1 . I spent time at my father’s house and mountain cabin this weekend, both of which have plug -in electric kettles. I enjoyed how quickly they boiled water, plus it’s kind of nice to not have to run across the house to stop the unbearable scream of the whistle( 哨 声 ) , My father was shocked that I didn’t own one, but I explained that I value the classic design of my Revere Ware kettle and I enjoy boiling water on the stove for my tea.
However, I’m nothing if not practical. I have a gas stove and the price of natural gas has been coming up, which isn’t ending any time soon. We’re not as bad as Europe, where people are removing their beloved stoves due to skyrocketing gas prices, but it’s certainly worth considering the cost of gas vs. electricity. The gas company is rolling out a 25% rate increase, which made me dive down this rabbit hole.
It’s not easy to compare gas to electric costs, as an electric kettle uses 1. 5 kilowatts to boil water and it takes 6428 British therm units (BTUs)to boil water using a standard gas stove. Of course, the gas company uses “therms”, and there are 1. 00024e-5 therms in one BTU. 1 kWh=0. 0341296 therms and I pay 14.47e/kWh for electricity and 61. 458≠/therm for gas. So you can see why you almost need an advanced mathematics degree to puzzle out the cost of heating a kettle on the gas stove vs. a plug-in electric. Of course you also have to consider that you’re not actually boiling water for a full hour
I never got even close to a point where I could do the math, but I did come to the conclusion that I could stop mindlessly filling the entire kettle when I’m having just a single cup of tea. Plus my low-tech kettle was produced without planned obsolescence( 过 时 )and should last for a very long time. No additional purchases necessary.
1. What does the author think of her father’s electric kettles?| A．They cause annoying noise | B．They are inconvenient to use |
| C．They are classic in design. | D．They lose some traditional flavor |
| A．Hold a negative attitude to life. | B．Consider moving somewhere else |
| C．Get into an awkward situation. | D．Study how to escape like a rabbit |
| A．To stress an advanced math degree is rewarding |
| B．To show it’s hard to make an economical choice |
| C．To prove the gas company has overcharged users |
| D．To explain the author is a price-sensitive consumer |
| A．Keep using it. | B．Upgrade it. | C．Replace it. | D．Sell it |
2 . In a world full of parenting advice, i’s easy to get trapped in the latest discipline strategy or the trending hot topics.
A family motto is not just pretty words on a page. It is a meaningful, value-packed statement or series of statements that set your family apart from everyone else.
Most parents have a vague (模糊的) idea of what they'd like to teach their children, and when they try to teach or discipline their kids, the messages come out ...vague! You know certain things are important, but in the moment, you forget or lose sight of the big picture.
| A．A family motto is a new trend. |
| B．It is also not some house rules or expectations. |
| C．Use this motto to stay focused on what you want to stress. |
| D．Writing a family motto helps clarify your values and goals. |
| E．Of course, a family motto won't solve all your parenting dilemmas. |
| F．Brainstorm ideas, values, goals or characteristics that are important to you. |
| G．These competing messages may cause you to forget your own parenting goals. |
3 . I was visiting my sister and watched as my fifteen-year-old nephew, Ben, emptied the trash without being asked. “You’re such a great kid,” I told him. “Thank you for doing that.” He smiled, “The trash is my job. I’m ATT around here.” At my confused look, my sister Mandy explained that ATT stood for All Things Trash. “Emptying the trash has always been Ben’s job, and sweeping the floor is Anna’s job. Whenever some of the trash would spill out onto the floor, they’d argue about whose responsibility it was to clean it up,” she said. “So, we came up with the word act to solve that problem. If it has anything to do with trash, no matter where it is, it’s Ben’s job.” I nodded. “That makes sense. I love easy ways to solve common problems.”
A few days later, I was back home with my own family. I had a deadline for a huge project at work, and I was really feeling the pressure. When I’d picked up my son from school that afternoon, I’d enter the grocery store to buy a toasted chicken for dinner. I figured that would buy me an extra hour to work on my project since I wouldn’t have to cook that night.
Now, it was 6:00 p.m., and I was typing away, making good progress. My kids were downstairs watching TV. My eleven-year-old son, Nathan, came into the room and said, “Mom, I’m getting hungry. Can you warm up the chicken now?”
“In a little bit,” I answered without looking up from the computer, “I’m trying to work.”
Ten minutes later, my older son, Jordan, came in to tell me that he was hungry too, and I needed to warm up the chicken. “I’ll do it as soon as I’m at a stopping point,” I said.
Fifteen minutes after that, my eighteen-year-old daughter, Julia, made the same request. I exploded. “Each of you is old enough to put a toasted chicken in the microwave,” I nearly shouted. “You are watching TV while I’m working on something important. I would think you would realize that I’m busy and just take some responsibilities.”
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答.
Twenty minutes later, a paper plate filled with chicken and cheese appeared on the desk next to my computer.
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Sharing the load has given me more time to read and rest.
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4 . Parents have problems with their children. Every mother or every father wonders about something like “Why is this so? What can and should I do about it?”Strictly, what are these things that we parents call problems with regard to our children?
To a parent, a problem is some action, habit, or attitude that he doesn't expect, or he doesn't approve of, and that he tries to change but finds that he can't. So，whether it is dawdling (游手好闲) or any other everyday behavior in children，the parent calls it a“problem”. In reality, of course, parents and child specialists don't always agree on what is or isn't a“problem”But this disagreement doesn't make much difference to the anxious parent who feels so sure that he faces a problem.
I think common problems of young children can be grouped into four general categories: habit, management, expectation and adjustment. So, what are they really about? Four common types of problems: 1) Habit or training problems -those that have to do with establishing the fundamental habits of the children. 2) Child management problems -related to managing or controlling the child, directing his self-interest, and trying to get him to live agreeably and socially with other people around him. 3) Expectation problems -those that dealt with the child's learning to fulfill certain expectations. Some of these expectations arise in the parents' view of the child; some arise in the child's own thinking as he looks at the world and his place in it. 4) Adjustment problems—related to the child's sense of security and his emotional adjustment.
Why do these problems arise then? Partly, they arise out of the child's growing up, out of his need to be trained to fit into a world that just wasn't designed especially to meet his wishes. Partly, it is because the parent expects certain things from the child and figures that the child isn't meeting those expectations.
But no matter what causes the problem, it is most probably true that the parent's anxiety and distress are almost sure to increase the problem. For a child is something like a mirror, his behavior reflects the parent's concern about that behavior. That's why it is so important for us to understand why the child behaves as he does. Understanding is the first step in trying to manage a "problem". If you understand, you lose some of your anxiety. If you lose some of your anxiety, the child can relax and improve his behavior.
1. This passage was mainly written for______.| A．teachers | B．children |
| C．parents | D．specialists |
| A．Dealing with children's problems needs a calm mind |
| B．Parents and child specialists differ on the definition of a problem. |
| C．Parents sometimes find it difficult to solve the problems of their children. |
| D．Children are usually anxious to solve their problems with the help of their parents. |
| A．habit or training problems | B．child management problems |
| C．expectation problems | D．adjustment problems |
| A．Children haven't received proper treatment at school. |
| B．Parents don't know how to help their children. |
| C．Children haven't achieved their aims while growing up. |
| D．Parents have expected too little on their children. |
| A．introduce some children's problems and how to solve them |
| B．advise readers to understand children's problems |
| C．offer readers some ways to deal with children's problems |
| D．tell readers how to tell different children's problems |
