1 . “Dad, I need your help. Come here!” My 5­-year­-old girl pulled me towards the computer. “Dad, please buy everything I have in the Amazon shopping cart (购物车). Here, take this cash from my savings!” The shopping cart showed ten items for a total of about 130 dollars. “Wait!” I replied.“That’s too much money! Why do you need all these things?”“Please, Dad! These items will get here before Christmas. I have a surprise for everyone. No peeking(偷看)!” she explained, and I bought everything.

A couple of days later, she got everything. I saw her then wrapping (包装) all her gifts. “Can I help you?” I asked.“No, Dad. I told you these are special surprises. No peeking!” she replied. Her excitement was obvious.

The day came. She was all around her gifts, planning, protecting, arranging. Everything had to be perfect. As soon as dinner was over, she jumped from her chair and took her gifts. She went around giving each one of us her piece of love. These were small items, but it was the meaning of giving her heart that we were really feeling. As she gave the gift to each person, she watched the expression on our faces. Our smiles were her greatest reward. Her last gift was for my 2-­year-­old boy—a toy car. It was hard to describe my little boy’s delight at getting this gift! For several minutes, everyone’s attention was focused on watching him go all around the house happily.

Seeing these acts of my 5­-year­-old helped me understand the power of giving—giving from the heart. Later that day, my girl received some gifts, but she didn’t need them. She focused on others, not on herself. It was clear that she was the one feeling true joy.

1. Why did the girl ask her father for help?

A．She didn’t have enough money.

B．She needed him to keep the secret.

C．She wanted to get his opinions on gifts.

D．She couldn’t make the online payment.

2. How did the girl feel when wrapping the gifts?

A．She felt proud.

B．She felt delighted.

C．She felt cautious.

D．She felt satisfied.

3. What did other family members think of the girl’s acts?

A．Pleasant.	B．Creative.
C．Reasonable.	D．Surprising.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To praise his daughter for her generosity.

B．To share his experience of raising his kids.

C．To discuss how to find happiness in daily life.

D．To share the lesson learned from his daughter.

2 . If you are looking to improve your relationship with your parents, you are not alone.     1     There are a number of steps that can be taken to make a better relationship with your parents.

Be grateful. Consider all that your parents have done for you. You may find yourself feeling thankful to your parents. You will be more willing to improve the relationship. Let your parents know that you are appreciative for all they have done for you.     2     For example, get them a nice gift. If you live with your parents, do some extra housework without being asked.

    3     Often, people do not get along because they fail to take others' perspective. Accept that your parents are different. Think about the ways that their lives may have been different from your life, and how these different histories may be contributing to issues in the relationship.

Avoid unnecessary arguments. Sometimes arguments are unavoidable, but do your best to avoid unnecessary quarrels. This may mean that you have to bite your tongue when one of your parents says something controversial.     4     If it is, make the point clearly and modestly in order to avoid an overly emotional argument.

Don't ask for their advice unless you really want it. Sometimes problems arise in relationships between parents and children, particularly at the teenage years and beyond, because parents can try to give advice that might hurt your sense of independence.     5     Otherwise, you may be opening the door to frustration on your part.

A．Put yourself in their shoes.

B．Be happy with them for this.

C．Show your appreciation with your actions.

D．It can hurt to feel taken for granted, even for parents.

E．Problems between parents and children are common.

F．So try only asking for their advice when you really want it.

G．Determine whether the need to respond is really necessary.

3 . Improving Your Relationship With Your Parents

Sometimes it seems that getting along with your parents is impossible. However, they are probably the most important persons in your life.     1    , take the following steps to try to understand them better.

Make time with your parents.

    2    , so spend time with them while you are able to. This doesn’t mean just sitting in front of the TV together. Instead, find activities to do together. In doing this, you will learn more about what your parents enjoy doing, and it will bring you closer.

Talk with your parents.

In order to understand your parents better, you have to spend time talking with them. Use this time to learn about their different hobbies, opinions and values, to connect with them on a deeper level.     3    , or ask them how they felt when they found out they were going to have you.

Listen to them actively.

This may seem obvious, but it is often harder than you think. When you are communicating with your parents, make sure you are listening.     4    . If you are on your cell phone or listening to music, stop what you are doing when they are talking to you.

    5    .

This may be difficult considering your present relationship with your parents, but do your best. You can also talk to them about something at school that you are excited or worried about.

A．Share your feelings with them

B．Your parents won’t always be around

C．Ask your parents for help if necessary

D．If you can’t get on well with your parents

E．You can ask them to tell you about their own childhood

F．This will also show your parents that you are interested in them as friends

G．This means not cutting in on them, and speaking clearly when responding

4 . As parents, we walk a fine line between caring for our children and teaching them how to care for themselves. When they're little, they need our help with everything. Over time, kids usually take the lead on things like feeding and dressing themselves, but it can be difficult to know when it's time for them to start doing some basic things, such as packing their own lunches for school or solving problems with teachers without a parent's help.

Blogger Amy Carney recently shared a post about the things parents should stop doing for their teens. In it, Carney shared the basic skills that she expects her kids to master by the time they hit 13, such as waking themselves up in the morning, making their own breakfast and lunch, and finishing their own homework.

Barb Harvey, a childhood behavior expert, gave me her answer: The age at which children learn to master certain skills will be different depending upon the maturity (成熟) and interest level of the child.

I asked the same question among my friends. They gave all kinds of answers, which can explain Harvey's opinion.

Therefore, there's only one expert who can determine when your kids have the ability to deal with certain skills, and that's you. If your kids aren't ready to pack their own lunches — don't sweat it. Help them learn the skills they're ready to deal with and keep working towards the end goal of raising responsible and able adults. Because if there's one thing that we can all agree on as parents, it's that time moves quickly when you're raising kids. One day you will wish they could just do things without you and the next day, you will feel upset that they do.

1. What is Amy Carney's expectation when her children are 13?

A．To be a skillful cook.	B．To follow Harvey's opinion.
C．To be an expert.	D．To have basic skills.

2. Who can decide when the children will learn to care for themselves?

A．Amy Carney.	B．Barb Harvey.
C．The children.	D．The parents.

3. Why will parents feel upset when their children grow up?

A．Their kids can do nothing.

B．They feel less important.

C．Their children become able adults.

D．Their kids disagree on anything.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Walking a fine line.

B．Blogger Amy Carney.

C．Parents and their children's growth.

D．A childhood behavior expert.

5 . How to live with an elderly person

Living with an elderly person has both rewards and challenges for everyone involved.     1    Both parties need to be patient and understand their unique living situation in order to make it work. Here are some tips to live with an elderly person.

Communicate with your elderly roommate.     2    If you don’t communicate, you won’t know each other’s problems and concerns. As a result, you won’t be able to form a relationship that respects both of your unique qualities.

    3     Both parties need to come to an agreement about each other’s space, independence, and autonomy (自主性). You need to understand what your elderly person is comfortable with when it comes to being assisted. Talk to them about their expectations about your relationship. Discuss use of shared space like the bathroom, kitchen, or living room.

Figure out finances. Figure out who pays for what ahead of time. Having finances decided and agreed upon ahead of time could save you from a headache or even legal fees in the future. Records will make a big difference here, so if you start out knowing who pays for what, and have it written down, you are ahead of the game.     4    

Give the person privacy. When possible, they should have as much privacy and personal space as it is practical to allow. Don’t turn yourself into a caregiver. Don’t become a nurse without need.     5    Always communicate first if you are concerned about your elderly roommate.

A．Decide boundaries.

B．Respect each other.

C．Don’t leave them alone.

D．Don’t enter their personal space.

E．This will help you avoid problems in the future.

F．Communication is the most important element of any relationship.

G．But we also need to respect the need of older people to feel independent.