【推荐1】You have probably heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (柠檬水).” Since lemons are considered bitter and lemonade is considered sweet, the saying tells you to make the best out of a bad situation.

Unluckily, when something bad happens, it’s not uncommon for most people to talk about it to anyone who’ll listen, and complain about life. “Why me?” That’s like getting a bag of lemons and thinking, “Lemons taste bad! I’d rather have chocolate!” If you don’t make anything with the lemons, they will go bad. But what if you did something with them? What if you made lemonade? Isn’t it possible to do something similar with a bad situation?

Here’s an example. You’re about to go to the cinema when you discover you have a flat tire (瘪胎). You consider this a terrible thing for you are really looking forward to enjoying the movie. Now you’re very upset, hating the tire, the car, and your life. But what if you called AAA (美国汽车协会) and got your tire fixed? What if you did some reading, or had coffee with a friend instead? A bad experience can be turned into something positive. Almost anything can work itself out into something better. You can’t change what has happened, so make the best of it. I’m not saying it will be easy. The easy thing to do is complain about your bad situation and not consider what it could be turned into.

Next time when something unfortunate happens, stop and think, “How can I turn this around? How can I make it a positive experience?”

1. What do we know about the saying in the first paragraph?

A．It is encouraging.	B．It is funny.
C．It is boring.	D．It is unreasonable.

2. What do most people usually do when something bad happens?

A．Accept it.	B．Complain about it.
C．Find out the reasons.	D．Ask others for help.

3. The author uses the example of seeing a movie to tell us ______.

A．there is a flat tire happening sometimes	B．it doesn’t matter to make mistakes
C．how to turn something bad into good	D．turning to others for help is necessary

4. What is the best way to deal with a bad situation according to the text?

A．Trying hard to solve it.	B．Laughing your way through it.
C．Thinking more about its goods.	D．Turning it into a positive experience.

【推荐2】It was a rainy day. I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she had insisted that I come to see something at the top of the mountain.

So here I was, although unwilling to make the two-hour journey through fog and rain. After lunch, my daughter requested me to drive her to Barage. After a ten-minute drive，we parked the car and got out. We walked along a path that was thick with old pine needles. Huge black green evergreens towered over us. Gradually the peace and silence of the place began to fill my mind. Then we turned a corner and stopped--and I gasped in amazement.

From the top of the mountain to the slopes and valleys, were rivers of daffodils(水仙) in full bloom. A sea of amazing colors, like a carpet before us. It looked as though the sun had tipped over and spilled gold down the mountainside. At the center hung a waterfall of purple hyacinths. Here and there were breathtaking tulips.

A riot of questions filled my mind. Who created such beauty? Why? How?

As we approached the home. We saw a sign that read “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking.” The first answer was: “One Woman--Two Hands, Two Feet, and Very Little Brain.”The second was: “One at a Time.”The third: “Started in 1958.”

I was so moved by what we had seen. “She changed the world,” I said, not getting over the shock. “One bulb(球茎) at the time. She started almost 40 years ago, probably just the beginning of an idea, but she kept at it.”

“Imagine,” I added, “if I had a vision and worked at it，just a little hit every day, what might I have accomplished?”

Carolyn looked sideways at me, smiling. “Start tomorrow,” she said,”Better yet, start today.”

1. Why did the author decide to visit her daughter？

A．She missed her very much.

B．She didn’t want to disappoint her.

C．She must pick her up.

D．She has an urge to look at the sea of flowers.

2. What does the underlined word “hyacinths”in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?

A．A kind of flowers.	B．Famous waterfalls.
C．Mountain springs.	D．A name of a place.

3. What did the author learn from the sign?

A．Easier said than done.

B．Well begun, half done.

C．Women can shake the world.

D．Little steps add up to big success.

4. What is the best title of the passage？

A．An Amazing Trip to Barage

B．A Moving Story of a Mother’s Love

C．A Special Sign on the Way Home

D．A Valuable Lesson From a Woman

【推荐3】My family lives in Texas. I was born and brought up in Texas and I am a graduate of the University of Texas. However, around my second year in law school, I wanted to make a great change, which was almost unheard of for Texans: I wanted to leave!

I realized this after completing my first-year internship(实习期). I knew I wanted something different and my chance came during the 2011 Super Bowl(橄榄球超级大赛) in Dallas. A snowstorm blanketed the entire city in snow and thousands of people were gathered. I overheard(偶然听到) that StubHub, a big company from a great city, San Francisco, was throwing a party next door to my hotel. I thought if I could get an internship, I could leave for the summer and at least see what it was like. Yes, it was a huge leap. I told myself I was ready.

There was just one problem: I wasn’t invited to the StubHub party. But you know I’m the type of person who goes for something she wants. Needless to say, I crashed the party and found my way to the president. I kindly introduced myself and then asked if they had a legal internship program. Guess what? They accepted my request to be a legal intern, even though there was no such program.

The legal department didn’t have a long-lasting position for me. However, I got many other chances to be a legal intern in other companies. That experience has shaped my life. Working for a great company in San Francisco, I’m extremely happy for making my decision to leave Texas.

By leaving Texas, I learned that it is so much more rewarding to try the unfamiliar than to stay in the comfort zone. Exploring the unfamiliar is how you’ll understand what fits your life. I say, dive in head- first.

1. How did the writer know about StubHub’s party in Dallas?

A．The company invited her.	B．Her friends told her about it.
C．She heard it by chance.	D．She read it in the local newspaper.

2. The author was able to leave Texas because ________.

A．she dropped out of the University of Texas

B．she watched the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas

C．a snowstorm blanketed the entire city in snow

D．she introduced herself to the president of StubHub

3. Which of the following words best describe the author?

A．Patient and honest.	B．Smart and humorous.
C．Determined and positive.	D．helpful and energetic.

4. What does the author want to tell us through her experience?

A．You must choose a career that you like.

B．Jumping out of your comfort zone is rewarding.

C．Accepting who you are makes you realize your strengths.

D．You should listen to your family to learn about your strengths.

【推荐2】Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles.             If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That’s every good,” Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said. “Yes, Kate.”
“I disagree,” Kate said. “Your brother would hear you earlier because when it’s 11 o’clock here it’s only 8 o’clock in Los Angeles.”
1. Miss Gogers was teaching her class_________.

A．how to telephone

B．about electricity

C．about time zone(时区)

D．about sound

2. Miss Gogers raised this question because she wanted to know whether______.

A．it was easy to phone to Los Angeles

B．her student could hear her from 75 feet away

C．her students had grasped her lesson

D．sound waves were slower than electricity

3. Tom thought that electricity was _________.

A．slower than sound waves

B．faster than sound waves

C．not so fast as sound waves

D．as fast as sound waves

4. Kate thought Tom was wrong because _______.

A．clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York

B．electricity was slower than sound waves

C．Tom was not good at physics at all

D．Tom's answer had nothing to do with sound waves

5. Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of physics?

A．Tom's	B．Kate's
C．Both A and B	D．Neither A nor B

【推荐1】When I started teaching in school, I was sure I would change the world and touch children who needed love.

Although most of my students seemed to respond pretty well to my teaching, there was a small group of teenage girls who became more and more hostile (敌对的) toward me.

One day a fight happened in my classroom. Attempting to end it, I stepped in to face one of these hostile young women, who started hitting me in the face. Two boys jumped up to control the girl, but the damage was done.

While the girl was suspended for a few days, I was determined that she would not return to my classroom. But I also prayed. I wanted to see all the students right there in my daily work at school.

On the top of my daily lesson-plan book, I wrote this statement, “To see all the children in my classroom is always beautiful.” It was the first thing I saw each day when I started teaching. With this view I could expect healing in my heart of any anger toward the girl.

After her suspension, she returned to my classroom. The student’s young mother was trying to raise six children while her husband was away in the war overseas. The mother and I agreed to work together to help her eldest daughter.

There were no more incidents of anger the rest of the year. In fact, in the seven years I remained at that school, I taught all six of this family’s children. When the youngest was in my class, the mother told me, “Our family loves you. Every year one of my kids says, ‘I hope I’m in her classroom!’”

The standard of seeing each of my students as perfect was the best teaching tool I had, which led to success in the classroom.

1. At the beginning of teaching, the author ________.

A．was full of confidence in herself

B．doubted if she could be a good teacher

C．was sure to win love from her students

D．decided to change her students’ life

2. What happened in the author’s class one day?

A．A girl fought with two boys.	B．She was hit by a girl.
C．She hit a girl in the face.	D．She fought with several girls.

3. How was the girl punished?

A．She was sent to another class.

B．She was driven out of school at once.

C．She had to stay at home for a few days.

D．She was beaten heavily by her mother.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．the author got along better with boys

B．the author tried to let the girl come to her class

C．the girl’s mother was very thankful to the author

D．all the six kids of the woman are hard to teach

【推荐2】Paul Durietz is a 76-year-old social studies teacher from Illinois. On September 1, he set a Guinness World Record for the world’s longest teaching career. Mr. Durietz has been teaching for 53 years—since he was 23 years old.

Mr. Durietz has known since he was young that he wanted to be a social studies teacher. Social studies is the study of history, and how people, countries, and cultures are connected. He became interested in history after hearing stories from his father, who fought in World War II. On his mother’s side of the family, he had connections to a famous person from English history.

Mr. Durietz got his first teaching job at Woodland-Middle School in Gurnee, Illinois in 1970. Ever since then, he’s been teaching social studies at the same school. He says he loves sharing his knowledge of history with students. “Teaching is never boring,” he says. “Every day is different.”

Things have changed a lot since he began all those years ago. When he started, the only way to make copies was with a “ditto machine”, which used a stinky, purple ink. Mr. Durietz wrote on a blackboard with chalk, and the students used paper textbooks. These days, he and the students use computers and digital whiteboards.

Though technology has changed a lot since he began teaching, Mr. Durietz says the students are still pretty much the same— except that now they have cell phones.

With or without technology, Mr. Durietz has used creative activities to help his students learn. For example, he has organized virtual field trips, geography contests, and special days about the US Civil War. He has even organized fake(假的)elections at school to help his students learn about politics. He says these activities are some of the ones that he and his students enjoyed most.

Mr. Durietz says people who want to be teachers should make sure they are patient with their students. He also encourages them to choose subjects that they care deeply about.

1. What stimulated Paul Durietz’s interest in history?

A．The cruelty of wars.	B．Stories told by his father.
C．His mother’s encouragement.	D．The influence of his teacher.

2. How does Mr. Durietz engage his students in learning?

A．By showing his sense of humour.

B．By lecturing about historical events.

C．By taking advantage of creative activities.

D．By using technology extensively in the classroom.

3. What qualities should teachers have according to Mr. Durietz?

A．Strong organizational abilities.

B．Excellent technological skills.

C．Patience and a passion for their subject.

D．The ability to multitask and communicate.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．A Teacher Sets a Record by Teaching for 53 Years

B．Paul Durietz: a Devoted and Responsible Teacher

C．Mr. Durietz Uses Technology to Attract Students

D．Creative Activities: New Ways to Help Students Learn