【推荐1】Josh and Amy are in the same school. Josh is 14. Amy is two years younger. They are like many teenagers these days. They have jobs to do to help out around the home. Josh washes cars or his neighbors while Amy helps their neighbor’s kids with their homework. Like many families, both of Josh and Amy’s parents work outside the home.

Everyone in Josh and Amy’s family is busy. Their mom works in an office and often has to stay late for meetings. Their father owns his own small business and stays late to finish his work. Josh and Amy go to school. Both belong to clubs and sports teams. They also have lots of friends with whom they want to spend time.

Josh and Amy’s mom leaves for work at 7:00 in the morning and does not get home until 6:30 p.m. The same is true for their dad, but he leaves home in the morning even earlier.

Josh and Amy’s parents work to be able to provide for their family. They need money to pay for their home and to pay their bills. Next year they want to buy a new car. The family also wants to go on a vacation to California. Josh and Amy need clothes, books, and other things for school. Their parents are also saving money so Josh and Amy can go to college when they finish high school.

1. What do the kids do to help their parents?

A．Go to school early.	B．Join clubs and sports teams.
C．Spend time with their friends.	D．Take part-time jobs.

2. Where do the parents spend most of their daytime?

A．At home.	B．At workplace.
C．In their kids’ school.	D．On business trips.

3. What’s the age of Amy?

A．12.

B．13

C．14.

D．16.

【推荐2】Jessie felt her life so boring one summer day. She was tired of watching TV, she read all her books, and her friends were on vacation. She wanted something different to do. Suddenly, she saw the lawn mower (割草机) sitting in the yard.

“Mom,” she shouted,   “I think I will mow the lawn.” Her mom ran into the yard and said, “Oh no, you don’t. You’re too young to mow the law.”

“I’m fourteen years old and know how to do it,” Jessie said. “Besides, it would help Dad out, and he won’t have to worry about it over the weekend.” Mom thought for a while and then decided to let Jessie give it a try. After all, she was home and would keep an eye on her. Jessie already knew how to start the lawn mower from watching her dad. Jessie checked the gas to make sure it was full, and put on her gardening gloves to protect her hands. Mom watched from the kitchen window. Jessie really does know how to mow the lawn. She was very careful around the flowers and trees. When she finished, she felt so good, but she was so hot. Mom brought her some ice tea and said,   “You did a great job. Dad will be very surprised.”

Later that day, Dad came home and said to Jessie’s mom, “You didn’t have to mow the lawn. I was going to do it on Saturday. It looks great. Thanks.”

“I didn’t mow it. Jessie did.”

“Wow, our little girl is growing up!” Dad told Jessie what a great job she had done.

“It was fun, and I will do it again next week,” said Jessie.

The neighbor next door came by and asked Jessie if she wanted to mow his lawn and make some money. “Sure!” said Jessie. Jessie began mowing his lawn. Two other neighbors asked so, then another three. Jessie was now mowing lawns for them all and making some money. She was no longer bored! “I won’t have time to spend my money,” she laughed to herself.

1. In order to do something different, Jessie decide to ________.

A．read books

B．travel

C．mow the lawn

D．watch TV

2. Before Jessie mowed the lawn, she ________.

A．washed her hands

B．bought some gas

C．read some instructions

D．put on her gloves

3. How did Jessie’s father feel when he knew Jessie had mowed the lawn?

A．Surprised.

B．Angry.

C．Relaxed.

D．Worried.

4. How did Jessie make money?

A．She mowed the lawn for her father.	B．She mowed the lawn for her neighbors.
C．She won’t spend her money.	D．She repaired the lawn mower.

5. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．Neighbors should learn to help each other.	B．Mowing the lawn is a good way to make money.
C．Doing something helpful can make people happy.	D．Children should make money at an early age.

【推荐3】On Christmas Eve—the night before Christmas Day, children all over Britain put a stocking at the end of their beds before they go to sleep. Their parents usually tell them that Father Christmas will come during the night.

Father Christmas is very kind-hearted. He gets to the top of each house and climbs down the chimney (烟囱) into the fireplace (壁炉). He fills each of the stockings with Christmas presents.

Of course, Father Christmas isn’t real. In Jim and Kate’s house, “Father Christmas” is really Mr Green. Mr Green doesn’t climb down the chimney. He waits until the children are asleep. Then he quietly goes into their bedrooms and fills their stockings with small presents. When they were young, Mr Green sometimes wore a red coat. But he doesn’t do that now. The children are no longer young, and they know who “Father Christmas” really is. But they still put their stockings at the end of their beds.

1. Christmas Eve is ________.

A．the night of Christmas Day	B．the evening of Christmas Day
C．Christmas Day	D．the night before Christmas Day

2. Father Christmas often puts presents ________.

A．into children’s hats	B．into children’s stockings
C．under children’s beds	D．into children’s shoes

3. When the children were very young, ________.

A．they didn’t know who Father Christmas was

B．they knew that Father Christmas wasn’t real

C．they thought their father was Father Christmas

D．they knew who put the presents into their stockings

4. When the children are older, they ________.

A．know that Father Christmas is real

B．ask their mother to fill their stockings with presents

C．know that Father Christmas is really their father

D．know that Father Christmas is really their friend

5. Many little children think Father Christmas comes into the house through the ________.

A．chimney

B．back door

C．front door

D．window

【推荐1】Thanks to the world-famous Colombian writer Garcia Marquez, many people think of Latin America was a land of magic. In Marquez’s books, impossible things happen in this part of the world.

Where does the magic in his book come from? It may come from the mixture of different cultures in Latin America. Although some of their differences have caused problems, they have also been a kind of beauty and encouraged people in Latin America to be more open-minded. Most of the people there speak the same language--Spanish.

Latin America’s environment is quite diverse. People can enjoy beautiful sunshine on the Caribbean islands, ride horses in the green grasslands of Pampas, and experience the snow-covered mountains in the Andes. It even has the world’s biggest rainforest--the Amazon. Many of the world’s most unusual plants and animals live there.

The music and dance of Latin America is quite well-known. Latin American people have created the samba, rumba, chacha and tango. People often dance at parties. Latin dances are cheerful and can bring strangers together.

Latin America is an open and wonderful place. Its diverse environment and cultural traditions have made it a great place to visit.

1. The magic in Marquez’s books may come from ________ in Latin America.

A．natural environment

B．the same language

C．different cultures

D．unusual plants

2. Most of people in Latin America speak ________.

A．French

B．Spanish

C．German

D．English

3. The underlined word “diverse” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________ ”.

A．多样的

B．公平的

C．适当的

D．有益的

4. The ________ of Latin America can bring strangers together.

A．snow-covered mountains	B．biggest rainforest
C．beautiful sunshine	D．cheerful dances

5. This passage is probably taken from a ________.

A．book review

B．grammar book

C．travel magazine

D．science report

【推荐2】Many Chinese people who have been to the United States think that Americans pay a little part of their money for food each day. Yet, in the latest 13 years, food prices have gone up 30% for most American families. Everyone agrees that _______________________ But who is really responsible（有责任的）?
Many people say the farmers who produce the vegetables, fruit, meat, and eggs are responsible. But farmers say that the rise in food prices is very small compared to (和…相比) the rise in their cost of living. Farmers think middlemen（中间人）have got much more money than they do. Middlemen are those people who stand between the farmers and the people who buy and eat the food. For example, truck drivers, owners of food stores and so on. Are middlemen really responsible for higher food prices?
Economists（经济学家）don’t think so. They have found that the money that meat packers（包装商）and food stores get is less than 1% in all. They say that food costs more now because modern housewives have jobs outside the home. They have less time for cooking after a day’s work. They like to buy food which has already been prepared before it reaches the market. They want to buy many kinds of food that can be put on their dining tables easily and quickly. But of course they must be prepared to pay for the services of those who make their work easier.
It seems that the answer to the question of rising prices is not an easy one. Quite a number of people share the responsibility for the sharp rise in food costs.
1. Farmers speak for themselves because _____.

A．the middlemen have had the biggest share of profit（利润）

B．the cost of their products have risen sharply too

C．their cost of living has gone up a lot, too

D．they’ve got very little in the rise of food prices

2. Economists blame (责怪) _____.

A．farmers

B．middlemen

C．housewives

D．storeowners

3. What’s the writer’s opinion (观点)?

A．He agrees with the economists.

B．He doesn’t think farmers are responsible.

C．He thinks the middlemen might get a lot of profit.

D．He thinks all those people should be responsible.

【推荐3】Many children use the Internet to get useful knowledge and information, and to relax in their free time. But some of them are not using it in a good way. Here are some rules to make sure you are safe and have fun on the Internet.

Make rules for Internet use with your parents. For example, when and how long you can go online, and what activities you can do online.

Don’t give your password (密码) to anyone else, and never give out the following information—your real name, home address, age, school, phone number or other personal information.

Check with your parents before giving out a credit card (信用卡) number.

Never send a photo of yourself to someone in e-mail unless your parents say it’s OK.

Check with your parents before going into a chat room. Different chat rooms have different rules and attract different kinds of people. You and your parents will want to make sure it’s a right place for you.

Never agree to meet someone you met on the Internet without your parents’ permission (允许). Never meet anyone you met online alone.

Always remember that people online may not be who they say they are. Treat everyone online as a stranger.

If something you see or read online makes you uncomfortable, leave the site. Tell a parent or teacher right away.

Treat other people as you’d like to be treated. Never use bad language.

Remember—not everything you read on the Internet is true.

1. The writer tells children to ________.

A．send their photos to him	B．give out their personal information
C．believe everything they read on the Internet	D．make rules for Internet use with parents

2. It’s good for children to ________ on the Internet.

A．give password to others	B．go into a chat room as they’d like to
C．give out a credit card number	D．get useful knowledge and information

3. What shouldn’t be done when you are online?

A．Using bad language.	B．Sending messages and e-mails.
C．Treating everyone online as a stranger.	D．Leaving the site if you feel uncomfortable.

4. If your parents don’t agree, never ________.

A．have a face-to-face meeting with anyone you met online	B．relax in your free time
C．read anything on the Internet	D．treat other people as you’d like to be treated

5. The best title for this passage is “________”.

A．How to Use Computers	B．Internet Safety Rules
C．Information on the Internet	D．Surfing on the Internet

【推荐2】In the past, getting recipes (食谱) and cooking tips wasn't easy. A person had to go to the store and buy a cook book, or get recipes from friends. Luckily, the Internet has changed all that. Now, if you want to find a recipe for peach cobbler, you just search online. It couldn't be simpler.

Cooking blogs are a large number of information because they are free and there are so many of them. They're also nice because they give all different kinds of ideas. The problem with blogs is that because we don't know who's writing them, we need to be careful. When you're looking at a new blog, you don't know if the writer knows what he or she is talking about.

Right now, we'd like to introduce two popular cooking blogs. The first is called Smitten Kitchen. This Web site is run by a family living in New York City. It focuses on food that doesn't need many ingredients (材料). If you want to make food that is simple but wonderful, then this is the site for you. It offers hundreds and hundreds of recipes. You'll be amazed at how many there are.

Wednesday Chef is another great cooking blog. It is run by a writer who lives in Berlin. This blog also offers many recipes, along with recommendations (推荐) for great restaurants in Berlin, and advice for people who want to start their own blogs. Wednesday Chef has great pictures of its food, as well as interesting pictures of Berlin. The blog got its name because in the past, newspaper published their food articles on Wednesdays.

There are a lot of cooking blogs on the Internet, and most of them are pretty good. Go online and check some of them out. You might be amazed at how much they can help you make your cooking better.

1. The underlined sentence means___________.

A．it is difficult to find the recipes	B．it is easy to search the Internet
C．it is easy to find the recipes online	D．it is difficult to do with peach cobbler

2. What does the article say about Smitten Kitchen?

A．It focuses on simple recipes.	B．It only offers a few recipes.
C．It only gives recipes on Italian food.	D．Most of the food on that blog is hard to make.

3. Wednesday Chef doesn't have___________.

A．many recipes	B．pictures of Berlin
C．restaurant recommendations	D．advice for people who want to open a restaurant

4. Which of the following is NOT an advantage(优点)of cooking blogs?

A．They are free.	B．There are many of them.
C．They give a lot of advice.	D．The writers are all experts.

【推荐3】I’m the engine that keeps you working, and I’m here to share some of my secrets. I have 100 billion nerve cells(神经细胞), so you need to consider before you blame(责怪) me for not being so fast enough. It’s not really my fault: information travels through me too fast and sometimes I can’t keep all of it.

The Internet is making me weak. A study found that you’ve been relying more on the Internet. That means I’m going to forget more over time. Scientists have been worried that our ability to think is being lost.

In general, I’m about ten percent larger in men than women. It doesn’t make men smarter. It just lets me control their different bodies. Actually, it’s more common for women to get angry, but men can’t focus on a thing well. They usually have language difficulties.

Your mobile phone scares me. A new study showed that more than one hour of mobile phone use can get me in trouble. Mobile phone radiation(辐射) might cause me to be in a worse situation.

Some parts of me never sleep. It’s important for you to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep helps to improve memories. In fact, when you are asleep, some parts of me are still working hard on my duty. Besides, laughter is really the best medicine for me. So remember to laugh more for my better situation.

1. What’s the result of depending too much on the Internet?

A．It will make people remember things for a long time.

B．It helps people to remember things more easily.

C．It may influence one’s way of thinking.

D．It may make us have the ability to learn.

2. Why can’t I keep all the information?

A．Because there is too much information.

B．Because information travels too fast.

C．Because I can hardly work.

D．Because I am lazy.

3. What can you do to make “me” work better?

A．Get a shorter sleep every night.

B．Blame “me” for not being fast enough.

C．Use “me” more instead of the Internet.

D．Use a mobile phone for one hour each day.

4. What can we know from the passage?

A．Men can pay close attention to a thing.

B．At night, “I” can completely sleep and stop working.

C．It’s clear that “I” should take medicine to work better.

D．Mobile phone radiation may bring serious problems to “me”.