【推荐1】Christopher came to our school in the middle of the year, right after Christmas. He was the only new kid but he wasn’t shy at all.   He stood front of the class and introduced himself with full confidence. Right away, I felt as if I found my other half. I immediately ran to Mrs. Rose and asked if Christopher could sit next to me.

We both were funny and liked sports, food. But my classmates stayed away from Christopher because he had to get pricked（验血）every time after he ate sweets like cookies.

The day before spring break all sorts of candies and desserts were being passed out. I stuffed my face with every sugary sweet I could find. I made sure to take a couple for Christopher too but he didn’t touch them.

“Why aren’t you eating Christopher?” I asked. He replied firmly, “I can’t.”

I begged him and then he got mad and said, “I told you I couldn’t eat it! Stop it! Stop!” I sat there puzzled.

I went home that night with a million questions. My mom sat me down and told me that Christopher had diabetes（糖尿病）and that was the reason why he couldn’t eat as much sugar as everyone else.

After spring break when we got back, I asked Mrs, Rose if I could share with the class about Christopher’s medical condition and she agreed. I told them about his diabetes and suggested that every snack or sweet that we brought to class be appropriate for Christopher to eat. Surprisingly, all of them agreed.

Months went by and Christopher was happier than ever. He had even more friends now and he didn’t feel so left out during snack time because everyone was eating the same treat.

1. When the writer found Christopher was very confident, he____

A．became confident about himself	B．realized his weaknesses
C．had the same interest as Christopher	D．treated Christopher as his best tren

2. What puzzled the writer at the party?

A．Christopher was forbidden to eat by his mother.

B．Christopher refused his offer of sweets rudely

C．Christopher had to get his fingers pricked.

D．Christopher went mad at eating sugary sweets

3. We can know from the second paragraph that Christopher

A．dressed himself differently from others

B．made fun of   his classmates in class

C．was left out by his classmates at school

D．wore a lot of bandages after causing trouble

4. Why did the writer share Christopher's story with the class

A．To war them of the danger of diabetes

B．To expect them to bring sweets for Christopher

C．To ask them to donate money for Christopher.

D．To expect them to accept Christopher actively

【推荐3】A few years ago, I stood in a small classroom, watching a high schooler named Serena Stevenson answer math questions. An instructor read out numbers-7447,7089,9842, and Stevenson added them in her head. For each question, she closed her eyes, and then the fingers of her right hand began to move. She answered most of the problems correctly.

The key to her success was an ancient technology called the abacus (算盘). For much of that evening, Stevenson used a practice called “mental abacus”, imagining the abacus in her mind and then using her fingers to work through the problem.

From watching Stevenson, I knew that gaining skills on the abacus was more than a matter of counting beads (珠子), so I decided to sign up for an abacus course with my two daughters to see if we could also improve our math skills. I was one of the many who harbored some math doubts and I felt a touch of fear of math. My usual solution was avoidance, and if I had to figure out something like percentage change, I would go online.

Then after a few abacus classes and a good amount of practice, math seemed a little less frightening. I hadn’t become Euclid. But the practice brought my fear of math down a level. This is a long-proved power of the abacus. Confidence grows easily on the device, and abacus students are less likely to be nervous about an upcoming math test, according to one study. Part of the reason, it seems, is that practice and outcomes appear to move in step, with hard work related highly to performance.

My kids had gained some math confidence as well. My youngest daughter would beam broadly after getting a math problem correct, while my older child brought her abacus to school to show to her classmates and teacher. These were small successes. But that’s how they ultimately develop confidence.

1. What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To prove the difficulty of math.	B．To introduce the topic of the abacus.
C．To show the intelligence of Stevenson.	D．To recommend teaching abacus in schools.

2. What can we infer about the author from paragraph 3?

A．He was not good at math.	B．He had no interest in the abacus.
C．He regarded math as really useful.	D．He learned mental abacus from Stevenson.

3. What does the author realize from his learning experience?

A．The old methods hardly work today.	B．The simplest way is the best way.
C．It pays to put theory into practice.	D．Practice makes perfect.

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

A．Smile.

B．Reflect.

C．Explore.

D．Agree.

【推荐1】阅读下面短文，按照题目要求完成下列任务。

11-year-old Ruby has long been close to older people. Her mother, Amanda, is a nurse who works at nursing homes in Harrison, and Ruby often follows her around in the summer.

Last May, Ruby learned a resident named Pearl felt so sad for she had to send her dog away. The reason was that the nursing home didn’t allow residents to have dogs and Pearl couldn’t afford to pay anyone to look after hers. She also learned that many nursing home residents were unable to afford even the smallest luxuries. So Ruby decided to do something about it.

She started by asking residents what three things they wanted most in the world. Amanda worried that people would ask for cars and other things that an 11-year-old wouldn’t have money to buy. However, they asked for chocolates, McDonald’s fries, shoes that fit well, and even just a kiss.

“It surprised me a lot,” Amanda says. “We left the nursing home that day and went to a store at once and bought as many things as we could.”

Using their own money, Ruby and her mother met the wishes of about 100 residents in three months. Then they started asking for help. The good people of Harrison responded enthusiastically, so much that Amanda set up a GoFundMe page on the Internet, Three Wishes for Rubys Residents, hoping to collect $5,000. They hit their goal in only a few days. After GofundMe shared Ruby’s story nationwide this past January, Three Wishes raised $20,000 in 24 hours and more than $250,000 in five months.

Earlier this year, Three Wishes became a nonprofit (非盈利机构) and developed nationwide. One of its new goals is to set up a shared laptop in one nursing home in each state. Ruby doesn’t plan to stop there. Actually, besides Ruby, more young people are involved in helping others as a hobby.

任务一   根据短文内容，选择所给单词的正确意义。两个选项为多余项。

A. to give B. to reach a certain target C. to come in contact with someone D. to have enough money to do something E. showing a lot of excitement and interest F. to make somebody take part in something

1. afford ________
2. enthusiastically ________
3. hit ________
4. involve________
任务二   根据短文内容，按照题目要求用英文回答问题。
5. Why did Pearl have to send her dog away?
6. What did Ruby do for the residents in the nursing home?
7. Do you want to be a person like Ruby? Why or why not?(In about 30 words)

【推荐2】A ten-year-old boy from Howell Michigan is being praised as a hero thanks to his persistence(坚持) that led to saving the life of an elderly neighbor. The event happened late in an evening when Danny DiPietro was being driven home from football practice by his mom.

That’s when the young boy noticed an open garage(车库) and a figure(身影) that he believed was a dog outside an apartment building near his house. Given the freezing cold weather, the young boy got a feeling that something was not right. But instead of dismissing it like most kids his age would have, he insisted that his mother, Dawn, find out what was going on. Dawn tried to make Danny believe that no one would leave a dog out in such cold weather, but he refused to take no for an answer.

Dawn finally gave in and decided to drive to the area with the family dog and see if there was any truth to Danny’s hunch(直觉). Sure enough, as she got closer to the apartment building, she noticed a garage that was wide open and someone waving madly for help. Upon getting there, she realized that it was not a dog the young boy had seen, but Kathleen St. Onge. The 80-year-old had fallen down on some ice in her garage and had been lying there for two hours, unable to get up.

Dawn rushed home to get her husband to help and called 911. The two then returned with some blankets to cover Ms. St. Onge, while they waited for the ambulance(救护车) to arrive. Though still in hospital, the elderly woman is recovering well and forever grateful to Danny, for following up on his hunch!

1. When seeing a figure in an open garage, Danny ________.

A．recognized it was an old man	B．thought it was a homeless cat
C．realized something was wrong	D．believed it was nothing important

2. Which of the following can best describe Danny?

A．Brave and patient.	B．Friendly and honest.
C．Considerate and optimistic.	D．Persistent and warm-hearted.

3. What could be the best title for the text?

A．The importance of age

B．Be ready to help save the elderly

C．Unknown hero brings love and hope

D．10-year-old saves elderly neighbor’s life

【推荐3】In Europe many people died during the Second World War. As a result, at the end of the war there were many orphans (孤儿) there. A man called Hermann Gmeiner wanted to help these children. His idea was simple. He wanted orphans to have a home, and he wanted them to have the care and kindness of parents. Gmeiner asked people to give him some money. With this money he built the first SOS Children's Village at Imst, in Austria. It opened in1949. This is how the SOS stand for “Save Our Souls.” This means, “Please help us!” An SOS Children’ village gives help to orphans. Hermann Gmeiner’s idea for helping orphans soon spread all over the world. By 1983 there were 170 SOS Children's Villages in the world. People in many countries give money to help the villages.

Today the children from the first village have grown up. Now some of them work in other SOS Children’s Villages. In SOS Villages orphans live in family groups. There are several houses in each village. The biggest village has 40 or 50 houses! Between seven and ten children live in a house. A woman lives with each group of children and looks after them. She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. She cooks meals for them and makes comfortable, happy home for them.

Of course, the children don’t spend all their time in the village. They go to school; they go out with their friends. But the village gives them a home—sometimes for the first time in their lives.

1. The SOS Children’s Villages are built for________ first.

A．the children who are poor	B．the orphans in Europe
C．the kind women	D．people who died in the war.

2. We can conclude from the article that the money for helping the SOS Villages mainly comes from ________ .

A．governments	B．special organization
C．people in different countries	D．the orphans themselves

3. Which of the following is NOT the work a woman in an SOS Village does for each group of children?

A．She lives with the children and looks after them.

B．She gives the children a lot of love and kindness.

C．She cooks meals for children.

D．She teaches the children how to use the computer.

【推荐3】       I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. On arriving at the beach cottage, I kissed Evelyn meeting me at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1. From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.

A．with his family

B．with Evelyn

C．alone

D．with his children

2. During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.

A．he was determined to be a good husband

B．he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm

C．she looked lovely in her new clothes

D．the doctor said his wife was seriously ill

3. The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?

A．He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.

B．She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C．He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D．He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.