【推荐2】Nature is like the mechanism in an enormous clock. Everything is neatly arranged and interconnected. Every individual has its place and its function. Take the wolf for example. As meat-eaters, wolves regulate the number of plant eaters so that they do not multiply too rapidly. All animals and plants are held in a delicate balance.

The wolves remind me of a story from my childhood when my grandfather gave me an old clock. The first thing I did was take the clock apart to find out how it worked. Even though I was convinced that I knew how to put it back together in working order, I couldn’t do it. After I rebuilt it, there were a few cogs (轮齿) left over and a grandfather who was not in the best of moods. In the wild, wolves play the role of such cogs. If we remove them, not only do the enemies of sheep and cattle disappear, but the mechanism of nature also begins to run differently, so differently that rivers change course and many local bird species die out.

And things can also go wrong when a species is added. For example, the introduction of a nonnative fish leads to a massive reduction in the local deer population. Because of a fish? The earth’s ecosystems, it seems, are a bit too complex for us to draw up simple rules of cause and effect. Even conservation measures can have unexpected results. Who knew, for example, that recovering crane (鹤) populations in Europe would affect the production of Iberian ham?

So it’s high time we took a good look at the interconnections between species both large and small. It’s important for us to realize that even small interventions can have huge consequences, and we’d do better to keep our hands off everything in nature that we do not absolutely have to touch.

1. What’s one of the wolf’s functions in the ecological balance?

A．Organizing plant eaters.	B．Taking out plant eaters.
C．Consuming plant eaters.	D．Casting out plant eaters.

2. What does the author want to show with the story in paragraph 2?

A．Every part counts.	B．Family love lasts.
C．Never be too confident.	D．Clocks are delicate.

3. Why can things also go wrong when a species is added?

A．A nonnative species means death of local ones.

B．The interconnections in nature are complicated.

C．Rules of cause and effect are obvious in nature.

D．Conservation projects are too hard to complete.

4. What does the author suggest people do?

A．Have mercy on small animals.	B．Think twice before stepping in.
C．Take a new look at meat-eaters.	D．Keep hands off in conservation.

【推荐3】To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do.

Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those whoare toiledto death, those who are worried to death and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend. As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire — for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from the avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.

It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune’s favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vacation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their mind.

1. What does “are toiled” in the 2^ndparagraph mean?

A．have hobbies	B．feel pleased
C．work very hard	D．are busy

2. Which is NOT true based on the first two paragraphs?

A．Being late in life to attempt to cultivate hobbies adds to mental stress.

B．Great knowledge irrelevant to the daily work can’t guarantee benefit.

C．Those tired out for a week’s labour are reluctant to play football on weekends.

D．Unfortunate people need discipline to help them build up hope.

3. For those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure, they ______.

A．are very willing to work long hours in the office or the factory

B．earn a large amount of money due to their hard work for a long time

C．are keen to enjoy the pleasure when they are off duty

D．usually enjoy themselves in the simplest and most modest forms

4. Which statement will the author agree with according to the 3^rdparagraph?

A．The first class are lazy and the second class are bound to succeed.

B．The second class never need holidays because their life is harmonious.

C．The minority are more favoured by fortune because they never stop working.

D．One really needs alternation for a change in order to work better.

【推荐1】Some children do some housework, such as sweeping the floor, doing dishes, taking out the rubbish and so on.     1    .

The logic behind tying rewards to housework is clear.     2    . So they should pay kids to do their jobs. Paying kids for housework is one of the most hotly debated parenting topics.

Many people are in favor of this practice. They believe that getting rewards motivates kids to do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to earn money. “Our goal is to encourage kids to earn rewards,” says Chris Bergman, founder of Chore Monster. “    3    .”

    4    . Susie Walton, a parenting educator and family coach, believes that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn’t worth doing unless you get something in return. “    5    , since home is a living space for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and that families decide together how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it looking like everyone wants it to look,” Susie said.

A．But some people think otherwise.

B．Grownups get paid to do their jobs.

C．Paying kids is sending a bad message.

D．In exchange, they get some pocket money.

E．However, other people subscribe to the view.

F．Running any kind of household is a team effort.

G．Kids need positive rewards to help motivate them.

【推荐2】Cleaning up the table, I caught sight of small round plastic pieces. I discovered they were the tops or covers of color markers I had kept on the table. The only difference was that someone got those covers and chewed them into shapelessness. On another part of the table, I saw the color markers dried up without covers. I was almost sure I knew who had done it and I could not understand the motivation behind his actions.

As I considered my discovery, my frustration and disappointment gradually went away when I remembered that as a child, I did several weird(奇怪的)things that must have bothered my mother. I cut our shoes, I chewed pens and pencils, and I wrote and drew pictures on walls and destroyed many items at home. The mind of a child is curious and explorative, seeking to understand and test the limits of many things. Of course, it can be costly, but what is growing up if no mistakes are made?

We call it paying the school fees of life. If a child plays with a hot iron and it burns them, it is a given that they will not go near the iron again. Sometimes I watch the children in my neighborhood playing dangerous games. Occasionally, I have got myself involved and spoken up, but sometimes I let it pass. Until someone has fallen off his bike, they may not want to be told to stop riding with reckless abandon(毫无顾忌). Until a child has fallen down, they will not listen when asked to get down from the tree. However, wisdom shows that if the behavior is deadly, you should get involved in time.

Creativity is a valuable quality. And this is why we should encourage children to remain innovative rather than be simple recipients of everything they have known and seen. Allow children to make mistakes, but this must be followed with supervision(监督), monitoring, and correction.

1. What happened to the author’s color markers?

A．They were stolen.

B．They were destroyed.

C．They were thrown away.

D．They were cleaned by mistake.

2. What does the author mainly want to show in Paragraph 3?

A．Mistakes are unavoidable for children.

B．Some lessons of life are too painful to bear.

C．Children often put themselves in danger.

D．Children can learn from their mistakes.

3. What would be the best title for the text?

A．What is growing up without making mistakes?

B．How to help children grow up quickly?

C．How to deal with children’s mistakes?

D．What really matters in growing up?