All of my childhood and early, adult life, my mom weighed over 220 pounds (one pound =" 0.454" kilograms). I could feel the pain that my mom experienced with her fatness.
I was never uncomfortable about my mother, but I think she was uncomfortable about herself, and that feeling was painful for all of us. And she began to lose weight.
After more than twenty years of battling obesity（肥胖）, my mother completed a forceful eighteen-month diet that left her ninety pounds lighter than before. A new woman was born! At age twenty-eight, I got a new mom! For the first time, I met the woman my mother truly was, the beautiful little lady under the fatness. It wasn’t so much her new body that was the surprise, but rather her new spirit.
To celebrate her new size and to devote herself to dancing again, my mother joined a “Mrs. Forty-Plus” competition, where she would have to model, give a speech and provide a dance performance. She told our family that she did not care if she won — she simply had always wanted to perform on stage.
She told each one of us, “I’m not doing it to win; I’m doing it to dance!”
The competition was exciting! I prayed that my mom would win, but while watching her on stage I was simply overjoyed just by her effort. To me, she had already won. She posed to perfection, her speech brought tears to everyone’s eyes, and her performance was wonderful.
That night, at age fifty-three, my mother was crowned (为......加冕) “Mrs. Forty-Plus”. She was the first person in our family to ever win such a title.
64. The first two paragraphs mainly show that the author’s mom was __________.
A. experienced B. painful C. comfortable D. fat
65. After the author’s mom completed a forceful eighteen-month diet, she was about __________.
A. 85 kilograms B. 41 kilograms C. 130 pounds D. 90 pounds
66. In order to join in the “Mrs. Forty-Plus” Competition, the author’s mom has to do the following EXCEPT __________.
A. providing a dance performance B. telling a funny story about herself
C. giving a speech to a large number of people D. wearing special clothes to show to people
67. The underlined part in Paragraph 6 means that __________.
A. the author’s mom succeeded in modeling and speaking
B. the author’s mom’s performance was very wonderful
C. the author’s mom was not successful in modeling
D. the author’s mom succeeded in making a speech
People who are hit by lightning and survive often have long-term effects. These may include memory loss, sleep disorders, muscle pain and depression(郁闷).
Experts tell people to seek(寻找) the safety of a building or a hard-top vehicle any time they hear thunder, even if it is not raining. They say lightning can strike as far as sixteen kilometers from any rainfall. Lightning can travel sideways. And at least ten percent of lightning happens without any clouds overhead that you can see.
People who are outdoors should make sure they are not the tallest thing around. Bend(屈身) low to the ground, but do not lie down. And do not stand near a tree or any tall object. Get away from water and anything made of metal. A car is safe, but do not touch any metal inside.
Safety experts say people in buildings should stay away from anything with wires or pipes that lead to the outside. The National Weather Service says if you plan to disconnect any electronic equipment, do so before the storm arrives. Do not use a wired telephone. Do not use water. All these can carry electricity.
Some people think a person struck by lightning carries an electrical charge （电荷） afterward. Experts say this is not true. It is safe to begin emergency treatment.
Each year about four hundred people in the United States are struck by lightning. Last year forty four people died. The average(平均) is close to seventy. The National Weather Service says that is more than the number of people killed by severe storms. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Lightning can happen even if there is no cloud. |
| B．Lightning won’t do harm to people’s health. |
| C．Lightning can travel sideways. |
| D．Lightning can strike very far. |
The underlined word “disconnect” (in Paragraph 4) refers to “_______”.
| A．cut out | B．interrupt | C．disturb | D．cut off |
Which of the following mustn’t you do in order to seek lightning safety?
| A．Hide in a building. | B．Sit in a car. |
| C．Bend low to the ground. | D．Lie under a tall tree. |
Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The latest information about lightning. |
| B．Some common knowledge about lightning safety. |
| C．How lightning comes into being. |
| D．Where we should hide in case of lightning. |
Agatha Christie went out at night．She never forgot the night when she met a robber many years ago．
That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted until 2 o’clock in the morning．Agatha walked in the quiet street alone． Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her． “Good morning, lady,” the man said in a low voice, “I don't think you wish to die here!”
“What do you want?” Agatha asked．
“Your earrings(耳环)． Take them off!”
Agatha suddenly had a bright idea． She tried to cover her necklace with the collar (衣领 ) of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings and then she quickly threw them on the ground．
“Take them and let me go,” she said． The robber saw that the girl didn’t care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace． He thought the necklace would cost more, so he said, “Give me your necklace．”
“Oh, sir． It’s not worth much． Please let me keep it．”
“Stopping rubbish(废话)． Quick!”
With shaky hands, Agatha took off her necklace． As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to one of her friends．
The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds．Agatha never forgot the night, for she _______．
| A．was robbed of her earrings |
| B．had a good time at the birthday party |
| C．was robbed of her necklace |
| D．was robbed, but she fooled the robber |
The birthday party ___________．
| A．was over at 2 | B．didn’t end after 2 |
| C．ended before 2 | D．didn’t end at 2 |
Which of the following is not true? ______．
| A．Agatha pretended not to care for her earrings |
| B．Agatha pretended to care for her necklace |
| C．Agatha really cared for her earrings |
| D．Agatha didn’t care for her earrings at all because they were not too expensive |
After reading the story，you may know that Agatha was a _____ girl．
| A．brave and famous | B．clever and brave |
| C．foolish | D．beautiful |
Many people consider their pets members of the family and are very sad when they die, but what if you could clone your dog, cat or bird?
A scientist in New Orleans, who has proved his ability to clone other animals, is now offering the possibility to pet owners here in Wisconsin．
Scientists have not been able to clone dogs, cats or other pets, but if and when the time comes, several companies will be ready and able to do the job．
The question is: Are you ready to clone your pet? Brett Reggio is betting on it．He is working on his Ph. D at Louisian State University. He's successfully cloned a goat five times and wants to try the process on family pets． So he started a business called Lazaron． “What Lazaron provides is the first step in the cloning process． ”He said．“It’s for curing and storing the fiberglass cells that will be used for cloning．”
“Your first reaction is yeah! I think I’d like that．” said Donna Schacht, a pet owner．
“I don’t believe you can ever replace a special love,” pet owner Paulette Callattion said．
Most pet owners will tell you freezing your pet’s DNA in hopes of one day cloning it is a personal decision．
Scientists say that cloning your own pet doesn’t mean that the offspring（后代） will have the same intelligence, temperament（性情） or other qualities that your pet has．From the passage we know that scientists have ______．
| A．tried to clone animals |
| B．cloned many kinds of animals |
| C．been able to clone pets for people |
| D．once cloned goats successfully |
Brett Reggio started a business in order to _____．
| A．clone pets for people |
| B．store the DAN of people’s pets for cloning one day |
| C．make pets members of a family |
| D．collect different ideas on cloning from people |
Some people seem not interested in cloning pets because___________．
| A．they think it would be too expensive |
| B．they don’t think scientists will one day be able to clone their pets |
| C．they think the cloned pet would not be the one they once had |
| D．they don’t want to give any love to the cloned pet |
If you cloned a pet, your might find that it_____．
| A．looked different from the pet you once had |
| B．turned out to be another kind of animal |
| C．had a different character |
| D．were just the same pet your once had |
How do you enter a room full of strangers? Do you walk right in full of confidence? Or do you try to slip in without being noticed? ______
In life, we admire those who do their tasks confidently. We prefer people who appear to know what they are doing. But where does that confidence begin?
Developing self-confidence starts very early. It’s parents’ role to get kids on the right track toward becoming confident people. ______ That can be done by focusing on the child’s strengths. Parents should encourage their children to try new things and take risks. When children make mistakes, their parents should still let them know that they are loved. Children whose parents do these things will likely develop into confident adults. ___
___ So what’s the solution?
◎With most things in life, practice makes perfect, and that is true of confidence skills. ______
◎Always hold your head high and look people in the eye. Answer questions clearly and confidently.
◎Focus on the things that you do well, and look for opportunities to use those abilities.
◎Prepare thoroughly for every project. You’ll approach the task more confidently knowing that you are ready.
◎______ It could be a good test score or a prize from a contest. Remind yourself that one success often leads to the next.
However, all humans fail at times, and you will too. Even with efforts to try all the above, you will never be perfect. But you can learn to love and accept yourself and live your life with confidence.
| A.Keep in mind an item that reminds you of a recent success. B.The more you practice them, the easier they will become. C.The way you go into new situations show your level of self-confidence. D.Our goal is to prepare students to go into the world with confidence. E.To help that process, parents should always offer more praise than criticism. F.Learning from mistakes helps you face the same situation later without fear. G.But self-confidence still doesn’t come easily. |
One potential problem with allowances is that children’s responsible behavior can become about earning the allowance rather than the intrinsic(固有的)value of their family responsibilities. For example, if you pay your children for taking out the rubbish, they see this chore (家务事) as a job that they should be rewarded for instead of a responsibility they must fulfill as part of the family. But giving children an allowance for weekly chores is not necessarily bad. You are rewarding them for fulfilling their family responsibilities, but it is not for a specific act. It is an appreciation of their commitment to your family values. You are also conveying another important message that their actions have consequences: if they do good things, good things happen. They also learn a lesson about the market economy, namely that work is rewarded.
Allowances can also be used as punishment and to teach children lessons about family values. For example, if your children join a group of kids smashing (砸碎) pumpkins on Halloween, a part of a reasonable punishment might be to require them to pay the families out of their allowance to replace the pumpkins. Thus, your children learn that bad behavior has financial consequences. Meanwhile, by relating the punishment to the misdeed, you ensure that your children see the connection and learn the value lesson.
How much allowance should you pay your children? The precise amount depends on your family’s financial situation, the cost of living and your children’s needs. Children can start to earn a weekly allowance as early as 5 years of age. An increase of $ 1 per week for each year of your children’s lives is realistic until they reach their mid-teens. When they begin to drive and date, you can calculate their expenses and establish a reasonable allowance that covers their needs.The first paragraph mainly tells us that giving allowance to children may____________.
| A．lead to children’s preference for money rather than anything else |
| B．lead to children’s preference for earning money on their own |
| C．cause the problem that children value money more than responsibilities |
| D．cause children to earn money instead of going to school |
When your children join a group of kids smashing pumpkins on Halloween, ___________.
| A．you should give them some allowances to pay for the pumpkins |
| B．they should be rid of their opportunity to celebrate Halloween |
| C．you should ensure your children see the connection with their lessons |
| D．they should face the consequence of losing their own money |
It can be inferred from the passage that_____________.
| A．the author doesn’t want to give any tips on the allowance amount |
| B．allowances given to children of different ages may vary |
| C．children under 6 can’t be given any allowance |
| D．the allowance amount grows depending on the amount other children receive |