【推荐1】You might be surprised to know that bicycles have existed for about two hundred years, but no one is sure who first made this popular two-wheeled machine.

    1    The front wheel was much bigger than the back one, and also there weren't any pedals (踏板), Riders had to move themselves forward by pushing their feet against the ground.

    2     In 1879 an Englishman had the idea of connecting them to the back wheel with a chain. Gears(齿轮), which made things much easier for those cycling uphill, first appeared in the 1890s.

There are now about one billion bicycles in the world.    3    They have to compete with cars on the streets of all the world' s cities, and the two forms of transport don' t always mix well. In London in 2005, for example, over 300 cyclists were either killed or seriously hurt in accidents.

Because bicycles are much more environmentally friendly than cars, now many governments encourage people to ride rather than drive.    4    The number of yearly journeys made by bicycle in London has increased 50% over the last five years.

However, although one in three British people owns a bicycle, they still don't use them nearly as much as they could     5    .

It is hoped that more people will rely on bicycles to move around. The reasons are obvious--cycling helps to protect the environment, keep us fit, and it is often not only cheaper but also quicker than travelling by car in many cases.

A．Pedals finally arrived in the 1840s.

B．Cycling is on the rise in the United Kingdom.

C．Bicycles are used for only 2 % of journeys in the UK.

D．The first person who made a bicycle was an Englishman.

E．The number of bicycles is twice more than that of cars.

F．The early models didn't look much like the bicycles of today.

G．Cycling helps improve people's health.

【推荐2】One day, when I was going to check in at an airport, I noticed there was a big problem. The counter person was telling everyone that all the planes were having problems and they would not be able to fly! And it was suggested that a bus would be provided to take us to Seattle. Everyone was worried, as we only had an hour and a half to make the connecting flight, and the bus was not even at the airport yet.

Finally, the bus pulled up, and the driver said, “They just pulled me out of bed after an all-night shift, and they expect me to get you to Seattle in time to catch your fight. Good luck!”

Needless to say, everyone was in a really bad mood. I was loading my baggage into the bus and had hung my banjo (班卓琴) over my back when the bus driver said, “What? Are you going to play that on my bus?” “Well, I really did not plan on it,” I replied.“I was only kidding,”said the driver. But I started thinking about it, and I pulled out the banjo. A worried, angry woman said, “Well, what if I don’t like it?” “Then tell me and I’ll stop,” I replied.

We drove off, and the tension made the atmosphere inside the bus horrendous! Then I started performing the old standard Blue Skies. In a few minutes, I noticed everyone was singing along. I started to sing, too, and before long, the whole bus burst into song.

One song led to another. Everyone laughed and sang, with food passed around the bus, and before long, the airport was in sight.

The bus driver called, “We made it! We never would have done it without the help of our banjo player.” Shouts of approval rang through the bus. People exchanged addresses and invitations to visit, and a few even exchanged hugs.

A few weeks later, my mailbox was filled with letters from my new friends. Their letters reminded me of how, by reaching out with just a song or a bit of friendship, you can turn a very tense situation into a peaceful experience.

1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．The driver was glad to take them to Seattle.

B．The driver was too tired to send them to Seattle.

C．The driver was late because he just came off the night shift.

D．The driver thought they would have difficulty making it to Seattle.

2. What does the underlined word “horrendous” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Boring.

B．Strange.

C．Terrible.

D．Cheerful.

3. What is the text mainly about?

A．A great banjo play.

B．A wonderful musical bus ride.

C．The amazing friendship on a bus.

D．An unforgettable experience at the airport.

【推荐3】Thousands of years ago, people started building boats to help them explore the watery parts of the world. Boats let people find new hunting grounds and discover new lands.    1    

The earliest boats were probably logs that people sat on as they floated downstream. Later, people made these logs more useful and comfortable by burning and scraping away the insides to make dugout boats and canoes.

    2     They tied logs together to make rafts. They wove reeds and branches to make tidy little boats that are still used in many parts of the world today. They sewed animal skins together and filled them with air — like a float you might use in a swimming pool. They used paddles, poles, and oars to help steer, or to move upstream.

Boats like the Greek trireme (三列桨船) were big and heavy and hard to steer.    3     Soon people figured out how to use sails to catch the wind. Early sailboats might only have one or two sails. But more sails meant more power, and fast tall ships could have dozens. People still use sailboats today, for cruising and racing.

When steam engines were invented, boating became easier than ever.    4     As engines got bigger and better, so did boats.

Over the years, boats have been used for fishing, for fighting, for carrying goods, for fun — even for living on.    5    

A．The world is a watery place.

B．It took hundreds of rowers to move a boat like that.

C．People experimented with different kinds of floating boats.

D．Boats have turned the world’s waterways into highways.

E．Until people learned to build boats, all this water was a barrier.

F．They carried people and goods farther than they’ve ever gone before.

G．Ships with steam engines could sail long distances, even if there was no wind.

【推荐2】Multiple studies link music study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious   music training that seems to be associated with huge success in other fields? I put the question to outstanding professionals in industries from tech to finance to media, all of whom had serious past lives as musicians.

The phenomenon extends beyond the math-music association. Strikingly, many high   achievers told me music opened up the pathways to creative thinking. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities: Collection. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that joins together separate ideas. The power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously.

For many of the high achievers I spoke with, music functions as a “hidden language”, as Mr. Wolfensohn calls it, one that enhances the ability to connect separate or conflicting ideas. When he ran the world Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn traveled to more than 100 countries, often taking in local performers, which helped him understand “the culture of people, as distinct from their balance sheet.”

It is in that context that the connection between math and music grabs the most attention. Both are at heart modes of expression. Bruce Kovner, the founder of the hedge fund Caxton Associates, says he sees similarities between his piano playing and investing strategy; as he says, both “relate to pattern cognition, and some people extend these patterns across different senses.”

For Roger McNamee, whose Elevation Partners is perhaps best known for its early investment in Facebook, “music and technology have converged,” he says. He became expert on Facebook by using it to promote his hand, Moonalice, and now is focusing on video by live-streaming its concerts. He says musicians and top professionals share “the almost desperate need to dive deep.” This capacity to obsess seems to unite top performers in music and other fields.

“I’ve always believed the reason I’ve gotten ahead is by outworking other people,” he says. It’s a skill learned by “playing that solo one more time, working on that one little section one more time,” and it translates into “working on something over and over again, or double-checking or triple-checking,” He adds, “there is nothing like music to teach you that eventually if you work hard enough, it does get better. You see the results.”

That’s an observation worth remembering at a time when music as a serious pursuit is in decline in this country.

1. Music training can enhance all of the following abilities except ________.

A．handling the present with a long-range vision

B．thinking from other people’s perspective

C．listening to different opinions patiently

D．identifying connection between different ideas

2. Bruce Kovner sees a parallel between music and ________.

A．hedge fund	B．patterns
C．different senses	D．mathematics

3. By saying “music and technology have converged”, Roger McNamee means ________.

A．musical techniques are directly used in managing business

B．Advanced technology makes sound better than before

C．Facebook has become a platform for promoting music albums

D．technology has increased the channels by which music is promoted

4. The “observation” (underlined, para 7) in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A．the claim that music is the key to success

B．the belief that results determine the value of music

C．the idea that hard work keeps getting you ahead

D．the proposal that one should pursue music seriously

【推荐3】For much of the past hundred years, classrooms have been designed with the teacher seated in front of desks for students. The desks are almost always positioned in lines facing the teacher. But educators now say children can do better in a less structured learning environment. And designers have been providing spaces and seating to meet those suggestions.

Bob Pearlman works as an education consultant in the United States. He helps teachers and school administrators with educational planning and other issues. He told The Associated Press traditional classrooms are a thing of the past. Now students work in “extended learning areas” that include project - planning rooms, workrooms, and laboratories, as well as learning spaces for groups and individuals. Pearlman points to Albemarle County Public Schools, in Charlottesville,Virginia. The school system invited teams from all its schools to develop learning spaces that would help students deal with complex ideas and work on creative building projects. Now its elementary school classes have exchanged traditional desks for things like soft seating and connectable tables. Another change to the design of classrooms is the ability to connect to the Internet. “Classrooms and libraries used to be the only spaces where students spent their school hours. Wireless, laptops and project learning have changed that.” Pearlman said. He noted that this has made all school spaces into possible extended learning areas.

“Natural light, reduced outside noise and good air quality are all considerations in classroom design”. says Aaron Jobson. He is with the Quattrocchi Kwok Architects in Santa Rosa, California, “More and more evidence connects the physical environment to learning outcomes”, Jobson said. New designs include glass walls inside buildings and doors that increase connectedness among students and create more open space for teachers.

1. Where can students learn better?

A．In well-ordered classrooms.

B．In traditional classrooms.

C．In less structured classrooms.

D．In classrooms with modern equipment.

2. What’s the change of the elementary school classes in Albemarle County?

A．New desks are positioned facing teachers.

B．Libraries become the places for students to learn.

C．Soft seats and connectable tables are equipped.

D．Students study at home through the Internet.

3. What can we infer from the text?

A．School education is extremely important.

B．Classroom design has nothing to do with learning outcomes.

C．Teaching methods contribute much to students’ exam results.

D．Classroom design should take physical environment into account.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．The New Educational Plannings

B．Some Creative Teaching Theories

C．Traditional Teaching Methods

D．The New Design of Classrooms