Sharing the sweetness
On the 25th of December, my mother expects her children to be present, exchanging gifts and eating turkey. When she pulls on that holiday sweater, everybody better gets festive. Of course, I would be the first Jones sibling
No one took my new idea seriously. From the way my mother carried on, you would think I was divorcing the family. Still I held my ground and made plans for my winter adventure in New Hampshire. The MacoDowell Colony was
By Christmas Eve, I had been at the colony for more than a week. The novelty of snowy New England was wearing off, but I would never admit
Finally, I called home on the pay phone. My dad answered, but I
Despite a heavy snowstorm, a large package showed up near my door at the artist colony on Christmas morning. Tayari Jones was written in my mother’s beautiful handwriting. I rushed to that parcel
As I sliced the cake, everyone gathered around. Mother had sent a genuine homemade gift. It was a minor Christmas miracle that one cake managed to feed so many. We ate it from paper towels with our bare hands,
| A．He doesn’t like to cook. |
| B．He makes very good desserts. |
| C．He isn’t careful when he’s preparing food. |
| D．He cooks for the Spanish club quite often. |
3 . Papa, as a son of a dirt-poor farmer, left school early and went to work in a factory, for education was for the rich then. So, the world became his school. With great interest, he read everything he could lay his hands on, listened to the town elders and learned about the world beyond his tiny hometown. "There's so much to learn," he'd say. "Though we're born stupid, only the stupid remain that way." He was determined that none of his children would be denied an education.
Thus, Papa insisted that we learn at least one new thing each day. Though, as children, we thought this was crazy, it would never have occurred to us to deny Papa a request. And dinner time seemed perfect for sharing what we had learned. We would talk about the news of the day; no matter how insignificant, it was never taken lightly. Papa would listen carefully and was ready with some comment, always to the point.
Then came the moment—the time to share the day's new learning.
Papa, at the head of the table, would push back his chair and pour a glass of red wine, ready to listen.
"Felice," he'd say, "tell me what you learned today."
"I learned that the population of Nepal is ..."
Silence.
Papa was thinking about what was said, as if the salvation of the world would depend upon it. "The population of Nepal. Hmm. Well ..." he'd say. "Get the map; let's see where Nepal is." And the whole family went on a search for Nepal.
This same experience was repeated until each family member had a turn. Dinner ended only after we had a clear understanding of at least half a dozen such facts.
As children, we thought very little about these educational wonders. Our family, however, was growing together, sharing experiences and participating in one another's education. And by looking at us, listening to us, respecting out input, affirming our value, giving us a sense of dignity, Papa was unquestionably our most influential teacher.
Later during my training as a future teacher, I studied with some of the most famous educators. They were imparting what Papa had known all along - the value of continual learning. His technique has served me well all my life. Not a single day has been wasted, though I can never tell when knowing the population of Nepal might prove useful.
1. What do we know from the first paragraph?| A．The poor could hardly afford school education. |
| B．Those born stupid could not change their life. |
| C．The town elders wanted to learn about the world. |
| D．The author's father was born in a worker's family. |
| A．one new thing | B．a request | C．some comment | D．the news |
| A．enjoyed talking about news | B．knew very well about Nepal |
| C．appreciated his father's educational technique | D．felt regret about those wasted days |
| A．Showing talents | B．Continual learning |
| C．Family get-together | D．Winning Papa's approval |
| A．He has an ear problem. | B．He never listens. |
| C．He has never missed a meeting. | D．He has something important to do. |
5 . The last thing Caitlin Hipp would have expected as she prepared to turn 28 years old was to be living at home with her parents. But through working as a part-time skating instructor and restaurant server, she isn't able to earn enough to live anywhere other than home.
To some degree, multigenerational households have always been a part of American life. However, the number of young adults who have been moving back in with their parents — or never leaving home in the first place — has been growing steadily.
UBS Financial Services released a report that even suggests one reason for the growing number of young adults still living at home could be that their family doesn't want them to leave.
The report shows that 74 percent of millennials （千禧一代）get some kind of financial support from their parents after college. It finds that millennials have redefined the ties that connect parents and children. Millennials see their parents as peers, friends and instructors. Nearly three quarters talked with their parents more than once a week during college. In return, their parents happily provide financial support well into adulthood, helping fund everything for them.
Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for the PNC Financial Services Group in the US, said the number of young adults striking out on their own fell during the Great Recession. Although job growth for millennials since 2014 has improved, that doesn't necessarily mean that millennials are starting to fly the nest. He said, “They may like living at home and being able to save money.
“There's no doubt it has held back household formation and purchases of things people spend money on related to household formation and perhaps related to child-raising," Hoffman explained. "But they are probably traveling more and eating out more if they don't have a house expense or marriage. I don't know if it represents a change in moral values. But it's much more common for adult children to live in their parents5 homes because it's becoming part of the culture.
1. What can we learn about Caitlin Hipp?| A．She is 28 years old. |
| B．She is fully-engaged in two jobs. |
| C．She can hardly afford a place to live. |
| D．She prefers living with her parents. |
| A．Millennials are on good terms with their parents. |
| B．Millennials are financially independent after college. |
| C．Parents are unwilling to give their young adults allowance. |
| D．Parents want their kids to stay with them forever. |
| A．It boosts the consumption of household products. |
| B．It may continue despite job growth. |
| C．It is a sign of shift in moral values. |
| D．It is new in American culture. |
| A．To introduce millennials' living habits. |
| B．To stress the importance of financial independence. |
| C．To explain why American young adults still live at home. |
| D．To inform people of a social trend in the US. |
6 . NIGHT after night, she came to help me sleep, even long after my childhood years. I don't remember when it first started annoying me—my mom's hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me, for they felt rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I shouted at her: "Don't do that anymore—your hands are too rough!" She didn't say anything, but she never did it again.
Years later, I missed my mother's hands and her goodnight kiss on my face. I'm not a little girl anymore. My mom is in her mid-70s, and her rough hands are still doing things for my family and me.
Now my own children have grown up. It was late on Thanksgiving Eve. As I slept in my bedroom, a familiar hand ran across my face to push the hair from my head. Then a kiss, ever so gently, touched my brow.
Taking my mom's hand, I told her how sorry I was for that night I shouted at her. But my mom didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten it long ago. That night, I fell asleep with a new appreciation for my gentle mother and her caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.
1. The writer once got angry with her mother when___________.| A．she found her mother was in poor health | B．her mother ordered her to go to sleep early |
| C．her mom's rough hands touched her skin | D．her mother touched her too much |
| A．she knew her mother was too old to support herself |
| B．she couldn't cook food as well as her mother |
| C．her mother didn't get angry at her impolite words |
| D．she was thankful for her mom's love and hard work |
| A．met | B．found | C．passed quickly | D．across |
| A．her mother hadn't touched her brow before | B．her mother loved and cared for her |
| C．her mother didn't love her as much as before | D．her mother kissed her on the cheek |
| A．the writer's mother felt sorry for her behavior |
| B．the writer liked staying with her mother at night |
| C．the writer felt sorry about her attitude to her mother |
| D．the writer was single and lived with her mom |
1.
| A．A player. | B．One who. conducts a survey. |
| C．An employee of the stadium. | D．A government official. |
| A．He used to be a librarian. |
| B．He lives in the north of the ring road. |
| C．He goes to the local swimming pool about once a week. |
| D．He may invest in the restoration of- the local swimming pool. |
| A．It should be open earlier. | B．It is a bit expensive. |
| C．It is too luxurious. | D．The facilities are not. satisfying. |
| A．Teaching her son by herself. | B．Having confidence in her son. |
| C．Asking the teacher for extra help. | D．Telling her son not to worry. |
| A．The neighbor should move out. |
| B．The neighbor should invite them to dinner. |
| C．The neighbor should not decorate the apartment. |
| D．The neighbor should not make noise at night. |
As a man who has already stepped into the tomb of love, I always have a feeling that it is my obligation to warn those guys who
Since I am a quick learner, it didn’t take me long to find out
No.1: Anything
No.2: Caution! Do not argue with your wife!
No.3: Always give positive feedbacks
No 4: Sorry man! I can’t make this up anymore. Her Majesty
