【推荐3】We live on Earth. It's our home. But how much do you know about it? Let me tell you something about our Earth.
The Earth is like a huge ball. Like the other seven planets, the Earth is running around the sun. It's the third nearest one to the sun. It takes the Earth about 365 days to run around the sun. At the same time, the Earth is going around itself. If you are in space, you can see lots of white clouds over the surface of the Earth. Through the clouds, you can see the blue colour of the oceans, and the brown colour of the land. About 70% of the Earth is covered with water.
Why do we have day and night? When the half of the Earth is facing the sun, it's daytime. As the Earth turns, and this half is away from the sun, night is coming. And it's daytime for the other half.
1. How many planets are running around the sun?

A．Seven.

B．Eight.

C．Nine.

D．Ten.

2. _________ of the Earth is covered with water.

A．70%	B．30%
C．About 70%	D．About 30%

3. Which of the following sentences is RIGHT?

A．All the planets and stars are running around the sun.

B．The Earth is the nearest planet to the sun.

C．It takes the Earth about 365 days to run around the sun.

D．The Earth only runs around the sun.

4. When _________, it's daytime.

A．the Earth is running around the sun

B．the Earth is away from the sun

C．the half of the Earth is away from the sun

D．the half of the Earth is facing the sun

5. Where can you read this passage?

A．Storybooks.	B．cook books.
C．Cartoon books.	D．Science books.

【推荐1】It’s been more than 8 years since I moved from the US to Beijing. At that time, my parents have grown older, just as I have. When I went off to college, we lived in different cities, but we still stayed in touch by phone and email.     1     But living in Beijing has made it a bit more difficult. You see, we’re separated(分开) not only by distance, but also by time. My hometown is on the opposite side of the planet from Beijing—it’s a 12-hour time difference.     2     This can make it difficult to find a suitable time to contact my family.

    3     We just try to choose times that are convenient(便利的) for both of us. This means I usually call my mom late in the evening, when she’s taking her lunch break. We talk about our work, the weather, and whatever else is happening in our lives. It’s nice to check in with her and see how she’s doing.

    4     About once every other year, I’ll fly back to the US to see my parents and sisters for the holidays. It’s rare(珍贵的) for us to get the whole family together—but when we do, we have a lot of fun.

    5     We try to stay in touch as best as we can.

根据短文内容，从下面选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项（其中有一项多余）。

A．But we make it work anyway.

B．My parents are healthy and they often do sports.

C．It was easy to call up my mom and catch up with her.

D．Like many other foreigners living in China, I do miss my family.

E．This means that when it’s morning in Beijing, it’s nighttime in my hometown.

F．And of course, I try to visit home from time to time.

【推荐2】Lots of us young people experience home-life as if it were a cradle (摇篮). Meals are cooked and clothes are washed as if by magic! We cannot wash clothes or cook a meal. We don’t clean the floor, sort (分类) the garbage, cut the meat, chop (剁碎) the vegetables… Yes, we are “grown-up babies” in cradles.

But we cannot stay in the cradles forever. Everybody needs to prepare for real life. If we want to live a better life, we’ll have to learn the practical skills we need in life. I realized that when I went to college.

Without parents around me, my college life was a real mess! I wish my parents or my teachers had taught me all these skills before — they are really so useful! I had to learn to shop, prepare my food, cook meals, clean up and do the washing. Learning these skills changed me greatly and brought me a lot. Now I feel very confident in running a home.

Some people might say we can order food online. In fact, good life skills will make us better students, better workers, better family members and happier in our life. Making a meal needs good planning, skillful chopping, control of temperature and a good nose! It makes us smarter!

It’s time for us to break the cradle. A coming change may help us a lot — schools in China will teach life skills as a subject. If we don’t have practical life skills, our education will be incomplete. Let’s start now. One day, others will wonder why they have no clean socks, and why we can cook a delicious meal but they cannot!

1. The writer starts the passage by ________.

A．listing the facts

B．raising a question

C．giving reasons

D．telling a story

2. Schools in China will teach life skills as ________.

A．a cradle

B．homework

C．housework

D．a subject

3. If we put the passage into three parts, which of the following is the best?
(①= Para. (自然段)1   ②= Para. 2   ③= Para. 3   ④= Para. 4   ⑤= Para. 5)

A．①; ②③④; ⑤

B．①②; ③; ④⑤

C．①②③; ④; ⑤

D．①; ②; ③④⑤

4. The best title of the passage may be ________.

A．Ways to Live in the Cradle	B．My Life Experience at College
C．Time to Break the Cradle	D．The Life Skills We Must Learn

【推荐3】I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to sit above the top of it. Mother sat writing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be a most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “ is for Elizabeth.”
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed in action. But as a young girl, I wanted to have heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易动感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface(表面)”.
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace — it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
But the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside — a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折叠) and refolded many times. It was my letter.
“In any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.”
1. The passage shows that __________.

A．Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

B．Mother was too serious about her daughter in words

C．Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words

D．Mother wrote to her daughter in careless words

2. The word “gulf” in the passage means __________.

A．deep understanding between the old and the young

B．different ideas between mother and daughter

C．free talks between mother and daughter

D．part of the sea going far in land

3. What’s best title of the passage?

A．My Letter to Mother	B．Mother and Children
C．My Mother’s Desk	D．Talks between Mother and me

【推荐2】根据短文内容，从短文后面的选项中选出填入空白处的最佳选项。

Everyone knows that the earth is in danger. Some people think there is nothing we can do about this but that’s just not true. If we all do a few small things every day, we can make a real difference.     1    

Use less electricity (电).       2     Turn your computer off at night to save electricity. Choose the right light at your home. An LED bulb (灯泡) is a good choice. When you leave a room, turn the lights off. It is simple, easy and green.

    3     Turn the tap (水龙头) off when you brush your teeth or in the shower when you wash your hair. You’ll use less water. Naturally, your parents will pay less for the water and they will be happy too!

Get moving. Use public transport (公共交通工具), walk or ride bikes to get to school or meet friends. Many car journeys are under three kilometers long.     4     You can get some exercise by walking or riding and make less air pollution at the same time.

Recycle (回收利用). Try to recycle things like glass, paper and plastic.     5     Reusing things is another way we can protect our natural resources (资源) like trees. So what are you waiting for? Start today! The world will become better.

A．Use less water.

B．Here are some ideas for you to try.

C．It’s short and doesn’t need to drive a car.

D．When you finish watching TV, turn it off.

E．You can organize the recycling at home and wash glass and plastic bottles.