After my husband died from a heart attack, my world changed all in a sudden. I just put all my effort into making a living, caring for the children and just keeping my head above water.

I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and in fact I was uncomfortable. Every unusual noise and any late-night phone call would fill me with fear. I felt unbelievably alone.

One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd (牧羊犬) on our doorstep. I became worried. Where did this dog come from? Was it safe to let the children play with a strange dog? Finally I let him sleep in the basement(地下室)until the next day, when we could search around the neighborhood for his owner. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.

The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us and I planned to take the children on a picnic without German. But we were surprised to see him jumping onto the hood (引擎盖)and looking directly into my eyes. No way was he going to be left behind. So he stayed again Sunday night. Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back till the next Friday evening. And again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived.

This repeated every weekend for almost 10 months. Each week, between German’s visits, I grew a little stronger and braver; every weekend I enjoyed his company(陪伴). Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back.

I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how sad and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares.

1.The underlined part in Paragraph 1 means the writer_____________.

A.had great difficulty supporting the family B.couldn’t breathe and swim at the same time

C.found it hard to look for a good housekeeper D.was too heart-broken to take care of her children

2.What conclusion can we draw from the last paragraph?

A.At last the writer came to realize who German’s owner was.

B.Being strong enough, the writer didn’t miss German any more.

C.German had no choice but to come to the writer’s house on weekends.

D.The writer believes that German was sent to her because she was alone.

3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A.A Homeless Dog B.We Are Not Alone

C.Every Dog Has Its Day D.German, Our Pet Dog

The Earth Is Getting Greener

NASA has got some good news for us. The world is a greener place today than it was 20 years ago. How does this happen? Well, it appears China and India are leading the change.

NASA researchers compared satellite data(卫星数据) from the mid-1990s to today. They found that the whole world’s green leaf area had increased by 5% since the early 2000s. That’s about the same area as the whole Amazon rain forest. At first, the researchers were unsure what caused the large increase in greening around the planet. After further study, they found that greening was mostly in China and India.

China and India have the world’s biggest population. In the past, they were considered to have harmed the environment seriously. But the two countries have made the largest greening of the planet exist in the past twenty years.

The tree-planting programmes in both countries have made huge contributions to the whole world’s greening trend(趋势). China has carried out the programmes to protect forests and make them larger. These programmes were developed to keep soil in place to reduce air pollution and so on. India continues to break world records in tree planting. It was reported that 800,000 Indians planted 50 million trees in one day in 2016.

The greening trend has also caused by intensive(集中的) agriculture in both countries. Both countries have greatly increased food pollution in order to feed their large populations.

However, the researchers warned that we should not be happy with the situation. Some of the natural green leaf areas in the earth are getting smaller at the same time. The gain in global greenness does not offset(抵消) the losses.

1.How much had the whole world’s green leaf area increased since the early 2000s?

____________________________________________________

2.According to the passage, what has made the whole world’s greening trend happen?

_____________________________________________________

3.Do you think the environment in Suzhou will get better? Why or why not?

______________________________________________________

Most of us spend all day at school work. After a long and busy day, all we want to do is return to a comfortable home. Smart technology can turn any home into a nicer place to live.

Smart homes have been around for some time. Scottish company Pico Electronics invented type of technology called X10 in 1975.As the earliest smart home technology, it allows household devices (设备), such as lights and alarms, to communicate with each other by using radio waves.

Of course, 5G network connectivity has made smart homes much more sophisticated (复杂) than X10. Perhaps the most widespread smart home technology is the voice-activated (声控的) assistant. Google Home and Amazon's Alexa allow users to communicate with almost any device in their home simply by speaking a few words. This is especially convenient for children and people with physical disabilities, as they can finish tasks that would normally be too difficult, according to How-To Geek.

Common household appliances (电器) can become "smart" as well. For example, a smart trash bin can keep track of the things you've thrown away and place an online order for new items, while smart fridges can create dinner recipes (食谱) based on the vegetables that are being kept inside, according to HowStuffWorks.

But it's not just about convenience. Smart homes are also good for the environment. By regularly checking your energy use and automatically turning off lights and other devices that you're not using, smart homes can lower much electricity you use overall. Using less energy means that we use fewer natural resources, which is good for the environment.

1.The earliest smart home technology is ________.

A.X10 B.5G network connectivity C.the voice-activated assistant

2.Which is NOT true about the voice-activated assistant?

A.It can turn your home into a nicer place to live.

B.It's normally difficult for children and people with physical disabilities to use it.

C.It may be the most widely used smart home technology.

3.What can a smart fridge do?

A.Tell you how to cook. B.Place an online order. C.Create a dinner with the vegetables.

4.What does the underlined word "automatically" mean?

A.自动的 B.定时的 C.神奇的

5.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A.5G network changes the world

B.Smart technology makes life convenient

C.Smart homes — a nicer way of living

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