【推荐1】“They tell me that you’d like to make a statue of me — is that correct, Miss Vinnie Ream?”

The deep, gentle voice helped calm the nervous girl. Asking a favor of the President of the United States was no casual matter, especially for a seventeen-year-old girl.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, her dark eyes meeting his. “I wouldn’t have dared to ask you, but my teacher, Mr. Mills, says I am ready. I plan to make it in an admirable manner.”

President Lincoln smiled. “Painters, sculptors — they’ve all tried to make the best of this ordinary face, but I’m afraid there’ not much hope. What did you have in mind, Miss Ream? A bust (半身像)?”

Before Vinnie could say yes, the President hurried on, a shade of apology in his voice. “Of course — I shouldn’t have asked. A full-length pose would be much too big, a project for a young woman your size.”

Vinnie’s face turned red. She realized she looked like a child, with her tiny figure. “Small does not mean weak, sir,” she defended herself. “I was born in the country of Wisconsin. I’ve driven teams of horses and carried water. Making a full-length clay (黏土) figure would not exhaust my strength — and that is what I intend to do!”

The President’s eyes brightened at her show of spirit. “Sorry, madam, I have underestimated you as I didn’t know your background.”

But his smile faded as he rubbed his beard with bony fingers, in thought. “Miss Ream,” he sighed, “I’d like to let you do it, but as you know, we are in the middle of a war. How could I possibly take the time to pose for a sculpture now? I hardly have a minute to myself.”

Vinnie glanced around and noted the size of his office. “I work quickly,” she said. Her voice was soft but confident as she pointed to the corner near the windows. “If I were to bring my clay here and work for three hours every afternoon, I could complete most of the project while you are at your desk.”

The President seemed to consider her idea seriously. He got up and shook Vinnie’s hand warmly. “I’ve heard that you are a talented young woman, and I have found you charming and intelligent as well. I cannot make my decision immediately, but you will hear from me soon.”

The very next day, Vinnie received an invitation from the President.

1. What gave Vinnie confidence to make her request of President Lincoln?

A．Her aggressive personality.	B．Mr. Mills’s encouraging remark.
C．President Lincoln’s gentle voice.	D．Her interest in a challenging job.

2. How did President Lincoln first respond to Vinnie’s request?

A．Pleased.

B．Thrilled.

C．Regretful.

D．Doubtful.

3. Vinnie confirmed her ability to make a full-length statue by highlighting ______.

A．the heavy labor she had done before

B．her experience from other project

C．her innocent childhood in the country

D．the skill she picked up in Wisconsin

4. What message does the story convey?

A．A strong-willed soul can reach his goal.

B．Experience helps to promote excellence.

C．Ups and downs make one strong.

D．Devotion requires enthusiasm.

【推荐3】As a senior, my future is always on my mind. To be exact, thoughts of the future have kept me up countless nights and made me worry enough to do poorly on more than one test. Because of this, words of wisdom are a source of comfort. Steve Jobs gave a speech to Stanford’s graduating class in 2005 and his words resound repeatedly in my mind whenever I think about my future.
It wasn’t always like that, though. It started when I became a junior, when college came into view. It’s the first big step to making your life your own. So when Jobs discussed his life as a student, some fears were eased. He, too, felt the need to attend college to make something of himself. He faced what many are extremely afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college and focus on what he felt was important. His story had a happy ending, of course, since he certainly turned out well.
This doesn’t mean that students shouldn’t attend college, but rather that they shouldn’t worry so much. You’ll get where you need to go, even if your path is a bit more winding (蜿蜒的) than you’d like.
Jobs talked about the hardships in his work. His love of his work helped him carry on and he got where he was meant to be, which restates the point: don’t panic.
One particular part of his speech stayed with me. Steve Jobs quoted (引用) the saying “Stay hungry, stay foolish” and it has become my motto. Staying foolish is realizing that you are still a fool, no matter how much you’ve learned or experienced. There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things about which you are still uneducated.
Steve Jobs’s level of success is attainable, and I aim to prove that. With the will power to go into the world living every day like it’s my last and allowing the future to take care of itself, I will do great things. In the last moments of my life,   I’ll be proud of what I have done and hope to have all the wisdom a person could wish for.
1. The author felt worried when _________.

A．he had to take tests at school

B．he thought about his future

C．he had lots of sleepless nights

D．he searched for words of wisdom

2. It is suggested in Paragraphs 1 and 2 that _________.

A．Steve Jobs didn’t attend college

B．Steve Jobs failed because of his decision

C．the author is a college student

D．the author cares much about his future

3. What did the author gain from Jobs’s speech?

A．Courage to drop out of school.

B．Confidence in defeating Jobs.

C．Interest in computer industry.

D．Bravery to face uncertainties.

4. What did NOT Steve Jobs encourage students to do in his speech?

A．Have the desire to learn more.

B．Be content with what they know.

C．Stay calm in the face of hardships.

D．Be modest so as to learn more.

5. The passage is mainly about _________.

A．the wisdom drawn from a speech

B．the most impressive quote in life

C．a memorable meeting with Jobs

D．an experience of a speech

【推荐1】In the 1940s, Lena Horne was the first African­American in Hollywood to sign a long­term contract with a major movie studio. Her deal with MGM stated that she would never play the role of a servant. During this period, African­American actors were mostly limited to playing servants or African natives.

But this refusal also limited her movie career. Horne was generally only offered the role of a nightclub singer. Her characters did not interact with white characters in these movies. This way, her part could be cut from the version of the movie that played in Southern States.

Lena Horne later wrote that the movie producers did not make her into a servant, but they did not make her into anything else, either. Lena Horne once said that World War Two helped make her a star. She was popular with both black and white servicemen. She sang on army radio programs and traveled to perform for the troops. During one event, she noted that German prisoners of war were permitted to sit closer to the stage than black soldiers. These experiences led to Lena Horne's work in the Civil Rights Movement.

She protested racial separation at the hotels where she performed. She took action so that she and her musicians would be permitted to stay in those hotels. Black musicians at the time generally stayed in black neighborhoods. Lena Horne also sang at civil rights gatherings. She took part in the March on Washington protest in 1963. It was during this event that Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Lena Horne performed in a strong and expressive way. One expert said she was not warm and amiable like white female singers at the time. Instead, she was a fierce black woman.

1. Lena Horne refused to play the role of a servant probably because she thought playing such a role ________.

A．would make her homesick	B．wouldn't make her famous
C．meant she wasn't treated fairly	D．wouldn't help her make money

2. When Lena Horne saw how German prisoners and black soldiers were seated, how did she most probably feel?

A．Angry.

B．Satisfied.

C．Interested.

D．Moved.

3. Paragraph 4 mainly tells about Lena Horne's ________.

A．hope for a bright future	B．effort she put into music
C．effort against racial separation	D．relationship with Martin Luther King

4. What does the underlined word “amiable” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Ugly.

B．Boring.

C．Brave.

D．Friendly.

【推荐2】Mention sand art and the image that comes to mind is that of an intricately(杂乱的) carved sculpture or design sketched on a beach surface. Though impressive, they are transient(短暂的) masterpieces that disappear with the first large wave or splash of rain. However, 24-year-old Tim Bengel’s sand art is permanent. That’s because the German artist uses the grit(粗砂) to “paint” his masterpieces on canvas. While the final product is certainly beautiful, what is even more so is the way it is created.

Bengel begins by covering a blank canvas with a special adhesive(黏合剂) that dries extremely slowly, giving the artist enough time to draw the desired image. He then begins “painting” with grains of black sand and in some cases, gold foil. It takes the young man anywhere from 200 to 300 hours to complete each work of art.

What is most intriguing about Bengel’s process is that only the artist knows what the final image will be. To the rest of the world, the canvas appears to be a mess of black sand. It is only when Bengel sprinkles white sand over the canvas and then dramatically sweeps off all the excess grit that the masterpiece is revealed!

The talented artist, who is currently studying art at the University of Tubingen, says his interest in the subject began after he visited the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart Art Museum as a child. Bengel was so inspired that he came home and began trying to reproduce the paintings he had seen at the museum. After winning an art competition at this school at the age of 18, Bengel knew that it was the career he wanted to pursue. But the young man also realized that to be successful, he would have to develop his own unique style.

1. From the first paragraph we can see that________.

A．sand art only last for a short time

B．Bengel’s works are intricately carved sculptures

C．Bengel’s works stretch on the beach

D．the creation of sand art is more beautiful

2. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．The artist creates his work on the beach.

B．It takes the artist a long time to finish each work of art.

C．This kind of art work is very easy to create.

D．The artist has to work quickly because of the adhesive.

3. Bengel became interested in art ________.

A．when he became a university student

B．after he went to an art museum

C．after he saw some sand sculptures

D．when he was at the age of 18

4. What did Bengel realize he had to do if he wanted to be successful?

A．He must visit museums often.

B．He must reproduce the paintings.

C．He must have his own unique style.

D．He must win art competitions.

【推荐3】Stan Lee, co-founder of the Marvel Universe(漫威宇宙) and co-creator of many of its most popular superheroes, died at the age of 95.

Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York in 1992.   As a son of working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania, times were hard and he lived with his family in a shabby single-bedroom apartment. After graduating from high school at 16, Lieber landed a job as an assistant at Timely Comics. By the early 1940s, he was a temporary editor for the company. It was at this time that he began using his pen name--Stan Lee. In 1947, two years after returning from serving for the U.S. Army, Lee married his wife, Joan. The two began their 70-year marriage and had two children.

In the late 1950s, DC Comics breathed new life into its classic superhero and experienced a significant success with its updated version of the Flash, and later with super-team the Justice League(正义联盟) of America.

To compete against DC Comics, Lee was given the task of creating their own group of superheroes. In 1961, Timely Comics changed its name into Marvel Comics after Atlas Comics, and that November saw the debut(首次亮相) of the Fantastic Four. Lee’s later famous and lasting creations of comic-book superheroes included Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and the X-men.

Over the course of his career, Lee was an icon of Marvel Comics. As a writer and editor and, at various points, both the publisher and vice president of Marvel Comics, Lee not only introduced interesting characters to the industry, but changed the way that comic books came together. He also created a cooperative workflow between writers and artists, which became known as the “Marvel Method”. Lee received a National Medal of Arts in 2008 for his innovations that revolutionized (=completely changed) American comic books.

1. What do we know about Lee from paragraph 2?

A．He served for the U.S. Army for two years.

B．He suffered from an unfortunate marriage.

C．He had a tough and struggling childhood.

D．He adopted his pen name at the age of 16.

2. What was the company called when Spider-Man was created?

A．Timely Comics.	B．Marvel Comics.
C．Atlas Comics.	D．DC Comics.

3. What does the underlined word “icon” in the last paragraph?

A．Theme.	B．Character.
C．Assistant.	D．Symbol.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Stan Lee, the Godfather of Marvel Comics.

B．The Development of Marvel Comics.

C．Stan Lee, a Superhero in Comic Books.

D．The Popular Superheroes of Marvel Comics.