【推荐1】Relation between the United States and Columbia suffered for many years because of an incident involving the Republic of Panama. By the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, many Americans felt that an easier and faster way was needed to get ships from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Some people in the United States first believed that a canal across Nicaragua was the answer. However, President Theodore Roosevelt decided that a canal through Panama would be a better choice.
In order to build the canal , the United States had to negotiate （谈判） a treaty with Columbia , which at that time controlled Panama . Roosevelt offered Columbia $ 10 million plus $ 250,000 a year for 99 years for a six-mile-wide strip of land across Panama. Columbia rejected the United States’ offer. This ranged President Roosevelt, and negotiations with Columbia ended.
In 1903, a revolution broke out in Panama. The United States ships were sent by President Roosevelt to protect the Panamanian revolutionaries from Columbian forces. The revolution succeeded, and Panama declared its independence from Columbia. The United States then negotiated with the newly formed government. A treaty was signed, and the United States began building the canal.
As a result of the incident, Columbia and the United States remained on bad terms for many years. Not until 1921, when the United States agreed to pay Columbia some compensation (赔偿) for its territory, did relations between the two countries improve.
1. According to the passage, the United States and Columbia were on bad terms because the United States had ________.

A．at first wished to build a canal through Nicaragua

B．promised to pay Columbia $ 10 million for Panama

C．wished to build a canal through Panama

D．supported Panamanian revolutionaries in their fight for independence from Columbia.

2. From the information in the passage, it can be concluded that the United States ______.

A．wanted to build a canal because it was considered starting a war

B．felt that building a canal through Panama was worth the risk of ruining relations with Columbia

C．believed that a canal through Nicaragua would be profitable

D．had lost the Spanish-American War

3. It can be inferred from the passage that an important reason for the decision of the United States to build a canal was to _______.

A．develop trade relations with Europe

B．improve relations with South American countries

C．prevent European ships from reaching the Pacific Ocean

D．reduce travel time for its ships in case of war

4. The passage mainly gives us________.

A．advice	B．information
C．humor	D．News

【推荐3】Where do you think the world’s happiest people live? Somewhere hot with sandy beaches? A country with a tradition of the fine food and culture? Not according to a recent study by the university of Leicester. Who are the happiest people on Earth?     1     Surprised? Well you’ll be more surprised when you hear that the Danes pay some of the highest taxes in the world. So what is the secret of their success?

Let’s start with all that tax they pay. The Danish government provides its people with one of the finest education and health systems in the world. It spends more on children and elderly people per capital than other country.

And there’s another advantage to those high taxes. Because a shop assistant’s final salary is not that much less than someone who works in a bank, for example, Danes don’t choose their careers based on money or status as people in other countries do. They choose the job they want to do. There’s a philosophy in Denmark known as “Jante-lov”, which translates as “you’re no better than anybody else”     2     But workers in other countries are not used to looking at life in this way.

Money doesn’t seem as important in Denmark. It has been called a “post consumerist” society.     3     What is more important is the sense of society and it’s no surprise that Danes are very used to socializing. 92% of Danes belong to some kind of social club and these clubs are even paid for by the government.

    4     They also show an amazing amount of trust in each other and their government. You can see signs of this all over the country.     5     You take what you want and leave the money in a basket.

Perhaps the bike is a good symbol for Denmark. The Danes can afford cars but they choose bikes-simple, economical, non-polluting machines that show no status and help keep people fit.

A．In a list ranking countries by the happiness of their citizens, it put tropical Fiji 50 places below freezing Iceland.

B．The street sweeper can hold his head up high as he proudly does his job.

C．Danish people aren’t as suspicious as many other nations.

D．Most Danes are used to seeing between 50-70% of their salary going to the goverment！

E．Those 5.5 million people who call Denmark their home.

F．People have nice things in their houses, but they’re not mad about shopping and spending.

G．You’ll find vegetable stalls with no assistant.

【推荐2】It may seem as if Mother’s Day was invented by a company named Hallmark, but people have been giving a shout-out to Mom for a long time. A more recent tradition was Mothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.

Mother’s Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers’ Work Days” to promote health and hygiene at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate soldiers and promoting a Mother’s Day holiday.

Jarvis’s work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870, Howe published her “Mother’s Day Proclamation”, which envisioned the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother’s Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade the tradition faded away.

It was Jarvis’s daughter, Anna, who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died in 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on the anniversary. In 1912, West Virginia and a few other states adopted Mother’s Day. Two years later, Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution naming the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, making it an official US holiday.

It wasn’t long before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s, Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had created. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.

1. Who plays the most important role in creating Mother’s Day?

A．Ann Jarvis.

B．Julia Ward Howe.

C．Woodrow Wilson.

D．Anna Jarvis.

2. When was the second Sunday in May named as Mother’s Day?

A．In 1914.

B．In 1912.

C．In 1905.

D．In 1870.

3. Why did Anna Jarvis object to Mother’s Day at last?

A．Because the festival was not profitable.

B．Because the festival made her feel emotional.

C．Because the celebrations went against the original spirit.

D．Because she had no passion on holding celebration activities.

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

A．The Objection to Mother’s Day

B．The Argument on Celebrating Mother’s Day

C．The Story Behind the Creation of Mother’s Day

D．Different Forms of Celebrations on Mother’s Day

【推荐3】Turf (草皮)has been used as a building material for thousands of years across Europe and the Arctic since the Neolithic period. In Iceland, these green-cloaked (绿色斗篷的)houses fit into the natural landscape, an architectural method that first appeared with the arrival of Norse and British settlers during the 9th through 11th centuries at the height of the Viking Age in Europe.

Across Europe, turf bricks were cut from local wetlands and often transported for use in higher places. The turf was then laid over a wood structure (结构物)to form walls and a thick roof from terrible northern climates. After the wetland plants died, dryland grasses grew over the roofs, providing further stability (稳定性). Turf walls were replaced as frequently as every 20 years, and in other regions, they could last up to 70 years.

Historic records suggest that up to 50 percent of Icelandic houses were partly made of turf until the late 19th century. As populations began to gather in cities like Reykjavik, wood buildings replaced stones and earth architecture. After fires burned up the city in 1915, concrete (水泥)became the material of choice. In 1918 Iceland gained independence from Denmark, bringing about a wave of nationalism that threatened the survival of turf houses. Traditional methods were considered as “rotten (腐朽的)Danish wood” from a troubled period, and there was a movement to clear them in favor of modern buildings—a move later criticized (批评)by many as destruction of cultural heritage.

A tourism rise in the latter half of the 20th century encouraged Iceland to reexamine the value of traditional architecture, and the Turf House Tradition of Iceland was called “UNESCO World Heritage status” in 2011. “The form and design of the turf house is an expression of the cultural values of the society and has adapted to the social and technological changes that took place through the centuries.”

1. Why did people use turf to build houses in the past?

A．It matched nature perfectly.	B．It could be changed often.
C．It was strong and accessible.	D．It was a request by settlers.

2. What made turf houses more stable?

A．The cold northern weather.	B．Turf bricks cut from wetlands.
C．The structure made of wood.	D．Dryland grasses growing on roofs.

3. What was a direct result of the wave of nationalism?

A．Lots of people moved into Reykjavik.

B．Traditional architecture was in favor.

C．Turf houses were almost unable to exist

D．Concrete became a new building material.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Great changes have taken place in the turf of Iceland.

B．Tourists poured into Iceland to appreciate its architecture.

C．Traditional architecture owns certain cultural values in Iceland.

D．The turf house plays an increasingly important role in the history of Iceland.

【推荐2】If you have ever traveled to Dali in Yunnan province, you may find that many white cloth decorations with blue patterns are hung on the wall in the local buildings. They are tie-dyed (扎染的) products of the Bai nationality.

The dyeing technique can date back to more than 1,000 years ago and reached its height during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The tie-dyes use hand-weaved white cloth and colors extracted (提取) from plants. People use needle and thread to make different folds in a cloth and put it into a dye jar several times until the color becomes darker. Common patterns are geometric shapes and flowers. The tradition was listed as a national non-material cultural heritage (遗产) in 2006.

“Tie-dyeing is a lifestyle that we want to pass on to others. It’s about harmony between the Bai people and nature,” Zhang Hanmin, 36, told China Daily. Now she still remembers watching the local women dry their half-made tie-dyes on the stone road as a child and helping her mother tie-dye to get pocket money.

During a visit to her home in Zhoucheng village, she noticed that few young Bai people were interested in their traditions, choosing instead cheaper, machine-made clothes. This made Zhang decide to move back to her village to help the Bai people revive (复兴) the ancient tie-dye technique. She quickly learned how to tie-dye using plants and draw traditional tie-dye patterns from the local elders. A 90-year-old craftsman taught her how to extracts blue color from a plant. Zhang was inspired by the man, who worked for more than an hour without drinking water or resting. “I’m touched by their attitude and love for nature, and it encourages me to insist when I face difficulties,” she said.

Zhang started a class to teach the kids and young people in Dali. She believes that “it’s like sowing a seed—who knows which of them will become an successor of our culture in the future”.

1. What is the function of Paragraph 1?

A．To conclude the text.	B．To express the author’s attitude.
C．To set an example.	D．To introduce the topic.

2. What is the basic material of the Dali Bai tie-dye?

A．Hand-made white cloth.	B．Colors taken from plants.
C．Different flowers.	D．Needles and threads.

3. Why did Zhang Hanmin start a class to teach the dyeing technique?

A．To attract potential customers for the tie-dyes.

B．To help young Bai people take up the tradition.

C．To help young Bai people to earn pocket money.

D．To encourage the development of tourism in her village.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The Yunnan people almost know how to tie-dye the cloth.

B．Zhang learned how to draw traditional tie-dye patterns by herself.

C．The tie-dyeing technique is a traditional culture of Bai people.

D．Zhang started a tie-dyeing technique class for the elderly people.

【推荐3】Your dog is as smart as any two year old, according to a new study. Dogs bring much happiness to their owners, and even improve human health. Most two-year-olds keep us busy in life - an important part of living a long and happy life. According to Stanley Coren, Ph.D.of the University of British Columbia, our dogs are smarter than we thought.

Dr. Coren reviewed many studies to find out that dogs are as smart as 2 to 2.5-year-olds. Forget about one word orders - according to Coren, the smartest dogs can learn up to 250 words. Most dogs understand an average of 165 words. “The upper limit of dogs, ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a Border Collie   named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words，and ‘fast-track learning,’ which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language-learning apes (猿).”

Dogs are also great at tricking. During play, they have the ability to trick humans and other dogs in order to get treats. “And they are nearly as successful in tricking humans as humans are in tricking dogs,” says Coren.

Dogs can also count to four or five, which might explain how they know when their toys are missing. Coren explains, “Their astonishing flashes of smartness and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought.”

Animals can do much to keep us happy, healthy, and protect us from harm. Stories of dog heroes can be found using a simple Internet search. Pets teach us sense of duty, keep us from loneliness,and can help with treatment of the disabled.

1. How do dogs bring happiness and health to humans according to the author?

A．By doing funny tricks.	B．By keeping their owners busy.
C．By serving their owners.	D．By playing with the children.

2. In what way is Rico special?

A．He understands one-word orders.

B．He uses words like a 2.5-year-old.

C．He is Coren's favorite subject for study.

D．He shows a high level of language ability.

3. What does Coren say about dogs' counting ability?

A．It is as good as an ape's.

B．It is close to that of humans.

C．It shows their smartness.

D．It leaves a lot to be studied.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Dogs are smarter than we thought.

B．Dogs do well in tricking for food.

C．Dogs are people's faithful friends.

D．Dogs can speak human language.