1 . Fur Babies

Kong Qin, a 32-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing, recently noticed that Cheese, her cat, had been acting oddly since she gave birth to her son several weeks ago. The cat started using the bathroom all over the house, and she was never like that before.

Kong did not know what happened to the cat, and she asked for advice from a friend of hers who is also a cat owner. Her friend told her that Cheese may be acting out as she may be feeling neglected since the baby was born. She added that behaving this way was probably a trick to win over her master’s attention.

Kong remembered that in a family in Baba Huilaile (Dad is Back), a Chinese reality show that she watched around one year ago, the dog often pushed the kid aside when the kid asked his dad for a hug. When she was watching the show, she only took the pushing as a joke and did not think too much of it, but she is now beginning to wonder if the dog was actually trying to steal the limelight.

Zhang Yu, a veterinarian (兽医) in Beijing, advises that if fur babies start to misbehave after a baby is born, pet owners should not punish them, which may stress the pet out. Pets rarely actively attack kids, but if kids hurt pets out of curiosity, like pulling their tails, pets may bite kids to run away. She also recommends that parents should be with the kids who are younger than two years old when there are pets around to protect pets and kids from being hurt by each other. As children get older, parents can help introduce their kids to the pets to help them become familiar and comfortable around each other. “Pets will eventually get used to having kids around after some time, and pets owners need to wait some time,” she said.

Kong has happily found that Cheese is more like her usual self over the past few days. She is conscious that the cat has gone through the toughest stage. The next thing she is planning to do is to take Cheese to her son’s bed more often so that she will like him more.

1. The underlined expression“limelight”in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to __________.

A．food.

B．glance.

C．attention.

D．ownership.

2. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Pets won’t start a fight with babies when parents are around.

B．Pets are always safe alone with those younger than 2-year-olds.

C．Owners should be patient before pets get used to having babies around.

D．Owners should stress pets out when they are not behaving themselves.

3. How does Kong feel about Cheese’s reaction to the birth of her son these days?

A．Comfortable.

B．Thankful.

C．Depressed.

D．Hateful.

4. What does the writer mainly want to tell us in this passage?

A．Children need to be smart enough to avoid being hurt by pets.

B．Owners should learn to help fur babies coexist with newborns.

C．Parents’ fur babies can become friends with the newborns easily.

D．Pets, like some parents, will feel delighted when newborns come.

2 .

A．He knows who is knocking.	B．He is eager to know who it is.
C．He doesn’t want to open the door.	D．He is ready to open the door.

3 .

A．The boys are badly spoiled.

B．The man gives them too much money.

C．They should learn to manage money.

D．She wants to save money for the boys.

4 .

A．To a dress-up party.	B．To the tailor’s.
C．To the theater.	D．To a shopping mall.

5 .

A．At 10:00.

B．At 10:10.

C．At 10:20.

D．At 10:30.

6 .

A．Go on a trip.

B．Take a long sail.

C．Run a restaurant.

D．Prepare a meal.

7 . Our youngest daughter can be stubborn about receiving gifts, and I told her so.

“Where do you think I get it from?” she asked.

“I’m not stubborn when it comes to receiving gifts,” I said. “I used to be but not now.”

She has a birthday coming up and we want to get her some new cowboy boots.

Cowboy boots aren’t cheap, but we want to do something special and get her something she could use and enjoy for years to come.

But my daughter is pushing back, saying she’s happy with her current boots-which are old and worn-out.

I push back, she pushes back, and we become locked in a mother-daughter match over stubbornness and how much is too much to spend on a special gift.

She thinks my husband and I do too much for her. I used to think the same thing about my parents—my parents weren’t rich, but they were generous.

They kept saying they enjoyed giving me gifts, but all I could think about was how much money they were wasting on me.

Years ago, I mentioned to a friend that I thought my mother overdid it when it came to buying gifts for her children.

My friend, closer to my mothers age than mine, looked at me and said, “Who are you to tell your mother what she can do?”

I wanted to argue with her, but I didn’t. I didn’t fully understand it then but I understand it now—now that I’m a grandmother myself.

The longer you live, the more you see how often things go wrong.

Marriages fail, friendships break down， family members become estranged, and accidents and illnesses cut lives short.

There is a brokenness that fills many of our lives.

So, when you see life going well, families working hard and growing strong, you want to celebrate.

It took a lot of time for me to understand that giving is an expression of joy, as much as it is an expression of love, understand where my daughter is coming from, but I also understand where my parents were coming from—a place of pure and simple joy celebrating those moments when life goes well.

1. Why did the author’s daughter try to refuse her mom’s gift?

A．She had many boots to wear.

B．She wanted something else for her birthday.

C．She didn’t like the style of the boots.

D．She didn’t want her mom to spend too much money.

2. The author began to understand her parents’ behavior after she ________.

A．listened to her friends’ advice

B．experienced brokenness in life

C．communicated with her husband

D．received gifts from other family members

3. The underlined word “estranged” most probably means “________”.

A．lonely

B．distant

C．joyful

D．complete

4. What does the author think about gift giving?

A．It is the best way to express our love to others.

B．It is an expression of hope for the future.

C．It is a way to show our joy when life is going well.

D．It is a way for people to escape bad things in life.

8 . 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.

9 .

A．Leave his wife another dish.	B．Don’t wash the dishes.
C．Wash his wife’s dishes.	D．Help his wife wash dishes.

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, 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 or phrase that best fits each blank.

Cross-cultural Marriage

Previously, cross-cultural marriages were not accepted. However, most people get married out of love for one another, not because of one's race. Cross-cultural marriages, therefore,    1    （become）more popular among the younger generations.

    2    （enter）into a relationship with someone from another country can have a lot of ups and downs. The differences between the two cultures come into play as the relationship    3    （progress）. Couples may have problem    4    （get）used to each other's living style. Even the slightest difference, say in the food they eat, can spark off an argument. The couples may also have certain assumptions or expectations about what their partners are like, in terms of the ideas about a culture they may have before meeting their spouses. It is important for the couples to see their partners as who they are, and not    5    （base）on some common understanding of a culture. Of course, it is essential for the couples    6    （respect）and get a deeper understanding of the spouses' cultures.

Cross-cultural marriage may be particularly    7    （horrify）to women. Many brides fear that they will be unable to communicate with their new families. In Korea, courses are available to help Korean women who marry American men    8    （adapt）to their new lives. Fear of living abroad and    9    （understand）the new customs can be too much for a new bride to handle. With the help of the programs, the new husband can also understand his new wife.    10    （marry）someone from a different country can offer interesting experiences and new challenges.