【推荐1】Life is exciting in the city. However, many people living in the city often feel tired of （厌倦）city life. I have the same feeling, too. I hope to live in the countryside, but the people living in the countryside may feel that life is dull, and they would like to live in the city center.

City life is modern and convenient, and people can enjoy all kinds of entertainments（娱乐）in their holidays, but there are also some shortcomings. The city is often crowded with people. The air is polluted and the traffic is heavy. These conditions are bad for our body and brain.

Living in the countryside is short of entertainment. Life there is peaceful and quiet. To some people, it may be rather dull. However, people there are in close contact with nature. The air there is fresh. There is not much traffic, and not much pollution. They can live a happy and healthy life.

1. The city life is exciting, but a lot of people __________.

A．doesn't like it very much	B．like it very much
C．don't like it very much	D．likes it very much

2. I hope to live in the ______________.

A．riverside

B．suburbs

C．city center

D．area

3. City life is ______________.

A．dull

B．simple

C．quiet

D．full of fun

4. Living in the countryside is not ____________.

A．noisy

B．quiet

C．peaceful

D．good

5. The air is fresh _________________.

A．in the city	B．in the countryside
C．in the city and the countryside	D．None of the above

【推荐2】

Do you have a mobile phone? Do you send text messages to your friends and family?

Text messaging or “texting” is becoming very popular. But scientists have discovered that texting can give us problems with our hands. Be careful! Too much texting can cause swelling (肿胀) in our thumbs (拇指) and wrists (手腕). Our thumbs are not made for pushing small buttons, over and over. Scientists call this problem RSI.

We spoke to a doctor called Harriet Wilson, who treats many patients with RSI. She said we needed to see how much time we were spending in typing text messages. If we are spending more than 10-15 minutes each time, we could have problems in the future.

We also talked with Dr. Harjeet Deepa who treats (治疗) RSI patients. He told us that the youngest patient she had treated was a five-year-old girl. She wasn’t doing well at school, so her parents took her for treatment. It was found that she had such bad RSI in her hands, she couldn’t hold a pencil.

As mobile phones develop, they are getting smaller with buttons closer together. Texting with a smaller phone is worse than using a larger phone with bigger buttons. Using a computer keyboard and playing video games can also cause the same problem. So, more and more people could find themselves with RSI.

Many university students and teenagers have RSI, as they do not know the danger of spending so much time using computers, video games and mobile phones. If we don’t do something about this, too many young people could grow up in terrible pain.

1. Because ________, people have the problem RSI.

A．more people have mobile phones

B．texting is becoming very popular

C．people type too many text messages

D．our thumbs were made for pushing buttons

2. ________ were interviewed about the problem RSI in this passage.

A．The writer and a little girl	B．Harriet Wilson and Harjeet Deepa
C．Three scientists	D．Four doctors

3. The five-year-old little girl couldn’t hold a pencil because ________.

A．she didn’t go to school	B．she was too young
C．she had no thumbs at all	D．she suffered a lot from RSI

4. You can probably read this passage in a ________.

A．comic strip (连环画)	B．story book
C．science book	D．detective story

5. From the passage we know ________.

A．it is better to use a larger phone with bigger buttons when we have to type

B．it is worse to spend less time typing the text messages

C．using the computer keyboard will never cause the problem RSI

D．university students who have RSI know it’s dangerous to do too much texting

【推荐3】Can you write the Chinese character（汉字）"ganga" (embarrassment) correctly? Do you know how to write characters like "tiaozhou"(broom)?

If you can't, you're not alone. Nowadays, most people are typing into computers instead of writing on paper. We type Chinese characters largely according to their pronunciation. The result is to recognize（认出）characters without remembering how to write them. China Youth Daily did a survey of 2,517 people, in which 90 percent said they had once forgotten how to write a common Chinese character.

Compared to adults, teenagers are better at writing Chinese characters because they spend more time learning and practicing at school. However, the influence of digital（数字的）technology cannot be ignored（忽视）, according to He Yu, head of a research team for Chinese teaching at a Beijing high school. "Many students are obsessed with digital tools such as mobile phones and computers to help with their studies. As a result, too much use of these tools will make students too lazy to think and write. " he said Such worries have brought about：popular TV show titled Chinese Spelling Hero, which pays attention to Chinese character writing among teenagers.

In April, the Ministry of Education called for better calligraphy（书法）education in schools.

Organizations like the China Calligraphers Association are also working to train more teachers in calligraphy. Interestingly, calligraphy teachers can't always ignore the influence of modern technology. Shen Bin is a calligraphy teacher at a primary school in Beijing. She said that it's common for teachers like her to forget certain words. "My calligraphy class is also a good chance for me to remember how to write. " she said.

1. We type Chinese characters largely according to their _________.

A．spelling

B．pronunciation

C．meaning

D．shape

2. In the survey _________ people said they had once forgotten how to write a common Chinese character.

A．2,517

B．90

C．252

D．2,265

3. The underlined word "obsessed" means _________ in Chinese.

A．沉迷的

B．轻松的

C．厌倦的

D．随意的

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Adults are better at writing Chinese characters than teenagers.

B．Students will be too lazy to think and write if they use the digital tools too much.

C．The TV show Chinese Spelling Hero pays attention to Chinese writing among adults.

D．Modern technology has no influence on calligraphy teachers.

【推荐2】If you’re traveling by air in America, you may find the following criteria (标准).

Exit Seat Criteria If you are sitting in an exit seat, read the information below. You must: Be at least 15 years old and healthy enough to give help. Be able to speak, read and understand English well. Be able to follow a safe way from the emergency exit (紧急出口). Be able to help others away from the plane. You must not: Travel with a pet, such as a dog. Travel with someone that needs special care, such as a child. If you cannot meet the criteria, ask crew members (工作人员) to move you to another seat. You do not have to say why, just say, “I do not want to sit in an exit seat.”

1. The passenger(乘客) sitting in an exit seat ________.

A．must be under 15	B．needn’t speak English
C．must be healthy enough	D．needn’t help others

2. If you are sitting in an exit seat, you can NOT ________.

A．ask the reason	B．bring a pet with you
C．read Exit Seat Criteria	D．move to another seat

3. This piece of Exit Seat Criteria may appear _______.

A．on the plane	B．on a train
C．on the road	D．on the playground

4. The Chinese meaning of the word “meet” in this passage is probably “ _______”.

A．符合

B．遇见

C．相信

D．开会

【推荐3】

To some people, there is nothing better than the smell of meat cooking over an open air. Throughout the world, people love to eat barbecue, because it helps bring friends and families together. Having a barbecue makes people think about how things were with their ancestors. Cooking over coals or an open fire makes people feel more social.

Most countries have barbecue traditions and they usually take place on national holidays. In the United States, it is a tradition to have a barbecue of hamburgers and hot dogs on July 4, which is Independence Day.

In South America, especially in Argentina, barbecue is a way of life. All sorts of meats and sausages are put on a large grill together over hot coals. Barbecue is even considered the national dish in Agentina, and it is given the name asado in Spanish. This means not only the dish, but also the social event that surrounds an Argentinean barbecue.

When a person speaks about Turkish barbecue, the kebab immediately comes to mind. The tradition of taking different meats, and sometimes vegetables as well, and spearing them with a sharp stick has crossed cultural lines today. Especially anywhere in the English-speaking world, the thought of shish-kebab will make barbecue lovers’ mouths water.

Wherever you go in the world, you are almost certain to come across a local method of preparing barbecue. If you visit different places, be brave and try the special local food.

1. How many kinds of barbecue are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

2. Which of the following is the kebab?

A．

B．

C．

D．

3. Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To stop people from eating barbecue.

B．To encourage people to eat more barbecue.

C．To introduce barbecue traditions around the world.

D．To explain the reasons why people love barbecue.

【推荐1】阅读理解

Canada is a very large country. It is the second largest country in the world. By contrast it has a very small population. There are only about 29 million people there. Most Canadians are of British or French origin(后裔), and French is an official language of Canada as well as English. About 45% of the people are of British origin, that is, they or their parents or grandparents, etc, come from Britain. Nearly 30% are of French origin. Most of the French­Canadians live in the province of Quebec.

Over the years, people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world. They are from Europe and also from China, besides other Asian countries.

However, Canada was not an empty country before the Europeans began to arrive. Canadian Indians lived along the coast, by the rivers and lakes and in forests. Today, there are only about 350，000 Indians in the whole country, with their own languages. In the far north live the Inuit. There are only 27，000 Canadian­Inuit. Their life is hard in such a difficult climate.

1. The phrase “By contrast” in the passage means   ______.

A．同时

B．相比之下

C．而且

D．实际上

2. ________   live in Quebec.

A．Most of the French­Canadians	B．45% of the Canadians
C．27，000 people	D．350，000 French­Canadians

3. The official languages of Canada are   ________.

A．English and Chinese	B．French and English
C．Indian and French	D．Chinese and Inuit

4. About 23% of people in Canada come from ________.

A．China	B．England
C．France	D．some other countries except France and Britain

【推荐2】Long long ago, there was a man who lived in a village.   One day, he went to a market and did some shopping. He suddenly found two boxes. Both the two boxes were very beautiful and the man fell in love with them at the first sight. So he bought them.
After he got home, he didn’t know how to use the boxes. He thought it over and decided to do something special. He decided to put all of his happiness in the yellow box and all of his sadness in the black box. He thought that it was funny to do that.
A few days later, the yellow box was very heavy, but the black box was still light. He didn’t know why. He decided to open the two boxes and found out the truth. He opened the yellow box and found nothing. Then he opened the black box and saw a hole at the bottom.
Then he smiled to himself and said, "Happiness is for me. Let sadness go."
1. He put his happiness into________.

A．the red box	B．the yellow box
C．the black box	D．the white box

2. A few days later, the black box was still__________.

A．light	B．heavy
C．big	D．small

3. What does the writer want to tell us?

A．To buy more boxes when we go to the market.

B．To put our memories into the box

C．To forget the sadness and remember the happiness.

D．To forget all the happy and sad things.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The Yellow Box	B．A good Market
C．A Silly Man	D．Two Boxes

【推荐3】B

	Chinese Handwriting Chinese handwriting is a special art to Asian culture. Brush handwriting is much loved around the world. Wang Xizhi is very famous for his handwriting. He made a great difference to the development of Kaishu.
	Chinese Folk Music China has a colorful culture. It is connected with Chinese ancient stories. Chinese folk music has a long history. One of the classics(经典著作),Shijing,included some folk songs in 15 different areas from the West Zhou to Spring and Auturnn Dynasty. Traditional Chinese musical instruments includeguqin, guzheng, pipa, erhu, xiaoand so on.
	Chinese Painting Chinese painting is one of the oldest traditional Chinese painting forms in the world. Most of the Chinese paintings in ancient China were done on paper or silk. Traditional Chinese painting includes mountains and water, figures(人物), flowers and birds. The highest form of Chinese painting is mountains and water.
	Weiqi Weiqi, called “yi” in ancient China, is a smart board game between two players with a history for over 3,000 years. The game can be treated as the beginning of all ancient chess games. It was introduced to Korea about 2,000 years ago and was popular among the higherclasses.

1. Wang Xizhi played an important role in _________________.

A．Chinese handwriting	B．Chinese folk music
C．Chinese painting	D．Weiqi

2. The ____________ is a traditional Chinese instrument.

A．guitar

B．violin

C．piano

D．erhu

3. The highest form of Chinese painting is _______________.

A．birds

B．flowers

C．mountains and water

D．oil painting

4. The underlined word “classes” means __________ in Chinese.

A．班级

B．阶层

C．课堂

D．种类

5. Classic Chinese cultures_________________.

A．have a long history	B．are not welcomed by the higher classes
C．are popular only in China	D．are the beginning of the world culture