We parents often take material things for love. “I give him everything，” a disappointed mother complains. “New shoes, videogames, and his own TV. You’d think he’d at least show me respect!”
Of course, love and presents are related. Most parents work hard to earn money. They want their children to have more than they did and have better lives. The problem is, most children don’t connect the things parents buy with the labour that is paid for them. Children have more, but our culture—television in particular—teaches them that more is never enough. Having more does not mean that a child feels loved.
From a parent’s point of view, children are not thankful. But this has to do with their natural growth. Young children see their parents as all-mighty (万能的). If parents fail to provide what they want, it must be a matter of choice. It’s normal for children, even schoolage ones, not to be able to take another person’s point of view. For example, they may dislike their parents for working long hours, and not realise that the parents would also rather have more time at home.
In addition to giving presents, we have to find other ways to express love and create memories. Reading or telling stories together, making music and playing games are all ways for families to spend time without spending money. Traditions like reading favourite poems and even snowball fights all serve the purpose (达到目的). Most importantly, as parents, we have to learn to hold back some energy from our tiring jobs. When we’re present for our children, we ourselves become the presents we want to give.
1. What does the underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 2) refer to?| A．The things parents buy. | B．Parents. | C．Children. | D．Better lives. |
| A．want fewer presents | B．want presents rather than love |
| C．are taught to ask for more | D．can live better without their parents |
| A．There’s a heavy job load for some parents. |
| B．There’s a lack of money in some families. |
| C．There’s misunderstanding between parents and children. |
| D．There’s little love between parents and children. |
| A．Our children are good presents to us. | B．We should spend more time with our children. |
| C．We ourselves need some presents. | D．We should give more presents to our children. |
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【推荐1】Children can make some pretty lofty statements and grand promises. And an 8-year-old boy who promised to get his dad his dream car was no exception-but then he actually fulfilled his promise.
A Reddit user going by the username Belairboy wrote that when he was 8 year old, he told his dad he would buy him a 1957 Chevrolet(雪佛兰)Bel Air on his 57th birthday.
''He grew up in a poor family of seven children. He never thought he would be able to own his dream vehicle but would talk about it all the time,'' Belairboy wrote.
Then the day came.
He tricked his father to look in the garage while the older man was trying to fix a cornhole board. When the dad finally looked up from his project and his son said, ''happy birthday,'' all the father could say in a whimpering tone was ''no'', as he tearfully went in for a hug.
''Oh my God, oh my God. This is real! This is real! '' the father said as he climbed into the driver's seat.'' You're kidding me. This is spotless, man.''
Later, Belairboy revealed that he had hung onto the car for two years to make the promise come true.
''We would talk about older vehicles so as to make sure how much he would enjoy it. I would show him pictures of it from the listing I found, unknown to him that it would actually be his one day, '' Belairboy wrote.'' He would get so excited and talk about owning something that he knew he never would be able to. ''
1. Why did the father say ''No'' when seeing his birthday present?| A．He didn't know what happened. |
| B．He wanted to hug his dear son first. |
| C．He was too excited to say anything else. |
| D．He knew little about this type of vehicle. |
| A．He wouldn't like it at all. | B．He would own one some day. |
| C．His son would buy one for him. | D．He would never have it in his life. |
| A．He is warm-hearted. | B．He is worth trust. |
| C．He is well-received. | D．He is hardworking. |
【推荐2】“Dad, I need your help. Come here!” My 5-year-old girl pulled me towards the computer. “Dad, please buy everything I have in the Amazon shopping cart (购物车). Here, take this cash from my savings!” The shopping cart showed ten items for a total of about 130 dollars. “Wait!” I replied.“That’s too much money! Why do you need all these things?”“Please, Dad! These items will get here before Christmas. I have a surprise for everyone. No peeking(偷看)!” she explained, and I bought everything.
A couple of days later, she got everything. I saw her then wrapping (包装) all her gifts. “Can I help you?” I asked.“No, Dad. I told you these are special surprises. No peeking!” she replied. Her excitement was obvious.
The day came. She was all around her gifts, planning, protecting, arranging. Everything had to be perfect. As soon as dinner was over, she jumped from her chair and took her gifts. She went around giving each one of us her piece of love. These were small items, but it was the meaning of giving her heart that we were really feeling. As she gave the gift to each person, she watched the expression on our faces. Our smiles were her greatest reward. Her last gift was for my 2-year-old boy—a toy car. It was hard to describe my little boy’s delight at getting this gift! For several minutes, everyone’s attention was focused on watching him go all around the house happily.
Seeing these acts of my 5-year-old helped me understand the power of giving—giving from the heart. Later that day, my girl received some gifts, but she didn’t need them. She focused on others, not on herself. It was clear that she was the one feeling true joy.
1. Why did the girl ask her father for help?| A．She didn’t have enough money. |
| B．She needed him to keep the secret. |
| C．She wanted to get his opinions on gifts. |
| D．She couldn’t make the online payment. |
| A．She felt proud. |
| B．She felt delighted. |
| C．She felt cautious. |
| D．She felt satisfied. |
| A．Pleasant. | B．Creative. |
| C．Reasonable. | D．Surprising. |
| A．To praise his daughter for her generosity. |
| B．To share his experience of raising his kids. |
| C．To discuss how to find happiness in daily life. |
| D．To share the lesson learned from his daughter. |
【推荐3】My son has poliomyelitis（小儿麻痹）and he suffered from it a lot. When he was young, my wife and I took him to see so many doctors and got different kinds of treatments. But still, he couldn’t walk like a normal kid. So he was laughed at by his peers for his walking style. His tears burnt our eyes like sulphuric acid（硫酸）. Then, he became afraid of going to school. He wouldn’t go any more.
One night, my wife had a breakdown and shouted at him, “I tell you, my kid, you might be like this forever. you are a freak in other people’s eyes, and perhaps it would never change. But in my eyes, in your dad’s eyes, you are not a freak! You are not! Even if you are, we love you and we will love you forever!” My son spoke nothing for two days. He didn’t eat or sleep. We could read he was hurt. We hoped something wonderful would fall in our family. On the third morning, he struggled to walk to my car, with his school bad in his hand of course. He raised his head high and hugged me, saying “want to go to school. Nothing will beat me.”
You know, from then on, he was never afraid of being mocked or despised anymore. If he couldn’t avoid these looks, he chose to look at them in the eyes. Later, something nice really happened and me son went to MIT. When he was asked how he managed to bear the pressure, he said, “Because of my parents.”
My dear fellow, if you care too much about how other people look at you or what their opinions are, you will never become what you want to be.
1. What does the underlined phrase mean in paragraph 2?| A．a minor nervousness | B．a serious illness |
| C．a severe depression | D．an outburst anger |
| A．he was from a poor family | B．he didn’t do well in his lessons |
| C．he walked in a strange way | D．he often burst into tears |
| A．didn’t say anything without eating or sleeping for two days |
| B．went to school unwillingly without speaking anything |
| C．burst out crying complaining about his bad experience |
| D．quarreled with his mother and left home angrily |
| A．The boy owed his success to his parents and was grateful to them. |
| B．The boy was brave to face any difficulty after being encouraged by his mother. |
| C．The boy achieved success and admitted to a famous university. |
| D．The boy finally could walk like a normal child after some treatments. |
| A．brave and hard-working | B．determined and brave |
| C．wise and easy-going | D．confident and outgoing |
Each of the 50 states in America has interesting things to offer visitors, but some are more popular than others. Washington, D.C. is famous for its historical places, like the White House and the Lincoln Memorial. Visitors to Los Angeles, California can see the Hollywood Walk of Fame or shop the stores on Rodeo Drive where they may see a star or two. The Grand Canyon in Arizona appeals to hikers, climbers and nature lovers, as does Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Trip Advisor is a website where people can write reviews about their travel experiences. There are also ratings for hotels, restaurants, and places people have visited around the world. Every year, Trip Advisor makes a list of the top 25 cities to visit in the United States. The results are based on the opinions of visitors to the website.
America’s major cities are still the most popular destinations for visitors. This is probably because of the good quality of services they provide tourists.
“They do a great job of giving travelers what they want when they’re on vacation. I think they kind of cater to every type of traveler need. So whether you’re traveling alone, you’re traveling for business, you’re traveling with your family - whatever it is, those destinations are really tuned in to delivering amazing experiences and just a lot of different opportunities when you’re there.” said Brooke Ferencsik, a tourist from Germany.
1. The author is most possibly ________.
| A．a radio announcer | B．a journalist |
| C．a university professor | D．a tour guide |
| A．Yellowstone National Park | B．The Grand Canyon |
| C．Los Angeles, California | D．Washington D.C |
| A．city residents’ kindness and care |
| B．the good services |
| C．great opportunities of jobs |
| D．the varieties of cities |
| A．Welcome to Trip Advisor |
| B．America’s Major Tourist Attractions |
| C．The Power of the Internet |
| D．It’s Tourists Who Decide Where to Go |
【推荐2】There is a constant struggle between talent and hard work. The topic of “hard work vs talent” has been researched by many scientists and even they do not have the only right conclusion.
Ericsson, Krampe, and Tech-Romer have pointed out that talent is irrelevant in distant 1993 yet. They connected success with a deliberate practice that lasts for over 10 thousand hours. Moreover, it must be goal-oriented, intensive and thoughtful for better results.
However, recent studies support another viewpoint. Both Malcolm Gladwell (2008) and David Brooks (2011) agree that there is no guarantee that a person with a higher IQ level will be more successful in life. At the same time, talent means nothing without hard work and this thought was formulated (阐述) by Stephen King several dozen years ago.
Why is talent important?
It goes without saying that there are no equal people in the world. Even siblings (兄弟姐妹) may look absolutely the same but be different in character and preferences. That means that their inborn talents are various as well.
For example, if you gather 10 children in one classroom and teach them the same information using a single approach, the results of this studying will be very different. Not only talent will play a significant role in that but also attention, desire, and even upbringing (家庭教育). Of course, it has been confirmed that intelligence is inherited but upbringing is not less important. Some parents work with their kids from the first day of pregnancy and these children will show better results than ones left on their own.
If you wish to become best of the best like an Olympic Games champion, talent appears to be a necessity here. But if you desire to get promotion and win the competition among young colleagues, hard work and desire are your keys to success even if you are not lucky to have been born talented.
1. What is Ericsson’s view on talent?| A．It’s harmful. | B．It’s unimportant. | C．It’s essential. | D．It’s helpful. |
| A．Talent is of no use without effort. |
| B．Talent is useless without a desire for success. |
| C．People should attach more importance to effort. |
| D．Smart people are not necessarily more successful. |
| A．Upbringing is as important as talent. |
| B．Talent is more significant than desire. |
| C．Children with a good upbringing perform better. |
| D．Children from the same family have different IQ levels. |
| A．Talent can make a world champion. |
| B．Talent is the decisive factor in success. |
| C．Essential factors for success vary with goals. |
| D．Hard work is enough for promotion in the workplace. |
【推荐3】Mr. Brown first went to look at the underground-fire when he was seven. “Through the hole in the earth you could see the orange fire, but you had to look fast because it was so hot,” said Mr. Brown. In 1898, he saw the fire once more.
Now, we can only see the smoke. The fire Mr. Brown saw is not the underground-fire. In fact, there are 260 coal (煤) fires in the world. They are harmful (有害) and dangerous. Then how to put them out?
Scientists have tried to set fire to underground coal to speed up (加速) the fires. In this way, the burning of underground coal would be soon finished.
1. Mr. Brown first saw the underground-fire .| A．at the age of seven |
| B．eight years old |
| C．in the year of 1898 |
| D．more than (超过) 80 years ago |
| A．it was in the hole |
| B．it was very hot |
| C．it was orange |
| D．it was harmful |
| A．There’s only one. |
| B．It’s hard to say. |
| C．There are 260. |
| D．The article doesn’t tell us. |
| A．To cover the holes with stones. |
| B．To speed up the fires. |
| C．To see the fires burning. |
| D．To do some experiments. |
| A．Watching the Underground-Fire. |
| B．A Way to Put Out the Coal Fires. |
| C．The Burning Earth. |
| D．Coal and Coal Fires. |
