【推荐1】Song of the Parting Son (游子吟)
The thread in mother’s hand -
A gown for parting son,
Sewn stitch by stitch, alas!
For fear his return be delayed.
Such kindness of warm sun
Can’t be repaid by grass.
Song of the Parting Son may be the most popular Chinese poem about a mother’s love. It describes a common matter in daily life — a mother making clothes for her son. Nearly every mother has sewn (缝补) something for their child and many sons and daughters are familiar with this. For this reason, this short poem has touched many people’s hearts.
In the last two lines, the poet uses a pair of metaphors (比喻). Meng compares the mother to the warm sun and the child to grass. This shows how great a mother’s love can be and what little a child can do to repay his or her mother.
Poet Meng Jiao (751-814) lived in poverty (贫困) all his life. He didn’t become a low-level official until he was in his 50s. Only a few years later, he resigned (辞去) from his official post because of the death of his mother. Meng was famous as a kuyin poet (苦吟诗人)．He took his poetry very seriously, spending a great deal of time considering each word.
阅读以上信息，用恰当的单词完成下面的短文，每空一词。
Song of the Parting Son is one of the most popular Chinese     1     about a mother’s love. It is very common that a mother sews clothes for her children in daily life. But just     2     of this, many people are moved by this short poem. It shows that a mother’s love is great, but a child can do little for his or her mother in return. In fact, the poet, Meng Jiao lived a     3     life during his lifetime. He resigned from his official post because his mother     4    . He was a famous and diligent poet. He took every poem seriously and it     5     him much time to consider each word.

【推荐2】阅读短文，然后根据内容回答所提问题。

Spring Scene

The state is destroyed, but the country remains.

In the city in spring, grass, grows everywhere.

Feeling sad about the times, even the flowers cry.

Hating to par, hearing birds breaks our heart.

This famous poem was written by Du Fu 712—770, Tang Dynasty. When he found himself alone in Chang’an now Xi’an, having no hope for his country. Du Fu was born in 712 in Gongyi, he loved to read. “When I was in my seventh year, my mind was already full of heroic things. When I was in my ninth year, I first began to red my poems in public.” he wrote.

In Du Fu’s teens, his family was rich enough to allow him to go traveling. China then was at the height of wealth under the amazing emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Among all the places Du Fu visited, there was a special one—Qufu (曲阜孔子). The teachings of Confucius were Du Fu’s basic ideas all his life. For Du Fu, his main goal of life was to help the emperor realize social stability. There were no big or sudden changes and people lived happily and worked without fighting or disagreeing with one another. But however much he wanted to achieve the goal, he was completely helpless. His dream of using power and fame was broken into a thousand pieces. When Du Fu was about 30, came the meeting that changed his life with the poet Li Bai. Li Bai gave him a lot of inspiration in the art of poetry. But their poems were different. Li Bai’s poems were usually about nature, while Du Fu’s generally dealt with themes such as history and how people must live according to Confucianism.

In mid-December 755, a huge rebellion (叛乱) led by An Lushan broke out. After that Du Fu’s life was made up of short stops at different places. Through ups and downs, pouring out his worries about the country and people as well as celebrating simple joys of life. In 77, he died on a riverboat between Danzhou now Changsha, Hunan province. But the cause of his death is still unknown.

Du Fu lived through the fall of China’s fantastic Tang dynasty. He wrote many poems to express feelings of the ordinary people, especially for the poor. He is better than anyone else at reflecting history in his works. As Shakespeare (莎士比亚) is to literature (文学), so is the poet Du Fu to literature in Chinese.

1. Where was Du Fu born?
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2. What was Du Fu’s main goal of life?
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3. Were Du Fu’s poems different from Li Bai’s?
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4. When was Du Fu’s life made up of short stops at different places?
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5. What do you think of Du Fu?
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【推荐3】阅读短文，简要回答文章后的问题。

Kong Rong was a famous writer during the Han Dynasty (汉朝). He was considerate when he was only four.

Kong had five elder brothers and a young brother. One day, their father bought lots of pears. Some of the pears were big and looked good. Some were small and didn’t look so good. The boys were happy and began to choose (选择) some. Kong chose the smallest one. Kong’s father found this strange and asked, “Why not choose a bigger one, my son?” Kong answered, “I am younger. My elder brothers are older and eat more. They should take the bigger ones.”

“But you have a young brother. He should take the smallest one!”

“He is younger and needs more nutrition (营养). He should get a bigger one, too.”

Kong’s father was very happy that Kong could be so considerate. He didn’t think of what he himself wanted. He thought of what others wanted first.

1. What was Kong Rong during Han Dynasty?
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2. How many kids were there in Kong Rong’s family?
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3. Did all the pears look the same or different?
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4. How did father feel when Kong Rong told him why he chose the smallest pear?
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5. What does “considerate” mean(意思) in Chinese?
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【推荐1】When I was a child，I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and go to the city. We lived on a farm，and especially in winter，we were quite out off from the outside world. As soon as I left school，I packed my bags and moved to the city. However，I soon discovered that my life has its disadvantages，too.

One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out，not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution.①空气是如此的脏以至于我害怕出去。Then there is the problem of travelling round. Although I have a car，I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bike，but that can be dangerous.

Of course there are advantages. First，there is so much to do in the city. And there are wonderful jobs and more chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally，if you like shopping，the kind of goods is very surprising. ②What's more，there are many shops that are not far from your home.

Is life better in the city then? Perhaps it is，when you are in your teens or twenties. However，as you get older，and especially if you have small children，the peace of the countryside may be a better choice. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

1. Did the writer like living in the countryside when he was a child?
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2. How many disadvantages of living in the city are there?
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3. What does the writer prefer in the countryside when he gets older?
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4. 将画线句子①译成英语。
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5. 将画线句子②译成汉语。
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