【推荐1】Homework is a big part of going to school. Unluckily, homework has to be done, outside class-during the time when you would rather be doing something else, for example, you prefer going to a party to copying a whole Chinese text. Luckily, there are several things you can do to make homework less work.

First, be sure you understand the task. Write it down in your notebook if you need to, and don’t be afraid to ask questions about your task. If you want, you can also ask how long the special homework task should take to finish, so you can budget your time.

Second, go over your lessons before you start your homework. Many students think they don’t have enough time to finish their homework. So they begin to do it at once without reviewing their lessons. In fact, they will have to spend more time looking up now and then when they do their homework.

Third, use any small pieces of time you have in school to work on your homework. The more work you can get done in school means the less you’ll have to do that night.

What if (如果……怎么办) you don’t have time in school to get homework done? You’ll need to think about how much homework you have for a given night, and then budget your time. Most high school students have 1-3 hours of homework a night. If it’s a heavy homework day, you’ll need to spend more time on homework. It’s a good idea to have some kind of homework timetable, especially when you want to enjoy sports or other activities.

1. What don’t students like very much outside class?

A．Playing sports.	B．Having parties.
C．Copying a text.	D．Listening to music.

2. What does the underlined word “budget” probably mean?

A．Plan.

B．Waste.

C．Save.

D．Kill.

3. What does the writer think of going over the lessons before doing homework?

A．Silly.

B．Important.

C．Boring.

D．Funny.

4. What does the writer advise you to do if the homework is heavy?

A．Have special sports.	B．Take other activities first.
C．Do less homework at night.	D．Make a homework timetable.

【推荐2】Active listening is a way of listening that needs full attention to what is being said for the primary purpose of understanding the speaker. It is an important skill for us.     1     Here are some tips for being an active listener.

● Allow the speaker to finish thoughts without interruption（打断）. This usually includes short periods of silence, such as a few seconds.     2     If unsure, it is always better to wait too long rather than speak too soon and interrupt the speaker’s thoughts.

●     3     Make eye contact, and share any humor with a smile or other natural responses.

●     4     Use the speaker’s exact words when in doubt that you have heard accurately（准确地）. It is better to express the meaning of what was said in different words.

● As the final step, you may choose to share similar situations that you’ve experienced. You may even share a completely different opinion.     5    

A．It may take some practice before being able to know how long to wait.

B．Repeat what you have heard to check for accuracy.

C．Remember sharing is done after you have understood what was said to you.

D．If we don’t listen actively, we are likely to miss the real message.

E．Show that your attention is focused.

【推荐3】A mind map is basically a tool that connects information around a centra subject. It can help you make a knowledge bank to solve problems. A student recently said, “I thought mind mapping would take a lot of time to do but in fact it saves me time.     1    

How to make a mind map? Now follow these steps for making wonderful mind maps.

    2     Starting in the center lets your brain spread out in all directions and express itself more freely and naturally.

Use a picture for your central idea. A picture is worth a thousand words and helps you use your imagination.     3     It helps get your attention and makes you work more excitedly!

Connect your main branches (分支) to the central picture and connect your second-and third-level (水平) branches to the first and second levels, etc.     4     If you connect the branches, you will understand and remember a lot more easily.

    5     Each picture, just like the central picture, is also worth a thousand words. So, if you have 10 pictures in your mind map, they are already worth 10,000 words of notes.

根据短文内容，将下面的句子还原到文中空白处，使短文内容完整、通顺，（每个选项只能用一次）

A．Start in the center of a page.

B．Use pictures as many as possible.

C．A central picture is more interesting.

D．I don’t have to read my notes over and over again.

E．Your brain works by connection.

【推荐2】Whenever I’m invited to somebody’s house for the first time, I’ll take a close look at their bookshelves. What they keep on their shelves, in my eyes, is a reflection(反映) of their personal tastes and interests. The books on a bookshelf tell the story of a life.

My own shelves are a kind of road map through my life, telling a chronological tale. First up come my favorite childhood reads, like Water ship Down and His Dark Materials. The collection then moves on to teenage things I read in school—Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid’s Tale and A Clockwork Orange. Finally, we come out of full-time education and enter the real world, and this part is a reflection of my professional(职业的) life, from the first exciting days of work experience to the present.

If you pointed to any book on my shelves, I could name the year I got it, where I was working, and probably where I was living at the time.

__▲ It is an easy way to get to know about his hopes, dreams and interests. And a big part of that story is how we arrange our books, and get on with them. It’s such a personal thing, different from each other. Some want to be with their books in every room, others have them on shelves, behind glass or simply lining their floors. Each home has a story to tell through the way they live with their books.

It’s often said that what we read says something about who we are. The way we fill our bookshelves might also send a message about ourselves. From the pile of books on your bedside table to your well-organized shelves, whether we notice it or not, our book collections are telling a story before a single page has been turned.

1. What will the writer do if he is invited to somebody’s house?

A．To choose a book to read.	B．To talk about his books with the host.
C．To look at the shelves.	D．To buy some books for the host.

2. What are the books on the writer’s own shelves organized according to?

A．Their prices.	B．Their writers.
C．His personal interests.	D．The periods of his life.

3. Which of the following is the best sentence to fill in the blank in Paragraph 4?

A．Every book is worth reading.

B．Each bookshelf holds a special dream.

C．Book collections tell so much about a person.

D．The books a person reads depend on his choices.

4. What’s the main idea of this article?

A．We’d better not put our books on the floor.

B．The way we arrange our books shows our tastes.

C．The books at our bedside are usually more important.

D．We can know about a person by reading the message he sends.

【推荐3】You love reading, but you've read all your books four times, and are tired of reading the same ones. You're planning to go to the library，but don't know what kind of books to get. With the right knowledge(知识)，it's easy to choose a good book!
Answer these questions first.   What are your interests? Type your hobbies into your library catalog search.   By doing this, you will find books that you might like.
Search your house next. Often good books are quietly collecting dust(灰层)in your own house.   Maybe you forget about one，or someone who is living with you has some good books. Also by searching your house, you can find some books that you can read, and they won't even cost you any money.
Then join a book club，please. Being a book club member is often a way to experience(体验)new books with other members. Joining a book club or setting up a book club helps you know who else likes the same books as you，you can also read and discuss the books with others.
Finally，read the first part of each book. Of course，if you have many books, this can be time-consuming. Reading the first part of a book can help you know what books and types of books that you like，and you won't have a hard time looking for books again.
1. This article is mainly written to help you         .

A．buy a good book	B．read a good book
C．choose a good book	D．borrow a good book

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph maybe means that         .

A．you don't often clean the house	B．you haven't touched the books for a long time
C．your friends don't read your books	D．your friends don't visit your house

3. What is NOT mentioned about joining a book club ?

A．Experiencing new books with other members.

B．Knowing who else likes the same books as you.

C．Reading and discussing books with others.

D．Helping you make more and more close friends.

4. What does the underlined word “time-consuming” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Using a little time.	B．Wasting a little time.
C．Taking much time.	D．Saving much time.

【推荐3】My favourite restaurant is called 'Annablella's cafe'. It is a small restaurant serving(供应) Western food. It is in a city called Bristol. It is difficult to find because it is behind a very tall building. Only local people eat at this restaurant, and visitors can never find it! I think the food at the restaurant is the best in the whole country.
I like to go to this restaurant every two weeks. The waiters know me very well now. They are my friends. They know what my favourite drink is, so when I arrive, there is always a bottle of coke on the table. The menu changes every week so there is always something different to eat. My favourite meat is chicken, so I always order something with chicken in it. For dessert(甜食), I usually have apple pie with custard or chocolate cake. Delicious!
Sometimes I go to this restaurant for breakfast. I have a typical(典型的) English breakfast： eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes and bread. The breakfast is delicious, but I like to eat at this restaurant at dinnertime better.
1. There are no visitors at this restaurant because_______.

A．they don’t like the food here

B．the restaurant is difficult to find

C．the restaurant is too small

D．Western food is not popular

2. How many times a month does the writer go to the restaurant?

A．Once.	B．Twice.
C．Three times.	D．Eight times.

3. What’s the writer’s favourite drink?

A．Orange juice.	B．Apple juice.
C．Coke.	D．Coffee.

4. What can we know from the passage?

A．A typical English breakfast is eggs, bread, bacon and milk.

B．The writer would like to have breakfast at the restaurant better.

C．Chicken and banana pie are the writer’s favourite food.

D．The menu often changes and there is always something different.

【推荐1】

Dear Dr Know, There are too many rules. At 6:00 am, my mom says, “Get up now and make your bed!” After breakfast, my mom always says, “Don’t leave rice in the kitchen!” My dad says I can’t play basketball after school because I must do my homework first. After dinner, I must read a book before I watch TV. I must go to bed before 10:00. Rules, rules, rules! That’s too bad! What can I do, Dr. Know? Molly Brown, New York

Dear Molly, I know what you think. People always tell us, “Don’t do this!” or “You can’t do that!” But think about it, Molly. You can also do lots of things. You can play basketball on weekends. You can watch TV after you read a book. Parents and schools are sometimes strict (严格), but remember, they make rules to help us. Let’s take them. Dr Know, New York

1. What can Molly do at home?

A．Listen to her favourite CDs.	B．Go to bed at 10:30 at night.
C．Leave rice in the kitchen.	D．Watch TV after reading a book.

2. From the passage, we can know that Molly’s parents are ________.

A．busy

B．nice

C．strict

D．lucky

3. Dr Know wants Molly to ________.

A．leave home

B．take the rules

C．say no to parents

D．make her rules

4. We can read the two passages in a ________.

A．guide book

B．storybook

C．school magazine

D．map

【推荐2】Listening test is one of the most important parts of the English exam. Here are some tips for you.

Before you start to listen, you need to relax. Don't be stressed out. And try to read the questions. These questions usually help you understand the conversation or the passage.

Then listen carefully to the first sentence. It usually tells you the main idea of the passage. When you're listening, try to do some thinking and take some notes, such as:

☆What happened

☆When, where, and how

☆What does the speaker want to tell us

In this way, you may understand the passage better,

Please remember not to think about one or two words for a long time. When you hear some words you don't know, don't spend too much time on them. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening.

1. It's better for you to keep ________when you start to have a listening test.

A．excited

B．worried

C．stressed out

D．relaxed

2. . When you're listening, it's important for you to ________

A．take some notes	B．remember every word
C．understand all the words	D．think about one or two words for a long time

3. The usually help(s) us understand the passage better.

A．questions

B．first sentence

C．notes

D．A, B and C

【推荐3】Last week, I had a special experience. I was reading a book and had just come to the most wonderful part when my little brother Tex and sister Indi ran into my room. “Can you read your book out aloud?” Indi said. “No! I don’t want to do that.” Then they went out and played together happily. They were so noisy that I shouted at them angrily.

“What’s up, honey?” my dad came in when he heard that. “I’m in a terrible mood!” I said in a low voice. Then my dad suggested tidying up (整理) things. I knew he was trying his best to help me. But every time someone suggested a way, I felt even worse!

Just then, my friend Ollie came to my home. After knowing my problem, he advised me to play soccer or go for a walk. Then I went for a walk with Ollie. I heard many birds singing happily in the tree when we walked past a park. Their voices were so sweet. After that, I found my problem was solved and I felt more comfortable.

I think if you also find it hard to follow one’s advice when you’re in a bad mood, maybe you could think over your own ideas and talk about them with one person who you trust.

1. What was the writer doing when his brother and sister came in?

A．He was playing with Ollie.	B．He was reading a book.
C．He was reading a newspaper.	D．He was talking with his father.

2. What did the writer’s father advise him to do?

A．Tidy up things.	B．Write down his own list of ideas.
C．Go for a walk.	D．Talk about ideas with one person he trusts.

3. Why does the writer write this text?

A．To tell us which is the most useful suggestion.	B．To tell us how to make friends with others.
C．To tell us where is the best place to read books.	D．To tell us how to deal with a bad mood.