Students should be able to show what they know. Many folks take this as a self-evident truth. But I think it demands closer examination.
Possessing a skill or piece of knowledge is not the same thing as being able to show it. This is why many smart young people hate school. Understanding, figuring out, and getting a handle on a piece of knowledge is really exciting, but have to prove to somebody else that you understand is a big fat pain in the neck.
Finding proof of student learning is a huge part of the teacher's job, and whether it is done poorly or not makes all the difference in that teacher's effectiveness. There is a huge difference between "How do I figure out if this student understands" and "How do I make this student prove to me he gets it." The first is a valuable approach; the second is the first step on the road toward wasting everybody's time.
And there's the problem. If we start with the assumption（假定）that a student who knows must be able to show his knowledge to our satisfaction, we will be traveling down the wrong road The more we demand that students prove to us that they know the stuff, the more we will design artificial tasks that demand a set of skill and knowledge entirely different from the skills and knowledge we really want to measure.
As a classroom teacher, I have to remember that the burden is on me to find a way to see what my students know; the burden is not on them to put on whatever trained monkey show I design for my own case and convenience.
It may not be the worst thing ever to say "Students should be able to show what they know." But I think it's far more useful to say, "Teachers should be able to discover what students know."
1. What does the underlined phrase in the second paragraph mean?| A．Very dangerous. | B．Very difficult. |
| C．Very annoying. | D．Very frequent. |
| A．They should be limited in number. |
| B．They are a huge burden on teachers. |
| C．They slide away from their original purpose. |
| D．They should mainly focus on effectiveness. |
| A．Students should be able to show what they know. |
| B．Teachers should be able to discover what students know. |
| C．There are many ways to find proof of student learning. |
| D．There should be better understanding between teachers and students. |
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【推荐1】More than a quarter of parents use a device to track or monitor their kids’ online activity, finds a survey from Common Sense Media and Survey Monkey. It’s far more than the percentage of teens (15%) who think their parents are tracking or monitoring what they do online. Whether all that snooping (调查) is effective seems unclear. Only 30% of teens who responded to the survey said their parents were “extremely” aware or “very” aware of what they do online. By comparison, 52% of parents believed they were “very” aware of their kids’ web activity.
“There’s a pretty big difference between parents who say they know and what kids say parents know,” said Michael Robb, director of research for Common Sense Media. The online survey was among a national sample of 884 teens and 3,282 parents of teens.
Options for tracking kids’ online activities vary from tools for your router capable of tracking the websites users visit to apps letting you review your child’s smart phone call logs and text messages.
Devorah Heitner, author of the book Screen Wise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) In Their Digital World, suggests mentoring kids about best online practices instead of monitoring. If parents do choose to monitor, they should talk with their kids first. “You have to really ask yourself what you think you’re going to learn by monitoring your kid,” she said, “What’s your plan of action if you see something that concerns you?”
Other findings from the survey: Snapchat is the app that causes the most anxiety for parents. The survey found 29% said the messaging apps make them most nervous, followed by Facebook at 16%.Teens don't like Facebook as much as Snapchat or Instagram. More than three-quarters of teens said they use both messaging apps, but only 49% said they use Facebook, while 42% said they use Twitter.
Robb said Common Sense Media plans to partner with Survey Monkey on future online polls because the pace of technology is so rapid. “These surveys will be a quicker way to take the pulse of parents and teens.”
1. Which of the following is true according to the survey?| A．Snapchat is the biggest worry for both parents and kids |
| B．Some parents choose to use apps to track their kids’ online activity. |
| C．Twitter will cooperate with Facebook on future online polls. |
| D．Kids are aware that over 25% of parents use a device to track their online activity. |
| A．inform that the snooping seems to be ineffective |
| B．warn that the kids are being monitored by their parents |
| C．predict that more and more parents will monitor their kids’ online activities |
| D．indicate that the number of parents tracking teens online is beyond the kids’ imagination |
| A．Parents had better not monitor their kids’ online activities. |
| B．Parents should communicate with their kids while monitoring their online activities. |
| C．Parents need to ask their kids permission before guiding them about online activities. |
| D．Parents must often reflect on their purpose of monitoring their kids’ online activities. |
| A．It is too young for kids to go online. |
| B．Teens don’t like Facebook at all. |
| C．Michael Robb is confident of the future online polls. |
| D．Common Sense Media plans to partner with Survey Monkey in the future. |
【推荐2】Yu Yi, Honorary President of Shanghai Yangpu Senior High School, is among the first generation of Chinese teachers after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Yu was born in 1929, not long before Japan invaded (侵略) China. Her road to education was very difficult. During the war, Yu studied in many schools before she was admitted to Zhenjiang High School.
In 1947, Yu was admitted to the Department of Education of Fudan University in Shanghai. In 1951, as she was about to become a teacher, Yu decided to tie her future to the motherland.
As a Chinese teacher, Yu has been thinking about how to teach every class well. Rather than follow the traditional teaching method, in which teachers keep speaking while students just listen, Yu used a different one. She had her students read revolutionary (革命) books, which put the “red gene (基因)” in their blood and helped them set higher goals. In her view, Chinese classes not only teach children to use the language, they also shape children’s souls. For decades, Yu has devoted herself to her work. She has also written many books on teaching.
“I have said I will be a teacher for the rest of my life, and I will also learn to be a teacher for the rest of my life, which is by no means empty talk. I have been learning all my life, constantly improving and perfecting my personality. I keep thinking about how many lessons I have given and how many are really taught to students,” Yu says.
1. Which of the following orders is right about Yu’s experiences?①She became the honorary president of Shanghai Yangpu Senior High School.
②She went to the Department of Education of Fudan University.
③She decided to connect her future with her country.
④She attended Zhenjiang High School after studying in many schools.
| A．④②①③ | B．④②③① | C．②③④① | D．②④③① |
| A．They should just learn more about Chinese history. |
| B．They should only learn and use revolutionary works. |
| C．They should speak Chinese and listen to teachers more. |
| D．They should have their souls shaped besides using Chinese. |
| A．She finds it not easy to work as a teacher. |
| B．She decides to devote herself to teaching. |
| C．She has written a lot of books on teaching. |
| D．She is fond of commenting on others' lessons. |
| A．Creative and learned. | B．Wise but selfish. |
| C．Caring and forgiving. | D．Energetic but careless. |
【推荐3】I was in the garden with Augie, my grandson, watching the bees. “How do they make honey?” Augie asked. “Actually, Augie, I don’t know,” I replied. “But, Grandma, you have your phone,” he said. For Augie, holding a smartphone almost means knowing everything.
During my childhood I was crazy about books. Over time, reading hijacked my brain, as large areas once processing the real world adapted to processing the printed word. As far as I can tell, this early immersion (沉浸) didn’t prevent my development.
Many parents worry that “screen time” will damage children’s development, but recent research suggests that most of the common fears about children and screens are unfounded. There is one exception: looking at screens before bed really disturbs sleep, in people of all ages. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) used to recommend strict restrictions on screen exposure. Last year, the organization examined the relevant science more thoroughly and changed its recommendations. The new guidelines stress that what matters is what children watch and with whom.
New tools have always led to panic guesses. The novel, the telephone, and the television were all declared to be the End of Civilization, particularly in the hands of the young. Part of the reason may be that adult brains require a lot of focus and effort to learn something new, while children’s brains are designed to master new environments naturally. New technologies always seem disturbing to the adults attempting to master them, while attractive to those children like Augie.
When Augie’s father got home, Augie rushed to meet him and said in excitement. “Daddy, Daddy, look,” he said, reaching for my phone. “Do you know how bees make honey? I’ll show you…”
1. Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “hijacked” in Paragraph 2?| A．occupied. | B．damaged. | C．improved. | D．relaxed. |
| A．The harm to children. | B．The content and context. |
| C．Children’s sleep. | D．People’s fears. |
| A．Opposed. | B．Doubtful. | C．Disappointed. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Augie’s father might get angry for Augie used a phone. |
| B．Augie asked his father about how bees make honey. |
| C．Augie’s father didn’t know how to answer Augie’s question. |
| D．Augie was excited to know new knowledge through the smart phone. |
【推荐1】With chip (芯片)readers, auto-reload apps, and one-dick online purchasing, it’s only too easy to buy something without fully registering how much it costs. That said, even if you’re not counting out small change for the cashier these days, you’ve probably still noticed how often prices end in .99.
Maybe you assumed it had something to do with tax laws, or else it was a leftover practice from decades ago, when things cost less and pennies mattered more. In fact, it’s actually a clever psychological tool that tricks your brain into thinking the price of an item is lower. “Because we read from left to right, we pay less attention to the end of the number versus (与……相比) the beginning,” DealNews.com consumer analyst Julie Ramhold told Reader’s Digest. So, for example, your mind will interpret $9.99 as $9. though it’s obviously much closer to $10.
Just one dollar’s difference might not seem like enough to a fleet your decision on whether to buy something, but it can push an item into a lower price range—and that’s enough to make your mind think it costs significantly less. To your subconscious brain, a one-digit (一位数的)price like $9 seems a lot cheaper than a two-digit price like $10.
Though ending prices in 9 might be the norm, there is a fair amount of variation when it comes to retailers’ pricing tactics (定价策略). Live Science reports that because we often see a price ending in 9 as a cheap deal, some stores—like J. Crew and Ralph Lauren—save the nines for their sale items, and use numbers ending in 0 for their full-priced items, giving the impression that those items are high-quality. Thrift stores (二手商店),on the other hand, often use whole numbers for all their products.
1. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?| A．an auto-reload app | B．a chip |
| C．one-click | D．something |
| A．Ending in .99 is a mentally low price. |
| B．Ending in .99 is a reasonable price. |
| C．Ending in .99 is a fit to tax laws. |
| D．Ending in .99 is a one-digit lower price. |
| A．To show the items are cheap enough. |
| B．To show the items are in high-quality. |
| C．To show the items are fit for the norm. |
| D．To show the items are different enough. |
| A．Buy What You Want at the Right Prices |
| B．Why Are So Many Prices Lower? |
| C．The Reason So Many Prices End in .99 |
| D．Saving the Nines for Your Purchasing Items |
【推荐2】Is running a marathon (马拉松) under two hours possible? Will a human ever be able to run that fast? Now, the world record for the 42.195km (26.219 miles) distance is held by the Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge. His time of 2:01:39 hours was achieved at the Berlin Marathon of 2018.
But studies published in the past have come to the conclusion that running a marathon under 2 hours can be done. They even see a time of around 1:57 as the fastest a human can ever run. However, we may have to wait longer for this to happen.
To achieve an under two-hour marathon, an athlete would have to have the perfect body size and weight, the right running plans and of course, the right nutrition (营养). Today’s perfect runners come from Kenya and Ethiopia, countries that have dominated (占优势) long distance races for years. East African athletes have long legs and lungs that can take in lots of oxygen (氧). Training at high altitudes (海拔) gives them a strong heart. Ideal weather conditions with cool temperatures and no wind will also be needed to attempt such a mark. An extremely fast marathon would only be possible on flat city courses, like Berlin or London.
Since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, athletes have tried to run long distance races as fast as possible. In 1900, the marathon world record was at around 3 hours. In the following 30 years, men were able to reach a mark of 2:30. But in the last 15 years, the world record has improved by only 3 minutes.
On the other side, some experts think that such fast performances will only be possible with the help of some medicine.
1. Why is the world record mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To show a human can run very fast. |
| B．To prove Eliud Kipchoge is the best. |
| C．To introduce the greatest success in the world. |
| D．To show an under two hour marathon hasn’t been achieved yet. |
| A．It requires too many things to fit together. |
| B．It isn’t easy to find right running plans. |
| C．Training a perfect runner takes a long time. |
| D．Kenyan and Ethiopian runners control marathons. |
| A．High altitudes. | B．Lots of oxygen. |
| C．A perfect environment. | D．Tall and strong runners. |
| A．Men will run faster and faster. |
| B．Men made the greatest progress in 1930. |
| C．Achieving shorter time became more difficult. |
| D．It’s impossible to break the marathon world record. |
【推荐3】College students usually hear the praises of education. We have all become used to believing that a college education is always a guarantee of an easier life. I was nine years old when my fourth-grade teacher presented me with a task, to write down all of the things I wanted in my life. I filled my paper with things like: own a big house and have servants; be rich and have a good job. The next day my teacher handed back my paper and in red ink she wrote: “GO TO COLLEGE.” For a long time, I believed that once I got a college education, BAM! Life would be easier.
However, education cannot promise all wishes, dreams, and desires. Society must reject (拒绝接受) the foolish idea that a college education’s main purpose is to satisfy our desires and secure success. Like most challenging things, education is a gamble (赌博) in which results depend entirely on people’s ability to look past their wants to see the realism and reason behind their wants.
For example, my first year of college, I took a sociology (社会学) class. In class, we were taught that Third World countries were poor. We learned that our quality of life would be almost impossible for an average person in those countries. I began to examine my own desire to be rich. To always go after money felt selfish when knowing others had none at all. Learning about other society’s economic situations forced me to look beyond what I wanted.
Through the process of education, everything once desired is tested. Wanting something no longer is enough; it’s more important to examine why we want it and whether we really want it. When my desire for money changed, everything changed. I stopped longing for money-driven careers and stopped valuing the people who had them. I began to examine the things I bought and my reason for wanting them.
Education is a tool to be used to develop and advance our desires, so we can discover the things that are truly important in life. Education is a source to improve our society to see beyond the superficial (表面的) attractions and the “quick fixes”, leaving the belief of an effortless life behind in order to desire a meaningful one.
1. What does the underlined word “guarantee” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Promise. | B．Process. | C．Attraction. | D．Dream. |
| A．the author was a bad-working student |
| B．the author should set more realistic goals |
| C．college students were leading an easy life |
| D．a college education was the key to the author’s dreams |
| A．To share her leaning experiences with readers. |
| B．To support her new understanding about education. |
| C．To express her pity on people in Third World. |
| D．To stress the importance of taking a sociology course. |
| A．College education is a key to an effortless life. |
| B．College education offers solutions to social problems. |
| C．College education tests and guides our life desires. |
| D．College education turns young people into gamblers. |
【推荐1】When Lina was awoken by the sound of thunder, she was alone on the island. The air was cool and bullfrogs croaked. It was that brief moment when the summer sun had set but the stars hadn’t yet appeared. Lina rubbed her eyes and looked around. “Hello?” she called. “Celia? Marie?” There was no response.
The moon was rising now, shedding light on the island. They had always called it “Forgotten Island “because no one but they seemed to remember its existence. It wasn't on any of the maps they could find, and even the forest rangers didn’t know about it. Lina loved that the island, hidden in a heavily-wooded side stream of the river, was a secret between the three friends-her, Celia, and Marie. But now Lina was here alone, and it was night. Worse still, it was her own fault.
“Come on, Lina,let Marie row the boat.” Celia had said. Marie was two years older than Lina, but she was a hopeless rower. That’s why Lina refused and rowed the boat to the island. The argument that followed the refusal took the usual form. Celia took Marie’s side, as she always did. Lina exploded and yelled at them to just leave. So they got back in the boat and left.
A bolt of lightning crossed the darkened sky, accompanied by a deafening thunder clap. The storm was here. As the first cold raindrop slid down her neck, Lina’s mind returned to her current problem. She was stuck here by herself. She just hoped she didn’t become as forgotten as the island. The thought of it sent a chill down her back.
Suddenly, Lina spotted something in the water. It was a boat, and inside it were Marie, Celia, and Marie’s dad, who was steering through the fast flowing waters. As the boat approached, they saw Lina waving and the worried expressions on their faces turned to relief.
In her excitement Lina jumped into the river. Only once she was in the icy water did she remember how fast the water was moving. Luckily a strong arm reached into the water and pulled her out. She smiled weakly at Marie’s dad and, without a word, hugged Celia and Marie. They didn’t seem to mind becoming wet.
1. What is special about the island?| A．It is very near the ocean. |
| B．It is a popular place for boating. |
| C．It is surrounded by thick forest. |
| D．It has never been reached by others. |
| A．Lina was left alone on the island. |
| B．Marie would not help row the boat. |
| C．Marie didn't know how to row the boat. |
| D．Celia supported Marie in the disagreement. |
| A．Her shame about the unnecessary argument. |
| B．The first raindrop of the approaching storm. |
| C．The idea that no one would come to save her. |
| D．The drop in temperature as the sun went down. |
| A．All of them could swim well. |
| B．They had an adventurous spirit. |
| C．They lived far away from the island. |
| D．They quarreled with one another badly. |
【推荐2】History of amusement parks takes us back to the barperiodic fairs，like the Bartholomew Fair which started in England.These can be considered a parent for the modern amusement park.Opening in the Elizabethan period，the fair had developed as a center of amusement with entertainment with fun，food，games，and many other attractions.The beer festival held in Munich，Germany which started in 1810 and the county and state fairs in the US，also played a part in the brief history of amusement parks.Unlike the Bartholomew Fair，these annual events were usually held during an important time when crops were ripe，which deserved to be marked.
Amusement parks are also known to have grown out of the pleasure gardens that became very popular at the start of the Industrial Revolution.These were the zones where one could shun the dull urban life for a short while.We can find the oldest and stillsurviving amusement park in the world：Bakken in Denmark，which opened in 1583.These parks consisted of fireworks displays，rides and the modern railroad to accommodate the growing expectations from their customers.
Another turning point in the history of amusement parks was the world’s fairs which began in 1851.The Crystal Palace in London，England was a landmark and celebrated the industrial achievements of the world.These were seen as symbols of economic and industrial success.In the last decade of the 19th century，the electric trolley lines became extremely popular.Mechanical amusements，dance halls，sports fields，and restaurants were included as regular entertainments，as the history of amusement parks reflects.
The golden age in the brief history of amusement parks didn’t appear until people especially Americans spent less time on work and got a steady rise in their personal income.A number of amusement parks including the kiddie park were set up outside major cities and in the countryside，to make full use of this new economic opportunity.The original Kiddie Park is located in San Antonio，Texas and is still in operation today.
1. What was the purpose of the early Munich beer festival?| A．To celebrate harvest together. |
| B．To show local attractions. |
| C．To create a stable agricultural market. |
| D．To found a center of amusement. |
| A．Experience. | B．Complain. |
| C．Tolerate. | D．Avoid. |
| A．The Industrial Revolution. |
| B．Advances in technology. |
| C．More time and money for fun. |
| D．Economic and industrial success. |
| A．By comparing amusement parks. |
| B．By providing examples. |
| C．By describing historical events. |
| D．By commenting on events. |
【推荐3】“I want to mention an example,” Guo said. “How should a director choose a film project among 100 film scripts? A good story is an important criterion, under which 95 film scripts may be less than adequate. Eventually we have five good stories to enter our final considerations. In this case, an additional criterion should be considered if the story gives strong messages about our Chinese culture. If so, we may undertake it. But if not, why should we bother to make a film that filmmakers from other nations can also produce?”
Smash hit The Wandering Earth is based on works by Liu Cixin, who has tried to create an obviously Chinese style of science fiction. Also, critics owe the film’s domestic success to its unique cultural context because it tells a story Chinese people are quite familiar with. For instance, the Chinese people in the film wanted to help make the Earth move as it was coming to a stop. Some critics have pointed out that this plot point is linked with Chinese farming culture.
Regarded as a science fiction director, Guo continued to say that a style of Chinese sci-fi film hasn’t been set up yet. He believes that China is not ready to make ‘soft’ sci-fi films, which put more focus on characters, culture and sociology.
“There’s a logical order in it. We may find there are both lots of soft and hard science fiction films in Hollywood. But the hard sci-fi movie, a category characterized by focusing on scientific accuracy and logic, came first to serve as a foundation,” Guo said. “Hollywood filmmakers spent decades making hard sci-fi movies, which paved the way for the growth of soft sci-fi films afterwards. China is still young in making sci-fi films.”
There’s a whole new world in sci-fi film. Moviegoers will first have to believe in such a world before getting interested in it. “So, gaining their trust is important, otherwise they wouldn’t be interested in the characters as well as their emotions in the films,’’ Guo Fan said.
1. What attracts a film director’s attention?| A．A. good actor. | B．A. good story. |
| C．An important criterion. | D．An adequate film. |
| A．A true story. | B．An author’s works. |
| C．A Chinese style. | D．A. successful man. |
| A．It tells a story about Chinese culture. | B．It made many actors famous. |
| C．It aroused a widespread discussion. | D．It makes the earth move again. |
| A．Hard sci-fi films mainly focus on characters. | B．The Wandering Earth was made in Hollywood. |
| C．China has a long way to go in Sci-fi films. | D．The soft sci-fi films mainly center on logic. |
Becoming an adult is a very important life change, and Japan has a special holiday to celebrate this. The second Sunday in January is Coming-of-Age Day. On that day, everyone who had their twentieth birthday in the last year goes to their Town Hall for a special activity. Everyone dresses up, and many women wear beautiful dresses. The mayor makes a speech and gives presents to all the new adults.
Some kids are afraid to start school, but six-year-olds in Germany can’t wait. For them, Schulanfang is a big holiday. To celebrate a child’s first day of school, parents or friends give the child a Zuckertuete, a big color box filled with candy and little presents. People take pictures of the kids holding their Zuckertuete, and there is a school party later for the parents with cake and coffee.
1. What happens at Quinceanera?
| A．The birthday girl buys many gifts. |
| B．The birthday girl goes to the church. |
| C．Parents give a Zuckertuete to the child. |
| D．Parents make speeches in the church. |
| A．On one’s first day of school. |
| B．On one’s twentieth birthday. |
| C．On a girl’s fifteenth birthday. |
| D．On the second Sunday in January. |
| A．start school | B．reach the age of 15 |
| C．grow into adults | D．are born |
| A．Celebrating birthdays. |
| B．Celebrating school holidays. |
| C．Celebrating life changes. |
| D．Celebrating national holidays. |
【推荐2】The world’s most popular animals are in more danger than we realize, according to a new study. A survey of the Public’s Knowledge suggests many people are unaware that the animals they consider “inviting” are under threat in the wild. These include lions, elephants, tigers and other animals which frequently appear in branding and advertising.
The idea of “inviting” species has come up recently in Conservation Biology, explains Dr. Franck Courchamp, the study’s lead author. “There is a regular claim that the most ‘inviting’ species are attracting most of the time and resources. I started wondering whether this was true and followed by better results in conservation,” he told BBC News.
Using an online survey available in four languages, researchers asked the public to name the wild species they considered most attracting. They also looked at how frequently animals were represented on zoo websites, and on the covers of Disney and Pixar films. Additionally, the team had volunteers in France catalogue their meeting with virtual (虚拟的) populations of the 10 most “inviting” animals over the period of a week. They saw an average of 4.4 lions in cartoons, magazines and other sources each day, suggesting that people are likely to see two to three times as many “virtual” lions in a year as there are lions in West Africa. “Mostly I think because people see giraffes and lions every day of their life, they unconsciously think they are in abundance,” Dr. Courchamp said.
Despite their abundant media representation, nine of the animals on the list are classed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. When researchers asked survey participants whether they thought these animals were endangered, almost half of the participants thought that critically endangered gorillas (大猩猩) were not under threat.
As for this, Dr. Courchamp proposes a solution. Companies would donate money to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in return for using the animals in their branding or advertising. “I think it’s not so unrealistic,” says Dr. Courchamp. “There are already some companies that do that. Jaguar is in partnership with Panthera, an organization protecting wild cat species. Lacoste also made a campaign recently where they replaced their logo with images of endangered species.”
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The ten most attracting animals. |
| B．The importance of saving wild animals. |
| C．Animals’ images needing more attention. |
| D．Animals’ attraction harming their conservation. |
| A．the media | B．their preferences |
| C．the IUCN Red List | D．other participants’ opinions |
| A．Relieved. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Excited. |
| A．Raising people’s environmental awareness. |
| B．Asking big companies to organize campaigns. |
| C．Funding conservation by trading animals’ images. |
| D．Appealing for cooperation in NGOs for animal protection. |
【推荐3】I resisted (抗拒) for years becoming anything like my dad or at least admitting that I was anything like him because I wanted to be me, not him; but there I sat at his funeral (葬礼) several months ago, telling myself, “You’ve got a lot more of your dad in you than you think.”
There’s this phrase my dad used, and I know I’m going to sound rude to complain about it, but it did use to bother me. “I’m so proud of you,” he told us kids, whether we’d won a sailing race or run a marathon or managed to get a book published. “I’m so proud of you.” That should be a good thing, but here’s what always went through my unforgiving mind: You’re taking credit for what isn’t really yours but mine. “I’m so proud of you.” It came out of my dad’s mouth all the time, on those long-distance calls where I might have mentioned something that happened at work or when he and Mom came to visit and we showed off the talents of our two boys.
I knew the feeling of parental pride well, especially when my boys achieved in ways that were beyond my comprehension and ability, but I looked for other ways to express it. “That’s an incredible story you’ve written,” I would say about the composition. “I can’t believe how fast you solved that problem.” I would admire the work of the math genius. But never just the blanket phrase.
But there I was at Dad’s funeral, about to praise him, thinking that I could say exactly what my brother said, “He lets me be me.” That was his achievement. In the phrase that I promised I would never say to my children was a world of forgiveness, care and appreciation. So just the other day when my older son, now a promising manager, sent me an email about the thank-you dinner his latest client threw him, I thought hard for clever things to say, finally realizing my kids just want what my dad gave me. “I’m so proud of you,” I wrote. Just like the old man.
1. What do we know from Paragraph 1?| A．The writer missed his father in his deepest heart. |
| B．The writer’s father loved him more than anyone else. |
| C．The writer took on his father’s characteristics. |
| D．The writer resisted accepting his father’s love for him. |
| A．He should work harder. |
| B．He didn’t clearly know what his father meant. |
| C．His father went too far to praise him. |
| D．His achievement was wrongly taken by his father. |
| A．He failed to find another way. |
| B．He wished his kids to achieve more. |
| C．He accepted his father’s way to show love. |
| D．He wanted to sound considerate. |
| A．A Story with My Father | B．“I’m So Proud of You” |
| C．How to Praise Kids | D．My Father and My Son |
