【推荐1】It was a weeknight. We were a half dozen guys in our late teens, hanging around “the flat” — as usual. The flat was poorly furnished, which, after some time, grew tiresome. We wanted action.
We got in a car, big enough for all of us to crowd into — and off we went, in search of adventure. We soon found ourselves at Blue Gum Corner, a place named after the huge old blue gum tree that stood by there, a well-known local landmark. It stands at a minor crossroad leading to our town. The trunk is tall and smooth with no handholds for climbing. About six metres from the ground the first branch sticks out over the road. We parked beneath the huge old tree and discussed what we might do. All of a sudden we hit upon an idea — a hanging! I was chosen as “hangee”.
The plan was quite simple. As I stood upon the roof of the car, the rope (绳子) was threaded down my jacket through my collar and down one leg of my jeans. I put my foot through the loop at the bottom. There I hung, still. The boys rolled about laughing until, a car, I hear a car! Before they ran to hide in the nearby field, they gave me a good push so that “the body” would swing as the car drove by.
To our disappointment, the car simply turned off for town without even slowing. The boys came out of their hiding places and we discussed the situation. Surely they had seen me, hadn’t they? Then we heard another car. The act was repeated, but still without any obvious reaction. We played the game about five or six times, but as no one seemed to notice, we abandoned the trick.
What we did not know was that every car that had passed had unquestionably seen “the body” and each one, too scared to stop, had driven directly to the local Police Station. Now at that time of the night, the local policeman was sound asleep in his bed, so the first person sent to the scene was the traffic officer that happened to be on duty that particular night. He had been informed that some person had been killed, by hanging, at Blue Gum Corner. When he arrived, the body was gone! And he was hearing “unnatural sounds” from the surrounding area. As far as he knew, some fierce animal was hiding in the field before him, possibly dragging a body behind him — and we thought we were scared!
He went to his radio and made a call that really began to worry us. I lay so close that I could hear every word. He called for the “armed police” and a “dog team, better make it two” and he had a “serious situation” at Blue Gum Corner. Then the police officer arrived. After a briefing from the traffic officer he decided not to go into the field until armed police and dog teams arrived. Now two spotlights were on the field and none of us could move.
As luck would have it, police cars cannot leave their spotlights on all night without charging their batteries. So, after a time, the two officers began lightening the field by turns, allowing us the opportunity to move on our fours for freedom. One by one, we all managed to steal away and make our way home. Behind us we left what must have looked like a small city of lights, police cars, roadblocks, barking dogs, armed officers and an old rope hanging from a tree.
When I think back to that night, to that tree, to what the drivers of the cars think happened, to what police believe happened, and to what I know happened, I am reminded of a simple truth — our eyes see darkness and light, color and movement, our ears hear only vibrations (振动) in the air. It is how we explain these vivid pictures that shapes our “reality”.
1. The boys made the “hanging” plan in order to ______.

A．make a fool of the police

B．draw public attention

C．seek fun and excitement

D．practise acting skills

2. Seeing that no car passing by stopped, the boys must have felt ______.

A．discouraged	B．proud
C．annoyed	D．confident

3. Why was the traffic officer sent to the scene of “hanging”?

A．Because a fierce animal kept the traffic in disorder.

B．Because the local policeman was not available at that time.

C．Because some naughty kids were playing a terrifying game.

D．Because many scared drivers turned directly to him for help.

4. The boys managed to escape from the field when ______.

A．the two police cars were being charged

B．the police officer was taking over the duty

C．the traffic officer was making a call for help

D．the two spotlights were not working together

5. What is conveyed in the passage?

A．Actions speak louder than words.

B．The truth lies beneath the surface.

C．Experience is the best teacher.

D．To see is to believe.

6. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Blue Gum Tree	B．A Body Found Hanging
C．Escape to Freedom	D．A Disappointing Experience

【推荐2】At ten years old, I borrowed a book from the library that had the word "crime" in the title. My mother did not notice this book among my large number of books until I began reading it. The book was confiscated (没收), and we went back to the library. I remember how embarrassed I was as my mother explained that I needed reading material that was different from the book that we had just returned.

The librarian on duty looked down at me, smiling, walked from behind the counter, and gestured to me to follow. We crossed the hallway to the adult fiction section. "Here you are," she said. "It's called I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith, the same author who wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians. " I felt far too old for dog stories. "It's very different from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, though," she said, noticing                    my disappointment．

I tried to accept that she was right. But I was doubtful. I mean, the title alone was strange. But I still took the book home. I curled up on our window seat, and started reading. To my surprise, I was completely attracted and it spurred (激起)my writing dream.

Two weeks ago, I drove two and a half hours to meet my mother for a Christmas lunch in a tea shop in my old hometown. I had just finished a cup of coffee in the tea shop when I looked up and saw the librarian, who had changed my life. Sixteen years had passed, but for a moment time stood still. I moved toward her- all knees and elbows and energy-and blurted (脱口而出) ,"You work at the library! You once showed me I Capture the Castle! I'm a writer now! That's still my favorite book!"

The woman stopped and smiled kindly. But then she tipped her head. I realized that dementaa (痴呆)or something like it had kept her from understanding me. A woman who was probably her sister took her by the elbow and led her gently away. As I watched her go, I wondered how many lives we change without realizing what we do is meaningful. All that woman had really done was lend me a book, but it had captured my world.

1. Why did the author and her mom go back to the library？　 　

A．To seek help from the librarian.

B．To exchange words with the librarian．

C．To borrow more books from the library．

D．To replace the book with another one．

2. How did the author feel about I Capture the Castle at first？　 　

A．She felt no interest in it．

B．She felt she was too young to read it．

C．She felt sure that it was a strange book．

D．She thought it was different from dog stories．

3. What can we infer about the author from paragraph 4？　 　

A．She was always busy writing．

B．She lived far from her mother．

C．She was excited to see the librarian．

D．She had no control over her feelings．

4. What is the author's purpose in writing the text？　 　

A．To remember the lady librarian．

B．To stress our influences on others．

C．To show her respect for the librarian．

D．To tell us about her writing experience．

【推荐3】I live in New York City, and my neighbours are people I don’t know. My city, neighbourhood and block are filled with people who don’t know me, don’t care to know me, and don’t talk to me. I find that it’s pretty hard to love people you don’t even know. And sometimes, we all, myself included, use that as an excuse not to try. I read Brendan’s story recently and was moved.

One day, Brendan, a young man in New York, was on the way back to his Brooklyn apartment when a homeless woman called Jackie asked him for money. He said that he had no money. By the end of the week, she asked two more times, and each time he answered “No”. The woman looked sad, so Brendan said, “I am on my way to a job interview. If I get the job, I will take you out for Chinese food.”

Brendan got the job. He took Jackie out for lunch. That was when their friendship began. They built a strong friendship by supporting each other and spending their birthdays, holidays and difficult times together, over a period of eight years. When Brendan’s heater broke, Jackie made a blanket for him. Two days later when he told her that he had lost his job, she left and returned minutes later, bringing him food to eat. She continued to do that during the whole winter. Even with so little, she often gave back.

Over these years, Jackie moved from the streets and subway stations into a halfway house, and is now moving into an apartment. To celebrate it, Brendan wanted to do something special for Jackie. He went with her to Target, and helped her to pick out everything she would need for her new apartment.

May Brendan’s story encourage us to find a new way to honour, serve and love the people around us.

1. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?

A．He often stays indoors.

B．He cares about his neighbours.

C．He is good at making friends.

D．He hardly talks to his neighbours.

2. What did Brendan do when Jackie asked him for money?

A．He was angry with her.

B．He didn’t give her any.

C．He offered her some food.

D．He gave her some spare change.

3. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Jackie’s finding work at Target.

B．Jackie’s moving from the streets.

C．Jackie’s moving into an apartment.

D．Jackie’s moving into a halfway house.

【推荐2】The other day a big,ugly,black bat found its way to the bathroom of my house and hung, upside down, over the toilet bowl. As "the man of the house", I was asked to rid the house of the awful creature. I grabbed a pillow and held the broom.I quickly opened the bathroom door and threw the pillow at the bat. It didn't move. Then that old feeling started to come over me. It was the same feeling I experienced when I was sent down the stairs in the middle of the night to see what made a noise.The feeling can be summed up in one word-trapped.

All men, I think, sometimes have had that feeling of being trapped in some male role. It may be something as simple as having to carve the chicken before it is served,or having to pretend that you know something about car engines when the car won't start.However,women nowadays seem to have the freedom to be themselves.They can repair cars or be fire fighters.Yet men appear to be more afraid to do something different. It's as if being a man is not what you are,but what you do and the way you do it.

As I came towards the fierce and frightening bat, I wondered what would happen if I had simply told my wife that I won't do it-that she could get it out, or else call someone in the morning. But I couldn't do that! I am the man! I slowly opened the window and closed the toilet bowl cover. I then, carefully, lifted the broom over my head and swept the bat out the window. Just like that, it was gone.

My wife was so pleased and in the morning,my son thought I was a hero. They asked me how I had got rid of the bat. I started to tell them-but then stopped.A man doesn't talk of such things.

1. Why does the author mention the old feeling in Paragraph 1?

A．To recall the old days.	B．To show his fear of darkness.
C．To predict his fight with the bat.	D．To highlight the situation of being trapped.

2. What does the author mean by mentioning women 's freedom in Paragraph 2?

A．Men are forced to bear household burdens.	B．Men have to live up to social expectations.
C．Women are free to choose their jobs.	D．Women are equal to men in workplaces.

3. The last sentence of the passage implies that the author           

A．believes silence is gold	B．feels proud of himself
C．will do what he has to do	D．will be what he wants to be

4. How does the author sound in the passage?

A．Angry.

B．Humorous.

C．Desperate.

D．Serious.