Has anyone noticed how, with the passage of time, one’s relationship with one’s grown-up daughters and sons becomes changed? I’ve been aware of this for some time but I’m not quite sure how to deal with it.
Take the kitchen sink for example.
Following a family get-together at my place, I walked into the kitchen to find Kate, my daughter carefully cleaning the sink.
“Don’t do that; what are you doing that for?” I said, unhappy about the hidden criticism.
“Mum,” she said, “you really ought to put your glasses on when you clean the sink. Behind the tap here was black!”
But it’s not just things like kitchen sinks. Another time Kate arrived to pick me up to lunch. She looked at me and then asked, “Mum, why do you use brown eyebrow pencil when your hair is grey?”
A sudden memory of her, aged 14, going to her first mixed party flooded back. She had come in to say goodbye. For a moment I thought she’d been an accident. Both eyes were black. I remember suggesting that perhaps a little less eye make-up might be more effective.
Now I told her, “My hair used to be brown.”
“It looks absurd.”
“Mrs. Menzies had dark eyebrows with grey hair.”
“Yes, but you’re not Mrs. Menzies, are you?” she said triumphantly, as if that proved her point.
But a recent event made me realize that something really must be done.
She had returned some for a few weeks before getting married. One evening I went out on a dinner date. By the time my companion left me at the front door, it was about 2am. As I stepped in, an angry figure in a white nightgown stopped me.
“Well, what time of night is this to be coming home?” she shouted. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”
Shades of the past come back to disturb me. But what should I do about all this? Nothing, probably. Maybe, after all, it’s only a stage young people are going through.The daughter thought her mother didn’t clean the kitchen sink well because of her .
A.laziness | B.carelessness | C.unhappiness | D.poor-quality glasses |
From the passage we know the daughter .
A.didn’t want to help with the sink |
B.didn’t like brown eyebrow pencils |
C.had an accident when she went to her first party |
D.shouted at her mum because she came home late |
How does the mother feel after all these have happened?
A.Shocked. | B.Proud. | C.Envious. | D.Confused. |
The author writes the stories to prove that .
A.their relationship became stronger |
B.their roles changed as time passed |
C.her daughter very much cared about her |
D.her daughter got upset as she grew up |
Wildlife faces threats ( 威胁 ) from habitat destruction, pollution, and other human actions. Although protecting wildlife may seem too hard at times, even small actions in your own neighbourhood can help protect many different animals. Here are some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions.
1.Create wildlife friendly areas in your backyard.
When trying to make your garden more beautiful , you can choose plants that can provide food and shelter to native wildlife . This will also help cut down on pollution . Add bird or bat houses to your yard or garden to attract and shelter these species.
2. Avoid harming the natural ecosystem ( 生态系统 ) in your area.
Some plants from other places can kill or harm native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife.
3. ________________________________________________.
By using less water and fewer fuels, you will be helping to protect the wildlife around you . Take buses or the subway when you can, turn off electric devices when you’re not using them , take shorter shower, and keep your room temperature at or below 68 degrees during the winter.
4. Buy products that are wildlife friendly
Don’t buy products that are made from endangered animals. Keep in mind that some endangered animals are killed by traps , catches or hunters who are after other wildlife within the same habitat.
5. Donate money or time to organizations that protect wildlife and their habitats.
You can give money to organization or groups that protect wildlife species in your neighborhood.We infer that the purpose of this passage is to ________.
A.tell us why protecting wildlife is extremely important now |
B.suggest that we protect wildlife through actions |
C.explain why protecting wildlife is not as hard as people think. |
D.give us some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions |
Which of the following threats to wildlife is NOT mentioned in the passage ?
A.Animal diseases | B.Loss of habitat |
C.Pollution | D.Hunters |
What’s the best title for the third point ?
A.Have a greener lifestyle. |
B.Use less water and fewer fuels. |
C.Take a bus when you go out . |
D.Try a new kind of life. |
In which section of a newspaper would you most probably read this passage ?
A.Environment | B.Teaching |
C.Business | D.Geography |
For most kids, height isn’t something they can change, so what do you do if you don’t like how tall or short you are? It might be girls feeling too tall and boys feeling too short but some really tall boys might not like all that height and some shorter girls might get tired of all the jokes or of feeling like they’re staying little while their friends are growing up.
If you are still worried about your height, talk to your parents and your doctor. Most kids don’t have a growth problem that needs help from a doctor, but it’s always OK to ask if you’re concerned.
So for most kids, it seems like there’s not much to do but wait to see how it all turns out. But you can do something right now: eat healthy and take care of yourself. If you get the nutrition(营养), sleep, and exercise you need, you’re likely to reach your maximum height. In other words, you’ll grow as tall as you were meant to grow.
And even though you may hear people say it, taking extra vitamins or supplements(补品) that you can buy in a store won’t help you get taller. Just stick to a healthy diet if you want to be the tallest you can be!
Kids who wish they weren’t so tall should still eat healthy and take care of themselves, of course. Eating less won’t make you end up any shorter unless you really starved yourself and made yourself sick.
As they get older, most kids learn to feel comfortable with their height, whether they turn out tall, short, or somewhere in between. What is this text mainly about?
A.Some tips on how to grow taller. |
B.Some advice on height worries. |
C.Some problems kids are facing. |
D.Some factors that affect height. |
If you want to grow taller, you are advised to do the following except _____.
A.get enough sleep | B.take some exercise |
C.take extra vitamins | D.get enough nutrition |
We’ll feel comfortable with our height _____.
A.after we tell the parents |
B.after we see the doctor |
C.when we grow taller |
D.when we get older |
Who does this text written for?
A.Kids. | B.Parents. | C.Doctors. | D.Teachers |
Florida is celebrating a big anniversary this year. Five hundred years ago, on April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce arrived on the east coast of what is now Florida. Native Americans had been living there for centuries, but Ponce was the first European to set foot in what would become the United States.
According to legend, Ponce may have landed in Florida by mistake. He is said to have been looking for an island called Bimini and its Fountain(喷泉) of Youth. The magical fountain could supposedly make old people young again. Instead, Ponce landed on Florida and claimed it for Spain. He named it La Florida, or “flowery place”.
Ponce explored more of Florida’s coasts over the next few months. He later returned to Spain but went back to Florida in 1521 to attempt to set up a colony. However, native Americans attacked him and his friends, and Ponce was killed. It wasn’t until 1565 that Spain set up a successful colony at St. Augustine on Florida’s east coast. It is the oldest European settlement in the U.S.
Florida didn’t belong to the U.S. until Spain lost control. It was admitted to the U.S. as the 27th state in 1845.
Today, Florida has one of the fastest-growing populations of any state. More than 19 million people call it home.
It’s also popular with tourists. Last year, 89 million people visited the Sunshine State. These days, most visitors come in search of fun in the sun on its sandy beaches and its theme parks, such as Disney World and Sea World. Five hundred years ago,_____.
A.the United States was founded |
B.the first European came to Florida |
C.Florida was discovered by human beings |
D.Spanish explorer Juan Ponce was born |
What can we learn about Ponce from Paragraph 2?
A.He hated Florida |
B.He discovered Florida by accident |
C.He finally found Fountain of Youth |
D.He could make old people young again. |
Ponce was killed_____.
A.by his friends |
B.on his way to Florida |
C.during his second stay in Florida |
D.after he set up a colony |
Which of the following is TRUE about Florida?
A.Tourists are losing interest in it. |
B.Its beaches are not well protected. |
C.There are 89 million people in Florida at present. |
D.Its population has been increasing in recent years. |
Volunteer Day schedule:
7:30 a.m.: Meet at the Community Center for breakfast.
8-8:30 a.m.: Visit with people from the many participating organizations. Choose which activity you’d like to help with for the day.
8:30-9 a.m.: Board the bus for your chosen activity, and ride with other volunteers to your activity site.
9-12:00 a.m.: Work as a volunteer.
12:00 a.m.-1 p.m.: Share lunch with your volunteer group. Don’t forget to bring food for lunch from home!
1-3:30 p.m.: Continue your volunteer work.
3:30 p.m.: Board the bus that will take you back to the Community Center, where you will be able to talk with other volunteers and share your experiences.
See below for a list of volunteer opportunities for Volunteer Day so you can begin thinking about which activity you might want to join.
Happy Homes: it provides home repairs for needy people in the form of painting. It also provides painters to create beautiful paintings inside schools of community centers.
Elder Care: Elder Care sends volunteers into nursing homes to spend time with them, play board games with them, and talk with them.
City Parks Association: you can help plant flowers and bushes in city parks or pick up trash around the river banks. These activities are very active, so remember to be prepared with plenty of drinking water!
Love and Learning: it provides volunteers to help children with learning disabilities. Read books out loud to groups of children aged four to six, or read one-on-one with struggling readers aged seven to eight. According to the schedule, how long will a volunteer work a day?
A.3 hours | B.5.5 hours |
C.7.5 hours. | D.8 hours. |
To join Happy Homes, one should _____.
A.be very good at art. |
B.enjoying talking with people. |
C.be able to play board games. |
D.like working with young children. |
For volunteers who enjoy being outside in nature, they can join _____.
A.Elder Care | B.Happy Homes |
C.Love and Learning | D.City parks Association |
You may think that an underground town of 3,500 people is something out of a science-fiction film. You may not believe that such a town has shops car parks, hotels, restaurants, cafes and much more. Well, Coober Pedy in Australia is just such a place.
Miners and their families choose to live like this, hoping to get rich looking for the precious stones that Australia is famous for --- opals(蛋白石). Living underground is the only way to be away from the sandstorms and the high temperatures above ground. Deep down in the town far below the desert surface, the temperature is between 19℃ and 20℃ and life is cool.
Mary Deane and her husband Jim are among the lucky ones. They live in a home, built with money from the opals Jim has found. “Whenever people hear we live underground, they always imagine a dusty cave,” says Mary, “but they are amazed at my clean kitchen, our furniture and electrical appliances in here.”
However, not everything is perfect in Coober Pedy. Mary has a tiny garden that she is very proud of, but the grass is not real. Plant life is rare. Water is five times more expensive underground than it is overground. Recycling is a way of life, so Jim usually washes his car with bath water and they have a special system to reuse the water from the dishwasher and washing machine.
Even so, most families enjoy life in Coober Pedy. The children can make as much noise as they want and there are no complaints from the neighbors because the thick walls stop sounds from traveling. Adults enjoy the peace and quiet away from the world above.People in Coober Pedy live underground______.
A.because of their secret identities |
B.because it is warmer underground |
C.so that they can save some money |
D.due to the terrible natural environment. |
Which word can best describe Mary’s life underground according to Paragraph 3?
A.Comfortable. | B.Exciting. | C.Healthy. | D.Lonely. |
Which is the biggest problem people in Coober Pedy have to face?
A.High living expenses. |
B.The awfully dusty environment. |
C.Shortage of water and greenery. |
D.The extremely high temperatures |
Children enjoy the life in Coober Pedy mainly because they _____.
A.enjoy traveling around with their parents |
B.can get many expensive toys from their parents |
C.enjoy the peace and quiet while doing their homework |
D.can enjoy themselves without disturbing their neighbors[ |