【推荐1】It was Mother’s Day morning last year and I was doing my shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son, Teayson. As we were leaving, we found that only minutes earlier an elderly woman had fallen over at the entrance and had hit her bead on the concrete. Her husband was with her, but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed and clearly in shock.

Walking towards the scene, Tenyson became very upset about what had happened to the couple. Ile said to me. “Mums it’s not much fun falling over in front of everyone.”

At the front of the supermarket a charity group had set up a stand selling cooked sausages and flowers to raise funds. Tenyson suggested that we should boy the lady a flower. “It will make her feel better,” he said. I was amazed that he’d come up such a sweet idea. So we went over to the flower seller and asked her if we could buy a flower for the lady to cheer her up. “Just take it,” she replied. “I can’t take your money for such a wonderful gesture.”

By now paramedics(救援人员) had arrived, and were attending the injured woman. As we walked up to her, my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment. He said he was just too scared to go up to her.

Instead I gave the flower to the woman’s husband and told him. “My son was very upset for your wife and wanted to give her this flower to make her feel better.”

At that, the old man started crying and said, “Thank you so much, you have a wonderful son, Happy Mother’s Day to you.”

The man then bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from. Though badly hurt and shaken, the old lady looked up at Tenyson with love in her eyes and gave him a little smile.

1. What does the author intend to tell us?

A．One can never be too careful

B．Actions speak louder words,

C．Love begins with a little smile.

D．A small act of kindness brings a great joy.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The elderly woman was knocked down by Tenyson.

B．Tenyson’s idea of buying a flower gained his father’s support.

C．Tenyson’s care for the elderly woman puzzled the flower seller.

D．The elderly woman was moved to tears by Tenyson’s gesture.

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

A．A charity group

B．A stand selling cooked sausages and flowers

C．A flower

D．A sweet idea

4. The underlined word “intimidated” in the fourth paragraph probably means         .

A．astonished	B．struck
C．frightened	D．excited

【推荐2】Have you ever had to wait in line at a store and found yourself avoiding eye contact, whether with employees or other customers? You may hope it is easier to meet new people or feel at ease at a party.     1     This article will show how to reach out to others and start potential friendships.

●Stop worrying about the outcome.

    2     But not every conversation will lead to a new friend. It is completely normal to feel nervous about the idea of striking up a conversation with someone you don’t know. For many people, it can be difficult to overcome the fear of saying something wrong. Remember that real conversations can lead to increased self-confidence and lasting friendships.

●    3    

Remember that being true to yourself is more important than what strangers think. Who you are is no less important than who anyone else is. Every person has their own story and journey, and yours is just as important as anyone else’s.     4    

●Don’t share too much too quickly.

It can sometimes be easy to share a little too much information about yourself, especially if you are excited or anxious when engaging with strangers.     5     Remember that you are simply striking up small talk with someone, not trying to turn them into your instant best friends.

A．Share your important stories.

B．This helps to advance your friendship.

C．Don’t care what strangers may think of you.

D．So be proud of yourself and be honest with yourself.

E．Learning to talk to strangers can be challenging but fun.

F．But oversharing information may lead to an uncomfortable situation.

G．A conversation is a common way to start a relationship with strangers.

【推荐3】We all need friends and we always have．Our ancestors found that gaining the basic necessities of life was easier in a group．It’s estimated that the maximum number of people who lived in early communities of hunter-gatherers was 150．
Friends aren’t bound（受……限制）by blood or family bonds, employment contracts or legal obligations．Our circle of associates includes work colleagues and people we meet at parties, in the pub or on the train to work．Some associates are much more important than our family．We are capable of exchanging an email with these associates, and may have mutual acquaintances with a good number of them, providing common ground．We do things for one another because we want to．Whether writing an answer to a photo put on Facebook, sending a birthday card by post, or making a hospital visit, the efforts we have made for our friends are out of kindness．It is this nature of friendship which requires nothing in return that makes it beneficial and valuable．
Friendships take work, and they need to be nurtured, nourished and maintained．We feel good about helping our friends because we are friends．However, we often lose touch with our friends because of a lack of time and energy．When we are carrying a heavy load at work, involved in a serious relationship or raising children, it’s hard to spare time for friends．In these situations, we need to remind ourselves of what friends are for and why they can be so important in our lives．
In a survey of more than 2,000 married couples aged 55 or older, for both men and women, having friends was the best predictor of being satisfied in marriage — possibly because they were more satisfied with their lives as a result of having friends．
Researchers suggest social relationships are the reason why women live longer than men, Social bonds reduce the risk of disease by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol（胆固醇）and heart rate．A lack of good friends is as harmful to your health as smoking or being overweight．Indeed, people without friends are more likely to die younger．Not only do friendships prolong（延长）our lives, they make us happier too．People who are socially active don’t feel so stressed or feel they can not enjoy anything easily — they also tend to feel better about their lives and who they are．
1. What makes friendship beneficial and valuable?

A．Its being not bound by blood or family bonds．

B．Its being easy to maintain．

C．The good we have done to our friends．

D．That we make efforts for friends out of kindness．

2. What should we do when we have no time for friends?

A．Quit our jobs．

B．Give our friends calls．

C．Remind ourselves of what friends are for．

D．Turn to our friends for help．

3. What can we infer from the survey in the fourth paragraph?

A．Having friends makes people satisfied in marriage．

B．The older people are, the more satisfied they are in marriage．

C．Married couples are more satisfied with their lives．

D．Married couples are easier to have friends．

4. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Friendships prolong our lives and make us happy．

B．Men should learn to be socially active．

C．Women live longer than men．

D．Women tend to be less stressed．