1 . Clever Ways to Organize Your Refrigerator

When you’re watching your grocery budget, a refrigerator can be your best friend. It’s great for people who only occasionally have time to cook. Because you can either buy ready-made meals or make up big batches periodically and divvy them up for convenient weeknight meals. The issue, of course, is freezer organization. Having wonderful food on hand is just annoying if you can’t actually find it when you want it!     1    

iDesign Linus Divided Refrigerator Storage Bin

A lot of the convenience foods we put into the refrigerator come in boxes.     2     This is because they tend to slide around and fall over. A clear storage bin with dividers (分隔物), like the one from iDesign, is just what you need.     3     So it’s small enough to be a good fit for refrigerators. The divider means boxed items will still stand upright. In most refrigerators, you’ll be able to fit two or more as needed, and they’ll slide out for easy access to items at the back.

YouCopia FreezeUp Refrigerator Bin

Another type of “problem packaging” is the stand-up, zipper-seal bags that many kinds of fruit and vegetables are sold in. They’re convenient to use, but there’s not really a good way to pile or organize them when they go back into the refrigerator. This refrigerator bin from YouCopia, with its four or six removable dividers, is just the thing to keep them in line. It’s clear and has a low wall at one side.     4     You can put those packages in and take out of the refrigerator without effort.

Removable Refrigerator Food Labels

Physical organizing isn’t the only kind you’ll need to do to get the most out of your refrigerator and its contents.     5     In this case labels will be needed. Labeling everything that goes into your refrigerator will help you keep track not just of the contents of each bag and package, but also to know which items need to be used up in which order. These labels from Chinco are just the thing. They’ll stick to storage bags or containers made of plastic and glass, but after they’ve been used, they’ll peel off easily and leave no residue (残留) behind.

A．It’s popular due to its small size.

B．It’s just 11 inches deep and 5 inches wide.

C．So it’s easy to see what you’ve got.

D．You need to make full use of your refrigerator.

E．Small boxes in particular can be a pain to store.

F．Now we have got the clever solutions to the problem.

G．You’ll also need to keep track of what’s in there.

2 . Dear Tom,

I’m going to Shanghai tomorrow morning. I plan to go shopping this afternoon, but I will be busy and maybe I will work late in the evening, so I need your help. Could you please go shopping for me this afternoon? Here are the things I need.

＊ a kilo of oranges ＊ some apple juice ＊ white sports shoes (Size 37) ＊ a notebook ＊ a black pen ＊ a purple T-shirt (Size M)

Oh, remember to buy some chocolate for our daughter Maggie. The money is in my handbag. It is on the wall, behind the door.

Thanks for helping!

Love,

Lucy

1. Why does Lucy need Tom’s help?

A．Because she is tired.	B．Because she isn’t fit.
C．Because she isn’t free.	D．Because she isn’t happy.

2. What doesn’t Tom need to buy?

A．Some apple juice.	B．A purple T-shirt.
C．A kilo of oranges.	D．A watch.

3. Where is Lucy’s handbag?

A．Behind the desk.	B．On the wall.
C．Behind the table.	D．Behind the chair.

4. Who is Tom?

A．Lucy’s father.

B．Lucy’s brother.

C．Lucy’s son.

D．Lucy’s husband.

5. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

A．Lucy wants a red pen.	B．The chocolate is for Tom.
C．The size of Lucy’s shoes is 37.	D．Tom is going to Shanghai tomorrow.

3 . A new survey finds the gender gap in home cooking has widened, with women cooking more meals than men in nearly every country worldwide.

Women cooked just under nine meals per week, on average, in 2022. Men cooked about four per week. These are the results of an annual survey by Gallup and Cookpad, which tracks how often people prepare and eat home-cooked meals in countries around the globe.

When the survey began in 2018, traditional gender roles were well established, but during the pandemic years the survey results showed that men were cooking more. This narrowed the gender gap, explains Andrew Dugan, a research director at Gallup, who has worked on the survey since it began. The latest results, which Dugan says come as a surprise, point to a reversal (颠倒) of this trend. In 2022, women continued to cook at about the same frequency, but men started to cook less.

“It’s the first year that the gap actually widened,” Dugan says, pointing out that the gap has reverted back to its starting point in 2018, “What it might suggest is that the traditional gender roles are starting to reassert themselves,” Dugan says.

The gender gap varies by country. In the United States, women cook about two more meals per week on average, than men. The survey report charts the countries with the largest gender gaps, including Ethiopia, Egypt, and Nepal where women are making about eight more meals per week than men. The countries with the smallest gender differences in cooking are clustered (成群的) in Europe, including Spain, the UK, France, and Ireland.

It’s not clear why the gender gap widened in all the other countries including the U. S., but chef Mike Friedman, who operates several restaurants in the Washington D. C. area, has his take. “The survey may not capture the whole picture,” Friedman says, “In my house, lots of meals are collaborations (合作). My wife does a lot of the cooking. But we talk about it and we talk through what we should make tonight. And most times she’ll start and I’ll finish and then I’m always left with the dishes”.

1. What do we know about the survey?

A．It began across the U. S. in 2022.	B．It indicated men cooked less in 2018.
C．It measured how often people ate out.	D．It focused on gender gaps in eating habits.

2. What can be inferred from Paragraph 5?

A．Women are more willing to do the cooking.

B．Traditional cooking methods stay unchanged.

C．The researchers come from different countries.

D．Gender gaps in cooking are smaller in richer countries.

3. What can we learn from Friedman’s words?

A．Friedman thinks the survey has limitations.

B．Friedman is critical of women’s roles in cooking.

C．Friedman’s household seldom works together on meals.

D．Friedman’s household has a strict division of cooking roles.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Traditional Gender Roles in Cooking	B．The Pandemic’s Impact on Home Cooking
C．Chef Friedman Comments on the Survey	D．Gender Gap Widens in Home Cooking

4 . Five Simple Ways to Make Your Life Together Better

The fast-paced life changed the way couples live together. Most of the time, people say they are feeling stressed. Experts say the following are some ways to improve life together.

Keep Track of the Good Stuff

What works? Examples include compliments, goodbye kisses, buying flowers, and cooking meals.     1    . Anger takes things downhill. Laughing, smiling, and saying nice things make disagreements easier to get past.

Hold Hands

    2    . Hand holding also lowers stress. Research shows that holding hands takes some stress away from the person in pain. Spend hand-holding time talking about things that are on your mind. It may be things like money, kids, or work.

Read to Each Other

Why? People grow closer when they share thoughts and ideas. Reading aloud is a way to experience something new together. You will enjoy reading to someone and having them read to you. Each partner picks a favorite story.     3    . Take note of your partner’s voice.

    4    

Write down one or two of your partner’s annoying habits. They may be small things like not paying bills or dropping clothes on the floor. Talk about those things, but do not be critical. Try to find reasons why they happen.Practice Gratitude Together.

Write down three things about your partner for which you feel grateful. Talk about these moments and how they make you feel more connected to each other. Showing gratitude is a common way to boost happiness and fitness.     5    .

A．Write to each other

B．Accept the Small Problems

C．Do not only listen to the words

D．Touching is a good way to connect

E．Positive words and actions work much better than negative ones

F．Take regular moments to show how thankful you are to your partner

G．It helps us get better sleep and can even sometimes reduce blood pressure

5 . Improving your family life can help make your family members closer and prevent conflicts from getting in the way of everyone’s happiness.     1    .

Talk to your family members at the end of the day.     2    . That way, they can understand you and generally know what’s going on in your life. In turn, it is equally important that you know about their lives too, so that they feel understood, supported and realize that they are not alone.

Set aside time for regular family activities. You can do fun activities together to relax yourselves.     3    . If possible, leave at least an afternoon or evening per week for a family activity. Keep it low-key, and focus on having fun together and enjoying each other’s company.

Show sincere concern about your family members.     4    . If you love them, then tell them that you love them. If you care about them, tell them this. Go out of your way to remind each family member what glues you all together—love, care and support.

    5    . Do not always give a lot of advice to your family members. Just hear them out at times. That is all they need. Make eye contact with them, nod your head, and say things like, “I understand,” when appropriate. Make sure they know that whatever they are talking about, you are there to listen and be supportive.

By doing so, you can surely develop a close family relationship with your family members.

A．Be an active listener

B．Do not keep your feelings bottled up

C．You can also surprise them with presents

D．Remember to make eye contact with them

E．It is very important that you let them know about your life

F．These could include bike rides, walks, playing cards or board games

G．The following ways can make your time with your family more enjoyable

6 . When I came home on the first day of every school year, there was always a new book on my bed. My mother lived for tradition-especially on holidays. Knowing how much I loved to read, a new book was the perfect way to begin a new school year for me, and it was a reminder of how much she cared.

I carried my mother’s thoughtfulness into my own children’s lives. When it was time for them to start school, we began our own traditions. For us, it was all about our favorite pizza at dinner and High/Low, a game in which the kids shared their best and not-so-good memories of that first school day. They loved the game so much that they made me share mine.

The start of a new school year can be exciting or frightening for children, but creating a family tradition can help beat the first-day-of-school blues. Kristin Taylor of Murray, Kentucky, wishes her parents had recorded her childhood more, so she’s promised to do that for her kids. “I want to remember the moments that seem little but end up being the stories we retell as our kids grow up,” says Taylor, mother to three children.

Each year on the first school day, she photographs her children in their school uniforms. “I plan on giving them a book of those photos when they graduate,” she says.

The book “The Kissing Hand” has meant a lot to Marie Karns and her daughter, Lil. In the story, a baby raccoon (浣熊) cries to his mom that he doesn’t want to go to school. The mom passes down a tradition from her mom to her little boy. She kisses the inside of his palm (手心) so he can take her love to school with him. “We read the book every year and then I kissed the palm of her hand so she could take it to school with her,” says Karns.

Traditions create memories and one day, when the kids are older, they will be a great way to look back and remember those new beginnings.

1. What did the author think of the new book on her bed?

A．It expressed her mother’s wish to teach.

B．It was an everyday gift for her.

C．It was a great way for her to start each school year.

D．It showed her mother’s love for reading.

2. What did the author’s children do on their first school day?

A．They went out to a restaurant to have dinner.

B．They read a new book together.

C．They discussed how to start a new family tradition.

D．They described their experiences that day in a game.

3. What can we learn about Kristin Taylor?

A．She values childhood memories.	B．She works as a photographer.
C．She is strict with her children.	D．She is good at telling stories.

4. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．A family tradition.

B．Karns’ love.

C．Lil’s gift.

D．A children’s book.

7 . My father really dislikes my stepfather, Mike, and is always calling him names, saying what a “good-for-nothing” guy he is. Mike knows about his name-calling because sometimes when my father comes to pick me up, he’ll say inconsiderate things right in front of my stepfather like, “Is what’s-his-name going to pick you up after the game, or am I supposed to bring you home?”

Even though it’s rude, my stepfather doesn’t hold it against my father. “I’ll pick up Shawn at 3:30,” he’ll answer. Nor does Mike make a big deal out of my father’s inconsiderate attitude towards him. He lets the comments go.

I ask my stepfather if the way my father treats him bothers or upsets him. “Oh, not really,” he says. “You don’t always have to be right, as long as you do what’s right.” My father’s taunts (嘲笑) don’t bother Mike because he likes himself. My dad’s opinion doesn’t change the way Mike feels about himself.

I really admire Mike. He’s so good to my mother. And what a good father he is to me! I appreciate all the things he does for me, like teaching me to throw a fastball and helping me with my homework without becoming impatient like my father does. Mike even volunteered at my school’s carnival (狂欢节) this year. No other stepfathers were there.

Though I would never tell my real father that I think my stepfather is one of the nicest guys I know, he is. I’m happy to make Mike my stepfather. Sometimes, I even call Mike “Dad” because he acts like a dad to me. In my eyes, my stepfather is a really great guy.

1. Why is the writer’s father rude to Mike?

A．Mike is hated by him.	B．Mike is a good-for-nothing.
C．Mike treats his ex-wife badly.	D．Mike likes to call him names.

2. What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Mike never deals with the problems that he faces.

B．Mike never runs a business with the writer’s father.

C．Mike doesn’t express his anger on the writer’s father.

D．Mike ignores what the writer’s father says and does.

3. What can be known from Paragraph 4?

A．The writer is a poor boy and has several stepfathers.

B．The writer’s real father doesn’t like sports as much as Mike.

C．Mike is as good to the writer’s mother as the writer’s real father.

D．Mike is more patient with the writer than the writer’s real father.

4. Which can best describe the writer’s attitude to his real father?

A．Rude but patient.	B．Admiring and respectful.
C．Caring but disapproving.	D．Disgusted and unconcerned.

8 . It is difficult for the parents of every family to teach their children to be responsible (有责任的) for housework.

A school in Shanghai is making its students do housework for their parents. Third graders (三年级学生) must learn how to cook and clean, sixth graders do some washing and fold the clothes, and seventh and eighth graders cook balanced meals with 15 yuan.

Many parents think it’s a good way for children to try housework, but they don’t know how to do it at home. With the following ideas, you can really get your children to help at home.

If you want to make your children think that they can do everything quite right, please don’t always scold (批评) them but give lots of praise (表扬) at home. Talk more about what he did right, not about what he didn’t do. If your child finishes some difficult work, give him or her a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad as a reward.

1. Who should learn to cook balanced meals with 15 yuan according to the passage?

A．A third grader.	B．A fourth grader.
C．A sixth grader.	D．A seventh grader.

2. What should parents do when the children do housework?

A．Scold them when they are wrong.

B．Give them a lot of praise.

C．Don’t let them do it.

D．Tell them not to do difficult work.

3. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “reward”?

A．说明

B．奖励

C．惩罚

D．报答

4. The best title (题目) of the passage may be “________”.

A．Make Children Do Housework	B．How to Teach Children
C．Housework	D．School and Housework

9 . Building your family tree together is a wonderful chance to tell your kids your favorite family stories. It can make for some memorable quality family time.     1    . Here is a four-step guide to get you started.

Gather Your Family Objects

The objects include old photos, letters, journals, and anything else you may have hidden in the attic (阁楼) or storeroom.     2    . Go through everything you’ve gathered and share stories with your kids about the people in old objects.

Talk to Relatives

    3    . Now it’s time to talk to your relatives and ask questions about the stories. Your kids can write a list of questions and interview their relatives to get some background on their family.

Write a Family History

Write down all the related information you have already known.     4    . Once you know what's missing, you’ll know where to focus your search, what questions to ask, and who to talk to. What may seem like a common family story now can actually become interesting and informative with time.

Go Online

With so many genealogy(家谱) websites available, you can find a wealth of missing information online. In addition to searching relationship information on your home computer, you can find birth and death records, newspaper records, and official government documents.     5    .

A．Find and spread them out on a table

B．There are so many ways to create a family tree

C．Probably, dozens of family stories have never been brought up

D．This will allow you to see where information might be missing

E．Some websites make it fun to discover more about family source.

F．Family trees are often organized to record three generations in a family

G．Share your newly found family information with the rest of your family

10 . Every family is a foundation of society. It is where one learns fundamental values and beliefs. It is the first place one goes when they need love and support.     1     A strong family provides a loving, supportive environment that helps you reach your full potential. Here are some key things to keep in mind if you're looking to strengthen your family bonds.

Nurture (培养) healthy communication. The key to any strong relationship is communication.       2     Family members need to feel comfortable communicating about both the good and the bad. Honest communication can help solve problems, set boundaries, and provide support. By nurturing healthy communication within the family, you can lay the foundation for solid relationships with others.

    3     In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle (忙碌) and forget to slow down and enjoy life. One of the best ways to build a strong foundation for your family is to make time for quality bonding experiences. You can share meals, take a family vacation, or spend an evening playing video games together and celebrate every milestone together.     4    

Facing life’s challenges together. No family is perfect, and every family will face challenges at some point in their lives. The key is to address those challenges together as a team. There will be times when family members will disagree on how to face a challenge.     5     Remember, the goal is to work together as a team and support one another through thick and thin. And by doing so. you can build a strong foundation for your family.

Building a solid foundation for your family takes time, effort, and patience. But it is well worth it when you see the lasting bonds.

A．Encourage quality time together.

B．That is especially true for families.

C．Families grow and change over time.

D．Show your children how important family is.

E．Plus, it is also the foundation for personal success in life.

F．Your children will cherish the memories of these moments when they get older.

G．It is essential to respect each other's opinions and find a solution that works for everyone.