【推荐1】I go to school the youth to learn the future．

﹣Robert Frost

	Harvard University Type：private       Created Time：1636 Location：Cambridge．Massachusetts．USA
Harvard University's history，influence and wealth have made it one of the most famous universities in the world
	University of Oxford Type：public     Created Time：Not quite clear Location：Oxford，Britain
The University of Oxford is the second oldest university in the world and the oldest in the English﹣speaking world．
	University of Cambridge Type：public       Created Time：1209 Location：Cambridge，Britain
The University of Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English﹣speaking world and the sixth oldest in Europe．
	Tsinghua University Type：public          Created Time：1211 Location：Haidian District，Beijing．China
Tsinghua University was originally（起初）under the name “Tsinghua Xuetang” The school was renamed “Tsinghua School” in 1912．The university section was founded in 1925．

1. What is Harvard University famous for？

A．People and wealth．	B．Subjects and country
C．Professors and students．	D．History，influence and wealth．

2. When was the university section founded in Tsinghua University？

A．In 1211．	B．In 1912．
C．In 1925．	D．Not quite clear

3. Which statement is NOT TRUE according to the passage above？

A．Harvard University was set up in 1636．

B．The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the world．

C．The University of Cambridge is the sixth oldest university in Europe

D．Tsinghua University is located in Beijing now．

【推荐2】Spring is finally here, and it’s a great time to get outside and get dirty!     1    . This outdoor activity gives us beautiful plants, pleasant smelling flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables. And it also gives us many health benefits.

    2    

Gardening connects people. When you are gardening, you are outdoors. So it is a perfect time to socialize with your neighbors. Gardening can greatly strengthen a person’s sense of community and belonging, and thus loneliness is far away from you!

Benefit children

Gardening is a great activity to do with children. It gets families outdoors and off computers, televisions and other electronics.

    3    . Children can learn about nature and wildlife. Gardening can teach a child about where food comes from and healthy eating. It can also help them understand the limits of natural resources and the importance of using them carefully. Relieve stress

    4    . A study by researchers in the Netherlands found that gardening may reduce the stress level in the brain. In the study, the researchers gave 30 gardeners a difficult, stressful task. Then the gardeners were asked to recover by either gardening outdoors or reading indoors for 30 minutes. Both activities led to lower stress levels.     5    . Also, those who gardened reported that their good moods returned fully. The readers found that their bad moods only got worse.

A．Reduce loneliness

B．Improve family relationships

C．Gardening can be a great teacher

D．Gardening is popular in many parts of the world

E．Gardening may also help you feel calm and happy

F．However, the decreases were stronger in the gardening group

G．Gardening can also give you the feeling that you have done something good

【推荐3】"Mummy, I don' t know what to play with." Steve interrupts his mother, who is talking to a friend, for the fourth time. "You've got a room full of toys!" his mother says, impatiently. In fact it is the jumble of toys which is to blame for four-year-old Steve's lack of interest in his dolls, cars and stuffed (packed) animals. Each morning he tips out three washing baskets of toys all over his floor, listlessly pulls out something and shortly after is standing at his mother's desk or following her into the kitchen saying: "Mummy, I am bored."

A family therapist ( 心理医生) explains why children lose interest when they have a whole "toy shop" at home: "According to their brain development, little children are not in a position to judge the quality of a variety of things at once. There is always just one favorite toy for the moment. All the rest is left lying about." What can parents do to stop their children from being oversupplied with toys? Under no conditions simply make something disappear without the child's knowledge. If he/she takes no more notice of a toy, a parent can ask if it can be stored or given away. Be warned though the child will always say he/she wants it then! A talk with relatives and friends may also help. Lyn is the mother of four-year-old Jessie, and we like     her way. A small set of shelves in her child's room holds the toys and books that are the current (at present) favorites. When it seems to her that her daughter is tired of these toys, they put them away in a box together and select some other toys from   a cupboard in another room. The box of "old" toys goes into the cupboard. When her child says she is "bored", they also get something from her cupboard - it may be something she has had for some time but because she hasn't seen it for a while it is almost   like a new toy.

Some favorite toys stay out all the time, and there is collection of dolls which   sits in the corner, but in this way Lyn has found that she has fewer toys to put away at the end of the day and her daughter always has something "fresh" to play with.

1. Steve interrupted his mother several times because _____.

A．he felt uninterested in his toys

B．he disliked his mother's guest

C．he didn't have enough toys to play with

D．he hoped his mother would play with him

2. According to the therapist, children often complain that they have nothing to play with because _____.

A．they can't play alone for a long time

B．they are too young to play with so many toys

C．they are too lazy to pick out their favorites

D．they lack the ability to value too many things at a time

3. Which of the following can be used in place of "jumble"?

A．Simple choice.	B．Mixture in disorder.
C．Ordinary appearance.	D．Same shape.

4. Which is the advice given to parents in the text?

A．Buy fewer toys for their children.

B．Form good habits for their children.

C．Spare some time to play with their children.

D．Put some toys away without telling their children.

【推荐1】Scientists say they’ve developed a system using machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. The research was led by engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland.

European researchers have estimated between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. The strikes can also cause power outages (停电), destroyed property, damage electrical equipment and start forest fires. For these reasons, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict and control lightning. But no system has been created to effectively predict lightning.

The system tested in the experiments used a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognized weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning.

The model was created with data collected over 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity (湿度) and wind speed.

The atmospheric data was placed into a machine learning algorithm (算法), which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.

Amirhossein Mostajabi is a PhD student at the institute who led the development of the method. He said, “current systems for gathering such data are slow and complex and require costly collection equipment like radar or satellites.”

“Our method uses data that can be obtained from any weather station,” Mostajabi said. “This will improve data collection in very remote areas not covered by radar and satellites or in places where communication systems have been cut,” he added.

1. Why have climate scientists tried to predict and control lightning?

A．To collect relative data.

B．To create a scientific system.

C．To do research in relation to machine learning.

D．To reduce the destruction lightning has been caused.

2. The four mentioned surface conditions include all the following EXCEPT_______________.

A．wind speed	B．air pollution
C．relative humidity	D．air temperature

3. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Lightning.	B．The system being tested.
C．The atmospheric data.	D．The machine learning algorithm.

4. What can we learn about Mostajabi from the passage?

A．He developed the method and the system by himself.

B．He thinks the current systems are too slow and simple.

C．He is a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

D．He believes their system does much better in data collection.

【推荐3】       A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages.They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat rooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannot stop, and it affects their lives.
       Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become a compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. This obsessive behavior has affected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log on computers and spend long hours at different websites.
       They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation. They spend all free time surfing and don’t concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades, and success at schools. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.
       They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends. The relation with their friends changes. The virtual life becomes more important than their real life. They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society,
       Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who they have never met in their life.Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real life friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect the whole world.
1. The passage is about ________.

A．the cause of weboholism	B．the advantage of weboholism
C．the popularity of weboholism	D．the influence of weboholism

2. The underlined word “obsessive” in the second paragraph most probably means ________.

A．attractive

B．addictive

C．professional

D．potential

3. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers

B．teenagers can hardly balance real and virtual life

C．people are addicted to games on the Internet

D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive anyway

4. Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?

A．It contributes to the development of the web.

B．The chat room language may change social culture.

C．The problem will have a negative influence on our future.

D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life.

5. The author’s attitude towards weboholism is that of being ________.

A．objective

B．positive

C．opposed

D．acceptable