【推荐1】At first, Michael Surrell didn't see the black smoke or flames shooting from the windows of his neighbor's home. He had just parked around the comer from his own house when he got a call from his daughter: "The house next door is on fire!" He went to look. That's when he saw an old woman crying outside.

"The baby's in there!" she cried. Though the fire department had been called, Surrell, then 64, ran inside without hesitation. Entering the burning house was like "running into a bucket of black paint," Surrell says. The thick smoke burned his eyes and made it impossible to breathe. The conditions would have been dangerous for anyone, but for Surrell, who had lung disease, they were life-threatening.

After a few minutes in the smoke - filled house, he retreated outside to catch his breath. "Where is Tiara?" he asked desperately.

“The second floor," the old woman shouted back.

Taking a deep breath, Surrell went in a second time. Because the house had a similar layout to his, he found the stairs and made it to the second floor.

“Baby girl, where are you?”

His throat and lungs burned as if he'd breathed fire instead of the smoke in the air. He couldn't open his eyes. All he could hear was the crackling （破裂声）of burning wood. Then a soft sound came out. Still unable to see, Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor and climbed toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the girl.

Finally, he touched something. A shoe, then an ankle. He pulled the baby toward him. Her body was weak and she wasn't breathing. He carried her into his arms and ran blindly into the blackness. The next thing he knew, he was at the front door, then outside.

1. Why was the old woman crying outside?

A．She lost the baby in the fire.

B．The baby was hurt in the fire.

C．The baby was in the burning house.

D．She couldn't call the fire department.

2. What can be learned from the first two paragraphs?

A．Surrell's daughter worked in a fire department.

B．Surrell would probably have been killed by the fire.

C．The smoke blanketed Surrell' s house from next door.

D．A bucket of black paint blocked Surrell's way to the house.

3. How did Surrell find the baby on the second floor?

A．By searching on his knees.

B．By opening the back door.

C．By shouting repeatedly'

D．By turning on the light.

4. Which of the following best describes Surrell?

A．Determined and patient.

B．Independent and devoted.

C．Generous and reliable.

D．Courageous and caring.

【推荐2】Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to (属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed (服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.

“I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for,” he said.

“But why have you brought a half-empty basket?” the rich man asked.

“I met your children outside, and they stole (偷) some of the apples.”

1. Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because ______.

A．he was poor	B．he liked the rich man
C．his farm belonged to the rich man	D．the rich man’s children liked apples

2. What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?

A．They cried.	B．They played games.
C．They ran away.	D．They ate some of the apples.

3. The monkeys left the basket because ______.

A．they had thrown apples on the ground

B．the farmer had politely asked them to get off

C．they were afraid of the hat

D．the farmer was angry with them

4. How did the rich man feel when he saw the basket? He felt ______.

A．pleased

B．unhappy

C．excited

D．moved

【推荐3】       My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, “How would you like to go to Eton?”
       “You bet,” I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
       This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict(冲突) with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
       It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
       “Oh, he doesn’t want to go away,” said my mother, “You shouldn’t go on like this.” “It’s up to him,” said my father. “He can make up his own mind.”
1. The house the writer’s family lived in was _______ .

A．the best they could afford

B．right for their social position

C．for showing off

D．rather small

2. His father sold his Roils-Royce because _______ .

A．it made him feel uneasy

B．it was too old to work well

C．it was too expensive to possess

D．it was too cheap

3. What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to Eton?

A．He was very unhappy.	B．He didn’t believe it.
C．He was delighted.	D．He had mixed feelings.

4. We can know from the passage that _______ .

A．Children who can go to Eton are very famous

B．Children can go to Eton if they will

C．It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton

D．Children don’t have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton

【推荐2】This year over twenty-three hundred teenagers (young people aged from 13-19) from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes. They will attend US schools, meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.

Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that were usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.

Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car. “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”

At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea.“I suppose I should criticise American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much.In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

1. What’s Mike’s attitude towards American education?

A．Praise.	B．Regret.
C．Ignore.	D．Accuse.

2. What’s the purpose of the whole exchange program?

A．To help teenagers in other countries know the real America.

B．To send students in America to travel in Germany.

C．To let students learn something about other countries.

D．To have teenagers learn new languages.

3. What is particular in American schools?

A．There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.

B．There are a lot of outside activities.

C．Students usually take 14 subjects in all.

D．Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car.

4. What did Mike think after experiencing the American school life?

A．A better education should include something good from both America and Germany.

B．German schools trained students to be better citizens.

C．American schools were not as good as German schools.

D．The easy life in American schools was more helpful to students.

【推荐3】Specialists (专家) say it is not easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” is what these specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. The specialists say that there are three stages of culture shock. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers begin to get used to their surroundings and, as a result, enjoy their life more.

There are some evident factors in culture shock. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems — the telephones, post office, or transportation—may be difficult to work out. The simplest things seem to be the biggest problems. The language may be difficult.

Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their own country. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same position s as they have back home. They find themselves without any identify. They have to build a new self-image.

Culture shock gives rise to (使发生) a feeling of helplessness. This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create an escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for a short time, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience — these are the long-term solutions to the problem of culture shock.

1. When people move to a new country, they _________.

A．have well prepared for the new surroundings

B．will get used to their new surroundings with difficulty

C．will never be familiar with the culture of the country

D．will get used to the culture of the country quickly

2. According to the passage, factors that give rise to culture shock include all of the following except_________.

A．the weather conditions and customs	B．the language communication
C．the homesickness	D．the public service systems

3. According to the passage, the more successful you are at home, _________.

A．the more difficulties you may have abroad

B．the fewer difficulties you may have abroad

C．the less homesick you may feel abroad

D．the more money you will earn abroad

4. The writer tells us that the best way to overcome culture shock is to _________.

A．develop a strange sense of self-protection

B．protect ourselves from unfamiliar environment

C．return to our own country

D．get familiar with new culture