【推荐1】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 sunshade (遮阳伞).

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient time. Probably the Chinese were the first to use it, back in the 11th century BC.

We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing that connected with its use: it was a symbol of honor and power. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in the upper class or by royal people such as 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 16th century. And again it became a symbol of power.

The umbrella has not changed much in style during all the time, though it has become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the umbrellas for women began to be made in all kinds of colors.

1. Ancient people first used umbrellas as ________.

A．a symbol of honor	B．protection against the sun
C．a symbol of power	D．protection against the rain

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

A．王室的

B．富裕的

C．中产的

D．平民的

3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A．The ancient Greeks used the umbrella in their daily life.

B．Europeans hardly used the umbrella during the Middle Ages.

C．The umbrellas for women were made colorful in ancient time.

D．The style of the umbrella hasn’t changed a lot during all the time.

4. What’s this passage mainly about?

A．The sales of the umbrella.	B．The differences among umbrellas.
C．The invention of the umbrella.	D．The history and use of the umbrella.

【推荐2】阅读短文，选出最佳选项

Take a look at your parents’ mobile phones. Can you see a small “5G” at the top? Do you know what it is? 5G means “5th generation mobile network (第五代移动通信技术)”.

Each mobile network generation is faster and more powerful than the one before it. In 1980s, with 1G, we made phone calls for the first time. Around ten years later, 2G let us send messages. Then in 2000s, using the Internet listening to music and sending emails appeared in people’s life for 3G. Later, we could watch films and even buy things in 2010s with 4G. To our surprise, 5G is coming now.

Do you have online classes at home? With 5G, you can have classes outside your home. The class can go as well as the ones you have at home. Students from poor areas can have the chance to study just like you do.

In some movies, you might see cars that can drive by themselves—you tell them where you want to go, and they take you there as fast as possible. With 5G, cars like this may appear in our life. It makes self-driving cars safer. These cars can send messages to each other. They can also “talk” to traffic lights. 5G will make cars move even faster than human drivers.

5G networks are about 100 times faster than 4G. This means you can download (下载) a movie in seconds using 5G, and makes your video calls clearer. What’s more, VR games will become more popular with 5G. It will make the games feel even more real.

All in all, 5G will change the way people live and make our life more comfortable and convenient than ever before. You won’t have to wait too long to enjoy it. Now you can buy a new mobile phone to use 5G networks. 5G phones cost about 8,000 yuan right now. But experts say that about one and a half years later, the price could go down to around 2,000 yuan. Why not try 5G?

1. The writer mentions ________ in this passage.

A．2G let us make calls for the first time

B．3G made people start using the Internet

C．4G helps download a movie in seconds

2. The underlined word “ones” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．classes

B．homes

C．phones

3. From the passage, we can ________ with 5G.
①have online classes outside
②have self-driving cars
③see a doctor at home
④study better
⑤make video calls clearer

A．①②③

B．②④⑤

C．①②⑤

4. To show how 5G changes our lives, the writer mainly ________.

A．tells stories

B．gives examples

C．gives numbers

5. If we put this passage into three parts which of the following is best?
①=Para.1   ②=Para.2   ③=Para.3   ④=Para.4   ⑤=Para.5   ⑥=Para.6

A．①②/③④⑤/⑥

B．①/②③/④⑤/⑥

C．①②/③④/⑤/⑥

【推荐3】

They say once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. Most of us learnt when we were kids, and many still ride fast around the streets. In recent times, biking has seen a rise in popularity（人气上升）, so the question is: what makes it so popular to people to ride their bikes once again?

First, let’s look at the good for health. Biking can improve your health and burn extra body fat（消耗多余脂肪）. Exercising your legs helps to increase（增加） your strength. And biking’s good isn’t just physical, but mental（精神的） as well. A long ride in the countryside could help you to clear your mind, or lower your worry.

There are also some good sides for your wallet’s health. Biking can be a great way to go to work or go around town. By biking, you save money instead of driving a car or taking a bus. If you drive to work, sometimes finding somewhere to park can be a very difficult thing. However, finding somewhere to put your bike can be much simpler. Then, on the bus, there are changes at stations and other passengers speaking loudly on their phones to deal with. People who bike face neither of these problems. And if you’re worried about safety, there are special bike ways in many big cities. Wearing high-visibility（高能见度） clothing is another way to improve your safety when biking on the roads.

Finally, biking can also be good for the environment. It can help you to reduce your carbon footprint（减少碳足迹）. Not giving gases out into the air is better for the earth and your own environment.

So, whether people want to bike for their health, going around town, their wallets, the environment, or all of them, the popularity of biking is on the rise.

1. The words “wallet’s health” in Paragraph 3 probably mean “ ________ ”.

A．saving money	B．wasting money
C．keeping safe	D．keeping healthy

2. The writer agrees that ________.

A．biking brings more problems	B．biking in big cities is not safe
C．biking can make our mind clear	D．biking can increase our body fat

3. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How biking improves your health.

B．Why biking is good for the environment.

C．How people keep safe while riding bikes.

D．Why the popularity of biking is on the rise.

【推荐1】Healthy eating doesn’t just mean what you eat, but how you eat. Here is some advice（建议）on healthy eating:

Eat with others. It can help you to see others’ healthy eating habits. If you usually eat with your parents, you will find that the food you eat is more delicious.

Listen to your body: Ask yourself if you are really hungry. Have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty—sometimes you are just thirsty: you need no food. Stop eating before you feel full.

Eat breakfast: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After you don’t eat for the past ten hours, your body needs food to get going. You will be smarter after eating breakfast.

Eat healthy snacks like fruits or cheese: We need snacks sometimes. In fact, it’s a good idea to eat healthy snacks between your three meals. This doesn’t mean that you can eat a bag of chips instead of a meal.

Don’t eat dinner late: With our busy life, we always put off eating dinner until the last moment. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed. This will give your body a chance to digest(消化) most of the food before you rest for the next 8—10 hours.

1. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．What to eat.	B．Where to eat.
C．How to eat.	D．When to eat.

2. How many pieces of advice does the writer give us on healthy eating?

A．4

B．5

C．6

D．7

3. Which one is the most important in a day according to the writer?

A．Dinner.

B．Lunch.

C．Breakfast.

D．Snacks.

4. What is the writer’s advice on healthy snacks?

A．Not eating snacks at all.

B．Eating enough every day.

C．Eating as many as you can.

D．Eating some when necessary.

【推荐2】It’s easy to get lost in a strange（陌生的）city. Here are some tips（方法）to help you find the way and get to your destination（目的地）。

Take a map with you when you go to a new place. If you lose your way, look at the map, you’ll find the place where you want to go.

If you still can’t find the place on the map, ask the police for help. They will tell you the right way to go.

Remember the name of your hotel and the street where it is. If you can’t find the way back, take a taxi.

I hope these tips can help you.

根据短文内容，判断句子正（T）、误（F）。
1. You can take a map with you when you go to a new place.
2. If you can’t find your way, you can look for it in the map.
3. The police can’t help you find the right way.
4. We’d better remember the name of the hotel in a strange place.
5. When you can’t find the way back, you can take a bus.

【推荐3】

Problems	Causes	Advice
Feel stressed	Too much homework. Don’t have enough time for their hobbies.	Make a plan for study and hobbies. Find time to relax.
Get short-sighted	Too much homework. Bad study habits.	Do eye exercises of read in a proper way.
Get fat	Spend too much money on snacks. Don’t like to do exercise.	Use your money to do something meaningful. Do exercise every day.

1. If you ________, you may need to make a plan for study and hobbies.

A．feel stressed

B．get short-sighted

C．get fat

2. Which can’t we get from the material?

A．If Sally reads in a wrong way, she may get short-sighted.

B．If Sam eats too many snacks, he may get fat.

C．Saving money is meaningful.