【推荐1】People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child-care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother .A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents .It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery（公墓）. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries and telephone companies do a lot of business during these holidays.
1. Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?

A．Parents bring up children.

B．Parents give love and care to children.

C．Parents educate children to be good persons.

D．Parents pass away before children grow up.

2. What do you know from the passage?

A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.

B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.

C．Not all the children respect their parents.

D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.

3. Which do you think is right about “carnation”?

A．It only has two kinds of color.

B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes.

D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May.

【推荐2】A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds (嗑瓜子) as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,” he said.

I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.

When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every family was making.

I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.

I don’t think it’s right to criticize (批评) one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.

It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s delicious, and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.

1. Why can the British friend not understand when he found Chinese love eating sunflower seeds?

A．Because the seeds are too hard to crack.

B．Because he thinks they are harmful to teeth.

C．Because he doesn’t think the seeds are worth eating.

D．Because he doesn’t think the seeds are good.

2. What does the writer prove by mentioning Chinese New Year?

A．The families get together for it.	B．Children can eat delicious food on that day.
C．The traditions of celebrating it disappear.	D．Eating sunflower seeds is related to it.

3. What’s the writer’s attitude to Denmark’s way of eating bread?

A．Uncaring.

B．Negative.

C．Understandable.

D．Doubtful.

4. What idea does the writer want to express in this passage?

A．Eating habits come from a certain culture.

B．It is good to form healthy eating habits.

C．Changing your eating habits will change your life.

D．One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone.

【推荐3】The Lantern Festival first evolved along the banks of the Yellow River during the peak of freezing winter conditions. The celebration held on the night of the first full noon of the lunar new year is often referred to as the “Little New Year”.

The festival’s origin has been argued by historians. Some say the festival was set up in relation to New Year Buddhist ceremonies. Lanterns were used to praise Buddha and request his protection for the coming year. However, Taoists insist that the Martial Emperor Wu Ti (141 B.C.~86 B.C.) began the festival a century earlier in an effort to gain eternal life.

In the huge courtyard of his palace, he ordered lanterns to be hung on the night of the first full moon until the entire courtyard was lit as bright as the day.

After a Chinese eunuch (太监) invented paper in 105 A.D., people of all classes began to enjoy the beauty of inexpensive paper lanterns. Today, the lantern has experienced further revolution and paper has been replaced by plastic animated characters lit by battery operated light bulbs. In Taiwan, this development has extended to the creation of extravagant, enormous and highly technical lanterns representing the zodiac animals. Even still, many of the old ways remain mixed with the new.

1. According to the article, which of the following statement is true?

A．Historians are troubled by different opinions.

B．Wu Ti ordered an eunuch to make lanterns using inexpensive paper.

C．The weather conditions under which the first lantern festival was held were extreme.

D．Buddhists believe that Wu Ti began the Lantern Festival.

2. Wu Ti is believed to have established the Lantern Festival in his vain effort to ______.

A．change night into day.	B．live forever.
C．make the greatest of offering to Buddha.	D．celebrate the “Little New Year”.

3. The intion of paper in 105 A.D. ______.

A．helped to invent paper lanterns.

B．replaced paper lanterns with plastic animated characters.

C．lit up the sky.

D．increased the popularity of lanterns.

【推荐1】There is loads of research showing that spending time in nature is good for your health and well-being. But not everyone lives near a park or can easily get outdoors. So, what happens when you bring nature into your home via TV? A new study finds that a virtual nature experience can have some of the same effects.

The researchers wanted to see if the same positive impacts of being out in nature would translate to experiencing nature virtually, study co -author Alex Smalley, PhD student and researcher on the Virtual Nature project in the U. K, tells Treehugger. “We were particularly interested in relieving boredom because it’s a negative state commonly experienced by older people in care homes,” he says.

For the study, researchers brought 96 adults into a lab and caused boredom by having them watch a four-minute video of a man discussing his work at an office supply company. Then, the study participants experienced scenes of an underwater coral reef scene from the BBC’s “Blue Planet 11” series. They either watched it on TV, watched with a virtual reality headset using 360-degree video, or watched with a virtual reality headset using computer- generated interactive pictures.

Researchers found that all three methods minimized negative feelings like sadness and significantly lowered boredom. The interactive virtual reality experience actually increased positive feelings, such as happiness, and strengthened the connections people said they had to nature.

Originally, the impetus behind the study was to research benefits for people who are stuck indoors, such as those in nursing homes or people recovering from illness. But there are entirely new positive results in today’s world due to COVID-19, “We never imagined a disease would mean the results might apply to such a wide part of the global population,” Smalley says. “We’ d always recommend trying to get out into nature wherever possible but for those who can’t, our findings suggest that digital experiences of nature could provide a short-term fix.”

1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly focus on?

A．The purpose of the research.

B．The analysis of the research results.

C．The positive effects of being out in nature.

D．The negative state older people experience.

2. What does the underlined word “impetus” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Profit.	B．Theory.
C．Motivation.	D．Application.

3. According to the text, what does Smalley think of the research results?

A．Some of them still remain to be further confirmed.

B．They fall short of researchers’ initial expectations.

C．Some of them are not practical in times of COVID-19.

D．They are unexpectedly helpful to a wide range of people.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Future of Virtual Nature in Nursing Homes

B．Watching Nature Virtually Boosts Mood and Eases Boredom

C．Being Out in Nature Benefits Both Health and Well-being .

D．Suitable Methods of Enjoying Virtual Nature for Sick People

【推荐2】Millions of people pass through the gates of Disney’s entertainment parks in California, Florida and Japan each year. What makes these places an almost universal attraction? What makes foreign kings and queens and other important people want to visit these Disney parks? Well, one reason is the way they’re treated once they get there. The people at Disney go out of their way to serve their “guests”, as they prefer to call them, and to see that they enjoy themselves.

All new employees, from vice presidents to part-time workers, begin their employment by attending Disney University and taking “Traditions Ⅰ”. Here, they learn the company’s history, how it is managed, and why it is successful. They are shown how each department relates to the whole. All employees are shown how important their part is in making the park a success.

After passing “Traditions Ⅰ”, the employees go on to do more specialized training for their specific (具体的) jobs. No detail (细节) is missed. A simple job like taking tickets requires four eight-hour days of training. When one ticket taker was asked why it took so much training for such a simple, ordinary job, he replied, “What happens if someone wants to know where the restrooms are, when the parade starts or what bus to take to get back to the campground?...We need to know the answers or where to get them quickly. Our constant aim is to help our guests enjoy the party.”

Even Disney’s managers get involved in the daily management of the park. Every year, the managers leave their desks and business suits and put on special service clothes. For a full week, the bosses sell hot dogs or ice cream, take tickets or drive the monorail, and take up any of the 100 jobs that make the entertainment park come alive. The managers agree that this week helps them to see the company’s goals more clearly.

All these efforts to serve the public well have made Walt Disney Productions famous. Disney is considered by many as the best mass service provider in America or the world. As a long-time business observer once said, “How Disney treats people, communicates with them, rewards them, is in my view the very reason for its fifty years of success...I have watched, very carefully and with great respect and admiration, the theory and practice of selling satisfaction and serving millions of people on a daily basis successfully. They are what Disney does best.”

1. The first day they come to Disney parks, all new employees　　　.

A．begin by receiving on-the-job training	B．must learn several jobs
C．begin as ticket takers	D．have already attended Disney University

2. The main objective of the Disney employees is to　　　.

A．learn all parts of the business	B．see that their guests enjoy themselves
C．be able to answer all kinds of questions	D．keep their important guests happy

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Tourists learn the history of Disney in its entertainment parks.

B．Disney attracts people almost from all over the world.

C．Parades are regularly held in Disney’s entertainment parks.

D．Disney’s managers are able to do almost all kinds of work in the Disney parks.

4. This passage is mainly about　　　.

A．how Disney employees are trained

B．the history and traditions of Disney

C．why Disney is successful

D．the importance Disney places on serving people well

【推荐3】Next time you hear a funny joke you’d better not laugh too hard. According to a paper published by the British Medical Journal, laughter isn’t always the best medicine. Sometimes it can even be harmful. Professor Robin Ferner from the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the study, found that bad things could happen to people who laughed too much. He says: “We found people with heartbeat problems which had stopped their heart, we found people who had fainted (昏倒), and we found people who’d dislocated their jaws or burst their lungs.”

It seems that laughing can be no laughing matter. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Professor Ferner says there are benefits to laughing when you want to lose weight, for example. Yes, that’s right: laugh and be slimmer! Professor Ferner explains that: “You use energy when you laugh, you move your diaphragm (横膈膜), you expand your lungs, and both those things can be helpful.”

According to the research, laughing for a quarter of an hour can burn up to 40 calories, and if you laughed all day you’d use up about 2,000 calories, which is what most people consume in a day. But don’t do that or you might end up with a painful jaw. Ouch! Or you might find people looking at you in a funny way.

But I don’t want to finish this article leaving you feeling desperate. Laughter comes naturally for most of us. Babies begin to laugh at around 3-6 months. So give in to your sense of humor and keep smiling. Life is short anyway.

1. Laughing too much may cause the following harmful results EXCEPT_________.

A．diaphragm movement

B．heart stop

C．lung burst

D．jaw dislocation

2. The underlined phrase “doom and gloom” in Paragraph 2 probably means_______.

A．nervous	B．funny
C．painful	D．hopeless

3. How many calories can you use if you laugh for half a day?

A．About 40.	B．About 2,000.
C．About 1,000.	D．About 2,040.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards laughing in the last paragraph?

A．Uninterested.	B．Favorable.
C．Worried.	D．Disapproving.

【推荐2】When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.
So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.
Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes             we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them.
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身体的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other             illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural — and healthy — emotional response (反应).
1. Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?

A．Because her father did not --ant her to feel too sad.

B．Because she did not love her grandmother.

C．Because she was too shy to cry at that time.

D．Tie author doesn’t give the explanation.

2. According to the author, which of the following statements is true?

A．Crying is the best way to get help from others.

B．Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.

C．We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.

D．We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.

3. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A．Power of Tears	B．How to Keep Healthy
C．Why We Cry	D．A New Scientific Discovery

【推荐3】

He wishes the holiday season would end already. His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit, his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours — and still the kids keep coming and coming, like ants at a picnic. As Christmas becomes more commercialized (商业化) across the U. S. and Canada, so must Santa Claus. As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen.

The questions from children these days are harder than ever. Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart­breaking as they are unanswerable. For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”

Santa Claus, also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控). A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story: A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair.” The girl later said it was sexual harassment (骚扰). When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do. The Santa Claus were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended. Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again.

1. In the first paragraph, “spokesmen” refers to ______.

A．businessmen

B．political leaders

C．organizers of the activities

D．Santa Clauses

2. The passage implies that the job of Santa Claus is ________.

A．well-paid	B．very hard
C．worth doing	D．dangerous

3. According to the third paragraph, Santa Claus may sometimes be blamed for ________.

A．doing something against the law

B．hanging around the dinner table

C．being lazy and sleeping in bed for days

D．not playing their roles as expected

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

A．Christmas: Not a Good Festival for Santa Claus

B．What Does Santa Claus Do for Children?

C．Is Santa Claus Really Alive?

D．A Christmas Story