1 . In the corner of my desk is a note, slowly yellowing from time. It is a _________ from my mother, containing only four sentences, but with enough impact to _________ my life forever.
In it, she praises my abilities as a writer. Each sentence is full of_________ . The word “but” never appears on the card; _________ , the word “and” is there many times.
Every time I read it, I am _________ to ask myself how many times I’ve “but-ted” my own daughters.
Although our eldest daughter _________ got all As on her report card, teachers would always suggest that she _________ too much in class. I always forgot to ask them if she was making improvements. _________, I would greet her with, “Congratulations! Your Dad and I are very _________ , but could you try to talk less in class?”
The same was __________ of our younger daughter. Like her sister, she is a lovely and bright child. She also treats the floor of her room as a closet ( 壁 橱 ), which has often caused me to say, “Yes, that project is great, but __________ your room!”
I’ve noticed that other __________ do the same thing. “The hockey ( 曲 棍 球 ) team won, but Mike should have made that last goal. ” “Amy’s the homecoming queen, but now she wants $200 to buy a new dress and shoes. ” But, but, but.
What I __________ from my mother is to start thinking “and, and, and” instead. __________: “The hockey team won, and Mike did his best the whole game. ” “Amy’s the homecoming queen, and she’s going to look perfect!”
The __________ is that “but” feels bad, “and” feels good. When our children feel __________ about what they are doing, they do more of it.
This is not to say that children don’t need or won’t respond to their parents’ __________ . They do and they will.
When those expectations are __________, amazing things happen.
It’s not __________just to say we love our children. We’re also going to have to start guiding and taking part in what is right with our children.
“No more buts!” is a call for __________. It’s an opportunity every day to put our attention on what is promising about our children.
And if I ever forget, I have my mother’s note to remind me.
1. | A．book | B．card | C．diary | D．suggestion |
2. | A．enrich | B．prepare | C．change | D．ruin |
3. | A．love | B．doubt | C．interest | D．humor |
4. | A．besides | B．finally | C．anyway | D．however |
5. | A．reminded | B．forced | C．attracted | D．requested |
6. | A．seldom | B．never | C．usually | D．possibly |
7. | A．forgot | B．talked | C．remembered | D．understood |
8. | A．Also | B．Therefore | C．Sometimes | D．Instead |
9. | A．proud | B．upset | C．hopeful | D．surprised |
10. | A．tired | B．certain | C．true | D．short |
11. | A．look into | B．clean up | C．put up with | D．make use of |
12. | A．students | B．children | C．teachers | D．parents |
13. | A．heard | B．expected | C．learned | D．differed |
14. | A．After all | B．For example | C．In short | D．In turn |
15. | A．fact | B．purpose | C．chance | D．challenge |
16. | A．bad | B．good | C．hard | D．curious |
17. | A．decisions | B．questions | C．instructions | D．expectations |
18. | A．interesting | B．low | C．positive | D．high |
19. | A．enough | B．necessary | C．normal | D．difficult |
20. | A．help | B．joy | C．attention | D．respect |
