【推荐1】In any family with more than one child, children seem to naturally compete for their parents’ love and attention. Parents say they love every child equally. But is that true?
Susan, founder of a consulting firm in Chicago, interviewed 216 women and found that even though none of her questions asked directly about a parent favoring one child over another, about two-thirds of the women said there was a favored child. And             they also remembered their experience when they were young. One of the women said, “My mother always liked my brother better, and he got to go to summer camp in 1968 and I didn’t.”
Plumez, who interviewed parents with both biological children and adoptive children for an adoption book in 2008, found that what matters most is whether your temperaments(性情) are pleasing. “In some cases, parents would say they felt closer to their adopted children,” she says, “Some parents like the children with characters similar to theirs. Two people who are shy and withdrawn might get along well, unless the shy parent doesn’t like that aspect of themselves and they try to push the naturally withdrawn child to be more extroverted.”
It could be a result of gender, birth order or how easy or difficult a child’s temperament may be, but a parent’s different treatment has far-reaching effects. Students have found that less-favored children may suffer emotionally, with decreased self-esteem             and behavioral problems in childhood. Favoritism is a reason for the next generation not to like each other.
Experts say it is not realistic to say everyone should be treated equally, because no two people are the same and they relate differently to others.
“It does not mean that parent loves or likes one child more. It has to do with which one of them is independent,” says psychologist Laurie Kramer of the University of Illinois.
1. The study carried out by Susan shows that ______.

A．showing favoritism is common in many families

B．most mothers like their sons better than their daughters

C．only two-thirds of the women interviewed have more than a child

D．it is a favoritism that leads to absence of harmony in most families

2. The underlined word “extroverted” in the third paragraph means _______.

A．independent

B．outgoing

C．clever

D．brave

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Favoritism is not beneficial to the development of children

B．Parents’ favoritism to a certain child can’t be avoided in families

C．Parents may be favoring one of their children and don’t realize it

D．People are very much shaped by how they were treated by their parents

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Parents’ favoritism can affect children deeply

B．Why do parents show favoritism to children?

C．Parents should give attention to all their children

D．Building a harmonious family is important to children

【推荐2】I came to the United States ten years ago. I would always say that I was trying to study, but there were always things like work and my kids that would not allow me to start.

Now I realized that those were only excuses. What stopped me was that I was afraid to start studying again. I always believed I would learn by myself.

One day, however, my son told me that he was sad because his friends would come over and I didn’t understand them because I didn’t speak English. He was also sad because I could never help him with his homework. That same day, I told myself, “Rocio, you have to start believing in yourself and you will see you can make it.”

The next day, I went downtown to look for a big banner (横幅) in front of the school which said that they offered classes for adults. I came in to see if I could join, but the classes were closed already. That night I took the kids to the movies, and on the way back, I told them we would take a new route. I ended up getting lost. That’s the way I found Chaffey College. The following Monday, I went to ask for information. They told me that summer school was starting that week.

That’s how I started studying English last summer. It is difficult, but I have had great rewards. My daughter had written a story for school. It was about the female they most admired and why. She wrote that I was the person she most admired because I had started going to college. I will never forget this.

1. According to the passage, the author probably is a ________.

A．teacher

B．doctor

C．father

D．mother

2. What made the author make up her mind to study English?

A．What her son said.

B．What her daughter said.

C．Thinking about herself.

D．Thinking about her daughter.

3. How did they find Chaffey College?

A．On the way to the movies.

B．They took a new route and got lost.

C．Ask a stranger for information.

D．According to the banner.

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The author came to the United States from another country.

B．The author had two children including one daughter.

C．What really changed the author’s life was that she believed in herself.

D．The author wrote that she was the person her son most admired.

【推荐3】Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. She was kind. People always seemed to feel comfortable in her presence. For years, she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home with her where she taught a ceramic(陶艺)class.

On one summer day, Mama told me to get changed and meet her at the car. I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? I imagined the cool lake water. Irritated, I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. We sat in silence. I was too upset to make conversation.

“Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?” Mama asked calmly.

“No,” I said.

“We are going to volunteer at a children’s shelter today. I have been there before and I think it would benefit you.” she explained.

When we reached the shelter, Mama rang the doorbell. Moments later, we were greeted by a woman. She led us to the front room where all of the children were playing. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with iron marks. I was told it was because she wouldn’t stop crying. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars. Others hid their emotional wounds.

As I took in my surroundings, I felt a gentle tug on my shirt. I looked down to see a little girl looking up at me. “Hi! You want to play dolls with me?” she asked. I looked over at Mama for reinforcement. She smiled and nodded. I turned back and said, “Sure.” Her tiny hand reached up and held mine, as if to comfort me.

My mom taught me a valuable lesson that summer. I returned to the shelter with her several times. During those visits, some of the children shared their troubled pasts with me and I learned to be grateful for what I had. Today as I convey these values to my own child, I reflect back to that experience. It was a time that I will never forget.

1. What do you think made the writer admire her mother?

A．Her kindness to others.	B．Her excellent teaching.
C．Her quality of honesty.	D．Her positive attitude to life.

2. According to Paragraph 2, how did the author feel when she was asked to go out with her mom?

A．Excited.

B．Angry.

C．Surprised.

D．Worried.

3. From the passage, what can we learn about the children in the shelter?

A．They were never punished.

B．They weren’t allowed to go outside.

C．They were once treated badly.

D．They all suffered from mental illness.

4. Which word is closest to the meaning of the underlined word “reinforcement” ?

A．Truth.

B．Help.

C．Comfort.

D．Support.

5. What lesson did the author learn from her experience?

A．To value what you have.	B．To play with children is fun.
C．To love others is to love yourself.	D．To do as what your parents do.

【推荐1】As you research music, you will find music that is familiar to you. You will find music which tells of interesting places and exciting things to do. You will find music which expresses feelings that are often your own.

Music is an expression of the people. As you research, you will find music of people at work and play. You will find music expressing love of the country, love of nature, and love of home.

Music is also an expression of the composer(作曲家). The composer expresses his own musical ideas. He studies the materials of music and discovers ways of using them. He looks for new kinds of musical expression.

Music can suggest actions and feelings which we all share. We can enjoy playing and singing music, dancing and listening to the music of the people and the composers of different times and places.

1. In the first paragraph, the author tells us to_______.

A．find entertainment (娱乐) in music

B．be friendly to music

C．express your feelings in music

D．discover the things and places in music

2. From the second paragraph, we know that ________.

A．if we love music, we will love the country, nature and home

B．music sings of the country, nature and home

C．you may listen to music at work or at play

D．music can express how people live, work and think

3. By means of music, the composer wishes that ________.

A．you would study with them

B．you would share his feelings and ideas

C．you would express your own feelings

D．you help discover ways of using music and new kinds of musical expression

【推荐1】Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let the other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart. When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn’t solve anything.

Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can’t just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say “Hi”, and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary, it would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance （表达）of information, correspondence （通信）, means of communication: a letter or a message”. To maintain (保持) a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it’s just by writing a note.

When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you’ll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn’t feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, not when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren’t as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie’s parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

Communication isn’t a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie’s, telling the other person how you feel---listening is the key factor to communication.

1. When parents and children are in communication, the key to a happy relationship is that       ________.

A．they should be equal

B．children should always obey their parents

C．parents play the leading part

D．both make the opposite know their feelings

2. The example in this passage proves that ________.

A．Sophie’s parents are willing to listen to her

B．communication is the solution(解决办法) to misunderstanding

C．Sophie did well in explaining her being late

D．Sophie is very polite to her parents

3. In the writer’s view, dealing with parents is ________ than with children.

A．more interesting	B．easier
C．more uninteresting	D．more difficult

4. The main idea of the second paragraph is ________.

A．the importance of communication	B．to make your feeling known to others
C．the importance of friendship	D．the disagreement between generations

5. All the following statements are correct except “________”.

A．If you don’t agree with others, you’d better let them know

B．It is better to say “Hi” to others than say nothing

C．Communication is a two-way deal

D．If you are not able to communicate, walk away

【推荐2】Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in different orbits (轨道).

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve (包含) a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality (平等) can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority (权威) on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these changing roles and attitudes. They see the1960s, as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic (民主) process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily achieved by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

1. The underlined word “gulf” in Para. 3 most probably means ________.

A．difference

B．problem

C．interest

D．closeness

2. Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B．Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C．Parents and children talk less about sex and drugs.

D．Parents share more interests with their children.

3. What is the change in today’s parent-child relationship?

A．Less confusion among parents.

B．New equality between parents and children.

C．More respect for parents from children.

D．More strictness and authority on the part of parents.

4. The purpose of the passage is to ________.

A．describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B．discuss the change of the parent-child relationship

C．suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relationship

D．stress the importance of parent-child relationship