【推荐3】It was when I was walking to my office, trailed by three young people whose ages ranged from 16 to 25, flowing down the corridor behind me like the tail of a kite, that I thought of it for the first time.

This could be because I am not actually a mother. Until recently, I was not a “real” stepmother either. But I have been living with the man who is now my husband, Bernardo for 10 years and in those 10 years, not only have his younger daughters spent every other weekend and half of their school holiday with us but also his son has lived with us full-time. In fact, when Bernardo asked me to move in, he asked his son for permission first.

Being a step mum is hard enough but being a sort-of-step-mother is about the most awkward position a mature woman can find herself in. With my sort-of-steppies, I have occupied a place of influence, power and sometimes extreme anger by turns. I have stepped on a delicate path between being a grown-up friend, a bridge of influence with their father, the woman of the house, and a figure of authority – but not too much.

Love the kids or hate them, you must always remember that no matter how much you cook, clean, hug, comfort and discipline, you will never actually count.

To survive, I trained myself to love the stepkids as hard as I could, but not to care. It’s a handy piece of good mental health trickery I recommend to anyone in my position. I can help with homework, yes, but not bother about the results of that homework. I can teach them good manners, but not care about the bad habits they learn at home. Semi-detached is the position.

1. Which of the following is true about Bernardo?

A．Bernardo seldom cares about the kids.

B．Bernardo dislikes living with his kids.

C．Bernardo respects the opinion of his kids.

D．Bernardo doesn’t recognize his wife as a “real” stepmother.

2. What does the author think of her role in the family?

A．She was totally favored by the kids.

B．She has acted as an enemy of the kids.

C．She didn’t have any influence in the family.

D．She was the communication bridge between kids and their father.

3. What’s the author’s advice for stepmothers in the last paragraph?

A．Be partly engaged in kids’ life.

B．Care little about kids’ behavior.

C．Seldom get involved in kids’ homework.

D．Become the absolute authority of the family.

【推荐1】"It took me a year to complete,all at night.I used almost 500 liters of paint.It was the biggest illegal graffiti（涂鸦）piece ever.

These are the words of a man named Saber from the United States.Saber is talking about a piece of colourful graffiti that he painted in Los Angeles.Saber did not have permission for this painting.It was on city property.Was the graffiti a piece of art?Or was Saber a criminal because he painted it illegally?

Abdal Ullah,a councilor in London,told TIMES magazine,"Graffiti is a crime.It ruins the environment.It makes our neighborhoods feel less safe.And it costs thousands of pounds each year to clean."

Graffiti artists often use high technology paint.This is hard to remove or paint over.Large cities spend millions of.dollars a year to remove graffiti.Graffiti is also often done in places where other criminal behaviour takes place, including violence and the use of illegal drugs.

Some people say that some kinds of graffiti can be considered art.Saber from Los Angeles said,"My painting shows 22 years of intense art making.And I think art is the number one goal for myself.Graffiti is the way I learn.Art gets a bad name because it is considered something only for a few people in society.It is seen as something only a rich or highly educated person can understand.And that is not true.Every single child in the world drew a picture once and had that excitement."

Luckily,there is a group called Writerz Blok in San Diego,California.They set up 12 walls where people can legally paint graffiti.Marcus Tufono,who works at Writerz Blok,explains,"Our goal is to move the illegal graffiti to a legal wall,and then put it on a computer screen and some software,so hat they can take their art and use it around the community.Then graffiti artists have a chance to succeed through their art."

1. Saber's painting was illegal because      .

A．it was painted at night	B．it was on public property
C．its creator was a criminal	D．it was of poor quality

2. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．The advantages of graffiti.	B．The bad effects of graffiti.
C．The cost of removing graffiti.	D．The materials used for graffiti.

3. Which statement may Saber agree with?

A．Graffiti is a type of art.

B．Only a few people understand art.

C．Graffiti is not a good way to create art.

D．Children should be encouraged to draw graffiti.

4. According to the last paragraph,people working at Writerz Blok      .

A．help artists paint graffiti legally

B．encourage people to paint graffiti freely

C．punish people for painting graffiti

D．remove illegal graffiti in their city

【推荐2】If you are a motivated person, it is easy to put your personal goals ahead of those of the people around you. It is natural and not necessarily a bad thing. However, it is crucial t learn to be a team player. Acting as a part of a team builds character, teacher empathy （共鸣）, and eventually achieves goals.    1    Here’s why:

Group Effort Is More Effective than Individual Effort. You can run a small business pretty independently, but if you ever plan on being employed or running a business that employs others, you’ll have to learn how to work with other people.    2    

Improving Others Equals Improving Yourself. If you’re on a team, your personal success helps make you a good team player. This is because most people are at least a little bit competitive, whether they admit it or not. When you do well, you set a standard that others will want to meet. By pushing yourself, you help push the people on your team.    3    When you see someone you’re working with do something better than you, more often than not, you’ll push yourself to meet that standard.

Your Attitude Matters    4     People respect the ability to work well with others more than anything. Your individual actions have an impact, but if you’re reluctant to do something to help your team, it’ll be evident and your contribution will be less appreciated. Having a genuine interest in your team helps you as well as those you’re working with.

    5    As much as your work is important and necessary to the success of your team, the success of your team is important and necessary to your success.

A．Of course, this works both ways

B．These is a mutual（相互的）effect between personal success and team achievement

C．People with team spirit try hard to make their team the best of all

D．You should be the kind of person who wants to be a team player

E．Those who show respect for others will be respected in turn

F．All of these things, in turn, contribute to your personal success

G．The most impressive achievements are accomplished by groups of people, not individuals

【推荐3】It was 11:30 at night in the Alaskan village of Igiugig, population 70. Nelson heard the rumble of a small airplane circling the nearby airport. “Any time a plane flies over that late, you know something is wrong,” as she told New York Times.

Nelson and her sister ran to the window, and saw the problem: The airport's runway lights were out.

Nelson threw on some clothes, jumped into her ATV, and floored it to the airport, where she found a local pilot trying to turn on the lights manually.

“Normally, if you push the button 10 or 15 times, the lights will just light up,” Nelson told KTOO out of Juneau. Not this time. Meanwhile, she and the pilot learned of the plane's urgent mission: It was a medevac, there to transport a seriously ill local girl to the nearest hospital, 280 miles away in Anchorage.

Nelson had a plan. Driving her ATV to the end of the runway, she shone her headlights on the tarmac(停机坪) for the plane to follow. Great idea, but it wasn't enough. More light was needed, so a neighbor called nearly every home in the village—32 of them, Within 20 minutes, 20 vehicles arrived at the airport, many of the drivers still in pajamas. Following directions from the medevac pilot, the cars lined up on one side of the runway.

The medevac made its final approach and, guided by the headlights, landed safely. The young patient was loaded onto the aircraft, and the plane immediately took off again. Her illness was never publicly revealed, but she has since been released from the hospital.

In a world filled with uncertainty, the little community's positive activism was a big deal. Not so much for Nelson. As she told CNN, in Igiugig, coming together “is kind of a normal deal.”

1. Why did the small airplane circle the nearby airport without landing?

A．The runway lights of the airport didn't work.	B．Something was wrong with the small plane.
C．The plane was on an emergency mission.	D．It didn't pick up signals from the local pilot.

2. How did the plane land safely at last?

A．Under the direction of the medevac pilot.	B．By the airport's runway lights lit manually,
C．Under the guidance of the local pilot and Nelson.	D．By the headlights of lined cars along the runway.

3. What does the underlined sentence mean in the last paragraph?

A．Nelson did little during the process.	B．Nelson received so much attention
C．It's quite common for Nelson to do so.	D．There is no point mentioning the help.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．Giving is better than taking.	B．More people, more power.
C．Kindness will be rewarded.	D．No practice, no voice.