1 . One evening, when I asked my 17-year-old son, Ray, for help with dinner, his response took me by surprise. “What’s a colander (漏勺)?” he asked.
I could only blame myself. In the family, nobody’s hands went in the sauce except my own. But as I explained with a touch of panic that a colander is the thing with holes in it, I wondered what else I hadn’t prepared Ray for. Suddenly it hit me: He’d be leaving the house in a year to attend college. No way was I going to send a spoiled prince into the world.
As parents,while we focus on our children’s character,we are also raising someone’s future roommate, husband, or father. I’d raise a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, “What’s for dinner?” So, I came up with a plan to offer Ray a private home economics course. Gladly, he didn’t say no.
For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine. One day, as his tomato sauce reduced on the stove, he washed and seasoned a chicken for roasting. Then he rolled out the piecrust and filled it with apples, all while listening to my explanation on the importance of preheating an oven.
One day we covered Advanced Laundry, in which I taught him never to mix a red sweatshirt with white. I knew that he would rather have been shooting hoops in the driveway than learning to mend socks with his mother - he tried to beg off sewing lessons - but it couldn’t be denied that he was learning, and more than just housekeeping. “I appreciate what you do as a mom,” he told me one day.
Ray now understands the finer points of cooking, and more importantly, he realizes there s nothing masculine (男子气概的) about being helpless. Not only can he make his own dinner, but also he can make a big meal for his family. That’s what I call a man.
1. Hearing her son’s question, the author felt ________.| A．angry | B．disappointed |
| C．shocked | D．calm |
| A．Ray’s lack of basic living skills. | B．Ray’s absence in the kitchen. |
| C．Ray’s leaving to attend college. | D．Ray’s misunderstanding of a colander. |
| A．Ray preferred sewing to cooking. |
| B．Ray made great progress in cooking. |
| C．Ray thought doing housework was helpless. |
| D．Ray was unwilling to take the course originally. |
| A．fell in love with housework | B．did other work in the house |
| C．acknowledged his mother’s efforts | D．began to be more independent |
2 . It has been four years since Grandma Joy told her grandson that she had never seen the most beautiful views of America. Since then, they have gone on many cross-country trips.
Brad Ryan had been feeling tired of studying in a vet school when he visited his 85-year-old grandma in 2015. He hoped that spending some quality family time would help lift his spirits.
As he was telling his grandma stories of his travels, however, he was heartbroken to hear that she had never seen the ocean or mountains. Ryan then asked his grandmother if she would like to go hiking with him. Needless to say, she was more than happy to agree.
They have since visited 29 different national parks across America---from the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado to the Acadia National Park in Maine. Over the four years, Ryan and his grandma have driven 25,000 miles through 38 states. And it has greatly affected his quality of life. “Seeing it through my grandmother’s eyes, who every morning wakes up and is thankful to be alive has taught me how to live,” Ryan said. “With her, I’ve had to slow down and see life in a different way, which has made it a lot richer.”
“I love my grandma so much, and it’s just really giving me a lot of peace when she passed away. I can go back to these places, feel her spirit, and feel connected to her,” he added.
Ryan posted all of their trips on Facebook. He hopes more young people will spare time to be with their elders. “I want young people to know that hanging out with your grandparents is cool. And there’s so much we can learn from our elders,” Ryan said.
1. Why did Brad Ryan visit his grandma in 2015?| A．To cheer himself up. |
| B．To please his grandma. |
| C．To take his grandma to travel. |
| D．To share his travelling experiences. |
| A．Shocked. | B．Sad. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Excited |
| A．She made him live a better life. |
| B．She helped him find his life goal. |
| C．She told him to have peace of mind. |
| D．She gave him a lot of encouragement. |
| A．To advise young people to take a trip. |
| B．To share his joy of travelling with his grandma. |
| C．To encourage the young to keep their elders company. |
| D．To show young people what they can learn from their elders. |
3 . Almost every light comedy or situation comedy makes me feel like I should be drinking wine every night with my best friend while one of us tries on clothes. Not only should we share the same dress size, but we should also have a long, rich history of togetherness and secrets. Clearly, this is not reality.
I have 598 friends. OK, but if I’m honest, 99.3 percent of those friends are those I met only once or acquaintances who live too far away to see regularly. That leaves 4 people, who I can call anytime, not feeling like I’m absolutely wasting their time. The remaining 0.2, I’ve decided, is my houseplant. I can tell it anything.
Feeling the same way? You’re absolutely not alone. Most of us find our “people” in school, but over time life changes: marriage, kids, etc. We grow out of our relationships and they grow out of us.
So when the relationships come to an end, how do you find a new one?
A woman in my apartment building, who I had seen around over the years, approached me one day and introduced herself. She bravely stated, “You seem cool. Do you want to hang out with me sometime? I’m looking for new friends.” I almost dropped my bag of groceries at her social honesty. And now we get together for coffee a few times a year, gossip (八卦) about the neighbors, and take in the mail when one of us is on vacation. But a few times a year isn’t enough for me.
So, what counts as true friendship as you get older? For me, it’s feeling comfortable enough to be myself. And if you’re like me, it’s also trust — not just keeping the secret, but trusting that my life choices aren’t their gossip elsewhere.
1. What do the numbers in Paragraph 2 show?| A．The author has some unusual friends. | B．The author has very few real friends. |
| C．The author is fond of phoning her friends. | D．The author doesn’t like most of her friends. |
| A．The author was a little careless. | B．The author was glad at the request. |
| C．The author was shocked by the request. | D．The author was carrying something heavy. |
| A．It is really difficult to find. | B．It can show one’s genuine belief. |
| C．It is really hard for people to understand. | D．It can make people have a sense of security. |
4 . Whenever I heard strangers singing out loud, whether it was in the supermarket or on the street, I used to think how annoying it was. That was until a few months ago.
Recently, my daughter Zoe started her second year of middle school with a new sense of awareness, asking me to fix the "little girl" pattern on her wheelchair seat. Not wanting her to stand out at school, I spent hours filling in pale yellow stars with a black marker, eager to erase whatever childish signs I could. Shortly after, Zoe got really sick and had to miss 20 days of school. This meant our days were filled with rushing between hospital appointments and meetings with the school, as we tried to make sure she didn't fall behind on her schoolwork.
I felt pulled back to a time when she was little and her sickness was a huge part of her life. Back then, it seemed like Zoe lived in hospitals, as she spent so much time in them. No matter how sick she got, however, she always had a positive attitude. But this was different: Zoe was no longer singing like she normally did. Zoe usually sings all the time, whether she's playing, riding in the car, or just doing her homework. There was no need for a radio in our house； Zoe provided the music for us. Consumed (被折磨)with my motherly worries, it was more concerning to me than her sickness.
One day, however, I heard her beautiful voice as I was cooking dinner. I stopped what I was doing and just smiled. “Pure delight. ’’ I thought to myself. Her voice slowly grew stronger, and soon, both the car and the house were filled with her music once more. How had I not noticed her singing had completely stopped, weeks and weeks ago? Now, thankfully, she's back in school, smiling and singing, and I'm thankful for each and every song she sings.
These days, whenever I hear a stranger singing a song to themselves, I don’t get mad. Instead, I smile, as I know that by singing out loud, they're simply sharing their happiness with the world.
1. When did the author feel bothered?| A．When hearing strangers singing. | B．When her daughter started middle school. |
| C．When fixing stars on the seat. | D．When her daughter became sensitive. |
| A．Considerate and helpful. | B．Competitive and hardworking. |
| C．Optimistic and strong-willed. | D．Self-aware and modest. |
| A．Zoe's love for music. | B．Zoe’s falling behind at school. |
| C．Zoe's silence during her sickness. | D．Zoe's slow recovery from her sickness. |
| A．A way to get rid of stress. | B．A way to express love to others. |
| C．A way to communicate with others. | D．A way to share joy. |
5 . It was a normal school day for senior Solymar Solis until an unexpected visitor arrived. Her dad, Sgt. Carlos Solis Melendez, surprised her by coming home early from Kuwait and visiting her unannounced at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.
After serving in Kuwait for nine months, Melendez returned home a week earlier than his daughter expected. He held balloons and flowers in a classroom as he sat at a student’s desk to blend in with the crowd. “It came across my mind like, ‘How is she going to react?” he recalled the heartwarming moment. “Is she going to be happy and run to me and hug me, or cry? That was all going on through my mind.”
As unsuspecting Solymar entered the classroom, she was soon overcome with emotion, immediately bursting into tears and covering her mouth. She didn’t talk. She was just crying. She was overwhelmed with everything. She thought it was a dream.
Melendez was a single parent so while he was deployed (调动), he got his sister to live with his daughter. When he was coming back and talking to his sister, both of them came to the conclusion that they should do something special for his daughter. Melendez and his sister got in touch with the school, and they planned this whole being-in-the-classroom thing, and it turned out perfect.
The two are very much looking forward to some good daddy-daughter time now that he’s home. “It means everything,” Melendez said of being able to surprise his daughter this way. “After all the sacrifices she’s made, she deserves all the special arrangements and special occasions and celebrations. I’ll do anything for my daughter. I believe I’m doing good parenting.”
1. How did Solymar feel when seeing her father?| A．She was eager to hug her father. |
| B．She felt everything was as usual. |
| C．She got disappointed at seeing her father. |
| D．She thought it was unbelievable. |
| A．Content. | B．Astonished. |
| C．Touched. | D．Upset. |
| A．To get involved in her school life. |
| B．To teach her a lesson in a special way. |
| C．To build a strong emotional bond with her. |
| D．To make up for what she lost in her growth. |
| A．Father’s Selfless Love for His Daughter |
| B．Girl Expecting the Returning of Her Dad |
| C．Girl Surprised at School by Her Dad’s Return |
| D．Father and Daughter’s Expected Reunion |
6 . I was quite angry with my professor last week when he gave us an assignment to “tell someone we love them”. It has to be someone we have never said those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time.
But as I began driving home my conscience started talking to me. It was telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say I love you to. You see, five years ago, my father and I had a disagreement and really never settled it since that time. We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings.
So last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him. The next morning I was up bright and early. I could hardly sleep with excitement, nor did my wife.
At 9:00, I called my dad to see if I could come over after work. When he answered the phone, I just said, “Dad, can I come over after work tonight? I have something to tell you.” My dad responded with a grumpy face, “Now what?” I assured him it wouldn’t take long, so he finally agreed.
At 5:30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell, praying that Dad would answer the door. Dad did answer the door. I didn’t waste any time and took one step in the door and said, “Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.” His face softened and he began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, “I love you too, son.” Mom walked by with tears in her eyes.
Two days after that visit, my dad became unconscious. I don’t know if he’ll make it. What if I had waited to tell my dad? Maybe I will never get the chance again!
1. What problem did the author decide to solve?| A．His heavy office work load. | B．His hardly-finished assignment. |
| C．His disagreement with his father. | D．His unpleasant family gatherings. |
| A．Soft tone. | B．Bad temper. |
| C．Good mood. | D．Great doubt. |
| A．Confused. | B．Shocked. |
| C．Moved. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．So don’t wait to do the things that you know ought to be done. |
| B．So don’t believe there will be a problem without a solution. |
| C．So don’t complain when your teacher gives you assignments. |
| D．So don’t forget to visit your family even if you are very busy. |
7 . “It’s really cool to have a dad who flies fighter jets,” thought 11-year-old Casey as she was watching him fly overhead.
Living on an Air Force base was not as bad as some people might think. Casey rather enjoyed being around friends who had something in common with each other. They had their own school, bowling area, and movie theatre. She especially loved it when her dad would come home each day and greet her with a new joke and tickles.
Today was different, though. When her dad walked into the room, he looked sad for some reason. He just kissed her on the forehead and told her mum that he needed to talk to her. Casey knew something was wrong.
When her mum and dad came out of the other room, mum was crying. Dad sat down and began to explain that he had been called to go to Iraq to help with the war effort. Casey was so surprised that she couldn’t speak for a moment. She began to feel tears in her eyes. How could she live without her dad for a whole year?
Soon, the day came. Her dad was leaving. As Casey and her mom watched him climb up the steps to his cockpit, the tears began to flow and it felt like they would never end. It was hard for Casey to believe that she wouldn’t be her dad for so long. They depend on him for so many things. who would fix the broken window? Who would greet her with jokes and tickles at the end of the day? And then the thought hit her, “What if he doesn’t make it home?” Casey began to sob more than ever.
1. According to the story, one thing Casey enjoyed on the base was that ________.| A．there was a friendly girl of her age living next door |
| B．she could travel around in her father’s jet |
| C．her friends had something in common with her |
| D．her dad was going to fight abroad |
| A．Casey’s dad volunteered to help with the war. |
| B．Casey’s parents didn’t let her know the truth. |
| C．Casey’s dad amused her in the morning usually. |
| D．Children living on the base could see movies in their theater. |
| A．Casey was worried that they couldn’t live without her father. |
| B．Casey saw her father off at the airport. |
| C．Casey’s dad looked sad. |
| D．Casey’s father left home. |
8 . My mother, a nurse at Stony Brook University Hospital, worked at night so that she could come home in time to send me to school. She'd sleep during the day and be ready when we returned home before heading out again in the evening. This went on for 23 years. She never complained (抱怨). No matter how tired she was, she always had enough energy to be my mom.
She often had to work on Christmas, Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve, and sometimes Thanksgiving, which made me upset. However, before holidays she always decorated the inside and outside of our house. She'd also have cookies baking in the oven, a holiday-themed movie in the VCR, and music playing throughout our house for us. But when it was time to go to work, there was no room for debate. “Why do you have to work on this day of all days?" I'd ask sadly. "They need me, too, dear son," she'd respond, compassion (同情) in her tone.
For a long time I didn't understand why she should care so much about those sick strangers. Recently, as my grandmother became ill, I found myself spending more time in hospitals. The scenes I saw in the hospital made me see the different side of my mother. The nurses checked heart, blood and oxygen levels, made sure patients were comfortable. They lifted patients in and out of bed and helped them to the bathroom. Beyond their duties, the nurses displayed consideration for each patient.
What I saw helped me to understand why my mother was devoted to her occupation. I was filled with more admiration for my mother.
1. Why did the author's mother work in the evening?| A．To take him to school. | B．To enjoy a movie. |
| C．To decorate their house. | D．To sleep during the day. |
| A．The mother loved her patients more than her kids. |
| B．Nurses are paid double salary working on holidays. |
| C．The author wished his mother could stay home on holidays. |
| D．Only people with mercy on patients will make good nurses. |
| A．he asked his mother to stay with him during holidays |
| B．he looked after his sick grandma in hospital |
| C．he saw how tired his mother was after work |
| D．he helped patients to the bathroom |
| A．Children of nurses are often dissatisfied with their mothers. |
| B．Nurses are particularly busy at work during holidays. |
| C．The author gained a new appreciation of his mother. |
| D．The author's mother liked doing housework. |
9 . How far would you go to make a good impression at a new job? A college student in Alabama walked 32 kilometers in the dark to get to his new job.
The story begins with Walter Carr’s car breaking down the night before starting a new job at Bellhops, a furniture moving company. Carr was unable to find a taxi. So he decided to walk from his house to the job in Pelham 32 kilometers away. He left at midnight so that he could make it to the customer’s house by 8:00 am the next morning.
Pelham police saw him walking along a highway at 4:00 am. So, they stopped to see if the needed help. After hearing his story, they took him to a restaurant for breakfast and then to a church where he could safely wait until 8:00 am. The police then took Carr to the home of customer Jenny Lamey, Lamey said that even though Carr had just walked the entire night, he refused her offer to rest. He just wanted to start working.
Jenny Lamey later wrote this on Facebook: “I just can’t tell you how touched I was by Walter and his journey. He is hardworking and tough.” She then started a GoFundMe page to help Walter with money to get his car fixed.
Walter Carr’s story touched many others around the United States, Within a few days, people gave over $73, 000 to his GoFundMe page, When the CEO of Bellhops, Luke Marklin, learned of Carr’s story, he drove from Tennessee to Alabama to give Walter his own 2014 Ford Escape.
Carr has decided to give a part of the donations to the Birmingham Education Foundation. And he has received more offers for jobs and scholarships for schools.
1. What is probably the reason for Carr’s walking to his new job?| A．He had no money. |
| B．His car was stolen the night before. |
| C．He would like to take some exercise. |
| D．He considered the first day meaningful. |
| A．They took him to work immediately. |
| B．They went to his customer’s with him. |
| C．They called his customer to pick him up. |
| D．They gave him some money to buy breakfast. |
| A．To help Carr buy a new car. |
| B．To make Carr’s story popular. |
| C．To raise money to repair Carr’s car. |
| D．To express her admiration for Carr. |
| A．To share it with some schools. |
| B．To spend it on further education. |
| C．To set up an educational institution. |
| D．To donate some of it to a foundation. |
10 . You are from a middle-class family, and live in a normal-size home without any showy possessions, but you are surrounded by surprising consumption (消费). This contrast is beginning to bother your 6-year-old son. You are worried that he will want to live as they do, and wonder if you should move.
Sometimes big pocket money, joyful birthday parties, special playrooms and super-big houses tell you that your neighbors probably have more money than you do, and that they’re not as careful as often as you do, talk with them as freely and read to them every night.
Or you may find that some of these parents stay in one wing of their big house while their child plays by himself, way off in a wing of his own. In that unfortunate case, he is basically growing up alone without being looked after properly, but this can happen to a child who lives in normal-size house, too, if he has a TV, a computer and a few video games in his room. Even the most caring parent doesn’t walk in and out of it to see what show her child is watching, what Internet site he has found and if he’s still playing that video game.
Too much uncontrolled screen time may lead to a certain loss of innocence (天真), but mostly this child will lose the sense of unity and satisfaction that comes from being in a family.
A neighborhood should also provide you wit, a sense of unity and satisfaction, and if it doesn’t, you might decide to move. Don’t judge your neighborhood too demandingly, though. There are some things that are right with almost any neighborhood and some things that are wrong with the best of them --- like those super-big houses. The wealth of their owners --- and the way they throw money around --- may make you son feel sorry for himself, unless you help him understand that you and his dad save some of the money, give some to people who don’t have enough and use the rest to pay for whatever the family needs.
Children want---should be provided with --- explanations when their parents don’t give them what they want.
1. What is the problem with the worried parents in the text?| A．Her house isn’t as big as her rich neighbor’s. |
| B．Her son is left alone without anyone in charge. |
| C．She cannot provide her son with a special playroom. |
| D．She worries about the effect of her neighbors on her son. |
| A．spend more time with their children | B．give their children more freedom |
| C．work hard to lead a richer life | D．set an example for their children to follow |
| A．spend money carelessly | B．save money for their children |
| C．help the poor people willingly | D．leave money all round the house |
| A．Children are unfortunate to have poor parents. |
| B．Children should enjoy their comfortable life. |
| C．Children need proper guidance from their parents. |
| D．Children feel ashamed of themselves in a rich neighborhood. |
