【推荐1】Flowers feel feelings. It's a secret well known by flower lovers. They expect flowers to come out with quiet and soft encouragements.

So it should be no surprise that the Yellowbright Flower growing in a large red field trembled (颤抖)with strong feelings now. He trembled because he felt different. He was the only Yellowbright Flower flowering in a field of red plants, whatever they were. He knew walkers stopped and stared before walking on. He knew he was some special thing, the only thing of his kind, And the only thing of anything is always a very lonely thing to be, no matter what thing it is.

Until one bright midnight, as he danced in the summer wind, the field spoke to him. Yes, a voice came from one red plant in the field. This plant, whatever it was, now spoke to him by saying this, "You're not really alone, you know. " No one and nothing had ever spoken to him before. To say he was surprised would be an understatement (轻描淡写). Remember, flowers feel strong feelings.

"You've been wrong before" the red plant went on. "You're a rose. So am I, So are we all, all of us in this big field. If you're yellow, with a different bloom, ▲     . But it’s all of us, together,that the walkers stop walking to see. Not just you. Together, we’re a garden. Alone, you're only one pretty but very small blossom. " Funny how this changed things for the Yellowbright Flower, who now realized he was really a Yellowbright Rose. Funny how those few words changed everything. Because nothing is really the only thing of anything, no matter how special that one thing is.

We stop feeling different and lonely when we understand we're part of something larger than ourselves.

1. The Yellowbright Flower trembled with strong feelings because ___________.

A．he knew he was a yellow rose.	B．he felt different and special.
C．he grew in a large field.	D．he always felt very lonely.

2. The Yellowbright Flower felt___________ when he first heard a red rose?

A．shocked

B．scared

C．upset

D．pleased

3. Which of the following can be put in ▲      in paragraph 4?

A．your color will make you the most beautiful

B．you will not be able to feel the strong feelings

C．your color only adds to the beauty of this field

D．you will not be seen by walkers walking by

4. What does the writer mainly want to tell us?

A．Something is really special.	B．Everything is part of something,.
C．Anything can be changed.	D．Nothing matters except yourself

【推荐2】A cat named Sugar belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Woods. Her fur was white like sugar. That is how she got her name. The cat was sweet like sugar too. She was a pleasant pet. She did have a bump on one leg, but Mr. and Mrs. Woods thought that Sugar was just right.

The Woods family lived in California. They had lived there for a long time. One day they had to move to another state. It would be a long drive to their new home. Sugar did not like to ride in a car. The family did not know what to do.

The neighbors who lived next door wanted a cat and said they would keep Sugar. Sugar would not have to move or ride in a car. Everyone thought that would please her.

The Woods family packed the car. They said goodbye to Sugar. They would miss their cat, but Sugar would have a comfortable home.

The Woods family moved to Oklahoma, which was far from California. They started a new life and were cozy, but they often thought of their cat. One day Mrs. Woods was in the barn. A cat came in the open door. The cat was wet and dirty, but, under the dirt, its fur was white. It was white like sugar.

The cat purred softly and jumped into Mrs. Woods’ arms. Mrs. Woods felt she knew the cat, but her cat lived far away. Then she saw something. There was a bump on its leg! The cat was Sugar!

Mr. and Mrs. Woods learned that Sugar had run away from home. Somehow the cat had walked more than 1,000 miles. The trip had taken the cat more than one year. They did not understand how Sugar had found them, but they were delighted that she did!

1. Paragraph 1 mainly tells _____.

A．why Sugar ran away	B．what Sugar looks like
C．where the Woods family lived	D．when the Woods family got Sugar

2. Sugar got her name because _____.

A．of the color of her fur	B．she was a sweet cat
C．the Woods family liked her	D．of the bump on her leg

3. How did Sugar get to Oklahoma?

A．She moved with the Woods family.	B．A neighbor brought her.
C．She walked a long way.	D．She flew on an airplane.

4. The writer writes the article to _____.

A．give facts about different kinds of cats

B．explain why cats don’t like long trips

C．find a friendly family for a cat

D．tell about the life of a cat

5. What is the best title for this article?

A．A Funny Cat	B．A Nice Trip
C．Sugar Comes Home	D．Say Goodbye To Sugar

【推荐3】Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper -- a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax(蜡) in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them tot he nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, ______ reaches in to get the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always fall to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined (下决心) in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper(养蜂者) is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.
1. Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?

A．It'ssmallinsize.	B．It'shiddenintrees.
C．It'scoveredwithwax.	D．It'shardtorecognize.

2. What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Abee.

B．Abird

C．Ahoneyseeker.

D．Abeekeeper.

3. The honey guide is special in the way________.

A．itgetsitsfood	B．itgoestochurch
C．itsingsintheforest	D．itreachesintobees'nests

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．WildBees	B．WaxandHoney
C．BeekeepinginAfrica	D．Honey-Lover'sHelper

【推荐1】

Can you imagine a sea of sand three times bigger than India? This is the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world. It covers 11 countries in North Africa and is over 9 million square kilometres. That’s more than 25% of Africa.

In the Sahara, temperatures are very different during the day and at night. It is much hotter during the day. The hottest time is between 2 p. m. and 4 p. m., when temperatures rise to 38℃. But it is very cold at night—the coldest time is at 4 a. m., when temperatures fall to -4℃. The Sahara is also very dry. It seldom rains.

Because of the temperatures in the desert, it is a very difficult place to survive. Here are some tips on how to stay alive in the Sahara Desert.

During the day, cover your body, head and face. Clothes protect you from the sun and keep water in your body. You will also need a warm blanket at night. It can get cold very quickly. When the temperature drops, it can be a shock and make you feel even colder.

A car is easier to see than a person walking in the desert. You can also use the mirrors from your car to signal to planes and other cars. You can use your car tyres(轮胎) to make a fire. A fire is easy to see. It will help people find you and it will keep you warm at night.

Try to drink some water at least once every hour. You need your water to last as long as possible. Drink only what you need. When you talk, you lose water from your body. Keep your mouth closed and do not talk.

If you eat, you will get thirsty and drink all of your water more quickly. You can eat a little, but only to stop you from feeling very hungry. Eat very small amounts of food and eat very slowly. You can live for three weeks with no food, but you can only live for three days without water.

A small place near a tree or a rock will be the warmest. But be careful before you decide where to sleep. Dangerous animals like snakes and scorpions also like to sleep in these places. Look carefully for animals before you lie down.

1. How does the writer describe the Sahara Desert in Paragraph 1 and 2?

A．By telling reasons.	B．By listing numbers.
C．By giving examples.	D．By explaining points.

2. How many ways are mentioned to help keep water in the body?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Eating at least once every hour helps avoid getting hungry.

B．Little rain in the Sahara makes it a difficult place to survive.

C．Mirrors and tyres can be used to give information to ask for help.

D．Places near trees or rocks are the warmest and safest for sleeping.

【推荐2】Like you，plants need good things like food，water，and minerals in order to grow. Usually they get these important nutrients(营养) from the rich soil(土壤) in which they're planted. But there's another way to grow plants that doesn't use soil.   It's called hydrogenic gardening.

“Hydrogenic” means “working with water. ” In a hydrogenic garden，plants grow with their roots in water， not in dirt. The water is filled with special food for the plants that gardeners have carefully measured and prepared.   

Hydrogenic plants grow quickly. In ordinary gardens，plants need time and energy to grow long roots that search the soil for food and water. In a hydrogenic garden，plants can use their energy to grow tall instead.   And because there is no soil， there are no weeds and few insect pests(害虫).   Gardeners don't need to spray(喷洒) plants with dangerous chemicals. Both the plants and the environment stay healthy.

Scientists hope that，one day，hydrogenic gardens may be able to help hungry people all over the world grow enough food-even in countries that have bad soil，or weather that is too hot，too cold，or too dry. And astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens with them to the spaceship they fly to Mars，so that they will always have fresh vegetables，and the fun of growing a garden without dirt.

1. What's the meaning of the underlined word “dirt” in the second paragraph?

A．soil

B．water

C．insect

D．food

2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Plants need water and other nutrients to grow.	B．There are no weeds inhydrogenic gardens.
C．Hydrogenic plants cannot grow in too hot weather.	D．Astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens to space.

3. What's the passage about?

A．Plant growing.

B．Space farming.

C．Scientific watering.

D．hydrogenic gardening.

【推荐3】With labels such as “zero sugar, zero fat, zero calories'', diet drinks have been placed in places that are easily seen on supermarket shelves. But how do these drinks taste sweet without sugar?

One of China’s most popular drink brands, Genki Forest, apologized on April 10 for deceptively* advertising its products as having no sugar. In a statement, the fast-growing company said that the difference between “sugar-free” and “sucrose-free” was not well explained in the product advertising and packaging, leading to a “misunderstanding”.

Now the company has changed the words from “sugar-free” to “low sugar” on the bottles. But many internet users don’t buy the apology and feel like they’ve been tricked into gaining weight. The event has pushed “sugar-free” drinks to consumers’ attention.

In fact, there are many kinds of sugar. Sucrose is just one of them. Other kinds of sugar, such as fructose and sugar alcohol, are still in Genki Forest drinks. These types of sugars are used as sweeteners*. They offer little energy, but a small amount of them can make drinks taste sweet. That’s why diet drinks like Genki Forest are popular among people who want to lose weight.

However, these sweeteners might make people eat more. When you eat sweet-tasting things, it sends your brain a “sweet signal", which then tells your body to prepare itself to take in energy. But because diet soft drinks have little energy, the brain will not receive what it is expecting. In this situation, you will feel hungry and start eating more food to get energy, according to Chen Wei, chief physician of Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

According to China Daily, drinking too many diet drinks might lead to obesity*. “Compared with sugar-sweetened drinks, low-sugar drinks are helpful for preventing obesity, but compared with water, low-sugar drinks are not that healthy,” Chen told The Paper.

1. What did Genki Forest lately apologize for?

A．For the bad taste of its products.

B．For having too much sugar in its drinks.

C．For the misspelling on its packaging.

D．For its misleading in advertisements.

2. What do we know about Genki Forest from Paragraph 4?

A．Its drinks have high levels of sucrose.

B．Its drinks taste sweeter than other drinks.

C．There are sweeteners in its drinks.

D．People can lose weight by drinking its drinks.

3. Why might sweeteners make people eat more according to Chen Wei?

A．They stop the brain from receiving signals.

B．They are likely to make people feel hungry.

C．They can change peopled taste for food.

D．They help the body take in more sugar.

4. What is the main purpose of the article?

A．To introduce Genki Forest for its “sugar-free” drinks.

B．To advise readers not to buy diet drinks.

C．To compare diet soft drinks with other drinks.

D．To explain why drinking too many diet drinks is unhealthy.

【推荐2】It seems that every day we read about at least one of these (earthquakes, floods and tsunamis(海啸)) somewhere in the world. But every year, somewhere, another kind of disaster causes great damage to plants and people. It’s something much smaller and not so well-known as an earthquake or a tsunami—it’s an insect called the locust(蝗虫) .

The locust usually does things alone—it lives on its own and eats on its own. But, sometimes, something changes the way nature works. When the number of locusts increases somewhere and there are lots of plants to eat, the locusts get together in swarms.

Perhaps the most dangerous locust is the desert locust. It is found in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia—in about 60 countries altogether. When desert locusts swarm, they bring problems to one-tenth of all the humans in the world.

The numbers are huge and frightening. A swarm of desert locusts can be 1, 200 km² in size-imagine an area that is over 20 kilometers wide and 50 kilometers long, full of locusts! And there can be 50 million locusts in each square kilometer. Each locust eats its own weight in plants every day—so a swarm of desert locusts can eat more than 150 million kilos of food in one day. They can also fly very long distances—in 1954 a swarm of locusts from northwest Africa flew thousands of miles to finally land in Great Britain.

It’s no wonder that farmers in many countries of the world fear the desert locusts more than snakes and spiders (蜘蛛). It’s the desert locusts that destroy the harvest and brings hunger to people all over the world.

1. Which kind of disaster is not mentioned in the article?

A．Earthquakes.

B．Floods.

C．Tornados.

D．Locusts.

2. What does the underlined word “swarms” mean in Chinese?

A．一些

B．一大群

C．大尺码

D．一小组

3. We can find the desert locusts ________.

A．in Africa and the Middle East	B．in Africa and Europe
C．in America and Africa	D．in Europe and Asia

4. When did a swarm of locusts from northwest Africa fly to Great Britain?

A．In 1955.

B．In 1965.

C．In 1945.

D．In 1954.

5. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Desert locusts are more dangerous than the flood.

B．Desert locusts cause great loss to farmers.

C．Desert locusts are seen everywhere all over the world.

D．Desert locusts can eat a lot of plants every day.

【推荐3】Many people travel to different places in the world by air. Usually it takes a long time, perhaps half a day, for passengers to stay in the plane. So airlines (航空公司) offer passengers food. But it is common that they feel bad about food taste. Do you agree?

To solve this problem, airlines try hard to improve their food. They would like to do so because they don’t want to lose customers.

However, according to a scientific research, part of the reason why plane food tastes bad is that at high altitude (海拔) we cannot taste things as well as we do on the ground. Also scientists have found that our noses become very dry even before a plane takes off. As the plane moves up, the change in air pressure makes one third of the feeling of our taste lower. So our tongue becomes senseless. The sad fact however, is that our noses don’t know it.

All of these help explain why food on the plane tastes so bad. They also help explain why airlines choose to offer passengers salty and hot food. Without doing so, the food would be tasteless.

Now there are many studies on this. According to one of them, some volunteers are asked to lie with their feet higher than their heads for weeks. And scientists write down their feelings about food taste.

Though scientists try their best, it is not as easy as they thought. Because they can’t deal with the special environment successfully, such as the change in air pressure, making food taste good is still hard for them.

1. In Paragraph 2, “this problem” means _________.

A．passengers stay long in the plane	B．food on the plane tastes bad
C．passengers have no food to eat	D．food on the plane is expensive

2. What do airlines do to solve this problem?

A．Get more customers	B．Offer more food
C．Improve their food	D．Reduce the ticket price

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

A．奇怪的

B．无味的

C．无感觉的

D．敏感的

4. Why do scientists feel it hard to make food on the plane taste good?

A．The volunteers don’t know about food taste.

B．The volunteers don’t understand them.

C．They can’t find enough volunteers.

D．They can’t deal with the special environment successfully.

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Taste of airplane food	B．Airplane travel
C．Scientific research on noses	D．The change in air pressure