【推荐2】When Chinese people talk about Chinese tea culture today, they won’t miss an important person in Chinese history—Lu Yu, respected as a “Sage of Tea (茶圣)” for his achievements in the Chinese tea culture. He is best-known for The Classic of Tea, the first work on growing, making and drinking tea.

Lu was born in Jingling in 733 A.D.. As a child, he became a student of Zou Fuzi. Thanks to his teacher’s guidance, he learnt a lot.

He often made tea for his teacher. He also took care of his fellow students’ health using his knowledge on tea and herbs (草药). Lu Yu often went to the countryside to gather tea leaves and herbs. On one of those trips, Lu Yu found a spring. The water was quite clear and clean. When Lu made tea with this spring water, he found the tea tasted better than usual. From then on, he realized the importance of water quality in making tea.

In 752 A.D., Lu Yu finished his studies and returned to Jingling, where he met Cui Guofu. Both men shared the same interests in tea, literature (文学) and poetry. They soon became good friends. Since then, the two spent much time travelling, drinking tea and writing poems together.

This period was important to Lu Yu as a man of literature. Cui, with his rich experience and skills in writing, became a coach of Lu. He provided necessary help with Lu’s writing. It was during this time that Lu finally wrote the amazing work, The Classic of Tea.

【推荐3】Zu Chongzhi was one of the greatest mathematicians in ancient China. He was born during the Northern and Southern dynasties. His family were very talented. They had been studying mathematics and astronomy (天文学) for generations. From a young age, Zu was taught natural science, astronomy, math, philosophy (哲学) and so on. The little boy was interested in all of these subjects, especially in math.

Zu was best known for his calculation of pi. According to historical records, he did all the work using only wooden sticks. It took him lots of time to work out the value — between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927. No one at that time was able to calculate it more accurately (准确地) than Zu. The achievement has been recognized around the world. In order to remember Zu, some mathematicians have suggested calling pi “Zu Lv (祖率)”. Zu was also known for working out how to calculate the volume (体积) of a sphere (球). He did this with the help of his son Zu Gengzhi. The two recorded their achievement in Zhui Shu. The book was used during the Tang dynasty.

But Zu was successful not only in math; he did a good job in astronomy, too. He worked out that a year should be 365.24281481 days long and created the Daming Calendar. However, government officials at that time did not agree with Zu. The great mathematician never saw his calendar put into use. After his death, Zu Gengzhi kept on proving that the Daming Calendar was more accurate. Almost ten years later, the new calendar was finally accepted.

Zu was also an inventor. He once made a vehicle that carried a pointer. However the vehicle turned, the pointer always pointed to the South. Zu also invented the 1,000-li Boat. The boat could travel 100 li (about 60 kilometers) in a day.

A．

B．

C．

D．

A．

B．

C．

D．

【推荐1】I used to hate my mother because she worked a lot and didn’t spend much time with me. Then one Friday morning I took part in a three-day self-help program for teenagers. Whether you believe it or not, that weekend changed my life.

About 100 other teenagers were there. During the first two days I met a lot of great people. I was glad because I made so many friends there.

On Sunday, the leader did an interesting exercise called “Chocolate or Toys”. He asked a girl which she liked better, chocolate or toys. She chose chocolate. Then he asked her to choose again between chocolate and chocolate. Of course, she didn’t have a choice.

This exercise told us that sometimes we don’t have a choice in life, and that sometimes we have to accept something, rather than complaining（抱怨）.

A girl stood up and started talking about her mom who was a drug addict（吸毒者）and how much she hated her mother.

“I want a new mom,” she cried.

“Unluckily, you can’t have one,” the leader replied.

“You have to accept the mother that you have.”

This hit me hard. I realized that, for better or worse, my mom was my mom. I couldn’t choose another mom, but I could try to make the best of the situation.

【推荐3】To us, it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But in fact the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun.

Nobody knew who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, back in the eleventh century BC. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its uses: it became a symbol of honor and power. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office or by royal people such as the kings or queens.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. The umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece, but it is believed that the first people in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the middle ages in Europe, the use of the umbrella almost disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it became a symbol of power.

Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that the umbrellas for women began to be made in all kinds of colors.

【推荐1】Ten years ago, many thought that the age of the physical book was coming to an end. The objects that had been the companions（伙伴）of millions of readers for centuries were about to die out. Soon, we'd all be reading on little electronic screens and laughing at the memory of places called “libraries" and "bookshops".

That might not be true. At least in the UK, sales of e-books are falling while sales of physical books are rising. More surprisingly, it's young people who are buying the most physical books. More than 60 percent of 16-to-24-year-olds preferred print books to e-books. The most popular reason given was："I like to hold the product. "

Books become very personal objects to lovers of reading. It often starts with the way they get them. Many buyers of books like sign their name on the inside cover when they've bought one. And we carry books around with us everywhere.

If the cover gets dirty because we dropped coffee on it, it would be better. These make the book-our book-even more personal. It's as if readers of physical books make friends with them

Of course, some could say that the machines on which people read e-books, like Kindles and Pads, are also objects that we may like. But it isn't quite the same. A Kindle can hold as many pieces of writing as a whole library. But a story we remember from our time turning its pages in our favorite sofa enters our memory forever. Physical books are as important to some readers as items of jewelry or photos of family members.

This “friendship "people develop with books isn't just about feelings. Research has shown that readers remember more information read from physical books that electronic ones.

However, there's no doubt that e-books are here to stay. They aren't simply a "here today, gone tomorrow" thing. But it's also certain that physical books, which have been in production since the fifteenth century, are here to stay, too.

【推荐2】On July 1, Shanghai introduced a new garbage sorting policy(垃圾分类政策). Now let’s learn the garbage sorting and recycling in other countries.

Germany(德国): There are big machine (机器) in supermarkets. You can put bottles in the machines and get money back. You can get one or two yuan per bottle. People like this because they can get money and protect the environment at the same time.

Japan: A trash truck comes to people’s doors to pick up their garbage. It plays music when it’s coming. There are eight or more kinds of garbage. If you sort any of them wrong, you will get a notice on your door.

Indonesia（印度尼西亚）: People can take buses for free if they give plastic bottles(塑料瓶) to bus stations. An hour-long bus ride costs three large bottles, five medium (中等) bottles or 10 plastic cups. But the bottles must be clean.

【推荐3】It seems that every time I have car trouble on the road, no one ever stops to see if I’m okay. But one time, someone did stop to help me. And the words of the man who helped me have had a big influence on my life.

One of my tires（轮胎）went flat. I had a spare tire but no jack（千斤顶）to lift up the car. I was going to give up when a van（客货车）stopped behind my car and someone jumped out. It was an older Mexican man, driving with his family. He didn’t speak much English, but his daughter helped to translate between us. It was hard work, but he tried to help me put the new tire on. I tried to give him some money for his help, but he kept shaking his head “no” and refusing my money. I secretly gave it to his wife instead.

After chatting for a few minutes, we went our separate ways. But when I got back in my car, I saw my money sitting in the seat. I drove back to the man and gave him the money. He refused one more time, and said to me, “Today you, tomorrow me.” These simple words have encouraged me to help others when I can because you never know when you’re going to be the one who needs help.