【推荐1】If you could do or have anything you want, what would you desire in your life? What actually happens to those successful people who do seem to get everything they desire? Let’s take a closer look.

    1    . Successful people do not give up when what they want does not happen. They keep moving forward. They don’t see the results they are getting as failure.

They are focused. If you have ever seen any professional sports players, you know what focused people look like. For example, a linebacker has to know where the runner is going and make decisions as to what he is going to do.     2    . Instead, he is thinking about getting to the point where the runner is going to be and stopping him.

They know how to separate what is important from what is not. We have so many decisions to make every day.     3    . You know you need to finish what you are doing at present. However, you decide to lunch with your friend and end up spending more time than expected. So you are able to separate what is important from what is not. You will find yourself achieving your goals a lot faster.     4    .

They are committed. When it takes more than six months to achieve a goal, people who are committed will stay the course to the very end. Most people want their goals achieved in a short time.     5    . But whether the goal you are planning to achieve is long-term or short-term, take these four qualities and include them in your action plan.

A．He is thinking about nothing else

B．Usually successful people do respond very quickly

C．There are short-term goals and long-term goals

D．Sometimes you get a call from a friend to go out for lunch

E．They know what they want

F．Achieving a goal needs your careful thinking and correct decision

G．And also you will find yourself doing more of what you want to do rather than you have to do

【推荐2】“Your mind is a garden; your thoughts are the seeds. The harvest can either be flowers or weeds,” wrote William Wordsworth, who suggested that the process of gardening mirrors human life. Depending on what we “plant” in our lives, we bloom (茁壮成长) or don’t.

Before you start to work in your garden, it is necessary to have an idea for it. Thinking of what you want to grow in your garden and how to arrange it is a good first step in making your idea a fruitful reality. In life, you should consider what you want to create and what you want to achieve, because your mind garden is like a piece of white paper and the possibilities are endless.

No matter what plants you choose, poor soil isn’t suitable for growth. This is why gardeners take the time and energy to improve the soil before planting. So, creating right soil is important to the realization of your goals and dreams. Luckily, there are countless ways to make your personal bedrock (基石) better. Getting an education is one of the most effective ways, which can help you enrich your life’s soil.

You don’t have to be an expert gardener to understand the meaning of “You harvest what you sow”. When a gardener wants tomatoes, they just need to plant tomato seeds. It is a very clear act that produces an expected result. Each of us has the power to decide which “life seeds” to plant. For example, if you plant ill seeds, it’s likely that you’ll experience pain in return; however, if you plant seeds of kindness and understanding, your life will bloom with happiness and love.

A gardener’s truly hard work begins after the seeds are in the ground because a garden requires a lot of care and attention. Regular watering and weeding are required for a healthy garden. So, to ensure your dreams take root, you should be devoted, aware, and present. After countless hours and energy spent, the crops will grow well and be finally ready to be harvested.

1. Why does the author quote William Wordsworth in paragraph 1?

A．To sing the praises of gardening.	B．To stress the importance of results.
C．To encourage everyone to plant seeds.	D．To compare people’s life to gardening.

2. What is important before gardeners start to work in their gardens?

A．Receiving some training in planting.

B．Drawing up a good plan for their gardens.

C．Having the courage to accept the worst result.

D．Doing research on the common local garden plants.

3. What does the author want to express in paragraph 4?

A．Your quality of life depends on your action.

B．Your experience can help you understand plants better.

C．Your knowledge of planting will make you a successful gardener.

D．Your choice of soil is the most important part in your gardening.

4. Where can you read this article?

A．In a science magazine.	B．In a book on life advice.
C．From a daily newspaper.	D．From a website on agriculture.

【推荐3】One night I received a Facebook message from Laura, a former classmate. “Hey Steve,” she said, “I know you’ve always been an animal lover. I’ve just had a baby and I can’t keep my mini pig.”

Being fond of animals, I knew I wanted the pig. I just had to figure out how to make it happen. I lived in a two-bedroom single-level house in Georgetwon, Ontario. It’s tough to bring a pig back to the house I share with two dogs, two cats, and my lifelong partner.

But I was not letting that pig go. So I told Laura I’d take the animal. When I got home with the pig, I hid her in the bedroom, and began to prepare a dinner for Alisha —her favourite bacon cheeseburgers. It’s better to make her happy before introducing the new member to her.

When I led her to the bedroom and showed her the surprise, Alisha stood in the doorway like a statue. It took her a few seconds to know what I had done. She complained about my unreasonable action. She insisted there was no more room in the house.

I knew I was wrong, but I hoped I could smooth things over. Soon enough, the lovely pig did the smoothing for me. Never had we felt such joy as she brought to us. We got her a name “Esther”.

Esther’s arrival changed our lives. A few weeks later, we decided to stop eating bacon. We figured it was our turn to try to change the world for other animals. A few months later, we moved to a farm where we cared for abandoned animals — so far, six rabbits, six goats, two sheep, one horse, three cows and three chickens.

1. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined words in Paragraph 5?

A．clarify

B．continue

C．settle

D．improve

2. Why did the author cook Alisha a meal?

A．To please her to accept the pig.	B．To make an apology to her.
C．To celebrate Esther’s arrival.	D．To show off his cooking skills.

3. What was Alisha’s reaction the moment she saw Esther?

A．She burst into tears.	B．She showed interest in her.
C．She quarreled with Steve.	D．She was frozen for a while.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Small Pig Making a Big Difference

B．An Abandoned Pig Finding a Warm Home

C．A Little Pig Bringing Happiness to a Family

D．A Lovely Pig Removing a Couple’s Disagreement

【推荐1】In the tiny village of Angelica, New York, the post office is more than a place to get mail or send packages. There you’ll find the heart of this lovely community. It’s where villagers meet and greet friends．

When Angelica’s post office was threatened with being closed in the 1980s, a villager, Pat, came up with a plan to save it. “At Christmas time I would hear on the news about towns named Snow or Bethlehem having celebrations,” says Pat,“Why couldn’t we do the same thing with Angelica？”

Pat, who is an artist, created a postal cancellation (邮戳)design featuring an Angelica angel. She drew her angels in a traditional fashion and submitted her suggestion to the U.S. Postal Service. Once approved, the drawing was carved into a cancellation stamp that could be used for one day only. The postmistress (女邮局局长) then had another idea to make the day even more special calling the post office Angel Station.

The large increase in mail amount saved Angelica’s post office from being closed and keeps the doors open today.

Now it’s tradition that on the first Friday in December, people come to Angelica to mail their Christmas cards. Each year the amount of mail going through the Angelica Post Office increases during late November and early December. Stamp collectors from around the world have accepted the Angel Station cancellation, some sending mail from as far away as France.

Because the stamp is destroyed each season, Pat draws a new angel that conveys season’s greetings from Angel Station every year. Post offices may close in other parts of the country, but this tiny one continues.

1. What did Pat do to save the post office？

A．She invented a new cancellation.

B．She hosted Christmas celebrations.

C．She gave the office a better name.

D．She designed a special set of stamps.

2. Which of the following can best describe Pat？

A．Curious and friendly．

B．Stubborn and determined．

C．Creative and warm-hearted．

D．Humorous and intelligent．

3. What can we learn about Angelica’s post office from the passage？

A．It was completely closed in the 1980s.

B．It is also the centre of local social life.

C．Its name has been changed many times.

D．Its stamp remains the same each season.

4. What can the underlined word “submitted” be most likely replaced by?

A．presented

B．applied

C．accepted

D．released

【推荐2】Morgan Holmes had taken part in Boy Scouts of America activities for a few years, but she only became a full member recently.

This was because the Boy Scouts began accepting girls from fifth grade to 12th grade into a new program called Scouts BSA. It brings girls the opportunities boys have, including becoming Eagle Scouts, the highest rank of the Boy Scouts.

“I'm loving it,” Morgan, now 17, said. “I finally get to wear the uniform now.”

Six middle school girls have joined Morgan in Troop48 in Scouts BSA. Some were members of Girls Scouts, and some have brothers in the Boy Scouts.Now brothers and sisters can take part in activities.

Morgan knows Boy Scouts activities well. Starting when she was 14, Morgan went on high-adventure outings like hiking 100 miles and shooting guns. But she’d never been able to progress to become an Eagle Scout.

Now Morgan’s goal is to reach the top rank of Eagle Scout.

She regularly runs a mile to build up her body. Now, she’s planning on camping in the snow.

“The journey to get there is really exciting,” she said.

Since Boy Scout activities are led by the Scouts themselves, Morgan, as the oldest girl, will be organizing activities and teaching the girls to tie knots and other skills.

One of those girls in Troop48 is Nicolette Ulrich, who is also in the Girl Scouts.

Her mother, Sasha Ulrich, said she sees, the Boy Scouts as more leadership oriented and the Girl Scouts as more culturally oriented.This will be shown by all upcoming gathering where girls will learn about different food and cultures from around the world.

“Girl Scouts is a great group and she’ll continue to do that.” Sasha said. “But she also wanted the opportunities provided by the Boy Scouts.”

1. What did Morgan want to do after becoming a full member of Boy Scouts？ ______

A．She wanted to join in the activities with her brother.

B．She wanted to challenge herself to become all Eagle Scout.

C．She wanted to compete with boys in all activities.

D．She wanted to hike long distances and shoot guns with boys.

2. What is the best word to describe Morgan？ ______

A．Communicative

B．Helpful

C．Creative

D．Adventurous

3. What does Sasha Ulrich think of Boy Scouts？ ______

A．It is more culturally oriented.

B．It helps to build teamwork.

C．It helps to improve leadership.

D．It is more interesting than Girl Scouts.

【推荐3】On a Sunday morning in 2008. Vic Gundotra received a call during a religious (宗教的) service. It was from Steve Jobs, Apple’s former CEO. He didn’t answer, but Jobs left a message saying he had something important to discuss. Gundotra returned his call almost immediately.

“Hey Steve, this is Vic,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your call earlier I was in religious services, and the caller ID said ‘unknown’, so I didn’t pick up.”

Steve laughed, saying, “Vic, unless the caller ID said ‘God’, you should never pick up during services.” Vic Gundotra laughed nervously. Although Steve used to call him during the week when he was upset about something, it was unusual for him to call on Sunday and ask him to call his home. He was worried what had happened.

“Vic, we have an urgent (急迫的) problem. I’ve already asked someone from my team to help you and I hope you can fix this tomorrow, ”said Steve.“ I’ve been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I’m not happy with the icon (图标). The second O in Google doesn’t have the proper yellow color. It’s just wrong and I’m going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that OK with you?”

The CEO of Apple, who revolutionized (革新) personal computers, the way we listen to music and the way we think of mobile devices, was worried about the yellow in the second “O” in Google!

Needless to say the problem was fixed, and Vic Gundotra says it taught him a lesson on leadership and attention to detail. “It was a lesson I’ll never forget,” said Gundotra. “CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.”

1. Where was Vic Gundotra when Steve Jobs called him?

A．At home.

B．In his office.

C．In a church.

D．In a gym.

2. According to the passage, what’s the Vic’s job?

A．A secretary of Steve Jobs.

B．A manager responsible for mobile applications at google.

C．A mechanic who fixes mobile phones.

D．Steve Jobs’ driver.

3. What was Steve Jobs’ problem?

A．He found the second letter missing in an icon.

B．He was not happy with the design of Apple’s icons.

C．A letter in an icon didn’t appear in the right color.

D．He was worried about Google’s unfavorable reaction

4. What did Vic learn from Steve Jobs?

A．One should not miss the phone call in any case.

B．One should put his heart into work.

C．One should be responsible for the mistake he made.

D．One should care about details.

【推荐1】I travel a lot in my work, and what I dislike about my job is eating alone. It always makes me feel lonely to see others laughing and talking. So, room service for several nights was a better choice for me.

After having room service three nights at a hotel in Houston, however, I needed to get out of my room. Although the restaurant opened at 6:30, I arrived at 6:25. The waiter at the front desk made a comment (评论) about my “being there really early”. I explained my dislike of eating alone in restaurants. He then seated me at a lovely table and asked me whether I would mind if he sat down with me for a while.

I was glad! He sat and talked with me about his career(职业) goals and the difficulty of being at work on nights, weekends and holidays. He said he hadn’t enough time to be with his family. After 15 minutes, he saw some customers at the front desk and excused himself. I noticed that before he went to the front desk, he stopped in the kitchen for a moment.

Then another waiter came out of the kitchen and had a wonderful chat with me. Before I left that night, some other waiters, even the cook, had come out of the kitchen and sat with me!

When I asked for my bill about one hour later, all the people who had sat down with me came over in a big group to my table, and presented (赠送) me with a red rose. And I cried! What had begun as a lonely night ended as a beautiful experience.

1. Why did the author ask for room service?

A．Because a lot of money would be saved in this way.

B．Because he didn’t like to eat with other people around.

C．Because he didn’t want to be recognized by the waiters.

D．Because seeing people laughing and talking made him feel lonely.

2. How did the waiter feel when he saw the author come in at 6:25?

A．Surprised.

B．Nervous.

C．Sad.

D．Angry.

3. What can we learn about the waiter from the third paragraph?

A．He was getting tired of his present job.

B．He had never had such a chance to talk about his worries.

C．He found it hard to balance (平衡) his work and his family.

D．He knew how to attract (吸引) more customers to his restaurant.

4. What does the author wants to tell us?

A．Restaurants are sad places for people.

B．People are actually all lonely in their own ways.

C．Restaurants should put the need of customers first.

D．The kindness of strangers can make you less lonely.

【推荐2】Fifteen years ago, when darkness used to fall in Yobe Nkosi, a remote village in northern Malawi, children did their school homework by candlelight: There was no electricity. But that started to change in 2006, when villager Colrerd Nkosi finished secondary school in Mzimba some 40 kilometers away, and returned home, and found he could no longer live without power.

Aged 23 at the time, Nkosi soon figured out that a small river past the house where he grew up had just enough force to push the pedals on his bicycle. He created a generator (发电机) that brought power into his home. Word spread quickly among brick houses and neighbors began paying regular visits to charge their mobile phones. “I started getting requests for electricity and decided to upgrade,” said Nkosi.

With no previous training, he turned an old fridge compressor (压缩机) into a water-powered turbine and put it in a nearby river, generating electricity for six households. Today, the village is supplied by a bigger turbine.

The users pay no fee for the power but give Nkosi some money for maintenance — slightly more than $1 per household per month. “The electricity is basically free,” Nkosi said, speaking in local Chichewa. He admitted that the maintenance income was too small to cover repair costs, which he mainly funded from his own pocket.

Despite the challenges, he was determined to expand his mini electricity network to surrounding areas. “Once more villages and schools have electricity, people will no longer cut down trees for charcoal (木炭),” he said. “Students will have a lot more time to study.”

As dusk settled over Kasangazi Primary School, groups of learners rushed into a classroom for a night-time study session. “Before we had electricity here, we used to use candles to study,” said student Gift Mfune, sorting through a pile of textbooks on his desk. “Now, we all have no excuse but to pass our examinations,” he laughed. Courtesy of Nkosi, the building is the only school with power out of 17 others servicing the area.

1. Why did Nkosi upgrade his first generator?

A．To make much more money.	B．To meet people’s need for power.
C．To match new mobile phones.	D．To attract more people to his home.

2. Which words can best describe Nkosi?

A．Open-minded and tolerant.	B．Creative and generous.
C．Easy-going and courageous.	D．Intelligent and cooperative.

3. What can we infer about the students in Kasangazi Primary School?

A．They have to stay up late.	B．They do well in exams.
C．They are very grateful to Nkosi.	D．They must have a promising future.

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To advertise a remote village.	B．To share an encouraging story.
C．To show students’ love for a teacher.	D．To put forward a practicable project.

【推荐3】       Children often suffer pain and insecurity when their parents separate.When my ex-husband and I split up after 10 years of marriage,our daughter was 5 years old and my son only 3.We decided to consult a psychologist about the best way to explain this new situation to the children.

She shared with us this special story about a land turtle and a sea turtle,which we then used to help them better comprehend.

          Once upon a time, a land turtle (Mommy) met a sea turtle (Daddy) close to a beautiful shore.Soon they fell deeply in love and decided to get married. For a time, they continued to live at the water’s edge so that Mommy could sit on the sand and keep dry and warm, while Daddy sat in the shallow water to keep cool. A few years later two baby turtles arrived (you both!). They were very special indeed and looked a little like each of their parents.
       But as the years went by,Daddy sea turtle started spending more and more time in the ocean as he traveled deeper and deeper to look for pearls.Mommy land turtle also started wandering up into the sands to hunt for food in the woods. Little by little, Daddy and Mommy turtle started to drift further and further apart. Finally one day, Mommy and Daddy turtle decided they didn’t want to live together anymore. The little turtles continued to spend time with each of their parents.They made lots of friends with all the fish, dolphins and whales in the ocean and also many friends with the rabbits,deer,and foxes in the woods. In fact they grew up to be a new kind of turtle that could live both in the ocean and on the land.
       Over the years, this tale of the land and sea turtle has helped my children cope with and accept the fact that my marriage to their father was over. They know that we once loved each other very much and they were born out of true love.
1. The underlined “They” in the second paragraph refers to         .

A．the two baby turtles	B．the land turtle and the sea turtle
C．the author and her ex-husband	D．the author’s children

2. When the parents divorce,their children often feel         .

A．relieved

B．unsafe

C．pleased

D．annoyed

3. In the third paragraph,the underlined phrase “drift apart” probably means         .

A．make sense

B．become disconnected

C．break down

D．get excited

4. We can probably find the passage in the column “         ”.

A．Culture

B．Career

C．Parenting

D．Education