【推荐1】In 2000, when I was around seven years old, my parents, sister, brother, and I were coming back from a T-ball game. There, in our driveway, we saw two adult geese and a small gosling （幼 鹅）. The adults were startled by our return and flew away, but their baby was still too young to fly and couldn't follow. Hours passed, and night fell. The tiny little thing was wandering around our yard, unaware of what could happen.

And then another morning. And still another. Each morning, we would try to drive the goose over to his parents, who kept coming back to our yard. He wouldn't go to them, though, and they wouldn't come close enough to collect him. My sister Joanna decided to call the little guy Peeper, because he would follow us around the yard making a peeping noise, nonstop.

Almost a year passed. My family filled our days with feathery hugs and my dad would throw Peeper up into the air so he could fly a circle around the house.

One evening, my uncle came, and my dad wanted to show him Peeper's circle. He threw him up in the air, but this time, Peeper just flew off. Everyone was very, very sad. We looked for him for days, calling his name, but he didn't come back. Twenty years passed, and Peeper became a fond memory for my family.

Geese are very loyal, and never forget their first home. Even so, it came as a total shock to me when, in 2019,an aging adult goose came to my home. At first, I assumed it was just another goose. After two weeks of the goose coming back repeatedly, it became clear to me that this wasn't a random goose. My old best friend returned, 20 years later.

People desire connection with the natural world. Through Peeper, I have learned so much about myself and about the nature of love.

1. What does the underlined word “startled" in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Moved.	B．Attracted,
C．Confused.	D．Frightened.

2. Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?

A．Peeper left our family a sweet memory.

B．Peeper's peeping noise made the family annoyed.

C．My father would throw Peeper into the air to drive him away.

D．The adult geese flew away because they didn't love Peeper any more.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．Dad Trained Goose	B．The Love for Nature
C．My Goose Returned Home	D．A Friendly Goose

【推荐2】After a terrible accident， Colleen was in severe pain and convinced she would never walk again. She faced dozens of surgeries and weeks in a hospital.     1    . She describes the life lessons she learned during her recovery.

Give yourself goals

In the early stages of her recovery， Colleen started to give herself goals for each day.     2     ，includingthe day she started to walk again. “I was ready. I took just a few steps， but that was my goal that day.”

Help others

The doctor suggested that Colleen visit other patients searching for help. She visited a musician who had been paralyzed（瘫痪） in a car accident. She listened to his music and realized that meant so much to him.“     3     .”

Practice gratitude（感谢）

One afternoon a complete stranger called out to Colleen， “What I want you to know is that your life still has a purpose.     4     .” So many people tried their best to keep her alive. She could never pay them back， but she was grateful to be alive even with pain.Her pain was a constant reminder that she was still alive.

    5    

Fear can return at any moment.One day， Colleen saw a truck parked just ahead of her. It was with the same company that the truck that hit i her was from.Colleen was angry， but the driver offered to let her do what she wanted to do. She spent time looking at and touching the truck. By doing this， she faced what she feared the most.

A．Ask for help

B．Face your fears

C．You were saved for a reason

D．Giving help to others lessens pain in us.

E．Colleen was full of anger about the accident

F．This attitude carried her through her recovery

G．Now she's strong enough to compete in sports

【推荐3】I am a strong believer that if a child is raised with approval, he learns to love himself and will be successful in his own way. Several weeks ago, I was doing homework with my son in the third grade and he kept standing up from his chair to go over the math lines. I kept asking him to sit down, telling him that he would concentrate better. He sat but seconds later, as if he didn’t even notice he was doing it, he got up again. I was getting frustrated (挫败的), but then it hit me. I started noticing his answers were much quicker and accurate when he stood up. Could he be more absorbed while standing up?

This made me start questioning myself and what I had been raised to believe. I was raised to believe that a quiet, calm child was a sure way to success. This child would have the willpower to study hard, get good grades and become someone important in life.

Now those same people perhaps come to realize that their kids are born with their own sets of DNA and personality qualities, and all you can do is loving and accepting them. As parents, throughout their growing years and beyond that, we need to be our kids’ best cheerleaders,   guiding them and helping them find their way.

I have stopped asking my son to sit down and concentrate. Obviously, he is concentrating just in his own way and not mine. We need to learn to accept our kids’ ways of doing things. Some way may have worked for me but doesn’t mean we need to carry it through generations. There is nothing sweeter than being personal and unique. It makes us free and happy and that’s just the way I want my kids to live their own life.

1. Time and again the author got his son seated in order to make him________.

A．work fast

B．go polite

C．stay relaxed

D．keep attentive

2. The underlined “it” (in the first paragraph) probably refers to ________.

A．his son’s doing better while standing up

B．his failure in keeping his son under control

C．his own experience as a school boy

D．his disappointment with his active child

3. By this passage, the author attempts to tell other parents to ________.

A．correct their kids’ manners from the early ages

B．respect and trust their kids’ ways of behaviors

C．develop a good relationship with their children

D．guarantee their children’s freedom at home

4. Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．Parental help with teens’ study	B．Adult influence on teen growth
C．Kids’ success in their own styles	D．Friendship between generations

【推荐1】Music is magic! Music speaks louder than words and it is a “language” that the whole world can understand. A piece of music can produce a response in the heart and mind. Like feeling an electrical current or receiving a personal radio signal, music has a spiritual effect on a person. Different kinds of music influence people in different ways.

I have listened to music all my life. When I was twelve years old, the Beatles came to America and my whole world opened up. Maybe young people today cannot understand the influence of the Beatles when they exploded across America. Their influence changed the way we dressed, looked, acted and spoke ... even our culture. The Beatles arrived in America from the UK just under three months after the assassination (暗杀) of President John Kennedy, which had put America into a great depression. And the freshness and lively spirit of the Beatles was exactly what the country needed to refresh itself.

Music links the heart of the hearer with that of the composer. This means that it mixes the spirit of the composer with your spirit when you listen to it. And the music can take your spirit out of your body and transport you into another world. Music has a great way of touching people. Music can make you laugh, cry or shout. It's also a great source of inspiration.

Try this one day and notice what happens: make yourself a cup of tea, sit on your sofa and play one of your favorite songs. Close your eyes, and soon you'll find yourself creating vivid mental images—matching the music that you are listening to.

1. Music has magical power because it ________.

A．is a kind of language	B．can be played much louder than words
C．receives a personal radio signal	D．can influence a person's spirit

2. What can we learn about the Beatles from the passage?

A．They appeared at a special time in American politics.

B．They are not accepted by modern American people.

C．They were the biggest band in American history.

D．They represented the roots of American culture.

3. It can be learned from the passage that the author ________.

A．has been influenced by the Beatles

B．enjoys drinking tea in his spare time

C．admires President John Kennedy very much

D．likes to match his own feeling with that of the composer

【推荐2】When my friend suggested going to the thrift shop, instantly I thought “I hope no one I know sees me”. It was the same when my cousin commented on my new furniture and Japanese fine-bone-china bowls and asked where I got them. They were from the local thrift shop but instead I said “from the antique shop”.

Many people in my Greek-Cypriot community would despise me if I said I shopped at the thrift shop. They may pity me, consider me poor, a failure. Immigrants sacrificed their families and homes for a better life. Buying a house and having enough money to live comfortably, to educate your children and see them also live comfortably, are a big part of the immigrant dream. But has this dream made us materialistic at the cost of our own planet?

Our love for purchasing the latest trendy clothes or furniture, then donating them when we are tired of them has become normal. I was once like this. But after watching the documentary The True Cost I learned donated clothes that don’t get sold are sent to developing nations, many of them ending up in landfills (垃圾填埋地). In addition, your new dress requires electricity and materials to make. But if you buy a second-hand dress, that’s one less dress in a landfill and one less new dress to be made.

A friend introduced me to the thrift shop only a few years ago. My first item was a dress she gifted me. It was lovely and I loved it. Nobody could tell it was second-hand. This opened me up to purchasing more second-hand high quality branded clothes. Once I dropped in on a friend and was impressed by how she decorated her apartment. “It’s all second-hand.” she said. I couldn’t believe it. The truth is a lot of things sold at the thrift shop are in new or almost new condition. That’s when I made the decision to only buy second—hand things.

Selling second-hand things isn’t anything new but what the planet needs is more buyers. There is so much excess production in the world. So stop feeling ashamed, and let’s get shopping.

1. What does the underlined word “despise” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Think highly of.	B．Look down upon.
C．Get away from.	D．Keep up with.

2. Which following statement is true about people in Greek-Cypriot community?

A．They want to pursue a high standard of material life.

B．They all prefer wearing the latest fancy clothing.

C．They think highly of children’s education.

D．They get along well with their neighbors.

3. What changed the author’s mind to go to the thrift shop?

A．The great variety of the goods in the thrift shop.

B．The low cost of the goods in the thrift shop.

C．The persuasion of the author’s friends.

D．The wasted resources of new products and good quality of the thrift shop.

4. What’s the author’s main purpose in writing the text?

A．To introduce a new trend of buying at the thrift shop.

B．To persuade more people to buy at the thrift shop.

C．To encourage more people to pursue the latest fashion.

D．To raise people’s awareness of reasonable shopping.

【推荐3】As children, many of us dreamed of being treasure hunters when we grew up. Few of us grow up to do this work, and those who do are often professional archeologists (考古学家). And then there’s Lara Maiklem, an editor, who has taken up the hobby of mudlarking, which is a kind of treasure finding, done along the banks of rivers.

Maiklem’s idea of “treasure” is self-defined. She says she was blessed with a mother who really taught her to look, and to take pleasure in the small things around her. So for her, treasure is anything extraordinary. “Finding dry snakeskin in the long grass, or broken china in the garden bed is like finding treasure to me,” she says.

About 20 years ago, Maiklem moved to London, but having grown up on a farm, she missed the peace of the countryside. Then, one day, she found herself at the top of a set of rickety (摇晃的) wooden steps looking down at the Thames’s foreshore. “The tide (潮) was low and the riverbed was exposed. I went down and started to look about. That day I found a short piece of clay pipe stem and reasoned that there was probably more, so I went back on another low tide and I found some china. Then I found myself going there regularly,” she says.

Maiklem says after she’s photographed and researched what she finds, she often takes objects back to the foreshore of the river. “What I do keep is limited to things I don’t already have, or better examples of things I already have,” she says.

In today’s busy, stressful world, arguably the best thing treasure mudlarkers take home is the relaxation and peace of mind found in the work of mudlarking. “You’ re doing a search, yet not really doing anything so you can let your brain wander. I mudlark for 5-6 hours, which sounds like a long time, but the time flies. By the time I leave the foreshore the river has taken away my problems, and that’s more valuable than treasure,” says Maiklem.

1. What does “treasure” mean to Maiklem?

A．Anything she believes special.

B．Anything her mother places around her.

C．Anything she and her mother take pleasure in.

D．Anything archeologists consider extraordinary.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．The best place for mudlarking.

B．The typical way of mudlarking.

C．How Maiklem got into mudlarking.

D．What mudlarking brought for Maiklem.

3. How does Maiklem usually deal with the things she finds?

A．She cleans them carefully.

B．She gives them to photographers.

C．She classifies them as limited editions.

D．She gets them back to their original places.

4. What is the greatest fun of mudlarking for Maiklem?

A．Finding special and valuable things.

B．Searching for solutions to problems.

C．Enjoying the beauty of the foreshore.

D．Gaining a peaceful state of mind.

【推荐1】Are you a talkative person? Do you like chatting with your colleagues? Every day around the world, most people who go to work avoid making small talk with their colleagues once they get there.

Some put on their headphones and keep their eyes low. Others will pretend to receive an urgent message that requires an immediate, life-or-death rapid response, which prevents them from doing pretty much anything else, including the conversation made while people are heating up lunch in the office microwave or while walking from the entrance of their office building to the nearest bus stop.

If those sound familiar or if you’ve convinced yourself that avoiding small talk with colleagues is smart self-preservation and that the risk of saying something offensive or coming across as socially unskillful is not worth the reward of connecting with somebody, then there is a bad piece of news—your false logic could be costing you a higher position at work.

Jamie Terran, a licensed career coach in New York City, said that small talk between colleagues builds rapport, which builds trust. “Rapport is the feeling that allows you to extend the deadline, or overlook smaller mistakes because it makes your colleagues to remember that we’re only human,” she added.

However, many people underestimate how much their conversation partners like them. But it’s not necessary. Imagine that after you have an awkward small talk with your colleague, do you think that the colleague you just talked with is a terrible conversationalist? No. You just feel bad about yourself. And you colleague feels the same about himself or herself.

If you’re generally anxious in social situations, Terran suggested coming up with questions or stories from which you can pull. “Whether or not you share personal information about yourself is up to you, but discussing things you truly care about always works,” she said. “Topics related to your professional field, for example, the sports you do well, is a great place to start.”

1. How do most people avoid chatting with their colleagues?

A．By asking their colleagues to stay far away.

B．By getting themselves occupied on purpose.

C．By reading something unrelated to their work.

D．By devoting themselves fully to the deadlines.

2. What may people lose if they avoid small talk with colleagues?

A．Smart self-preservation.	B．Trust in their colleagues.
C．Professional and social skills.	D．A chance for job promotion.

3. What do people worry about after an awkward chat with their colleagues?

A．Their colleagues will overwork their efforts.	B．They are likely to make more big mistakes.
C．Their colleagues may think poorly of them.	D．They will lose heart during the coming days.

4. What does Jemie Terran strongly about making small talk?

A．Making up funny stories about others.	B．Talking about something you are good at.
C．Choosing serious topics for discussion.	D．Sharing private information about yourself.

【推荐2】The Best Children's Books

From mysteries to classics, these books can make a kid smile- and teach them a life lesson or two. Read on for People editors' picks.

She’ S Got This by Laurie Hemandez

The American gymnast's picture book takes pages out of her own life: She's Got This follows Zoe, a young girl, as she discovers her love for gymnastics. It's a colorful reminder that you must fall to fly — the perfect message for any little one- Morgan Smith, Editorial Assistant.

What Do You Say, Dear? by Sesyle Joslin

This book is a throwback, but it still feels fresh today! It's a guide to manners that makes even adults laugh—invaluable when it comes to books for young readers, which you tend to read again and again.— Alex Apatoff, Lifestyle Director

City Spies by James Ponti

In his Dead City and Framed! trilogies (三部曲)，James Ponti created amazingly entertaining escapades (恶作剧) through which his tween characters marched with mischievous (淘气的) attitude and clever smarts. He is at it again with his newest, which finds Sara Maria Martinez, a 12-year-old Brooklyn kid and computer hacker, secretly recruited by a man known as Mother into a British network of spies.— Jeff Truesdell, Writer

A World of Opposites by Gray Malin

The photographer repurposes some of his most excellent shots into a kids "book. Using photos from all over the globe and including some of kids' favorite animals, he illustrates the concept of “opposites”.— Alex Apatoff , Lifestyle Director

1. Whose book inspires readers to never give up?

A．Gray Malin’s.

B．James Pohti’s.

C．Laurie Hernandez’s.

D．Sesyle Joslin’s.

2. What is What Do You Say, Dear? about?

A．Opposite things.	B．How kids should behave.
C．Teen spies' stories.	D．How a gymnast realizes her dream.

3. What do we know about the last book?

A．It has a follow-up.	B．It is for detective fans.
C．It features wonderful photos.	D．It is picked by Jeff Truesdell.

【推荐3】The spring break, as the name suggests, mentions the custom among American schools, colleges and universities to give their students a full week off from their studies at some time during the spring season. The dates of the spring break will vary from school to school. Some schools time their breaks to fit in with the Easter weekend, allowing students to travel home for that important holiday, while others time the spring break to St. Patrick’s Day.

While some college students might indeed use their spring breaks to catch up on their studies or to spend time with their family, many others travel to resorts （度假胜地）, in or out of the United States, in order to get together with their friends, sometimes on occasions that involve a great deal of drinking and public disorder. For many years, Fort Lauderdale, Florida was a popular destination for students from all over the country, until local residents said no to the damage caused by the students. The same case occurred in popular Daytona Beach, Florida.

Many American communities still turn a blind eye to the disruption （破坏）, however, since spring break traffic is an important factor in the local economy, despite the fact that most college students are under the minimum legal drinking age of 21. Tour companies provide special discounted spring break packages for the students to Mexico or countries of the Caribbean. These countries often have a lower minimum drinking age than the United States or are more tolerant of underage drinking.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Students have spring breaks to celebrate the Easter.

B．Not all schools have spring breaks.

C．Students are not allowed to go home in the spring break.

D．American students in different schools may have spring breaks at different times.

2. Local residents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida didn’t welcome students from all over the country, because ______.

A．none of the students made good use of the spring break

B．students caused trouble during the spring break

C．they didn’t want to join the students in their celebration

D．the spring break was mainly intended for local college students

3. From the underlined words in the last paragraph we know that ______.

A．American communities respect the students’ choices

B．many American communities obey the law because the spring break is a legal holiday

C．making money from the tourism is more important for many American communities

D．the damage caused by students is never worth paying attention to