1 . There is a country — I read about it once — where the local custom is that if you go to a house and praise some small possession, the owners feel obliged to offer it to you as a gift. The only other place I know of with such a custom is my mother’s apartment.

Knowing Mama, I have always been careful with my compliments, but that doesn’t stop her. If she catches me staring at anything small enough to put in a grocery bag, she hands it to me as I leave. It would do no good to protest. “I was merely staring at that photograph of Mount Hood because I have one exactly like it in my living room.” Mama would only nod and say, “Of course. You were thinking how nice it would be to have a set. If a mother doesn’t understand, who does?”

As far as I can remember, Mama was telling people they were in the wrong line of work and suggesting alternative careers. My turn came when I grew up and became a housewife. “You missed your calling,” Mama sighs, examining the doodles (涂鸦) on my phone book. “You should have been an artist.” Later, I tell her how I returned rancid fish to the supermarket and demanded a refund, and she links this to lawyer. I know it’s horsefathers, but I like it.

I have been worrying for weeks now about what to give my mother for Mother’s Day. There is always the danger that a gift given to Mama will bounce swiftly back to the giver. If I buy her something wearable, she perceives in an instant that it could be let in here, let out there, and it would fit me perfectly. If I give her a plant, she cuts off the top for me to take home and root in a glass of water. If I give her something edible, she wants me to stay for lunch and cat it.

Papa, a sensible man, long ago stopped trying to shop for Mama. Instead, on Mother’s Day, her birthday, and other appropriate occasions, he composes a short poem in which he tells of their life. After nearly 30 years of poems, Papa sometimes worries that the edge of his inspiration has dulled, but Mama doesn’t complain. She comes into the room while he is struggling over a gift poem and says, “It doesn’t have to rhyme (押韵) as long as it’s from the heart.”

This year, finally, I think, too, have found a painless gift for Mama. I am going to give her a magazine article, in which I wish her “Happy Mother’s Day” and tell her there’s nothing Papa or I could ever buy, find, or make her that would be half good enough anyway.

1. What can be learned about the “my” mum from Paragraph 2?

A．She doesn’t like “my” complements.

B．She doesn’t think I am careful enough.

C．She will give “me” whatever she thinks “I” like.

D．She takes it for granted that “I” love what she has.

2. By “it’s horsefeathers” (paragraph 3), “I” imply that ______.

A．being an artist has always been “my” dream

B．what “my” mother says makes no sense

C．“my” mother knows well about “me”

D．“my” mother is too involved in “my” choices of job

3. Why am “I” worried about “my” gift for Mother’s Day?

A．It may well end up in a dustbin.

B．It will hardly satisfy “my” mother.

C．It may be returned to “me” in some way.

D．It will be given to someone else in the neighbourhood.

4. What can be concluded from the passage?

A．“I” love “my” mother very much.

B．Being sensible is important for an adult.

C．“My” mother dreams of becoming a poet.

D．“My” father no longer gives “my” mother any gift.

3 . I know when the snow melts and the first robins (知更鸟) come to call, when the laughter of children returns to the parks and playgrounds, something wonderful is about to happen.

Spring cleaning.

I’ll admit spring cleaning is a difficult notion for modern families to grasp. Today’s busy families hardly have time to load the dishwasher, much less clean the doormat. Asking the family to spend the weekend collecting winter dog piles from the melting snow in the backyard is like announcing there will be no more Wi-Fi. It interrupts the natural order.

“Honey, how about spending the weekend beating the rugs, sorting through the boxes in the basement and painting our bedroom a nice lemony yellow?” I ask.

“Can we at least wait until the NBA matches are over?” my husband answers.

But I tell my family, spring cleaning can’t wait. The temperature has risen just enough to melt snow but not enough for Little League practice to start. Some flowers are peeking out of the thawing ground, but there is no lawn to seed, nor garden to tend. Newly wakened from our winter’s hibernation, yet still needing extra blankets at night, we open our windows to the first fresh air floating on the breeze with all of the natural world demanding “Awake and be clean!”

Biologists offer a theory about this primal impulse to clean out every drawer and closet in the house at spring’s first light, which has to do with melatonin, the sleepytime hormone our bodies produce when it’s dark. When spring’s light comes, the melatonin declines, and suddenly we are awakened to the dusty, virus- filled house we’ve been hibernating in for the past four months.

I tell my family about the science and psychology of a good healthy cleaning at spring arrival. I speak to them about life’s greatest rewards waiting in the removal of soap scum (浮垢) from the bathtub, which hasn’t been properly cleaned since the first snowfall.

“I’ll do it,” says the eldest child, a 21-year-old college student who lives at home. “You will? Wow!” I exclaim.

Maybe after all these years, he’s finally grasped the concept. Maybe he’s expressing his rightful position as eldest child and role model. Or maybe he’s going to Florida for a break in a couple of weeks and he’s being nice to me, the financial-aid officer.

No matter. Seeing my adult son willingly cleaning that dirty bathtub gives me hope for the future of his 12-year-old brother who, instead of working, was found to be sleeping in the seat of the window he was supposed to be cleaning.

“Awake and be clean!” I say.

1. According to the passage, for modern families, spring cleaning ________.

A．calls for more complicated skills

B．is no longer something natural to do

C．is a highly-respected tradition

D．requires more family members to be involved

2. Why does the author say “spring cleaning can’t wait”?

A．Because spring is the best time for us to relax ourselves.

B．Because there will be more activities when it gets warmer.

C．Because our garden requires immediate cleaning after winter.

D．Because the weather in spring makes it easier for us to do so.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The reduction of melatonin will give rise to wakefulness in our bodies.

B．A dusty, virus-filled house is largely to blame for our sleepiness in winter.

C．A role model is needed to help other members grasp the concept of spring cleaning.

D．The author’s eldest son agrees to clean the bathtub because she will finance his trip.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Spring Cleaning Affords No Delay!

B．Modernity Kills Spring Cleaning

C．Spring Cleaning — to Do or Not to Do?

D．The Young Need Spring Cleaning

6 .

A．Go on a trip.

B．Take a long sail.

C．Run a restaurant.

D．Prepare a meal.

7 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word. For the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

My daughter

(A story told by a father, a famous actor)

My wife and I only had the one child. We had Amy.

I see her as my best friend. I think she’d always come to me first if she had a problem. We have the same sense of humor, and share interests.     1     I don’t mind animals, she’s completely fascinated with them, and she has always had dogs, cats, horses, and goldfish in her life.

We were     2     (close) when she was about four, which I think is a lovely age for a child. They know the parents best, and don’t have outside contacts. She must have grown up suddenly when she went to school, because I remember her growing away from her family slightly. Any father who has a teenager daughter comes across an extraordinary collection of people, and there seemed to be an endless stream of strange young men     3     (come) through our house. By the time I learned their names they     4     (go) away and I had to start learning a new lot.

I wanted more than anything else for her to be happy in     5     she was doing, and I was prepared to pull strings to help her on her way. When she left a good school she decided she wanted to become an actress so I got her into drama school. It wasn’t to her liking so she joined a theatre group and began doing bits and pieces in films. She was doing well, but then gave it up. She probably found it boring. Then she took up social work, and finally went to work     6    a designer and he became her husband. And that’s really the story of her life. She must be happy with him—they’re always together.

We have such similar tastes in books and music     7     I used to take her to see an opera, which is my big passion. However, I don’t think she likes it very much. She doesn’t come with me anymore.

I don’t think she’s a big television watcher. She knows when I’m on the television, and she     8     watch, but I don’t know. It’s not the kind of thing she tells me.

We’re very grateful for Amy. She’s a good daughter as daughters go. We’re looking forward to being grandparents.

8 . Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then write an English summary within 60 words in your own words according to the passage given below.

“Parents today want their kids spending time on things that can bring them success, but ironically, we’ve stopped doing one thing that’s actually been a proven predictor of success—and that’s household chores.” says Richard Rende, a developmental psychologist in Paradise Valley, Ariz., and co-author of the forthcoming book “raising Can-Do Kids”. Decades of studies show the benefits of chores--academically, emotionally and professionally.

Giving children household chores at an early age helps to build a lasting sense of mastery, responsibility and independence, according to research by Marty Rossmann, professor at the University of Minnesota. In 2002, Dr. Rossmann analyzed data from a longitudinal(纵向的) study that followed 84 children across four periods in their lives--in preschool around ages 10 and 15, and in their mid-20s. She found that young adults who began chores at ages 3 and 4 were more likely to have good relationships with family and friends and to achieve academic and early career success and to be self-sufficient, as compared with those who didn’t have chores or who started them as teens.

Chores also teach children how to be empathetic and responsive to others’ needs, notes psychologist Richard Weissbourd. In research, his team surveyed 10,000 high-school students and asked them to rank what they treasured more: achievement, happiness or caring for others. Almost 80% chose either achievement or happiness over caring for others. As he points out, however, research suggests that personal happiness comes most reliably not from high achievement but from strong relationships. “We’re out of balance,” says Dr. Weissbourd. A good way to start re-adjusting priorities, he suggests, is by learning to be kind and helpful at home.

The next time that your child asks to skip chores to do homework, resist the urge to let him or her off the hook. Being slack(懈怠的) about chores when they compete with school sends your child the message that grades and achievement are more important than caring about others. What may seem like small messages in the moment add up to big ones over time.

9 . “Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton (骨骼) in the closet (衣橱)?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully. “Well, it's something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad's family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be 'a skeleton in his family's closet'. He really wouldn't want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica's father said with anger. “Your family history isn't so good, you know. Wasn't your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?”“Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.”“Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica's parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica's closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica's mother sank in a faint (晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school's skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They're both crazy,” she thought.
1. According to Jessica's mother, “a skeleton in the close” means ________.

A．a family honor

B．a family secret

C．a family story

D．a family treasure

2. What can we learn about some Australians' ancestors from Paragraph 2?

A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

3. Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?

A．She was curious about it.	B．She planned to keep it for fun.
C．She needed it for her school task.	D．She intended to scare her parents.

4. Jessica's parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ________.

A．they were crazy.

B．they were over excited.

C．they realized their misunderstanding.

D．they both thought they had won the quarrel.