【推荐1】Do you have the experience of taking music lessons against your wishes? Perhaps you have complained about it because you thought it took you much playtime. But now you’d better thank your parents for their time and money spent on your musical training. A recent study suggests music lessons can make children have better memories than their peers (同龄人).

The Canadian study showed that after one year of musical training, children did better on a memory test than those who didn’t take music lessons. The researchers made the children age between 4 and 6 into two groups—one group of children took music lessons outside school, and the other didn’t take any musical training. In one year, they took four tests in different times. The results showed brain development changes at least every four months. The children taking music lessons not only did better in musical listening but also made faster progress in other ways, such as reading, writing, math and IQ.

People say music is the good medicine for a broken heart. Now it seems music can also help us to improve our memories. We are sure to find more and more in the wonderful world of music.

1. Why should you thank your parents for their time and money spent on your music?

A．Because you get well after you take music lessons.

B．Because you will make faster progress in every way.

C．Because music can help you to improve your memories.

D．Because you become healthier and stronger than before.

2. The researchers made one group of the kids aged 4~6 take music lessons for _______.

A．six months

B．a year

C．two years

D．four months

3. According to the last paragraph most people think music can make us _______.

A．confident

B．worried

C．lazy

D．happy

4. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．How to become cleverer.	B．Music does us much good.
C．What to find in wonderful music.	D．Everyone should receive music training.

【推荐2】

Mid-autumn Festival Singing Competition (比赛) 2020 Come and enjoy the music! Date of Event:                 Place: City Town Hall September 28th, 2020                 191 Zhongshan Road Time: 1:30 p.m.— 5:30 p.m.          Website: www. singing 2020. com Competition Rules: ◆All singers must be between 13 and 25 years of age. ◆All singers should bring their own CDs, prepare 2 songs. ◆All singers must arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of the competition. Late comers mustn’t lake part in the competition ◆Singers aged 16 or younger need the permission (同意) of their parents to take part in the competition. Prizes (奖励、奖项): ◆lst Prize —￥100 (one person only) ◆2nd Prize —￥600 (two persons) ◆3rd Prize —￥300 (five persons)

1. How long will the competition last?

A．Four hours.

B．Three hours.

C．Two hours.

D．Half an hour.

2. If you want to know more about the competition, you can ________.

A．write a letter

B．visit the website

C．send an e-mail

D．make a phone call

3. How many singers will get prizes in total?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Five.

D．Eight.

4. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．All singers must arrive at 1:30 p. m.

B．If you’re late, you can still win the prize.

C．A 12-year-old singer can take part in the competition.

D．16-year-old singers can’t be in the competition if their parents don’t agree.

5. The passage is probably ________.

A．a letter

B．a story

C．a poster

D．a piece of news

【推荐3】信息匹配 左栏是三名同学当前的心情或计划，右栏是四首英文歌曲的简介。请为每位同学选择适合他们心情或计划的歌曲，并将相对应的序号A，B，C或D填写在相对应的位置上。

1     Jimmy is having a hard time learning physics. Sometimes he even wants to give up. Now he needs to cheer himself up.     2     Under the stress from her parents and teachers, Cathy often feels helpless and worries about her scores. She expects to enjoy some peaceful music when she doesn’t know what to do.     3     Joe is going to attend a graduation party. He wants to show his best wishes to all the classmates through a song. He expects all his friends to have a bright and wonderful future.

A. When You Believe tells you that when you meet difficulties in life, you can make it as long as you believe it. Whenever you want to give up, it provides you with strength and love. B. Auld Lang Syne is a poem at first, and later changed into a song. Students like to sing it at the farewell (告别) party to recall the old times and show their best wishes for the future. C. Sugar is a song full of a sweet feeling of love. It gives its fans a pleasantly surprising gift, with its light music style and the wonderful MV by Maroon 5. D. Sounds of Silence is a 1960s folk song sung by Simon & Garfunkel. The melody (旋律) is slow and the lyrics are beautiful. The song may comfort you when you’re helpless.

【推荐1】Hello, I'm Kate I want to talk about my smart phone. My smartphone is white. It's from my uncle, Sam. He works in New York and comes back to London every December. I like my smart phone. It is useful.

The school rules don't allow（允许）us to take smart phones to school. So I usually use it after school or on the weekend. When I go out with my friends, I like keeping it in my bag. So my family can call me at any time. When I don't go to school, I like to call my friends to talk to them, or ask them for help with my study. I am not very good at math, so I put an APP about math in my smart phone to help me. It is fun and helpful. I also use the smart phone to do some reading, play games and watch movies. Isn't it great?

Sometimes smart phones are not good for people. Some people spend too much time on it. I like my smart phone and I know how to let it help me. It's my good friend.

1. Where does Kate’s Uncle work?

A．In London.	B．In Paris.
C．In Beijing.	D．In New York.

2. Why doesn't Kate use her smart phone at school?

A．Because she doesn't want to lose it.

B．Because her mother doesn’t allow her to do that.

C．Because she doesn’t want her classmates to see it.

D．Because the school rules doesn’t allow students to do that.

3. What does the underlined word “It” in Para 2 refer to?

A．The APP.	B．The game.
C．The smart phone.	D．The math subject.

4. What can we know from the passage?

A．Kate is very good at math.

B．Kate's smart phone is black.

C．Kate often helps others at school.

D．Kate thinks her smart phone is useful.

【推荐1】

I grew up in the countryside of Poland (波兰). It’s an area where skiing is popular, but my family was poor. I couldn’t afford to ride the ski lift (运送滑雪者的吊椅), so I used to hike up with the skis on my back. It turned out that this was good practice.

K2 (乔戈里峰) is nicknamed “savage (野蛮的) mountain”. You hear sad stories: For every four people who reach the top of the mountain, one dies. I was too afraid to even think about skiing down it. Even the best mountain climbers thought it impossible.

But that changed after a training expedition (考察) to Broad Peak. I got a clear look at K2’s massive face, and it encouraged me. Over time, my skills improved and, by 2017, I didn’t feel the fear anymore. I began preparations.

Why try such a feat (壮举)? I love nature, and I love setting goals. To be the first to do it just adds to the challenge. Fear is an important part of life, but to ski down K2, I had to stop being afraid.

At the base camp, I felt calm and prepared. There were no moods or doubts — I just knew I could do it. But there were challenges. At the third base camp, 7,000 meters up, my safety guy suffered serious back pain. We waited for 36 hours after he got better, and I decided to continue. In total, it took about three days to reach the top.

For many climbers, getting to the top of K2 would be the defining (决定性) moment of their lives. For me, it was where the real challenge began. Skiing down a mountain requires patience and endurance (耐力).

The most dangerous part was the Messner Traverse. It’s pure ice, up to a 75-degree angle in places, with drops on either side. You need to keep your turns and movements smooth and confident. No one had tried it before, so it was a relief (解脱) to cross it.

In total, going down the mountain took about seven hours. When I finally skied into camp, I simply lay in the snow, tired in both mental and body.

I’m so proud of what I achieved. No one thought it could be done. It taught me the value of patience and that nobody else can make your dreams come true.

1. What do we know from the first paragraph?

A．Skiing was the national sport of Poland.

B．The writer had a strong will to ski.

C．The writer was born into a family of skiers.

D．The writer’s family provided him with good skiing practice.

2. What is the purpose of Paragraph 2?

A．To introduce how K2 got its nickname.

B．To show that K2 is very hard to climb.

C．To explain why the writer wanted to ski down K2.

D．To describe the original (原来的) appearance of K2.

3. What was the most important factor (因素) in challenging K2 according to the writer?

A．Modern equipment (装备).	B．Skilled safety guards (安保人员).
C．Some main knowledge of K2.	D．A positive (积极的) opinion without fear.

4. Which word best describes the writer?

A．Curious.

B．Creative.

C．Brave.

D．Careful.

5. What did the writer learn from his experience?

A．We should always have self-confidence.	B．Support is needed to realize dreams.
C．It takes patience and effort to succeed.	D．One should always dream big.

【推荐2】One day, Mike and Dick decided to take their holiday in Australia. Their plane arrived in Sydney at nine in the morning. They had a good rest in a hotel. The next morning, they rented (租借) a car in the city and began their trip. A few hours later the sun was shining in the sky and there were no shade (遮阴的) trees beside the road. It was so hot that they could hardly go on driving. They had to stop to look around. Mike found a river was about half a kilometer away from them. They were both very happy and drove the car quickly. Soon they got to the river. Before they jumped into the river, Dick saw a boy playing under a big tree. He asked the boy, “Are there any sharks (鲨鱼) in the river?”

“No,” answered the boy, “There aren’t any.” So they began to swim in the river. After a while, Dick felt something hit (敲打) against his leg. He told Mike about it. They were very afraid and stopped swimming. Dick asked the boy loudly, “Is it true that there are not any sharks in the river?” “Yes, Sir. There are a lot of crocodiles (鳄鱼) in the water.”

1. How did Mike and Dick go to Australia?

A．By car.

B．By plane.

C．By ship.

D．By boat.

2. The two young men went to Australia __________.

A．swim in the river	B．study to drive
C．go on a holiday	D．visit their friends

3. Why couldn’t Mike and Dick drive anymore?

A．Because the sun was shining in the sky.	B．Because there were no trees beside the road.
C．Because the weather was very hot.	D．Because they were too tired.

4. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to __________.

A．Dick saw a shark in the water	B．Dick saw a crocodile in the water
C．Dick felt something hit against his leg	D．Dick saw the boy laughing at them under the big tree

5. What did Dick and Mike probably do at last?

A．They caught the crocodiles in the water.	B．They looked for the crocodiles there.
C．They ran to beat the Australian boy.	D．They came out of the river at once.

【推荐3】When I was told to play for a drama competition, I became nervous. I had never done anything like this before. But after reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, I was excited about what was to come. The story was great and the sentences were so funny. I wanted to give it a go.

I was playing Sir Toby Belch, a very funny old knight (骑士). I had to remember a lot of sentences and very funny old words. I worked hard in order to act well, like a real knight from the old days. But the most difficult job was to be funny in all my acting. This is quite different from the way I am in real life.

“OK. It’s time to be a different me now,” I said to myself. At first, I couldn’t do anything naturally. I didn’t know what to do when acting in this silly way. But I always told myself that I was Sir Toby now and I should forget who I really was. Even when I was in the bath, I was thinking about Sir Toby’s words and actions and trying to do everything like Sir Toby did.

The competition day finally came. When it was my turn to perform, I took a deep breath and began my part. I tried hard to make my words clear enough to be understood and my actions funny enough to make everybody laugh. When the results were finally read out, I immediately knew we had won first prize. I made it.

From this experience, I’ve come to know that I can be a different person. It doesn’t mean I`ve changed my personality, but I can do something I had never imagined possible.

1. The expression “give it a go” in Paragraph 1 most probably means _________.

A．come on

B．give up

C．run away

D．have a try

2. The writer thought it was very difficult to be funny in all his acting because __________.

A．it was an old story

B．his classmates and teachers would laugh at him

C．it was different from the way he was in real life

D．he was not interested in it

3. Before the writer began to perform, he _________.

A．tried hard to make his words clear	B．tried to make everybody laugh
C．took a deep breath	D．did a funny action

4. From the last paragraph, we can learn that the writer _________.

A．has learned nothing from the experience

B．plans to meet and talk to different people

C．is looking forward to the next competition

D．can do something which seems impossible