【推荐1】Long long ago, there was a dog that always wanted to be better than any other dog at any time. One day, Dog was walking through the forest slowly. By the road, he found a big bone with lots of meat on it. He was really excited.

Dog picked up the bone and had just a little taste of the delicious meat.

Then, he set out to carry the bone home. Soon, Dog came to a little bridge. A clear blue river ran under the bridge. Dog looked down at the water and stopped. In the water he saw another dog. The dog also had a bone and that bone was bigger than his. At that moment, he felt unhappy all of a sudden.

Dog thought for a moment. His bone was fine, but the other bone was even better. His heart was full of greed(贪婪). So Dog opened his mouth to catch the other dog’s bone. As he did that, his own bone fell into the water quickly. His bone fell through the water and settled at the bottom of the river. Instead of going home with the bigger bone, Dog went home with nothing. That night, Dog slept with regret as he dreamed of the bone that he had found along the forest road.

In our life, we may behave like that dog and want much more. We may never feel satisfied with what we have, but in fact, no one can own all the things he wants. So just value what you have.

1. Where did the dog find the bone?

A．On a little bridge.	B．On the road in a forest.
C．At the bottom of a river.	D．In the other dog’s mouth.

2. Why did the dog stop at the little bridge?

A．Because he was stopped by a river.

B．Because he wanted to swim in the river.

C．Because he wanted to drink some of the blue water.

D．Because he saw a dog with a bigger bone in the river.

3. What does the underlined word “settled” most probably mean in Chinese?

A．漂浮

B．悬挂

C．跌落

D．沉入

4. How might the dog feel after he dropped his bone?

A．Sorry.

B．Relaxed.

C．Bored.

D．Moved.

5. What can we know from the passage?

A．Dog found a big bone with lots of meat on it near the river.

B．Dog felt satisfied with the bigger bone.

C．There wasn’t another bone in the water at all .

D．We can have all the things we want in our life.

【推荐2】Emerson once said, “You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

How many times have we said, “Oh, I’ll do that tomorrow”? Sometimes tomorrow never comes, and we find ourselves saying, “Boy, I wish I hadn’t put that off.”

Our family has been friends with Betty for many years. Over the years, we shared phone calls and birthday cards. Betty sent our youngest son Brandon a birthday card with five dollars in it every year until he graduated from high school.

Last November, I called Betty to see how she was and what she had done on her birthday. I was pretty surprised when Betty didn’t answer the phone; instead, her daughter Carol did. Carol told me that her mom had gone downhill fast, and that she was now in hospice care (临终关怀). Carol handed the phone to Betty. I talked briefly (简略地) to her and let her know we loved her.

As soon as I got off the phone, I sent a message to Brandon to let him know Betty wasn’t doing well. Brandon stopped what he was doing and immediately sent flowers to Betty.

You can imagine how proud I was of Brandon when Carol called the next day, letting me know how much Betty loved the flowers Brandon had sent. A few days later, Betty died.

So, my friends, remember next time, try to do what you want to do as soon as possible because you never know how soon it will be too late.

1. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To tell us a famous person.	B．To show the importance of being kind.
C．To introduce the theme of the passage.	D．To ask people to remember this saying.

2. What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

A．When the writer met Betty for the first time.	B．How the writer’s family kept in touch with Betty.
C．Where the writer’s family and Betty lived.	D．Why the writer’s son liked Betty.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence?

A．Her mom was hurt when she was climbing a hill.	B．Her mom had trouble climbing a hill.
C．Her mom didn’t want to answer the phone call.	D．Her mom’s health was getting worse and worse.

4. Why was the writer proud of Brandon?

A．Because Brandon showed his care for Betty as soon as he knew the situation.

B．Because Brandon sent presents in return for the birthday cards he received.

C．Because Brandon was kind and helpful to everyone.

D．Because Brandon was good at planting flowers.

【推荐3】There are 365 days in a year. We sleep 8 hours a day, so we have 122 days for sleeping. Then our work time has 243 days left. But there are 52 weekends in a year. Each weekend is two days. We lose another 104 days a year for work. It takes us about one hour to have breakfast and supper. This comes to 15 days over a year. But we can’t work all that time-we need a holiday. Let’s say we have three weeks’ holiday. We don’t work all day. Four free hours each evening takes up 61 days. We have to remember that we get 2 days’ holiday at Easter, 3 at Christmas and 1 at the New Year. There are also 4 Bank holidays. Take those 10 days away and we have 32 days for work. But then we have one and a half hours’ lunch every day, and half an hour’s coffee break. That comes to 30 days a year. This means that we have only a few days left for work every year!
1. How many days do we sleep in a year? ___days.

A．365

B．122

C．8

D．52

2. We spend 15 days on __________.

A．rest

B．coffee break

C．lunch

D．breakfast and supper

3. Which of the following is true? __________

A．Each weekend is one day.	B．We have 61 days for free time.
C．We get 3 days’ holiday at Easter	D．Coffee break takes us one hour.

4. According to the passage, we know that we don’t have ______ time to work every year.

A．much too

B．so many

C．too much

D．too many

5. The writer means __________.

A．we should know the numbers	B．a few days for work is enough
C．we need more holidays	D．time is important and we’d better not waste(浪费) it

【推荐1】Repair or Replace?

A much-used home appliance （家用电器）suddenly stops working. You look at it helplessly. Should I repair it or replace it?

It’s a hard question that almost every family has faced. There are so many things to consider, from the cost to the effects on the environment. But you may not have much time to make a decision just imagine living without a fridge in the summer.

In a recent survey, more than 95 percent of the 11350 participants（参与者）chose to repair a broken appliance. Only three percent chose to replace the appliance. Did each of them make a smart decision?

In my opinion, one great way of looking at the problem is to work out the current （当前的） value of your appliance. When you buy a new home appliance, write down its cost and the number of years you expect it to last. Divide the cost by the number of years. This will tell you how much value the appliance loses each year. When the appliance breaks down, you can quickly work out its current value. If a repair costs more than the appliance’s current value, you should replace the appliance. Otherwise （否则）, you may consider having it repaired.

1. When a home appliance doesn’t work suddenly, most of us may ________.

A．buy a new product	B．make a decision slowly
C．choose to repair it	D．go on living without it

2. Who would most probably like to read this text?

A．The boss of the company.	B．Tho owner of the appliance.
C．The clerk of the company.	D．The engineer of the appliance.

3. The text is probably from the part of ___________ in the magazine.

A．Travel

B．Life

C．Science

D．Sports

【推荐2】It is not possible to tell the importance of forests in just a few words. Forests affect (影响) our daily lives in so many ways, even in the busy noisy city centre.

Just think about your life today: Do you have your breakfast? Read a newspaper? Turn on a light? Travel to work in a bus or car? Do your homework? Write on your notebook? Clean your hands with a tissue (纸巾)?

Forest products are used in our daily lives. All the activities above have something to do with forests. Some are easy to point out — fruits, paper and wood from trees, and so on. Others are less obvious (明显的) — they help make daily products like medicine. They not only help make our lives more convenient, but also make our Earth more beautiful and comfortable.

Forests help protect the sea, and the Earth is in good health because of them.

However, we are losing them. Over the past 50 years, about half the world’s forests have been lost. The most important reason for that is people’s activities like polluting the environment and cutting trees.

When we destroy the forests, we not only lose the tees. All the animals in the forests will also lose their home. As this goes on, it’ll be harder and harder for us to live on the Earth.

1. The passage begins with the daily activities in order to _________.

A．show forests affect our daily lives a lot

B．discuss what we do in our daily lives

C．ask readers what they did today

D．show the forest is the most important thing on the Earth

2. The underlined words “Forest products” in Paragraph 3 mean “________” in Chinese.

A．森林面积

B．林业产品

C．树木种植

D．环境保护

3. What will happen if we destroy the forests?

A．Only the trees will disappear.

B．Our lives will not be in danger.

C．All the animals will die at once.

D．The animals in the forests will lose their home.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The forests in our daily lives.	B．How to protect the forests.
C．The importance of the forests.	D．The problems of the forests.

【推荐3】“Without music, life would be a mistake ,” famous German philosopher(哲学家) Friendrich Nietzsche said over a century ago.Music is a big part of our lives, But in recent years, some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets(预算)

For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired over 1,000 teachers.Among them10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times.In fact.this is not Just a problem in the US.In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as the ones like science, math and history That’s partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn't tested.Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often.

However, learning music is helpful in many ways.

When playing music, you need different abilities to work together.It is not as simple as it looks, according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together, an early childhood music development program.For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode them in their brains.They also use their fingers to make sounds.You need to deal with all these things at the same time.

Music has a special connection with science as well.You can see that many scientists are good at playing music: Einstein played the violin, and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano.

1. Some schools in the US cut music classes, because___________

A．students in the US weren't interested in music.

B．music was too difficult to learn.

C．there weren't enough music teachers in the US.

D．the schools didn’t want to spend more money than planned.

2. In Paragraph 2, what does the underlined word “them”refer to?

A．Public schools.	B．Fired teachers.
C．Parents in Chicago.	D．Students in Chicago.

3. What's the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A．Different abilities are needed to work together while we are playing music.

B．Playing the piano requires people to use fingers to make sounds.

C．Decoding music notes is needed while we are playing music.

D．Playing the piano requires people to see music notes.

4. What's the writers opinion about music according to this passage?

A．Music is as simple as it looks.	B．Music classes should be cut in some schools.
C．Music plays an important role in our lives.	D．Music isn't a very important life skill for us.

【推荐1】It’s said that China uses 45 billion pairs of chopsticks a year. Here’s some information about chopsticks.

History of chopsticks

Chopsticks have a long history of more than 3, 000 years in China. The recorded history of chopsticks is as early as the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC). According to an article about Chinese history, the emperor of the Shang Dynasty used chopsticks made of ivory.

Legends about how chopsticks were invented

★One is about Jiang Ziya. He was told by a bird to use bamboo sticks to pick up meat. When smoke came from bamboo sticks, he found out that his wife wanted to use poisonous food to kill him.

★Another is about Da Ji. She used to please Emperor Zhou by picking up hot meat with hair sticks.

★The third one is about Da Yu. He invented wooden chopsticks to pick up hot food to save time over the meal while preparing for flood control work.

Materials of chopsticks

●Bamboo has been the most popular material used for chopsticks because it is inexpensive, easy-to-get, resistant（抵抗的）to heat, and has no terrible odor or taste.

●Wood: Cedar, sandalwood, teak and pine have also been used.

●Jade（翡翠）and metal: In the past, the wealthy people had chopsticks made of jade. People also used some metals such as gold and silver to make chopsticks.

●Porcelain（瓷器）and plastic: These two materials are used in modern times because of the development of technology.

1. How many legends are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

2. After reading the passage, we can know ________ wanted to kill Jiang Ziya.

A．his wife

B．Da Yu

C．Da Ji

D．the emperor

3. The underlined word “odor” probably means “________” in Chinese.

A．气味

B．形状

C．宽度

D．竹笋

4. Which of the following is NOT the reason why bamboo is used to make chopsticks?

A．Bamboo is not expensive to get.	B．Bamboo is resistant to heat.
C．Bamboo doesn’t taste terrible.	D．Bamboo grows fast everywhere.

5. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To tell us how to use chopsticks to eat meals.	B．To tell us some legends of using chopsticks.
C．To tell us some information about chopsticks.	D．To explain why chopsticks are popular in China.

【推荐2】Jeff is an old man. He lives in a tall building in a neighborhood(邻近社区), in Downing town, America.

The neighborhood looks nice with many big trees, beautiful flowers. But Jeff feels very bored(感觉无聊) here. He always stays at home and has nothing(没事) to do.

It’s a nice morning. Jeff goes out to have a look at the neighborhood. First(首先) he goes to a restaurant near the tall building(楼房) and has breakfast there. Then he walks along the street, he finds a supermarket(超市). He wants to go into it but he doesn’t, because(因为) too many people are in it.

Jeff sees a hospital across from(在…的对面) the supermarket. He doesn’t like to go there, either(也). Then he sees a post office(邮局). He doesn’t need to post anything, so he leaves(离开) there. At that time he feels tired(累了). He wants to go home.

“But where is my home?” Jeff says to himself(他自己).

1. Jeff doesn’t go to         .
①the restaurant       ②the hospital       ③the post office       ④the supermarket

A．①②④

B．①③④

C．①②③

D．②③④

2. Where is the supermarket?

A．Across from the hospital.	B．Across from the restaurant.
C．Next to the post office.	D．Next to the tall building.

3. Which of the following is RIGHT ?

A．Jeff likes the neighborhood a lot.	B．Not many people are in the supermarket.
C．Jeff goes out to post(寄) something.	D．Jeff gets lost(迷路) .

4. What’s the best title(最佳题目) for this passage(短文)?

A．Fine Morning

B．My Home

C．How to Go Home

D．A Tall Building

【推荐3】阅读以下短文，判断短文后句子的意思是否与短文内容相符。用“T”表示相符，用“F”表示不相符。

Kang Jian is a 17-year-old student from Shanghai. Last year he went to visit his aunt and uncle in San Francisco. He found it interesting that so many products in the local shops were made in China. “I wanted to buy a toy car for my cousin, but even though most of the toys were American brands, they were made in China.”

Toys are not the only things made in China. “I wanted to buy a pair of basketball shoes,” he explains. “But I had to visit five or six stores before finding a pair made in America!” He realized that Americans can hardly avoid buying products made in China. “In fact,” he continues, “there were many other things there made in China—footballs, handbags, pet food, mobile phones. Even American flags are made in China!” Kang Jian thinks it’s great that China is good at making these everyday things. However, he hopes that in the future China will also get better at making high-technology products that people can buy in all parts of the world.

1. Kang Jian went to visit his aunt and uncle in America last year.
2. Most of the American brand toys were made in China.
3. Kang Jian bought basketball shoes in five or six stores.
4. Americans seldom use products made in China.
5. China is good at making both everyday things and high-technology products.

【推荐1】From red apples and yellow lemons to blueberries and green melons, fruit comes in many different colors. Why do different kinds of fruit have so many colors?

According to Lu Wei from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, fruit colors actually come from their different pigments(色素), such as red or yellow carotenoid (类胡萝卜素) and blue or purple anthocyanin(花青素). These pigments appear in different amounts(量), depending on the fruit's environment. This causes the fruit to turn a certain color.

To find out how the environment influences fruit colors, Chinese scientists studied more than 280 different fruit colors, including white, red, blue, purple and black.

They found that red fruit tends to(往往会) grow in cooler places. And instead of just growing in one place, you can find them growing in many places around the world. Blue and purple fruit mostly grow in warm places. These fruits tend to grow a lot in just one specific area. The scientists also found that the closer the fruit is to the equator, the darker its color will be.

Animals have also had an influence on the evolution(进化) of fruit colors. Animals eat fruit and drop the seeds in other places later. This helps the fruit spread and grow in different places. Therefore, to attract animals, some fruits develop colors that are easy for animals to see.

However, animals see colors differently. Fruit needs to develop colors that are suited to animals’ visual abilities. For example, birds can see red more easily than humans can. Therefore, there tends to be more red fruit in areas where birds live. The lemurs(狐猴) of Madagascar are red—green color—blind. Many yellow fruits can be found in their habitats(栖息地), as they can easily see this color.

Judge the following sentences true(T) or false(F) according to the passage.
1. You can mostly find blue and purple fruit in warm places.
2. Light fruit tends to grow close to the equator.
3. Animals are one of the factors(因素) that can influence the evolution of fruit colors.
4. Some fruits develop colors that are hard for animals to see.
5. The text is mainly about why fruit has lots of different colors.

【推荐2】Do you know the story of some mice(老鼠) and a cat? Let me show you here.

There are many mice in the house. The owner(主人) of the house has a cat. The cat kills some of them. Then an old mouse says,“All mice come to my room this evening. Let’s put our heads together and think how to deal with(处理) the cat.” All the mice come and they start to talk about it, but no one knows what to do.

Finally, a young mouse stands up and says, “We must put a bell(铃) on the cat. When the cat comes near, we can hear the bell and then run away(跑走) and hide(躲藏). So the cat can’t find any of us.”

“But,” the old mouse asks, “Who will put it on the cat?” No mouse answers. the old mouse waits(等待), but no one answers. At last the old mouse says, “It’s easy to say things, but it’s hard to do them.”

1. The mice want to deal with the cat because _______.

A．it makes the house dirty

B．it fights with the mice

C．it kills the mice

2. The underlined word “put our heads together” mean _______.

A．居安思危

B．各就各位

C．集思广益

3. The young mouse’s idea is to _______.

A．hide somewhere

B．put a bell on the cat

C．run away

4. The underlined word “it” refers to _______.

A．the bell

B．the cat

C．the house

5. The passage wants to tell us _______.

A．the cat and mice are good friends.

B．doing is more important than saying

C．the mice are clever

【推荐3】A Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep plays an important role in good health and well-being throughout your life. While you’re sleeping, your brain is forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information. Although we all know the importance of getting a good night’s sleep, not all of us know the best way of getting it. A sleep expert, Phil Atherton, gave some top tips for getting the most out of the night, which will leave you ready for action in the morning.

According to Phil Atherton, not eating a large meal before bedtime is important for getting a good night’s sleep. The time difference between eating and sleeping should be at least three hours. So you’d better avoid eating any food three hours before bed, as it will lower your blood sugar during sleep and help reduce damage from too much sugar floating around.

It’s also important to find ways to prepare your body for sleep. You can follow a routine like trying not to expose yourself to too much artificial light within one hour before bed, as your brain uses light to help set internal “body clock”. Although it might seem unnatural to schedule your sleep, the purpose is to send a signal to your body and mind that it’s time to sleep.

Another way to prepare your body for sleep is to get into a relaxed state by taking a bath or listening to soft music. Both of them will help to take the mind off the daytime stress.

Having a suitable bed, especially a suitable mattress (床垫), is necessary for a good night’s sleep. Sleep is a personalized activity, and we all adopt different sleeping positions. Finding the mattress that suits you will reduce back pains that can result from a poor sleeping position. The bed should be four to six inches longer than its tallest user, allowing for space to move around.

The recent research is pretty clear that a good night’s sleep is a major part of good health. Since the start of the 21st century, studies have linked a lack of sleep to many illness, such as diabetes and obesity. Taking action now will lead to long-term benefits for you and those around you.

1. What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．When to start a sound sleep.

B．How to get a good night’s sleep.

C．What to do with sleep problems.

D．Why to form a good habit of sleeping.

2. According to the author, before going to sleep, you’d better ________.

A．do something relaxing

B．check your blood sugar

C．reduce your pain in the back

D．record your biological clock

3. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Not eating food.

B．Eating too much.

C．Not sleeping well.

D．Having a good sleep.