【推荐1】The summer before my 10th birthday my father moved our family of nine kids to a farm. We had always lived in a small city, in the house my dad had gotten from my grandparents, who had wanted fresh air, green food and lots of room for their children but failed. My father held the same will. He’d worked multiple jobs and saved for many years... and could finally afford a place in the countryside. Now a minor concern: the house had no running water or electricity. But there were 150 acres to run around in.

That first year my dad put in electricity, because my mom simply announced, “I won’t have oil lamps with children running around!” Indoor plumbing(管道系统) had to wait another year. Different friends, who my dad knew from work, asked if he’d take their large dogs who couldn’t run free in the city. So we all now played with a big orange-brown boxer and a sporty German Shorthaired Pointer, who we named Billy and Molly.

Minimalism was our goal, and also our only choice. Absolutely our clothes were hand-me-downs. Bananas and oranges were rare “imported” fruit we’d seen at holiday. We felt we were younger than peers (同龄人) -there was ONE birthday party a year! We’d take turns…once every 9 years a child would have his/her own party!

While money was so scarce, we had joy to hand all the time. My mother was always singing, yelling, or hugging. And she told us we owned plenty! To this day, each of us remembers those years as an abundance of things, laughter, arguing, making peace, and playing together! Every challenge was a game to defeat, and any failure was a chance to learn there.

1. Why did the author’s father move their family to a farm?

A．To carry out the wish of his parents.

B．To start a brand new life in a luxury house.

C．To improve the children’s living environment.

D．To get rid of the heavy workload in the city.

2. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．There was no electricity in their rooms.

B．Two dogs became part of the author’s life.

C．The author’s mother had a sharp tongue.

D．Their rural life became the envy of friends.

3. What is the author’s tone in paragraph 3?

A．Hopeful.

B．Upset.

C．Amazed.

D．Amusing.

4. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “scarce” in the last paragraph?

A．Practical.

B．Accurate.

C．Tight.

D．Essential.

【推荐3】I arrived home late one night last week. I spent a moment looking up into the night sky. The stars above shone(照耀) brightly. The sky looked really beautiful.

I started to think about other things as I stared at the night sky. It hit me clearly that these beautiful stars were always there but I had spent very little time in the past really appreciating them. It also reminded me that we often think we deserve many things around us, being too caught up in our own little world. It is a world filled with busy work and the demands placed on us from what we have allowed to take up our time.

Recently, I was asked to repair a house for a family member. When I arrived, it seemed like any other day when I spent my time doing something I knew how to do. But there was something else that came to mind as I started to work with my son-in-law. I considered it a good opportunity. The opportunity was more than just spending time repairing a house. It was an opportunity to further a bond between two people who are related by marriage but are unrelated through few experiences. It was an opportunity to build a stronger bond, a bond that can only happen when two people are exposed (暴露) to each other’s skills and faults. It was also an opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with another who wanted to learn.

There are many chances to see beyond what is viewed as normal, but we must be able to actually open our eyes and heart to these events and appreciate them. To be in tune with what is around you, you must use the attitude of a child who screams with joy the first time they see a rainbow, hear the pretty song of a bird, or enjoy the beauty of Christmas decorations.

1. While looking at the night sky, the author realized that __________.

A．the sky wasn’t always beautiful

B．he had wasted his life for many years

C．he didn’t know what he really wanted

D．he didn’t appreciate things around him

2. What does the underlined word “bond” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Relationship.	B．Friendship.
C．Trust.	D．Respect.

3. While repairing the house, the author considered it a good opportunity to _________.

A．learn some important skills

B．show others his skills and faults

C．become closer with his son-in-law

D．earn some money for his family

4. Why does the author talk about what a child does in the last paragraph?

A．Because children know what they really want.

B．Because children can help us think of our childhood.

C．Because children can enjoy the simple beauty of things.

D．Because children actually value family more than adults do.

【推荐1】Frank looked at us and said, “My Dad was a fisherman. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas(帆布), foul-weather coat and his overalls(围裙). No matter how much my Mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”

His voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had an old truck which was older than he was. You could hear it coming for blocks(街区). As he drove toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!”

He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, ‘No, Dad. I’m too old for a goodbye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss.”

“My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield (挡风玻璃). ‘You're right,’he said. ‘You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore.”

Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke.“It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet(捕鱼船队) stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a gale (狂风) and was trying to save the nets and the floats.”

1. Frank said that his father smelled like the ocean ________.

A．to prove that his father was as great as the ocean

B．to prove that his father was a fisherman

C．to tell us that his father's clothes were very dirty

D．to show that his father worked hard all the year on the sea

2. From the passage we learn that _______.

A．the writer is very rich now	B．the writer’s father was not hard-working
C．the writer’s father didn’t like him at all	D．the writer loved his father clearly

3. How did his father feel when the writer said that he was too old for any kind of kiss?

A．Angry and surprised.	B．Surprised and sad.
C．Satisfied and excited.	D．Frightened and disappointed.

4. Why would Frank shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear?

A．Because he wanted to be kissed by his father.

B．Because he was very shy.

C．Because he felt very cold in the morning.

D．Because staying with his father made him feel embarrassed.

5. In what tone did Frank tell of his father?

A．Happy.

B．Regretful.

C．Hopeful.

D．Terrified.

【推荐3】I’ve worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer since I graduated from high school, but making the transition between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o’clock each morning is torture. My friends never seem to understand why I’m so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.

There’re few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.

The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.

After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. When I’m back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale (老掉牙的) now ring true.

These lessons I’m learning, however valuable, are always tinged (带有) with sense of guilt. Many people pass their lives in the places I briefly work, spending 30 years where I spend only two months at a time. “This job pays well, but it’s hell on the body,” said one co-worker. “Study hard and keep reading,” she added.

My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.

1. Which of the following is closest to the underlined word “torture” in the first paragraph?

A．Misery

B．Fortune

C．Anxiety

D．Availability

2. What does the author say about college students?

A．They expect too much from the real world.	B．They have little interest in blue-collar life.
C．They think too highly of themselves.	D．They are confident of their future.

3. What, according to the author, is most frustrating for blue-collar workers?

A．They do not get decent pay.	B．They do not have job security.
C．They have to work 12-hour shifts.	D．They have to move from place to place.

4. In what important way has the author’s work experience changed him?

A．He learned to be more practical.	B．He acquired a sense of urgency.
C．He came to respect blue-collar workers.	D．He came to appreciate his college education.

5. Why does the author feel somewhat guilty?

A．He realizes there is a great divide between his life and that of blue-collar workers.

B．He looks down upon the mechanical work at the assembly life.

C．He has not done much to help his co-workers at the factory.

D．He has stayed at school just for the purpose of escaping from the real world.