【推荐2】Finding true love can be prey tough for a lot of people, but a lady from a fairly well-known San Francisco advertising agency seems to think money helps. She is offering $10,000 to any of her friends who can introduce her to her Mr. Right. She wants to find her future husband through this way.

The unnamed husband seeker who sent out the email had just finished reading the best-selling book named Lean In. It was 11 p.m. on a Sunday night and she realized this was the second self-help book she had read in the month. She was still single. Things were not looking fine, but there was hope for her still. If the book had taught her anything, it was that she needed to take a more positive role in finding love. After all, if she wanted to get a better job, she wouldn’t just sit outside an employer’s building and wait for someone to offer it to her, so why should finding a husband be any different? But instead of going out and meeting new people she decided to write an email to all her friends, offering to give them $10,000 on her wedding day if any of them managed to introduce her to her future husband.

“I am writing you today because I’ve decided to make an aggressive action plan on finding the man that I get to hang out with forever,” the woman writes in her email. “Introducing me to my husband is just not high on your to-do list. But I think I have an idea that might change that…” You guessed it, and this is where she offers to reward her “closest friends” with cold hard cash.

“I will personally give ten thousand dollars to the friend who introduces me to my husband.”

Here is how the program works:

Step 1: You set me up on a date with a man.

Step 2: I marry that man.

Step 3: I give you $10,000 on my wedding day.

I know you’re thinking that this is nuts. Just plain crazy. ‘You can find a husband without giving $10,000.’ Well for starters, thank you! I’m happy.”

1. What does the lady offer $10,000 to any of her friends for?

A．Celebrating the fact that she has made a decision to find a husband.

B．Checking the power of money among her circle of friends.

C．Encouraging her friends to help find her Mr. Right.

D．Sharing her happiness of having found true love.

2. What does the underlined word “nuts” mean in the last paragraph?

A．delicious	B．sensible
C．angry	D．foolish

3. What’s the purpose of the author’s mentioning getting a better job in Paragraph 2?

A．To stress the importance of finding a good job.

B．To stress the importance of taking a positive attitude.

C．To show that waiting patiently is necessary to get a job.

D．To state that we need to be patient before a job is offered.

4. What kind of person do you think the lady is?

A．Adventurous	B．Imaginative
C．Considerate	D．Polite

【推荐1】In the fall of 2017, when Paula Aldridge needed to get a job, she found herself at a crossroads. The 50-year-old wasn’t sure she would ever work again, due to health issues.

But Aldridge’s life and career journey started to turn around after she connected with Goodwill of Central Iowa’s skills training programs. These programs are tailored to help people develop the kind of specific, real-world skills they need to get and keep a job, through a combination of detailed instruction and hands-on experience.

When Aldridge first connected with Goodwill in September 2017, she was dealing with several barriers to immediate employment. Transportation was challenging, as she didn’t have a driver’s license or own a car. Aldridge also had a limited work history with long employment gaps (间断) , meaning she missed out on learning important skills, such as working a credit card machine. On top of that, her physical health issues were also a problem.

According to Kayleigh Duff, a career specialist at Goodwill of Central Iowa, the biggest barrier Aldridge had to overcome was from within. “She said outwardly that she had all of this confidence and that she knew how strong a worker she was, but I don’t think she truly believed it herself.”

Thankfully, Aldridge had plenty of people on her side to provide motivation and guidance. She originally started off in the food service training program but was eager to enter the retail (零售) skills program, since she had previously worked at the Salvation Army and Subway. When Aldridge mentioned her interest in retail, Duff recognized that her go-getting attitude would be a perfect match for the program.

The seven-week retail skills training is a systematic program combining classroom instruction with on- the-job experience at a Goodwill store. As Aldridge progressed and graduated from the program, she became more confident in her abilities.

Duff said it was great to see how Aldridge grew into the devoted, driven worker she is today. “She has this strong desire, this longing to succeed. And she knows that she’s able to do that, although she has fallen short in the past.”

1. What can be learned about Goodwill’s training programs?

A．They combine theory with practice.

B．They guarantee a good job for participants.

C．They are designed mainly for the unemployed.

D．They were established in the autumn of 2017.

2. What was the biggest problem Aldridge faced according to Duff?

A．Poor health.	B．Poor working skills.
C．A lack of confidence.	D．A lack of a driver’s license.

3. Why did Aldridge change her training program?

A．She wanted to attend a more systematic program.

B．She wanted to gain some hands-on experience.

C．She was more interested in retail.

D．She followed Duff’s advice.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．A 50-year-old devotes herself to Goodwill.

B．Goodwill helps a 50-year-old turn her life around.

C．Goodwill training programs spring up around the world.

D．Success is closely linked to appropriate training programs.

【推荐2】Next year the U.S. National Park Service will turn 100. The 100^th anniversary （周年纪念日）will be celebrated across the nation.
Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior of the United States, started a new program called “Find Your Park.” She said being outside helps both children and adults in today’s computer-driven world.
“In this society, where we’ve got much information at out fingertips, and things to distract（分散……注意力）our brains, there is little to distract our bodies and that’s why parks and open spaces are so important and even more important with each passing year,” Jewell said.
From beautiful lands and mountains to historical and cultural places, national parks can be found in all 50 states across the U.S. The parks had nearly 293 million visits in 2014. The Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was the most popular with 15 million visits. There are 28 different kinds of national park, and each park has an important story to tell.
Jewell has invited some famous Americans to help the anniversary. American First Lady Michelle Obama and former First Lady Laura Bush were invited to share their national park stories, because the White House is one of the country’s national parks.
Mrs. Obama encouraged “people across the country to ‘Find Your Park,’ whether it’s in your backyard, or your hometown, or in one of our beautiful national parks.”
Some well-known Americans have filmed their own personal national park stories and they can be seen on National Park Foundation website. Bill Nye, known as “The Science Guy,” and actress Bella Thorne are two of the people who have shared their personal national park stories.
The program wants the public to share park experiences and memories at FindYourPark.com. The website helps people find a park near their home, not just national parks, but local parks as well.
“It’s really all about getting people outside and moving as well as getting them to recognize（认识）what parks and public lands have to offer,” Jewell said.
1. What’s the purpose of the program “Find Your Park”?

A．To get more people to connect with public lands.

B．To make sure people live in a healthy outdoor life.

C．To raise money for the 100th anniversary.

D．To keep children and adults away from computers

2. In Jewell’s opinion, parks and open spaces ______.

A．are good for helping brains to get information

B．have a big influence on people’s lives

C．are hard to attract human beings

D．help keep people’s attention

3. The national parks in the U.S. _____.

A．are the nation’s main tourist attraction

B．have one story teller for each park

C．are popular across the nation

D．cover a few of its states

4. Famous people are helping the anniversary by ____.

A．sharing their national park experiences

B．filming people in the national parks

C．building parks in their backyards

D．helping people to find a park near their home

【推荐3】A few months ago, Jason asked his parents to buy him a computer. All his friends already had one, so his mom and dad agreed. During the first few weeks, Jason spent a lot of time in front of his computer because he had to learn how it worked. He was really interested in learning all about it and he even started writing computer programs himself.

One day Jason found a website where he could play chess either against the computer or against other people from all over the world. From then on, Jason seemed to have just one interest in life, his computer. Whenever his parents told him that he was spending too much time with his computer, Jason went into denial. He did not think that he had a problem at all.

Then the unthinkable happened: Jason's computer broke down. But his parents decided not to buy him a new one. Jason said that he needed a computer for school, and he promised that he'd spend less time with it. But his parents refused to give in. Finally, Jason felt so hopeless that he took the only way out and killed himself.

Robert Johnson, a psychologist (心理学家) on the subject, says, "Computer addiction is an illness that can influence anyone of us. Nowadays, increasing numbers of people are spending more and more time working with computers. While this isn't a problem for most users, some people, especially teenagers, often use the computer to get away from the real world. This is especially true of shy people. For them, meeting people online is a way of hiding their true selves. In cyberspace (网络空间), they can be whoever they want to be and create their own virtual (虚拟的) world. But what happens when they can no longer enter their virtual world?"

1. Why did Jason want to buy a computer according to Paragraph 1?

A．To play chess.	B．To make friends
C．To avoid being an outsider(外人).	D．To write computer programs.

2. By saying "Jason went into denial", the author means________.

A．Jason enjoyed himself	B．Jason would not listen
C．Jason would turn it off	D．Jason changed his mind

3. What was Jason's relationship with his parents like when his computer broke down?

A．Fine

B．Terrible

C．So so.

D．Unknown.

4. In Robert Johnson's opinion, ________.

A．it is impossible to beat computer addiction	B．teenagers should stay away from computers
C．shy people get addicted to computers easily	D．computers are getting us into serious trouble

【推荐1】Across the United Kingdom, as the COVID-19 crisis has bitten deeper, its citizens have started a new practice: Emerging from self-isolation every Thursday night at 8 p.m. to clap, cheer, and bang pots and pans to show support for the country’s front-line doctors and nurses.

But as the death toll today hit a single-day U.K. record of 980-and with the peak death rate still estimated to be two weeks away-the crisis caused by the scale of the pandemic has been worsened here by a new degree of political uncertainty. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to the hospital on Sunday and has spent his days and nights in intensive care fighting the virus, surrounded by the doctors and nurses of the National Health Service.

The U.K. is not alone in showing new found public affection for key workers, nor in facing an unprecedented public health emergency that has, in Europe, especially affected Italy, Spain, and France. A recent U.K. government appeal for 250,000 volunteers to help the NHS (National Health Service) yielded an army of 750,000 would-be helpers.

But the pandemic finds the U.K. at a politically uncertain moment, as a nation finally emerging from three and a half years of political issue over its chaotic departure from the European Union. A December election that gave a decisive victory to Mr. Johnson and the ruling Conservative Party added clarity to a Brexit mandate and was seen by many as a potential first step in healing deep divisions in Britain’s political and social structure.

Acknowledging the impact of the coronavirus on daily lives, Queen Elizabeth II, in a rare address   on Sunday, praised the “national spirit” and thanked NHS and care workers, whose “every hour” of hard work “brings us closer to a return to a more normal time.” Calling on citizens to “remain united and resolute” to overcome the pandemic, she sought to provide comfort. “While we may have still more to endure, better days will return We will meet again,” she said.

1. What contributed to worsening the current crisis in the U.K?

A．The pandemic of COVID-19.	B．Political instability.
C．The vote for Brexit.	D．The December election.

2. The British showed widespread support to the fight against coronavirus EXCEPT by .

A．clapping, cheering, and banging pots and pans every Thursday night

B．advocating volunteers to help the NHS

C．organizing 750,000 helpers to join the army

D．praising the “national spirit” in Queen’s speech

3. It can be inferred from the passage that .

A．The death toll set a new single-day record and the peak death had arrived

B．Prime Minister Boris Johnson was receiving good medical treatment

C．the COVID-19 has been found in European history

D．Conservative Party has healed the deep political and social divisions

4. Where might the passage come from?

A．A noticeboard.	B．A private e-mail.
C．A research paper.	D．A newspaper.

【推荐3】Churchill, Manitoba is a small town. The northern winds roll through it from Canada's Hudson Bay. It might be just another point on the map if not for its seasonal settlers.

It happens like clockwork every fall that hundreds of polar bears make their way through the town to the freezing bay where they hunt for seals after the ice packs enough to support their weight. The animals have been connected with Churchill since at least 1619. That's when Norwegian explorer Jens Munk and his sailors recorded making a meal of one bear while they wintered in the area. “It was of good taste and did not disagree with us. ”That's what Munk wrote in his journal.

Over the years, the animals' coming has earned the town the name of“Polar Bear Capital of the World. ”Today, Churchill's bear population goes beyond its human population. There used to be about 7, 000 residents but now only 813 living there. There was no such thing as an organized tour group to see the bears until 1980. The town might have been in terrible financial hardships. But the growing bear tourism industry helped.

Today, some 10, 000 tourists come to the town to see polar bears for six weeks in autumn every year. But the reasons why they come are different from before. Everyone was happier and they had such a good time seeing polar bears. Now things have changed because the word is out that this Western Hudson Bay population of bears, Churchill Bears, are going to be the first population of polar bears to die out. So when the tourists come up, they all have a little bit of a lump in their throats（如鲠在喉）because they're looking at a beautiful bear, but they're also looking at a dying-out bear, which makes the whole attitude toward the bears different. Unfortunately, that's becoming the major part of the whole attraction of the tours as well. Come and see the bears before it's too late.

1. What can we learn about Churchill polar bears from the text？

A．They have eaten up the seals in the Hudson Bay.

B．They come to Churchill at the same time every year.

C．They move to Churchill to escape the northern winds.

D．They are so dangerous that most natives left their home.

2. What did Munk report in his journal？

A．They fed many polar bears.	B．Polar bears were dangerous.
C．They hunted a bear for food.	D．They found some seals in the bay.

3. How do polar bears benefit Churchill？

A．They make many people settle down.	B．They attract many hunters to come here.
C．They bring much tourist income.	D．They supply food to locals.

4. What is the main reason why tourists go to Churchill now？

A．To say good-bye to Churchill Bears.	B．To help polar bears become happier.
C．To take photos with Churchill Bears.	D．To stop polar bears going to the town.