【推荐1】The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Minor Snow, the 20th solar term of the year, begins this year on Nov 22 and ends on Dec 6.    1    . Here are several things you should know about Minor Snow.

Wearing hats and scarves

In China, starting in Minor Snow, the wind blows from the northeast a lot.    2    But in fact, according to an old Chinese saying, “the head is the place where all passages of the body gather”. It’s sensible to keep one’s head warm.

Drinking soup

During Minor Snow, indoor heating begins to work.    3    . According to practices in traditional Chinese medicine, this accumulation of “inner heat” in one’s body can cause physical problems. The solution is to drink more hot soup, such as cabbage and bean curd soup.

Making preserved pork and pickled (腌制的) vegetables

After Minor Snow, the temperature declines sharply and the air becomes dry.    4    . In the past, due to the poor storage conditions and inconvenient transportation, people developed many ways to store pork and vegetables. Thus during the Chinese Spring Festival and even in the bitter winter, the whole family could enjoy them.

Avoiding spicy food

    5    . Spicy food, therefore, is one of the best choices. However, experts say it’s wise not to eat overly spicy food, since that will increase your inner heat.

A．Then people need drink soup to keep healthy.

B．It is the best time to start making the salted food.

C．So many people prefer to put on their hats and scarves.

D．On cold dry days, people may need some hot food to keep warm.

E．The air indoors is dry and most people might find their nose and mouth dry, too.

F．It refers to the time when it starts to snow and the temperature continues to drop.

G．Because it’s still not bitterly cold, many people do not wear things to keep warm in time.

【推荐3】The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone. Enter the Red Hat Society －a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun.
“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody. They were programmed to do that,” said Emils Comette, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society.
While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age. But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers (生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old.
If you take into consideration feminism (女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的). In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple (紫色的) clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing.
“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998. When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention.
   “The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said. “Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves.” This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful. “We’re a ladies’ play group. It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood.
1. The underlined word “chapter” in paragraph 2 means __________.

A．one branch of an organization	B．a written agreement of a club
C．one part of a collection of poems	D．a period in a society’s history

2. From the text, we know that the “baby boomers” are a group of people who

A．have gradually become more noticeable

B．are worried about getting old too quickly

C．are enjoying a good life with plenty of money to spend

D．tried living a different life from their parents when they were young

3. DIt could be inferred from the text that members of the Red Hat Society are               .

A．interested in raising money for social work

B．programmers who can plan well for their future

C．believers in equality between men and women

D．good at cooking big meals and taking care of others

4. Who set up the Red Hat Society ?

A．Emily Cornette .	B．Ellen Cooper .
C．Jenny Joseph .	D．Joe Heywood .

5. Women join the Red Hat Society because                 .

A．they want to stay young

B．they would like to appear more attractive

C．they would like to have fun and live for themselves

D．they want to be more like their parents[来

【推荐1】Nowadays, we live in a strict and judgmental world where people are quick to point out the faults of others and yet seem to ignore their own ones. Some misguided souls believe they have a moral duty to help you be a better person telling you what a failure you really are.

If you’re the one placing criticism upon others, please stop. Make a conscious decision, rather than focus on the negative aspect of a person’s performance or attitudes, and you can offer helpful suggestions. If I’m painting a living room and making a mess in doing so, I’d have my husband say to me, “This is a tough job. Can I offer a suggestion that might make it easier for you?” rather than have him point out what a careless painter I am.

If you’re on the receiving end of criticism, the “OK” response is a perfect solution. When someone comments negatively on a task you’re doing, the natural response is to defend and attack. However, this approach is rarely effective as it puts both parties on the defensive. It diffuses a potentially explosive situation. It’s important to keep calm and listen without feeling, to be an objective observer. There is much that one can learn from a negative review. You can ask yourself: Could I have done better, and been more thoughtful? Did I give 100% of myself to the task at hand? Is there any truth in what the other person says? If so, how can I improve?

In any event, one should remember the saying, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning(指责) and you will not be condemned.” One can learn to be “OK” with criticism and not allow it to negatively impact his or her relationship with the other party. Let it go and that will be “OK”.

1. According to the author, today’s people_____.

A．ignore the mistakes of others

B．focus on how to handle mistakes

C．like to point out the mistakes of others

D．have a moral duty to point out others’ faults

2. Which of the following best explains “diffuses” underlined in Paragraph 3?

A．spreads	B．improves
C．reduces	D．conveys

3. Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Is criticism really necessary?

B．What can you learn from criticism?

C．What’s the best way to voice criticism?

D．How to criticize and reply to criticism?

【推荐2】Social media is taking over our lives: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now, TikTok. These social media platforms have transformed from a way to stay connected to an industry where even kids can make money of their posts. While this may seem like another opportunistic innovation, its really full of hidden false realities.

The median income（中位收入） recorded in the United States of America was about $63,000 in 2018. TikTokers with over a million followers can make up to $30,000 a month ---$360,000 a year. They are making more than the average person trying to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads, simply by posting a 15-second video.

Not only is it an overpaid “job”, it also promotes undeserved admiration from viewers and a false sense of reality. Many of these famous TikTokers are still teens, and the effects of fame at such an early stage in life might cause issues later in life, such as mental influenced by what they are watching. They can put a false sense of self-value into who they look up to and what they represent: money, fame, being considered conventionally attractive.

While TikTok has become a great tool for marketing, it’s important to understand how this content affects young viewers. If we’re constantly consuming content that shows us all we need to do to be successful is be conventionally attractive and post a 15-second video featuring a new dance, it will challenge our knowledge of what really makes someone successful and will in turn affect our individual work ethics（伦理）. What about the people who miss birthdays and family holidays due to their jobs and aren’t getting paid nearly as much as these TikTokers?

Richard Colyer, president and creator of Metaphor, Inc., had his own view on this issue. “It sounds great that kids can make money for doing the latest dance moves in a 15-second video, but we should feed the minds of kids and not just their bank accounts. TikTok can be great if used properly. Money alone is not good, technology alone is not good and connectedness can be bad if it’s only online.”

1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．social networking	B．staying connected to the Internet.
C．a job offered by TikTok.	D．making money on social media.

2. Which is the possible influence of TikTok on its young users?

A．They tend to live an adult life too soon.

B．They are forced to pay for certain services.

C．They are likely to develop false values

D．They may abandon other social media

3. What can we infer from Richard Colyer’s comments?

A．Young TiKTokers should be banned from making money.

B．TikTok can be a positive influence if teens employ it wisely.

C．It is better to involve education on investment in TikTok videos.

D．Contents of videos need checking before their release online.

4. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．A Job Vs An Entertainment	B．Join Young TikTokers
C．TikTok---A Mine of Money	D．Say No to TiKTok