Though only just 21 when diagnosed with the disease ALS, Hawking was perhaps the most famous scientist in the world when he died in 2018 at age 76. His 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, sold ten million copies and made him an unlikely superstar even to people who sweated through high school science.
Humor was always a big part of Hawking’s effort to bring physics to the masses. In his 2010 book, The Grand Design, for instance, he recounts how, in 1277, the Catholic Church declared scientific laws such as gravity to be wrong, since they seemed against God's idea. “Interestingly,” the text adds jokingly, “Pope John was killed by the effects of the law of gravity a few months later when the roof of his palace fell in on him.”
“He loved adventure and fun,” says Mlodinow, who once took Hawking on a punt-boat trip down the fiver Cam in Cambridge, England, despite the obvious danger of the boat turning over. “You know about when he went on the Vomit Comet? It’s a plane that flies in a parabolic path so you are weightless, like you are in space. A lot of people vomit, but he loved that sort of thing.” And he was 65 at the time.
Hawking’s greatest hit, humor-wise, was probably the cocktail party he threw in 2009. It was a “ welcome reception for future time travelers,” he said, so naturally, he sent out the invitations the day after the party. No one showed up yet. “Maybe one day someone living in the future will find the information and use a wormhole time machine to come back to my party, proving that time travel will one day be possible,” Hawking explained. And if that happens, don’t be surprised if Hawking is there too. After all, he never missed a chance to have fun.
1. What does the text mainly tell us about Hawking?| A．He related physics to humor closely. | B．He made great contributions to physics |
| C．He went through many funny experiences. | D．He was optimistic about the future of science. |
| A．He was not in favor of God. | B．He was a scientist like Hawking. |
| C．He was opposed to the law of gravity. | D．He was killed due to the discovery of gravity. |
| A．His fondness of adventure. | B．The invitation from his friend. |
| C．The requirements of his work. | D．His desire for recovery from ALS. |
| A．The cocktail party was a great success. |
| B．The possibility of time travel was not proved. |
| C．Hawking was a man who enjoyed holding parties. |
| D．The wormhole time machine was used at that time. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】There have been several incidents at concerts and other events in recent years where people died because of unsafe crowd conditions and stampedes(蜂拥). This may leave some people thinking there’s little you can do to survive a stampede. Indeed, it’s a frightening situation to be in and circumstances may make it impossible to escape. But crowd-safety experts say there are several strategies that could help you avoid a potentially fatal outcome.
The key to staying safe in a crowd begins as soon as you arrive at the location, says Randy I. Atlas, a safety consultant based in Fort Lauderdale. Namely, he advises people to take note of where the nearest exits are. It’s a piece of common-sense advice that Atlas applies not just at big events, but even when entering almost any room.
If there’s a sudden panic(恐慌) and crowds begin to push in a certain direction, your instinct(本能) may be to fight back and push the opposite way. But that could be a big mistake, Atlas warns. If you go against the flow, you increase your chances of getting tripped and knocked down. Another risk, according to experts: If you fight the crowd, you will tire yourself out quickly in a situation where you need all the energy you can gather.
Another potential way to handle the situation is to protect yourself and allow the crowd to move past you. Look for “a solid structure to stand behind such as a pillar, a wall, a car or even a lamppost” says Bart Whitaker, an event-management professional.
In many stampede events, people die from asphyxiation(窒息)—they are simply crushed to the point they can’t breathe. But a possible way to avoid this is to place your arms in front of you, almost in a boxer-like posture. That could give you some very valuable breathing room, which is a simple pose, but surprisingly effective and possibly life-saving.
On the whole, the best way is to stay away from the crowd and avoid coming along for the ride.
1. What does the writer think of a stampede?| A．No one can survive it. | B．It’s nothing serious. |
| C．It can leave a place in ruins. | D．It can become disastrous. |
| A．Arriving early at the spot. | B．Coming along for fun. |
| C．Knowing where to leave most quickly. | D．Pushing through the crowd to the middle. |
| A．Stop feeling panic. | B．Go with the flow. |
| C．Follow their instinct. | D．Gather all their energy. |
| A．Staying away from it. |
| B．Standing with both hands raised. |
| C．Finding a hard thing for protection. |
| D．Giving themselves some breathing room. |
【推荐2】With more and more kids picking up bats and gloves, efforts to build a “baseball ecosystem” in China continue to produce impressive results. And with Major League Baseball a key contributor to the drive, Chinese kids are learning from the very best in the business.
“The baseball environment has changed greatly since MLB entered the Chinese market. When we first came to China in 2007, the baseball population in the country was very limited.” said Tony Qi, managing director of MLB China. “But in 2019, the active baseball population had reached over 20 million. When we first organized the youth baseball match in five Chinese cities in 2008, each city had only one age-group to take part. But this year we have 20 cities, and in some cities we have competitions for five age groups.”
Around 400 teams have taken part in the MLB China Cup, a nationwide youth competition designed to encourage kids to take up baseball. During one recent season in Beijing, there were about 100 teams that wanted to take part in the MLB Cup. So, MLB, the Chinese Baseball Association and local baseball organizations are all working together for a brighter Chinese baseball future.
Audiences have also been attracted by the 2020 short film Tough Out, which tells the lives of a group of Chinese teenagers whose lives are changed through baseball. “In the short film, the kids build a new home in their baseball team, together with their coaches in a Beijing suburb (郊区),” said Qi. “The notion (观念) of home is very important in baseball culture. Through baseball, these kids gained home, friendship and confidence. They also gained the courage to fight against the hard situations they found themselves in. We’re planning to produce more content like this to make baseball culture popular.
1. How does the author show the great change of baseball environment?| A．By sorting out the facts. | B．By listing benefits. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By stressing importance. |
| A．To show Chinese baseball future. |
| B．To inspire kids to take up baseball. |
| C．To award more prizes to the youth. |
| D．To prove the popularity of baseball. |
| A．It attracts more people to live in Beijing suburb. |
| B．It gives kids courage to take part in baseball match. |
| C．It has greatly changed the life of Chinese teenagers. |
| D．It is very important to make baseball popular in China. |
| A．Concept of home. | B．Self-confidence. |
| C．Fair competition. | D．Player’s safety. |
【推荐3】The Pygmalion fleet refers to a possible influence that people’s expectations can have on other people’s performance. Therefore, it directly links the initial expectations we have about a person’s abilities and the performance that this same person ends up having.
High expectations lead to better performance and low expectations lead to worse; both effects are called the self-fulfilling prophecy (自我实现预言). It is interesting to analyze the self-fulfilling prophecy because it can affect us both positively and negatively. The positive effect is referred to by the term “Pygmalion effect”, which strengthens the characteristic you want to influence, and it produces an increase in self-esteem (自尊). We call the adverse effect “Golem effect”, which produces a decrease in people’s self-esteem and their performance.
The Pygmalion effect can also be called the Rosenthal effect. Rosenthal was a professor of social psychology at Harvard University who, together with Lenore Jacobson, carried out a famous experiment to see the effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy in education.
Rosenthal and Jacobson gave a non-verbal (非语言的) intelligence test to the students at the beginning of the course, informing the teachers that the analysis predicted the intelligence level of the students. Then, they selected, without any regular plan, a sample of 20% of the students in each class, thus creating the experimental group. The teachers were informed that the selected “good students” had greater potential for progress, while for the rest they did not say anything, the latter becoming the control group.
After eight months, an intelligence test was passed on to all the students and the conclusion Was that those students who had been rated as more intelligent had improved more than the rest. This experiment allowed scientists to show that the positive expectations of those around us have a direct good effect on our performance and our results. They create a better atmosphere and are more open to giving information and encouragement. A person is not “still” and permanent, but is changing and developing through their experiences. Educators have a role that can be vital in making up for socioeconomic differences among students, and are able to strengthen those that can have added difficulties to reach their greatest potential.
1. What can be inferred about the self-fulfilling prophecy?| A．It is a part of the Pygmalion effect. |
| B．It is a double-edged motivation tool. |
| C．It does good to people’s self-esteem. |
| D．It works differently in people of different backgrounds. |
| A．Lasting | B．Desired. | C．Opposite. | D．Immediate. |
| A．They had excellent classroom performance. |
| B．They were chosen without purposeful plans. |
| C．They were specially selected by the teachers. |
| D．They had close scores in the intelligence test. |
| A．Challenging students with more difficulties. |
| B．Offering poor students more financial support. |
| C．Carrying out more colorful teaching activities. |
| D．Paying more attention to disadvantaged students. |
【推荐1】How many afternoons have you slowly moved over to the office coffee machine and wondered: Is this really my fourth cup of the day? Or wait, is it my fifth? We've all been there, but a new study shows refilling your cup too often could be hurting your health.
The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that drinking six or more cups of coffee per day may increase your risk of heart disease by up to 22%. Researchers from the University of South Australia also found a specific gene, called CYP1A2, which enables people to consume caffeine faster than those without it.
Overall, the researchers found that people who drank six or more cups of coffee a day were 22% more likely to develop cardiovascular （心血管的）disease, compared to those who drank one to two cups daily. The study authors believe that coffee （in large quantities） and heart problems may be linked because excess caffeine consumption can cause high blood pressure, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Most people would agree that if you drink a lot of coffee, you might feel nervous and irritable （易怒的）.That's because caffeine helps your body work faster and harder, but it is also likely to suggest that you may have reached your limit for the time being. That doesn't mean that any and all coffee is bad for your heart, however. In fact, the researchers also found that participants who didn't drink coffee at all — and those who drank decaf — also had higher rates of heart disease （11% and 7% higher, respectively） than those who drank one to two cups per day. Previous research has found coffee is rich in antioxidants （抗氧化物质） and may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
1. What does the new study find?| A．People like to drink coffee in the office. |
| B．Coffee is more popular than tea among young people. |
| C．People tend to drink more coffee in the afternoon. |
| D．Too much coffee may be harmful to people. |
| A．The healthy dietary pattern. | B．The specific gene CYP1A2, |
| C．The high blood pressure. | D．The antioxidants in coffee. |
| A．Extra. | B．Less. | C．Proper | D．Average. |
| A．The brand of coffee. | B．The container of coffee. |
| C．The amount of coffee. | D．The flavor of coffee. |
【推荐2】My brother and I were like most people, I imagine, who find themselves trying to do the right things for a parent suffering from the symptoms of dementia （痴呆）. Though there was useful advice available from various online sources, nothing prepared us for the reality or the effects the symptoms had upon Mum's loving, kind, caring nature.
The greatest shock for me was seeing Mum being violent and aggressive with a carer. At times the aggression was directed at me too and I never really knew what to expect as Mum could go from being a loving Mother to this violent stranger in a flash. It was as though Mum had been possessed at times and all I could do was to constantly attempt to distract her from her fears at any moment.
One of the many challenging aspects of the dementia symptoms is that the sufferer often doesn't know that they're ill. In Mum's case, the main thing was to carry on as though everything was just as it always was. Many were the nights where she'd be convinced that friends and relatives were coming round for a party and she'd rush around setting the table, preparing snacks and getting everything ready until she was exhausted. I got to see first hand just how the anxieties that came with the illness would really stay with her until she fell asleep.
Mum longed for reminders of her early life in Liverpool and once travelling there had become too difficult, we found great comfort in local history books and a DVD about many of the places and landmarks Mum remembered from her childhood.
I learned to go with whatever experience Mum was having. I would always be with her. If I could pass on any guidance for those about to care for a loved one, it is the above I found that really helps.
1. How was the writer when her mother suffered dementia?| A．She started to care about her mother's health. |
| B．She was not prepared mentally at all. |
| C．She knew nothing about the disease. |
| D．She doubted the effect of medical care. |
| A．Her mother's longing for her childhood photos. |
| B．The sudden distinct shift in her mother's temper. |
| C．Her mother's sufferings from fear and anxiety. |
| D．Her mother's failing to deal with daily chores. |
| A．To prove her mum is not aware of her illness at all. |
| B．To explain how to help her mum come over her anxiety. |
| C．To regret that she failed to help her mum with her problem. |
| D．To look for a better medical treatment for her mum. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Company is the best medicine. | D．Look before you leap. |
【推荐3】When on vacation, what do you look for in a hotel? Maybe you want a comfortable bed, luxurious facilities or a convenient location. However, if you want something out of the ordinary and wish to go beyond the ordinary,these spectacular hotels offer a stay you won't soon forget!
Hippo Point
For those who prefer an overnight stay with some four-footed-or two-winged-guests, Hippo Point in Kenya offers unique housings on the East African plains. The nine-storey tower on a private estate and wildlife sanctuary rate as one of the top 10 resorts in the world. Guests enjoy incredible views of Olodian Bay while observing the densest population of hippos in Africa. More than 520 species of birds flock around the lake, their calls echoing in the air. After a restful night's sleep, you'll find a delicious breakfast waiting on an outside patio.
The Poseidon Undersea Resort
Nestled in a Fijian lagoon, the Poseidon Undersea Resort boasts the world's first seafloor suite 12 meters below the surface of the ocean. By day, people enjoy golf, tennis and water sports or learn to pilot a three-passenger Triton submarine to explore the pristine(原始的)ocean depths.
1. The first paragraph talks about_______.| A．comment | B．argument | C．background | D．explanation |
| A．can’t sleep well for the calls of birds |
| B．can climb a nine-story tower too bserve hippos |
| C．can walk around the lake to catch birds |
| D．can enjoy the beauty of Olodian Bay |
| A．the Poseidon Undersea Resort | B．Hippo Point |
| C．the Magic Mountain Hotel | D．Sala Silver mine |
【推荐1】The biggest challenge faced by travelers especially those who like to have a hiking trip is how to ensure a steady supply of clean clothes. Now, thanks to a great invention called Scrubba Wash Pack, that worry may be a thing of the past.
The portable washing machine was invented by Ash Newland in 2010, while planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Struck by the limited packing space, he got inspiration from traditional washboards to create a bag that could be used to clean clothes. Then he gave up his career as a lawyer and focused on perfecting the bag’s design. By 2012, the bag was ready for the public. It weighed only 180 grams and required very little storage space, making it perfect for anyone wishing to travel light.
Not surprisingly, the bag worth 55 dollars was an instant hit with travelers, university students and even passengers. However, Newland was not satisfied. He still saw a disadvantage with his invention – dirty clothes had to be carried around in a separate bag! The recently introduced Scrubba Wash Pack solves that problem.
In order to make the pack active, dirty clothes are placed inside the bag along with two to three liters of water. The bag is then shut tightly to ensure all air is squeezed out and the clothes are massaged (揉搓) for a few minutes. After a quick wash, they are clean and ready to be dried. According to Newland, the pack can clean anything from jeans to smelly socks! What’s even
more amazing is that with a capacity to hold 13 liters of water, it can be used to wash more clothes at a time.
The best part is that the 99-dollar pack that will be available for sale later this year, only weighs 300 grams and is completely foldable, making it easy to store when it’s not in use. With the Scrubba Wash Pack, wandering through foreign cities searching for a washing shop, or paying for washing machines may soon be a thing of the past!
1. What aroused Ash Newland’s desire to create the Scrubba Wash Bag?| A．Travelers’ requirements. | B．His own experience. |
| C．His dream of invention. | D．A traditional washboard. |
| A．The bag was not convenient enough. |
| B．The bag was not popular with travelers. |
| C．The bag couldn’t wash more clothes at a time. |
| D．The bag couldn’t be folded up. |
| A．Blown. | B．Pushed |
| C．Figured. | D．Run. |
| A．will lighten the burden on housewives |
| B．will replace the traditional washing machines |
| C．will be widely used by more travelers in the future |
| D．can encourage more people to travel a long distance |
【推荐2】A proposed dam near the Grand Canyon would flood miles of the Little Colorado River Gorge, resulting in severe consequences for sacred Native American cultural sites and local wildlife, an environmental group has warned.
If the plan eventually gets the green light, the 24-story structure will be built across the Little Colorado River about 6 miles upstream from the point where it meets the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park. In fact, the dam’s planned location lies within the Navajo Nation Native American territory.
The dam would measure 240 feet high and 500 feet wide. The plan also involves a second 140-foot-high dam as well as other construction. The developers say the project would be able to produce 3,300-gigawatt(千兆瓦)hours of power.
The permit for the Little Colorado River site has now been accepted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC), meaning the project is one step closer to becoming a reality. However, environmentalists are concerned about the damage that such a project could cause.
The Center for Biological Diversity(CBD) — a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild areas—has warned that the dam would cause flooding that has the potential to "eliminate" miles of river habitat for an endangered, federally protected fish known as the humpback chute(弓背鲑), which is found in the Grand Canyon.
Meanwhile, the CBD says that the project would “industrialize" lands near two sacred cultural sites of the Hopi Tribe, whose reservation is entirely surrounded by the Navajo Nation territory. Taylor McKinnon, a senior public lands campaigner at the CBD, said in a statement, "This would create profound cultural and biological harm. There will be an enormous effort to stop this dangerous proposal in its tracks."
The FERC says that public will be allowed to comment on or seek to prevent the project until November 22.
1. What is mainly talked about the dam in Paragraph 2?| A．The amount of work. | B．The appearance. |
| C．The location. | D．The influence. |
| A．The cultural and biological harm. | B．The destruction of Indian homes. |
| C．A decrease in the amount of water. | D．The abolition of Indian reservation. |
| A．They will seldom come into sight. | B．They will disappear from the earth. |
| C．They will be listed as endangered. | D．They will move to other rivers. |
| A．Favourable. | B．Indifferent. | C．Beneficial. | D．Damaging. |
| A．Two Voices on the Dam | B．Two Different Opinions on Energy |
| C．The Protection of Culture | D．A Coming Debate on the Dam |
【推荐3】Forget spending the whole night studying for the exam. There’s another way to cram (突击式学习) for tests. New research by scientists at Northwestern University in Chicago shows people can actually learn while they’re asleep.
In the new study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, participants were given diagrams that showed them how to play two simple piano melodies, each 12 notes long. They spent an equal amount of time practicing playing each tune, and then took a 90-minute nap (小睡). While they slept, one of the melodies was quietly played on repeat for four minutes. As a result, upon awakening, the participants could accurately play the melody 4 percent more often than the melody that was not played while they slept, considering it resulted from just four minutes of “sleep-learning.”
“The re-activation (重新激活) process in the experiment is thought to affect a naturally occurring memory consolidation (巩固) process that normally happens over months (possibly years),” said Paul Reber, a psychologist at Northwestern and co-author of the study. So, besides piano songs, what kinds of information can you “cram” while asleep?
Clearly, resting your textbook near your dreaming head won’t do any good. “As long as the memory is tied to a specific type of sound, it looks like the sound can re-activate and strengthen the previously learned information,” Reber said. “It is possible that this effect would help with strengthening memories from a lecture and that it could even help speed up second-language learning.”
In other words, if you’re learning a foreign language, it may help to put on recordings of the language while you sleep. If you need to memorize information presented in a classroom lecture, it might also help to record the lecture and play it quietly at night.
1. The first paragraph serves as a(n) _____.| A．introduction | B．background | C．comment | D．conclusion |
| A．the participants had learned to write the piano melodies |
| B．the participants played each melody for about 90 minutes |
| C．the two melodies were basically of the same level of difficulty |
| D．the two melodies were played in turn while the participants slept |
| A．To tell us the importance of sleep. |
| B．To prove sleep-learning is possible. |
| C．To recommend a way for us to learn music. |
| D．To show that music can improve our memory. |
| A．Study music carefully. | B．Record the sound of sleeping. |
| C．Put a book beside our head. | D．Play recordings quietly. |
【推荐1】On October 3, 1945, a ten-year-old boy stood on stage at a contest. One of his teachers had encouraged him to enter the contest after hearing him sing one morning. He placed fifth.
A few months later, he received a guitar for his 11th birthday. What he really wanted was a bicycle. Two of his uncles gave him basic guitar lessons. But he didn’t like singing in public. He was too shy.
Yet something inside kept pulling him back to music. In 1948, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. The boy would spend every moment of his free time on Beale Street, the heart of the Memphis Blues Scene. He’d often bring his guitar to school. Yet his eighth grade teacher gave him a C in music. She told him that he had “no gift for singing”.
In 1953, the young man walked into the offices of Sun Records. But the record went nowhere. He tried out for a local singing group, but failed in the audition. He told his father, “They told me I couldn’t sing.”
Then Sam Philips, the owner of Sun Records heard this young man’s record. Sam invited him back to the studio and asked him to sing as many songs as he knew. Yet even then, it was not going well. The young man was about to go home when he suddenly picked up his guitar and started singing a 1946 Blues song, That’s All Right. Philips immediately began taping; he knew this was the sound he’d been looking for. Sun Records released the album. No one had ever heard anything like it before.
Within three years Elvis Presley（猫王）was an international superstar.
1. What did the boy hope for as the 11th birthday gift?| A．A guitar. | B．A birthday party. |
| C．A bike. | D．A music lesson. |
| A．He eventually gave up singing. | B．His teacher encouraged him. |
| C．His family sent him to a music school. | D．He was still addicted to music. |
| A．A short performance. | B．A previous plan. |
| C．A singing contest. | D．A new record. |
| A．Actions speak louder than words. |
| B．Two heads are better than one. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
【推荐2】In September, a tragedy happened on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. As many as 380 pilot whales became stranded (搁浅) in shallow water there and later died. This might have been Australia’s largest stranding event on record, the BBC reported.
But mass whale stranding is not uncommon. For centuries, it has happened all over the world and has puzzled scientists. Scientists say the cause is often unknown. But they have offered many different explanations.
Some say the whales chase small fish for food and end up in shallow water because they are not paying attention to where they are going.
Others think the stranding has something to do with Earth’s geomagnetic field. They say that a geomagnetic compass in whales’ brains controls their position. Unusual changes in Earth’s magnetic field can affect the whales’ compasses and send them in the wrong direction.
Another explanation suggests that mass stranding is caused by the close relationships that whales have. Pilot whales travel in large groups. One lead whale might mistakenly lead the whole group to shallow water. “And if one gets into trouble, the others will not leave,” said Sheryl Gibney, a leading biologist from New Zealand. “Some will come in and try to help, they get trapped on the beach, then more will come.”
The whales are trapped by mistake or out of sympathy. Once they get stranded, they will likely die. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US, less than 10 percent of all stranded whales survive.
1. What do we know about the stranding?| A．It happened on the east coast of Australia. | B．It is commonly seen in September each year. |
| C．It caused the death of over 300 pilot whales. | D．It broke a world record. |
| A．run after | B．give up | C．help with | D．compete against |
| A．They will change their direction. | B．They will stay and try to help it. |
| C．They will push it near the beach. | D．They will travel with another group. |
| A．How human activity has affected whales. |
| B．What might cause whale strandings. |
| C．How whales find their direction while traveling. |
| D．What scientists are doing to save stranded whales. |
| A．Travel journal | B．Tourism magazine | C．News website | D．Science textbook |
【推荐3】When I was a little girl, I was foolish enough to believe everything adults said. Even I was scared to death by a word my mother said.
It all started when my elder brother came home with a heavy bag of cherries(樱桃)a friend gave him. In order to spend a pleasant afternoon, my sister suggested we have a competition to see who could eat the most cherries in as short a time as possible and be the winner. We all jumped at her idea, and the competition began in no time. Our action had to be fast and we must know how to bite in the middle of the cherry to chew and spit the seed out losing no time. I realized that this wasn't a good game to play. And I suddenly found that I have swallowed more than one seed down to my stomach. Then Mother came and laughed and said to me, "tonight when you sleep, a cherry tree will grow out from your head." I was jittery and scared. I believed every word she said at that age. I was rather frightened that night thinking how I was going to make it to school the next morning if I had a tree on top of my head or how I would leave this world just like that because of the cherry seeds in my stomach. I couldn't sleep the whole night.
Well, the next morning, I woke up to my surprise, and discovered nothing had changed. My head was normal as it was. But one thing remains unchanged until this day. My love for cherries stays forever.
1. Why did they start the cherry eating competition?| A．Because they wanted to challenge their friends. |
| B．Because their mother asked them to do that. |
| C．Because they wanted to have a happy afternoon. |
| D．Because they just wanted to please their brothers. |
| A．pleased | B．disappointed |
| C．lucky | D．nervous |
| A．She was just joking. | B．She wanted to help the writer |
| C．She didn't know what to do | D．She was too strict with her children |
| A．Because her mother asked her to do that. |
| B．Because she was too young at that time. |
| C．Because her brother had the similar experience before. |
| D．Because she wanted to have a good relationship with her mother. |
| A．Introduce a kind of fruit to readers | B．Show her anger to her mother |
| C．Show the reason why she hates the fruit | D．Tell an interesting story of her childhood |
