We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests' coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss(小题大做) over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults（成年人）usually make a big "to do" over the younger one because she's the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.
But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined（比....更出色）. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, "What are you doing, my dear?"
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, "Mommy, why don't people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I 'm not pretty? Is that why they don't say nice things about me as much?"
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend's home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.The underlined expression ' make a big "to do" over' (paragraph 4) means ______.
| A．show much concern about |
| B．have a special effect on |
| C．list jobs to be done for |
| D．do good things for |
Kristen felt sad and cried because ______.
| A．the guest gave her more coats to carry |
| B．she didn't look as pretty as Kelly |
| C．the guests praised her sister more than her |
| D．her mother didn't introduce her to the guests |
We can conclude from the passage that ______.
| A．parents should pay more attention to the elder children |
| B．the younger children are usually more easily hurt |
| C．people usually like the younger children more |
| D．adults should treat children equally |
Which of the following statements is right?
| A．Kristen and Kelly are not getting along with each other. |
| B．Kristen is older than Kelly. |
| C．The mother likes Kristen more than Kelly. |
| D．People usually talk more to Kelly than they do to Kristen. |
The 16th Annual Our Own Words Teen Poetry & Fiction Writing Contest
Attention, teen writers!
Win cash, get published.
Entries will be accepted between March 8th and April 21st, 2015.
Awards ceremony at Lagerquist Hall, Pacific Lutheran University on December 27th, 2015.
Winning poems and stories will be published as written. Contest winners will read their work at the awards ceremony at Lagerquist Hall, Pacific Lutheran University on December 27th, 2015.
Your poems and stories will be judged on the basis of originality, style, general presentation, grammar and spelling. All entries will belong to Pierce Country Library System and will not be returned. Winners' names may appear in newspapers and on the Library's Website.
You may enter both the short story and poetry categories, but you can only offer one entry per category.To enter the contest, you should
| A．hand in a poem |
| B．be a teenage student from Pierce County |
| C．turn in published works |
| D．pay some entry fees |
Your poem or story will be judged on_____.
| A．how many words there are |
| B．when you hand it in |
| C．whether it is first written by yourself |
| D．what topic it is about. |
What information can we get from the passage?
| A．There will be 18 teenagers to be awarded in all. |
| B．Your work will be published in newspapers. |
| C．Your work will be returned to you if you fail. |
| D．Winners will be awarded prizes in more than half a year. |
The passage can be classified as______.
| A．a contest announcement |
| B．an official report |
| C．an art show review |
| D．an exhibition explanation |
After fighting cancer for 13 years, my grandfather became ill enough to be admitted to hospital. One morning, he was having trouble breathing, but continued to silently hold my hand. I kept forgetting his special request that grandpa wanted me to fetch a New Year card that my late grandmother had given him on their last anniversary together. He used the card as a bookmark in his Bible.
I just knew that I had to fetch his much-loved and much-requested gift. Leaving my grandpa at his bedside, I rushed home. Jumping back into my car with the card in my hand, was depressed when the car wouldn't start. I quickly ran to the nearest bus stop. As I waited there, out of breath, I looked in my purse only to find a $20 note and 50 cents in change.
A short while later, a bus appeared. I quickly got on and offered the driver the $20 note To my amazement, he told me that he had no change and that I had to get off and wait for the next bus. I was horrified.
A few minutes later, another bus came.<'Hey, where do you want to go?" asked another driver . I told him the hospital and about my lack of change. Although he was going to completely different destination, he shouted, "Hop aboard- - -let's see what we can do."
In exchange for my $20 note, he offered me two fives and a ten. Next, he picked up his phone and made a call. Just as we passed the corner, I could see the previous bus that I had tried to board waiting for me, at the next stop. My kind driver told me, to hop out and catch the, bus in front.
After less than 20 minutes, I was back at the hospital. By then, grandpa was pale and blue. When I handed him the card, he laughed and cried. As he looked at it, I knew I had done the right thing in getting it for him. It was like telling grandma that he was coming.Grandfather valued the New Year card because_____.
| A．it was a gift from his wife in memory of their marriage |
| B．he often used it as a bookmark in his Bible |
| C．he planned to send the card to his loved wife |
| D．there were requirements from his wife on the card |
We can infer from the passage that the second driver_____.
| A．would go by the hospital |
| B．knew how important the card was to a patient |
| C．was a person willing to help chose in need |
| D．would specially send the author to the hospital |
The passage is mainly about______.
| A．the relationship between grandparents |
| B．the kindness from bus drivers |
| C．the last moment in grandpa's life |
| D．the action to satisfy grandpa's request |
Every day we are exposed to images, videos, music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation, the medium of radio is making a great comeback.
“We’re at the beginning of a golden age of audio,” said US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast (播客). These statistics, released by Edison Research, show the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day’s digital podcast format. The term “podcast” was invented in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. With the sharp increase in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast sales have jumped.
The appeal of the podcast partly lies in its multiplatform delivery and on-demand capabilities (功能). You can listen during those extra minutes of the day when you’re walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.
Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney University media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTurns. “I listen while I’m wandering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task much more enjoyable… And it’s an easy way of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” she said, “I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I’ve also been listening to This American Life and Serial. They have a special skill to really draw you in.”
Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this owes to the podcast’s ability “to create close relationship and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, majoring in social work and arts, agrees. “When you’re listening, it feels as if the voice of the podcast’s storyteller is talking directly to you. It’s comforting, ” said Proust.
It seems the age-old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well. From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.
| A．traditional broadcast has come back |
| B．Americans love listening to the radio |
| C．podcasts have become very popular today |
| D．smartphones sell well because of podcasts |
The writer mentions Donna Jackson mainly to ________.
| A．tell how young people relax themselves |
| B．explain why young people like podcasts |
| C．introduce what programs podcasts are presenting |
| D．show how popular podcasts are presenting |
Paragraph 5 is mainly about ________.
| A．the influence of radios |
| B．the advantage of podcasts |
| C．readers’ impression on radios |
| D．people’s reaction to the medium |
What is probably the best title of the passage?
| A．Return of Radio | B．Opinions of Podcast |
| C．Features of Radio | D．Technology of Podcast |
As we grow old, we realize that we have so little time to read and there are so many great books that we’ve yet to get around to. Ye re-readers are everywhere around us. For certain fans, re-reading The Lord of the Rings is a conventional practice annually. One friend told me that Jane Austen’s Emma can still surprise him, despite his having read it over 50 times.
New sudden clear understandings can be gained from the process of re-reading. Journalist Rebacca Mead, a long-time Englishwoman in New York, first came across George Eliot’s Middlemarch at 17. Since then, she has read it again every five years. With each re-reading, it has opened up further; in each chapter of her life, it has resonated (引起共鸣) differently. Mead evidenced the large number of ways in which really good books not only stand the test of repeat reads, but also offer fresh gifts each time we crack their spines. These kinds of books grow with us.
Scientists have also recognized the mental health benefits of re-reading. Research conducted with readers in the US found that on our first reading, we are concerned with the “what” and the “why”. Second time round, we’re able to better appreciate the emotions that the plot continues to express. As researcher Cristel Russell of the American University explained, returning to a book “brings new or renewed appreciation of both the great book and its readers.”
It’s true that we often find former selves on the pages of old books (if we’re fond of making notes on the pages). These texts can carry us back to a time and place, and remind us of the kind of person that we were then. We’re changed not only by lived experience but also by read experience – by the books that we’ve discovered since last reading the one in our hand.
More so than the movie director or the musician, the writer calls upon our imaginations, using words to lead us to picture this declaration of love or that unfaithfulness in life. A book is a joint project between writers and readers, and we must pour so much of ourselves into reading that our own life story can become connected with the story in the book.
Perhaps what’s really strange is that we don’t re-read more often. After all, we watch our favourite films again and we wouldn’t think of listening to an album only once. We treasure messy old paintings as objects, yet of all art forms, literature alone is a largely one-time delight. A book, of course, takes up more time, but as Mead confirms, the rewards make it adequately worthwhile.The two books are mentioned in Paragraph 1 mainly to __________.
| A．attract the attention of readers |
| B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．provide some background information |
| D．show the similarity between re-readers |
The underlined expression “crack their spines” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.
| A．recite them | B．re-read them |
| C．recall them | D．retell them |
It can be learned from the passage that __________.
| A．reading benefits people both mentally and physically |
| B．readers mainly focus on feelings on their first reading |
| C．we know ourselves better through re-reading experience |
| D．writers inspire the same imaginations as film directors do |
The purpose of the passage is to __________.
| A．call on different understandings of old books |
| B．focus on the mental health benefits of reading |
| C．bring awareness to the significance of re-reading |
| D．introduce the effective ways of re-reading old books |
Sports are the base of my life, next to my mother who raised me when my dad left us. I have been into sports since I was six years old. I have known many coaches and heard hundreds of their tips, but they usually focused on drills to develop my skills and reach the next level of play.
When I was in Senior Two, I met the new school basketball coach, Brian Pawloski. I thought I was certain to be selected for the school team since I had been in it the year before. I showed up to the tryouts and put out about 90% effort since I thought I’d make it with no problem. That was a big mistake.
Brian Pawloski is the hardest-working coach I have ever met. He didn’t expect 100% effort, he expected 200% effort. One example: he once made us do 40 suicide drills for the 40 lay-ups (投篮) we missed in a game. Some think this is crazy, but it isn’t. After this conditioning practice, as we were getting a cup of cold water to drink, I said, “coach, that was the best practice I ever had.” I was completely sincere. This man was and is the person who influenced me most at my high school. He expects us to be excellent not just on the court but in the classroom. If I am not working on basketball, I am reading a book that he thinks will help us better understand life’s challenges, including Wooden, Coach, and The Screwtape Letters.
In the first two years I slacked off, not putting forth my full potential. Now, unlike the coaches of my youth, this man was interested in how he did off the court. He always made sure I kept up with my studies and was able to be trusted. I can honestly say that on other coach has given me so much advice on how to succeed in basketball, but more importantly, in life. My school is lucky to have such a great person to teach, coach and influence their students. I will always remember my high-school basketball days as one of the hardest times I have ever worked in my life not only in basketball but in my growth as an individual.Different from other coaches, Coach Brian ________.
| A．concentrated on skill training |
| B．trained the team to the edge of death |
| C．expected the team to do well in their studies |
| D．asked the team to do more reading than training |
The underlined phrase “slacked off” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
| A．paid no attention | B．showed no interest |
| C．had less passion | D．made less effort |
In the author’s eye, Coach Brian is ________.
| A．strict and helpful | B．hardworking and honest |
| C．skilled and cruel | D．professional and serious |