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An unpleasant smell floated into my nose as the bowl of fried stinky tofu（臭豆腐） settled onto my grandmother’s dinner table. I immediately sat back. The smell ruined my appetite, and I pushed the dish away.
“It’s supposed to stink. Just give it a try!” my grandmother said.
Holding my breath, I unwillingly took a bite. To my surprise, the tofu beneath the fried skin was warm, soft, and mouthwatering. Since then, whenever I visited my grandmother’s house, I would rush to the kitchen for the stinky tofu with excitement. Thus, stinky tofu became more than a household tradition. It became my favorite dish.
Along with the stinky tofu, I would meet my Uncle Chan on every visit. As an immature boy, I never understood my uncle’s condition of Down syndrome（唐氏综合征）.
He was an unfriendly and terrible creature in my eyes. He constantly walked around the house, talking to himself. Whenever he was within view, I would run away in fear.
However, one day, my view of my uncle suddenly changed. I was just getting out of my bed when I heard soft steps approaching. It was my uncle. My muscles froze. He slowly sat next to me and touched my face gently, as a mother would stroke （抚摸）a baby.
A wide smile emerged from his blank expression. How beautiful his smile was! I could not help but smile back. My fear disappeared gradually, and my muscles relaxed. For the first time, I could see softness and warmth in his eyes.
My uncle very much resembles stinky tofu. Stinky tofu smells unpleasant on the outside, yet feels warm and soft in the inside. Like stinky tofu, my uncle’s Down syndrome made me keep my distance at first. Yet, I learned that deep inside, he is harmless and has a loving nature.
Some people tend to look down upon disabled people and regard them as unfit for a regular life. As I was able to see through the outer surface of the tofu, these people are unable to see through the surface of prejudice（偏见）. As a result, they judge the disabled with one glance.
The outside and inside of the stinky tofu exist as two extremely different worlds. Perhaps that is what makes it such a tasty dish. Not only is it delicious, stinky tofu offers a valuable lesson: never judge people at first glance, for true beauty comes from the inside.
1.Why did stinky tofu become the author’s favorite dish?
A. It was related to family tradition.
B. It turned out to be quite delicious.
C. Grandma encouraged him to try it.
D. His appetite for food had increased.
2.What did the author think of his uncle at first?
A. He was a quiet person.
B. He was an energetic guy.
C. He was an immature man.
D. He was a strange creature.
3.The author’s attitude towards Uncle Chan changed when .
A. Chan’s footsteps woke up the author
B. Chan showed his friendliness to the author
C. Chan displayed his love towards his mother
D. Chan’s blank expression made the author smile
4.The comparison between stinky tofu and the author’s uncle serves to _.
A. highlight the nature of Uncle Chan
B. analyze the family relationship
C. describe a childhood memory
D. introduce a traditional Chinese food
5.What does the author mainly want to tell us in the passage?
A. We shouldn’t judge by appearances.
B. A person’s taste changes over time.
C. Blood is thicker than water.
D. You are what you eat.
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We may be living in the digital age, but reading books is still a big part of growing up. When they’re in primary school, children read books that really challenge them. But once they reach secondary school, the level of difficulty doesn’t change much. Secondary school students tend to read books which are also read by upper primary students. They are not challenging themselves enough.
To discover these trends, I analyzed data collected by Accelerated Reader (AR) software, which asks pupils to check their understanding of the books they’ve chosen to read. The difficulty — which I call “readability”.
I also created two lists of books: one for the books that most secondary pupils had chosen to read, and another for the books they had voted as their favorites. According to the readability, these students’ favorite books tend to be much more advanced than the other books they chose, but they could still understand them. The rest of the books most often chosen by them are quite simple.
You might think that students who read harder books might make more mistakes and understand them less well. But students’ quality of comprehension does not depend on the difficulty of the book, no matter what year of secondary school they’re in. Having an interest is the most obvious factor here — if you like the book, you try hard to really understand it.
As children become teenagers, they listen less to advice from adults and more to advice from kids of their age. So, rather than trying to lecture young people on the benefits of Jane Austen, we should make the nature of the problem clear to them. Students should challenge each other to read more difficult books. Adults could help by setting up noticeboards or organizing social media networks for young people to share their recommendations. And teachers can lend a hand by setting aside time for reading in school. Young people will realize the problems that come when they don’t challenge themselves to read difficult books.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.Children spend little time on after-class reading
B.Secondary school students seldom read tough books
C.Children’s reading interest tends to decrease as they grow up
D.Primary students have difficulty choosing good reading materials
2.The author made use of AR software to ________.
A.understand children’s different reading styles
B.show the average time children spend on reading
C.find out the causes of children’s reading difficulties
D.make clear the difficulty levels of books read by children
3.What can we infer about secondary school students from the readability scores?
A.They find some advanced books interesting
B.They often make mistakes during advanced reading
C.They prefer to read books recommended by their parents
D.They can hardly improve their scores on reading comprehension
4.According to Paragraph 4, what is vital for improving reading comprehension?
A.Basic knowledge
B.Reading skills
C.Motivation
D.Instruction
5.What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?
A.Designing relatively difficult textbooks is necessary
B.Improving students’ reading is a shared responsibility
C.Advanced technology should be used in reading reaching
D.Students should be encouraged to read more literary works
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MADRID — What is it that makes people happy? Youth, health, a good job, good looks, a flashy car? None of these things, Spanish experts say.
The concept of happiness is coming under increasingly close examination in Spain. As the nation rises to the club of the world’s wealthiest countries, people are discovering that material things do not bring happiness.
“Most people use money as a measure of human value,” says Jesus Yn-fante, author of a book on Spain’s 300 biggest fortunes. “Expensive products are regarded as the best. The rich are admired simply for being rich,” Yn-fante said. Yet psychologists (心理学家) warn that happiness cannot be bought. They advise people to look for it in human relations and in the small pleasures of everyday life.
Many people regard happiness as moment of ecstatic pleasure (狂喜) — something that, by definition, cannot last — while others speak of it as peace and acceptance of oneself. Polls (问卷 调 查 ) in different countries indicate that between 65 and 85 percent of the world’s population regard themselves as reasonably happy.
Around 40 percent of a person’s happiness is thought to be determined by genetics ( 遗传), while the rest depends on childhood environment and the process of growing up.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about happiness is that it has little to do with age, health, wealth, or other values thought to be important in Western society.
For most Spaniards, happiness is linked with feeling close to other people.
Happy people accept their limitations and set themselves reachable goals, experts say. There are lifestyle choices which favour happiness, such as exercise, eating carbohydrates (含碳 水化合物的食物) and exposing oneself to sunlight.
But the main secret of happiness is to take pleasure in small things.
“If you are given a choice between eternal (永久的) happiness and cheese sandwich, take the sandwich,” advises musician Julian Hernandez.
1.Spain, as this passage tells us, .
A.has built more clubs than the other countries.
B.has owned the largest group of experts.
C.has become one of the richest countries in the world.
D.has produced the most wealth in the world.
2.It can be concluded that Jesus Yn-fante is .
A.a famous and rich expert. B.a famous psychologist.
C.one of the richest Spaniards. D.a writer familiar with the richest Spaniards.
3.As psychologists warn in this passage, people can’t feel happy even if they .
A.have much money. B.only care about themselves.
C.don’t do any homework. D.have a few relations.
4.Happy people, as we can find in this passage, .
A.are always full of feelings. B.are always born in rich families.
C.always enjoy every achievement they get. D.always look down upon themselves.
5.What Julian Hernandez advises at the end of this passage suggests that .
A.he is not a happy musician. B.he is leading a hard life.
C.he doesn’t agree to the idea in this passage. D.he is humorous.
