【推荐1】One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem — inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked identical to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.
My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
1. The author’s mother told him to borrow a book in order to_____.

A．help cure him of his reading problem

B．let him spend a meaningful summer

C．encourage him to do more walking

D．make him learn more about weapons

2. The book caught the author’s eye because_____.

A．it contained pretty pictures of animals

B．he found its title easy to understand

C．it reminded him of his own dog

D．he liked children’s stories very much

3. Why could the author manage to read the book through?

A．He was forced by his mother to read it.

B．He identified with the story in the book.

C．The book told the story of his pet dog.

D．The happy ending of the story attracted him.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The author has had happy summers ever since.

B．The author’s mother read the same book.

C．The author’s mother rewarded him with books.

D．The author has become a successful writer.

【推荐2】This is a common situation for beginner-level language learners—they want to read classic（经典的）books, but what their language skills allow are usually little more than children's books.

Oxford University Press tried to solve this problem back in 1988 by designing a series of graded English reading materials known as the Oxford Bookworms Library. It now has a collection of over 200 books—many of them simplified versions of classics—which fall into seven difficulty levels from "starter level" to level six.

However, there has always been a debate over whether shortened versions of classics have less value. Some worry that by reading them, students don't get to learn the essence（精华）of the original（原版的）text.

Rob Waring, a Japanese professors, mentions one of his students, Satoko, as an example in his booklet The "Why" and "How" of Using Graded Readers. Satoko was a Japanese student majoring in English. But by the time she graduated, she had only managed to finish reading just one English book because it was far beyond her language level. "For Satoko, reading in English was a fight; a fight that she lost, "wrote Waring, who suggested that reading easy texts is necessary because it helps language learners build up confidence and fluency in reading. By reading a lot-rather than getting stuck in one book—they can get used to kinds of English expressions and writing styles. Only by doing this can they reach what Waring calls the "reading-with-ideas" level of reading.

So it doesn't matter if the books are original classics or not--for beginner--level language learners, the simple act of reading is a form of learning in itself. "Stories offer a window to other cultures, other worlds, real or imagined, beyond the classroom," Jennifer Basset, the first editor of the Oxford Bookworms Library, said in an interview with Get English Lessons.

1. Why did Oxford University Press design the Oxford Bookworms Library?

A．Tо attract as many English learners as possible

B．To make classics popular with more English learners

C．To allow English beginners to read classic books

D．To help English beginners improve their language skills

2. From paragraph 4, Rob Waring points out that          .

A．language learners don't need to read easy texts

B．language learners are expected to read a lot

C．reading a lot can build up language learners' confidence

D．reading easy texts can give language learners more ideas

3. What is the writer's attitude to shortened books?

A．Supportive.

B．Unclear.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Doubtful.

【推荐3】I arrived home from work, my mind racing, I was scheduled to perform an experiment using a pricey piece of equipment, but I had spent the whole day worrying about the experiment which was on the top of my agenda, and I amazingly longed to shut off my anxious thoughts. So after dinner, I made a cup of hot coffee, stretched myself on my sofa, and opened a page. Almost instantly, my mind left behind the details of experimental design and stepped into a land of monsters, magic dust, and man-like bears comprising a wonderful world distinct from my daily life. It was exactly what I needed.

Growing up, I was virtually never big on novels. My classmates would be crazy about the latest Harry Potter book, while my copy sat collecting dust on a shelf. Instead, I would choose to read through the reference books related to my disciplines for better grades. After I started graduate school, extracurricular reading didn’t appeal to me at all but I spent most of my time on campus digesting research papers and textbooks and my mind couldn’t handle processing fact-filled nonfiction books at home, too. So I knew that I needed to find a way to enjoy reading again.

To help me stick with it, I made a New Year’s resolution: I would read two fiction books per month for the entire year. The result was an almost instant appreciation of fiction, along with many unexpected results including ones that have benefited my schoolwork.

What surprised me most was how much I learned. Some of the best books I read were historical fictional stories happening in a realistic historical setting, I learned about life in different countries, as well as struggles people there faced during difficult periods in their histories. The books have helped me build sympathy and understanding, with an unexpected benefit: I’ve started to think more deeply about the diversity of issues in the scientific community and could serve it, heart and soul.

1. How did the author relieve his anxiety?

A．By drinking several cups of coffee.	B．By watching a funny show on the sofa.
C．By being absorbed in a fascinating book.	D．By calling a friend to talk about the worries.

2. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The author was always a big fan of reading novels.

B．The author lacked enthusiasm for novels from childhood.

C．The author never read any books when the author was young.

D．The author was occupied in the research papers during school.

3. Which words can best describe the author?

A．Diligent and self-aware.	B．Creative and knowledgeable.
C．Adventurous and thoughtful.	D．Ambitious and committed.

4. What can we learn from the author’s story?

A．Adversity leads to prosperity.	B．Don’t judge a book by its cover.
C．There is no royal road to learning.	D．Books and friends should be few but good.

【推荐3】When one loves one’ s Art no service seems too hard.

Joe was a man with a genius for art. Delia did things in six octaves(音阶) promisingly.

Joe and Delia became in love with one of the other, or each of the other, as you please, and in a short time were married–for (see above), when one loves one’ s Art no service seems too hard.

They began housekeeping in a flat. It was a lonesome flat, but they were happy; for they had their Art, and they had each other.

Joe was learning painting in the class of the great Magister–you know his fame. His fees are high; his lessons are light–his high–lights have brought him fame. Delia was studying under Rosenstock–you know his reputation as a disturber of the piano keys.

They were mighty happy as long as their money lasted.

After a while Art flagged. Everything going out and nothing coming in, money was lacking to pay Mr. Magister and Rosenstock their prices. When one loves one’s Art no service seems too hard. So, Delia said she must give music lessons to make the ends meet.

For two or three days she went out looking for pupils. One evening she came home overjoyed

“Joe, dear,” she said, cheerfully, “I’ ve a pupil. And, oh, the loveliest people! General– General Pinkney’ s daughter Clementina–on Seventy-first street.”

“That’s all right for you, Dele,”said Joe, “but how about me? Do you think I’m going to let you work while I play in the regions of high art?”

Delia came and hung about his neck.

“Joe, dear, you are silly. You must keep on at your studies. It is not as if I had quit my music and gone to work at something else. While I teach I learn. I am always with my music.”

“All right,” said Joe. “But I may sell some of my pictures as well.”

The next few weeks, they both busied themselves with their own business and brought back a ten, a five, a two and a one–all legal tender notes–and laid them beside each others’ earnings. One Saturday evening Joe reached home first. He spread his $18 on the table and washed what seemed to be a great deal of dark paint from his hands. Half an hour later Delia arrived, her right hand tied up in a shapeless bundle of wraps and bandages.

“How is this?” asked Joe. Delia laughed, but not very joyously. “Clementina,” she explained, “insisted upon a Welsh rabbit(一种奶酪) after her lesson. In serving the rabbit she spilled a great lot of it, boiling hot, over my wrist. Nothing serious, dear.”

“What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Dele?”

“Five o'clock, I think,” said Dele. “The iron–I mean the rabbit came off the fire about that time.”

“Sit down here a moment, Dele,” said Joe. “What have you been doing for the last few weeks, Dele?” he asked.

She braved it for a moment or two with an eye full of love and stubbornness, but at last down went her head and out came the truth and tears.

“I couldn’t get any pupils,” she wept. “I got a place ironing shirts in that big Twenty-fourth street laundry. A girl in the laundry set down a hot iron on my hand this afternoon. I think I did very well to make up both General Pinkney and Clementina. What made you ever suspect that I wasn’ t giving music lessons?”

“I didn’t,” said Joe, “until tonight. And I wouldn’t have then, only I sent up this cotton waste and oil from the engine-room this afternoon for a girl upstairs who had her hand burned with a smoothing-iron. I’ve been firing the engine in that laundry for the last few weeks.”

“And then you didn’ t …” said Delia.And then they both looked at each other and laughed, and Joe began: “When one loves one’s Art no service seems …”

But Delia stopped him with her hand on his lips. “No,” she said– “just ‘When one loves’.”

1. What can we know about the couple from the story?

A．They both became famous for their talents in art.

B．Studying from famous teachers contributed most to their poverty.

C．Art helped them out of the poverty they were faced with.

D．They turned out to be working at the same laundry.

2. What qualities of the couple’s are best conveyed in the story?

A．considerate and giving.	B．faithful and romantic.
C．intelligent and economical.	D．hardworking and loyal.

3. What does the underlined word “flagged” most probably mean?

A．Became weaker.	B．Displayed its power.
C．Went in a wrong direction.	D．Returned to its original condition.

4. Which of the following does NOT give readers a clue that the couple were telling white lies?

A．Joe washed what seemed to be a great deal of dark paint from his hands.

B．Delia’s right wrist was tied up in a shapeless bundle of wraps and bandages.

C．Delia said she must give music lessons to make the ends meet.

D．“The iron–I mean the rabbit came off the fire about that time” said Dele.

5. What can serve as the best title of this story?

A．A Service of Art	B．The Love for Art
C．A Service of Love	D．No Art No Love