【推荐1】Garbage sorting is a big issue worldwide. In recent years, some Chinese cities have been working hard on it.

Shanghai has worked with Alipay to create a “green account (账户)” service for its residents (居民). Account holders get points by correctly sorting their garbage. Through the Alipay app, they can exchange the points for milk, phone cards and other products. The city is asking all of its residents to sort their garbage into four groups: wet, recyclable, harmful and dry.

Wet waste is also known as household waste. “They are things you don’t want but that pigs can eat,” Guangzhou Daily explained. Paper, metal (金属), glass and other things that can be reused are recyclable waste. Harmful waste includes things like medicine, batteries and fluorescent bulbs (荧光灯泡). Finally, any waste that’s not wet, recyclable or harmful will go in the “dry waste” bin.

Many other Chinese cities are also using this method to sort their garbage. For example, Shenzhen has been sorting its garbage into the same four groups since 2012. Students there also receive waste-sorting guidebooks that they must study.

China is improving its waste-sorting efforts. There is still a long way to go. But it’s never too late to learn how to sort your trash properly and protect the environment.

If you don’t sort your garbage, all of it will go to a landfill (垃圾填埋场) and be buried together. These landfills can take up large areas of ground that could have been used for planting trees or crops. The electronic waste you throw away, such as batteries, can pollute the soil and groundwater. Other pieces of garbage, like the metal part of a pen, can be used to make other things if they are properly recycled.

1. How is Shanghai encouraging people to sort their garbage?

A．Paying people to sort their trash correctly.

B．Creating a “green account” servịce with the help of Alipay.

C．Providing its residents with guidebooks to help them.

D．Allowing people to exchange garbage with each other.

2. Which of the following would be classified as wet waste?

A．Glasses.

B．Leftover food.

C．Medicine.

D．Batteries.

3. What do we know about garbage sorting in China?

A．Students have to take waste-sorting classes in school.

B．There is still a lot of work to be done in this area.

C．Landfills are a common method of getting rid of garbage.

D．It started its garbage sorting system in 2012.

4. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．How some kinds of waste can be reused and recycled.

B．What kinds of waste can pollute the environment.

C．Why we should sort our garbage properly.

D．Where we can bury our waste.

【推荐2】Many scientists find that colors can change people’s feelings. It’s very interesting. Some colors can make people feel relaxed, and some colors can make people feel nervous.

Now, this kind of knowledge is being used in many places. For example, school walls are always painted green because green makes students feel relaxed. It is also good for the students’ eyes. Some books are also green or light blue for the same reason.

Restaurant owners not only have to know how to make food, but also have to know how to make money. Here are some things they’ve learnt from scientific studies. The color red makes people hungry. Many fast food restaurants have red furniture or walls.

Soft colors like pink and light blue make people feel relaxed, so they spend more time eating. Loud music may be nice at first, but it soon makes people want to leave. Hard seats also make customers want to eat quickly and leave. Many restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, use this knowledge to make customers eat faster.

1. How does the color green make the students feel?

A．Hungry.

B．Nervous.

C．Angry.

D．Relaxed.

2. Which color isn’t mentioned in this passage?

A．Green.

B．White.

C．Light blue.

D．Red

3. What do many fast food restaurants do?.
①Play loud music. ②Play soft music.③Have hard seats.④Paint their walls red

A．①②③

B．①③④

C．①②④.

D．②③④

4. Which is the best title for this passage?

A．Color and restaurant.	B．Use color to make money.
C．Color and science.	D．Use color to change feelings.

【推荐3】“You are just like your mother.” This phrase is often said by many. As we grow older, we may notice that we’re getting more like our mother. Yet surprisingly, new research has found that most people are more similar to their father.

A team of scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in the US found that we get equal amounts of genes (基因) from mother and father. But we use more of the DNA we get from our father.

The study helps us to explain who we are to a certain degree. And more importantly, it helps us to find out whether we are likely to develop diseases. For example, if we get the gene for a disease from our mother, it may not be as strong as if we had got it from our father.

We know that there are 95 genes influenced by our parents, said lead researcher Professor Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena. These are called imprinted genes (印记基因). But now, the study has found that there are thousands of other genes that have come from our parents.

For the study, the scientists picked out three different kinds of mice with different genes. The mice then gave birth to nine babies each. When they all reached adulthood, the team then measured every single gene of their DNA.

They found an imbalance that turned toward their father. Villena also said that the recent study was the first to show that mammals (哺乳动物) are more similar to their fathers than mothers. “This is an exceptional new research finding that opens the door to a completely new area of exploration in human genetics,” he said.

1. What is the new finding?

A．We are born to look more like our father.

B．We are more like our mother when we grow up.

C．We use more of the DNA we get from our father.

D．We have the same chances to be more like our mother or father.

2. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．The finding helps us know possible diseases.

B．We get exactly the same diseases from parents.

C．We are supposed to be stronger than our parents.

D．We don’t get the gene of a disease from our mother.

3. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The scientists.	B．The baby mice.
C．The imprinted genes.	D．The mother mice.

4. What does the underlined word “exceptional” mean in the passage?

A．Unfair and clever.	B．Hopeless and simple.
C．Unusual and excellent.	D．Acceptable and common.

5. What is the best title of the text?

A．Imprinted genes	B．Mice are similar to humans
C．You are just like your mother	D．Father’s DNA influences more

【推荐1】If parents’ aim(目标) is only to make a child be a genius(天才), they will cause a disaster. Several leading educational psychologists(心理学家) say this is one of the biggest mistakes that can cause great problems to children.
However, if parents are a little gentler, the child may act successfully—especially if the parents can support him. Michael Li is very lucky. He is very fond of music, and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and inviting a teacher to give him personal piano lessons. They even drive him 59 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Although Michael’s mother knows very little about music, Michael’s father plays the piano very well. However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling.
Michael’s friend, Winston Chen, however, is not so lucky. Although both his parents are successful musicians(音乐家), they set too high a standard for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are, so they enter him in every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. “When I was your age, I used to win every competition I entered,” Winston’s father tells him. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint(使…失望) his parents and now he always seems quiet and unhappy.
1. One of the worst mistakes any parent can make is to __________.

A．pay much attention to their child’s education

B．push the child into trying to achieve too much

C．make their child become a musician

D．help their child to succeed in the future

2. Michael Li is lucky because __________.

A．his father knows music and teaches him much

B．his parents are rich enough to support him

C．his mother doesn’t know much about music

D．his parents help him in a wise way

3. The two examples show that __________.

A．it is important to let children develop in their own way

B．it is successful to let children develop without others’ help

C．successful parents often have unsuccessful children

D．the more you help your children, the less they can achieve

【推荐3】Whenever you walk past a cafe, you might walk into it because of the smell of freshly made coffee. But the minute you try this dark drink you will regret(后悔) it, because it tastes like bitter Chinese medicine.

Why does something that smells so good taste so bad? Many people want to know the reason for it. Now scientists say they find the answer—it lies in our “second sense of smell.”

“We have two senses of smell,” explained Barry Smith, professor of the University of London.“One is when you breathe(呼吸) in things from the environment, and the other is when the air comes up the nose and is breathed out through the nose”.

When we drink coffee, for example, the act of swallowing (吞咽) sends burst of smell up the back of our nose from inside the mouth. This wakes up the second sense of smell in our brain. But it is weaker and less sensitive to flavors (味道) . So it gives us a completely different feeling.

In fact, the second sense of smell plays an important part in our eating experience. Many people believe that we smell through our nose and taste using our tongue(舌头). But the truth is 80 percent of what we think of as taste actually reaches us through smell. Just hold your nose while eating and you will notice that your tongue can only catch a very small part of the flavor.

1. Why does something that smells so good taste so bad?

A．Because we have two senses of smell.

B．Because our “second sense of smell” works.

C．Because different people have different tastes.

D．Because people have both tongues and noses.

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．We have two senses of smell.

B．The tongue can only catch a small part of the flavor.

C．The first sense of smell is weaker and less sensitive to flavors.

D．We usually think we smell through our nose and taste using our tongue.

3. The underlined word “sensitive” in the fourth paragraph means ________.

A．敏感的

B．迟钝的

C．强烈的

D．虚弱的

4. The best title for this story is ________.

A．Smell good or taste bad	B．Second sense of smell
C．Coffee tastes like bitter Chinese medicine	D．Our tongue and nose