【推荐1】Joe was a farmer. His farmland was so poor that he hadn’t had good harvests for years.

“If God lets me control the weather, then everything will get better,” he complained. “I’m a farmer.     1     ”

“Well, I give you one year,” God said. “You will be in charge of all kinds of weather. Let’s see what your crops will grow like.”

On hearing this, Joe was excited and immediately shouted, “Sunny!”     2     He was pleased and shouted again, “Rain!” The sky was covered with dark clouds right away, then after a while, heavy rain poured down.

Watching the seeds (种子) growing bigger and bigger and becoming crops, Joe felt very satisfied.     3     He went to the field to get his crops. But his heart suddenly sank when he found the strong crops even hadn’t grown a grain (谷粒).     4       

Once again, God heard him. “Do you want to know why you still don’t get the good harvest you want?” God asked. “That’s because you never asked for wind, rainstorm, snow and ice, or anything that could make the air fresher and the roots stronger.     5     ”

After he realized this, Joe asked God to take back the power. It proved only through life’s challenges would we harvest the fruit of life.

A．Then, the harvest season came.

B．Suddenly, the clouds went away.

C．He was quite confused and started to cry.

D．Without strong roots, of course the crops won’t grow any fruit.

E．I know what’s the best for crops (庄稼) to grow than God does.

【推荐3】

You may have seen such a photo: with a long white beard and wearing a bamboo hat, an old fisherman stands on a boat. Huang Quande looked like this when tourists took photos with him on the Lijiang River in Guilin, Guangxi. He became very famous on the Internet.     1     Sadly, Huang passed away at the age of 94 on Feb 18.

According to Jimu News, Huang shows the true spirit of the Lijiang River. He was a positive (积极的) and kind man.     2     After he gave up fishing and became a photo model in 2008, he took photos with tourists worldwide.

The image of the fisherman on the back of the 20-yuan banknote is not just about one man. Instead, it is a cultural symbol that makes the Guilin landscape (风景) what it is, commented Guangming Daily.

In fact, the different backsides of the fifth series of renminbi banknotes show the most iconic (标志性的) landscapes in the country.     3    

For example, on the back of the 5-yuan banknote is Taishan Mountain in Shandong.     4     On the back of the 1-yuan banknote are the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (三潭映月) in West Lake, Zhejiang. Since ancient times, the location has been a great place for moon watchers during Mid-Autumn Festival. The candlelights (烛光) from the three pagodas (塔) are reflected on the water and look like little moons.

    5     Following the banknotes from 1 yuan to 100, Pan Jinyu from Chongqing had a “banknote tour” when he was 21. “I want to finish a ceremonial (有仪式感的) journey and feel the beauty of our country,” Pan told Chongqing Economic Times.

A．Each of them carries its own cultural value.

B．The renminbi pictures have helped make the landscapes even more popular among tourists.

C．In his 90s, Huang could still move his boat with speed.

D．For thousands of years, many emperors would go there and pray (祈祷) for the country’s prosperity (繁荣).

E．Let’s go on a journey to find out where the images on renminbi come from.

F．Many believed the fisherman on the back of the 20-yuan renminbi banknote (纸币) was based on (基于) his image (形象).

G．We should save the money.

【推荐2】She used to sleep on the sidewalk(人行道) of the Fifth Street Post office. I could smell her before I came close. She wore dirty clothes and her mouth was nearly toothless. I rarely saw her talk with others. If she was not asleep, she talked to herself. I always had sympathy for her. What a poor old lady! She must be desperate and hungry.

One Thanksgiving, we had lots of food left over. I thought about the old lady. She might be still hungry. So I packed the food up and drove over to the Fifth Street.

It was a cold night. There was hardly anyone out. But I knew she would stay at the same place and I would find her easily.

There she was, squatted（跟着）against a fence near the post office. She was dressed as she always was. I drove my car over to her, rolled down the window and said, "I’ve brought you some food. Would you like some turkey and apple pie?

However, the old woman didn't seem to be very excited about this. She looked at me and said quite clearly, "Oh, thank you very much, but someone has given me food earlier and I'm quite full now. Why don' t you take it to someone else who needs it?

Her words were clear and her manners were gracious （亲切的）. Soon her head sank into her arms again. I was the only person who didn't know what to say. An old lady who was clearly down on her luck still thought about others. Why don't more of us do that?

1. The author could smell the old lady before she came close mainly because ______.

A．her clothes was dirty	B．her mouth was nearly toothless
C．she seldom talked with others	D．she often slept on the sidewalk

2. What does the underlined word "desperate" possibly mean?

A．感到欣慰的

B．感到绝望的

C．心慌意乱的

D．喜出望外的

3. What's the correct order of the following events happened one Thanksgiving?
a. I offered to give the food to the old lady
b. I packed some left food and drove to the Fifth Street
c. The old lady hoped me to help other people who were still hungry
d. The old lady refused to accept my help

A．a, d, b, c

B．a, b, d, c

C．b, a, c, d

D．b, a, d, c

4. What did the author think of the old lady at last?______.

A．Cruel

B．Kind

C．Popular

D．Serious

【推荐3】A farmer has four lambs (小羊). One is black, and the other three are white. The black lamb is friendly to the others. But the white lambs often laugh at (嘲笑) him. They think he is ugly. The farmer does not like him, either. He always gives bad food to the black lamb.

One winter morning, the four lambs went out to eat grass. They went far away from home. In the afternoon, it began to snow. It was such a heavy snow that the ground was all white soon. They couldn’t find their way home.

When the farmer found that the lambs were not at home, he went out to look for them. There was snow everywhere. It was difficult for him to find his lambs. Suddenly, he saw something black. He went to it. Oh, it was his black lamb! And the white lambs were there, too. The farmer was very excited. He said happily, “Thanks to (多亏了) the black lamb, I can find all of you!” So in our life, we shouldn’t tell one is good or bad just by his appearance (外貌). Everyone has something valuable we should learn from.

1. What do the white lambs think of the black lambs?

A．Friendly.

B．Smart.

C．Ugly.

D．Beautiful.

2. Why couldn’t the lambs find their way home?

A．Because it was raining hard.	B．Because the ground was full of snow.
C．Because the wind was blowing hard.	D．Because they didn’t want to go home.

3. When did the farmer find all the lambs?

A．After seeing the black lamb.	B．After seeing the white lambs.
C．When he heard the sound of the lambs.	D．When the lambs came back home.

【推荐1】Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1500 BC to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, 'so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always. been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed.

Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the left hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain(大脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person's hands and eyes work together, controls the left hand. The left side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and working out problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed.

Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(损害) when they are born However, this doesn't happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因)for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-handed or left handed according to the chance(偶然性) and the people they work or live with.

Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don't have to.

1. How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A．Less than one sixth	B．More than a half.
C．About 40%.	D．The passage doesn't tell us.

2. What is the left hand for most people used to do?

A．It's used to find or hold things.

B．It's used to work with things.

C．it's used to make a person's hands and eyes work together.

D．it's the centre for thinking and working our problems.

3. The best title for this passage is "_______"

A．Scientists' new inventions	B．Left-handed people
C．Which hand	D．Different brains, different hands

【推荐3】Students at a primary school in Fuzhou were required to clean the school toilets to help them develop good habits. But some parents are strongly against the idea. They can’t see the advantages of students doing such chores. They think that the school should provide students with a proper education, not the chance to be school cleaners.

In fact, parents, schools and society play an equally important role in developing the character of students. It is good for schools to give students such tasks, because few of the students will do them at home. Their parents want them to do homework only.

In recent years, some parents will make mountains out of molehills when students are asked to do some chores in schools. Some complain about the teachers if their kids get hurt in schools while others even challenge the schools teaching methods and management. As a result, many primary schools, especially those in big cities, do not let students join in outdoor activities during breaks, fearing that they might get hurt. This is bad for the development of students’ good qualities.

What the primary school in Fuzhou is doing is worth praising. Doing chores can put a sense of responsibility into students’ minds and teach them the spirit of rules as well as teamwork. Also, it can make students’ in-school experiences more meaningful.

1. A primary school in Fuzhou required the students to ________.

A．do homework only	B．finish homework at school
C．clean the playground	D．clean the school toilets

2. Some parents think that the school should provide students with ________.

A．a proper education	B．a chance to be cleaners
C．a chance to be teachers	D．more housework

3. The underlined phrase “make mountains out of molehills” means ________.

A．愚公移山

B．山穷水尽

C．小题大做

D．眉飞色舞

4. Which of the following statement is NOT true?

A．Some parents disagree with the idea on cleaning school toilets.

B．It’s only schools and society’s job to develop the character of students.

C．In big cities, some schools don’t allow students to join in outdoor activities.

D．The writer speaks highly of what the primary school in Fuzhou is doing.

5. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Students shouldn’t do any chores in school.

B．Parents require students to do some chores in school.

C．Some parents think doing some chores is harmful to students.

D．Doing some chores can develop students’ good qualities.

【推荐2】Wang Yaping, together with Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, went into space aboard the Shenzhou XIII on October 16th last year. And now they are preparing for their return trip in the middle of April, 2022. The 41-year-old Wang became the first female astronaut (女航天员) to enter Tiangong space station. She also became a space teacher and gave two lessons to students on Earth.

Wang’s space dream started in 2003, when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space. At that time, Wang was a pilot in the Chinese army. After having safe flights for 1,600 hours over nine years, Wang was a candidate (候选人) to become an astronaut in 2010. She pushed herself hard, getting the same training as men. “The space environment won’t change just because you are a woman,” she told Xinhua.

The hardest part is the high-G training. Sitting in a spinning (旋转的) machine, Wang would become blind for a while because her brain was short of blood. “There’s a red button (按钮),” said Wang. “ If you can’t bear it, you can press it to stop.” But Wang never used it. “There is no such red button in my heart.” That strong spirit finally made her dream come true in 2013. She joined the team for the Shenzhou X mission.

Wang said that as astronauts, women have their own advantages. “Women may be more patient and can better deal with loneliness. Women’s hearts are also easier to adapt (适应) to the weightless environment, making them more suitable for long-term missions.”

Wang Yaping went a long way before becoming the first woman to enter the Tiangong space station. She sets a good example for all women who dream of going to space.

1. How long will the astronauts stay in space?

A．Four months.

B．Five months.

C．Six months.

D．Eight months.

2. What do Wang’s words mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Only men can go to space.

B．The space environment is easy to change.

C．Men and women will face the same difficulties in space.

D．Both male and female astronauts can go to space.

3. Why would people become blind for minutes while sitting in a spinning machine?

A．Because the machine worked loudly.	B．Because their brains were short of blood.
C．Because some people trained less.	D．Because there were the same difficulties.

4. What can we learn from Wang’s story?

A．Never too old to learn.	B．Well begun is half done.
C．Old habits die hard.	D．Nothing is difficult if you put your heart into it.