【推荐1】On the first day of my new high school, I almost had a nervous breakdown. Everything about the school seemed so difficult. When I got home, my parents said, “You're nervous and that's okay. Everyone is afraid of high school.” I denied it. I wanted to be strong, so I refused to let anyone know about my fear, even my closest friends.

On the first day I was late for every class and was constantly lost. The school seemed like a puzzle that I couldn't figure out. Was this how the whole year was going to be? I didn't think I could rise to this challenge, especially carrying a huge backpack that I could hardly lift. It was so big that I could knock someone out with it! The schoolmates seemed to regard me as a fool, and they were probably right.

Despite my fears, after the first week I finally had my schedule figured out. With the exception of falling up and down the stairs a couple of times and getting laughed at, high school was turning out to be not so bad. It was actually much better than middle school and much more challenging.

Since then, I've been elected vice monitor of my class, which wasn't much of a victory since only three people ran for the four positions.

It is normal to be scared about a new school. Take a deep breath and relax. High school is something that any student can overcome. Make sure you participate in some out-of-class activities because you'll find it easier to make friends. Try to do your best, even if it isn't straight A's.

Most important of all, be who you are, whether you're a “fool”， an athlete, or a lower grader. Don't try to pretend to be someone you're not. Now you know the true secrets of high school.

1. The main reason for the author's fear on his first day is that ________.

A．he was unable to work out the puzzle

B．his schoolmates were unfriendly to him

C．he was not familiar with the new surroundings

D．his schoolbag was too heavy for him to carry

2. From the author's first day experience we can infer that ________.

A．his home was far from the school

B．he got to school before classes began

C．he was fond of the school immediately.

D．he didn't know the right way to class

3. After his first week at school, the author ________.

A．was still not accustomed to the schedule

B．gradually adjusted himself to the new school

C．found high school not so challenging as he had imagined

D．ran for monitor of his class against three other students

4. According to the passage, the secret of the author's success lies mainly in ________.

A．making more friends

B．getting more A's at school

C．being who he really is

D．joining in out-of-class activities

【推荐2】There’s a man in the habit of hitting me on the head with an umbrella. At first I couldn’t stand it, now I’m used to it.

I don’t know his name. I know he’s average in appearance, wears a gray suit, and has a common face. I met him five years ago one hot morning when I was sitting on a tree-shaded bench in Palermo Park, reading the paper. Suddenly I felt something touch my head. It was the very same man who now, as I’m writing, keeps hitting me, mechanically (机械地) and impassively, with an umbrella.

On that occasion I turned around filled with anger. He just kept on hitting me. I asked him if he was crazy, he didn’t even seem to hear me. Then I threatened to call a policeman. Calmly, cool as a cucumber, he stuck with his task. After a few moments of hesitation, and seeing that he was not about to change his attitude, I stood up and hit him on the nose. The man fell down, but he immediately got back on his feet, obviously with great effort, and without a word again began hitting me on the head with the umbrella. His nose was bleeding and, at that moment, I felt sorry for him. I felt regret for having hit him so hard. After all, the man wasn’t exactly hitting me; he was merely tapping me lightly with his umbrella, not causing any pain at all. Of course, those taps were extremely bothersome. As we all know, when a fly lands on your forehead, you don’t feel any pain; what you feel is annoyance. Well then, that umbrella was one huge fly that kept landing on my head time after time.

Convinced that I was dealing with a madman, I tried to escape. But the man followed me, wordlessly continuing to hit me. So I began to run (I should point out that not many people run as fast as I do). He took off after me, trying to land a blow. The man was out of breath so that I thought, if I continued to force him to run at that speed, he would drop dead right then and there.

1. When the man began to strike the author with an umbrella, the author ________.

A．became angry

B．called the police

C．turned around and escaped

D．turned around and fought back

2. The author would most probably agree that the man was ________.

A．deaf

B．blind

C．dead

D．mad

3. The author felt sorry for the man because ________.

A．the man formed a bad habit of beating others

B．he hit the man so hard that his nose bled

C．the man couldn’t catch up with him

D．there was a fly on the man’s head

4. It can be learned from the passage that the man ________.

A．shouted loudly while hitting the author

B．wanted to tell the author something

C．ran after the author breathlessly

D．acted as if he were a fly

【推荐3】A mother had two daughters. She loved them very much, but two girls would fight with each other from their earliest years. As they grew older, they became total strangers. They had no contact with each other when they were adults.
This caused the mother great pain. Then, later, she had an idea. She decided to write a letter to them. In this letter, she told them how much she loved them, and how she wanted them to love each other in this way. She also gave them news of herself and some guidance on how to live happier lives.
When the letter was ready, she wrote out one copy for each daughter, but these copies were special. Each copy contained only every second sentence of the original letter: the copy for one daughter had only the even (双数的) sentences, and the other daughter’s copy contained only the odd sentences. Neither contained the fullness of the mother’s message.
When the two daughters received their letters, they were puzzled. To understand the half-letter, they would have to put the two letters together and read them as one, which meant they must approach one another again in love and respect. But they each blamed the other for not helping them when trying to read the half-letter.
For a long time, the mother waited in vain. Then one day, when the mother had almost given up hope, there was a knock at the door. There they stood, together. “We’ve come home,” they said at the same time. “We’ve finally put our letters together, and we’ve come to say how much we love you, Mum.” Then she hugged them both, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, and welcomed them back home.
1. The mother gave her daughters incomplete letters mainly to ______.

A．mend their relations

B．offer them advice

C．tell them her news

D．win their hearts

2. Upon receiving their letters, the two daughters ______.

A．put the letters together and read them

B．blamed her mother for the half-letter

C．complained about each other as usual

D．understood the mother’s purpose at once

3. Why did the two daughters visit their mother at last?

A．They wanted to apologize.

B．They felt grateful for the mother.

C．They had put the letters together.

D．They missed home very much.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．A Sincere Apology to Mother

B．A Mother’s Endless Love

C．Two Special Daughters

D．An Unusual Letter

【推荐1】阅读短文，并根据短文内容回答问题。

I was in a shopping mall recently, so I decided to go and get a cup of tea. As I was making my way to the coffee shop, I noticed an older gentleman rather poorly dressed sitting on a bench nearby. I knew from first sight that he was in need of some kind of help. He had a little lunch stretched out in front of him and was wholeheartedly enjoying it. It was also rather evident that he had a problem with his right eye and probably couldn’t see out of it. I then joined the line and waited to be served.

Then it happened. One of the most beautiful gestures I have ever seen in my life.

There was a young man in front of me in the line who was also waiting to be served. Then the young man handed the server a twenty-dollar bill and requested an orange juice, as well as a favour. The server looked at the young man a little perplexed, not fully understanding the request. That was when the young man asked her to give the juice to the older gentleman eating his lunch outside on the bench, as well as the change from the girl except her tip. The young man also told her that he would be watching every second so that she would be completely safe at all times. Subsequently, there was a wonderful exchange between the server and the older man in need of some attention. I only wish I had a photo of the smiles on both of their faces.

As I was pondering this event later on, I wondered to myself why the young man didn’t just perform this act of kindness himself. I suspect that deep down in his heart he was hoping that this act of kindness might inspire others to do something for this older man as well. Absolutely beautiful!

There are many ways of thinking when we encounter someone like this older gentleman, in need of kindness and attention. Perhaps he’s just simply lazy and didn’t work hard enough in his life. Or he should have gone to school and made more of himself. But just maybe he needs a little helping hand. Thank God for this young man who inspired the others to goodness as well. Oh, by the way, the last words this young man told the server was, “There go I, but by the Grace of God.”

1. What was wrong with the old man? (no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What does the underlined word “perplexed” in Paragraph 3 probably mean? (1 word)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What did the young man ask the girl to do? (no more than 15 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why didn’t the young man do the act of kindness himself in the author’s eyes? (no more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Will you help others who are in need of help? And why? (no more than 20 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

【推荐2】My 12-year-old niece was staying with us for a couple of days. She was remembering some acts of kindness that we did together when she was less than five years old. We talked about how so much had changed. and with the outbreak of COVID-19, how difficult it would be to do so many of those things, especially when it comes to strangers.

The next day, I needed something from the downtown area and happened to take her with me. As we walked around on the street, we heard a beautiful male voice singing a very soulful song. We tuned around to see a middle-aged man sitting on a street comer with his guitar. A couple were sitting on a bench nearby and listening to his music.

After getting a few things done, we happened to sit at an outdoor dining restaurant across from him on the other side of the street. My niece was learning how to sing herself, and she kept smiling and saying how wonderful his singing was. Seeing how moved she was by his music, at the end of our meal, I gave her a ten-dollar bill and asked her to walk across the street and put it in his bowl.

She was a little surprised. “Really? ” she asked with bright eyes. I nodded. So she headed over and as she approached, the man was just finishing a song and started talking to her, and they ended up having a sweet conversation. She told him how touched she was by his music, and he ended up telling her that she made his day. As she was excitedly repeating the conversation back to me, she mentioned, “He didn’t even know how much it was. He was just thankful that someone was enjoying his music. ”

1. What did the author and her niece do in the first paragraph?

A．They thought back to the past.

B．They decided to do good deeds outside.

C．They made a plan for going downtown.

D．They talked about meeting more strangers.

2. What caught the author and her niece’s attention on the street?

A．A man’s guitar.	B．An outdoor dining restaurant.
C．A couple sitting nearby.	D．A charming male voice.

3. What did the author want her niece to do?

A．Talk with the man.	B．Praise the man.
C．Learn music from the man.	D．Offer some financial help to the man.

4. What do we know from the meeting of the man and the author’s niece?

A．They shared singing skills.	B．They felt grateful to each other.
C．The man took pride in his singing.	D．The girl introduced the author to the man.