【推荐1】If there's one thing I' ve learned from my years of being a kid, it' s that you have ZERO control over your own life.
Ever since school ended, I haven' t had anything I' ve needed to do or anywhere I' ve needed to be.   As long as the air-conditioning(空调) was working and the TV remote had batteries in it, I was ready for a relaxing summer holiday.
But then, out of the blue, this happened - " Pack your bags.   We' re going on a road trip ! " Mom said excitedly.
This isn't the first time Mom has sprung a trip on us without any warming. Last year on the first day of summer, she said we were going to visit Aunt Loretta at the nursing home.
It wasn't exactly my idea of a fun way to kick off the summer. One time when we visited Aunt Loretta, her roommate grasped me and wouldn't let me go until someone gave her a chocolate cookie !
Mom kept talking about going to the nursing home for a whole day, which made me worry a lot.   But at breakfast the next morning, she told us where we were really going - Disney World.
I was very happy, because I was really worried about spending the whole week at the nursing home. So was Dad.
But when my little brother, Danny, heard about the change he became very angry. Mom had talked up the Aunt Loretta trip so much that Danny was actually excited about going there.
We ended up putting off our trip to Disney so we could visit Aunt Loretta.
I tried to talk Mom into letting us do something normal, like going to a water park for the day, but she didn't want to hear it.   She said that spending a lot of time together in the car would be a " bonding"   experience for the whole family.
1. What did the author prefer to do during his summer holidays?

A．Visit Aunt Loretta.

B．Travel with his family.

C．Look after his little brother.

D．Watch TV comfortably at home.

2. From the passage, we can learn that the author_______

A．loved his aunt very much

B．got pretty excited about the road trip

C．felt helpless with his mother's surprise trips

D．blamed Danny for not going to Disney World

3. Who makes the final decision in the family?

A．The author.	B．Mom.
C．Dad.	D．Aunt Loretta

4. The author wrote the passage to_______

A．remember his mother

B．tell the story of his aunt

C．express his love for his brother

D．share with readers his childhood experiences

【推荐2】I like staying overnight at my granny Ruiz’s house until she starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.

That’s why I wasn’t too excited when granny called me to “come on over”. When I got there, it was worse than I expected. Maya sat there, all dressed up.

Maya was taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was talking about how nice to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so.

I couldn’t remember what it was I didn’t like about her. The last time she was there, we’d had hours of fun together. After that, I’d heard about her only through granny’s tales. Now Maya looked great with the latest haircut and a beautiful dress. I glanced down at my jeans and sneakers. It was bad enough that she was granny’s favorite-smarter and more talented than I was-but elegant, too? This was too much.

Maya’s words crashed through my thoughts, “I hear you like skating,” I was surprised, wondering how she knew about my skating.

“I hear you take piano lessons,” I countered. A funny look crossed her face and she nodded.

“I hear you were captain of your softball team,” she said.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “How do you know this?”

Maya shrugged and looked down. “I hear about you all the time from granny’s letters.”

“Granny tells me about you all the time, too!” I said. “I even know you wear a size-three shoe!”

Maya laughed. I also smiled, knowing now that granny had two favorites.

1. We can infer that the author felt ______ every time granny talked about Maya.

A．excited	B．curious
C．surprised	D．uncomfortable

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Maya and the author hadn’t met each other for about four years.

B．They both knew a lot about each other through their granny.

C．Maya was happy about the get-together but the author wasn’t.

D．The author loved sports, such as skating and playing softball.

3. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Fun Time with Maya	B．Granny’s Favorite
C．Our Loving Granny	D．A Surprise Get-together

【推荐3】Anyone who is afraid of failure and afraid to face challenges will never taste success, so said our professor in marketing. I laughed it off at that time, but got frightened when it actually happened in my life.

I landed in a small city in the Middle East to set up a firm, a world－class car rental firm. Having decided on the project, I earnestly settled in preparation. With a positive mind, I told myself nothing should stop me now, and was more than keen to make it a success.

However, the least expected thing happened. Iraq invaded Kuwait. Tension ran high in the region. Eventually the war broke out, and many people fled the country, leaving my firm in deep trouble.

As usual, “things become difficult, and every effort seems to bring disappointment, it can be tempting to lower your expectations or even water down your goals and ambitions.” I was no exception. I thought of running away. I remembered the words of Thomas Edison, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to succeed when they gave up.”

I decided to hang on, telling myself, “I am not afraid of challenges and obstacles.” I stayed on through months of uncertainty and insecurity. Finances ran low, and banks could not wait to get their dues. To add to all this, the banks even threatened to take all my vehicles. I felt I made a wrong decision to move there. I was now ready to face failure.

I was living against all hopes, believing that something good would happen. After 2 months the war ended. My persistence paid off: people started flooding back and the car bookings picked up, five times over.

Success comes to the one who dares, even after failure, to think positively and look forward confidently. After all, it is only the experience that makes a man tough. Failure does not mean you will never make it. It means that it will take a little longer. It provides us with a learning experience.

1. The main method the author uses to support his understanding of his professor's viewpoint is ________.

A．offering analyses	B．providing explanations
C．making comparisons	D．giving examples

2. How did the author feel when the war between Iraq and Kuwait broke out?

A．Unconfident	B．Indifferent
C．Nervous	D．Calm

3. What does the underlined phrase “water down” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?

A．get rid of	B．smooth away
C．make less forceful	D．improve on

4. The author's purpose of writing the passage is most likely to ________.

A．inform	B．persuade
C．describe	D．entertain

【推荐2】Everyone can try his best to achieve. We don’t need to be the best, but to tough out the limits of what we are capable of. I gained this belief from my third grade teacher, the most special, honored, trustworthy, and loved person in my life.

Mr. Myrus was always perfectly dressed and spoke with the belied that talking to eight-year-old didn’t mean he had to sacrifice proper statements or grammars. And he was demanding, but he wasn’t unreasonable or cruel. He simply felt that no matter what your best was, you should achieve it.

As luck would have it, I met him again as my eighth grade math teacher. I was not, nor ever will be, gifted in math. I remember my struggles in class. “I don’t know the answer,” I would say, “I can’t do it!” “Perhaps you don’t know the answer,” he would say quietly. “Do you think we might figure it out together? How do you know what you can do until you try?”

Mr. Myrus lived around the corner, and I would often stop by to talk while he worked in his garden. I knew there was someone who let me know that if I had really tried, that was enough. “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he’d say. “Stop blaming yourself. Did you try your best? Well, then you’re not a failure,” he often told me these words.

Mr. Myrus died in 1978. I had never thought about his death. He was too young. I felt sorry. But when I think about him now, I don’t feel so sorry. He taught me to be kind, not only to others, but to myself. He taught me my own value. He taught me about honor, about truth, and about doing my best-and all feelings and beliefs have dignity and deserve respect. And of all the things I know, this I believe: We can’t all be “the best”, but we can, each of us, be our best, and I know that’s true because Mr. Myrus told me that.

1. What does the underlined word “demanding” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．Strict	B．Serious
C．Critical	D．Careful

2. Why did the author think he was a lucky dog?

A．He got a great belief from his teacher

B．Mr. Myrus was his teacher for eight years

C．He became interested in math because of Mr. Myrus

D．He developed a good relationship with Mr. Myrus

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The author may have become a teacher

B．The author liked to recall his childhood

C．The author believed he would be the best of all

D．The author ended up being a man of self-confidence

4. What can we learn about Mr. Myrus according to the text?

A．He is usually unconcerned with the students

B．He is responsible for his students and his teaching

C．He is a person who isn’t particular about what he wears

D．He sometimes is cruel and unreasonable to his students

【推荐3】Life comes in a package. This package includes happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. Life is a learning process. Experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person. With each passing day we learn to handle various situations.

Love

Love plays a pivotal role on our life. Love makes you feel wanted. Without love a person could go Hayward (不归路) and also become cruel and ferocious. In the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who show us with unconditional love and care. They teach us about what is right and wrong, good and bad. But we always tend to take this for granted. It is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands and becomes sensitive to others’ feelings. Kids make a person responsible and mature and help us to understand life better.

Happiness and Sorrow

Materialistic happiness is short­lived, but happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others’ face gives a certain level of fulfillment. Peace of mind is the main link to happiness. No mind is happy without peace. We realize the true worth of happiness when we are in sorrow. Sorrow is basically due to death of a loved one, failure and despair. But these things are temporary and pass away.

Failure and Success

Failure is the path to success. It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way. Success brings in money, fame, pride and self­respect. Here it becomes very important to keep our head on our shoulder. The only way to show our gratitude to God for bestowing success on us is by being humble, modest, courteous and respectful to the less fortunate ones.

Hope and Despair

Hope is what keeps life going. Parents always hope their children will do well. Hope makes us dream. Hope builds in patience. Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night there is a day. Nothing remains the same we have only one choice keep moving on in life and be hopeful.

Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control. Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dull. So the only alternative is work hard today, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.

1. In the passage, the author compares life to ________.

A．package	B．joy and sorrow
C．failure and success	D．hope and despair

2. In which section can readers probably read the passage?

A．Opinions.

B．Politics.

C．Education.

D．Lifestyles.

3. How is the passage organized?

A．In order of rules.

B．In order of frequency.

C．By making comparison.

D．In order of importance.

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To encourage people to love each other.

B．To tell people how to deal with happiness and sorrow.

C．To remind people of keeping having a beautiful dream.

D．To give readers some information about life.