【推荐1】Helen Monson has always been interested in helping her community. Her first volunteer experience was for the American Red Cross when she was in high school. When she was a school teacher, she also found time to volunteer.

After she retired, she started volunteering to help the old. When her father was older, he was not able to see as well as he used to, which made her sad because he had always enjoyed reading.

She decided it would be fun to read to elderly people in her community. She also helped one woman write her stories. Ann was almost 100 years old, and Helen wrote down information about her life when she visited Ann. She put the information in a book and got it published. Ann was very excited to share her life story with her children and grandchildren.

One day Helen read an article in the newspaper about refugees (难民) who needed to learn English. Now, she meets once a week with Sahra, a 38-year-old woman from Somalia. Sahra is learning reading and writing skills. Helen gave Sahra a camera and asked her to take pictures of her daily life. She developed the pictures, and then asked Sahra questions about them. In the end they wrote a book together and used the photos in the book. This helped Sahra learn many new words about her everyday life.

Helen says, “The most rewarding part of volunteer work is becoming friends with the people I help. They enrich my life as well as I enrich theirs.”

1. When did Helen first take up volunteering?

A．After retirement.	B．In high school.
C．After work.	D．In childhood.

2. In what way did Helen help Sahra?

A．By building her self-confidence.	B．By expanding her vocabulary.
C．By giving her financial support.	D．By finding her a new home.

3. Which of the following can best describe Helen according to the passage?

A．Brilliant.	B．Optimistic.
C．Thankful.	D．Devoted.

4. The underlined word “rewarding” in the last paragraph probably means       .

A．worthwhile	B．convenient
C．extraordinary	D．practical

【推荐2】Money is the root of all evil (邪恶) and new study claims there may be some truth behind the saying. Scientists at the University of California Berkeley, US, announced on February 27 that rich people are more likely to do immoral things, such as lie or cheat, than poorer people. The scientists did a series of eight experiments. They published their findings online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNA《美国国家科学院院刊》).

They carried out the first two experiments from the sidewalk near Berkeley. They noted that drivers of newer and more expensive cars were more likely to cut off other cars and pedestrians at crosswalks. Nearly 45 percent of people driving expensive ears ignored a pedestrian compared with only 30 percent of people driving mow modest cars.

In another experiment, a group of college students was asked if they would do immoral things in various everyday situations. Examples included taking printer paper from work and not telling a salesperson when he or she gave back more change. Students from higher — class families were more likely to act dishonestly.

According to the scientists, rich people often think money can get them out of trouble. This makes them less afraid to take risks, It also means they care less about other people’s feelings.

Finally, it just makes them greedier. “Higher wealth status seems to make you want even more, and that increased want leads you to bend the rules or break the rules to serve your self- interest,” said Paul Piff, lead scientist of the study.

Piff pointed out that the findings don’t mean that all rich people are untrustworthy or all poor people honest. He said the experiments were to show how people living in different social situations express their instincts（本能）and values in different ways.

1. By saying “money is the root of all evil”, the author wants to       .

A．link wealth with bad behavior

B．draw readers’ attention to the research

C．show how the saying proves the findings

D．defend rich people who do immoral things

2. According to the scientists, which is NOT the factor that makes rich people immoral?

A．They welcome risks.

B．They have more desires.

C．They believe money talks.

D．They become more selfish.

3. Why did the scientists do the experiments?

A．To show how social status affects people’s morality.

B．To show people’s instincts and values in different ways.

C．To test whether the saying “money is the root of all evil” is true.

D．To show the difference between higher - class people and lower - class people.

4. What does the passage really want to show us?

A．The poor are respectable.

B．Money is the root of all evil.

C．All rich people are untrustworthy.

D．The rich are more likely to act badly.

【推荐3】Giving generously and receiving gratefully make it easier to live happily with others.    1    

Let me start with the idea of giving generously.    2    For example, my husband and I have family members who only contact us when they need money. We usually accept their requests, but we rarely receive a “thank you”. Most people would say that my husband and I are being used, and I suppose we are. But when we give, we shouldn’t be giving for the purpose of getting gratitude or praise. Rather, we should be giving because it is a good thing.

The good news is that when we lead our life being nice to others, our life runs more smoothly.    3    But if you practice being generous, most of your relationships will improve.

At the same time, we should remember to receive gratefully. I truly believe that you cant say “thank you” enough when you receive.

    4    Parents can feel unappreciated by their children, and teachers can feel unappreciated by their students. Do you think it unnecessary to thank them when receiving just because a task is part of someone’s job description？ That’s wrong！

    5    It is good for us to say “thank you” because we regularly need to remind ourselves how lucky we are. And hearing those two words can make us feel great for days.

If you are looking for a way to improve your life, I can give you one: Give generously and receive gratefully.

A．So often we get lazy about expressing gratitude.

B．Thus,saying “thank you” can bring us good luck.

C．If you are generous, some people will use you.

D．In return, we are to help others by giving them our time or money.

E．I think people are unwilling to be generous to others for fear of being used.

F．Yet,why do we have such difficulty achieving these things in our relationships？

G．Words of appreciation make others feel good about themselves like nothing else.