The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house — something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh . . . that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means.
1. The writer’s first volunteer project was ________.A.working on a poor trailer | B.helping a poor family |
C.donating beds and bedding | D.dealing with a housing problem |
A.the family lived in a trailer | B.he expected to get some toys |
C.he didn’t know what a bed was | D.the boys had no bed to sleep in |
A.a trailer | B.a truck | C.a pillow | D.a house |
A.what they want to get may be unnecessary |
B.they should not waste money on small things |
C.they should do more volunteer work for the poor |
D.what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow |
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.”
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is on that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.
1. When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to ________.
A.go home alone first | B.keep walking in the snow |
C.draw pictures in the snow | D.light a fire on the ice |
A.forgettable | B.warm-hearted | C.crazy | D.cruel |
A.Tough. | B.Smart. | C.Brave. | D.Foolish. |
A.remember her tough and smart father |
B.show how her father cared about her |
C.describe memories of her childhood |
D.explain why her father loved her so much |
3 . London Underground
The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.
1. What led the British government to build the London Underground?A.Traffic jams and pollution. |
B.Population and pollution. |
C.Overcrowding and traffic jams. |
D.The poverty and subway problems. |
A.It made the tunnels larger. |
B.It put fans in the tunnels. |
C.It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. |
D.It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train. |
A.be troublesome |
B.become popular and fashionable |
C.keep up with |
D.seize |
A.To relocate the workers’ homes outside London, the government built the subway. |
B.There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened. |
C.The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. |
D.There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened. |
Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of prenatal involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.
Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."
Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.
Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."
1. The underlined expression "parental involvement " in Paragraph 1 probably means .
A.parents' expectation on children's health |
B.parents' participation in children's education |
C.parents' control over children's life |
D.parents' plan for children's future |
A.Modern parents raise children in a more scientific way. |
B.Punishing kids for bad marks is mentally damaging. |
C.Parental involvement is not so beneficial as expected. |
D.Parents are not able to help with children’s homework. |
A.help children realize the importance of schooling |
B.set a specific life goal for their children |
C.spend more time improving their own lives |
D.take a more active part in school management |
5 . It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm(闹钟)rings in my ears. I roll out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD, Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I force my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is on my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.
Some people enjoy shopping, smoking, food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my "no thank you", or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years, I have learned it’s okay to just say "no". I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.
So what drives me to roll out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say no to ice cream? Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily anxiety, increases self-confidence and energy, extends life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.
1. Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?A.Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully. |
B.Because she finishes her favorite exercise. |
C.Because she enjoys the interesting DVD |
D.Because she feels a sense of achievement. |
A.She doesn’t treat others politely. |
B.She likes to make others surprised. |
C.Others don’t understand what she does. |
D.Others try to help her by offering her food. |
A.Good health. | B.Firm belief. |
C.A strong power. | D.A regular habit. |
A.She acts in a strange way. |
B.She wants to look different from others. |
C.She aims to develop a good body shape. |
D.She has difficulty getting along with others. |
Your computer has been playing music for years, one CD at a time. Now hundreds of songs can be stored in your PC (personal computer) if they’re in the MP3 format.
What is it?
MP3 compresses music into small computer friendly files. You access MP3 music several ways : Music can be downloaded from websites that have converted vast music libraries into MP3. Or you can prerecord CDs into your PC and convert songs in minutes into MP3. Once MP3 music is on your PC’s hard drive, you can play it through your computer’s speakers, “burn” it onto blank CDs or exchange MP3 files with friends using E-mail.
How much?
Software needed to play and convert MP3 music is often free. It comes preinstalled on most new computers or can be downloaded from many websites, including MP3. com. Some MP3 sites are free. Just type “MP3 sites” into any search engine. The popular MP3 players start at around $50and can hold hundreds of songs. A blank CD on which you can record music costs about a dollar.
Advantages
MP3 turns your home PC into a tape recorder. Tiny MP3 players are the size of a card, making it easy to take hundreds of songs with you.
Disadvantages
You may find that music at many sites is limited. And some only allow you to listen rather than download offerings. Others let you download music that then can’t be copied to MP3 players. And a growing number of new CDs make it impossible to copy songs to a computer.
1. How can you get MP3 music?
A.By turning your home PC into a tape recorder |
B.By taking your own music or songs with you |
C.By copying songs to a PC through the speakers. |
D.By downloading from websites which have converted music libraries into MP3. |
A.Software needed to play and convert MP3 music is often free of charge. |
B.MP3 music can be exchanged with friends by e-mail. |
C.MP3 music can be downloaded for free at any site. |
D.A greater number of new CDs make it impossible to copy songs to a computer. |
A.fire | B.copy | C.download | D.play |
A.Free of charge. | B.Free downloading. |
C.At about fifty dollars. | D.About a dollar. |
A.That kept cities very small. |
B.The rest live in small towns. |
C.The effects of urban living on people should be considered. |
D.Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies. |
E.But even 200 years ago, only a few people could live in cities. |
F.Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive. |
G.Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings. |
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past.” We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team.” They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.” My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. ”I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome, who is now 21,agrees.”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments,” Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”
1. What is the popular images of teenagers today?
A.They worry about school |
B.They dislike living with their parents |
C.They have to be locked in to avoid troubles |
D.They quarrel a lot with other family members |
A.share family responsibility | B.cause trouble in their families |
C.go boating with their family | D.make family decisions |
A.go to clubs more often with their children |
B.are much stricter with their children |
C.care less about their children’s life |
D.give their children more freedom |
A.may be a false belief | B.is common nowadays |
C.existed only in the 1960s | D.resulted from changes in families |
A.Negotiation in family | B.Education in family |
C.Harmony in family | D.Teenage trouble in family |
Among many birds that nest in holes, the male has a light-coloured patch on its plumage(鸟羽) which acts as signal for drawing the female’s attention to a suitable nesting-place. Unlike the blue tit, the redstart(红尾鸲) may be only the male that strikingly coloured and the female is not beautiful.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood. The male was leading an interested female to holes that he had previously(先前) checked out. He sat at the entrance of each hole and put his head on to show off his white forehead, or his head in to reveal(显露) his tail.
If the female failed to react to his visual signals, the male sometimes sang for extra effect, while gliding towards her on spread wings and tail. Once the female accepts by following the male through the hole the displays stop, you must be at the right place at the right time to watch them.
1. How do the blue tits choose their nest?
A.They choose their nest together. |
B.The male chooses their nest. |
C.The house-hunter chooses their nest. |
D.The female chooses their nest. |
A.how the male made his tricks |
B.how an interested female played with the male happily |
C.what the male displayed and won the female |
D.that the male tried his best but failed to attract the female |
A.at any time | B.regularly | C.in April | D.occasionally |
A.a bird expert | B.a bird-hunter |
C.a bird raiser | D.a scientist |
10 . In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bikes to work every day. In New York, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike for a Better City. They declare that if more people rode bikes to work, there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown part of the city and so less dirty air from car engines.
For several years, this group had been trying to get the city government to help bike riders. For example, they want the city to draw special lanes(车道) for bikes on some of the main streets, because when bike riders must use the same lanes as cars there are accidents. Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.
But no bike lanes have been drawn. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea—they say it will slow traffic. Some store owners on the main streets don't like the idea—they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business.
The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, Central Park—the largest place open ground in New York—is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bikes only.
1. In New York, a group of bike riders .A.are keeping practicing for health |
B.have no cars of their own |
C.are complaining there are not enough buses |
D.are trying to settle the problem of air pollution |
A.bikes should be used instead of cars |
B.bike lanes should be drawn |
C.fewer buses or cars should be used |
D.the number of special lanes should be decreased |
A.they will make cars and buses run slowly |
B.they will make it easier for bike riders to go to parks |
C.they will make the city more beautiful |
D.they will prevent accidents |