【推荐1】Children are our future, and it’s up to us to arm them with the tools to succeed. Sadly, today’s children are being armed with more dangerous tools like weapons (武器), drugs and gangs. Once a relatively peaceful environment, many schoolyards of today are becoming unsafe for both students and teachers.

Home schools are available to give you choices. Home schooling provides top-quality education, flexibility, and freedom to create your own schedule. At Heritage Home School we believe the choice should be yours.

Thanks in part to modern technology, home schooling information is becoming readily available across our nation. A recent study by the ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) and TAP (Tests of Achievement and Proficiency) shows us that students of home schools do particularly well when compared with the nationwide average. In every subject at every grade level, students of home schooling scored obviously higher than those in public and private schools.

If you’re new to home schooling, you may be asking yourself, “Will home schools really work for my children?”

Fact: A nationwide study using a random(任意)selection of 1,516 families found students of home schooling to be scoring, on average, at or above the 80th percentile in all areas on standardized achievement test.

Note: The national average on standardized achievement tests is the 50th percentile.

Collectively, the staff at Heritage Home School brings 65 years of experience in home schooling curriculum. We’ve placed students in the top 2 % of the nation in math and many are successfully moving on to college.

One study found that of the home schooled adults, 0% were unemployed, 0% were on welfare and 94% said home education prepared them to be independent persons.

For more home schooling information, call us today toll free at (877) 532-7665.

1. We can learn from the first paragraph that ________.

A．many schools armed their students with weapons

B．violence and crime exist in many schoolyards

C．students use weapons to defend their schoolyards

D．weapons are more dangerous than drugs

2. All of the following are true of home schools EXCEPT that ________.

A．students are free to choose their courses

B．students do well in important national tests

C．they help students find jobs

D．they help students to be independent

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To give information about different schools.

B．To compare home schools with other schools.

C．To suggest a new method of school education.

D．To persuade people to choose home schools.

4. The advertisement is mainly aimed at ________.

A．students

B．parents

C．teachers

D．adults

【推荐2】   

The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the United States. The NCTA presents the nation’s very finest artists in festivals, tours, international cultural exchanges, workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions, media productions, school programs, and other activities. It works in partnership with communities across America to establish new, sustainable traditional arts events that deliver lasting social and cultural benefits.

The NCTA seeks Festival Support Staff for the 2020 festival season to provide office and on-site support for three large-scale festivals. Positions available include:

● Programming Administration Assistant

This is the perfect position for someone with an interest in history, arts management, cultural anthropology, and related fields.

Responsibilities include programming research, marketing and promotion, and event organization. The position may also be responsible for press and photo document management, social media updates, and customer service.

Qualified applicants will be detail-oriented and organized, with excellent people skills and a general interest in the traditional arts. Computer literacy is essential. The contract runs from May 1 to December 15．

● Festival Assistant

This is the perfect position for someone with an interest in arts, culture, and event logistics (后勤) who enjoys operating in a fast-paced, collegial small-office environment.

The position provides festival staff support. Responsibilities include document creation, travel purchase, logistics support, data entry, and database maintenance.

Qualified applicants will be outgoing and open-minded, with effective oral and written communication skills and computer literacy. Prior experience with festival planning is preferred. The contract runs from May 18 to October 30.

● Production Associate

The production associate is a key member of the production team who will work closely with the production manager on all festival audio, backline, and lighting needs, from planning through implementation (实施).

The role will contribute to the following key tasks: advancing technical needs with artists, making tech books, accurate record-keeping, and working with the NCTA and festival staff to insure smooth on-site operations.

Qualified applicants will be responsible and adaptable, with excellent people skills. Prior experience in concert production is preferred. The contract runs from June 15 to October 30．

All Positions: Experience with database entry, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Acrobat is required. Must have a clean driving record, or reliable transportation. Some evenings, weekends, and travel are required.

More details and how to apply at: http//ncta- America.com.

1. According to the passage, the NCTA ____.

A．focuses on cultural and arts education

B．keeps a record of American traditional arts

C．enjoys economic benefits from communities

D．aims to help the artists in art-related activities

2. The programming administration assistant will probably ____.

A．plan and design programs	B．create social networking websites
C．deal with complaints from customers	D．photograph newspapers and documents

3. What is the requirement for all the three positions?

A．Driving skills.	B．Working experience.
C．Communication skills.	D．Knowledge on traditional arts.

【推荐1】"A photograph that one has taken of oneself,typically with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."This is the definition（定义）of the word "selfie" in the Oxford English Dictionary.In fact,it wasn't even in the dictionary until August,2013.It earned its place there because people are now so obsessed（着迷）with selfies—we take them when we try on a new hat,play with our pets or when we meet a friend whom we haven't seen in a while.

But does this obsession actually make sense?Is there any scientific explanation for it?Well,you should probably ask James Kilner,a neuroscientist at University College London.

Through our lifetime we become experts at recognizing and interpreting other people's faces and facial expressions.In contrast,according to Kilner,we have a very poor understanding of our own faces since we have little experience of looking at them—we just feel them most of the time.

This has been proved in previous studies in which participants were shown images of themselves and asked to match their facial expressions in the pictures.In most cases,they failed to accurately produce the same facial expressions without being able to see themselves in the mirror,according to BBC.

To further test how we actually sense our own faces,Kilner carried out another study.He showed people different versions（版本）of their own image—the original which had been edited to look less attractive and one that was made more attractive—and asked them to pick the version which they thought looked most like them.Kilner found that most people chose the more attractive picture.This suggests that we tend to think of ourselves as better-looking than we actually are.

But what does it say about selfies?Well,isn't that obvious?Selfies give us the power to create a photograph—by taking it from various angles,with different poses,using filters（滤镜）and so on—that better matches our expectations with our actual faces.

"You suddenly have control in a way that you don't have in non-virtual（非虚拟的）interactions,"Kilner told the Canada-based CTA News.Selfies allow you "to keep taking pictures until you manage to take one you're happy with", he explained.

1. According to Kilner's studies,it can be learned that we       .

A．know about our own faces well

B．tend to recognize our own faces easily

C．become poor at reading others' facial expressions

D．believe we have better images than we actually do

2. What does the underlined word "it" in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Selfie.	B．This obsession.
C．The history of selfie.	D．The rise of selfie.

3. According to Kilner,why do people like taking selfies?

A．It enables them to improve their skill of taking a photograph.

B．It meets their needs to know their own faces better.

C．It makes them possible to reach their expectation.

D．It offers them a way to control the virtual world.

4. What might be the best title of the passage?

A．What Is Selfie

B．Selfie Beautify Yourself

C．How Do People Take Selfies

D．Selfies Improve Your Confidence

【推荐2】Chef Zhang Xuesi lowered the fire on the stove where he was cooking his Cantonese meal. He added all the necessary foods. He quickly lowered the fire and turned toward a phone camera as hundreds of people watched him online. ''It ruins the dish if you burn the breadcrumbs, '' he advised his livestream video watchers.

Many people in China are restricted to their homes in the effort to stop the spread of coronavirus. Millions of them are finding a new interest in cooking. People watching television and online cooking shows are learning how to make Chinese and Western foods. They are also pushing up the sale of special cookware on online markets. Downloads of the top five recipe apps doubled in February, said research company Sensor Tower.

Billibilli said it has had more than 580 million views of its cooking videos in the two months since the coronavirus began to spread in China. Another online cooking show producer DayDayCook told Reuters its numbers of new users increased 200 percent from January to February. A recipe for bean curd and shrimp received the most watchers.

Many new home cooks are young people living in cities. This group is used to eating out or getting food delivery. Now these people are cooking at home. Wu Shuang is a 30-year-old who works and lives in Beijing. She was among those trapped at home in February. She says she spent a lot of time online, learning how to make bread and other foods.

Chef Zhang Xuesi explained that many of his online viewers expressed interest in discussing more than just food. In the past, users were only interested in learning cooking tricks, but now we talk about all kinds of subjects.

1. What was Zhang Xuesi doing according to paragraph 1?

A．He was learning how to make Cantonese foods.

B．He was downloading the top five recipe apps.

C．He was pushing up the sale of special cookware.

D．He was making online cooking shows.

2. Which of the following is NOT true about Wu Shuang?

A．She becomes a new home cook.

B．She was trapped at home in February.

C．She learned cooking foods online.

D．She was interested in discussing food online.

3. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Many people are restricted to their homes because of coronavirus.

B．Many people turn to cooking at home because of coronavirus.

C．Many people push up sales on online markets because of coronavirus.

D．Many people spend a lot of time online because of coronavirus.

【推荐3】Your children's education doesn’t have to stop after school. These game apps for your iPhone, iPad and Android will keep your youngsters’ minds active outside the classroom. Of course, let your children play the developmental games in moderation.

Elmo Loves 123s

Help your children identify and count numbers from 1 to 20 and do some simple calculation. Everyone's favorite furry character, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby will guide kids along the way. （under five years,$4.99; iPad）

Habitat the Game

Players adopt a virtual polar bear and must complete real-world actions, such as turning off lights and conserving water, to keep the creature healthy. Kids will take pride in making an actual difference in the world with these exciting games. (4 years+, free; iPhone, iPad, Android)

Disney Story Central

Bedtime just gets a lot less painful thanks to Disney Story Central. The large selection of e-books star Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, the princesses, and Doc MacStuffins. Plus, the bookworms will earn awards as progress is made day by day.(2 years+, free for iPad for the first 4 books, with additional purchase packages starting at$4)

GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine

GoldieBlox, the toy company focusing on inspiring girls to become innovators, has created GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine, its first app for inspiring engineers. Your kids will learn the basics of cartoons and create her own one-second animated GiFs. (6 years+, free; iphone iPad)

1. Which of the apps can teach kids to care about the environment?

A．Elmo Loves 123s.	B．Habitat the Game.
C．Disney Story Central.	D．GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine.

2. What do we know about Disney Story Central?

A．It is designed for girls.	B．It is suitable for all ages.
C．It offers rewards to advancers.	D．It offers free books to iPhone users.

3. Who is the text most probably written for?

A．Young engineers.	B．Parents.
C．Game developers.	D．Teenagers.