【推荐1】As a young man, Al was a skilled artist. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his elder son developed a serious stomachache. Thinking it was only some common disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But it was actually acute appendicitis (急性阑尾炎), and the boy died suddenly that night.

Knowing the death could have been prevented if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al’s emotional health grew worse under the burden of his guilt. To make matters worse, his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could handle, and he turned to alcohol. As the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he possessed.

When I heard of Al’s death, I reacted with disdain (轻蔑). “What a complete failure!” I thought.

As time went by, I began to take my earlier judgment into consideration again. I knew Al’s now adult son, Ernie. He has grown into one of the kindest, most caring and most loving men I have ever known. One day I worked up my courage to talk about my puzzle with him.

Ernie sat quietly and reflected for a few moments. Then he said, “From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ‘I love you, son.’”

Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.

1. What did his elder son die from according to Al?

A．The acute appendicitis.	B．The alcoholism.
C．The separation of his mother.	D．The failure of timely attention.

2. How did Al feel about his son’s death?

A．Responsible.

B．Relieved.

C．Puzzled.

D．Unable.

3. After a talk with Ernie the author ________.

A．began to get close to Ernie	B．came to look up to Al
C．tried to care about Al’s situations	D．hoped to change Ernie’s judgement

4. What does the author want to express in the passage?

A．Love is the best possession.	B．Love is taking from others.
C．Father should be considerate.	D．Father may be misunderstood.

【推荐2】At the end of 2019,I learned that Here After AI, whose goal is to let the living communicate with the dead, was looking for applicants of its new AI project. Interested in what it was promising, I applied to experiment the software on my very-much-alive parents.

At first, I thought it would be just a fun project to see what was technologically possible. Then their health condition added some urgency to the experiment. I was frightened that my parents might die since my father had been diagnosed with cancer and my mother was recently developing symptoms of early Alzheimer’s disease, and that with the distance between us, I might never have the chance to say goodbye.

The first step was an interview. My parents were asked questions by a techician for hours-about everything from their earliest memories to what they believe will happen after they die. Whether through illness-generated concerns or a willingness to humor their daughter, my parents put up zero resistance. The company then took their responses and started to create the voice assistants. A few months later, my virtual parents arrived via email attachment.

When I communicated with them through the app on my phone, my hands were shaking. I hadn’t seen my actual, real parents for six months. They told me personal stories I’d never heard. They gave me life advice and told me things about their childhoods, as well as my own. It was mesmerizing.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about my experiment. I’m glad to have my virtual parents. They’ve enabled me to learn new things about my parents, and it’s comforting to think that those softwares will be there even when my parents aren’t. On the other hand, I can’t help but find it sad that it took a stranger interviewing my parents for me to properly appreciate the complex people they are. But I feel lucky to have had the chance to grasp that-and to still have the precious opportunity to spend more time with them and learn more about them, face to face, no technology involved.

1. Why did the author initially join the AI project?

A．To test out the new technology.

B．To preserve her parents’ voice.

C．To learn more about her parents’ life.

D．To remove the worry about her parents’ health.

2. What can we learn about the author’s parents?

A．They liked talking a lot.

B．They died from the illnesses.

C．They opposed joining the project at first.

D．They provided data for the project.

3. What does the underlined word “mesmerizing" mean in paragraph 4?

A．Alarming.

B．Fascinating.

C．Inspiring.

D．Disgusting.

4. What does the author realize at last?

A．AI means never saying goodbye to our parents.

B．The advances in AI technology have pros and cons.

C．The real connection with our parents matters most.

D．AI allows us to learn more about our virtual parents.

【推荐3】When I was 7 years old,I felt really happy for the first time in my life.I remember that my teacher allowed each student to play various educational games in turn on a computer designed for teaching.One day,I found the source code（编码）for one of these games.Without knowing or being taught any programming language,I was able to figure out some of the BASIG code.I just gave myself aninterminatenumber of lives in the game,so I could continue playing it forever.This was also my first introduction to algebra（代数）,and I didn't even know it at the time.This was a decisive moment in my life.I was quite excited because of what I was learning and what I was able to do.As a result,I was enthusiastic（充满热情的）for the rest of my life about self-learning and computers,and I was quite happy doing them too.

I've noticed that people who are truly content with life are enthusiastic about what they do.This enthusiasm, along with good health,is the key to being happy.It also leads to self-confidence and content in life too.It may also lead to success,wealth,and achievements.

Success,wealth,or achievements can also bring some people happiness,yet I know plenty of rich people who are unhappy.I know many people with successful businesses that are not happy with what they are doing.I know people who continuously buy themselves new toys,such as cars,computers,and televisions,yet never seem content for too long.Please remember,happiness is the journey of life,not the destination.

1. Why did the author mention his childhood experience in Paragraph 1?

A．To explain why he is a wise man.

B．To show he has a talent for algebra.

C．To inform us code is easy to process.

D．To say it makes a difference to his life.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined word "interminate"?

A．Average.	B．Illegal.
C．Unlimited.	D．Obvious.

3. Who tends to feel satisfied with life?

A．One recovering from a severe illness.

B．One enthusiastic about what he/she does.

C．One in possession of a large fortune.

D．One having achieved great success.

4. What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?

A．Enthusiasm plays an important role in being happy.

B．A rich material life can lead to real happiness.

C．Human beings never feel satisfied with their life.

D．Happiness is the final target we desire a lifetime.

【推荐1】While in college, Tim started to look for easy ways to make money. One of the opportunities he saw was gambling (赌博). He started learning about all forms of gambling. He got lucky enough to make $9,000, but sadly it didn’t last long and over the next year he lost all of that money. It was at this point that Tim realized that he needed to stop gambling and focus on learning about finance.
One day, he was talking to one of his friends about creating a business, and his friend turned him onto Quick Sprout. So he started reading every blog post on Quick Sprout in the hope that he could learn about how to become a successful businessman and meet some people through Quick Sprout that he could partner up with.
A year ago Tim read a blog post on Quick Sprout about another businessman by the name of Timothy Sykes. Tim visited Timothysykes.com and learned about his Millionaire Challenge program that taught people how to buy and sell penny stocks (低价股票). Tim thought it would be worth giving a try.
Tim spent the next few months learning from Timothy Sykes on how to trade stocks. After he felt that he had learned enough, he wanted to start trading. Within the first 6 months of using what he learned in the Millionaire Challenge program, he made over $40,000. At one point he even made $11,000 in 15 minutes.
Over the next 12 months Tim is on track to make even more money. So far things are looking good and he is already ahead of schedule. The Millionaire Challenge program has worked out so well for him and he is now starting to enjoy the finer things of life.
1. Tim decided to learn about finance when ________.

A．he first entered the college

B．he was lucky enough to earn $9,000

C．he learned about all forms of gambling

D．he lost all the money he got from gambling

2. By visiting Timothysykes.com, Tim ________.

A．found a business opportunity

B．knew how Quick Sprout developed

C．posted a blog he wrote on the website

D．set up the Millionaire Challenge program

3. How did Tim come to know Timothy Sykes?

A．By attending Timothy’s lectures.

B．By trading stocks with Timothy.

C．By being introduced by friends.

D．By visiting a website by chance.

4. The last two paragraphs show Tim ________.

A．has stopped learning from Timothy

B．has taken charge of the program

C．benefits from the stock market

D．has become a millionaire

【推荐2】Almost at the same time, my 14-year-old son, John, and I found the coat in the clothes shop. It was hanging on a wall with other coats together—just like a rose among wild flowers. Joy appeared in John’s eyes. He tried it on and turned from side to side, looking at himself in the mirror. Soon he smiled. It was perfect.

John wore the coat to school the next day and came back home with a big smile. I asked him whether his classmates liked his new coat. He nodded his head, carefully hanging it over the back of a chair.

Over the next few weeks, some changes came over John. He became more polite and more thoughtful(体贴的). ''Good night, Mom. '' he would say every day before my sleep. And he would lend his younger brother his radio and patiently tell him how to use it without an annoyed look, he would put in wood to make fire. However, all these things had never taken place before! One day when I advised that he should finish his homework before dinner. John, who wouldn't do anything until the last minute before, said for the first time, ''You're right. Mom. I will. ''

When I talked with one of his teachers and said that I didn't know what caused John's changes, she said with laughter. ''It must be his coat. '' Once she told John that she had given him a high mark not only because he had done well in the test but also because she liked his coat. And from then on, she found that John tried to get along with them.

Quite often, a small change will make others notice you or even praise you, which leads to a lot of good changes in shock. On John, his wonderful coat had this effect.

1. What did the writer and her son think of the coat in the clothes shop?

A．Only she liked it.	B．Only the son liked it.
C．Both of them liked it.	D．Neither of them liked it.

2. Which thing is the one John used to do at home before he got the coat?

A．To say good night to his mother every day.

B．To finish his homework as late as possible.

C．To teach his younger brother how to use his radio.

D．To get most of his relatives into trouble.

3. What does the passage mainly want to tell us?

A．A small change can make a big difference to us.

B．Having good looks is important to a schoolboy.

C．It's important to get along with others in school.

D．Parents can educate their kids better by getting them coats.