【推荐1】Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".
"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"
According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."
I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system（体制）of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.
For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.
This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.
As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感）is needed in geometry(几何学）just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .
1. What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?

A．She sets herself a goal too high to reach.

B．She should be more polite to her parents.

C．She is hard-working but not very bright.

D．She takes her grades much too seriously.

2. What does the word "obsession"in paragraph 3 mean?

A．A plain and unavoidable fact.

B．A satisfied and very proud state.

C．A practical and widely-used way.

D．A fixed and often unreasonable idea.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Social skills are as important as high grades.

B．Interest in grades can shake self-confidence.

C．The writer regrets not having studied hard at school.

D．Danish educational system is for very smart students.

4. The writer wants to tell us that____.

A．learning happily is the key to self-development.

B．top marks may be helpful to increase one's interest.

C．tests should be improved to give children inspiration.

D．education should meet one's needs for word and money.

【推荐2】“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.
After I graduated from college in 1932, I decided to find a job in a radio station as a sports announcer (广播员). I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.
At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire (雇佣) an inexperienced person and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, where I had grown up. There were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local athlete to work for it. I applied for the job, but I was refused again.
“Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration(失意、挫败) ______ “How can I become a sports announcer if I can’t get a job in a radio station?” I asked aloud.
While I was waiting for the elevator, I heard someone calling. It was MacArthur. “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he asked me to broadcast (广播) an imaginary(想象出来的) game. He was pleased with my performance, he offered me a chance to work there.
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous(先前的) disappointment”.
根据短文内容，选择最佳选项，并将其标号在答题卡上涂黑。
1. Why couldn’t the writer find a job at big radio stations?

A．Because he never graduated from college.

B．Because he was an inexperienced announcer.

C．Because he didn’t work hard in college.

D．Because he didn’t know about sports.

2. Where was the writer born?

A．In Chicago.	B．In New York.
C．In Dixon.	D．In Washington.

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The writer’s parents didn’t want him to be a sports announcer.

B．There were no radio-announcing jobs in the writer’s hometown.

C．The writer became uninterested in sports announcing.

D．The writer got a job as a sports announcer in Dixon at last.

4. The underlined word boiled over means______.

A．达到极点	B．随遇而安
C．无影无踪	D．无法诉说

5. According to the last paragraph, what did the writer’s mom want to tell him,?

A．He shouldn’t be a sports announcer.

B．Disappointment leads to failure.

C．He should be proud of himself.

D．Everything will be OK if he keeps trying.

【推荐3】A teacher stood on the top of a ladder truck. It was five stories high. She held an egg that was attached ( 系 ) to several balloons and was about to drop it. The students below fixed their eyes on her and held their breath. Would the egg survive the drop?

Welcome to Kelly Coombe’s science class at Marsh Junior High in Chico, California. Coombe organized this activity to help students better understand the laws of physics.

She divided the 34 students into 17 teams of two people each. Each team designed a structure that would prevent an egg from breaking when dropped from 50 feet (15.25 meters) high.

The students used different materials to protect the eggs. The typical materials included cotton balls, drinking straws (吸管), cardboard, socks, and balloons.

Josh Addington and Bowen Jiang thought of a creative idea. They built a pyramid out of drinking straws and put the egg into a “capsule (胶囊)” on the top of the pyramid. Then they tied a helium-filled balloon (氢气球) to the top to keep the device moving in the right direction, and put a water balloon at the bottom to allow the device to lightly land on the ground.

“Our egg survived!” Jiang proudly told The Enterprise Record. But not all of the eggs were so lucky. As Coombe dropped the eggs, some of them fell like stones and smashed on the ground. About half of the eggs survived.

Coombe said the project was a “great way for kids to get excited about science”.

1. What was the purpose of the egg-dropping activity?

A．To protect an egg from breaking when dropped.	B．To design stronger houses.
C．To help students understand the laws of physics.	D．To break lots of eggs at the same time.

2. What did the students do before the activity?

A．Look for a strong egg to drop.	B．Design a structure to protect the egg.
C．Learn the laws of physics.	D．They did other experiments with eggs at home.

3. What does the underlined word “smash” mean?

A．break

B．land

C．hit

D．roll

【推荐1】Rules tell people what they should（应该）and shouldn’t do. All good people follow rules. We start learning rules at home.

Parents want us to be safe（安全的）. They want us to go home early after school. They want us not to watch TV too much. How can parents keep us safe? They can make family rules. The family rules help us know how to do some safe things.

It’s important to let all people in the family write the rules. Writing the family rules helps us to remember and follow them.

The rules should be easy, so we can remember them easily. There shouldn’t be too many rules. We can easily remember six to eight rules. Here are two kinds of rules.

“Do” rules

“Do” rules are good. Here are some examples（例子）:

Do your homework before dinner.

Be helpful.

Clean your room every day.

“Don’t” rules

It’s best to have more “Do” rules. Use “Don’t” rules only when it’s difficult to say what to do. Here are some examples:

Don’t watch TV too much.

Don’t go out at night.

1. What kind of people follow the rules?

A．Clever people.

B．Good people.

C．Funny people.

D．Friendly people.

2. How many rules does the writer tell us as examples（作为例子）?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

3. What kind of rules are good in our family?

A．Strict rules.	B．Easy and a few（几条）rules.
C．Many rules.	D．Strict and a few（几条）rules.

4. Which statement below（下列哪一个陈述）is TRUE?

A．We only need one kind of rules.

B．Use “Don’t” rules only when it’s difficult to say what to do.

C．We should write more（更多的）“Don’t” rules.

D．“Don’t” rules are good.

【推荐2】When you want to ask your teacher a question during class, what do you do? Do you simply shout out your question as soon as it enters your mind? Or do you raise your hand and wait until the teacher calls your name?

If you politely raise your hand first, it’s probably because your teacher requires what you are allowed to do when you have a question. Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone can talk whenever they want during class? Instead of a peaceful learning environment, a class without rules would be chaotic (乱的)!

When you learn to drive, you will realize how many rules you have to follow. The rules for driving share a common purpose (目的) with many rules you must follow in your daily life to keep your safe. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “No rules, no standards.” If you make a list of the rules you follow each day, you will quickly realize how many of them can keep you safe and make your life more enjoyable as a result.

Although sometimes you feel like a rule is unfair, don’t break it. Instead, decide what you can do to change the rule. Working within the rules to change the rules is what you need to do.

1. What does the writer start the passage?

A．By giving examples.

B．By describing a situation.

C．By asking some questions.

2. To keep order in the class, what can teachers do according to paragraph 2 ?

A．Change some rules.

B．Teach students how important the rules are.

C．Make some rules in advance.

3. What does the underlined sentence mean in Chinese?

A．不以规矩，不能成方圆。

B．有则改之，无则加勉。

C．吃一堑，长一智。

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．We need to pay attention to unfair rules.

B．We can’t make an effort to change the rules.

C．Follow the rules can give you a safe and happy life in a way.

5. What is the passage mainly about ________.

A．The ways of making fair rules

B．The importance of rules

C．The rules can influence our lives

【推荐3】根据短文内容，从短文后所给的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

National parks are popular with visitors. However, a handful of visitors break national park rules, which leads to them getting hurt. And they aren’t the only victims (受害者) — the environment, animals, and park infrastructure (基础设施) often take the biggest hit. It doesn’t have to be this way!     1    

Never be close to wildlife

    2     But the real problem isn’t that they’ll hurt you. While it’s always good to protect your personal safety in national parks, you will probably hurt the wildlife you are so curious about. You can love the wildlife without entering its space.

Never ignore (忽视) signs

When you get into the park, you should keep your eyes on the road and pay attention to signs.     3     For example, don’t walk on the plants, keep pets off the camping ground, and keep away from the water...

    4    

National parks still have a lot of undeveloped places. That’s why it’s important to always be prepared. You should bring food and water with you. Even if it’s a sunny, warm day, don’t forget to bring clothes.

Never leave anything

National parks are shared spaces for all to enjoy. Don’t leave empty bottles or food package (包装盒) in your camping area. These things may hurt animals.     5    

National parks protect wildlife and forests. It’s our duty to follow the rules and protect national parks.

A．Never come unprepared.

B．Never visit undeveloped places.

C．Do bring a bag to pack your waste.

D．There are a lot of signs to tell some basic rules.

E．Everyone is interested in visiting national parks.

F．You can make national parks better if you follow the rules.

G．Although wild animals look very cute, they are very dangerous.

【推荐1】About half a year ago, young athletes from China shone at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and they were the brightest stars. Many of them were born in the 2000s. They include 14-year-old diver Quan Hongchan and 20-year-old table tennis player Sun Yingsha. Let’s meet some of them.

	Quan Hongchan, aged 14, is the youngest member of the Chinese team and the gold medal winner of the women’s 10-meter platform dive. Once her biggest dream was to own a shop to sell snacks.
	Sun Yingsha, aged 20. Before the game against Sun, Japanese player Mima Ito got the gold medal of the mixed doubles, so she was full of confidence. But Sun beat Mima Ito 4:0 to reach the final, although she lost to her teammate in the final.
	Yang Qian, aged 21. Yang is a great shooter. She won China’s first gold medal at the Games. At first, she fell behind the other shooters. But she stayed cool and never gave up. She got a big win in the end!

1. What can we infer(推测) about Quan Hongchan?

A．She had no dreams before.

B．She is 14 years old this year.

C．She was born in a family that was not rich enough.

D．She is the youngest in Chinese team at Tokyo Olympics.

2. Who won the gold medal for China at the Olympic Games?
①Quan Hongchan. ②Mima Ito. ③Yang Qian.   ④Sun Yingsha.

A．①②③

B．①③④

C．①③

D．③④

3. Where can we read this article?

A．In a story book.	B．In a sports newspaper.
C．In a fashion magazine.	D．In a science magazine.

【推荐2】Some inventions are so useful, but seem so simple, that we wonder why no one thought of them long ago. Post- it Notes, the pieces of paper that you can fasten almost anywhere and then remove without leaving any sign that they were there, are an example of such an invention.

Post-it Notes were invented 20 years ago by Art Fry, a scientist at 3M Company. The idea came from a frustrating experience while singing. Fry used pieces of paper as bookmarks to mark the places in his book of songs, but these bookmarks were always falling out. He knew he needed a bookmark that would stay where he put it without damaging the pages.

Around that time, Fry heard that his workmate, Dr. Spence Silver had created a new adhesive (粘合剂) which was special because it was sticky, but not too sticky. It was strong enough to hold papers together, but weak enough to not tear the paper when it was removed. Fry saw that the new adhesive could help solve his bookmark problem. One morning, Fry put some of the adhesive on the top of a piece of paper. Just as he hoped, it made a perfect bookmark.

Later, Fry realized that his new invention can also be used as a great bookmark. He came to this idea when he wrote a note on one of his new “bookmarks” and attached it to a report he was going to give to a workmate. Soon, the workmate asked Fry for more samples of his invention so that they could use the new type of notes themselves.

When some salespeople at 3M went to offices and showed workers just how helpful the new type of notes could be, they immediately received many orders. As more and more people discovered how useful Post-it Notes could be,   the product took off.

1. The invention of Post-it Notes showed that Art Fry          .

A．had a lot of knowledge	B．was very hard-working
C．was good at creative thinking	D．loved his job in the church

2. In what way did Dr. Spence help Art Fry?

A．They worked together and often discussed science.

B．His invention of a special adhesive made Art’s invention possible.

C．He persuaded 3M Company to give away lots of Post-it Notes for trial use.

D．He cooperated with Art by providing the new adhesive for Art.

3. Which of the following is a possible use of Post-it Notes?

A．A note on a friend’s door	B．An e-mail to a friend
C．A postcard from abroad	D．An ad in a newspaper

4. What does the underlined part mean?

A．The products started to leave the ground.	B．The products disappeared from the market.
C．The products had even more uses.	D．The products became popular very quickly.

5. The biggest advantage of Post-it Notes is that          .

A．it can leave no sign when removed	B．it is very cheap to use
C．it is good to write notes on	D．it is very thin and beautiful

【推荐3】The morning was a bad time for me. My tooth was aching, and I had a fight with a friend last week. Her words still hurt: “You never see things from my point of view”. I didn’t know why she said so, but felt the ache in my tooth. I thought I could wait until my dentist came back from another city, but the pain was really terrible. I started calling other dentists, but no one could see me then. Finally, at about lunchtime, I got lucky.

“If you come by right now,” the nurse said, “the dentist will help you.”

I found my keys and ran to my car. But suddenly I became worried. What kind of dentist would like to treat(治疗) someone at such a short time? Why wasn’t he as busy as the others? In the dentist’s office, I sat down and looked around. I saw nothing but the white walls and I became even more worried. The assistant noticed(注意到) my stress and put her warm hand over my ice-cold one.

When I told her my worries, she laughed and said, “Don’t worry. The dentist is very good.” “How long do I have to wait for him?” I asked impatiently.

“Come on, he is coming. Just lie down and relax. And enjoy the artwork,” the assistant said. “The artwork?” I was puzzled(迷惑的).

I looked up and smiled. There was a beautiful picture right there, on the ceiling(天花板). How considerate the dentist was! At that moment, I began to see my friend’s words.

1. What happened to the writer that morning?

A．She had a fight with his friend.

B．She had a toothache.

C．She could do nothing but wait.

D．Her dentist came back from another city.

2. Why did the writer become worried?

A．She saw only white walls in the dentist’s office.

B．The dentist was as busy as other dentists.

C．The nurse said the dentist was a good one.

D．The dentist could treat her at very short time.

3. What made the writer smile?

A．The white walls.

B．The nurse’s words.

C．The picture on the ceiling.

D．The artwork on the wall.

4. What does the underlined word “considerate” mean?

A．Boring.	B．Friendly.
C．Thoughtful.	D．Excited.

5. Which do you think is the best title?

A．Laughing is the best medicine.

B．Put yourself in others’ shoes.

C．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

D．A good medicine tastes better.