【推荐1】阅读下面短文和问题，根据短文内容和每小题后的具体要求，在答题卡相应题号后的横线上写下相关信息，完成对该问题的回答。答语要意思清楚，结构正确，书写工整。

It might surprise you that Tejana music did not start either in Texas or in Mexico, but in Europe. It all began with the polka. This was a folk dance from Bohemia. It was for young lovers, and so was very lively. It was made up of a hop and three short steps, and the music that went with it had a marked beat. The polka appeared in Paris in about 1843, and immediately became a great success. It quickly spread throughout Europe. Eventually even serious musicians such as Smetana and Dvorak used its beats in their work. It traveled east to the Russian court at St. Petersburg, and as far west as the new world. German introduced the polka and its music to Texas, where once again it became a huge popular success.

It was there on the US-Mexican border that local musicians started to mix the European polka with Mexican mariachi music. Mariachi music was traditionally played at weddings in Mexico, and it is possible that that is how it got its name. Mariachi might well be a Spanish version of the French word for marriage. Soon the pleasant European accordions (手风琴) mixed with the Mexican bass guitar to produce a completely new and very unusual type of music. This music acquired two different names: “Tejana” in the United States and “Nortena” in Mexico.

For decades Tejana music did not go beyond the dance halls and popular gatherings of it birthplace. It was not until about seventy years after its appearance that Tejana music began to spread widely. Then a young Mexican-American singer, “Selena”, made it popular throughout the United States, and in other countries too.

In the hundred years since its birth Tejana music has suffered great changes. The accordion still there, but the electric guitar has replaced the Mexican bass. The latest Tejana/Nortena hits more elements of US country and western and rock, as well as Colombian cumbia. The unique musical form that began with a European folk dance continues to develop and grow in popularity.

1. According to the passage, what was a polka? (不多于三个单词)
2. In what occasion (场合) was Mexican mariachi music traditionally played? (不多于两个单词)
3. When did Tejana music begin to spread widely? (不多于六个单词)
4. What does the passage mainly talk about? (不多于五个单词)

【推荐1】Sleep，considered as a luxury by many, is essential for a person’s well-being. Researchers have found that insufficient sleep and tiredness increase a person’s risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity, high blood sugar levels and heart disease. Now, a new study has found that getting sufficient sleep is also the key to improving academic performance.

Jeffery Gross, the university science professor who led the research, was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smartwatches to the 100 students in his chemistry class. Instead, the professor hoped the wrist-worn devices, which track a person’s physical activity, would show a connection between exercise and academic achievements.

While Gross’s data showed no relationship between these two factors, the study found something surprising. As the researchers were analyzing the data, they noticed a linear(线性的)relationship between the average amount of sleep the students got and their results in the course’s 11 quizzes, three midterm tests and the final exam.

Even more interesting, it was not sufficient for students to just head to bed early the night before the test. Instead, it’s the sleep you get during the days when learning is happening that matters most.

When students went to bed each night was similarly important. Those went to bed in the early hours of the morning performed poorly, even if the total sleep time was the same as higher-performing student. “When you go to bed matters,” Gross says. “If you go to bed at 10, or 12, or 1 at night, and sleep for 7 hours, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance started to go down even if you get the same seven hours’ sleep. So, quantity isn’t everything.”

Perhaps the most interesting was the huge impact that small differences in sleep patterns had on the students’ grades. The overall course grades of students averaging six and a half hours of sleep each night were 25% lower than students who averaged just one hour more sleep. Similarly, students who varied their bedtime by even one hour each night had grades that dropped 45% below those with more regular bedtime.

Who knows getting straight A’s just required some extra sleep?

1. Based on his original objective, which best describes Professor Gross’s research findings?

A．Accidental	B．Complete
C．Convincing	D．Doubtful

2. Who were the people taking part in the study?

A．Middle school chemistry students

B．Professor Gross’s own students

C．Volunteers from different universities

D．University student athletes

3. How did Professor Gross’s team measure students’ academic performance?

A．Making the students wear special watches

B．Using students’ university entrance test results

C．Giving the students regular quizzes after class

D．Using the students’ normal test and quiz grades

4. Based on the study’s findings, who is likely to perform best academically?

A．A student who has a good night’s sleep the night before an important test.

B．A student whose normal bedtime varies between 9 p.m. and 12 p.m.

C．A student who sleeps from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day.

D．A student who sleeps for a total of 7 hours each night.

【推荐2】When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him weeding the garden, carrying out the garbage and delivering newspapers. But when John reached adulthood，he was better off than his childhood playmates. He had more job satisfaction, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier. Far happier.

These are the findings of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who had worked as boys enjoyed happier and more productive lives than those who had not. “Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence（能力）and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society, ” said George Vaillant, the psychologist（心理学家）who made the discovery. “And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them.”

Vaillant’s study followed these males in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men’s mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

The link between what the men had done as boys and how they turned out as adults was surprisingly sharp. Those who had done the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with a wide variety of people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class made no real difference in how the boys turned out.

Working—at any age—is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence—the underpinnings（基础）of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this. Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, “One can live                                        magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work.”

1. What do we know about John？

A．He received little love from his family.

B．He had few childhood playmates.

C．He enjoyed his career and marriage.

D．He was envied by others in his childhood.

2. Vaillant’s words in Paragraph 2 serve as _______.

A．a description of personal values and social values

B．an analysis of how work was related to competence

C．an example for parents' expectations of their children

D．an explanation why some boys grew into happy men

3. Vaillant's team got their findings by _______.

A．recording the boys' effort in school

B．comparing different sets of scores

C．evaluating the men's mental health

D．measuring the men's problem solving ability

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Competent adults know more about love than work.

B．Emotional health is essential to a wonderful adult life.

C．Love brings more joy to people than work does.

D．Independence is the key to one's success.

【推荐3】Imagine that you are an actor performing in a play for the first time. You have learned all your lines and you know where to walk on stage. Waiting behind the closed curtain, you can hear the audience whispering and taking their scats.

Then your big moment arrives! The curtain goes up, and the crowd falls silent. All you can see is the spotlight shining down on you.     1     The inside of your mouth is dry, and your hands are wet.

If you have experienced a moment like this, you know all too well what it means to have stage fright (怯场). It is one of the most common types of fear and tends to strike people when they find themselves at the centre of attention.     2     People experience it when playing sports, giving a presentation, or even speaking in class. A person who suffers from stage fright may get sweaty hands, a dry mouth, a tight throat, or shaky knees. Stage fright is actually a form of panic (恐慌), and these feelings are very real.

    3     The experience differs from person to person, but the same chemical (化学的) process takes place in each of us. In reaction to anxiety(焦虑), our bodies produce a chemical that prepares us to either fight or run away quickly. Scientists refer to this as our bodies’ “fight or flight” reaction. As a result, we feel great energy that makes our hands sweat, our hearts race, and our knees shake.

    4     Practising your performance and following some simple tips can help calm nerves (神经紧张) and manage the feelings caused by anxiety. First, dress comfortably and appropriately (合适地). Second, before the performance, take deep breaths and stretch to help relax your body. Third, stay away from drinks that contain caffeine (咖啡因).     5     Instead, try a banana! Some doctors believe that eating a banana can help calm your heart and the rest of your body. Finally, when you look at a crowd, try to focus on particular people instead of the whole group. These tips have helped many people learn to deal with their fears.

A．These might make your heart race even faster.

B．You don’t have to be onstage to get stage fright.

C．Stage fright is part of the body’s reaction to stress.

D．Then you try to speak your lines, but nothing seems to come out.

E．Therefore, you’d better learn to be relaxed about this fear.

F．The good news about stage fright is that here are ways to deal with it.

G．Stage fright prevents you from going further.