was anniversary（周年纪念）and Ria was waiting for her husband Manoj to show up. After some years of marriage things changed between them. The once cute couple who couldn’t live without each other were now fighting over every little thing, but both didn’t like changes that came into their marriage.

Ria was waiting to see if Manoj remembered that it was their wedding anniversary. As the doorbell rang she ran toward the door and opened it with a bunch of flowers to greet him. Both started to celebrate. They wanted to make up for fights.

Suddenly the phone in the bedroom rang. Ria went to pick it up. On the call there was a man who said, “Hello, madam. I am calling from the police station. Is this Mr. Manoj Kumar’s number?”

She replied, “Yes, it is!”

“I am sorry, but there has been an accident and man died. We got this number from his wallet. Can you please come and identify the body?” the man replied. Ria was shocked!! “But my husband is with me here!!”, she replied. “Sorry, but the accident took place in the afternoon while he was getting off the bus.”

Ria was about to lose her consciousness（意识）. She had read stories about souls returning to meet their loved ones after their death before it leaves!! Her heart sank. In fear she ran towards the other room to look for her husband. But he was not there. She said to herself, “It’s true!! He left me forever. Oh God, I can die to have another chance to mend for every fight we had. I lost my chance forever.” She fell on the floor in pain.

Suddenly there was noise from the bathroom. The door opened and Manoj came out and said, “Darling, I forgot to tell you today my wallet was stolen.”

Life might not give you a second chance, so never waste any moment while you still have one. Value people and relations in life and have a wonderful life with no regrets. Live today and enjoy every moment of life because no one has promised tomorrow.

1. What can we learn from the passage about Ria and Manoj?

A．They couldn’t live without each other now.

B．They hoped there was a change in their marriage.

C．They didn’t remember their wedding anniversary.

D．They wanted to make up by celebrating their anniversary.

2. What can we infer from the text?

A．Manoj died of an accident.	B．Monoj’s soul returned after death.
C．The thief died of an accident.	D．The couple wanted to leave each other.

3. What does the underlined word “identify” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Recognize.	B．Discover.
C．Examine.	D．Bury.

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

A．Life Might Give You a Second Chance.	B．Value People and Relations in Life.
C．Live Tomorrow and Enjoy Life.	D．Everyone Has a Better Tomorrow.

【推荐1】Last summer, Katie Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work in Minneapolis. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She rolled down her window.

“Hey!” she shouted. “I’m driving around giving free haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one right now?”

The man looked to be in his 60s. He was balding, and missing a few teeth. As Steller liked to tell the story, he laughed, then paused. “Actually,” he said, “I have a funeral to go to this week. I was really hoping to get a haircut.”

Steller pulled out a red chair from her car and helped the man cut his hair immediately. After the work was finished, Edward looked in a mirror. “I look good!” he said.

Until last year, Steller had given such haircuts to people living on the margins(边缘) around the city. She was keenly aware of the power of her cleanup job.

“It’s more than a haircut,” she said. “I want it to be a gateway, to show value and respect, but also to get to know people. I want to build relationships.”

Steller knew that a haircut could change a life. One changed hers: As a teen, she suffered from a severe disease, her hair thinned drastically. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.

“To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just an illness, it helped me feel cared about and less alone,” she said.

After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way she’d felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, reaching out to people on the streets. Her aim was that by doing some kind acts, others would be inspired to spread their own.

“Part of what broke my heart was just how lonely people looked,” she said. “I thought maybe I’d go around and ask if people want free haircuts. I can’t fix their problems, but maybe I can help them feel less alone for a moment.”

It all began with a belief in simple acts of kindness, such as a free haircut. “The way you show up in the world matters,” said Steller. “You have no idea what people are going to do with the kindness that you give them.”

1. How did Steller react to the man’s asking for help?

A．She paid no attention.

B．She offered a free haircut to him.

C．She sent a red chair to him as a present.

D．She told an interesting story to make him happy.

2. What did Steller mean by saying “It’s more than a haircut” in paragraph 6?

A．She thought it was a respectable job.

B．She had found more advantages for the job.

C．She considered haircut as a way to make friends.

D．She hoped her job could make a difference to others.

3. What did Steller expect from Red Chair Project?

A．To earn a lot of money.	B．To know more people.
C．To pass down the kindness.	D．To make herself stand out.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A Cut Above.	B．A Beautiful Salon.
C．The Good Belief.	D．The Miracle of Love.

【推荐2】Peter loved to shop used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box haven’t even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”
Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.
“You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens.”the salesgirl said.
“Yes, you’re right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can’t imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”
“Don’t forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.
“No problem.” Peter said.
After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn’t find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.
Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.
“Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”
The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”
“I’ve got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.
“Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”
1. Which of the following best describes Peter’s word game?

A．It was made around 40 years ago.

B．It had game boards in different sizes.

C．It was kept in a plastic bag with a seal.

D．It had little pieces of wood in different colors.

2. What did the salesgirl probably think of Peter’s word game?

A．Old and handy.

B．Rare and valuable.

C．Classic and attractive.

D．Colorful and interesting

3. Peter got the names of the game fans from _________.

A．an auction

B．the Internet

C．a game shop

D．the second-hand shop

4. What happened at the end of the story?

A．Peter gave the girl $300 as a reward.

B．The salesgirl became Peter’s friend.

C．Peter returned the word game for $ 1,000.

D．The salesgirl felt confused to see Peter again.

5. What is the main theme of the story?

A．It’s important to keep a promise.

B．It’s great to share in other people’s happiness.

C．We should be grateful for the help from others.

D．Something rare is worth a large amount of money.

【推荐3】The boy sat on his chair, with hands above the keyboard. He thought about what to write.

He recalled (回忆) that the competition deadline was merely a few days away. But he still had not even started. He looked at the brochure again. WRITING COMPETITION! His mom had encouraged him to give it a try, but now he was willing to do it for a meaningful holiday.

As the boy reflected on his previous writing efforts, he realized how hopeless to win. Every story he ever wrote was based on other stories. He had little imagination, and unfortunately, imagination was the key to writing.

Suddenly, he had a brainwave. This time, he came up with an imaginative story. The words shot towards him like a storm of leaves. Words were coming easily, flowing through him, faster than he could type. He typed faster than he ever had before. He continued to type, feeling easy to write it. The boy could not stop writing. He looked at the word count and saw the number “248” staring right back at him. He was not even halfway yet.

Then he heard the call of his mother saying time for bed. He continued writing the piece, ignoring her. He kept writing and writing. Finally, he finished.

“Perfect,” he thought. He knew this was the story that would win. He went onto Google and searched for the competition. He found the page but there was no “Enter” button. Confused, he then read the page again. It read COMPETITION CLOSED.

1. What made the boy join in the competition?

A．The school’s task.	B．His own choice
C．The prize money.	D．His mom’s force.

2. How did the boy write his previous composition?

A．He copied others’ ideas.	B．He imagined it wildly.
C．He cooperated with his friends.	D．He got assistance from his mom.

3. How many words should the author write for the composition?

A．250.

B．300.

C．400.

D．500.

4. What happened to the boy’s writing competition in the end?

A．The boy missed the competition.	B．The boy wrote a great story and won.
C．The boy failed to complete his composition.	D．The boy finished his writing before the deadline.

【推荐1】My First Marathon（马拉松）

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P. E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn't do either well. He later informed me that I was “not athletic".

The idea that I was “not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces（鞋带）became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign： "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a. m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels（世俗标签），I can now call myself a “marathon winner".

1. A month before the marathon, the author .

A．was well trained	B．felt scared
C．made up his mind to run	D．lost hope

2. Why did the author mention the P. E.class in his 7th year?

A．To acknowledge the support of his teacher.

B．To amuse the readers with a funny story.

C．To show he was not talented in sports.

D．To share a precious memory.

3. What does the story mainly tell us?

A．A man owes his success to his family support.

B．A winner is one with a great effort of will.

C．Failure is the mother of success.

D．One is never too old to learn.

【推荐2】Having trouble distinguishing one furry panda from another? A facial recognition app will make it easy for you. The app is developed by the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas along with researchers in Singapore Nanyang Technological University and Sichuan Normal University.

The image analysis research began in 2017. A database now contains about 120,000 images and 10,000 video clips of giant pandas. Close to 10,000 panda pictures have been analyzed and marked. Using the database, researchers are able to carry out automatic facial recognition on panda faces to tell one animal from another, the center said.

It’s not just a gimmick(噱头) for tourists, though. Panda researchers hope algorithms and AI technology will help them analyze data on pandas both in captivity (圈养) and the wild. "The app and database will help us gather more precise and well-rounded data on the population, distribution, ages, gender ratio, birth and deaths of wild pandas, who live in deep mountains and are hard to track," said Chen Peng, a researcher with the base who co-authored a paper on "Giant Panda Face Recognition Using Small Database." "It will definitely help us improve efficiency and effectiveness in conservation and management of the animals," Chen said.

China has carried out four scientific field research project of giant pandas in the wild. The giant panda was scientifically discovered 150 years ago and named in the city of Ya'an, Sichuan. It remains one of the world's most endangered species. The number of captive pandas was 548 globally as of November last year. Fewer than 2,000 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

1. How many pandas have been carefully recorded according to the passage?

A．120,000.

B．10,000.

C．2,000.

D．548.

2. With the help of the app and database, we can get information about pandas except __________.

A．the population	B．their ages
C．the birth and deaths of wild pandas	D．the weight

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The AI technology makes no difference to the protection of pandas.

B．At present, the app is not practical for tourists.

C．More pandas live in the wild rather than in captivity.

D．Pandas are the most endangered species around the world.

【推荐3】Alex Pang's amusing new book The Distraction Addiction addresses those of us who feel panic without a cellphone or computer. And that, he claims, is pretty much all of us. When we're not online, where we spend four months annually, we're engaged in the stressful work of trying to get online.

The Distraction Addiction is not framed as a self-help book. It's a thoughtful examination of the danger of our computing overdose and a historical overview of how technological advances change consciousness. A "professional futurist", Pang urges an approach which he calls "contemplative (沉思的) computing." He asks that you pay full attention to "how your mind and body interact with computers and how your attention and creativity are influenced by technology."

Pang's first job is to free you from common misconception that doing two things at once allows you to get more done. What is commonly called multitasking is, in fact, switch-tasking, and its harmful effects on productivity are well documented. Pang doesn't advocate returning to a preinternet world. Instead, he asks you to "take a more ecological (生态的) view of your relationships with technologies and look for ways devices or media may be making specific tasks easier or faster but at the same time making your work and life harder."

The Distraction Addiction is particularly fascinating on how technologies have changed certain field of labor-often for the worse. For architects, computer-aided design has become essential but in some ways has cheapened the design process. As one architect puts it, "Architecture is first and foremost about thinking... and drawing is a more productive way of thinking" than computer-aided design. Somewhat less amusing are Pang's solutions for kicking the Internet habit. He recommends the usual behavior-modification approaches, familiar to anyone who has completed a quit-smoking program. Keep logs to study your online profile and decide what you can knock out, download a program like Freedom that locks you out of your browser, or take a "digital Sabbath (安息日)" ; "Unless you're a reporter or emergency-department doctor, you'll discover that your world doesn't fall apart when you go offline."

1. Alex Pang's new book is aimed for readers who ________.

A．find their work online too stressful

B．go online mainly for entertainment

C．are fearful about using the cellphone or computer

D．can hardly tear themselves away from the Internet

2. What does Alex Pang try to do in his new book?

A．Offer advice on how to use the Internet effectively.

B．Warn people of the possible dangers of Internet use.

C．Predict the trend of future technological development.

D．Examine the influence of technology on the human mind.

3. What is the common view on multitasking?

A．It enables people to work more efficiently.

B．It is in a way quite similar to switch-tasking.

C．It makes people's work and life even harder.

D．It distracts people's attention from useful work.

4. What is Ales Pang's recommendation for Internet users?

A．They use the Internet as little as possible.

B．They keep a record of their computer use time.

C．They exercise self-control over their time online.

D．They entertain themselves online on off-days only.

【推荐1】One of the most firmly established idea of manliness is that a real man doesn’t cry. Although he might cry a bit at a funeral, he is expected to quickly regain control. Crying openly is for girls. One study found that women cry significantly more than men do—five times as often, on average, and almost twice as long per period.

Historically, however, men usually cried, and no one saw it as shameful. For example, in the Middle Ages, knights cried only because they missed their girlfriends. In The Knight of the Cart, no less a hero than Lancelot weeps at a brief separation from Guinevere. There’s no mention of the men in these stories trying to hold back or hide their tears. They cry in a crowded hall with their heads held high. Nor do their companions make fun of this public crying; it’s universally regarded as an admirable expression of feeling.

So where did all the male tears go? The most obvious possibility is that this is the result of changes as we moved from an agricultural society to one that was urban and industrial. In the Middle Ages, most people spent their lives among those they had known since birth. If men cried, they did so with people who would sympathize. But from the 18^th to 20^th centuries, the population became increasingly urbanize, and people were living in the midst of thousands of strangers. Furthermore, changes in the economy required men to work together in factories and offices where expressions of feelings and even personal conversations were discouraged as time wasting.

Yet human beings weren’t designed to hide their feelings, and there’s reason to believe that restraining tears can be harmful to your well-being. Research from the 1980s has suggested a relationship between stress-related illnesses and not enough crying. Crying is also, somewhat related with happiness and wealth. Countries where people cry the most tend to be richer and more confident.

1. In history, people considered it ________ for men to cry in public.

A．manly	B．shameful
C．ridiculous	D．acceptable

2. How does the author answer the question raised in paragraph 3?

A．By offering descriptions.	B．By analyzing effects.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By giving definitions.

3. Who is likely to be healthier according to the passage?

A．Tony who lives alone and seldom expresses himself.

B．Emily who is outgoing but sometimes sobs in public.

C．Arthur who is under great stress but never shed a tear.

D．Rebecca who sometimes cries but quickly regain control.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Men Don’t Cry. Why?	B．Weeping Is for Women
C．Who Cry More? Men or Women?	D．Weeping Makes a Weak Man

【推荐2】You are just waking up in the spring of 2030. Your Internet of Things (IoT) bedroom opens solar powered e-windows and plays gentle music while your smart lighting displays a montage (剪辑的) of beachfront sunrises from your recent vacation.

Your shower uses very little water or soap. It recycles your grey water and puts the extra heat back into your home’s operating system. While you dress, your artificial intelligence (Al) assistant shares your schedule for the day and plays your favorite tunes.

You still start your day with a coffee but it comes from your IoT refrigerator which is capable of providing a coffeehouse experience in your home. A hot breakfast tailored to your specific nutritional needs (based on chemical analysis from your trips to the “smart toilet”) is waiting for you in the kitchen.

When it’s time to leave, an on-demand transport system has three cars waiting for you, your wife (or husband) and your kids. On the road, driverless cars and trucks move with mathematical accuracy, without traffic jams, routine maintenance or road rage. Accident rates are near zero.

On the way, you call your R&D team, who are enveloping a day’s work in Shanghai. Your life-sized image is projected (投射) into the China Innovation Centre and your colleagues see you as if you were sitting in the room. It’s a bit strange for them to see you in the morning light because it’s dark on the Bund, Shanghai’s waterfront, though the novelty disappears after a few uses.

You review the day’s cloud- based data from your Shenzhen manufacturing center, your pilot project in San Diego, and your QA team in Melbourne. The large amounts of datasets were collected in real-time from every piece of equipment and have been beautifully summarized by your company’s AI. All these facilities are closely maintained and operated through an advanced predictive analytics platform.

Pleased with the team’s progress, you end the call and ease into a good book.

This is the future and it will be here sooner than you think.

1. How can we describe the life in the future?

A．Virtual	B．Romantic
C．Inspiring	D．Intelligent

2. What can we do in the year 2030 according to the passage?

A．We can have a bath without using water.

B．We can drive to work without concerning any accidents.

C．We can enjoy the coffeehouse experience without going there.

D．We can deal with all our work at home without turning to others for help.

3. What’s the purpose of writing the passage?

A．To attract us to use the AI system.

B．To introduce the life in the future.

C．To teach us how to use the AI system.

D．To encourage us to study hard for the future.

【推荐3】Breakfast is food for the brain and for the rest of your body. And downing those morning calories is worth it, even for people worried about their weight, a new study finds.

The study was led by Marlene Schwartz, a psychologist who studies obesity. Her group studied some 600 middle-school students. Over three years, students from 12 different schools were asked about their breakfasts. Throughout the study about 34 % — 44% of all students said they regularly ate breakfast at home. Up to 17%, or almost one in every six kids, regularly ate breakfast at school. Overall, about one in every 10 kids reported eating breakfasts both at home and at school. Eating habits changed somewhat as the kids got older. For example, fifth graders were more likely to regularly eat breakfast at home. But by seventh grade, 22% of the studied kids often skipped breakfast.

Surprisingly, at every age, kids who ate breakfast were less likely to be overweight. This was true even for those who ate breakfast at home and at school. It also found that students who skipped breakfast most often were those most likely to be overweight. These findings may seem puzzling. Yet Schwartz’s team can think of several possible explanations.

Skipping breakfast may set people up to be “over-hungry” later in the day, she says. Then someone may eat more food than their body needs. When that happens, it might take the brain longer to realize “you have enough food and can stop eating now”. What’s more, not eating in the morning prevents our brains and bodies from working well. It’s very difficult for children to pay attention in class if they arrive without having breakfast.

But why should eating two breakfasts not lead to weight gain? One explanation may be that school breakfasts are very healthy and controlled in size, notes Schwartz. Also, most of the double- breakfast eaters are boys. These kids are active and actively growing. They sometimes eat twice as much as other people.

1. What is the function of the first paragraph?

A．To introduce the topic.	B．To make a comparison.
C．To show the background.	D．To attract readers.

2. What do we know about the new study?

A．Its leader was a middle-school teacher.	B．It was carried out among teachers.
C．It lasted more than three years.	D．Its findings were doubted by many people.

3. According to the study, about sixty students________.

A．ate breakfast regularly at home	B．ate breakfast regularly at school
C．seldom ate breakfast	D．ate two breakfasts regularly

4. What may happen to a boy who eats breakfast regularly according to Paragraph 4?

A．He may put on weight.	B．His brain and body work badly.
C．He is very likely to be focused in class.	D．He is sure to have a healthy weight.