【推荐1】Life is difficult.

It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.

Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.

What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature, cause us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.

Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin

Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.

1. From the passage, it can be inferred that __________.

A．everybody has problems

B．we become stronger by meeting and solving the problems of life

C．life is difficult because our problems bring us pain

D．people like to complain about their problems

2. The writer probably used just one short sentence in the first paragraph to __________.

A．save space	B．persuade readers
C．make readers laugh	D．get reader’s attention

3. The main idea of Paragraph 3 is that __________.

A．Most people feel life is easy.

B．the writer feels life is easy

C．the writer likes to complain about his problems

D．most people complain about how hard their lives are

4. The underlined saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct” suggests that __________.

A．we do not learn from experience	B．we do not learn when we are pain
C．pain teaches us important lessons	D．pain cannot be avoided

【推荐2】The new term is finally here, which means, of course, it’s time to return to school.

For many students across China, it also means having to leave home for the next several months and move into a school dormitory.

Being away from our family for a long time, however, often leads to homesickness, a feeling that most students have experienced at some point.

A study by the UK’s National Union of Students found that up to 70 percent of UK students living away from home experience homesickness within their first few weeks of being away.

But homesickness isn’t just a feeling of sadness that happens in our mind, it can also affect us physically.

According to Klapow, the body reacts physically when it’s placed in an unknown situation such as being separated from one’s familiar surroundings (环境) for a long time.

“It’s an evolutionary (进化的) thing that makes us protect ourselves from danger when something is unknown,” he told HufPost.

“When we think about home,” we know that the sense of unknown is not happening there, so we want to return.”

So, how can we overcome these physical reactions?

Ruth Hardy of The Guardian offered advice for students who are feeling the effects of being away from the safety of home.

“Try and establish routines (常规) quickly. This can make your new environment feel more stable and will hopefully make you feel more settled,” she wrote.

Making friends with others who are in your situation is also a great way to feel less homesick, according to Hardy.

The most important thing to remember, however, is that homesickness is completely normal and is nothing to be ashamed of.

And once it’s gone, you’re free to enjoy the adventures and challenges of a brand new school year.

1. The study by the UK’s National Union of Students is mentioned to ____.

A．prove it’s common for students to feel homesick

B．introduce some causes of homesickness

C．show how all young people are troubled by homesickness

D．show how homesickness causes harm to students

2. How does Hardy suggest people deal with homesickness?

A．Avoid seeing things related to your home life.

B．Talk about your problems with your friends.

C．Take part in as many activities as possible.

D．Get into a routine as early as possible.

3. What can we learn about homesickness?

A．It’s only a feeling in our mind.	B．It has a physical influence on our body.
C．It usually disappears after a few weeks.	D．It always happens once we visit an unfamiliar place.

4. According to Klapow, why is homesickness helpful to humans?

A．It drives people to get used to changes.

B．It encourages people to express their feelings.

C．It keeps people away from possible dangers.

D．It shows people the importance of their family.

【推荐3】When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer, so we would have time for a conversation with each other. I never saw my dad drinking or taking a night out. All he did after work was taking care of his family.

I grew up and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when I bought a house several years later, my dad painted it by himself in the fierce summer heat. All he asked was to talk to him, but I was to busy in those days.

Four years ago, my dad visited me. He spent many hours putting together a swing for my daughter. He asked me to have a talk with him, but I had to prepare for a trip that weekend.

One Sunday morning we had a telephone talk as usual. I noticed that my dad had forgotten some things that we discussed lately. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was short. Several hours later that day I received a call. My father was in the hospital. Immediately I bought a plane ticket and on my way I was thinking about all the occasions I missed to have a talk with my dad. By the time I arrived at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have time for a conversation with me. I realized how little I knew about my dad, his deepest thoughts and his dreams.

After his death I learned much more about him and even more about myself. All he ever wanted was my time. And now he has all my attention every single day.

1. When the author was a little girl, she       .

A．liked playing on the swing

B．often talked with her father

C．was good at repairing things

D．learned to take care of her family

2. When at college, the author      .

A．received a call from her father every Sunday morning

B．phoned her father every Sunday morning

C．asked her father to call her every Sunday

D．asked her father to talk with her

3. Why did the author fail to have a talk with her father four years ago?

A．She had got tired of talking with him.

B．She was busy painting her house.

C．Her daughter asked her to play.

D．She was busy planning a trip.

4. When did the author begin to regret missing the talks with her father?

A．After her father's sudden death.

B．Many years after her father's death.

C．On her way to the hospital to see her father.

D．As soon as she got the news that her father was ill.

【推荐1】My name is Alice. Early last year, I was troubled by an anxiety that weakened my ability to do anything. I felt like a storm cloud hung over me. For almost a year I struggled on, constantly staring at this wall that faced me. My perfectionist tendencies were the main root of this: I wanted to be perfect at whatever I did, which obviously in life is not possible, but it consumed me.

One day, I attended a presentation by wildlife conservationist Grant Brown at my high school. His presentation not only awed and inspired me, but also helped emerge an inner desire to make a difference in the world. I joined a pre-presentation dinner with him and that smaller setting allowed me to slowly build up my courage to speak one-on-one with him –– an idea that had seemed completely impossible. This first contact was where my story began.

A month later, Brown invited me to attend the World Youth Wildlife Conference. Looking back, I now see this would be the first in a series of timely opportunities that my old self would have let pass, but that this new and more confident Alice enthusiastically seized. Shortly after I received his invitation, applications to join the Youth for Nature and the Youth for Planet groups were sent around through my high school. I decided to commit myself to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.

I am writing this just six months since my journey began and I’ve realized that my biggest obstacle the whole time was myself. It was that voice in the back of my head telling me that one phrase that has stopped so many people from reaching their potential: I can’t. They say good things come to those who wait. I say: grab every opportunity with everything you have and be impatient. After all, nature does not require our patience, but our action.

1. What was the main cause of Alice’s anxiety?

A．Her wish to be perfect.	B．Her habit of consumption.
C．Her lack of inspiration.	D．Her inability to act her age.

2. How did Grant Brown’s presentation influence Alice?

A．She built up her courage to speak up.	B．She tasted the sweetness of friendship.
C．She learned about the harm of desire.	D．She decided to do something for nature.

3. The activities Alice joined in helped her to become more ________.

A．critical

B．intelligent

C．confident

D．innovative

4. What can we learn from this passage?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Action is worry’s worst enemy.
C．Patience is a cure of anxiety.	D．Everything comes to those who wait.

【推荐2】Farmer John and Farmer Bob were neighbours. For more than 30 years, they had been getting along very well.

Then their good relationship broke. It began with a small thing, then bitter words, and then weeks of silence. One morning Farmer John woke up to find a stream between the two farms. “It must be Bob,” John thought.
Then one day there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a carpenter(木匠) standing at the doorway.
“I’m looking for a few days’ work,” the carpenter said.
“I do have a job for you,” John said. “Look across the stream at that farm. That’s my neighbour Bob. He dug a stream between the two farms. I want you to build a fence—an 8-foot fence. I don’t want to see his place or his face any more. I don’t have such a neighbour!”
The carpenter said, “I think I know what to do, sir, and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”
Farmer John helped the carpenter get the materials(材料) ready and then he was off for the day.
About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide. There was no fence there at all!
It was a bridge! And the neighbour, Bob, was coming across, with his hand outstretched(伸出). “Hi, John! ______________________
Then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hands. “I’m terribly sorry for what I have said and done. We should be good to each other.” said Farmer Bob.
Then they turned to see the carpenter, who was ready to go. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I have a lot of other jobs for you,” said Farmer John. “I’d love to stay,” the carpenter said, “but I have more bridges to build.”
1. Just before the carpenter came, John and Bob             each other.

A．didn’t speak to	B．were friendly to
C．often fought with	D．never had bitter words with

2. Farmer John asked the carpenter to build a fence because            .

A．he wanted to protect his farm	B．he didn’t want to do it himself
C．he wouldn’t like to see Bob	D．he wanted to find him something to do

3. What does the sentence “You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!” mean?

A．John was great to build this bridge.

B．John was not good at building bridges.

C．John was foolish to build such a bridge.

D．John should build the bridge earlier.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．What a Big Fence!	B．A Strong Bridge
C．Three Kind Men	D．A Fence or a Bridge?

【推荐3】At a family picnic for employees of the company where my father worked, they held the handkerchief (手帕) throwing game for the children. I was 13, full of enthusiasm (热情) and the spirit of competition, so I threw myself into it. The game, I realize now, was not meant to show any real skill, but simply for laughs. But it awoke my love of thinking outside the box.

The host gave each of the dozen children a cloth handkerchief and told us the winner would be the one who threw it the farthest. The first throwers, the little ones, threw hard, but when the cloth left their hands, it opened and flew to the ground a few inches in front of them. The next kids threw harder and harder, but with no better results. The crowd shouted with a rand being 13, I didn’t like adults laughing at us. The older the children, the more the crowd laughed at the results. So it annoyed me to see the kids throwing harder when the handkerchief always opened, caught the air and died. The secret was not to throw harder but to keep the cloth from opening.

Suppose I hid a rock in the cloth without tying it. The rock would drive the cloth at least farther than the others, and when they separated, people might not notice a small rock landing in the grass. I had a good chance of getting away with it, but I didn’t want to win by cheating. I had to make the handkerchief fly like a rock. Like a rock! That was it! I secretly tied knot (结) after knot until it was the size of a large walnut (核桃) like a rock.

When it was my turn, I did my best, and the balled handkerchief rocketed off into the trees maybe 60 feet away. The laughing died away. The host stared at me with narrowed eyes and then ran to check how I made it. “It’s just the handkerchief,” he declared, holding it up and untying the knots. The adults cheered loudly, and I felt proud.

1. What was the handkerchief throwing game intended for?

A．For enjoyment.	B．For business.
C．For thinking.	D．For friendship.

2. Why did the first kids fail to throw the handkerchief farther?

A．They threw but it opened.	B．They were too nervous to do it.
C．They didn’t have enough strength.	D．There was no strong wind at that time.

3. How did the author win the game?

A．By cheating with a rock.

B．By asking Father for help.

C．By tying the handkerchief like a rock.

D．By having good luck with a strong wind.

4. What can we learn from the story?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Great minds think alike.
C．Two heads are better than one.	D．Success comes from creative thinking.