【推荐1】Many years ago, my dad was facing a serious heart condition. He was unable to do a steady job. He fell suddenly ill and had to be admitted to the hospital.

He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children’s hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the seriously ill children. He would talk, play, and do arts with them.

One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed (瘫痪) her from the neck down. She couldn’t do anything, and she was very depressed. My dad decided to try to help her. He started visiting her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn’t use his hands at all. All the while he would tell her, “See, you can do anything you set your mind to.”At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children’s hospital for a little while because he became ill. Some time later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, in came the little girl who had been paralyzed and only this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave him a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read: “Thank you for helping me walk.”

My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctor, and my dad—who died just a few months after the little girl gave the picture—loved every single child in that hospital.

1. The author’s father worked at the local hospital to_______________.

A．make his serious heart condition less serious	B．keep himself occupied and pleased
C．realize his childhood dream	D．earn money to pay for treatment

2. How did the author’s father help the paralyzed little girl?

A．He helped her practice walking.	B．He visited her and made a toy for her.
C．He showed her she could still do things.	D．He painted special pictures for her.

3. According to Paragraph 3, the paralyzed girl _______________.

A．eventually became a unique painter

B．was sent home and never seen again

C．gradually recovered and walked

D．sent the author’s dad a picture painted with her mouth

4. What message does the passage mainly convey?

A．It’s better to give than to receive.

B．A sick person should not focus on his disease.

C．Volunteering is a worthwhile thing to do.

D．Love can sometimes bring great results.

【推荐2】It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.

I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.

My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover,” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.

1. Which word can best describe the author’s daughter?

A．Thoughtful.

B．Wealthy.

C．Easy-going.

D．Hard-working.

2. Why was the author in shame when seeing his old coat in the closet?

A．It cost too much.

B．It was looking dirty.

C．It was not sent to someone in need.

D．There was not enough room for his new coat.

3. What is the author’s decision after his second coat becomes old?

A．Telling his daughter.	B．Buying a new one soon.
C．Sending something else to charity.	D．Donating it to charity.

4. What does the author want to show in the last paragraph?

A．Love is the key to joy.

B．Giving fills our wants.

C．The more you give, the more you lose.

D．A coat is large enough to cover our wants

【推荐3】Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.

Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.

Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.

Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.

This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined” it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured (捕捉) and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized (使……永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.

Perhaps we all live in each others’ spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.

That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.

1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?

A．Her camera stopped working.

B．A woman blocked her view.

C．Someone asked her to leave.

D．A friend approached from behind.

2. The photo on the bedroom wall enables the author to better understand ____________.

A．the need to be close to nature

B．the importance of private space

C．the joy of the vacation in Italy

D．the shared passion for beauty

3. The passage can be seen as the author’s reflections upon _____________.

A．a particular life experience	B．the pleasure of traveling
C．the art of photography	D．a lost friendship

【推荐1】At the age 12 of my first year in America we rent a small house with a school nearby. I like my teachers, especially my grandmotherly fourth grade teacher, Miss Zoe. She said that I had a lovely name, Yo-lan-da. As the only immigrant (移民) from Cuba in my class, I was put in a special seat in the first row by the window, apart from the other children so that Miss Zoe could teach me without disturbing them.

Soon I picked up enough English to understand nuclear bomb (原子弹) was in the air.   Miss Zoe explained to a wide-eyed class what would happen when a nuclear bomb was dropped. At school, we had air raid drills (空袭演习): a harsh bell would go off and we’d run into the school hall, fall to the floor, cover our heads with our coats, and imagine our hair falling out, the bones in our arms going soft. At home, Mami, my sisters and I prayed every day for world peace. Miss Zoe explained how it would happen. She drew a picture of a mushroom on the blackboard and dotted a rush of chalk marks for the dusty fallout that would kill us all.

It grew cold in November and December. One morning as I sat at my desk looking out of the window, I saw dots (点状物) in the air like the ones Miss Zoe had drawn on the blackboard, then lots and lots. I shrieked, “Bomb! Bomb!” Miss Zoe jumped up and hurried to my side. A few girls began to cry.

But then Miss Zoe’s shocked look faded. “Why, Yolanda dear, that’s snow!” She laughed. “Snow.”

“Snow,” I repeated. I looked out of the window carefully. All my life when I was in Cuba, I only heard about it. From my desk I watched the beautiful snow fall on the side walk and parked cars below. Each snowflake (雪花) was different, Miss Zoe said, like a person, beautiful and special.

1. Why was the writer put in a special seat?

A．She hated talking with others.

B．She wanted to see snow.

C．Her teacher wanted to help her more.

D．Her parents could see her easily.

2. What does the underlined word “shrieked” mean?

A．Screamed.

B．Sang.

C．Whispered.

D．Wrote.

3. What can we know from the text?

A．Snow never falls in New York.

B．Snow hardly falls in Cuba.

C．Miss Zoe never saw snow.

D．Snow is not beautiful.

【推荐3】Jade Stephenson has always loved her grandmother’s wedding dress (结婚礼服). So much so that once, Stephenson even asked her grandmother to keep hold of it so she could wear it for a special day. And when she realized her 80-year-old grandma wouldn’t be able to travel to attend her graduation at Liverpool Hope University, Stephenson knew the time had come.

“I tried the dress on several years ago, so I knew what it looked like when I put on the dress and her face then lit up,” she said. “So I knew asking her if I could wear it for graduation would make her smile. Also, my grandfather died in 2009 and to me, it felt like part of him was there with me on such a special day.”

Stephenson sported the dress under her cap and her clothes last week, at the ceremony (典礼) to collect her teaching degree at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Nora, her grandmother, lives in Carlisle, more than 130 miles from Liverpool. She was very happy when she saw the pictures of her granddaughter, and praised that she chose that dress for her special day.

“My grandma and I are very close. I speak to her when I can and whenever I’m home I catch up with her. I see a lot of my own characters in her. I think we have quite a lot in common,” Stephenson said. “I’ve always loved my grandma’s dress. Although it’s 32 years old, it’s fit for me.”

Stephenson said several people praised her for her choice for the ceremony. “I think people thought it was quite heart-warming. Considering how old it is, the dress is in really good condition. My grandmother has looked after it very well.”

1. Seeing Stephenson trying the dress on, Stephenson’s grandmother feels ________.

A．pleased	B．angry
C．unhappy	D．amazed

2. What does Stephenson think of her grandmother?

A．Her grandmother is very forgetful.

B．Her grandmother is similar to her.

C．Her grandmother is a good designer.

D．Her grandmother is crazy about education.

3. What can we know about the wedding dress?

A．It is valuable and expensive.

B．It is kept in good condition.

C．It is old and needs repairing.

D．It is too long for Stephenson.

【推荐1】A jobless man wanted very much to have the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the form to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.” “I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you are not living. And anyone who isn’t living cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he had 20 dollars. He repeated the operation three times, and started to go early every day, and returned home late. Shortly, he bought a cart , then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles(运货车队). Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商)   in the US.
One day, one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said, “I haven’t got one.” His friend couldn’t believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
1. What did the man do for the test?

A．He sent e-mails.	B．He did the cleaning
C．He sold computers.	D．He filled in forms.

2. The man didn’t get the job because he_____________.

A．disliked such a job	B．didn’t pass the test
C．didn’t have an e-mail	D．knew nothing about computers

3. The man ______after he left Microsoft.

A．went to look for another job	B．asked for food from door to door
C．thought of an idea to make money	D．bought a computer and got an e-mail

4. Why could the man become one of the biggest food retailers in the US?

A．Because he had many friends to help him.

B．Because he was smart and worked very hard.

C．Because he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.

D．Because he wanted to show Microsoft he was living.

5. What does the story want to tell us?

A．Computers are very important in our daily life.

B．Everyone can make a lot of money with only$10.

C．The HR manager didn’t find the ability of the man.

D．Nothing in the world is impossible if we work hard.

【推荐2】At a young age, Patti Wilson was told by her doctor that she was an epileptic (癫痫病患者). Her father, Jim Wilson, is a morning jogger. She ran with her father every day. After a few weeks, she told her father, “Daddy, what I’d really love to do is to break the world’s long-distance running record for women.” Her father checked the Guinness World Records and found that the farthest any woman had run was 80 miles.

As a freshman in high school, Patti announced, “I’m going to run from Orange County up to San Francisco.”(A distance of 400 miles.) “As a sophomore (二年级学生),” she went on, “I’m going to run to Portland, Oregon.”(Over 1,500-miles.) “As a junior, I’ll run to St. Louis.”(About 2,000 miles.) “As a senior, I’ll run to the White House.”(More than 3,000 miles away.)

In view of her handicap (缺陷), Patti was as ambitious as she was enthusiastic, but she said she looked at the handicap of being an epileptic as simply “an inconvenience”. She focused not on what she had lost, but on what she had left.

That year she completed her run to San Francisco wearing a T-shirt that read, “I Love Epileptics.” In her sophomore year, Patti’s classmates got behind her. They built a large poster that read — “Run, Patti, Run!”

On her second marathon (马拉松), a doctor told her she had to stop. “Doctor, you don’t understand,” she said. “I’m doing it to break the chains on the brains that limit so many others.”

She finished the run to Portland, completing her last mile with the governor of Oregon. After four months of almost continuous running from the West Coast to the East Coast, Patti arrived in Washington and shook the hand of the then President of the United States. She told him, “I wanted people to know that epileptics are normal human beings with normal lives.”

Because of Patti’s efforts, enough money had been raised to open up 19 multi-million-dollar epileptic centers around the country. If Patti Wilson can do so much with so little, what can you do to outperform (超越) yourself in a state of total wellness?

1. How did Patti look at her illness?

A．She thought of it as a gift.

B．She devoted all her attention to it.

C．She faced it with discouragement.

D．She considered it a small difficulty.

2. What did Patti do when a doctor asked her to stop her run?

A．She continued without quitting.

B．She focused on her treatment.

C．She followed his advice.

D．She asked for her classmates’ assistance.

3. Why did the author ask the question in the last paragraph?

A．To ask readers to answer it.

B．To get inactive people to run.

C．To encourage deep thinking.

D．To show his view on success.

【推荐3】Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer (扫盲志愿者). The training I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.

My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn’t know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn’t always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.

As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence, which encouraged her to continue in her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face, and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.

As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.

1. What did the author do last summer?

A．She worked in the supermarket.

B．She helped someone to learn to read.

C．She gave single mothers the help they needed.

D．She went to a training program to help a literacy volunteer.

2. Why didn’t Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?

A．Because she liked to walk to the supermarket.

B．Because she lived far away from the bus stop.

C．Because she couldn’t afford the bus ticket.

D．Because she couldn’t find the right bus.

3. How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?

A．She knew where the goods were in the supermarket.

B．She asked others to take her to the right place.

C．She succeeded in finding the goods by their looks.

D．She remembered the names of the goods.

4. Which of the following statements (陈述) is true about Marie?

A．Marie could do things she had not been able to do before.

B．Marie was able to read stories with the help of her son.

C．Marie decided to continue her studies in school.

D．Marie paid for her own lessons.