The twins were filled with excitement as they were planning a surprise for Mother’s Day. They planned to make French toast (吐司) and chicken porridge. They had watched their mother in the kitchen. When the big _________ came, the pair went to the kitchen quietly early in the morning. They put some rice into a pot (锅) and left it to boil while they made the French toast. Jeff broke two eggs into a plate and added in some milk. Jenny put two pieces of bread into the egg mixture. Everything was going smoothly _________ Jeff started frying (煎) the bread. The pan was too _________ and the bread turned black within seconds. Jenny threw the burnt piece, put in the other piece and _________ the fire so it cooked slowly. Then Jeff noticed the porridge boiled over. Jenny felt scared. _________, Jeff stayed calm and turned off the gas quickly. Just then, they caught the smell of burning. The other piece of bread in the pan had turned _________ as well. As the twins looked around them in disappointment, their father _________. “Don’t be worried!” He helped them clean the mess quickly. After that, Jeff told their father their plan. “Sounds great! I can _________ you to cook,” their father said. Hearing this, Jenny and Jeff _________ with joy in eyes. With their father’s help, it didn’t take long __________ the French toast and chicken porridge were ready. When __________ was ready, their father left the kitchen, promising to keep their __________. The twins carried the breakfast upstairs and woke their mother up. “Happy Mother’s Day!” “It is unbelievable! You can cook! It’s the biggest __________ I have received,” seeing the breakfast, their mother said excitedly. Her face shone with __________. Their father winked (眨眼) at Jenny and Jeff and said, “They have known how to __________ others.” It was a secret only shared between them.

2 . Shawn and Pat were brothers. Twelve-year-old Shawn liked to play jokes. He did not always do his homework on time. Sometimes he forgot to wash the dishes. His bedroom was a mess! Pat, on the other hand, had always behaved like an angel. “What a wonderful baby!” his mother would say. “He never cried!” His teachers always said, “What a joy it is to have Pat in class! He is so different from his brother.”

Pat did not think much about how great he was until one day when he was watching Mostly Martin. In the show, a new boy had moved to town. “He is strange,” said Martin. “He never gets into trouble. He does everything he’s supposed to do. Everyone thinks he is perfect. He must be a robot!”

He went to find Shawn. “Am I a robot?” he asked. “Of course not.” said Shawn as he went outside. Pat thought hard. Robots were machines. They looked like people, but they were not really alive. They always followed orders. How would you know that you were one?

Pat decided to ask his parents. After all, they must know. He asked at dinner. His father laughed. “Sure!” he said, “And it’s time to change your batteries (电池)!” He jumped up and ran to the tool drawer. “Dad’s just kidding!” said Pat’s mother. “Of course you are not a robot, Pat. You are our son.” Pat felt better for a while. But that night he began to worry again. Of course his mother said he was real. Nice mothers would not tell their sons they are robots!

Pat ran to Shawn’s room. Shawn was playing a computer game in the dark. “How can I know for sure that I am not a robot?” asked Pat. For once, Shawn did not play a joke on his little brother. He could tell that Pat was really worried. After all, Pat was only six.

“What makes you think that you are one?” he said.

“People always say I am perfect,” answered Pat. “But only robots are!” Shawn smiled to himself. He knew exactly what to do. “Listen! ▲ ” he said to Pat.

The next morning, his mother opened Pat’s bedroom door. “Time to get up!”

“No,” said Pat. His mother was surprised. This had never happened before. “Get up.”

“No!” shouted Pat. He kicked his feet and rolled around in bed.

“Patrick!” his mother said in a loud voice. “Get out of bed this minute!” Pat gave a few more kicks. He felt very silly. He was also happy. No robot would ever act this way. He was a real boy. Now he knew for sure.

3 . 在校 “劳动教育月” 期间，你校英语报发起了“A Helper at Home” 主题征文活动。请根据下表信息，用英语写一篇短文投稿，谈谈你经常做的至少两项家务以及你的感受。

8 . Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children, David and Liz. The family are all busy, so they often leave notes for each other. Read these four notes for today.

9 . Many kids do housework such as doing the dishes, making the bed, and folding the clothes. In return, they get some money or other computer time.

Paying kids for housework is one of the most popular topics, especially at a time when everyone is more careful about money. Some parents think since adults are paid to do their jobs, we should pay kids for everyday housework.

But some people don’t think kids should get rewards (报酬) for doing housework. Susie Walton, an expert, 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 housework is a teamwork,”Walton said. “A home is a living space for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities (责任) in the house, and families decide how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it looking like what they want.”

Other people believe that getting a reward encourages kids to do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to get money. There are also apps that give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed (兑现) either online or in the real world.

“Our goal is to give kids lawful power so they can get rewards,” says Chris Bergman. “And kids need rewards to make them keep on doing housework.”