【推荐1】Adrian’s “Amazing Race” started early, when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn’t hear a thing, not even loud noises. In a special school for the hearing-impaired (听觉受损的), he learned sign language and got to mix with other disabled children. However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another upset his mother. She wanted him to lead a normal life. So after speaking to an advisor, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words.

Later on, Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a regular school. But the headmaster tried to prevent them from doing so, saying regular schools couldn’t take care of a student with special needs. His parents were determined to take the risk and push him hard to go through his work every day because they want to prove that,given the opportunity,he could do anything. Adrian made the grade and got accepted. It was a big challenge. The pace was faster so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn’t always easy. But he stuck to it and did a lot of extra work after school.

The effort made by Adrian and his parents paid off. Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school. He also achieved a lot in life outside school. He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains.He even entered the World Yacht Race 05/06, being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so.

But none of these achievements would have been possible without one of the most important lessons from his mother.“If you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve great result” she often said.

1. How did Adrian communicate with other disabled children in the special school?

A．By speaking.	B．By using sign language.
C．By writing letters.	D．By making loud noises.

2. Why did Adrian’s parents decide to send him to a regular school?

A．They wanted him to live like a regular person.	B．They wanted to prove the headmaster wrong.
C．He wouldn’t mix with other disabled children.	D．He wasn’t taken good care of in the special school.

3. How did Adrian finally succeed in his study?

A．He did a lot of outdoor activities.	B．He sat at the front of the classroom.
C．He attended private classes after school.	D．He worked hard both in and after class.

4. Why is Adrian’s life described as an “Amazing Race”?

A．He did very well in his study.	B．He succeeded in entering a regular school.
C．He reached his goals in spite of his disability.	D．He took part in the world Yacht Race 05/06.

【推荐2】Dearest darling girl,

Today is the beginning of the next stage in your life. We head off to your new home at Stanford. Where do I start in telling you how proud I feel to be called Mummy by you? We've laughed at how you burst into this world with a scowl on your face, how determined you have always been right from feeding yourself to making big decisions for your life. There were days during your illness that I wasn't sure you had the will to make it. Telling you that you needed to want to get better was the hardest and yet the greatest day. From that day you took responsibility and decided you wanted to beat anorexia（厌食症）．

I don't think I've ever felt so proud of you as when you came home to say that you wanted to go to West Africa between school and university. You chose to go alone, and to raise the money yourself. You have such strength of character and determination. It is at times hard to believe that you are only 18. You experienced something in that month that few dare experience in a lifetime.

So, Viv, here are my words of wisdom to you as you start your next big adventure. The world is a beautiful place but often a few things can make it seem difficult. God's temple is made of love. It's man's temple that is built of stones. Open your heart to goodness and never ever let negative people or thoughts take hold of you. As Minor Myers put it, "Go into the world and do we’ll. But more importantly, go into the world and do good:'

It is true that with every passing day, I will grow older and weaker. A day may come when I will become forgetful. But even then, you with your bright smile, will light up my heart.

                                                                                                    Your Alo
1. What can be learned from the first paragraph?

A．She was once a trouble maker.	B．She's a freshman in Stanford.
C．She relies on her parents a lot.	D．She was defeated by anorexia.

2. Why did Viv go to West Africa?

A．To do what others dare not.	B．To show her determination.
C．To get money for school fees.	D．To go on an adventure by herself.

3. What is Alo's advice for Viv?

A．To be a positive and kind person.	B．To avoid the negative part of life.
C．To be cautious of cold-hearted people.	D．To explore the beauty of the world.

4. How did the author feel when writing the letter?

A．Amused and thankful.	B．Pleased and satisfied.
C．Cheerful and relieved.	D．Concerned and anxious.

【推荐3】As I went down the wooden snowy steps, I held the rough fence with one hand, held my crying daughter Kelly with the other and made my way into the yard. I knew everything would be okay if I located my mother.

Instead of a smile, she greeted me with concern. I knew she had read my face as I’d approached. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

I held the baby out. “I can’t take care of this baby,” I said simply. My mother didn’t take her from my arms as I expected. She smiled slightly, and then replied firmly, “You have to take care of that baby.” This was not the reply I wanted. Couldn’t she hear the baby crying? I wanted her to solve this problem. Instead, she took off her gloves and asked me in for some coffee.

Mom held Kelly while I held the coffee cup. At that moment the baby finally stopped crying. I glanced over at Kelly, content in my mother’s arms. Her tiny blue eyes were focused on me, as if to ask, “What’s the problem here, Mama?” Her sweet, familiar breath eased the stress in the air. I looked at my mother, feeling foolish but relaxed. She stood and placed an arm around my shoulders. “By the time you came along, things were quite different for me. But with your elder brother, I often felt helpless.”

The baby showed no signs of our afternoon struggle, while my own hair remained wet and messy from sweat and worry. “Crying is the only way babies have to communicate. Try to listen to her cries and hear them as language. She’s not crying to annoy you; she’s trying to send a message with the only voice she has.”

Once again, her gentle guidance had supported me through a storm and back into clear skies.

1. Why did the author visit her mother in the rough weather?

A．She was concerned about her mother’s safety.

B．She wanted to learn to care for babies from her mother.

C．She was helpless and needed her mother’s help.

D．She intended to borrow some money from her mother.

2. How did the author’s mother probably feel when bringing her up?

A．Awkward but patient.

B．Experienced and confident.

C．Annoyed but curious.

D．Thoughtless and unconcerned.

3. What did the author’s mother want to express in paragraph 5?

A．Taking care of babies was difficult.

B．Babies enjoyed annoying their parents.

C．Parents should understand and accept babies’ crying.

D．The author should let her baby cry more.

4. What can we infer about the author’s mother?

A．She usually goes shopping with the author.

B．She lives a lonely life without her children.

C．She likes to raise small children for young mothers.

D．She often gives advice to the author in trouble.

【推荐2】Adults usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was dirty, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire (百万富翁). They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant (有意义的) for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing.
1. The neighbor called the police because ______.

A．the old man kept begging money from them every day

B．there was something dangerous in the old man’s house

C．the old man wouldn’t buy tickets for the train

D．they couldn’t bear the smell from the old man’s house

2. When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he ______.

A．remained calm	B．became excited
C．felt worried	D．became nervous

3. What lesson do we learn from the story?

A．Make great plans for your life.

B．Keep on doing what you like.

C．Do something that is good to society.

D．Depend on yourself rather than others.