【推荐3】In Thailand, gai yang—or grilled chicken—might not sound like the most extraordinary dish. Yet the necessity for customers to order it days ahead in Sila Sutharat's food stall (小摊) if they want to try some is a proof that ordinary things done creatively are far more attractive than extraordinary things done ordinarily,

One day, I stopped by a place where a man named Sila Sutharat was grilling chickens in perhaps the most extraordinary way possible. Unlike the coal-fire-licked chickens that are so common in Thailand, Sutharat's was cooked with the extraordinary heat source: the sun.

About 60 miles from Thailand's capital city Bangkok, Sutharat's solar grill—a huge, adjustable wall of polished mirrors—could be seen standing out from among the trees on a small side road. Depending on the time, you might see Sutharat standing in the back adjusting the chickens that sat at the center of the focused light—estimated to exceed temperatures of 200℃.

He was inspired, by chance, in 1999, when a tour bus with reflective side mirrors drove past while he was walking to his former food stall. Surprised by the heat given off, he was soon exploring ways to use mirrors to grll chickens.

It might seem a basic principle of physics to me, but Sutharat's creation had not always been a smooth sailing. "My wife thought I was stupid. The neighbors said I was crazy, "Sutharat said of the early days of trial and error. The first grill was built with 300 mirrors, but it didn't cook the food fast enough and struggled with cloud cover. So Sutharat decided to increase the number of mirrors to 1, 000 until a whole gai yang could be cooked in 12 to 15 minutes.

Without any of the usual blackened skin, the flavors of the chickens are far more pronounced. Actually, more and more people have noticed the difference. These days, you'll have to order days ahead if you want to try some.

1. What has made Sila Sutharat's food stall so special?

A．The unique kind of heat.	B．The high temperature of the grill.
C．The huge size of the grill	D．The good position of the food stall.

2. What does the author think of the working principle of Sutharat's grill?

A．Stupid.

B．Creative.

C．Complex.

D．Simple.

3. What does the underlined word "pronounced" in the last paragraph mean?

A．Disgusting.

B．Different.

C．Strange.

D．Bitter.

4. What is the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To explain how to grill Thai chickens.

B．To advertise the delicious grilled chickens.

C．To introduce Sila Sutharat's extraordinary gai yang.

D．To help his friend attract more tourists to his restaurant.

【推荐2】Throughout my childhood, I constantly dreamed of being an only child-having no one around to fight with, to share with, to grab the remote control away from me in the middle of a “big game.” But I have an elder sister, whom I have always called “Kicki,” instead of her real name Christie, because I used to have trouble pronouncing the “r” and “s”.

I started playing basketball in primary school. My dad was the coach of my team, and my mom kept score. So my sister, not old enough to stay home alone, was forced to come to all my games. I remember looking toward the stands for my mother’s approval and seeing my sister’s face, confused. It was obvious that she wasn’t excited, but she cheered along with the crowd anyway.

On the car ride home, my parents and I would relive the game. My sister sat in the back seat with me in silence, not knowing how or when to enter the conversation. Often, she would say, “Good game, Brad. ” I would smile and thank her but never took it seriously. She couldn’t possibly know whether I had played well or not.

It wasn’t until I reached high school that I realized how popular she was, and I was referred to as “Christie’s little brother. ” I played basketball in high school, and although Christie wasn’t forced to attend my games anymore, she still came to cheer me every week. In the last game of the last season, she came with a large group of friends. Printed on her shirt, in big bright red letters, were the words “BRAD’S SISTER. ” Suddenly I was embarrassed, not for her presence, but for my previous attitude to her praise.

Kicki left for college after that game. I finally have the remote control all to myself. However, watching TV alone has turned out to be boring. I went to visit her at college during a weekend, and as I stood outside her dorm, waiting for her to come out, a friend of hers whom I didn’t know walked past me and asked, “Hey, aren’t you Christie’s brother?” I smiled broadly and said proudly, “Yeah, I am. I’m Christie’s brother.”

1. How did Brad feel about being an only child when he was young?

A．Boring.

B．Awesome.

C．Tough.

D．Awful.

2. Why did Christie go to Brad’s games when he was in primary school?

A．She hoped to know more about Brad.

B．She was interested in basketball games.

C．She was too young to be left alone at home.

D．She wanted to spend more time with her family.

3. Why did Brad feel embarrassed according to the last but one paragraph?

A．He treated Christie’s praise lightly before.

B．He forgot Christie’s presence at his last game.

C．He saw the big bright red letters on Christi’s shirt.

D．He received unwanted attention from Christie’s friends.

4. What can be inferred about Christie?

A．She was proud of Brad.

B．She didn’t like watching TV.

C．She enjoyed Brad’s calling her Kicki.

D．She seldom went home during college.

【推荐3】One Saturday in December, Annacarin Elf, the head of operations at Gothenburg City Library, just happened to walk by her workplace. Noticing that the door was open, she entered the library, and was astonished to see the heartwarming scene that people were using it like on a regular day.

It was scheduled to be closed for the New Year holiday. The people in the library behaved as usual. Many were sitting reading newspapers, some families were in the children's section and others were searching for books on the computer.

It seemed that Elf's colleagues had simply forgotten to lock the door, and because this popular library is usually open on Saturdays. visitors just assumed they could walk in. Elf called to check with her staff team, before announcing to the people present that the library was about to close. Then she expressed her regret for what had been done wrong and caused them a problem. It later turns out that 446 locals visited the city library borrowing a total of 246 books during the day. What's remarkable is that people checked out their books through the library's electronic self-service system, and that to date, all the books have been retuned!

Many Swedes have reacted positively to this uplifting demonstration of local respect for the library, a center that can be seen as a sign of the community, and what the locals did has strengthened their sense of belonging in their community.

Elf says, “Nothing was destroyed. It's amazing that Gothenburgers entered an empty library and treated and so lovingly.” The city leader has even suggested that this unusual Saturday serve as an accidental experiment to analyse the possibility of operating a totally automated library without staff.

1. Why did Elf feel surprised after entering the library?

A．The library staff were in it.	B．People kept reading on holidays.
C．People came in without permission.	D．It was used though supposed to be closed.

2. What did Elf do that Saturday?

A．She left the library open.	B．She asked the staff back.
C．She apologized to the visitors.	D．She read books in the library.

3. What do many Swedes think of the behavior of Gothenburg locals?

A．It displays community spirit.	B．It gives the library much uplift.
C．It is a positive reaction to society.	D．It strengthens trust between people.

4. What does the author want to convey through the story?

A．People tend to show care for others.	B．Life is always full of the unexpected.
C．Libraries can be automated sometimes.	D．A library can bring out the best in people.