【推荐1】As most Americans went back to work on Monday, January 14^th, 800,000 government（政府）workers went into the fourth week of the government shut down（关门）and there was nothing showing that the disagreement between US President Donald Trump and Congress（国会）over his ask for money to build a wall between the US and Mexico would end.

The shutdown that became the longest in US history——beating the 21-day shutdown in 1995—is making the lives of government workers worse. The federal government has asked 420,000 workers to work without money. On Friday, January 11^th, thousands of them got their first paycheck-it read $0.

If the shutdown goes on for another two weeks, the cost to the US economy（经济）would be more than the price of building the wall. It is predicted that it will take only two more weeks to cost the economy more than $6 billion, over the $5.7 billion that Trump needs for the wall.

One of the biggest problems is security screenings（安检）at the airports, where 51,000 airport security agents are among the government workers who have been asked to work from Dec 22^nd but didn't get their first paycheck on Jan 10^th.

To keep all of these from getting worse, people went on parades on the streets so that Trump would open the government soon. However, it is still difficult to make sure the opening time by now.

1. Which may be the date of writing this news report?

A．January 14th.

B．January 11th.

C．Dec 22nd.

D．Jan 10th.

2. What made the government shutdown happen?

A．People don't believe in Donald Trump.

B．The US economy is getting worse and worse.

C．Donald Trump can't get money from Congress.

D．The US government doesn't   have enough workers.

3. What does the underlined word "parade" mean in the last paragraph?

A．展览

B．表演

C．暴乱

D．游行

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The shutdown is the longest one in US history.

B．It will take $6 billion to build the US-Mexico wall.

C．Workers at the airports have the biggest problems.

D．The shutdown will soon come to an end.

【推荐3】Recently，a very simple question became widely spread online: What China should be proud of？     1    

Lanlan, whose real name is Negar Kordi, is from Canada.She came to China five years ago and is a student at Ningbo University．Now she has 120,000 fans on the Internet and the number is still growing.

Lanlan loves China.       2    

“It is the easiest country in which to find a job．If you are not too lazy, it is really very simple to find a job in China. I believe there're more job chances here than in any other country in the world.”

“    3    About 400million Chinese are studying English．If they can speak good English in the future, China will have the greatest number of English speakers of any non-English speaking country.”

“The speed of Chinese trains is fast. From Ningbo to Beijing, the train runs 1, 365kilometers for seven hours and the ticket fare is only 595yuan.”

“Its public security is great.     4     I have travelled in many countries，and I think China really is very safe.”

“There are much more things China should be proud of. Many Chinese people often complain about China. At first, I believed that they didn't like China or that they loved western countries. But later, I realized that they just set a very high standard for China.     5     Actually, China must be much better than other countries.”

A．The foreign language level is surprising．

B．This country of 1.4billion people makes me feel safe．

C．A foreign girl living in China gave a very touching answer．

D．They believe that it's not enough to be number one in the world．

E．She believes China will be the strongest country in the world in future．

【推荐1】Decide to Do Well

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 was one of the boys who tried too hard to act as an adult. I didn’t know that only kids wanted to show themselves as adults.

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,” she went on, “it is your own decision. Your life ought to be decided by you, 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 ages to make the biggest decision so far in my life—I wanted to be a man who makes a difference in 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. What was the writer like before the decision?

A．His grades became poor.

B．He tried too hard not to act as 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.

2. How did the writer make the decision?

A．It was easy for him to make the decision.

B．It was his second time to make the decision.

C．He made the decision seriously.

D．It was his mother that made the decision for him.

3. Why did the writer make the decision?

A．Because his teacher talked with him patiently.

B．Because he didn’t want to act rebelliously any more.

C．Because his mother asked him to study hard as usual.

D．Because his father asked him to think about his future by himself.

4. The underlined word “rebelliously” means ________ in Chinese.

A．害怕

B．高兴

C．伤心

D．叛逆

5. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The writer made the decision that he should work hard.

B．It took the writer several years to make the decision.

C．After hearing his mother’s words, the writer had tears in his eyes.

D．At the turning point of his life, the writer wanted to have a conversation with his mother.

【推荐2】American country music is also known as (被视为) country Western music. It has a very long history. It comes from the folk songs of immigrants(移民) from Britain.
Country music uses simple music and words to express everyday feelings such as loneliness, love, and sadness. That is to say, country music describes life. It talks about friends and   enemies, trucks and roads, farms and crops…People in many parts of the world like country music, because everyone can understand what the music is about.
Country Western music became popular first among cowboys(牛仔) in the American West countryside. Cowboys had to take care of cows day and night. When they were alone with the cows, they often sang beautiful and peaceful songs to calm__the__animals and to overcome their own fear. They were not well­educated(接受良好教育的), so they sang about their daily life in very simple words. They played the guitar, the violin, and other instruments. In the south of America,   many people added instruments from their homes, like bottles and spoons. When cowboys visited their friends and families on holidays like Thanksgiving, they usually sang and played country Western music.
In recent years, many musicians have made country Western music a little different from that in the past.These changes make the songs sound even better.Today singers such as Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett，Eddie Rabbitt, LeAnn Rimes, Randy Travis and a group called Alabama are singing and playing in different styles.They have brought country Western music more and more fans from all over the world.
1. Country Western music comes from the folk songs of immigrants from ________.

A．America

B．France

C．Britain

D．Germany

2. According to the passage, people like American country music because ________．

A．it has a long history	B．it comes from Europe
C．it is sung by cowboys	D．it is easy to understand

3. The underlined words “calm the animals” here means “make the animals become ________”．

A．sad and lonely	B．quiet and relaxed
C．angry and wild	D．upset and scared

4. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

A．Early immigrants lived a very simple life.

B．Many country music singers are not well­educated.

C．Cowboys usually played country Western music on holidays.

D．In the west of America,   cowboys added instruments from their homes.

5. The best title for the passage is “________”．

A．Americans Love American Country Music

B．The History of American Country Music

C．Singers and Fans of   American Country Music

D．All Kinds of American Music

【推荐3】Penny was a five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were in a department store, Penny saw a plastic pearl necklace (珍珠项链). What a beautiful necklace! She wanted it very much, so she begged (恳求) her mother to buy it for her. The mother said, “Well, I can buy you the necklace, but when we get home, we should discuss what you can do to pay for it. Can we do that?” Penny agreed with much happiness, and she got the necklace.

How much Penny loved the necklace! She wore it everywhere and every minute. Penny also did part-time jobs to make pocket money. She worked very hard. Soon she succeeded in paying off the price for the necklace.

Penny’s daddy knew how she tried her best to get the necklace. He also knew how much Penny cared about it. One night, he asked Penny if she loved him. “Sure, Daddy,” the little girl said. “Then how about giving me your necklace?” “Oh, no, Daddy! Not my necklace!” Penny cried. “Oh, dear, it’s fine,” her father gave her a kiss.

Several days later, Penny went to her daddy, with her lips (嘴唇) trembling. “Here, Daddy. I love you.” She held out her hand. Inside it was the plastic pearl necklace that she loved so much.

When he saw this, Penny’s father smiled with surprise. He then pulled a cute box out of his pocket. Inside the box was a real and colorful pearl necklace, which was waiting for Penny for so long.

1. One day, Penny ______ in a department store.

A．went to buy a necklace

B．got a plastic pearl necklace

C．bought her mother a pearl necklace

D．asked her mother to buy something tasty

2. Why did Penny’s mother ask Penny to pay for the necklace herself?

A．Because she didn’t have enough money.

B．Because she wanted to buy her a real pearl necklace.

C．Because she thought it was not right for little kids to wear a necklace.

D．Because she wanted Penny to know that one should buy and pay for oneself.

3. Why did Penny’s father give a real necklace to her at the end of the story?

A．Because Penny wanted one.

B．Because Penny gave him a plastic one.

C．Because he was pleased to see that Penny had learned what love is.

D．Because he thought that people would laugh at him if Penny wore a plastic one.

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Penny worked hard to pay for the plastic necklace.

B．Penny’s father wanted the plastic necklace.

C．Penny knew her father had bought her a real necklace.

D．Penny gave the plastic necklace to her father because she didn’t like it any more.

5. From the passage, we can learn ______.

A．parents should buy their kids everything

B．kids should love their parents

C．parents shouldn’t ask for anything from their kids

D．how to educate kids in a right way

【推荐1】

Driver Wanted Can you drive well? Can you work for very long hours? Do you like to meet people? ● 6:00 am~9:00 pm ● Sunday~Friday If you want to be a taxi driver just call Sunshine Taxi Company at 293-8720!

Help Wanted Are you free this summer vacation （暑假）? Are you good with old people? Can you talk with them and play games with them? ● 8:00 am~5:pm ● Monday~Friday If you want to work as a helper at Anle Old People’s Home, please call us at 283-99406.

Teacher Wanted Are you free on weekends? Can you speak English well? Do you want to teach children in Star School? ● 8:00 am~6:00 pm ● Saturday＆Sunday If you want to be an English teacher, call us at 293-8472 now!

Cook Wanted Are you good at making food? Can you work for a long time? It is not difficult. ● 8:00 am~10:00 pm ● Tuesday~Sunday If your answer is “yes”, then you can call Happy Restaurant at 273-0449. Welcome to join us!

1. If you like children and are good at English, you can call____________.

A．273-0449

B．283-9406

C．293-8720

D．293-8472

2. If you find a job in Happy Restaurant, you don’t need to work on____________.

A．Monday

B．Wednesday

C．Thursday

D．Saturday

3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned（被提到） in the ads?

A．What job you can get.	B．How much money you can get.
C．Where you will work.	D．How long you will work.

【推荐2】The Job

“Serena, don’t forget your promise to me that you will mow(割)Mrs. Martin’s yard this weekend,” said Dad. “Don’t let me down.”

Serena was the oldest child in the family, and one of her chores was to mow their yard. Mrs. Martin, their elderly neighbor, was unable to take care of her yard, so Serena’s Dad had volunteered Serena for this job. Since Mrs. Martin’s yard was not very big, Serena knew the job would go quickly. However, she still disliked her dad’s promise.

“Why didn’t you ask me first?” Serena had complained.

“Did you ask me first when you volunteered me to be in the school festival last fall?” asked Serena’s father.

“Well, no, I didn’t ask you first, but you would have done those things anyway. You’re always willing to help.”

“I try when I can,” Dad answered. “Serena, we have known Mrs. Martin for a very long time. She has often helped our family. Now we can do something for her. Besides, the feeling you get from helping someone makes you wonder who is really helping who.”

“I don’t know, Dad,” said Serena. “The only feeling I get from mowing our yard is tired.”

“Just you wait and see,” said Dad.

After breakfast, Serena made her way to Mrs. Martin’s yard. She was good at her job and soon had Mrs. Martin’s yard looking tidy. Mrs. Martin came outside with a big glass of orange juice and offered it to her. Serena stopped her work and gratefully enjoyed the drink, while Mrs. Martin talked to her about all of the flowers in her yard. Seeing the joy in Mrs. Martin’s eyes, Serena began to understand how much the yard meant to Mrs. Martin.

After finishing her drink, Serena returned to work with a new attitude. A warm feeling began to spread through her body. Her dad was right. It was hard to tell who was helping who!

1. Why did Serena dislike her Dad’s promise?

A．Because Mrs. Martin’s yard was too big to mow.

B．Because Mrs. Martin was able to take care of her yard.

C．Because her Dad volunteered her for the job without telling her first.

D．Because her Dad thought mowing the yard was one of her chores.

2. ________ made Serena change her attitude toward the job.

A．Enjoying the orange juice Mrs. Martin offered

B．Seeing the love for the yard in Mrs. Martin’s eyes

C．Enjoying breakfast with Mrs. Martin

D．Seeing the beautiful flowers in Mrs. Martin’s yard

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．Serena likes the job of mowing her family’s yard.

B．Mrs. Martin and Serena did the yard work together.

C．Serena agreed with his father after mowing Mrs. Martin’s yard.

D．Dad volunteered himself to take part in the school festival last fall.

【推荐3】Every four years, in a different country around the world, there is a big sports competition It is like the Olympics but only for one sport—the most popular sport in the world! What do you know about the history of the World Cup?

The first World Cup was in 1930, in Uruguay (乌拉圭).In the final game Uruguay beat Argentina and became the first World Cup winner. 13 countries played in the first World Cup. Now there are 32 countries in the competition.

The first time people saw the World Cup on TV was in 1954 when Switzerland held the competition. Now about 3 billion people in the countries all over the world watch the World Cup on TV.

Until 2002 the World Cup was always in a European or an American country. South Korea and Japan held the first Asian World Cup. The first African World Cup was in 2010 in South Africa.

The 2018 World Cup will be the 21st one. It is planned to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded (授予) the hosting rights in December 2010.

This will be the first World Cup held in Europe since the 2006 tournament (比赛) in German, and the first ever to be held in Eastern Europe. To keep travel time under control, all the places for this big game are in European Russia.

1. From the text, we know that the World Cup ______.

A．has more than one sport

B．is held every four years

C．has a history of more than 100 years

2. Before 2002, the World Cup was most probably in _____.

A．America

B．Japan

C．South Africa

3. In 1954, it was the first time that ______.

A．Uruguay beat Argentina

B．Japan hold the competition.

C．people could watch the World Cup on TV.

4. Russia got the hosting rights about ______ years ago.

A．four

B．eight

C．twelve

5. Which of the following about the 2018 World Cup is true?

A．It will last for over a month.	B．It is the first World cup in Europe.
C．All of the places for it are in the east of Russia.

【推荐1】Almost everyone knows the meanings of Mr., Mrs., Miss and Ms. Mr. is used before the names of men. Mrs. is for married women and Miss is for single women. But what is Ms. for?
For some time, businessmen in the United States have used Ms. before a woman’s name when they do not know whether the woman is married or not. Today, however, many women prefer to use Ms. rather than Mrs. or Miss. The word Mr. does not tell us whether or not a man is married. Many women think this an advantage for men. They want to be equal to men in this way. These women feel that it is not important for people to know whether they are married or not.
There are some problems with Ms., however. Not all women like it. Some like the older ways of doing things. Some find it difficult to pronounce (Ms. sounds like “miz.”).Generally, young women like it better than older women do .It is difficult to know whether or not Ms. will be used by more American women in the future. What do you think of this change?
根据短文内容选择最佳答案。
1.          is used for single women.

A．Mrs.

B．Ms.

C．Miss

2. Why not all women like to use Ms.?

A．Some feel that it’s not important for people to know whether they are married or not.

B．Some find it difficult to pronounce.

C．The passage doesn’t tell us.

3. From this passage we know that________.

A．Most American women want to be equal to men.	B．Most American women like their husbands.
C．Ms. will be used by all the women in the future.

4. Which of the following is right according to the passage?

A．Mary Green who is married and 25 years old wants people to call her Ms. Green.

B．When you meet a woman for the first time you should use Miss before her name.

C．Some men feel that it is not important for people to know whether they are married or not.

5. It mainly talks about________.

A．woman who is married should use Mrs. Before her name

B．the word Mr. does not tell us whether or not a man is married

C．women have different opinions on using the word Ms.

【推荐2】Roger is new in town，and it has been hard to make friends．The kids at school are nice，but Roger is shy．His birthday is coming up soon．He is planning a big party. It will be a lot of fun．There will be cake，and ice cream，and a treasure hunt(寻宝游戏)．But what if none of the other kids want to come?

One week before his party，Roger and his dad go to their favorite restaurant. Benny’s Pizza Parlor makes the best pizza in town．Roger orders a large pizza，with four kinds of cheese and extra pepperoni (意大利香肠)．He loves every bite．When he is finished，Roger and his dad go to the kitchen to talk to Benny.

“How was the pizza?” Benny asks.

“It was great!” says Roger.

“Thank you!” says Benny.

Suddenly，Roger gets a great idea．“Benny，” he says．“Will you cook pizza for my birthday party?”

“Hold on，Roger，” says Roger’s dad．“Benny is very busy．He might not have time to make pizza for your party.”“But everyone loves his pizza!” says Roger．“If we have it，I’ll be the most popular boy in school.”

“I know what to do，” says Benny．“I won’t cook pizza for your party．Instead，I’ll show you how to make it yourself!” That week，Roger goes to Benny’s Pizza Parlor every day after school．Benny shows him how to make pizza and he tries his best.

Roger tells the kids at school that his party will have pizza from Benny’s. Everyone is excited．Everyone loves Benny’s pizza．But when they come to his house，Benny isn’t there．Instead，they see Roger，wearing an apron(围裙) and a chef’s hat. The kids don’t believe that Roger knows how to make pizza．However，he’s ready to prove them wrong．Roger makes them his favorite pizza，with four kinds of cheese，and extra pepperoni．Everyone says the pizza tastes just like Benny’s．It might even be just a little bit better.

1. Roger is ___________，so it’s hard for him to make friends.

A．shy

B．rude

C．proud

D．naughty

2. Roger goes to Benny’s Pizza Parlor every day to ___________.

A．eat delicious pizzas

B．learn to make pizza

C．listen to Benny’s stories

D．make his birthday pizza

3. The underlined sentence “he’s ready to prove them wrong” means ___________.

A．Roger is going to share the pizza with them

B．Roger is going to tell them how to make pizza

C．Roger is going to ask Benny to help him cook

D．Roger is going to make a great pizza on his own

4. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．How Benny teaches Roger to make pizza.

B．How Roger’s father helps him to make friends.

C．How the kids from school enjoy Roger’s pizza.

D．How Roger makes new friends by making pizza.

【推荐3】Many people complain about their bad memory, especially when they are older. How can we improve our memory?

Many people think that repeating things is the best way to remember them. While this undoubtedly helps short-term memory（remembering a telephone number for a few seconds, for example), psychologists（心理学家）doubt whether it can help you remember things for very long. The British psychologist E. C. Stanford seemed to prove this point when he tested himself on five prayers（祈祷文）that he had read aloud every morning for over 25 years. He found that he could remember no more than three words of some of them! More helpful, especially for remembering numbers, is grouping the information. The following numbers would be impossible for most of us to remember: 1492178919931848. But look at them in chunks, and it becomes much easier: 1492 1789 1993 1848.

According to experts, there are many ways of training your memory. Many of them involve forming a mental picture of the things to be memorized. One method, which may be useful in learning foreign languages, is to create a picture in your mind connected to a word you want to remember.

Another method is to invent a story that includes all the things you want to remember. In experiments, people were asked to remember up to 120 words using this skill; when tested afterwards, on average, they were able to recall 90% of them!

However, not all of us are interested in learning long lists of names and numbers just for fun. For those studying a large amount of information, psychologists suggest that the best way to form meaningful connections is to ask yourself lots of questions as you go along. So, for example, if you were reading about a particular disease, you would ask yourself questions like: "Do people get it from water?", "What parts of the body does it influence?" and so on. This is said to be far more effective than time spent "passively" reading and re-reading notes.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about repeating things according to the passage?

A．It helps short-term memory for sure.

B．It makes remembering things interesting.

C．It helps to remember things for long.

D．It makes remembering prayers effortless.

2. The underlined word "chunks" in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.

A．details

B．turns

C．groups

D．lines

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Creating a picture is useful in learning Maths.

B．Inventing a prayer trains our memory quickly.

C．Remembering long numbers is easy for people.

D．Asking yourself questions activates the memory.

4. What's the writer's main purpose in writing this passage?

A．To complain that his memory is bad.

B．To recognize some memory problems.

C．To explain some memory experiments.

D．To share some ways of improving memory.