【推荐2】The deadliest wildfire in California's history broke out on November 8, 2018. It burned for 17 days and consumed 153,336 acres. In all the fire cost $16.5 billion in damage, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings, living 50,000 homes and killing 85. The beauty of this beautifully named place was gone.

Shane Grammer works as a creative director for Disney's theme parks. When his childhood friend Shane Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney--- the only part of his house to survive---Grammer felt very sad, but didn't know how to help him. And then he had an idea. "I've got to paint that chimney," he told Inside Edition. "And it was an opportunity for me to express myself and be an artist." On December 31, Grammer spent three hours spray-painting a black -and-white image of a woman on the chimney---a reminder, perhaps, of the beauty of life, or even just of life itself.

Grammer posted the image on Instagram. And many viewers said that he had really brought beauty and hope. Suddenly, Grammer realized that what he had thought was that a purely artistic expression had morphed into something deeper, the nature of true art. “When the first mural(壁画) moved so many people in this community, I knew I had to come back up,” Grammer told KRCR- TV. Over a period of three months, he returned eight times, painting 17 portraits of victims and figures of the Bible on walls, pickups, and broken buildings. "There is hope," he explains. "There is beauty in the ashes.”

Grammer's work in Paradise has now become a movement. He has traveled to many places painting murals in dark places that badly needed some light, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, for example. "I want to do something powerful and create art that moves people," he says.

That first painting, on the chimney in Paradise, survived only a few months -the bulldozer(推土机) is a cruel art critic. Grammer couldn't be more delighted. It means that the spirit of Paradise is rising again.

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The cause of the fire.

B．The damage caused by the fire.

C．The economic loss which resulted from the fire.

D．The reason why the beautiful place was gone.

2. What does the underlined part “morphed into” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Broke out.	B．Launched out.
C．Moved into.	D．Turned into.

3. Why did the painting on the chimney survive only a few months?

A．Some people disliked it.

B．Grammer wasn’t satisfied with it.

C．The town was under reconstruction.

D．The bulldozer knocked it down by accident.

4. Which word best describes Grammer?

A．Caring.	B．Casual.
C．Humorous.	D．Indifferent.

【推荐3】April Fools' Day is supposed to be a day to play jokes on others in hopes of getting a good laugh and making one feel like a fool.However，the April Fools' Day of 2019 was quite different for my mom and me.

That day my friend Jimmy and I were playing a game.I had dropped down from a bar (横木) many times in the past without ever having a problem，but that day the simple act of dropping to the ground became a nightmare (噩梦)．I broke my arm.

Jimmy's dad heard my crying and rushed out to see what was going on.When he saw the problem，he quickly put me into his truck and went inside to telephone my mom and let her know he would take me to the hospital.As that day was April Fools' Day，Mom was not buying it and really thought all this was a big joke.Mom was finally convinced by Jimmy's mom.When she saw me，she broke down in tears because she felt so bad－she simply believed that was just a big trick.

I guess one could compare this to the story The Boy Who Cried Wolf.Since I had played bad tricks before，it was no wonder that my mom didn't believe it.I as well as my mom was made to look like a fool that day.We both learned a valuable lesson.

1. What happened to the writer on the April Fools' Day of 2019?

A．He dreamed a terrible dream.

B．He was hurt by Jimmy.

C．He had an accident.

D．He fooled his mom with his friend.

2. Why did Jimmy's dad phone the writer's mom?

A．Because he wanted to play a joke on her.

B．Because he wanted her to go to the hospital to pay the money.

C．Because he wanted to see how deeply she loved her son.

D．Because he wanted to inform her of the accident.

3. What does the underlined sentence “Mom was not buying it” mean?

A．She didn't believe what Jimmy's dad said.

B．She would not like to pay the money.

C．She had no preparation for the bad news.

D．She thought her son deserved (应受) it.

4. Why did the writer mention the story The Boy Who Cried Wolf?

A．Because he thought it was his mom's fault.

B．Because he had a lesson like that.

C．Because he was proud of his story.

D．Because he felt he was luckier than that boy.

5. From the passage we can infer that ________．

A．the writer's mom didn't care much about him

B．the writer was a dishonest person

C．the writer won't play jokes as before

D．the writer will lose interest in games

【推荐1】A quick walk onto a frozen pond (池塘) could have been a disaster for these two boys.

Cruz Genet, 11, and Anthony Skopick, 10, couldn’t agree more. Were the birds out on the ice ducks or geese? There was only one way to find out. So on a cold January evening last year, the two friends walked onto the frozen pond near their homes to get a better look.

First, they threw a rock onto the ice to test it. Believing the ice would hold their weight, Anthony took a few steps, and then he crashed through the seemingly frozen surface. “There was no sound and no crack”, he told the reporter. “I just fell through immediately.”

Cruz rushed to help his frightened friend. And he fell in the pond, too. Cruz managed to lift himself out of the water and onto a harder part. He then carefully worked his way toward Anthony, but he fell in the pond again. This time, he couldn’t get out.

The two boys were in icy cold water and quickly losing feeling in their limbs (四肢). Cruz was sure that he was going to die.

Anthony’s older sister had seen the boys fall through the ice and started shouting for help. John Lavin, a neighbor driving nearby on his way to the store, heard her. He quickly pulled over. Seeing the boys, he took a nearby buoy (浮标), kicked off his shoes, and ran into the water. Lavin made his way to Cruz and Anthony and drew them back to land. They were taken to hospital, where doctors discovered that their five-minute stay in the water had lowered their body temperature nearly ten degrees.

Luckily, the boys have fully recovered, though they are still a little awestruck (敬畏的) by their fearless neighbor. “Just to think,” says Cruz, “if he hadn’t been there, I could have died.”

1. Why did the boys go to the frozen pond?

A．They had planned to go skating on the ice for a medal.

B．They wondered whether the ice could hold their weight.

C．They wanted to have a better understanding at the pond.

D．They were curious about what birds there were on the ice.

2. Before the boys walked onto the ice,           .

A．they threw a rock to test if the ice was strong enough

B．they caught a nearby buoy and kicked off their shoes

C．they asked their neighbor who should be the first to go

D．they asked Anthony’s older sister to protect them nearby

3. What did Cruz do when Anthony fell into the pond?

A．He went to find a buoy nearby.	B．He went to his neighbor for help.
C．He rushed in to help his friend.	D．He went to ask for his sister’s help.

4. What can we infer from this passage?

A．A stranger passing by rescued the two boys at last.

B．The two boys were very thankful to their neighbor.

C．Cruz fell into the pond with Anthony at the same time.

D．Anthony’s older sister invited the two boys to the pond.

【推荐3】I was standing in the checkout line behind a woman who looked to be in her 60s. When it was her turn to pay, the cashier greeted her by name and asked her how she was doing.

The woman looked down, shook her head and said: “Not so good. My husband just lost his job. The truth is, I don’t know how I’m going to get through these days.” Then she gave the cashier food stamps(食品券).

My heart ached. I wanted to help but didn’t know how. Should I offer to pay for her groceries, or ask for her husband’s resume(简历)?

Walking into the parking lot, I spotted the woman returning her shopping cart. I remembered something in my purse that I thought could help her. It wasn’t a handful of cash or an offer of a job for her husband, but maybe it would make her life better.

“Excuse me,” I said, my voice trembling a bit. “I couldn’t help overhearing what you said to the cashier. It sounds like you’ re going through a really hard time right now. I’m so sorry. I’d like to give you something. ”

I handed her the small card from my purse. When the woman read the two words “You Matter” on the card, she began to cry. And through her tears, she said: “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

I was a little startled by her reply. Having never done anything like this before, I didn’t know what kind of reaction I might receive. All I could think to say was: “Would it be OK to give you a hug? ”

A few days earlier, one of my workmates gave a similar card to me as encouragement for a project I was working on. When I read the card, I felt a warm glow spread inside of me. Deeply touched, I ordered my own box of “You Matter” cards and started sharing them.

1. What was the woman’s trouble?

A．She lost her job.

B．She needed more food stamps.

C．She didn’t know how to get through the hard time.

D．She didn’t have enough money to pay for her groceries.

2. How did the author help the woman?

A．She inspired the woman with a card.

B．She bought some food for the woman.

C．She gave the woman a handful of money.

D．She offered the woman’s husband a better job.

3. What does the underlined word “startled” most probably mean?

A．Moved.

B．Surprised.

C．Pleased.

D．Annoyed.

4. Which could be the best title for the text?

A．You Decide Who You Are	B．Bad Things Will Go Away
C．The Help from a Stranger	D．The Power of a Small Card