1 . For my 56th birthday, my daughter, Beth, bought me two beautifully carved wooden butterflies. I hung them in prominent (显眼的) places on my walls so that I can see them often during the day. Each time I do so, they give me a wonderful reminder of love.
My daughter and my love of butterflies goes back many years. After a long battle against cancer, my mom passed away when I was only 25 years old. Beth was only a baby at the time and never got to have any memories of her grandma. I tried to make up for it by telling her stories of my mom but each time I did, I could see that there was a little sadness in Beth’s eyes. One day when she was only seven or so we were outside at the playground. Beth suddenly said how much she saddened not having her grandma around. Well, sometimes I comforted her and this time I told her how much her grandma loved her and that Grandma still remained positive in the last weeks of her life. I said she was watching over her from Heaven and that maybe she was even hitching (搭乘) a ride on the back of a butterfly to come down and get a closer look. At that very moment, a butterfly appeared flying around Beth’s face and then flew away. We both laughed with our hearts full of love and joy.
Since that moment all of those years ago, both Beth and I seem to attract butterflies like flowers. Whenever we are outside, they seem to fly down, circle around us, take a good look, and then fly away. And every time, we are reminded of my mom’s love watching over us. The only time this doesn’t happen is during the coldest months of the year when there are no insects of any kind. But now during those times I can take a look at the two beautiful wooden butterflies my daughter bought me and still be reminded of that love.
1. Why did Beth buy wooden butterflies?| A．To celebrate the new year. |
| B．To decorate her bedroom. |
| C．To celebrate her mother’s birthday. |
| D．To remind her childhood. |
| A．Tough and optimistic. |
| B．Enthusiastic and helpful. |
| C．Independent and reliable. |
| D．Knowledgeable and respectable. |
| A．Terrified. | B．Confused. | C．Joyful. | D．Nervous. |
| A．Wooden butterflies are of great artistic value. |
| B．We all need reminders that we are loved in our life. |
| C．It is difficult to maintain family ties during difficult times. |
| D．The presence of parents is important to children’s development. |
2 . When someone you care about has suffered a serious health event or is dealing with a life-threatening illness, it can be difficult to know what to say or do.
Offer your support. Your friend or loved one may be unwilling to ask for help, but it’s support from people like you that can make all the difference in their recovery. Offer to help with a specific task, even if it’s simply to sit with them during or after treatment.
Listen. When you talk to someone with a serious illness, it’s natural to feel awkward or not know what to say.
Stay connected.
| A．Encourage your loved one to keep calm. |
| B．Some illnesses can involve long-term treatment. |
| C．But often what really counts is to listen to the person. |
| D．Educate yourself about the illness but don’t give advice. |
| E．All you need to do is to present your determined attitude. |
| F．Your loved one is likely to experience some painful feelings. |
| G．Sometimes, the most important thing you can do is to be there. |
3 . There is an old Chinese proverb that states “One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade,” and this is how it should be with mothers and daughters. The relationship between a mother and a daughter is sometimes confusing. The relationship can be similar to friendship. However, the mother and daughter relationship has unique characteristics that distinguish it from a friendship. These characteristics include a hierarchy (等级) of responsibilities and unconditional love, which preclude mothers and daughters from being best friends.
Marina, 27 years old, said, “I love spending time with my mom, but I wouldn’t consider her my best friend. Best friends don’t pay for your wedding. Best friends don’t remind you how they carried you in their body and gave you life! Best friend: don’t tell you how wise they are because they have been alive at least 20 years longer than you.” This doesn’t mean that the mother and daughter relationship can’t be very close and satisfying.
While some adult relationships are still troubled, many find them to be extremely rewarding. This generation of mothers and adult daughters has a lot in common, which increases the likelihood of shared companionship. Mothers and daughters have always shared the common experience of being homemakers, responsible for maintaining and passing on family values and traditions. Today contemporary mothers and daughters also share the experience of the workforce and technology, which may bring them even closer together.
Best friends may or may not continue to be best friends, but for better or worse, the mother and daughter relationship is permanent, even if for some unfortunate reason they aren’t speaking. The mother and child relationship is closer than any other. There is not an equal relationship. Daughters should not feel responsible for their mother’s emotional well-being. It isn’t that they don’t care deeply about their mothers. It’s just that they shouldn’t be burdened with their mother’s well-being.
The mother and daughter relationship is a relationship that is not replaceable by any other. Mothers never stop being mothers, which includes frequently wanting to protect their daughters and often feeling responsible for their happiness. Mothers always “trump (胜过)” friends.
1. What does the underlined word “preclude” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．differ | B．prevent | C．benefit | D．change |
| A．The mother and daughter relationship can be replaced by a best friend. |
| B．A mother’s love brings her and her daughter a close friendship. |
| C．The mother and daughter relationship goes beyond best friends’ friendship. |
| D．Marina has a troubled relationship with her mother. |
| A．By listing data. | B．By giving explanations. |
| C．By quoting sayings. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．How to Be a Good Mother and Daughter? | B．Who Is a Mother’s Best Friend? |
| C．Mothers or Friends? | D．Can a Mother Be a Daughter’s Best Friend? |
4 . Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently declared children’s mental health is a national crisis.
In December 2021,Dr.Murthy issued a report to highlight the additional pressures the COVID- 19 pandemic(流行病)had put on the country’s youth, and the urgent need to address this. The impact of this crisis is far-reaching, and new research shows that it’s affecting parents’well-being, plus their ability to succeed at work and provide for their families.
“On Our Sleeves, a national movement that aims to break shame around children’s mental health, surveyed more than 3,000 working parents across the US and found that eight in 10 parents are very concerned about their child’s mental health and development or behavior in the past two years. Children’s mental health concerns have been hiding in plain sight for many years, surrounded by confusion and shame,”says Marti Bledsoe Post, the director of On Our Sleeves.
The survey found that 53% of working parents have missed work at least once per month to deal with their children’s mental health. And 71% of parents said issues with their child’s mental or emotional well-being made the stresses of work much more difficult to cope with.
“Employers need to know that many of their employees are struggling and it impinging their work as a result,”says Bledsoe Post.“Our mission with On Our Sleeves is to provide every family in America access to free, evidence-based educational resources. We see this study as incredibly important in starting the conversation and providing solutions for working families.”
As Morin points out, for some parents, taking a child to weekly treating appointments, attending and meetings at school consumes a lot of time. These parents should be helped, but how?
1. What do most parents care about at present?| A．Pandemic’s effect on children. | B．Too much pressure on children. |
| C．Children’s further education. | D．Children’s mental health problem. |
| A．It is a main social problem. | B．It makes doctors confused. |
| C．It affects their parents’work. | D．Parents are easy to handle it. |
| A．Selecting. | B．Judging. | C．Affecting. | D．Doubting. |
| A．Challenges to treat children with mental problems. |
| B．Difficulties to settle the parents with mental problems. |
| C．Benefits to help the parents fight with mental problems. |
| D．Ways to help the parents having kids with mental problems. |
5 . 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 (良心) 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 (昏迷的). 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 workload. | 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 despair. |
| 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. |
6 . Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, serious man — not the sort of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager arriving in America, knowing nothing, I wanted a father who could explain the human journey. In college, when friends called home for advice, I would sink into deep depression for what I did not have.
Today, at twenty-seven, I have come to rediscover them in ways that my teenage mind would not allow — as adults and as friends with their own faults and weaknesses.
One night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, Dad shared the problem with me. Apparently my legal training had earned me some privileges(特权) in his eyes. I talked through the problem with Dad, analyzing the purposes of the people involved and offering several negotiation skills. He listened patiently before finally admitting, “I can’t think like that. I am a simple man.”
Dad is a brilliant scientist who can deconstruct(解构)the building blocks of nature. Yet human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized that he was simply not skilled at dealing with people, much less the trouble of a conflicted teenager. It’s not in his nature to understand human desires.
And so, there it was — it was no one’s fault that my father held no interest in human lives while I placed great importance on them. We are at times born more sensitive, wide-eyed, and dreamy than our parents and become more curious and idealistic than them. Dad perhaps never expected me for a child. And I, who knew Dad as an intelligent man, had never understood that his intelligence did not cover all of my feelings.
It has saved me years of questioning and confusion. I now see my parents as people who have other relationships than just Father and Mother. I now ignore their many faults and weaknesses, which once annoyed me.
I now know my parents as friends: people who ask me for advice; people who need my support and understanding. And I’ve come to see my past clearly.
1. What was the author’s impression of her father when she was a teenager?| A．Friendly but irresponsible. | B．Intelligent but severe. |
| C．Cold and forceful. | D．Caring and communicative. |
| A．She did not have a phone to call home. |
| B．Her father did not care about her human journey. |
| C．Her father was too busy to answer her phone. |
| D．Her father couldn’t give her proper advice. |
| A．he blamed her for impoliteness |
| B．he rediscovered human nature |
| C．he consulted with her about his problem |
| D．he changed his attitude towards the author |
| A．her father had too many faults and weaknesses |
| B．her father was not as intelligent as she had thought |
| C．her father was not good at interpersonal relationships |
| D．her father placed too much importance on social activities |
7 . True love is happiness. True love is sharing your world with your dearest. How do you turn friendship into love? Is there a fine line between the two?
Be considerate and thoughtful towards the person.
Whatever the situation is, put yourself in your friends’ shoes. If they are in trouble, help them out.
If you’re really good friends with some people, go into town to catch a coffee, invite them on walks, or just invite them to your house for a bit of a catch-up. The possibilities are endless. Just make sure you know them well enough to feel comfortable having deep conversations and sharing your world with them. You don’t want them to be creeped out (爬出) with your sudden eagerness and interest.
Help them out once in a while.
Be caring and friendly.
Try not to have any arguments, even though they can easily happen. Don’t ever cheat and always look your best for them.
| A．Make eye contacts with them. |
| B．Spend plenty of time with them. |
| C．If they are happy, be happy with them. |
| D．Respect them and be friendly to them. |
| E．Here is a simple guide to seeking true love. |
| F．Have opinions, express your views and be a real friend. |
| G．If they’re struggling at school, go over a few topics with them. |
8 . Raising teenagers can be both difficult and rewarding(有回报的). They are becoming young adults. Almost all teenagers will have some behavioral outbursts(爆发) with their families during this period of life.
Have meals together. Mealtime is when we check in with each other.
Find time to have fun together! What do you both enjoy? Playing chess? Going to the ballet? Volunteering in your community? Take time to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. No one wants the attention of people they love to be focused only on what not to do. This is true for teenagers, too.
| A．Talk with your teen. |
| B．Never try to control your child. |
| C．Parents have a role in keeping their teens safe. |
| D．Relaxing together helps them feel loved and valued. |
| E．This can be hard to do with busy schedules, but it is important. |
| F．Some teens learn this by playing in music bands or team sports. |
| G．But strong relationships can help teens and their parents through hard times. |
9 . Parents do not owe (欠) their children a college education, if they can afford it, they can certainly send them to a good university. But they needn’t feel guilty if they can’t. When children grow up and want to get married, their parents do not owe them an apartment. They do not have the duty to look after their grandchildren, either. If they want to do it, it must be considered a favor, not an obligation.
Do parents owe their children anything? Yes, they owe them a great deal.
One of their obligations is to give their children a sense of personal worth. Children who are always made to feel stupid and unworthy, constantly compared with brighter brothers, sisters, or cousins will become so unsure, so afraid of failing that they won’t try at all. Of course, they should be properly corrected when they do wrong, but it’s often better to let children learn from their mistakes by themselves in time. All their parents should do is to trust them, respect them, understand them and give them chances to try and fail. They must learn to stand failure. When criticisms (批评) are really needed, they should be balanced with a smile and a kiss. That is the way children learn.
Parents owe their children a set of solid values around which to build their lives. This means teaching them to respect the rights and opinions of others. Also, it means being respectful to elders, to teachers, and to the law. The best way to teach such values is by deed. A child who is lied to will lie. A child who sees no laughter and no love in the home will have difficulty laughing and loving.
No child asks to be born. If you bring a life into the world, you owe the child something.
1. What does the underlined word “obligation” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Duty | B．Burden | C．Excuse | D．Debt |
| A．Offer help but needn’t feel guilty if they can’t. | B．Look after their grandchildren for their kids. |
| C．Buy their kids a house. | D．Send their children to the university. |
| A．Blame them and tell them not to do that again. |
| B．Give them chances to learn from their mistakes. |
| C．Compare them with brighter brothers or sisters. |
| D．Correct their mistakes directly. |
| A．The reason why children feel stupid and unworthy. |
| B．How to teach children correctly. |
| C．The real duties that parents have to their kids. |
| D．The reason why parents owe their children something. |
10 . My father was attached to gardening by birth. One of my earliest memories is following Dad barefoot around in the garden with both hands blackened from digging (挖) in the soil. The garden is a wonderland full of possibilities.
As Dad grew older, he still loved gardening. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still planted all sorts of plants. Sometimes, I would come over to visit. and we would walk together in the garden. But then something changed. Like the weeds that took over his garden, the cancer grew rapidly in Dad. I stayed with Dad twenty-four hours a day and I found myself in all kinds of uncomfortable situations with Dad until I promised to look after the garden.
Though I had heard the words of the doctor, what really made me believe that Dad was dying was the state of his garden. That year, he only planted tomatoes. Too tired to weed them, he just tied them with strong strings (绳子) to the fence and let them be. It made me sad to see them ignored, so I would come over and water them once in a while, and remove the weeds. I still remember the day I picked the last tomato from the vine (藤). That day was one of the saddest I had ever experienced in my life.
Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden. I decided I would start out with a few tomatoes. That morning when I moved to the garden, something caught the corner of my eyes and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, standing barefoot in the soil, happily playing in the soil.
1. Why did the author like his father’s garden when he was a child?| A．It was a field that produced much food. |
| B．It was a wonderful place with unexpected surprise. |
| C．It was a place where he got educated. |
| D．It was a piece of land covered with black soil. |
| A．His son. | B．His illness. | C．His garden. | D．His grandson. |
| A．That the garden wasn’t taken good care of by his father. |
| B．His communication with his father. |
| C．The condition of his father. |
| D．The words of the doctor. |
| A．He remembered his father. | B．He thought of the food he would get. |
| C．His son showed interest in the garden. | D．He could look after his own garden. |
