【推荐1】As 17-year-old Torri’ell Norwood drove through Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached an intersection, another car T-boned them, sending their car sailing into the yard of a nearby home, coming to a stop only when it crashed into a tree.

As smoke rose from the car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to explode! Get out!” Shaken, but otherwise OK, Norwood crawled out through the window as the driver’s side door couldn’t be opened. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life. But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons unconscious in the back seat. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. After checking her pulse and found there was no sign of life, she started CPR.

Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But just the day before, Norwood, who wanted to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate by learning on her own. Kneeling on the ground and looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had precious little time to practice what she’d learned.

She started pumping Simmons’s chest with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend’s mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. After quite a while, Simmons began coughing and taking quick deep breaths for air. The CPR had worked! Soon, the ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t shocked,” Simmons told others. “She will always help any way she can.”

1. What caused the car crash?

A．The girls were too excited to notice another car.	B．Norwood drove the car too quickly that day.
C．Norwood’s car crashed into a tree in a yard.	D．Another car hit Norwood’s car near the intersection.

2. What’s Norwood’s immediate reaction after hearing the bystander’s warning?

A．She crawled out through the window and looked for her friends.

B．She ran for her life but turned back to save her friend.

C．She dragged her friends out and performed CPR at once.

D．She opened the driver’s side door and pulled her friend out.

3. Why did Norwood know how to perform CPR?

A．She had learned CPR in school classes.	B．She just received her CPR certificate.
C．The bystander told her how to do it.	D．She pursued a career in medicine.

4. Which of the following can best describe Norwood?

A．Generous and capable.	B．Gentle and hardworking
C．Courageous and reliable.	D．Energetic and intelligent.

【推荐2】The Apollo Programme was set up by NASA, the US space agency, to land a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s. Once this had been achieved by Apollo 11in 1969, other Moon missions didn’t create the same level of public excitement. The Apollo 13 astronauts were Fred Haise, Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert. Lovell later told the BBC that people were getting bored of the Moon. When the astronauts filmed a message to Earth after 55 hours of space flight, none of the major TV channels in the US took time to show it live.

Nine minutes after filming the message to Earth, one of the ship’s two oxygen tanks exploded. Swigert got in touch with mission control, which was in the city of Houston in Texas, US, and said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” The explosion meant that the astronauts would no longer be able to land on the Moon. Instead, the goal was simply to get back to Earth alive. The crew used the lunar module as a lifeboat.

By now, Apollo 13 had drawn the world’s attention, Millions of people watched television on17 April to see whether the astronauts would get back to Earth. There were fears that damage to the command module might mean that the parachutes needed for landing wouldn’t work. To make matters worse, for four minutes. Mission control lost connection with the astronauts. Luckily, the astronauts landed safely in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA referred to Apollo 13 as a “successful failure”. It didn’t complete its original mission, but the calm and quick thinking of the astronauts and mission control experts prevented a disaster. The tanks were redesigned and a third one added to future spacecraft as backup, to make sure that such an accident never happened again. In 1995, the events of Apollo /3 were made into a hit film starring Tom Hanks.

1. What was people’s attitude towards Apollo 13 at first?

A．They were interested in it.	B．They were tired of it.
C．They were excited about it.	D．They were uncertain about it.

2. What was wrong with Apollo 13?

A．One of its oxygen tanks blew up.	B．It went in the wrong direction.
C．It lost its connection with Earth completely.	D．One of its astronauts didn’t operate it properly.

3. Why was Apollo 13 called a “successful failure”?

A．It caused a lot of loss but created a lot of business value as well.

B．It didn’t attract much attention but landed on Earth safely.

C．It didn’t finish its task but a disaster was avoided.

D．It was ruined but speeded up space exploration.

4. What is this text mainly about?

A．The history of space exploration.	B．A discussion about space exploration.
C．The big events of the Apollo programme.	D．An introduction to a space survival incident.

【推荐3】Should people be allowed to use cell phones while driving? People have different opinions about it.

No, because in this world some people drive very crazily. So most people who use cell phones to talk in the car usually pay more attention to what they are talking about than to driving. One of the reasons that I feel this way is that my friend had a car accident while using a cell phone. He lost his life and his friends did, too.

——Alejandra Pachecho from Venezuela

That depends. The advantages of using a cell phone while driving are that you can call the police if there is a car accident, and call for help when somebody’s car breaks down. The disadvantage is that people get distracted (思想不集中) when they are driving at the same time they are talking on a cell phone. It can cause car accidents.

——Rodrigo Cruz from Colombia

Yes, if they use it correctly. Sometimes drivers are very dangerous when they are talking on a cell phone. They may not drive well if they use one hand to hold the phone and the other hand to drive. In this case, drivers should use a hand-free accessory to talk while driving. That is a safe way to use them while driving.

——Pantium Wong from Hong Kong

No. Cell phones are extremely popular among teenagers. One problem is that they talk on them while they’re driving. Sometimes some of them aren’t careful and drive too fast. Talking on a cell phone while driving at high speed is very dangerous. They shouldn’t drive and talk on the phone at the same time because they can’t control the car and may cause accidents.

——Ngoc-Ahn Thi Ho from Vietnam

1. The people above all think the disadvantage of using cell phones while driving is.

A．to lose life	B．to cause accidents
C．to get distracted	D．to lose way

2. What’s the advantage of using a cell phone while driving according to Rodrigo Cruz?

A．Avoiding loneliness.	B．Not missing important things
C．Keeping in touch with family.	D．Getting help when in trouble

3. Who suggests a safe way to use cell phones while driving?

A．Pantium Wong.	B．Alejandra Pachecho.
C．Ngoc-Ahn Thi Ho.	D．Rodrigo Cruz.

4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the reason to cause car accidents?

A．Driving at a young age.	B．Driving too fast.
C．Being careless.	D．Talking on cell phones

【推荐3】That black woman was a cleaner in our school and her job was to wipe down the lockers, clean the floor, and check the drawings on the wall. She never seemed to smile and was always yelling at kids for throwing trash on the ground.

One afternoon, I saw that two boys kicked over garbage cans, spilling garbage.

“What are you doing? Get back and clean this mess up!” the woman shouted.

The boys ran away, making faces to her.

She sighed sadly and began collecting the trash A few tears fell from her eyes. I went up to help her pick up piece of crumpled (皱巴巴) paper and smiled at her. The woman looked at me with shock, and for a moment I thought she would smile back, but she simply went to gather the trash. The next time when I saw her, I called out, “Good morning!” She stopped and looked at me. Then, she smiled back. It was a really beautiful smile.

We continued this relationship. We both smiled and waved as we met but we didn’t know each other, until one day when she asked me a question, “You are not from around here, are you?”

“Well, I’ve lived here all my life, if that’s what you mean,” I told her.

She was surprised. “Oh, I just thought you talk differently and you’re so friendly. I didn’t get that a lot...” she said.

After that day, we have become real friends. What this experience has taught me is that little gestures of kindness are often the most appreciated. By offering a simple smile and pleasant helle, I helped give this woman a better day and gained a valuable friendship.

1. The black woman cried because ________.

A．boys drew pictures on the wall.	B．she lost her job as a cleaner.
C．she didn’t like her job as a cleaner.	D．two boys made her job more difficult.

2. Which of the following happened first?

A．The writer helped pick up garbage.	B．The woman asked a question.
C．The writer greeted the woman.	D．The woman smiled at the writer.

3. What can we infer about the cleaner?

A．She was friendly to others.	B．She had known the writer before.
C．She was thankful to the writer.	D．She was respected in the school.

4. Which of the following best describes the writer?

A．Honest.

B．Humorous.

C．Kind.

D．Curious.

【推荐1】Tutoring a New Normal

It's not piano lessons or dance classes. Nowadays, the biggest extracurricular activity in the West is going to a tutor. “I spend about 800 [Canadian] dollars a month on tutors. It’s costly,” says Pat, a mother in Canada. However, she adds, “After finding out half my daughter’s class had tutors, I felt like my child was going to fall behind because everyone else seemed to be ahead.”

Shelley, a mother of three, also has tutors constantly coming in and out of her home. “When I used to sit down with my children, it was hard to get them focused. I was always yelling. When I got a tutor once a week, they became focused for one entire hour and could get most of their homework done.”

Tutoring isn’t simply a private school phenomenon. Nor is it geared only toward lower-achieving students. In Canada alone, seven percent of high school students reported using a tutor in 2010. That increased to 15 percent in five years.

Overall, parents hire tutors because they are worried that schools are not meeting their expectations, but there is also a cultural shift. A special value is placed on education in Asia, where tutoring is viewed as an extension of the school day. With a large number of Asians emigrating (移民) to the West in recent years, their attitudes towards education have had an impact.

Another reason for the growth in business is parental frustration and their packed schedules. “A lot of parents just don’t have time to help their children with homework,” says Julie Diamond, president of an American tutoring company. “Others couldn’t help their children after Grade Three.”

There has been a shift in the attitudes, too. “Children used to get bullied (欺侮) for having a tutor,” Diamond says. “Now it’s becoming the norm to have one.”

Children themselves don’t seem to mind that they have a tutor. One parent feels surprised that so many of her child’s classmates have tutors. “For the amount we pay in tuition, they should have as much extra help as they need,” she says. Still, she’s now thinking of getting a tutor. Why? Her daughter has actually asked for one.

1. The tutoring business in the West has seen growth in recent years because_______.
① immigrants from Asia have had an impact on people’s attitudes toward tutoring
② a lot of parents are too occupied to help their children with homework
③ children no longer get bullied for getting extra help from a tutor
④ many schools cannot offer as much extra help as their students need

A．①②③	B．①②④
C．①③④	D．②③④

2. Between 2010 and 2015 in Canada, the number of high school students using a tutor grew by_______.

A．seven percent	B．eight percent
C．ten percent	D．fifteen percent

3. Shelley decided to equip her children with a tutor because cause_________.

A．her children’s school was not meeting her expectations

B．over half of her children’s classmates had tutors

C．her children’s homework was too difficult for her

D．she had a hard time getting her children focused

4. According to the article, which of the following statements is true?

A．Pat got a tutor because she couldn’t help her child with homework.

B．Shelley spends about 800 Canadian dollars on tutors every month.

C．Most students who use a tutor have poor scores at school.

D．Asians usually place more emphasis on education than Westerners.

【推荐2】Each May since 1956 people from across Europe and around the world have gathered around their televisions with friends and family for an evening of international entertainment(娱乐)：The Eurovision Song Contest. It may well be a fun event but perhaps it’s not the shared celebration of European language that it could be. In the first ten years of Eurovision, the UK and Ireland were the only two countries to sing in English. Now English is what we expect. Is it that English is becoming, or has become the official language of music?

From high streets in Hungary to supermarkets in Sweden, from bus stops in Bulgaria to parks in Poland, people listen to English-language music everywhere. And people don't just listen, they sing it too! From sporting events in Spain to nightclubs in Norway, from concerts in Croatia to fitness classes in France, people sing along to popular songs in their everyday lives, in English. But why?

For one evening each year Eurovision is the dinner party of Europe. A dinner party to which each guest brings something special. Their clothing, tradition and food show their culture and their language shows the character of a nation. Although there are 50 nations with 83 languages, for Eurovision, English is the only language. Does Eurovision really represent Europe?

English is an international language spoken by over 1 billion people worldwide. It is no surprise that so many musicians make music in English. Of course, music makes money and more listeners make more money. According to Ragnar Thorhallsson, singer and guitarist with the Icelandic indie band (乐队)“Of Monsters and Men”, English is simpler and is easier to make rhythms(节奏). Could this be true?

Let’s remember that although English-language music is everywhere, music is not everything. As long as we continue to learn, to speak，to love, diversity(多样性)shall be valued. After all, what fun is a dinner party if the guests can’t communicate(交流) or express themselves in the way they choose?

1. What do we know about Eurovision?

A．Singers sing English songs.	B．It helps protect European cultures.
C．It is the most popular contest in the world.	D．Singers mainly come from the UK and Ireland.

2. How does the writer show the popularity(广泛性) of English music in Paragraph 2?

A．By asking questions.	B．By giving examples.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By following the order of space.

3. What's Ragnar ThorhaIlsson^’s opinion of English?

A．It is easy and beautiful.	B．It should be used in all music.
C．It is the best language in the world.	D．It helps musicians make money easily.

4. What is mainly discussed in the text?

A．Why we should protect language diversity.

B．How language and music affect each other.

C．Whether English is the official language of music.

D．Why Eurovision is becoming more and more popular.

【推荐3】The world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago. Recent NASA satellites data(2000—2017) have shown that human activities in China and India dominate this greening of the planet, thanks to ambitious tree-planting programmes in China and intensive agriculture(集约农业) in both countries.

The researchers from Boston University found that global green leaf area has increased by 5 percent in the new century, an area equal to all of the Amazon rainforest. China alone accounts for 25% of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6% of global vegetated area. China's contribution comes in large part from its programmes to conserve and expand forests, taking up about 42 percent of the greening. The greening from farmlands in China is about 32%, but that in India is about 82%.

Rama Nemani, a research scientist at NASA's Ames Research Centre and a co-author of the study said, ''When the greening of the Earth was first observed, we thought it was due to a warmer, wetter climate and fertilisation from the added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But with data from NASA satellites, scientists realised that humans are also contributing, which was all against our expectations. ''

Nemani sees a positive message in the new findings. ''Once people realise there is a problem, they tend to fix it, '' he said. ''In the 1970s and 1980s in India and China, the situation around vegetation loss was not good. In the 1990s, people realised it, and today things have improved. Humans are incredibly resilient. That is what we see in the satellite data. ''

However, the researchers rang bells as well. They said that the gain in global greenness did not necessarily make up for the loss of natural vegetation in regions like Brazil and Indonesia.

1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．The decreasing size of the Amazon rainforest.

B．China's bigger contribution to global greening.

C．Total global green leaf area in the new century.

D．China's programmes to conserve and expand forests.

2. What surprised scientists regarding global greening?

A．Human activities.	B．The level of fertilisation.
C．A warmer and wetter climate.	D．Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

3. What does the underlined word ''resilient'' probably mean?

A．Good at making programmes.	B．Suitable for analysing data.
C．Able to make corrections.	D．Active in planting trees.

4. What does the last paragraph imply?

A．It is urgent to protect global natural resources.

B．Much remains to be done for global greenness.

C．Brazil and Indonesia lose most of their vegetation.

D．Global greenness needs all countries to work together.

【推荐1】The fact that your hair turns grey because of stress is nothing more than an old wives' tale. It's true that stress isn't good for you, but it's not going to turn you into a silver fox just yet. In fact, the answer comes from the cells in your hair. These are what decide the color and, eventually, the fade to grey.

Most of us start to notice our first grey hairs by the time we hit our thirties. A general rule to go by is that by the age of 50,half of the population will have lost the color in 50 percent of their hair.

But why does it happen? Firstly, we need to understand how hair gets its color.

Your hair is made up of cells called melanocytes(黑色素细胞) which produce pigments(色素) as they grow into the hair fiber. There are two different types of melanins: eumelanins and pheomelanins. The former produces black and brown pigments, while the latter produces red and yellow pigments. The exact amount of these pigments decides whether a person has black, brown, blonde or red hair.

As we age, the ability of the melanocytes to produce more pigments weakens. That's because our hair grows in different periods.

The growing period lasts between three and five years, after which our follicles(毛囊) turn off for about three months to rest and get ready to grow more hairs. This goes round and round and, after a time, our bodies aren't as good at producing new hairs.

Scientists are continuing to try and find ways to prevent greying hair. A team of scientists in France is working to try and stop the melanocytes from being damaged at the end of each hair cycle. They are trying to use a special enzyme(酶) to protect the cells from damage. If successful, it could lead the way for new products that keep our hair full of color for years to come.

1. The phrase “an old wives' tale” in Paragraph 1 probably mean________？

A．a wrong belief	B．useful talk
C．a scientific rule	D．helpful experience

2. What do we know about red hair?

A．It doesn't turn grey as people get older.

B．It contains more pheomelanin’s than eumelanin’s.

C．The amount of pigments in it doesn't change over time.

D．People with red hair have weaker ability to produce pigments.

3. What do the French scientists aim to do?

A．To repair damaged hair follicles.

B．To protect hair cells against damage.

C．To shorten the hair cycle to protect the hair.

D．To study the relationship between health and hair color.

4. What can we infer from the article?

A．Grey hair has nothing to do with stress.

B．Grey hair is a symbol of declining health.

C．It takes three months for new hair to grow.

D．The growth and color change of hair depend on cells.

【推荐2】Plays are an important part of British culture. The West End theatre district in London is the best place to watch a professional play, but acting also takes place in every school and village hall and the country.

There are over 2,500 non-professional drama groups in the UK today and they are an active part of community life. People from all walks of life take on acting roles in addition to their regular jobs. They do it for fun, for the love of acting and as a way to meet new people.

Not everyone in a drama club is a skilled actor, but enthusiasm(热情) is considered to be more important than talent. Friends, family members and neighbors enjoy getting together to watch the final performance and tell the people they know to “break a leg(祝演出成功)”. It’s a great way of bringing people together. Also, in many rural（乡村的） parts of Britain, the non-professional theatre is the only chance that people have to see plays for miles around.

Many people get a taste of acting at school. Every school puts on a play at least once per year, usually at Christmas, and parents love coming to watch their children perform. Ask many British persons and they’re sure to have happy memories of being in their school’s Christmas play, whether they played the role of Mary or Joseph or perhaps even a sheep or a monkey.

Another Christmas theatre tradition is the pantomime（童话剧）. Pantomimes are a type of the musical comedy for families. The audience is encouraged to take part in the performance —singing along with music and shouting at the actors. Pantomimes are really fun to watch, especially for children.

British people love going to the theatre, professional or not, and many of them also enjoy performing. If you have the chance, go and see a play in the UK.

1. In the writer’s opinion, what is more important for an actor in a drama club?

A．talent.	B．support from family.
C．professional training.	D．enthusiasm.

2. According to the article, what is special about pantomimes?

A．All the performers are professional child actors.

B．The audience is allowed to play some small roles in them.

C．The audience is encouraged to take part in the performances.

D．The musical comedy is always about family life.

3. From the passage, we know that most Britain people ____________.

A．greatly enjoy acting roles in plays.

B．have good memories of their schools.

C．have no interest in plays.

D．watch plays only in the West End theatre district in London.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Everyone in a drama must be a skilled actor.

B．Plays are very popular among British people.

C．In Britain, acting can only take place in theatres.

D．The writer doesn’t think the pantomime is good for children to watch.

【推荐3】Becky had everything Sarah wanted: a pool in her backyard, popularity, and new clothes. Worse, it seemed (at least to Sarah) that Becky had the Midas touch. Everything she touched turned to gold. She won the class lottery and with it $50! She won every race she entered, every art competition, and every award the school offered. She had all the luck in the world.

Sarah was an only child. She wore hand-me-downs from her older cousin Clementine. She didn't have many friends. Her best friend Kiara was really the best in a lot of ways: kind,generous, and loyal. Just the kind of person you would want for a best friend. But Sarah most certainly did not have good luck. She never won anything. On the days she carried an umbrella, it never rained; on the days she forgot her umbrella, dark ruin clouds seemed to follow her around.

One rainy day in April, though, Sarah and Becky swapped luck. That's how Sarah thought of it anyway. It wasn't expected, and it certainly wasn't planned. But after weeks of wishing for it, Sarah woke up and things felt different. She felt lucky.

She rolled out of bed and noticed a small package on her desk. She opened it: it was a brand new dress, the same one she had been eyeing for weeks. Mom!" she called. Did you get me this dress?”

“It's from your grandmother.” her mother called back," Early birthday gift!”

Sarah shrugged. Her birthday wasn’t until August..

And it didn’t stop there. On the school bus, Carlos, the most popular boy in school, saved her a seat. Then Mrs. Nelson picked her—yes, her!-- to take care of the class rabbit over the weekend. But the best part of the day was art class. Mr. Rodriguez, her art teacher, walked around the room slowly. Sarah hadn't spent much time on her project. But it was still pretty, still unique. Mr. Rodriguez walked past Becky's art project and didn't even pause. Becky looked devastated. Her hair was still wet from that morning's rain. She had forgotten to bring an umbrella.

“Well, class!” Mr. Rodriguez said." I think our winner for this month is Sarah! Excellent work, Sarah--this shows a lot of progress!"

Sarah smiled proudly, “Guess you have some competition," she whispered to Becky.

Sarah was on top of the world. Today, she felt like a better-than-average fourth grader, possibly the best fourth grader who had ever existed. She wondered what was next.

Becky, she noticed had spent most of the day sulking(生闷气的)."Let someone else have a shot at being lucky for once," Sarah thought to herself. Then she noticed that Becky was crying. Small tears dropped down onto her t-shirts.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.

“I just spent a lot of time on that project," Becky said between hiccupped sobs.

Sarah was beginning to feel awful: After all she hadn’t spent much time on her project at all.

Then she felt Kiara tap on her shoulder. “You know, Sarah,” Kiara started. She looked angry and hurt at the same time. “You haven’t been very nice today. You’ve been acting like…like you’re the best person in the world,” She shook her head. “This isn’t just like you at all.”

Now Sarah felt even worse. It was one thing to have the class pet dislike you, but another thing entirely to disappoint you best friend, “I’m sorry, Kiara,” she said. “It’s just been a weird day.”

She walked over to Becky and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, “your luck will change soon enough.” Luck, Sarah was beginning to think, was overrated.

1. Which word can describe Sarah at the beginning of the story?

A．Grateful	B．Lucky
C．Popular	D．Jealous

2. Why was Becky upset when her artwork was not praised by the art teacher?

A．Because she had lost her luck.

B．Because she had put a lot of effort into it.

C．Because she thought her art was better than Sarah’s

D．Because she thought he art showed a lot of progress.

3. Towards the end of the story, Kiara’s comments make Sarah feel even worse because.____

A．Sarah thought Kiara misunderstood her.

B．in Sarah’s eyes Kiara was only on Becky’s side.

C．Sarah felt like she had disappointed her best friend.

D．Sarah didn’t think she deserve the teacher’s recognization.

4. What did Sarah learn from this incidence?

A．Efforts will pay off.

B．A lucky person gains more.

C．Being nice outweighs being lucky.

D．A friend in need is a friend indeed.