【推荐1】Everybody makes decisions in daily life. They can be as important as what you will do in the future or as simple as what you will eat for breakfast. Any decision could be the turning point of your life.

I made an important decision when I was in Junior 3. Before I made that decision, I had been one of the boys who tried very hard to act like an adult. I didn’t listen to my parents and teachers, and my grades became poor. Then came the high school entrance exam.

At the turning point of my life, my mom wanted to have a conversation with me. I wanted to turn it down but when I looked at her eyes, I felt I couldn’t refuse. Instead of asking me to study hard, to my surprise, Mom just asked what I wanted to do in the future. Without thinking too much, I just said I would like to study hard. Mom smiled and asked again, “I asked, ‘What do you WANT to do?’” I never seriously thought about the question. So, I kept silent.

“Whether you want to go on studying or enter the society is your own decision,” she went on. “Your life ought to be decided by yourself, not by anyone else, including me. ” After saying that, she had tears in her eyes. For the first time in my life, I was asked to make my own decision. I sat in my chair and thought about myself, my life and what kind of person I wanted to become.

It took me what seemed to be years to make the biggest decision so far in my life-I wanted to be a man who makes a difference to the world. To achieve that, I needed to study hard. The path to my future became clear to me. I didn’t act rebelliously any more. With passion (激情) in my heart, I studied hard.

Now, I’m 17 and I’m in one of the best schools in my city, in one of the best classes at the school and I am one of the best students in the class.

Thanks to that decision, I have become what I am today.

1. When did the writer make the important decision?

A．After he was 17 years old.	B．After he was in one of the best classes.
C．When he was a pupil.	D．When he was studying in Junior 3.

2. What was the writer like before the decision?

A．His grades became poor.

B．He tried very hard not to act like an adult.

C．He was one of the top students in his class.

D．He did what his teachers and his parents asked him to do.

3. The writer made the decision because ________.

A．his teacher talked with him patiently

B．his father had a long talk with him

C．his mother asked him to study as hard as he could

D．his mother let him think about his future

4. What does the underlined word “rebelliously” in this passage mean in Chinese?

A．兴奋地

B．沮丧地

C．艰难地

D．叛逆地

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Always Believe in Yourself	B．An Important Decision in My Life
C．Great Efforts Paid off	D．It’s Never Too late to learn

【推荐2】My cousin Jenny made some new term resolutions last month.
First she wants to keep healthy. So she is going to exercise more and eat a lot of healthier food. She isn’t going to eat junk food. She is going to make a volleyball team because she likes it and she’s also good at playing it. And she also wants to improve her English. She is going to read English every morning. The third, she is going to read more books because she thinks she can learn a lot from books. So she’s going to go to the school library quite often. When she grows up, she is going to be a doctor for children. She wants to help sick children. She’s going to study medicine at a university when she finishes high school. She is going to work hard. She loves children and she thinks looking after children will be wonderful.
1. When did Jenny make her new term resolutions?

A．Yesterday.	B．Last week.
C．Every morning.	D．Last month.

2. How is Jenny going to improve her English?

A．She is going to read English every morning.

B．She is going to go to the school library quite often.

C．She is going to study medicine at a university.

D．She is going to study English really hard.

3. What’s the meaning of “sick” in the article?

A．幼小的

B．可爱的

C．生病的

D．乡下的

4. What job may Jenny choose in the future?

A．A university student.	B．A doctor.
C．An English teacher.	D．A volleyball player.

5. Which of the following is NOT right according to the article?

A．Jenny isn’t going to eat some junk food in the new term.

B．Jenny thinks reading books is good for her.

C．Jenny is going to study medicine at a university in the new term.

D．Jenny thinks looking after kids will be good.

【推荐1】Many people in America love Chinese food. However, their Chinese food” is very different from ours.

America is a country with different people and cultures. People come from around the world and join together there. Many of them bring their traditions with them. Chinese food arrived in America in the 1850s. At that time, many Chinese couldn’t find a job in America.

To make a living. some of them opened restaurants. Over the years, Chinese food has become more and more popular. However, they have made many changes according to American people’s taste.

One of the changes is about the cooking ways. In America, many “Chinese dishes” are cooked through frying. In China, few dishes are cooked in this way. Stewing(炖), steaming and boiling are more usual.

Another big change lies in the ingredients. Cooks in America often use onions and tomatoes in “Chinese food.” In China, cooks use these ingredients much less often

In addition, traditional Chinese food uses more kinds of meat. Chinese people eat duck blood, chicken feet, pig ears and even snakes. Most American people wouldn’t choose to cat these things. Traditional Chinese food also has a stronger taste.

In China, you can’t find some popular “Chinese dishes” in America at all. In Chinese restaurants, there is no Sweet ‘n’ Sour Chicken. The Fortune Cookie is an American invention too!

1. When did Chinese food arrive in America?

A．In 1850.	B．In 1950.
C．In the mid-18lh century.	D．In the mid-19th century.

2. Why did Chinese open restaurants when they arrived in America?

A．Because Americans love Chinese food.

B．Because Chinese love cooking food.

C．Because Chinese couldn’t find a job in America.

D．Because Americans wanted to change their food.

3. Which of the following are the changes of the Chinese food in America according to the passage?
a. The cooking ways                 b. The ingredients of the food
c. The kinds of meat                 d. The cooking time of the dishes

A．abc

B．abd

C．bcd

D．acd

4. What does the writer think of the Chinese dishes in America?

A．He prefers the Chinese dishes in America to Chinese traditional ones.

B．He thinks the Chinese dishes in America are quite different from ours.

C．He thinks the traditional Chinese dishes are more popular in America.

D．He thinks the Chinese dishes in America can be easily found in China.

【推荐2】Finland is a land where winter darkness is long, summer brings continuous sunlight. However, people are very happy in Finland. You can always see smiling faces wherever you go in this country.

People always think that Finns are too shy, because they often stay silent. But the truth is that it’s really rude for Finns to cut in when others are talking.

Perhaps Finns’ love for heavy metal (重金属乐) and tango (探戈舞) can tell the country’s true personality. However, young Finns love heavy metal, while tango is a large part of Finnish culture for the older people. In fact, tango started in Argentina, but it’s Finland that became the tango capital of the world. Every July, thousands of people around the world come to Finland to celebrate the four-day tango festival.

Another feature of Finnish culture is the sauna (桑拿). The nation has about 3.5 million saunas — about one for every 1.6 people. And 99 percent of Finns take at least one sauna a week. In Finns’ eyes, saunas are closely connected with health, because the walls of traditional smoke saunas had to do with naturally bacteria-resistant soot (抑菌的烟煤灰), making them the cleanest room in the house. What’s more, the sauna is always seen as a place to collect thoughts. It really helps people to keep a peaceful mind. If somebody wants to understand what it is to be a Finn, they have to understand what a sauna is. If you do not experience sauna, you do not experience Finland.

1. Why do Finns often stay silent?

A．Because they are too shy.	B．Because it’s really rude for them to cut in.
C．Because they don’t like talking.	D．Because they think talking is a waste of time.

2. In Finland, ________ love tango.

A．children

B．the older people

C．men and women

D．the younger people

3. According to the last paragraph, we know that ________.

A．sauna plays an important role in Finns’ everyday life

B．the traditional smoke sauna can make people get sick

C．sauna cannot make people keep peaceful

D．visitors had better not experience sauna

4. You can find the article in the ________ part of a magazine.

A．SCIENCE

B．PEOPLE

C．HEALTH

D．CULTURE

【推荐1】What is the most stressful thing in school? It is probably exams. Exams can put us under a lot of pressure. But some students do better under pressure. while others do not. So, why do some students perform better under stress?

It all comes down to dopamine(多巴胺). Dopamine is a chemical in our body that sends signals(信号) in the brain. It has many important roles: affecting memory, attention and how we learn. Our brains work best when there is a balance of dopamine--not too much or too little.

Our brains control dopamine in two ways. It either takes out dopamine quickly, or gradually. Exam success can be linked to how fast dopamine goes back to an even balance, according to new research from the University of Missouri, reported Yahoo.

What happens when we take an exam? If you become stressed, your brain will start to overload on dopamine. It is like a cup overflowing with water. The quicker you are able to go back to an even balance of dopamine, the quicker you can concentrate, helping you perform better on a test.

Scientists found that, during a test, people who slowly got back to an even balance of dopamine scored 8 percent lower. That’s the difference between a good mark and a bad mark.

But don’t fear, there is good news for every student. The study also found that the more practice you get, the less stress you’ll have.

So, it turns out that practice really does make perfect.

1. Dopamine is a chemical in our body that ______.

A．puts us under a lot of pressure

B．sends signals in the brain

C．keeps our brains working

2. Which things does dopamine play a role in?
① remembering something
②having a good rest
③paying attention to the teachers
④choosing the way we learn

A．①②③

B．①③④

C．②③④

3. What does the underlined word “overload” mean in Chinese?

A．产生

B．超载

C．下载

4. Some students do better under stress because ______.

A．they can go back to a good balance of dopamine quickly

B．they have a lot of dopamine

C．they go back to a balance of dopamine slowly

5. What can’t we learn from story?

A．Our brain either takes out dopamine quickly, or gradually.

B．The quicker you can go back to an even balance of dopamine, the better you can do on a test

C．Practice cannot help you do better under stress

【推荐2】阅读理解

Different types of maps have different uses. Tourist maps, for example, have signs to show places of interest in an area. When tourists read these maps, it is easy for them to find where to go and what to see in a place and it is easy for them to go and find their ways to these places.

Road maps show large areas so that people can plan long journeys. Different types of roads are given different numbers. For example, if you want to go to Wuhan, you just follow G70 Road and keep looking at the road signs.

Distribution maps(分布图) use colours or signs to show facts about an area. For example, where different languages are spoken, how many people live in an area, how cold and hot some places are, or whether rice grows in certain places.

Some maps, such as railway maps, use straight lines to show everything. This is easy for people to read. Trains are fast. People don’t have to think about small places they go past. They just need to know the two ends of their trips.

1. Jim wants to visit some places of interest. He needs _________ most.

A．a road map	B．a tourist map
C．a distribution map	D．a railway map

2. You can tell different roads on road maps by _________.

A．finding the numbers	B．using different colours
C．using straight lines	D．looking at the road signs

3. According to distribution maps, we can probably know _________.

A．how to get to Germany	B．how to plan a long journey
C．which place grows bananas	D．where a famous museum is

4. Railway maps use straight lines because _________.

A．railways are straight	B．people like straight lines
C．railways have only two ends	D．people can read them easily

5. The passage above mainly tells us _________.

A．how to make different maps	B．the different uses among the maps
C．where to find different maps	D．the numbers in road and maps are useful

【推荐3】①All plants and animals are connected and depend upon one another. These connections create a web of different types of life that are able to protect themselves from damage. However, population growth and climate change are leading to less biodiversity (生态多样) and putting humans in danger. So what can we do to help protect biodiversity and our environment?

②Avoid buying from companies that do damage the environment. Remember, companies will sell what people want to buy, so tell companies that you want products that do not hurt our planet.

③The less garbage you throw away, the less likely it is that natural habitats (栖息地) will be used for landfills (垃圾填埋). Try to follow the “Three Rs” to produce as less waste as possible.

④Reduce: Don’t buy products you don’t need. When you do buy things, try to make choices that lead to a smaller amount of garbage. For example, buy things with a little bit of packaging (包装) or none at all.

⑤Reuse: Throw fewer goods away by using things more than once. One easy example is taking a reusable bag to the grocery store.

⑥Recycle: When you do have to throw something away, recycle it so it can be made into something useful again.

⑦Fossil (化石) fuels are bad for the environment. The climate change they cause also leads to habitat loss for at-risk animals. So reducing carbon emissions (碳排放) is one effective way to protect biodiversity. You could start by using less energy. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving, and think about green energy like solar power.

1. According to the passage, which of these are causing problems for the environment?

A．Creating many kinds of products.	B．The forming of a web of living things.
C．Turning land into natural habitats.	D．Population growth and climate change.

2. Which of the following should we avoid doing according to the “Three Rs”

A．Recycling what you don’t need.	B．Buying products which you need.
C．Buying over-packaged products.	D．Using reusable bags more than once.

3. What is the correct order of the following?

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To show the importance of developing green energy.

B．To remind us about environmental problems we met.

C．To teach us the ways we can do to protect the animals.

D．To show us things we can do to protect the environment.