【推荐1】Some of my earliest memories of Mother come from the time we lived in Prairie Village. I was about 3 years old. Mother would take me on nature hikes along the small river’s banks.

In the bushes we found insects, cocoons (茧) and butterflies. She made a butterfly net for me. While running after a butterfly in our back yard, I put the net down. Mother and I built snowmen, much taller than I, and we laughed aloud after a snowball fight. In the season of rain and flowers, singing birds and sunny mornings, the cocoon broke open, and a brilliant white butterfly came out.

One of our favorite books was “The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.” I would sit at Mother's side as she read the story. I consider the years spent with Mother “On the River” a foundation to a lifelong interest in science, inspiring me, in part, to choose a career in medicine. I recall sitting with Mom on the front of the house in Baldwin late one June evening. Dad’s tail-lights were disappearing quickly as he drove off to see his Dad, who was dying in Garnett.

Mom said, “Oh, kids, we’re only here for such a short time....” Her words were also kind of scary to me at the time, because what I heard her say was that we are all destined (注定) to die, and she had told me once before that she was afraid to die. I guessed her message was more than “Our life on earth is short and we are all destined to die” She meant that “Make the most of life while you can, here on earth. Reach for the stars!” Mother also said “Oh, kids! We’ll have the stars!” She had 5 of the stars she’d brought onto this earth. In 1963, 6th star was added, named Kip.

All of us did well in our life. 1971 found me attending Baker University, and I found a star and married her in the middle of medical school. I have added four more stars: Dean, Christine, Dan, and Dave. Dean found a star and married her. He and Shakeena now have 3 stars: Demetrius, Olivia, and Maxwell. Mom loved babies, children, and youth so much... We have the stars!

1. When the writer was three years old, his mother ________.

A．taught him a lot of knowledge	B．taught him how to enjoy himself
C．took him to get close to nature	D．let him catch butterflies every day

2. What has a great effect on the writer’s career later?

A．His mother’s words.	B．His grandfather’s death.
C．The book his mom read.	D．His life in his childhood.

3. What is the writer’s understanding of his mother’s message?

A．Live a happy life and try your best.

B．Make full use of your time and aim high.

C．Enjoy yourself and be a star in the future.

D．Enjoy your life to the full length and be happy.

4. We can learn from this passage that ________.

A．the writer’s mother was not afraid to die at all

B．the writer’s grandpa died on that late night in June

C．Shakeena is the writer’s daughter-in-law

D．Olivia must be the writer’s mother’s grandchild

【推荐2】At the board meeting everyone present was asked to tell a story of the most embarrassing moment. When Frank’s turn came, he began, “I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home.” He looked at us and said, “I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled the ocean.”

Frank’s voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me good-bye!"

He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I thought I was too old for a good-bye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, ‘No, Dad.’ It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had a surprised look on his face.

I said, ‘Dad, I’m too old for a good-bye kiss, I’m too old for any kind of kiss.’ My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out of the windshield. ‘You’re right,’ he said, ‘You are a big boy…a man. I won’t kiss you any more.’ ”

For the moment, Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes. “It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back.”

I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. “Guys, you don’t know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the check... to feel his rough old face… smell the ocean on him...to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a good-bye kiss.”

1. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A．An Embarrassing Meeting

B．A Fisherman and His Son

C．A Goodbye Kiss from Father

D．On the Way to School

2. Which of the following is not true about Frank’s father?

A．He was bearing the burden of supporting his family.

B．He was a fisherman full of strength.

C．He drove Frank to school every day.

D．He held a positive attitude towards life.

3. How did Frank’s father feel when Frank said he was too old for a goodbye kiss?

A．Excited and proud

B．Surprised and sad

C．Surprised but proud

D．Angry and disappointed

4. What does the author mainly tell us in the last two paragraphs?

A．Frank’s memories about his father’s goodbye kiss.

B．Frank’s thanks for his father’s love.

C．Frank’s regrets for hurting his father.

D．Frank’s wishes to his father.

【推荐3】When I was a child, my mom liked to make food for dinner every now and then．And I remembered one night in particular when she made dinner after a long, hard day at work．

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad．I remembered waiting to see if anyone noticed．Yet all my dad did was to reach for his toast, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school．I didn't remember what I told him that night, but I did remember watching him smear（涂上）butter on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remembered hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast．And I would never forget what he said, "Baby, I love burnt toast．"

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy goodnight and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned．He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Son, your mom spent a hard day at work today and she's really tired．And besides, a little burnt toast never hurts anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people．I'm not the best housekeeper or cook．What I've learned over the years is that trying to accept faults of each other and choosing to embrace differences of each other are the most important keys to creating a healthy and lasting relationship．

1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the author's mom?

A．She was always careless when making toast．

B．Her workday could be long and hard sometimes．

C．She enjoyed making supper for her family at times．

D．She felt soy after serving the burnt toast to her husband．

2. Which of the following best describes the author's dad?

A．Proud and crazy．	B．Thoughtful and caring．
C．Cautious and kind．	D．Generous and patient．

3. What do we know from the last paragraph?

A．Everyone is supposed to go after perfection in life．

B．A person can't be both a good housekeeper and a good cook．

C．More tolerance and understanding help people stay in good heath．

D．Accepting faults and differences is important for an impressive relationship．

【推荐1】Children should do housework. That’s a controversial (有争议的) idea, though not everyone will admit it. A few parents will say that their children are too busy for housework. Many more of us believe in our children, but the housework just doesn’t get done.

That’s a problem. For starters, housework is good for kids. Being a part of the routine work of running a household helps children develop an awareness of the needs of others, while at the same time contributing to their emotional well-being.

One small study, done over a period of 25 years, found that the best thing for young adults’ success in their mid-20s was whether they took part in housework at age 3 or 4. Those early shared responsibilities extended to a sense of responsibility in other areas of their lives.

But for all that their help matters, few kids are doing much around the house at all. In a survey of 1,000 American adults, 75 percent said they believed regular housework made kids “more responsible”. Yet only 56 percent of those with children said they required them to do housework.

Sports and homework are not get-out-of-housework-free cards. The goal, after all, is to raise adults who can balance a caring role in their families and communities with whatever lifetime achievement goals they choose. Housework teaches that balance.

What should you do when getting children to do housework? Accept no excuses. Don’t worry if you must repeat yourself again and again. If you’re spending more time getting the child to do this job than it would take to do it yourself, then you’re doing it right. Can a payment help? Maybe. But if you’re trying to teach kids to share the responsibility of a home, paying them for routine housework is not the right message.

1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A．Very few children get housework done.	B．Children are very busy with housework.
C．Housework is a must-do for parents.	D．Family members should respect each other.

2. What do we know about the small study in paragraph 3?

A．Housework helps a man live a happy life.	B．A man’s success depends on his housework.
C．Housework benefits a sense of responsibility.	D．A child must start doing housework at age 3.

3. What does the author advise parents to do in the last paragraph?

A．Balance housework and study.	B．Help the child do housework positively.
C．Do housework by themselves.	D．Pay the child for doing housework.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Adults do less housework at home in the US.	B．It is important for children to do housework.
C．Parents should do housework for their children.	D．Children need more time to do sports at home.

【推荐2】On June 28, my parents celebrated 70 years of marriage.

Mom and Dad live in Calverton. They have been through years of hard work and good times, always supporting each other.

As a child, I remember my parents working side by side for spring, fall, winter, and summer cleaning or working in the yard, or painting, and wallpapering.

My parents bought a house in Elmont. They never believed they'd be able to own their own home, and to them, it was their castle. They worked hard to decorate it and kept it looking beautiful. They taught us to work hard and to appreciate everything we had.

Mom likes everything – sightseeing, clubs, anything, and everything. Dad, even today, can't understand why she always wants to go out!

Mom is still active with the Red Hatters women's group and her gardening club. Dad spoils her by taking care of the house, but also watches a lot of baseball and does jigsaw puzzles (拼图游戏).

The key to their successful marriage is that they respect each other.

With the help of my brother, they also stay current with new technology. Their latest acquisition is an iPad.

My brother, who is 67, and I (now 69), have always known we are lucky to have such great parents. They have shown us what love is, what hard work is, and what respect is all about.

My daughter and I try to see them almost every weekend when we play cards together and catch up on the week's news.

My parents are the glue that holds our whole family together, making holidays and ordinary days special to us all.

I know we are lucky to have them both, I even save all of their voice-mail messages, just so I'll have their voice to hear when eventually they are not here. But Mom keeps telling us all she's definitely (绝对地) going to live to be 100. So we will have a few more holidays, birthdays, and memories to experience.

1. What is the main idea of Paragraphs 2-7?

A．How different the author's parents are.

B．How life has changed for the author's parents.

C．How the author's parents support each other.

D．How the author's parents managed to buy a house.

2. What do we know about the author's family?

A．They only get together for major holidays.

B．All the family members get along very well.

C．Her parents are too strict with her and her brother.

D．They only share important things with their parents.

3. Which word can best describe the author's mother?

A．Brave.	B．Quiet.
C．Honest.	D．Cheerful.

4. What is the author's purpose in writing the article?

A．To encourage old people to keep up with new technology.

B．To show how her parents have influenced them overtime.

C．To tell readers how important it is for old people to have hobbies.

D．To express her gratitude to her parents for building a happy family.

【推荐3】Many kids help out around the house with chores(家庭杂务) such as emptying the dishwasher， putting laundry away， and taking out the trash. In exchange， some kids get allowances(补贴) or other rewards such as extra computer time.

But some people do not think that kids should get rewards for doing chores. Susie Walton， a parenting educator and family coach， believes that by rewarding kids， parents are sending a message that work isn't worth doing unless you get something in return. “Running any kind of household is a team effort，” Susie said，“a home is a living space for everyone in the family. It's important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house， and that families decide together how they want their home to look， and how they are going to keep it looking like everyone wants it to look.”

Other people believe that getting a cash allowance or other rewards motivates kids to do chores， and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to earn money. There are also new applications that give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed(兑取) either online or in the real world. With the Chore Monster app kids earn digital points by completing chores that they can turn in for real-life rewards such as extra Xbox time or a trip to the mall. “Our goal is to encourage kids to earn rewards” says Chris Bergman， founder of Chore Monster，“Kids need positive reinforcement(强化) to help motivate them.”

What do you think? Should kids be rewarded for doing chores? Or should kids help out around their homes without getting anything in return? Write a 200-word response. Send it to tfkasks4you@timeforkids.com. Your response may be published in a future issue of Time For Kids. Please include your grade and contact information of your parent or teacher if you want your response to be published. The deadline for responding is February 18.

1. How does the author start the passage?

A．By listing some evidence.

B．By presenting some facts.

C．By comparing different views.

D．By stating his own experiences.

2. Which statement is true according to Susie Walton?

A．Kids should be rewarded for doing chores.

B．Parents decide what kids can do for the family.

C．Kids have the responsibility to share housework.

D．Kids can get extra computer time for doing chores.

3. The purpose of writing the text is to        .

A．invite readers to express their opinions

B．inform readers of two different opinions

C．call on readers to reflect on their behavior

D．present the author's viewpoint about parenting

【推荐2】It is possible to do many simple tricks with numbers. Here is one trick. It has seven steps.
First, write down your house number. For example, if your address is 73 Lemon Street, you would write down 73.
Next, double it. In other words, multiply(乘) it by two. Then, add five to this doubled number. For example, if your address was 73 and you doubled it, you would get 146. Then, if you added five, you’d get 151.
So, to repeat the first three steps, write down your house number, double it, and add five.
Fourth, multiply this number by 50. In our example here, if you multiply 151 by 50, you’ll get 7550.
The fifth step is to add your age to this total. For example, if you’re 26 years old, you should add 26 to this total. In our example here, the result would be 7550 plus 26, you’ll get 7576.
Sixth, you have to add the number of days in a year, which is 365. In our example here, 365 added to 7576 is 7941.   
The seventh and final step is this: subtract(减) 615 from the number that you have. In our example, 7941 minus 615 is 7326.
The result here, 7-3-2-6, is the trick. The first part of the number is the address and the last part of the number is the age of the person. That is, 73 is the address that we started with, and 26 is the age that we used.
If you follow these seven steps with any address and the age of any person. You will get the same result.
1. According to the trick, what number can you get if you are 16 years old and your house number is 85？

A．1685

B．8516

C．8165

D．1658

2. How can your age number appear at the last part of the result?

A．It’s really a trick.

B．By taking all the steps except Step1 and Step 2.

C．By taking Step 6 and Step 7.

D．By taking all the steps.

3. What’s the secret of the trick?

A．It’s impossible to know.

B．By taking Step 2 and Step 4, we get the formula(公式)：your address number ×2×50.

C．By taking all the steps except 1 and 2, we get the formula: 5×50+your age number+365－615="your" age number.

D．Both B and C.