1 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).
On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”
“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!
1. What happened to the author on September 11th, 1958?| A．He got a baby brother. |
| B．He got a Christmas gift. |
| C．He became four years old. |
| D．He received a doll. |
| A．Impossible. | B．Boring. |
| C．Difficult. | D．Fearful. |
| A．Excitement. | B．Happiness. |
| C．Sadness. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．A sad Christmas day. |
| B．Life with a lovely baby. |
| C．A special Christmas gift. |
| D．Memories of a happy family. |
2 . Make the Most of College
Dear Daughter,
As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.
First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real proof of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.
Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period where you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t critical for your life, the learning skills you acquire will be something you will value forever.
Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy. Don’t be trapped by what others think or say, but make up your own mind.
Most importantly, make friends and be happy. College friends are often the best in life. Pick a few friends and become really close to them -- pick the ones who are genuine to you. Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks or even personalities.
Start planning early -- what would you like to do? Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good, and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses.
Whether it is summer-planning, or coursework planning, or picking a major, or managing your time, you should take control of your life. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat -- this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you’ll love it!
College is the four years where you have:
● the greatest amount of free time
● the first chance to be independent
● the most flexibility to change
● the lowest risk for making mistakes
So please treasure your college years -- make full use of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny, be brave to experiment, learn and grow through your successes and challenges.
May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you blossom into just what you dream to be.
Love,
Dad (&Mom)
1. What does the author advise his daughter to do in college?| A．Make as many friends as possible. |
| B．Party with friends in her free time. |
| C．Pay no attention to whatever others think or say. |
| D．Treasure and make the best of her college years. |
a. think and live independently
b. learn how to learn
c. choose friends with similar personalities
d. be genuine and sincere to everybody
e. try new things
| A．abd | B．bce | C．cde | D．abe |
| A．is worried about his daughter | B．is strict with his daughter |
| C．is optimistic about his daughter’s future | D．is sad that his daughter is leaving home |
The Advice Gap
Advice My Parents Gave Me: Go to college and major in what you love.
Advice I Will Give My Kids: Go to college only if you’ll major in science, engineering, or money. It’s a depressing job market, and majoring in English literature or anything with the word English in it has been useless since 1910s.
My Parents: Never show up to a party empty-handed.
Me: Never show up to a party. Send a text to the host twenty minutes before the party starts to say that you’re “sooooooo sorry” to cancel but your stomach is feeling “weird”.
My Parents: To find a job, walk into the offices of ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” and ask for one.
Me: Apply to jobs via LinkedIn, Zip-Recruiter, or your connections. Write a cover letter and attach your résumé, then manually enter the same information through the company’s portal, which looks as though it were designed in Microsoft Paint. Do this twenty times a day for two years, and you’re bound to make it to a third round of phone interviews before getting ghosted.
My Parents: Learn the difference between a 401(k) (an employer-sponsored defined-contribution pension account) and a Roth I. R. A. (a special retirement account) so that you can start investing early.
Me: Learn the difference between a 401(k) and a Roth I. R. A. so that you can explain it to me.
My Parents: Never wait to do your taxes.
Me: If you wait long enough to do your taxes, there might be a global crisis that forces the federal government to extend the deadline: Then you can wait some more and do them right before the new deadline.
My Parents: Work hard so you can save for retirement.
Me: Retirement is something you’ll read about in your history books under the title “Abstract Ideas”.
My Parents: When we’re gone, look after your siblings and never fight with them over money!
Me: When I’m gone, clear my browser history. Don’t quarrel with your siblings over who gets my monthly ten-cent payments from Medium (an American online publishing platform).
1. Why do you think the author has written this passage?| A．To present a better guide for young people today. |
| B．To demonstrate the contemporary generation gap. |
| C．To exhibit his capability of living a worthy life. |
| D．To show his annoyance with his parents’ advice. |
| A．Siblings shouldn’t fight with each other over whether to protect their gone parents’ privacy. |
| B．Science majors shouldn’t be favored over those related to English in college. |
| C．Job seekers should try various means and prepare for depressing prospects. |
| D．You should check your stomach first before texting to the host of a party. |
| A．saving for retirement may be a thing of the past |
| B．the younger generation may inherit the legacy of their parents’ payment bills from Medium in the future |
| C．the knowledge about a 401(k) and a Roth I. R. A is so significant for early investment that children should have a good knowledge of it by themselves |
| D．doing taxes is absolutely urgent, even allowing for unpredictable economic conditions |
My Life on an Island
We live on the island of Hale. It’s about four kilometers long and two kilometers wide at its broadest point, and it’s joined to the mainland by a causeway
We were on our way back
So, anyway, Dad and I had driven to the mainland and picked up Dominic from the station. He had been talking non-stop from the moment he’d got in the car. University this, university that, writers, books, parties, people, money…I didn’t like the way he spoke and waved his hands around
We were about halfway across when I saw a boy. My first thought was how odd it was
| A．He is going to attend Jason’s presentation. |
| B．He prefers Jason’s former presentation. |
| C．He’d like to do the next presentation himself. |
| D．He’s expecting Jason’s next presentation. |
| A．She should do more careful work. |
| B．George does not care about her. |
| C．She is not concerned about George's remarks. |
| D．George shouldn't have said much about her. |
| A．He hasn’t had a chance to meet Kathy yet. |
| B．He didn't know that Kathy was being moved. |
| C．Kathy had already told him the news. |
| D．His new office will be located in New York. |
| A．differences B．privileged C．exploring D．account E．amazement F．research G．strongly H．unthinkable I．separately J．recognize K．education |
Perri Klass and her mother, Sheil a Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped（重叠）.
Perri notes with
A child of the Depression（大萧条）, Sheil a was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheil a take turns
Looking deep into the lives they have lived
Your Kids Don’t Want You to Be Perfect. They Just Want You to Be Honest
Dear Parents,I am thinking of you. I am imagining how hard each of you is trying to get through your days, how much you want to lead your
I was not a very stable youth. In fact, I never
I realized stopped my constant daydreaming, instead,
So now, in the midst of this pandemic. I think of all the mothers and fathers with children at home, hoping that
One thing
It is a lovely thing to discover that your children don’t want you perfect. They just want you honest and doing your best. In fact, the more room they have to be great
| A．He is a musician. | B．He is interested in computer programming. |
| C．He advertised his room for rent. | D．He’s living with some other students now. |
| A．In the newspaper. | B．On campus(大学校园). |
| C．At the neighborhood. | D．On the college brochure. |
| A．It must be in a good condition. | B．It must have clean surroundings. |
| C．It should guarantee her privacy. | D．It doesn’t cost much to rent. |
| A．Amy will share the house with Tom. | B．Amy is not easy to live with. |
| C．Tom is also the owner of the house. | D．Amy and Tom are both studying in college. |
