When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was badly crippled (跛脚), and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare, I would be ashamed of the unwanted attention. If ever noticed or bothered, he never let on.
It was difficult to walk together—and because of that, we didn’t say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, “You set the pace. I will try to follow you.”
Our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. He went to work sick, and even in bad weather. He almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. It was a matter of pride for him.
When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help... Such times my sister or I would pull him through the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y., on a child’s sleigh to the subway entrance. Once there, he would try to grasp handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice free. In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in Brooklyn on his way home.
When I think of it now, I am surprised at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to suffer from shame and disability. And I am also surprised at how he did it—without bitterness or complaint.
He never talked about himself as an object of pity, not did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a “good heart”, and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.
Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don’t know exactly what a “good heart” is. But I know the times I don’t have one myself.
He has been away for many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about my troubles, when I am envious of another’s good fortune, when I don’t have a “good heart”.How did the man treat his father when he was young?
| A．He helped his father happily. |
| B．He never helped his father. |
| C．He helped his father, but not very happily. |
| D．He only helped his father take a walk after supper. |
As a disabled man, his father____.
| A．didn’t work very hard |
| B．didn’t go to work from time to time |
| C．hated those who had good fortune |
| D．was happy and satisfied, and never lost hope |
What does the underlined word “reluctance” mean in the article? It means ____.
| A．anger | B．sadness | C．happiness | D．unwillingness |
How did the father get to work usually?
| A．By subway. | B．By bus. | C．By wheelchair. | D．By bike. |
Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they go to their friends for some ideas.
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone. This communication (交际) is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can talk about something, and these things are difficult to say to their family members.
However, parents often try to choose friends for their children. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who choose your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome.Many teenagers think that ______ can understand them better.
| A．friends | B．brothers | C．sisters | D．parents |
When teenagers have something difficult to say to their parents, they usually _____.
| A．stay alone at home | B．fight with their parents |
| C．talk about it with their friends | D．go to their brothers and sisters for help |
The underlined sentence “Your answers are welcome.” means ______.
| A．You are welcome to discuss the questions with us |
| B．We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome |
| C．Your answers are always right |
| D．You can give us all the right answers |
Which of the following is the writer’s attitude (态度)?
| A．Parents should choose friends for their children. |
| B．Children should choose everything they like. |
| C．Parents should understand their children better. |
| D．Teenagers should only go to their friends for help. |
Hemingway(1898~1961) was born in Illinois. His family took him, as a boy, hunting and fishing trips and so made him know early the kinds of virtues, such as courage and endurance (忍耐), which were later shown in his stories. After high school, he worked as a newspaper reporter and then went abroad to take part in World War I. After the war, he lived for several years in Paris. It was not long before he began publishing remarkable short stories. In the year he left Paris he published the powerful novel The Sun Also Rises. His subjects were often war and its effects on people, or contests, such as hunting or bullfighting, which demand endurance and courage.
Hemingway’s style of writing is striking. His sentences are short, his words are simple, yet they are often filled with feelings. A careful reading can show us, further more, that we see how the action of his stories continue during the silence, during the times his character say nothing. This action is often full of meaning. There are times when the most powerful effect comes from restraint(克制). Such times happen often in Hemingway’s writings. He perfected the art of expressing excitement with few words.Which of the following was written by Hemingway?
| A．The Old Man and the Sea. | B．The Ugly Duckling. |
| C．The Daughter of the Sea. | D．The Gifts. |
Hemingway’s short stories were first published_______.
| A．before World War I. | B．during World War I. |
| C．after World War I. | D．in the year before he left Pairs. |
What do you know about Hemingway as a boy from the article?
| A．He was very brave and bright. |
| B．He liked writing short stories. |
| C．He often went hunting and fishing. |
| D．He was good at hunting and fishing. |
Why is Hemingway’s style of writing striking?
| A．Because his words are short. |
| B．Because his sentences are simple. |
| C．Because his writings are filled with feelings. |
| D．Because he is a master of the pause. |
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions--and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why．
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes．
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said．“Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and ignore the mouth．”
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral．They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies．
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did．“The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said．“Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less．”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion．From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion．Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation．The discovery shows that Westerners _______.
| A．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth |
| B．consider facial expressions universally reliable |
| C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways |
| D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions |
What were the people asked to do in the study?
| A．To make a face at each other． | B．To get their faces impressive． |
| C．To classify some face pictures． | D．To observe the researchers’ faces． |
What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．The participants in the study． | B．The researchers of the study． |
| C．The errors made during the study． | D．The data collected from the study． |
In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to ________.
| A．do translation more successfully | B．study the mouth more frequently |
| C．examine the eyes more attentively | D．read facial expressions more correctly |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul |
| B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills |
| D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
For many years there’s been a debate about rewarding our children. Does it work? Is it effective?
Some people think we should establish a standard with our kids and give them something for meeting this standard as a reward. Punishment is given out in much the same way, but it’s used when certain standards of performance, behavior, etc. have not been met. Kids will often become more dutiful when threatened with punishment, and work harder when promised a valuable reward. The problem is what happens when you aren’t around.
To develop responsible, self-disciplined kids, parents need to promote certain ideas. One of these ideas is that everyone pitches in and helps in your family. Another idea is that there can be enjoyment in doing any task if we choose to make it so. When a task is for a worthy cause ( our family can enjoy the house more because I helped clean it), this message can have a big impact.
This is how we help our kids develop a sense of responsibility. When our children develop this responsibility, they’ll be more disciplined, and they’ll control their emotions better. When we give rewards to our kids, we reduce the sense of responsibility. We also create children who may temporarily perform to a certain standard, but who aren’t likely to continue the performance without the carrot hanging in front of them.
“Rewards and punishment can change behavior for a while, but they cannot change the person who engages in the behavior,” said Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards. “Good values have to be grown from the inside out.” Parents can help give their children a sense of shared responsibility and discipline which can last a life time. The real rewards that your children receive will be their readiness for the complex and demanding world that waits for them—a world that rewards those who have learned the secrets of discipline responsibility. So keep those shiny rewarding to yourself, and let your kids find their own rewards. According to the passage, when children are threatened with punishment, ______.
| A．they may lose interest in their work |
| B．they may appear to be well-behaved |
| C．they may change to another person |
| D．the results will be worse than usual |
What can we know from Paragraph 3?
| A．Parents should promote certain ideas to help children develop. |
| B．Children should be responsible for their discipline. |
| C．Children should help build a good family atmosphere. |
| D．No children will adapt to society without their parents’ help |
The underlined part “the carrot” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to _____.
| A．rewards | B．aims | C．apologies | D．doubts |
According to the passage, Alfie Kohn would agree that parents should ______.
| A．never pay attention to the way their children do things |
| B．show their children how to behave by example |
| C．never punish their children |
| D．help their children establish good values |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Do you often reward your children? |
| B．Should parents reward their children? |
| C．When should parents reward their children? |
| D．What can parents reward their children with? |
Modern science suggests that a healthy lifestyle matters much to how long you can live and how well you live. Here are some tips for you to form a healthy lifestyle.
Keep a scientific diet. Keep in mind that sugar can be removed from our diet completely. Over intake of sugar is one of the main reasons for getting fat. Over intake of protein or fat and low intake of fiber can also lead to getting fat. We need only a few grams of protein every day to keep our body in order. Like rain to crops, not the more the better.
Be always in a good mood. There is a relationship between the mood and health. A good mood keeps you in high spirits. Thanks to the Internet, we can enjoy and learn much without going out. Take a look at some online shops and pick up some bargains, enjoy music and movies and chat with some good friends. Just keep happy.
Enough sleep. Two studies show the reasons why teens and adults don’t have enough sleep. With teens, a major reason is mobile phone use; with adults, it’s work. Meanwhile, a third study of young children shows that a lack of sleep in early life may lead to serious problems in future. Everyone needs at least 8-hour sleep to recover from tiredness and the hurt caused by hard work in the daytime.
Proper exercise. Do exercise to keep away from fatness. Because of the quick pace of modern life, you don’t have time to do exercise every day, but at least three times a week and 45 minutes each time.The author wrote the passage to _______.
| A．tell the readers how to take proper exercise every day |
| B．provide some advice on how to form a healthy lifestyle |
| C．ask people to care about their health rather than their work |
| D．make some surveys among those who have health problems |
Which of the following can lead to getting fat according to the passage?
| A．low intake of protein. |
| B．low intake of fat. |
| C．over intake of fiber. |
| D．over intake of sugar. |
The main reason why teenagers don’t have enough sleep is that they _______.
| A．use mobile phones too much |
| B．have too much homework |
| C．eat too much sugar every day |
| D．don’t have enough exercise |
How many minutes do you need to do exercise at least every week?
| A．45 minutes. | B．90 minutes. | C．115 minutes. | D．135 minutes. |
What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．We must take in much sugar for our body’s functioning well. |
| B．The Internet leads to more health problems. |
| C．The least sleep time needed for adults is less that that of teens. |
| D．We need to do many things to form a healthy lifestyle. |