【推荐1】Days after Argentina canceled all international passenger flights to protect the country from the new coronavirus, Peter began his journey home the only way possible: He stepped aboard his small sailboat for what turned out to be an 85-day voyage across the Atlantic.

The 47-year-old sailor could have stayed on an island spared by the virus to survive the period of lockdown and social distancing. But the idea of spending what he thought could be “the end of the world”away from his family, especially his father who was going to turn 90,was unbearable.

“I didn’t want to stay like a coward(胆小鬼) on an island where there were no cases，”Peter said.“I wanted to do everything possible to return home. The most important thing for me was to be with my family.”

He bought his sailboat in 2017, desiring to take a round-the-world tour. “I wasn’t afraid, but I did have a lot of uncertainty,” he said.“It was very strange to sail in the middle of a pandemic.” Sailing can be lonely passion, and it was particularly so on this voyage for Peter.Despite the vastness of the ocean, Peter felt he was in separation, and buried in an intense steam of not knowing what the future held. “I was locked up in my own freedom,” he recalled.

When he came back home on June 17,he was shocked by the hero’s welcome he received. “Entering my port where my father had his sailboat, where he taught me so many things, where I learned how to sail and where all this originated, gave me the taste of a mission accomplished,” he said.

1. Why did Peter decide on his Trans-Atlantic sailing?

A．To return home and see his family.

B．To explore scenic places of the world.

C．To avoid being considered as a coward.

D．To stay away from the new coronavirus.

2. Why did Peter buy his sailboat?

A．To keep fit.

B．To try a new hobby.

C．To accompany the family.

D．To travel around the world.

3. How did Peter feel during the journey?

A．Free and lonely.

B．Frightened but proud.

C．Uncertain and separated.

D．Passionate but regretful.

4. What can be inferred about Peter from the last paragraph?

A．His father was eager to welcome him home.

B．He gained a sense of achievement and belonging.

C．He completed the task and therefore became a hero.

D．His father gave him the inspiration to sail single-handed.

【推荐2】On the way home from his job at a cake shop on one August evening, Craig Schum stopped his car at the East Hampton Airport for a break. He got out of the car and kicked off his shoes to relax.

Within seconds, though, Schum saw something shocking: A small plane dived and crashed into the woods at about 100 yards from the run-way. “I don’t remember making the decision that I should go help out,” he says. “I just started running.” Schum rushed across the street barefoot before taking off his apron (围裙). Then he climbed over a six-foot-high fence and ran toward the woods.

When he got there, he discovered the pilot, Stephen Bochter－his head was covered in blood－beside the burning plane. Brochter’s only passenger, his wife, Kim Brillo, was on the ground, unable to move. “She had blood all over her,” says Schum. “I thought she was dead.”

Without a second thought, Schum struggled to lift the fence and brought Brochter and Brillo out from under it. There was only one thought in Schum’s mind that he must bring the couple to safety as quickly as possible. Moments later, the entire plane exploded (爆炸). After the ambulance arrived, Bochter and Brillo were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries.

Brochter, an experienced pilot, later said that the plane’s electrical system had failed shortly after take-off. He had been trying to land at the East Hampton Airport when the plane began to fall. He managed to level the wings before crashing into the woods. “Everything was on fire, and Schum came out of nowhere to save us,” says Bochter. “We are extremely lucky to have lived through it because of him.”

1. What did Schum do upon seeing the plane crash?

A．He called the police at once.	B．He decided to pull over.
C．He rushed to rescue without thinking.	D．He got back to put on his shoes.

2. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．How Schum got to the crash site.	B．How terrible the crash was.
C．How Schum helped with the crash.	D．How the injured were treated.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The crash of the plane was no surprise.

B．Schum came to help at Brochter’s request.

C．The plane broke down near its destination.

D．Brochter appreciated Schum’s timely help.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．An Angel in an Apron	B．An Experienced Pilot
C．A Terrible Plane Crash	D．A Couple in Love

【推荐1】I'm from the South Bronx. At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe. It was a small town to me. Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are your mom knew about it before you got home. I felt watched over and safe.

But just before I turned 8, things began to change. I watched two buildings on my block burn down. I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out. Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them.

That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx. He was shot above the left eye and died instantly.

People who could moved out of the neighborhood, and all I wanted to do was get out, too. I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from. To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person. It felt like a stain.

After college, I didn't want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to. I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents' home. It felt like a defeat, and I hated it.

At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care — including many of us who lived here. They were like, "Well, it's a poor community; what's the difference?"

I was very angry. It drove me to act. It moved my spirit in a way that I didn't know was possible. And it changed my beliefs — it changed the way I felt about myself and my community. I worked hard with others who felt the same way, and together, we defeated the plan.

After that, I realized it's just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something. So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump — and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one. And it's a glory. It was the seed from which many new plans for our community have grown.

Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it's a badge(象征) of honor for me. I believe that where I'm from helps me to really see the world. Today, when I say I'm from the South Bronx, I stand up straight. This is home, and it always will be.

1. Paragraphs 2 and 3 make the readers believe ____________.

A．the author felt watched over and safe

B．he author’s brother was a bad man

C．the author’s neighbor Pito was braver than a fireman

D．the author felt his hometown was not a safe place to live in

2. The author went back to the South Bronx after college because ____________.

A．he couldn’t afford to live without his parents’ help

B．he loved his hometown very much

C．he was defeated in studies at college

D．he almost reached the age of 30

3. The underlined sentences(Paragraph 2) imply that ____________.

A．the author wondered where the firemen and the truck were

B．the author wanted someone to call the firemen

C．the firemen didn’t come to help although called

D．the firemen didn’t find a place to park the truck

4. What does the author want to convey in the passage?

A．Great changes have taken place in the South Bronx.

B．The South Bronx is a beautiful place.

C．You can make a difference to your hometown if you act.

D．Everyone should love his hometown.