1 . A survey said the average Asian dad spent one minute a day with his children. I was shocked. I mean, a whole minute? Every day? Get real. Once a week maybe. The fact is, many Asian males are terrible at kid—related things. In fact, I am one of them.

Child—rearing (养育) doesn’t come naturally to guys. My mother knew the names of our teachers, best friends and crushes. My dad was only vaguely aware there were short people sharing the apartment. My mother bought healthy fresh food at the market every day. My dad would only go shopping when there was nothing in the fridge except a jar of capers and a bay leaf. Then he’d buy beer. My mother always knew the right questions to ask our teachers. My dad would ask my English teacher if she could get us a discount on school fees. My mother served kid food to kids. My dad added chili sauce to everything, including our baby food.

The truth is, mothers have superpowers. My son fell off a wall once and hurt himself all over. I demanded someone bring me a computer so I could google what to do. My wife ignored me and did some sort of chanting phrase such as “Mummy kiss it better,” and cured l7 separate injuries in less than 15 seconds.

Yes, mothers are incredible people, but they are not always right. Yet honesty forces me to record the fact that mothers only know best 99.99 percent of the time.Here are some famous slip-ups.

The mother of Bill Gates: “If you’re going to drop out of college and hang out with your nerdy friends, don’t come running to me when you find yourself penniless.” The mother of Albert Einstein: “When you grow up, you’ll find that sitting around thinking about the nature of time and space won’t pay the grocery bills.” The mother of George W. Bush: “You’ll never be like your dad, who became President of the United States and started his own war.”

1. The tone for the writer to write the passage is ___.

A．cruel

B．humorous

C．disapproving

D．critical(批评的)

2. In paragraph 2 the writer makes a comparison between mothers and fathers to prove that ______.

A．females love kids more than males	B．males are not good at child—rearing
C．Males are not interested in child-rearing	D．child-rearing is difficult both for females and males

3. What does the underlined word “slip-ups” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．stories

B．shortcomings

C．mistakes

D．advantages

4. The last paragraph is mainly developed by ___.

A．providing different examples	B．following the order of space
C．making comparisons	D．analyzing causes

2 . On one occasion, while visiting my parents, I happened to meet the little boy who lived next door. It was obvious that his mother had told him not to come over uninvite. He was standing on the very edge of his yard with an anxious look on his face, seemingly about to burst.

My father waved him over and performed the introductions. “Eliot, this is my son, Gary. Gary, meet my little friend, Eliot.” To my delight, he reached out his small hand and I accepted the formality(遵守礼节) with a smile.

Unlike most children, this teenager was not shy of meeting a stranger. As a matter of fact, he turned out to be quite a chatterbox. Eliot had me laughing as I listened to the excitement in his voice..for, as you know, it was a big deal to find a toad (蟾蜍)! His descriptions were priceless as I asked the obvious questions concerning the capture(捕捉). He was pleased that I showed interest in his adventure and gladly explained its details.

Since Eliot seemed so willing to invest in our budding friendship, I asked him a question, “Do you like banjo music?” He got very excited and answered me with a hearty “Yes!”

I took out my banjo from the car, but when I sat next to him and started playing, Eliot looked at me with a puzzled expression. He asked me “What’s that?” in all seriousness.

My dad and I smiled. The boy who just “loved” the banjo didn’t recognize that I was holding one and that what I was playing was “banjo music”.

I realized that his heart was in the right place. Eliot just wanted to please his new friend with that “Yes”, thinking it was what I wanted to hear.

Well anyway...Eliot likes the banjo for real now. And I like Eliot.

1. When Eliot saw the author, he _______.

A．came into the yard to greet the author	B．gladly introduced himself to the author
C．showed no interest in visiting a stranger	D．was eager to get to know the author

2. From the passage we know Eliot was ________.

A．serious

B．shy

C．talkative

D．dishonest

3. The underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph suggests_________.

A．Eliot hoped to make profits by making friends with the author

B．Eliot would like to spend money in developing friendship

C．Eliot looked forward to developing friendship with the author

D．Eliot was regretful for not making friends with the author

4. Why did Eliot say he loved banjo music?

A．Because he hoped that the author was in high spirits.

B．Because he believed banjo music was very beautiful.

C．Because he was really fond of such strange music.

D．Because he hoped the author would teach him the music.

3 . 语法填空

Just as I began a new job in New York, I had to learn another important job: father. I was a businessman. At the office I had three new     1     (project), and at home I had a young son who was growing fast and needed me. I was     2     (puzzle) and didn't know how to deal with the relationship between job and family until one day, during my business trip in Chicago, I came     3     an old family friend Dan,     4     was once a patient of my father's. He told me something about my father.     5     was my father that helped him go through the cancer. When Dan knew he got cancer, he was very upset and wanted     6     (give) up, but my father, his doctor, encouraged him to go on     7     (fight) against the cancer. My father said to him, “You have     8     wonderful life and three fine children. Take some time with them. It's family we live for—not just ourselves. Think of that     9     you will know life's worth the fight.” His words touched me, and I     10     (sudden) realized that family are the most important in the world. I should spend more time staying with them.

4 . 此题要求改正所给短文的错误，把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉；缺一个词，在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在下面写出该加的词；该行错一个词，在错的词下划一横线，在下面写出改正后的词。

It’s a story that happened five years ago. Li Hua, which lived in the city, came to visit her uncle in our village. She and I became good friend. One day, I went to her uncle’s to do homework with her. But she wasn’t in. I found beautiful clock on her bed.       It was the first time that I have seen a clock. I became very curiously and took it to have a look. Since I had never seen a clock before, I touched it here and there.But suddenly, I found the clock wasn’t working. I felt upset and found it difficult to calm it down. Late that day, I told Li Hua I had broken her clock. She smiled, saying his little cousin had dropped it onto the ground this morning and it had stopped working since then. She persuaded me into forget it.

5 . My parents left for our hometown on Thursday and we went to see them off. My father, who retired（退休）last month, had never traveled by air before, so I just took this _____ to make his experience wonderful. In spite of being asked to _____ train tickets, I got them tickets on Jet Airways.

The moment I _____ the tickets to him, he was _____ to see that I had booked two plane tickets for them. He was very _____, waiting for the travel. He was enjoying himself and I, too, was filled with _____, watching him experience all these things.

As they were about to leave, he _____ to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. It was not because I had done something great, but the _____ that this meant a great deal to him. Thinking about the entire incident（事件）1 _____ my life.

We, as children, ______ for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Whether they could ______ them or not, our parents ______ almost all our needs. ______, when it comes to our children, regardless of the amount of ______, we will make sure that we will give the children the best. But we tend to forget that our parents have ______ a lot to make us happy, so it is our ______ to make sure they can experience all they ______ to see when they were young.

Just as we take care of our children, the ______ care and attention needs to be given to our parents. I do ______ how much they have sacrificed（牺牲）for me. However, that doesn’t mean they have to give up everything and keep sacrificing everything for their grandchildren. They have their own ______ and dreams, too.

1.

A．chance

B．holiday

C．challenge

D．advantage

2.

A．sell

B．book

C．expect

D．order

3.

A．sent

B．posted

C．handed

D．threw

4.

A．frightened

B．disappointed

C．worried

D．surprised

5.

A．excited

B．calm

C．nervous

D．tired

6.

A．anger

B．wonder

C．happiness

D．fear

7.

A．listened

B．walked

C．explained

D．responded

8.

A．fact

B．promise

C．suggestion

D．doubt

9.

A．looked forward to

B．looked up to

C．looked out for

D．looked back on

10.

A．waited

B．asked

C．searched

D．thanked

11.

A．reach

B．catch

C．possess

D．afford

12.

A．finished

B．satisfied

C．reduced

D．completed

13.

A．Strangely

B．Luckily

C．Similarly

D．Finally

14.

A．expense

B．time

C．memory

D．work

15.

A．replaced

B．recovered

C．offered

D．planned

16.

A．idea

B．dream

C．reason

D．duty

17.

A．failed

B．pretended

C．managed

D．ignored

18.

A．active

B．helpful

C．same

D．grateful

19.

A．regret

B．sense

C．complain

D．forget

20.

A．belief

B．strength

C．requirements

D．wishes

6 . Several months ago I worked at a hospital. One day I was sent to discharge (安排出院) a patient. She happened to be a physically and mentally（身心地） ______ young woman who was limited to a wheelchair. She was_______ in her late twenties or early thirties, but it was difficult to _____.

As I was _______her off the floor, down the elevator, and out of the front hall, I couldn’t ______ thinking: “Oh, my God, her parents must be so ______. She is in really bad shape. What a______! She must need constant(持续的) ______, and will likely require it for the rest of her life.” If I were her father, I would be terribly frustrated (懊恼的).

Then, as I came to the area where family and friends ______ discharged patients, I saw a man who noticed us and began walking quickly towards us. As he got closer, his eyes became bright and he ______ , saying: “Patricia, you look so lovely today! You are ______ coming home. We can’t ______ to have you back home! We miss you so much!” He carefully placed his daughter in his car, said thank you, and drove off.

I was_______ My eyes began to fill with tears and I just stood there for a few minutes, trying to processing(处理） what had just______. Then I began to think : “What had I ______there ? How could I have been so______ about the father? Why did he and I have such different ______ to his daughter?”

It took me days to comprehend(领悟) what I’d failed to understand when I was ______ the young woman and her father. Now I know the true ______ of unconditional love, and whenever I deal with other children’ s______, I will think of Patricia and her dad.

1.

A．healthy

B．gifted

C．disabled

D．tired

2.

A．clearly

B．probably

C．finally

D．hardly

3.

A．accept

B．express

C．use

D．tell

4.

A．leaving

B．stopping

C．wheeling

D．running

5.

A．help

B．admit

C．allow

D．mind

6.

A．happy

B．grateful

C．disappointed

D．proud

7.

A．surprise

B．pity

C．deal

D．day

8.

A．discussion

B．hope

C．medicine

D．care

9.

A．look in

B．deal with

C．see off

D．pick up

10.

A．cried

B．smiled

C．shouted

D．jumped

11.

A．finally

B．suddenly

C．quickly

D．slowly

12.

A．prepare

B．understand

C．wait

D．expect

13.

A．lost

B．moved

C．pleased

D．afraid

14.

A．arrived

B．asked

C．disappeared

D．happened

15.

A．wasted

B．got

C．missed

D．done

16.

A．wrong

B．worried

C．curious

D．serious

17.

A．opinions

B．attitudes

C．lives

D．jobs

18.

A．judging

B．pleasing

C．helping

D．seeing

19.

A．happiness

B．importance

C．meaning

D．ability

20.

A．expressions

B．toys

C．relationships

D．shortcomings

7 . Sarah grew up on a fishing boat. Her father, _____ to make enough money to buy a house, had _____ her within their only small boat since his wife died.

One morning, Sarah saw a _____ above the sea, which was close to them, and the boat began to rock as waves grew. ____   the mountain of clouds approaching from the south, she rushed below deck (甲板) ,“Dad, _____!”

“What?” her drunken father asked _____.

“Dad, a big storm is coming. We need to get out of here.” She grabbed his shoulders and _____ him.

He got angry, shouting, “What are you doing?”

“Dad, we have to _____ the boat. There’s a big storm coming.”

Her father _____ her at last. He walked to the deck, saw the ______ and fired up the engine.

“Dad, what are you doing?”

“Sarah, ______ we stay here, we will die. We need to go out to the sea. We must ride the waves; that’s our only ______.”

Their boat headed into the storm ______. Above them were black clouds and in front of them were dark waves. It was so ______.

Hours passed. The dark day turned into darkness totally. They held each other for ______, but the experienced fisherman needed no ______ because he had fought many such battles.

Eventually, the waves ______ and the sky brightened. Sarah was ______ and hugged her father, “You did it, Dad.”

They sailed back into the port. Other boats had been destroyed. Their boat was the only one to ______ the storm. Sarah hugged her father again. “Dad, you made it. You ______ us.”

“No, Sarah,” he held her by his arms, “we did it together.”

1.

A．unwilling

B．unlikely

C．unfit

D．unable

2.

A．raised

B．kept

C．educated

D．protected

3.

A．fisherman

B．boat

C．storm

D．light

4.

A．Imagining

B．Watching

C．Sensing

D．Guessing

5.

A．come up

B．cheer up

C．stand up

D．wake up

6.

A．unclearly

B．angrily

C．patiently

D．peacefully

7.

A．hit

B．hugged

C．shook

D．supported

8.

A．take away

B．get on

C．leave out

D．get off

9.

A．trusted

B．refused

C．accepted

D．doubted

10.

A．rain

B．clouds

C．night

D．horizon

11.

A．while

B．though

C．if

D．as

12.

A．challenge

B．choice

C．task

D．trouble

13.

A．successfully

B．secretly

C．quietly

D．bravely

14.

A．amazing

B．strange

C．horrible

D．noisy

15.

A．comfort

B．energy

C．fun

D．peace

16.

A．mercy

B．kindness

C．help

D．encouragement

17.

A．calmed

B．sank

C．gathered

D．melted

18.

A．surprised

B．frightened

C．excited

D．puzzled

19.

A．face

B．avoid

C．prevent

D．survive

20.

A．controlled

B．saved

C．guided

D．moved

8 . Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna noted.

Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. ”She used to cuddle up with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”

Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “ In fact, parents are first on the list.” Said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”

Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.

1. What troubles Tina and Mark most is that______

A．their daughter isn't  as lovely as before.

B．they can't   read their   daughter's mind exactly.

C．they   don't know what to say to their daughter.

D．their daughter talks with them only when she needs help.

2. Which of the following best explains ”the wall of silence” in the last paragraph?

A．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends.

B．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents.

C．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents.

D．Teenagers talk little about their own lives.

3. What can be learned from the passage?

A．Parents are unhappy with their growing children.

B．Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers.

C．Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers.

D．Parent should try to understand their teenagers.

9 . My mother has a dining table which sits right in the middle of her dining room. It was once buried beneath piles of papers—magazines, articles, copies of schedules for vacations she took back in the 1990s, and baby pictures of grand children who are now paying off their college loans.

My brother Ross and I recently flew to New York to visit my mother. “Mom, why don’t we go through all that stuff?” Ross said. “No. Don’t touch it!” My mother said. The next afternoon, when she couldn’t find a bill she needed, Ross suggested it might be put somewhere in the dining room and that we find it together. “Besides,” he said, “all those papers are clearly stressing you out.” However, my mother just said, “Are you boys hungry?” And then she seemed to have lost herself in deep thought.

On our last night there, my mother walked up to us with a small pile of unopened mails, which she had collected at the western edge of the dining table, and said, “Help me go through these.” “Sure,” I said. When we had succeeded in separating wheat from chaff (谷壳), I asked, “Would you want to deal with another little pile of papers?”

My mother led the way, walking into the dining room the way an animal manager might be while entering a cage with tigers in it. Ross and I came in behind her and suddenly he reached for a pile of the papers on one side of the table. “No!” my mother said sharply. “Let’s start at the other end. That’s where the older stuff is.” Finally, we threw 95 percent of the stuff into paper shopping bags. Then I asked what she wanted us to do with them, she surprised us all by saying, “Put them in the incinerator (垃圾焚化炉).”

When I returned home, inspired by the visit to my mother, I sorted out my own accumulated(累积的) piles of papers, sold or gave away half of my possessions, and moved into a smaller house. It seems that my life has been cheaper and easier since then. And it proves that a small change does make a big difference.

1. What did the mother ask her children to do with these unopened mails?

A．To burn them.

B．To read them for her.

C．To collect them together.

D．To pick out the important ones among them.

2. When the mother walked into the dining room, she was________.

A．angry	B．afraid
C．impatient	D．careful

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards his mother’s cleaning up the dining table?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Uncertain.	D．Unknown.

4. What might be the best title of the passage?

A．The precious mail	B．A visit to my mother
C．A happy family reunion	D．The lesson of the dining table

10 . I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt (被子) after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.

“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”

I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.

“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.

“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”

I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched (缝) a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”

“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.

1. Why did the author go to mother’s home?

A．To see her mother’s quilts.	B．To help prepare for a show.
C．To get together for the family dinner.	D．To discuss her grandmother’s life.

2. The author was surprised because      .

A．the quilt looked very strange	B．her grandmother liked the quilt
C．the quilt was the best she had seen	D．her mother had made some changes

3. The underlined wood “crooked” in the passage most probably means       .

A．unfinished

B．broken

C．bent

D．unusual

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．A Quilt Show

B．Mother’s Home

C．A Monday Dinner

D．Grandmother’s Quilt