【推荐1】A young prince had just recently become King. In order to rule his kingdom, he decided to learn all the wisdom of world. Therefore, he gathered all the wise men from his kingdom and abroad and ordered them to look for books for him to read and learn from.
Five years passed quickly. The wise men returned with their camels, carrying 5000 books full of wisdom. Seeing so many books, the king was so shocked that he didn’t know how to start. So he ordered the wise men to condense the books and bring them back to him. Another five years passed. The wise men again went to see the king, this time bringing 500 books, but the king still thought there were too many. Five more years passed. The wise men brought back 50 books. At this time, the king was troubled with many problems, but he still felt were too many books.
During the next few years, the wise men worked hard to condense the 50 books into one book and present it to the king. The king took no interest in reading this book, nor did he have time to learn from it. More problems broke out in his kingdom---his enemies endlessly attacked and diseases affected his people. He did not have the wisdom to solve these problems. Finally, the king was killed by a ruler in the neighbour country and his country was destroyed.
Waiting for wisdom to come to you is just a way of being lazy. If there is no action, there can be no gain. Only if we set out to find wisdom can we make a difference.
1. Why did the king gather all the wise man?

A．To help him rule the kingdom.	B．To teach him some knowledge.
C．To look for books for his kingdom.	D．To look for books of wisdom for him.

2. What does the underlined word “condense” mean?

A．To put much information into a small space.	B．To make the price of books lower.
C．To make the books smaller than ever.	D．To make the books easier than ever.

3. Why wouldn’t the king read the ONE book made from 50 books?

A．Because he didn’t know how to start.	B．Because he lost interest and time for it.
C．Because he wasn’t sure about that book.	D．Because it didn’t have the wisdom he wanted.

4. What can we learn from this passage?

A．Time and tide wait for no man.	B．Wisdom can make a country strong.
C．Wisdom won’t come to you by itself.	D．The meaning of living is to find wisdom.

【推荐2】

Darrius was born with three fingers on his right hand and one on his left hand. He had to work hard to do things that were easy for others. Every time his classmates tried to help, he would say, “Thanks, but I can do it myself.” He learned to use the four fingers to do different things.

When Darrius was 10, he told his father that he liked piano(钢琴) music very much. “It's too bad you can't play,” his father said. But the boy took that as a challenge(挑战).“I will show people that I can,” he said to himself.

Months later, a neighbour gave him an old piano when she moved away. He taught himself to play the piano and practised for hours a day.

Darrius's favourite piano music is River Flows in You by Yiruma, a Korean musician. It took Darrius a year to learn it. “I have to come up with my own way with only 4 fingers,” he said. When he succeeded, he felt so proud. Later he was lucky enough to play the music together with Yiruma at a famous concert hall! Yiruma encouraged Darrius to follow his dream of playing his own music. Darrius has made it. And his music is popular today.

“I may have a disability,” he says, “ but I don’t let it hold me back from anything.”

1. What did Darrius take as a challenge at the age of 10?

A．Writing his music.

B．Playing the piano.

C．Giving a concert.

D．Visiting a hall.

2. How long did it take Darrius to learn to play River Flows in You?

A．A year.

B．A month.

C．A day.

D．An hour.

3. Who encouraged Darrius to follow his dream?

A．His classmate.

B．His father.

C．A neighbour.

D．A musician.

4. What can we learn about Darrius from the text?

A．He has a strong will.	B．He bought himself a piano.
C．He gave up his dream.	D．He only plays others’ music.

【推荐3】There was once a spider that lived in a cornfield. She liked this home and planned to stay there for the rest of her life.

One day, the spider caught a little bug in her web. Just as the spider was about to eat him, the bug said, “If you let me go. I will tell you something important that can save your life.”

The spider thought for a little while and listened. “You’d better get out of this cornfield,” the little bug said, “The harvest is coming!”

“I think you are just telling me a story,” the spider said with a smile.

“Oh no, it is true,” the little bug said, “All the stalks (杆) will be knocked down, and the corn will be gathered up. You will be killed by the great machines if you stay here.”

“I don’t believe you,” the spider said as she ate the little bug for lunch.

A few days later the spider was laughing about the story the little bug had told her. She thought to herself, “A harvest! What a silly idea! I have lived here all of my life, and nothing has ever disturbed (打扰) me.”

The next day was a beautiful sunny day. The sky above was clear, and there was no wind at all. That afternoon, as the spider was about to take a nap (小睡), she noticed some thick dusty clouds moving towards her. She could hear the noise of a great engine (发动机), and she said to herself, “I wonder what that could be? Is the bug right?”

1. The little bug tried to get free by ________.

A．destroying the web	B．turning to his friends for help
C．telling the spider some important news	D．fighting with the spider

2. The spider didn’t believe the little bug because ________.

A．she had got other news	B．she thought the little bug was her enemy
C．the little bug told a lie	D．nothing had happened before

3. Which of the following is the CORRECT order according to the passage?
① The spider was about to take a nap.
② The spider caught a little bug in her web.
③ The spider ate the little bug for lunch.
④ A great engine moved toward the spider.
⑤ The bug told the spider something important that could save be spider’s life.

A．①②⑤③④

B．②⑤③①④

C．①⑤②③④

D．②⑤①④③

4. What might happen to the spider in the end?

A．She might be killed by the great machines.	B．She might escape from the cornfield.
C．She might still live in the cornfield.	D．She might be saved by another bug.

5. What can we learn from the story?

A．Don’t do something bad to small annuals.	B．Working hard is very important.
C．It can be helpful to follow others’ advice.	D．Nothing is difficult in the world.

【推荐1】When I was in college, Helen, a friend of mine, got into a competition to win a Coach bag. It would look great on her if she won, and we were all excited to borrow it. The only problem? She’d have to eat hot dogs for about 5 minutes to win it.

The good number for the hot dog eating competition was around 8. Even though she was a big eater and sometimes she woke up at midnight to have lots of food, the competition was never easy for her. Still, she’d had her eye on the bag, and made up her mind to get it.

She spent the days before the competition eating nothing to make sure she could eat more hot dogs that day. After downing eight hot dogs in five minutes, they declared (宣布) her the winner. She immediately walked home with her new bag, only stopping to vomit (呕吐) every few steps. She was sick for the next two days, but she’d won the bag.

As well as the dangers of putting on weight and vomiting, eating competitions can be dangerous in many ways. Just last weekend, two players in two eating competitions died. More than 20 eating competition deaths have been reported since 2010 alone.

But the dangers don’t stop there, though. According to TIME, too much eating can cause damage (损害) that can never be repaired. The stomach will get so big that it can’t return to its normal size. Other dangers include food poisoning (中毒), water poisoning, and diarrhea (腹泻).

1. Why did Helen want to attend the eating competition?

A．To have a Coach bag.	B．To enjoy the food.
C．To become famous.	D．To follow her friends’ advice.

2. What can be learned about the eating competition?

A．It was only for girls.	B．It lasted for 5 minutes.
C．It gave each player 8 hot dogs.	D．It gave the winner a bag of hot dogs.

3. The underlined word “downing” has the closest meaning to “________”.

A．making

B．saving

C．buying

D．eating

4. How was Helen after the competition?

A．She made her stomach big.	B．She got food poisoning.
C．She put on weight.	D．She became ill.

5. What are the last two paragraphs mainly about?

A．Deaths in different competitions.	B．Dangers of eating competitions.
C．Ways to win eating competitions	D．Suggestions for eating competitions.

【推荐3】A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow (乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain (鄙视).

“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you.     1     I’ll show you what real flying is!”

    2     He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.

Now it was the swan’s turn. One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. He flew up, and began flying over the sea.     3     They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.

The swan pretended not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”

“No.” said the crow.     4     “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life …”

The swan took pity on him, and     5     and flew back to the beach.

A．The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments (评价) about his flying.

B．Let’s have a flying competition.

C．The crow flew up and began to show his skills.

D．He knew he had lost the competition.

E．took him on his shoulders.

F．It’s hard to keep touching the water.

【推荐1】Do you know what “pay it forward” means? It’s not paying for something before you buy it.

“Pay it forward” is to do something nice for another person for no reason. Then that person can do something nice for someone else.

You may think it doesn’t seem like much. But this kind act can spread (传播) really fast.

One day, a woman buys McDonald’s in Florida, US. She also buys the next person’s meal. Well, that person does the same thing, and the next person does too. Soon, 250 people buy meals for another person!

You can “pay it forward” by doing some other nice things for anyone around you. Just look for little things , like helping your mom clean the house without her asking. It can make a person’s day. Then, tell them to do three kind things for someone else. In this way, anyone can make the world a better place.

1. “Pay it forward” means _________.

A．you buy many things for others

B．you give money first and then get things

C．you get something without paying for it

D．you do something good for another person for no reason

2. How many meals does the woman in Florida pay for?

A．1

B．2

C．250

D．251

3. After the woman buys food for the next person, ________.

A．250 people come to pay for the woman

B．250 people come to let the woman pay for them

C．250 people after her do the same thing for others

D．McDonald’s gives the woman a free (免费的) meal

4. What is the best title(标题) for the passage?

A．Buying meals for others.	B．Doing three kind things a day.
C．Kind acts make a better world.	D．Paying for something before buying it.

【推荐2】A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.   He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"
"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.
"I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"
" Nothing! " the students said.
"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.
"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.
"You're right.   Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"
"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.
"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.
"No." the students said.
"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"
The students fell silent for a moment.
"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.
"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the   challenges(挑战)   in your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh and strong and can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"
Remember to put the glass down today.
1. How much do you think this glass which was held by the teacher weighs?

A．50g

B．125g

C．I don’t know.

D．100g

2. What would happen if the teacher held the glass up like this for an hour?

A．One of the students thought his arm could go numb.

B．One of the students thought his arm would begin to ache.

C．One of the students thought his arm would be changed.

D．One of the students thought his arm would be lost.

3. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?

A．Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.

B．Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.

C．Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.

D．Because he wanted to explain it was important to put the challenges in life down at the end of every day.

4. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.

A．疼痛不止

B．消瘦萎缩

C．松弛下垂

D．失去感觉

5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.

B．The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.

C．The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.

D．The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.

【推荐3】Some people have a very poor sense（感觉）of direction. Unluckily, I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may still get lost there the next time.

When I was a little girl, I never dared ask strangers the way. And so I used to walk round in circle and hope that by chance I would get to the place I was going to.

Now, I am no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive helpless or even wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions. If anyone asks me the way somewhere, I would say, “Sorry, I am a stranger here.”

Once on my way to work I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to the Friendship Building. I gave him my usual reply. But just as I walked on only a few steps, I realized that he had asked the way to my office building. However, I had no time to turn back and look for him. I was rushing to meet with someone at my office and I didn’t want to keep him waiting.

When I just got to my office, the secretary showed in the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how embarrassed I was and how surprised he was when we saw each other at the first sight!

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

A．有目的地

B．碰巧

C．错误地

D．匆忙地

2. Why would the writer say “Sorry, I am a stranger here.”, when someone asks her the way somewhere?

A．Because the writer is afraid of giving people wrong directions.

B．Because the writer doesn’t want to tell strangers.

C．Because the writer has no time.

D．Because the writer is a stranger here.

3. The Friendship Building is the place where the writer ________.

A．lives

B．studies

C．works

D．teaches

4. The underlined word “embarrassed” in the last paragraph means “________”.

A．困惑的

B．尴尬的

C．激动的

D．拮据的

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The writer is too shy to give others directions.

B．The man was quite nervous when he saw the writer.

C．The writer never got lost when she was young.

D．The writer has a very poor sense of directions.

【推荐1】When I was in primary school, I just needed to study. My parents would do all the housework. I often threw my things everywhere. So our house was usually in a mess.

One day, when my mother went home after work and found a lot of rubbish in our house, she was so angry at me. And I was told that I must do some housework from then on. At first, I was unhappy, because I thought housework was what grown-ups should do. Although I was unwilling to do the housework, I followed what my mother said. That day, I spent 6 hours cleaning up all the rooms. After finishing it, I was so tired. At that time, I understood doing housework was actually harder than I used to imagine. How tired my parents were! They had to do housework after whole day's work. I thought I must share the chores with them. I began to learn to do more housework. They were glad to see my change. Now I have a much closer relationship with my parents.

As a member of a family, we should take responsibility for the family. We are supposed to share the housework together and help our parents as much as possible.

根据语篇内容，判断下列句子正误，正确的为“T”，错误的为“F”。
1. I threw a lot of rubbish in our house when I was young.
2. At first, I was unhappy, so I didn’t do the housework.
3. It took me six hours to clean up the rooms.
4. I understood doing housework was easier than I used to imagine.
5. We should help our parents to do the housework.

【推荐2】Lost and Found   

Found Is this your book? Please call Tony at 5010000.

Found Is that your school bag? Please call Mary. Phone number 5013333.

Lost My pencil box .Blue and white. Call Tom at 5014444.

Lost My school ID card. My name is Mike. Please call 5016666.

Found A set of keys. Please call Jane at 5019999.

Found A dog. Black and white. At the school gate(大门). Call Jenny at 5018888.

1. Here are ________ notices (启事) in the Lost & Found box.

A．three

B．four

C．five

D．six

2. You lost your keys. You may (可以) call ________.

A．5016666

B．5019999

C．5013333

D．5018888

3. You found a school ID card. Maybe (可能) it belongs to (属于) ________.

A．Mike

B．Jenny

C．Tony

D．Tom

4. Jenny found ________.

A．a blue and white dog	B．a black and white box
C．a blue and white box	D．a black and white dog

5. ________ found the book.

A．Mike

B．Mary

C．Tony

D．Jane

【推荐3】A father isn’t happy with his only son. He doesn’t think his son is clever.
One day, the father gives his son a task. He says, here is a coin. Go to buy one thing. That must be something to eat, something to drink, and something to plant.
“What can I buy with one coin? It is too hard!” Then a girl finds the boy is not happy and comes up to him. “Can I help you? ” The boy tells her that hard task. “I know what you can do, ” she says. “Go and buy a watermelon with this coin. ” It will give you everything your father wants.” The boy thanks the girl and then runs to buy a watermelon.
When the father sees the watermelon, he is very happy. “Good Job!” “In fact, that’s not my idea. A girl helps me”, says the boy. The father then says, “Honesty is more important than cleverness.”
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
1. The father isn’t happy, because __________.

A．he doesn't think his son is clever

B．his son is lazy

C．his son doesn’t study hard

D．his son can’t buy something for him

2. The boy thinks about what his father says, but he still doesn’t know ______.

A．where to buy it	B．what to buy
C．how to buy it	D．why to buy it

3. __________ helps the boy.

A．A girl

B．An old man

C．A friend

D．A teacher

4. The father is _______ when he sees the watermelon.

A．sad

B．happy

C．excited

D．angry

5. The meaning of “honesty” is __________.

A．失败

B．坚持

C．诚实

D．骄傲