【推荐3】阅读下列短文并回答问题。

I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was very organized. Each of her things had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her shouting, “Mary, take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started shouting. She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, crying.

Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy (同情) rose up in my heart,

Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t noticed Kate had sat up.

She was watching, her tears dried. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on. (294words)

1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about? (no more than 15 words)
2. What made Kate angry one evening? (no more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word “yelled” mean in Paragraph 2? (one word)
4. Why did Mary tidy up the room? (no more than 5 words)
5. Who do you prefer to make friends with, Kate or Mary? Please give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)

【推荐1】In the live-streaming channel of Yang Weiyun, no singing or dancing is performed nor are products sold. Yang teaches pinyin, reading and writing, something that has been most familiar to her for the past 50 years. The difference is that her students are mostly adults.

The 73-year-old, an experienced and respected educator, had taught Chinese in an elementary school for 50 years. In retirement, Yang also wanted to do something meaningful. The rise of short video platforms gave her the idea of continuing her education attempt through live-streaming online. The retiree opened her live-streaming account in May 2021 and offered free pinyin courses designed for kindergarten pupils about to attend primary schools. However, she gradually learned among her viewers there are a lot of adults who cannot read.

Yang said she found many illiterate adults develop a sense of lack of confidence. They are afraid to go to new places, worried that they couldn’t teach their children or read their boss’s instructions. “Many illiterate adults didn’t have the chance to go to school when they were young. They are the ones in urgent need of becoming literate. I wanted to give them a new starting point,” Yang said.

To better meet their needs, Yang added targeted content. Considering the schedule of most adult students, she even held two sessions everyday starting at 8:30 am and 8:30 pm. Yang’s live-streaming channel offers an easy and private way for those who want to overcome adult illiteracy. Now she has nearly 300,000 followers on the short video platform Douyin.

Yang said students learning through her live-streaming channel each have their own demands. So she always prepares her classes carefully after concluding a live-streaming session. She has tried her best to figure out what ways the students can learn and remember better, and her biggest wish now is to see these students graduate from her classes.

1. What’s Yang’s original purpose when she attempted teaching online?

A．To help illiterate adults to read.	B．To spread Chinese character culture.
C．To teach kids before primary school.	D．To sell products in her channel.

2. What can be inferred about Yang’s main audience?

A．They have a hard time getting along with their boss.

B．They hope to improve their lives through such courses.

C．They are confident though they not well-educated.

D．They have little access to learning sources online.

3. Why did Yang’s live-streaming class become a hit among adults?

A．Her classes are carefully adapted to the needs.

B．Her videos are easy and long enough to learn.

C．She is an experienced and respectable teacher.

D．Her sessions respect the audience’s privacy.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．It’s never too late to learn

B．Illiterate adults need help in education

C．A retired teacher helps illiterate adults online

D．A video platform offers new ways of education

【推荐2】Mr Smith was the manager of a hotel in Springfield. One weekend all of the hotels in the city were full because there was a large meeting. Late in the evening three men came into the hotel and asked for rooms. Mr Smith explained that because of the meeting, there were no rooms ready for use. The men were very unhappy because they had no place to stay in.
Mr Smith wanted to help them. He remembered that Room 414, a very small room, was empty. He asked them if they would share a room. The three men agreed. Mr Smith told them that the room would cost $30: $10 for each. Each of them gave Mr Smith $10, and they went up to the room.
Mr Smith soon began to feel sorry. “Thirty dollars is too much for that small room,” he thought. He called one of his men over and said, “Here is $ 5. Bring it to the man in Room 414. I’ve asked too much money for their room.”
The worker took the money from his manager. While he was on his way to Room 414, he started to think, “How can I divide $5? Well, I’ll give each of them only $1 and I keep $2. The men will be happy to get anything back. I’ll make a little money and Mr Smith will never know.” So he returned $1 to each man.
You see, there come a problem, each man had at first paid $10. After the worker returned them $1 each, each man had paid 9. There were three men, $9 x 3 =" $27." The worker kept $2 —$27+$2="29." Where is the missing dollar?
1. Which of the following is True?

A．The large meeting was held in this hotel.	B．The three men stayed together in one room.
C．Each of the three men got a small room.	D．Room 414 was the office for Mr Smith.

2. Where was the missing dollar?

A．There wasn’t any missing dollar at all.	B．It was taken by the worker too.
C．It was taken by the manager Mr Simith.	D．It was taken by the three men themselves.

3. Put the following sentences in correct order.
a. Three men went into the hotel for a room.             b. Mr Smith felt sorry to have asked for too much.
c. They paid 30 dollars altogether for one room.     d. The worker gave one dollar back to each of them.
e. Mr Smith thought of a small room, still empty.   f. The worker was given 5 dollar to return to them.

A．c→b→e→a→d→f

B．c→d→f→e→a→b

C．a→c→b→e→f→d

D．a→e→c→b→f→d

4. What is the best title of this text?

A．The Kind Manager.	B．Three Men Came to the Hotel
C．A Strange Maths Problem	D．$27 + $2 = $29

【推荐3】One day I got in a taxi, and we left for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly，a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver stopped his car at once. The tire made a very loud noise, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the back of the other car.

I was frightened. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, turned his head and started yelling at us. I couldn’t believe it! But my taxi driver just smiled at the guy. So I asked,“Why did you just do that? This guy almost sent us to hospital.”

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Rubbish Truck.” He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of rubbish, full of anger. As their rubbish piles up, they look for a place to throw it away and sometimes they’ll throw it at you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their rubbish and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.

Successful people never let rubbish trucks change their moods. Life is too short to wake up in the. morning with regrets, so love those who love you and pray for those who don’t.

1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the first paragraph?

A．The writer went to the airport by taxi that day.

B．The taxi driver stopped his car in time.

C．The black car jumped out and crashed into the taxi.

D．A car accident nearly happened on the writer’s way to the airport.

2. The underlined word ‘yelling’ in the second paragraph means ______ in Chinese.

A．道歉

B．傻笑

C．吼叫

D．告别

3. From the passage, we can tell that the taxi driver is ______.

A．silly and dishonest	B．wise and friendly
C．helpful but nervous	D．modest but impatient

4. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Fight with people like rubbish trucks.

B．Make friends with people like rubbish trucks.

C．Have a quarrel with people like rubbish trucks.

D．Don’t let rubbish trucks change our moods.

【推荐1】The development of a V-shaped fuel-efficient airplane design known as the Flying-V will be funded by Dutch national carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines．

To improve the sustainability （持续性） of air travel, the Flying-V was developed by researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, also known as TU Delft．

Its futuristic design puts the passenger cabin into the wings. It's said the plane will use 20% less fuel than the Airbus A350-9-while carrying a similar number of passengers．

"In recent years, KLM has developed as a pioneer in sustainability within its airline industry," said Pieter Elbers, CEO and president of KLM. "We are proud of our progressive relationship with TU Delft"．

"Air travel is contributing about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions (排放物)， and the industry is still growing, so we really need to look at more sustainable airplanes," said TU Delft project leader Roelof Vos．

"We cannot electrify planes, as electrified airplanes become way too heavy and you can't fly people across the Atlantic on electric airplanes- not now, not in 30 years," Vos said. "So we have to come up with new technologies that reduce fuel burning in a different way."

"We've been flying traditional airplanes for decades now, but it seems like they are reaching the limit in terms of energy efficiency," he said."The new design actively contributes to the lift of the airplane, and creates less air drag."

The plane's increased fuel efficiency is largely a result of its design, Vos explained．

The researchers hope to fly a model this September, Vos said, while the new cabin design will be open to the public at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in October. The completed plane is expected to enter service between 2040 and 2050．

1. What can we infer from the text？ ______

A．Flying-V was developed by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines．

B．Researchers at TU Delft have raised enough money．

C．20% of the passengers will sit in Flying-V's wings．

D．KLM plays an important role in sustainability．

2. Why sustainable planes are needed？ ______

A．To save electricity．

B．To reduce global CO₂ emissions．

C．To make air travel more affordable．

D．To develop air industry．

3. How does the Flying-V save energy？ ______

A．It's the V-shaped design that makes a big difference．

B．The idea of electrified airplanes is applied to its development．

C．It depends on a kind of more efficient fuel．

D．Its futuristic design leads to a limited number of passengers．

4. What's the purpose of the text？ ______

A．To instruct us the importance of environment protection．

B．To inspire us to explore the unknown area of technology．

C．To inform us of the fuel-efficient Flying-V．

D．To appeal to us to raise fund for technology．

【推荐2】Parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain(获得), whether rich or poor, according to a 20-year study led by Mariah Evans.

For years, educators have thought the strongest predictor(预示物) of attaining high levels of education was having parents who were highly educated. But, the study showed that the difference between being raised in a bookless home compared to being raised in a home with a 500-book library has as great an effect on the level of education a child will attain as the difference between having parents who are barely literate (有文化的) and having parents who have a university education.

Being a sociologist, Evans was particularly interested to find that children of less-educated parents benefit the most from having books in the home. What kinds of investments should we make to help these kids get ahead? The results of this study indicate that getting some books into their homes is an inexpensive way that we can help these children succeed. Evans said, “Even a little bit goes a long way. Having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact on motivating a child to a higher level of education, and the more books you add, the greater benefit the children get.”

The researchers were struck by the strong effect having books in the home had on children's educational attainment even above and beyond such factors as education level of the parents, the father's occupation or the economic level of the country.

Having books in the home is twice as important as the father's education level, and more important than whether a child was brought up in a developing country or a developed country. Surprisingly, the difference in educational attainment for children born in a developed country and children born in a developing country was just 2 years, less than two-thirds of the effect that having 500 or more books in the home had on children.

1. In the past educators held a point of view that ______ .

A．children whose family had a library would possibly attain high levels of education

B．children who were born in poor families studied harder than those in rich families

C．children whose parents are highly educated would attain high levels of education

D．parents’ level of education had nothing to do with their children’s levels of education

2. What does the underlined word “motivating” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Making somebody want to do something.

B．Helping somebody to finish something

C．Making somebody pretend to do something.

D．Preventing somebody from achieving something.

3. Which of the following has the most important effect on the level of education a child will gain?

A．The economic level of the country.	B．The father’s occupation.
C．Education levels of parents.	D．Having books in the home.

【推荐3】NARRAT1VE invites all writers, poets, visual artists' photographers performers and filmmakers between eighteen and thirty years old to send us their best work. We're looking for the traditional and the new, the true and the creative. We're looking to encourage the best young authors and artists working today.

Awards： First Prize is $ 1,500, Second Prize is $ 750, Third Prize is $ 300, and other ten finalists will receive $ 100 each. The prizewinners and finalists will be announced in Narrative, We accept submissions （提交）in the following media:

Written； works of literature» including short stories₅ all poetic forms, novels, essays and book-length nonfiction. Submissions must be within 15,000 words. Each poetry submission may contain up to five poems. The poems should all be contained in a single file. All submissions should he double-spaced （except poetry, which should be single-spaced）, with 12- point type, at least one-inch margins （空白）.You may enter as many times as you wish, but we encourage you to be selective and to send your best work. All entries will be considered to be published.
Photographed； photo essays of between five and twenty image, previously unpublished. Titles or text should he included, either with the file containing the images or as a separate document, with numbered photographs.
Filmed： short films and documentaries of up to fifteen minutes. Submissions must be in .mp4 or .mov format.

Entries will be accepted through November 19, 2020, at midnight, Pacific standard time. There is a $26 fee for each entry. And with your entry, you'll receive three months of free access to Narrative Backstage. Winners and finalists will be announced to the public by December 18, 2020.

1. How many kinds of prizes will be awarded with money?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five.

D．Six.

2. Which entry meets the standard of submission?

A．A picture posted online.	B．A poetry with six poems.
C．A novel with single-spaced pattern.	D．A photograph with a text in a separate document.

3. What is the benefit for people who submit their work?

A．They will be announced to the public,

B．They will receive a $ 26 payment for their effort.

C．They can have their work published in the magazine.

D．They can visit Narrative Backstage for free for three months

【推荐1】The terraced rapeseed(油菜)flower hills of Jiangling, Wuyuan is well-known as one of the four “seas of flowers” in China, attracting thousands of plant-loving tourists to come and appreciate and photograph the vast and endless rapeseed flower fields.

“Rapeseed flowers are the messenger of spring,” said Bin Zhan, manager of Jiangxi Wuyuan Tourism, “Jiangling is the best place for a relaxing spring trip to enjoy the most visually impressive views of golden seas of rapeseed blossoms covering layered terrace fields”.

The rapeseed blossom in the terraced fields of Jiangling, located 45 kilometres to the northeast of Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, reached full bloom in the second week of March.

This year. Wuyuan restores ancient farming traditions and practices to give visitors an idea or the history ，culture and folk customs of the county by adding scarecrows(稻草人) in the rapeseed flower fields. The creative scarecrows of Wuyuan County are designed in the shapes of popular cartoon characters, Hui-style architecture and folk customs. They are placed in the rapeseed fields to provide more fun and interactions for visitors on flower viewing tours.

“As flower viewing is becoming more popular in recent years, Jiangling is seeing a growing number of returning visitors, especially professional photograph who come back every year for the dramatic rapeseed blossoms,” Zhan said. “The blossoms only last one to two months. April is the last chance to catch a flower-viewing tour this year.”

In addition to flower viewing, Wuyuan County is also home to the most well-protected ancient Hui-style architecture in China. As one of the most beautiful countryside villages in China, it attracts photographers from around the world every year to document not only the natural scenery, but also the unique farming culture and folk traditions.

1. Which is NOT one of the features of the rapeseed blossoms of Jiangling？

A．The rapeseed fields cover a limited area.

B．The rapeseed is planted on layered terraces.

C．Rapeseed flowers blossom, at the beginning of spring.

D．When the flowers blossom, the fields are like a golden sea.

2. What does the underlined word “They” refer to？

A．Folk customs.	B．Hui-style buildings.
C．Creative scarecrows.	D．Models of popular cartoon characters.

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 5？

A．Returning visitors get discount when entering Jiangling.

B．Visitors could catch the last flower viewing tour in May.

C．It is in March and April that Jiangling has the most visitors.

D．Not many professional photographers will go to see the blossoms.

4. What is the writing purpose of this article？

A．To introduce Wuyuan County as a tourist destination.

B．To report how many people visited Jiangling this year.

C．To introduce the history of rapeseed farming in Jiangling.

D．To remind visitors the best viewing time for rapeseed blossoms.

【推荐2】PhoneSoap: Charge and Clean Your Phone

You may charge your phone every day, but do you clean your phone as much? Whatever your hands touch, your phones touch. It has been discovered that some phones have 18 times more bacteria and viruses than any surface in a public restroom. So it probably won’t surprise you that a 2011 University of London study found that one in six of our phones have bacteria and viruses on them—specifically, the bacteria called E. coli.

The research on bacteria and viruses led to the invention of PhoneSoap. It is not actually liquid like dishwasher soap. It is a phone charger that uses the electromagnetic radiation used in hospitals to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses, cleaning your phone while it charges.

“There are really certain types of bacteria and viruses that we should not be in touch with, and they are really on our phones,” says Wes Barnes, the PhoneSoap co-founder. It all started while his cousin and co-founder, Dan LaPorte, was in his cancer research lab at college. “He realized he got the idea of getting rid of bacteria and viruses on the phones,” said Barnes. “In the lab they used UV-C light for destroying them. He realized this would be the fastest, most powerful way to kill any bacteria and viruses living on electronic machines.”

PhoneSoap looks like a little metal suitcase. Your phone rests in to charge and get cleaned at the same time. Instead of plugging your phone into the wall, you’d plug it into the PhoneSoap charger box. The process only takes a few minutes but, Barnes says, “The idea is that you can leave it in there overnight if you want to keep charging. Reflective paint keeps the light completely around the phone so it cleans the phone fully.”

The co-founders spent 2013 finding the right companies and they started shipping the product in late November. By last week’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, PhoneSoap was all grown-up. Both co-founders have left their previous jobs and are selling PhoneSoap nonstop. “We’re shipping almost more than we can handle each day,” Barnes says. “It’s been a great adventure.”

1. We can learn from the first paragraph that ___________.

A．phones can be very dirty

B．phones are where bacteria are born

C．most phones are attacked by bacteria

D．phones store more bacteria in a restroom

2. According to the passage, PhoneSoap ___________.

A．takes a whole night to kill bacteria

B．deals with bacteria with radiation

C．is a kind of liquid like dishwasher soap

D．has to be plugged into the wall to work

3. From what Barnes said in the last paragraph, we can infer that ___________.

A．PhoneSoap is in great demand now

B．PhoneSoap is really hard to handle

C．they can’t produce enough PhoneSoap

D．they’ll make improvements to PhoneSoap

4. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Methods of cleaning phones.

B．Tips on charging phones quickly.

C．Soap killing harmful bacteria on phones.

D．A phone charger keeping your phone clean.