1 . In what has become an annual tradition, the staff of National Public Radio bring you a mighty year-end guide of Books We Love. Here are a handful of the most interesting picks. We hope you enjoy the selections and take time to look through for a while!

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Michelle Zauner lays out the complexity and the ongoing sorrow of losing a parent in her 20s, just as her own life is about to start. Zauner writes about how she turned to Korean food to process her sadness when her mother, her only tie to Korean culture, died of cancer. The book reflects on how cooking and eating the food that her mom once prepared gives her a way to connect to her identity.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

Crystal Maldonado creates a much-needed believable character with teenage and adult readers. Charlie Vega is fat and wears glasses, with a diet-pushing mother and a beautiful, athletic best friend. When her classmate Brian pursues a romantic relationship, Charlie is bothered with self doubt. The book, which tells a well-observed story of fat teenage life, is developed by internal (内在的) and external (外在的) conflicts.       

The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches (快讯) from a Skateboard Life by Kyle Beachy

The year 2021 was the year of skateboarding, which has been transformed into an Olympic sport. And many have picked up skateboards for the first time, so The Most Fun Thing couldn’t have come at a better time. Kyle Beachy, a longtime skater and writing professor, is devoted to exploring the meaning of skateboarding based on related essays of a decade.

The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger

It’s generally thought that home economics is just a class taken at school, which is appropriately named Mrs Housekeeper. But in reading this book, you can discover that in the early 20th century, the field provided jobs for women in science, companies and governments. Danielle Dreilinger also makes the case that cooking and managing a budget are invaluable lessons for all children and should still be school courses.

1. What is Charlie Vega like?

A．Romantic.

B．Unconfident.

C．Smart.

D．Dishonest.

2. Who is a sports lover?

A．Michelle Zauner.

B．Crystal Maldonado.

C．Kyle Beachy.

D．Danielle Dreilinger.

3. What do Crying in H Mart and The Secret History of Home Economics have in common?

A．They both involve the topic of cookery.

B．They both mention the bond with parents.

C．They both state how to survive economic hardship.

D．They both stress the necessity of ensuring women’s rights.

2 . From civil rights to environmental protection, the following books of fiction and nonfiction cover a wide range of topics. And every young liberal（开明人士）should read them.

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore

Al Gore caught the attention of the world with his 2006 book An Inconvenient Truth, which was later turned into a movie. Based on his lecture tour on global warming, the work explains climate change in a user-friendly way and opens the public’s eyes to the plight（困境）of our planet.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

When John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962, he was praised for his realistic and imaginative writings, including The Grapes of Wrath. This book centers on a family of Oklahoma farmers who are forced off their land during the Great Depression. While it touches on timely issues such as labor unions and agricultural industry changes, it also explores universal themes of power, family, self-interest and dignity.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Focusing on the meat-packing industry in Chicago, Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle explores the life of immigrant workers in the early 20th century. The best-selling account actually made President Theodore Roosevelt pass the law about food safety that year.

The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman

Economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman presents 80 years of US history in The Conscience of a Liberal, which examines the fall and rise of economic and political inequality. Many believe the 2007 book was a clear call for progressives（进步人士）to take control of the country’s economic future.

1. Which book should you read if you want to know something about environmental issues?

A．The Jungle.	B．The Grapes of Wrath.
C．An Inconvenient Truth.	D．The Conscience of a Liberal.

2. What role did The Jungle play in US history?

A．It helped bring a new law into effect.

B．It helped increase the meat sales of Chicago.

C．It helped develop the meat-packing industry.

D．It helped change the life of immigrant workers.

3. What do The Grapes of Wrath and The Conscience of a Liberal have in common?

A．They explore the value of a happy family.

B．They have the same historical background.

C．They are about the economic development.

D．They are written by the Nobel Prize winners.

3 . Kathleen Rooney knew that writing Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, from the point of view of a pigeon, was a risk. Rooney, perhaps best known for her 2017 bestseller, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, says her interest in a feathered narrator was excited by one of her students at DePaul University, where she is an English professor. “A student named Brian mentioned Cher Ami in a poem. It blew my mind that this pigeon was so heroic and is stuffed and on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.”

Rooney learned that Cher Ami, a British homing pigeon, helped save a group of American troops during a horrific, multi-day World War I battle. The story of this amazing pigeon and the extraordinary man who commanded the battle, Major Charles Whittlesey, was altogether attractive.

In Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, Charles reflects on his happier prewar days in New York City, where he ran a law firm with a college classmate. When it came time for battle, though, he and his fellows found themselves cut off from supply lines, surrounded by enemy German troops.

Carrier pigeons were the group’s only hope of contacting headquarters and getting the other Americans to stop dropping bombs on them. Cher Ami flew through gunfire to deliver Charles' message, which finally stopped the attack. She lost an eye and a leg, among other wounds, but was eventually able to hobble (蹒跚) on a tiny wooden prosthesis (义肢) that the Army made for her. She lived another year before dying of her injuries in 1919, but in the novel she continues speaking to readers behind glass in the Smithsonian where she’s been since her death.

There’s an interesting lesson to be learned from Charles’ decisions in the battle, too. “He was famous for something we’d describe as passive,” Rooney says. “Once they were in the pocket, he waited as long as he could. I’m an impatient, active person ... His act was stillness, waiting, keeping everybody’s spirits up. The way he did that was amazing.”

Rooney also hopes the book, with its portrayal of the charming and brave Cher Ami, will boost the appreciation of our furry and feathered friends.

1. What inspired Rooney to write the book?

A．Visiting a national museum.	B．Reading a student’s poem.
C．Some comments on her bestseller.	D．Experiences of raising pigeons.

2. What does Paragraph4 mainly center on?

A．An exhibition featuring a heroic battle.

B．Historic events happening to Cher Ami.

C．Americans’ poor strategies during the war.

D．Charles’ methods for training Cher Ami.

3. What impressed Rooney?

A．Charles’ humor and optimism.

B．Charles’ affection for carrier pigeons.

C．Charles’ patience and motivation.

D．Charles’ quick response to the attack.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．A message of hope	B．Braving World War I
C．An effort to protect pigeons	D．Finding the lost commander

4 . You may read the questions first:

Amazon is presenting to you our bargains for the year!
Steve Jobs	In Steve Jobs, based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years — as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, competitors, and colleagues — Walter Isaacson has pictured an appealing up-and-down life and strong personality of a creative man whose passion for perfection revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
Living History	Hillary Rodham Clinton is known to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Yet few beyond her close friends and family have ever heard her account of her extraordinary journey. She writes with humor and passion about her upbringing in suburban and her transformation from Goldwater Girl to controversial First Lady.
Thinking, Fast and Slow	In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, and emotional; System 2 is slower, and more logical. In the book, Kahneman also shows the extraordinary abilities — and the faults and errors — of thinking, and reveals the influence of personal impressions on our thoughts and behavior.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid	Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the main suspect. But the crazy thing is, he has done nothing wrong. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise storm hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holiday?

1. About the book Steve Jobs, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A．The main contents of the book are mainly based on various interviews.

B．The book is written by Steve Jobs.

C．Steve Jobs has experienced both successful and difficult periods in his lifetime.

D．Steve Jobs has totally changed six different industries.

2. What is the book Thinking, Fast and Slow mainly about?

A．Two thinking types and thinking-related facts.

B．Difference between two thinking systems.

C．How to think fast and logically at the same time.

D．The great power of personal impression on thinking system.

3. From the introduction of the Book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it is implied that ________.

A．Greg was caught damaging the school property

B．Greg knew who really damaged the school property

C．it was hot during the holiday

D．Greg had a poor relationship with his family

5 . Fait Diver: More Than Brief Stories

Every day, there are items in the news believed too minor to report at length. For these _________ stories, French newspapers of old had a solution: a section called fait divers: stories of a paragraph or a few   lines. These brief   stories were   typically   of some_________ or odd   occurrence: train accidents, lovers' quarrels, drownings, suicides. The fait divers remained a practical form, intended to convey a   story without _________ too much space, but it also developed into an art. In   French literature, it crossed the line from low to high culture and influenced the writing of _________ as varied as Stendha（司汤达）, Flauber（福楼拜）,     and Camus（加缪）, sometimes as the_________ inspiration for what later became a novel. _________ a version of it was present in American newspapers, it never quite caught on in the English press as a literary form.

Perhaps the finest flowering of fait divers was in the reports filed by the art critic Felix Feneon 1906. He gave the   form more wit, more emotional _________ and formal perfection, than it     had had before. In his hands, it became ironic, dark, and very funny. His collected fait divers, published in English as Novels in Three Lines, was a(n) _________ to me. It inspired me to undertake _________ projects. One was a sequence of fait divers set in contemporary Nigeria and__________ from   the newspapers there. The other was based on stories from New York City's newspapers in 1912: the New-York Tribune, the New York Herald, the New York Times. I called my projects small fates."   an   acknowledgment   that   so   many   of   these   stories   are __________ about   the   strange   workings of chance.

One   can go days in New York   without really thinking about how __________ these   streets once were by crowds of people, all of whom are now dead. I found in writing the small fates that these long-gone New Yorkers suddenly came back to the__________ tense when you are not even ready for   it. The fine   details made   their lives vivid and __________. They were no longer__________, and at times seemed even more real to me than the latter-day outside my window.

1.

A．curious

B．tiny

C．ridiculous

D．detailed

2.

A．tragedy

B．coincidence

C．imagination

D．thriller

3.

A．turning up

B．putting up

C．showing up

D．taking up

4.

A．images

B．imagination

C．figures

D．portraits

5.

A．motivative

B．sudden

C．original

D．weak

6.

A．Though

B．When

C．Since

D．Before

7.

A．expression

B．peace

C．health

D．discomfort

8.

A．identification

B．secret

C．appeal

D．approach

9.

A．a series of

B．a pair of

C．a collection of

D．a set of

10.

A．received

B．inspired

C．eliminated

D．drawn

11.

A．finally

B．accidentally

C．previously

D．unexpectedly

12.

A．fascinating

B．populated

C．brilliant

D．sophisticated

13.

A．previous

B．future

C．present

D．past

14.

A．believable

B．considerable

C．understandable

D．approachable

15.

A．deadly

B．lonely

C．lively

D．ghostly

6 . “The Life of Pi” is about a teenage boy from India, called Pi, who travels across the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat. His companion (同伴) in the lifeboat is an enormous tiger. It was written by the Canadian author Yann Martel, and has sold seven million copies worldwide.

At the start of the book, we learn about Pi's childhood in India. His father is a zookeeper and the family live in a house in the zoo. Pi and his brother help their father in the zoo and learn to look after the animals. When Pi is sixteen, his family decide to close the zoo and move to Canada. They sell some of the animals to zoos in North America and the family take the animals with them on a ship to Canada. On the way, there is a terrible storm and the ship sinks. Sadly, Pi's family and the ship's sailors die in the storm. Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and a tiger. When he sees the animals, Pi is scared and he jumps into the ocean. Then he remembers there are sharks in the ocean and he climbs back into the lifeboat. One by one, the animals in the lifeboat kill and eat each other, till only Pi and the tiger are left alive. Luckily for Pi, there is some food and water on the lifeboat, but he soon needs to start catching fish. He feeds the fish to the tiger to stop it killing and eating him. He also uses a whistle and his knowledge of animals from the zoo to control the tiger.

Pi and the tiger spend 227 days in the lifeboat. They live through terrible storms and are burnt by the Pacific sun. They are often hungry and ill. Sometimes, Pi is happy and hopeful, but sometimes he feels sad and lonely. Finally, they arrive at the coast of Mexico, but you will have to read the book to find out what happens in the end!

1. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To tell us a story.	B．To introduce a book.
C．To make an advertisement.	D．To introduce a film.

2. Why do they take the animals on a ship to Canada?

A．They don't want to leave them in India.

B．They want to make them a home on the ship.

C．They don't want to sell the animals to others.

D．They take them along to their new owner.

3. What happens on the family's trip to Canada?

A．They meet a storm and only Pi survives.

B．The tiger kills Pi's family and the sailors.

C．Pi finds a lifeboat and saves all the animals.

D．Pi lives peacefully with the animals.

4. Which of the following words best describes Pi?

A．Kind, honest and helpful.	B．Weak, selfish and careless.
C．Playful, naughty and energetic.	D．Clever, brave and strong minded.

7 . The Swedish Academy announced on Thursday, 7 October that the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 is awarded to Abdulrazak Gurnah. The 73-year-old author of 10 novels including well-renowned works such as Paradise and Desertion, received 10 million Swedish crowns.

After getting the award, Gurnah not only said he was grateful to the academy but added, “It’s just great—it’s just a big prize, and such a huge list of wonderful writers—I am still taking it in... I really had to wait until I heard it announced before I could believe it. ”

Born in 1948, Gurnah mainly grew up on the island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean. Gurnah was forced to leave his farmily and his country in December 1963 just because he belonged to the victimized (受害的) ethnic group, Then he arrived in England as a refugee (难民) at the end of the 1960s, Until his recent retirement, he has been the Professor of English Literature at the University of Kent in Canterbury and he mainly focused on writers including Wole Soyinka and Salman Rushdie. In total he has published 10 novels along with short stories. The Royal Academy has noted that the theme of the refugee’s suffering runs throughout Gurnah’s work.

While Swahili was his first language, English became his tool for literature. His first novel was Memory of Departure in 1987 and it is about the failed uprising in the African continent. His second work. Pilgrims Way was published in 1988 in which the newest Nobel winner explored the various reality of life in exile. His third novel was Dottie in 1990 which is a portrait of a Black woman with immigrant background. His other works include Paradise in 1994. Admiring Silence in 1996, Gravel Heart in 2017. His latest novel is Afterlives which was published in 2020 and it takes up where Paradise ends. “I just want to write as trustfully as I can, without trying to say something noble,” he said.

1. How did Gurnah feel when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021?

A．Surprised.	B．Confident.
C．Worried.	D．Doubtful.

2. What is Gurah’s work mainly about?

A．The refugee’s miserable life.	B．The uprising life in England.
C．The rough road to writing.	D．The Friendship with other writers.

3. Which novel is connected with Paradise most?

A．Admiring Silence.	B．Dottie.
C．Afterlives.	D．Gravel Heart.

4. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Gurah’s writing career and his famous novels.

B．Gurah’s tough life experience as a refugee.

C．Gurah’s contribution to the literature world.

D．Gurah’s winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.

8 . The below-mentioned books are first-rate bestsellers and would be perfect additions to your reading list.

	Maybe the power of one's belief isn't the ultimate example of intelligence. Maybe, in a constantly changing world, the ability to make judgements and change one's mind accordingly is much more important. That's Adam Grant's theory, and Think Again is here to help you to look at the world around you, check your assumptions, and—you guessed it—think again. —Chris Schluep, Amazon Editor
	This book reads like fiction but tells the true story of murder and greed that troubled the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the 1920s. When oil was discovered on their land, the Osage people became the wealthiest in the world and the targets (particularly the women) for the white men who had their sights set on marrying and murdering into their riches. I suggest you treat yourself to this exceptional read right now. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
	The subject of Isaacson’s book is Jennifer Doudna, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work developing CRISPR. CRISPR is the innovation that will open the door to gene control, driving the life sciences revolution for decades to come. But it will also open the door to moral problem as we ask ourselves. How far should we go in editing humans—especially before birth—and who should control those decisions? —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
	While the book unfolds during the course of a single day, flashbacks to when a group of kids were crowding around a desk and to when their rock star father abandoned them time and again reveal the complex dynamics still in force in their adulthood. After I finish this book, I would dream of these characters and their restaurant by the sea. Malibu Rising is a fun, unforgettable read. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

1. Which book will you choose if you are interested in history?

A．The Code Breaker	B．Think Again
C．Killers of the Flower Moon	D．Malibu Rising

2. What do we know about the book The Code Breaker?

A．It solves the problem of gene control.

B．It is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novel.

C．It focuses on the 2020 Nobel Prize winners.

D．It covers Jennifer Doudna and her achievements.

3. What do we learn from the introduction of the book Malibu Rising?

A．The kids had high expectations of their father.

B．The kids ran away from their father frequently.

C．The kids' father destroyed their dream of being rock stars.

D．The kids' childhood experiences affected their adult life.

9 . When my mother told me stories about Emily, her grandmother, who she admired, I was all ears. My mother drew a _______ between Emily and Jacqueline Kennedy, former US president’s wife. Mom described her _______ features: a long graceful neck and a tiny waist. “Emily was just like Jacqueline,” Mom said. “But their origins wouldn’t _______: Emily was graceful, soft-spoken, but possibly born a slave.”

Emily attracted me. Not until 2005 did my research on ancestry really start to _______ , for the reason that I was no longer _______. “When does your new job start?” asked my mother. “I refuse to take a job for at least a year,” I replied. My mother had no _______ with such words. “Anyway, you should have a job.” I remained _______ and didn’t explain it. But I felt I must _______ my job to collect more stories about my _______.

I ________ my mother’s line to a place called Cane River. I found the bill of shameful slave sale for my great-great-great grandmother, who was ________ in 1850 for $ 800. I had to write the stories. This time the novel Cane River was sold in a（n） ________ way.

One day, the phone rang, “Hello, this is Oprah Winfrey, the talk show hostess.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I responded in ________, “Hello, Ms Winfrey. What can I do for you today?” She told me she selected my novel for her book club, which ________ led to Cane River on The New York Times bestseller list and a ________ readership than I expected.

1.

A．parallel

B．diagram

C．picture

D．symbol

2.

A．moral

B．physical

C．mental

D．psychological

3.

A．change

B．repeat

C．fit

D．work

4.

A．fall through

B．heat up

C．get across

D．fade away

5.

A．supported

B．believed

C．employed

D．limited

6.

A．luck

B．problem

C．alternative

D．patience

7.

A．angry

B．sad

C．silent

D．active

8.

A．leave

B．accept

C．choose

D．introduce

9.

A．colleagues

B．ancestors

C．partners

D．kids

10.

A．followed

B．imagined

C．recited

D．directed

11.

A．hired

B．fined

C．profited

D．sold

12.

A．embarrassing

B．glorious

C．improper

D．identical

13.

A．horror

B．difficulty

C．advance

D．surprise

14.

A．finally

B．approximately

C．rarely

D．potentially

15.

A．smaller

B．stricter

C．broader

D．worse

10 . Novels written and read on mobile telephones have been in fashion in Japan for six years now. Most of these stories deal with romance and are especially trendy among high school girls. But people who harbor the stereotype that love stories belong to the feminine realm might be surprised to hear that the first mobile romance, Deep Love, was written by a man who goes by the pen name “Yoshi”. In 2001, Yoshi distributed leaflets advertising his debut in Shibuya, Tokyo’s entertainment district, and a trend was born.

The typical mobile novel is 200 to 500 pages long and can be downloaded for about $ 10. Each website—like page contains about 500 Japanese characters. Recently, mobile novelists have been trying to reach a wider audience by venturing into other genres such as horror and science fiction. But perhaps the feature that appeals the most to young fans is the interactive nature of the mobile novels. Readers can send feedback and participate in shaping the story. Even teachers and parents are enthusiastic about this new trend that encourages kids to read.

There is considerable disagreement amongst officials in the publishing industry whether these novels are here to stay or just a passing trend. Some critics of the novels say they reach a small minority of readers who likely do not read much anyway.

1. What does the underlined word “harbor” mean in the first paragraph?

A．abandon	B．hold
C．change	D．criticize

2. What can we learn about Deep Love?

A．It was written by a female.

B．It first appeared in print.

C．It stared the trend of mobile novels.

D．It was based on a true story.

3. Why are the mobile novels popular among young people?

A．They vary in length.	B．They are free to download.
C．Teachers push them to read.	D．Readers can help in creation.

4. What might be the mobile novel s future like?

A．Promising.	B．Uncertain.
C．Unfavourable.	D．Hopeless.