【推荐1】The other side of the wall

There was a young woman who was proud of the growth and care of the flowers in her flower garden. She had been raised by her grandmother, who taught her to love and care for flowers as she herself had done. So, like her grandmother, her flower garden was second to none.

One day while looking through a flower catalogue (目录) she often ordered from, a picture of a plant immediately caught her eye. She had never seen blooms (花) like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to herself, and she immediately ordered it.

When it arrived, she already had a place prepared to plant it. She planted it at the foot of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew eagerly, with beautiful green leaves all over the vine (藤), but there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to water it, feed it, and she even talked to it. However, it was useless.

One morning weeks later, as she stood before the vine, she was disappointed that her plant had not bloomed. She was thinking about cutting it down and planting something else in its place.

It was at this point that her neighbor, whose yard was right next to hers, called over to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed the blooms of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked through the gate into her neighbor’s yard, and sure enough, she saw that on the other side of the wall the vine was filled with blooms.

They were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had ever seen. The vine had grown quietly through the crevices (裂痕) and it had not flowered on her side of the wall. It had flowered thickly on the other side.

Just because you cannot see the good result of your work does not mean that it produces no fruit.

1. When the plant arrived, the young woman planted it ________.

A．next to the gate	B．on the playground
C．at the back of her yard	D．in her neighbor’s yard

2. She didn’t see the blooms at first because ________.

A．she was too careless	B．her neighbor picked them
C．they were too small to be noticed	D．they were on the other side of the wall

3. From the passage we can learn that ________.

A．hard work will finally pay off	B．patience is the key to success
C．it is important to get along with neighbors	D．confidence matters even when we have failed

【推荐2】If you feel stressed at school, what can you do to make yourself happier? Some may eat their favorite food or listen to some music. Others may go for a walk or get some exercise. A new study found another great way to lower students’ stress—playing with dogs.

Scientists studied 105 students between the ages of eight and nine. 35 trained dogs and their trainers also took part in the test. The children were divided into 3 groups. The students in the first group spent 20 minutes with a dog and its trainer. They watched the trained dogs perform and even played with them. They did this twice a week for 4 weeks. The second group spent the same amount of time (时长) doing exercise to relax. The last group did neither of these things.

During this time, the scientists recorded the students’ cortisol levels (皮质醇水平). Cortisol is a stress hormone (激素). The more stressed you feel, the more cortisol you will have in your body. What did the scientists find? Both the second and third groups showed rises in cortisol levels. The first group, however, showed no big increase. And the children in this group had the lowest cortisol levels right after playing with the dogs.

According to the study, students enjoy playing with dogs, and it helps them become happier. The stress hormone falls over time this way, which is good for students’ health. But here comes the next question: Is 20 minutes of playtime with a dog the best amount of time? Scientists are going to keep working to find out the answer.

1. Why is the first paragraph written?

A．To lead in the topic (主题).	B．To give us a surprise.
C．To shock the readers.	D．To show the latest research results.

2. What made the testing results of the three groups different?

A．The time.

B．The age.

C．The activity.

D．The place.

3. Which one shows the relationship between students’ stress(x) and cortisol levels(y)?

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. What does the underlined word “them” refer to (指的是)?

A．Trainers.

B．Dogs.

C．Scientists.

D．Students.

5. What may the scientists study next?

A．More useful ways to lower stress.	B．New skills of keeping pets at home.
C．The amount of time to play with a dog.	D．The most suitable kind of dog to play with.

【推荐3】Believe it or not, humans have been in debt(负债) to the Earth Overshoot Day this month. The Earth Overshoot Day fell on August 8^th. As of that day, we have used as much from nature in 2016 as our planet can provide in a whole year. In other words, we have run out of this year’s “ecological budget”, and for the rest of the year we’ll be eating into our “savings”.
Global Footprint Network has been watching the Earth Overshoot Day since 1971. This year, the day came five days earlier than it did last year (Aug. 13th), 11 days earlier that the year before (Aug, 19th) and is the earliest date yet.
Global Footprint Network said that humans now use 1.6 Earths worth of crops, forest, livestock, energy and other resources (资源) every year. By the 2030s we will be using more than two Earth’s worth of resources every year. The situation is more and more serious and the world needs to find better balance in how to use the Earth’s resources.
Overshoot Day is a red light warning of trouble ahead. “That is, we’re using up what our planet does for us, so year after year, there is less for us to use,” Stuart Pimm, an American professor of ecology, explained. “Less forest, fewer fish in the ocean, less productive land.” Two of the main causes are over-population and pollution.
Small actions make a big difference and all of us play an important role in creating   a better world where we live. Even a few simple changes around our home can reduce the resource that we waste, from taking a shower instead of a bath, to using our own reusable bags at the store instead of ones that are made of plastics. In this way we can reduce waste and pollution. Let’s start today to live greener in no time.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?

A．The Earth Overshoot Day is coming earlier and earlier.

B．The Earth Overshoot Day falls on Aug. 19th.

C．Humans will have to spend more money for the rest of the year.

D．Humans have used as many resources this year as we did last year.

2. According to the Global Footprint Network, which of the following is true?

A．By the 2030s there will be no resources left on Earth.

B．Humans need to find better ways to use resources properly.

C．Humans use more than 1.6 Earths worth of resources every year.

D．Aug. 13th is the earliest date of the Earth Overshoot Day since 1971.

3. Which one can’t help us reduce the resource that we waste?

A．take a shower.	B．take a bath.
C．use the reusable bags.	D．recycle the waste water.

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．Living a Saving life	B．Aug. 8th—an Important Day
C．Small Actions make a Big Difference	D．Eating up Our Planet

【推荐2】读下面的一篇短文，判断文章后面1～4的问题，正确的答案写“T”，错误的答案写“F”。

In the past nine years, Li Jin, who was born in Guangxi but raised in Sanya, has made great efforts to protect the waters of Sanya city in Hainan. He is now spreading the knowledge of environmental protection through new media platforms (媒体平台).

Around 2014, he began doing volunteer work to clear rubbish from the beaches and officially registered (注册) as a volunteer in May, 2017. Li Jin immediately took the lead in a cleanup activity on the Sanya River.

In April, 2021, he used his own money to set up a volunteer service center which has 1,170 registered members who take part in activities without asking for payment. So far, he has spent about 3,800 hours on volunteer activities in over 550 events. More than 2,300 people have joined in with his encouragement. They’ve drawn the attention of both the adults (成年人) and the children to the importance of protecting the oceans and beaches. Since it was set up, his center has organized 51 beach-cleaning activities that have seen about 1,800 people join in. In 2021, because of Li’s growing influence in environmental protection circles, the city government invited him to make a number of short videos, in which he uses simple words to explain how to protect the environment. Several of the videos have been watched millions of times.

“My volunteer work would be meaningless if I got paid. But the work itself is of great value. So I will continue doing the environmental protection work,” he said.

1. Li Jin is trying hard to protect the waters of Sanya.
2. 1,170 registered members in Li Jin’s volunteer service center get paid to take part in activities.
3. From the passage, we can know that Li Jin is a strong-minded and selfless person.
4. The text is mainly about a hero who volunteers in the environmental protection work.