In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied．Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories．She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won la
st year．
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them．I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip form the publishers. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories．What if she doesn't 
win the contest again? That's the strange thing about being a parent．So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface．
A revelation （启示） came last week when I asked her, "Don't you want to win again?" "No," she replied, "I just want to tell the story of an angel （天使） going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she naturally told them．Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts （冲突） and endings for her tales．The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly "guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson．I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it．
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks．Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting （借用） my daughter's experience．
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help when asked．All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices．.
What do we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities． |
| B．Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time． |
| C．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing． |
| D．A lot of recreations compete for children's time nowadays． |
.
What did the author say about her own writing experience?
| A．She didn't quite live up to her reputation as a writer． |
| B．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations． |
| C．She was constantly under the pressures of writing more． |
| D．Most her stories had been rejected by publishers． |
.
．The author took great efforts to correct her daughter's stories because ________．
| A．She believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance |
| B．she didn't want to disappoint her daughter who needed her help so much |
| C．she wanted to help her daughter realize her dream of becoming a writer |
| D．she was afraid her daughter's imagination might run wild while writing |
.
What's the author's advice for parents?
A．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue． |
| B．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience． |
| C．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in． |
| D．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions |
As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping(录像) the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general, the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is. ”
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______.
| A．report on the findings of a study |
| B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table |
| C．show the relationship between parents and children |
| D．give information about family problems |
Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ______.
| A．they are busy serving food to their children |
| B．they have to pay more attention to younger children |
| C．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table |
| D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family |
By saying “Middle children are invisible” in paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children ______.
| A．have to help their parents to serve dinner |
| B．find it hard to keep up with other children |
| C．are often kept away from the dinner table |
| D．get the least attention from the family |
Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?
| A．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently. |
| B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner. |
| C．It is important to have the right food for children. |
| D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner. |
“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.
One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.
Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. Bushes must be pruned(剪枝) in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.
Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing (施肥) have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long disappeared under the thick leaves.
Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回) my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June. But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.
Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.What are the requirements for the healthy growth of rose?
| A．Frequent pruning and fertilizing. | B．A lot of care and the right soil. |
| C．Tomato plants grown alongside. | D．Cages placed around the roots. |
The writer planted the tomato because _________.
| A．there was room for it in the garden |
| B．the soil was just right for it |
| C．it cost only $1.25 |
| D．the roses’ branches needed to be covered |
This year the writer’s roses were __________.
| A．removed from the rose bed |
| B．largely hidden under the tomato plant |
| C．mostly damaged by too much sunlight |
| D．picked along with the tomatoes |
By saying “the prize so dearly won” in paragraph 5, the writer wants to ________.
| A．express her liking for the roses |
| B．show the hardship of growing the roses |
| C．show the difficulty in picking the tomatoes |
| D．express her care for the tomatoes |
In the situation described in the text, one good thing is that ________.
| A．the writer has a daily harvest of tomatoes |
| B．the roses cost the writer little money |
| C．someone will help the writer make the decision |
| D．the writer can now enjoy both the roses and tomatoes |
New York City schoolchildren can’t use cellphones at school because of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ban on cellphones in schools. Many parents are opposed to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ban on cellphones in schools by e-mail messages.
There was a 13-year-old student who was shot with a gun after school, unable to call his mother for help. There was a high school student robbed three times last year, twice in her school building. There was a girl who got a piece of glass placed in her eye during school and was saved from a possible cornea transplant (角膜移植) only because, having disobeyed the cellphone ban, she was able to call her mother and get an operation on time.
The ban has been on for years, but it set off a widespread parental outcry only in April, after some headmasters sent home letters reminding parents that cellphones are not allowed to be brought into school.
Mr Bloomberg has defended the ban, saying that cellphones are bad and often used to cheat or call in friends for fights. If something is important, he says, parents can call schools directly.
On the other hand, many of the e-mail messages from parents described the ban as “cruel and heartless”, “absurdly(荒谬地) wrong-headed”, “anti-parent”, “ridiculous”.
“We respect the fears that parents have,” David Cantor, a spokesman for Schools Minister Joel I. Klein said, “but after all the fact is that having phones in schools always leads to more problems.”A 13-year-old student was shot with a gun after school, unable to call his mother for help, because ____.
| A．his mother had no cellphone |
| B．his mother wasn’t at home |
| C．he didn’t take a cellphone with him |
| D．he was too frightened to call |
From the fifth paragraph we can see many parents _________ the ban.
| A．agreed to | B．thought highly of |
| C．supported | D．were opposed to |
According to what the spokesman said, the school might _______.
| A．call off the ban |
| B．continue the ban |
| C．thank the parents |
| D．allow some students to use cellphones at school |
Some of Man's closest relatives in the animal kingdom are under serious threat because of human activity, according to a recently published report.
Almost one in three of all apes and monkeys are now considered to be in danger of dying out and disappearing from our planet, if action is not taken soon.
The report, which was produced for the World Conservation Union (WCU), shows that 114 of the world's 394 kinds could be lost forever, and the main reason they are threatened is the continuing loss of forests where most of these animals live. In addition, illegal wildlife trade, climate change and commercial（商业的）hunting for meat are also endangering them.
What's more, the problem is getting worse. The number of species on the organization’s Red List has increased by 3 to 25 since 2005.
Russell Mittermeier, the main researcher of the WCU report, said, "You could fit(安置) all the surviving members of these 25 species in a single football stadium. So the problem is obviously urgent."
The scientists, who drew up the Red List, believe that the situation is now so bad that if action is not taken immediately, it will result in primate(灵长目动物) species dying out - something which has not happened in over a century.
The loss of habitat caused by the clearing of forests for wood, farmland and fuel continues to be the main reason for the decreasing number of primates, according to the report, and the problem was most severe in Asia.
The loss of forest trees is also responsible for 20 percent of all greenhouse gases - more than all the cars, trucks, trains and airplanes in the world combined.What is the main subject of the report discussed in the text?
| A．Climate change. | B．Loss of animal habitat. |
| C．Animal protection. | D．Endangered animals |
How many animals were on the Red List in 2005?
| A．22 | B．19 | C．25. | D．28. |
The spokesman refers to 'a football stadium' in paragraph 5 to stress that ______.
| A．the animals enjoy playing sports |
| B．these animals should be placed there for protection |
| C．there are not many of these animals left |
| D．the report was announced there |
What is the main cause of the greenhouse gas problem according to the text?
| A．Airplanes. | B．Loss of trees. |
| C．Factory pollution. | D．Road vehicles. |
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers. Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick | B．Disappointed and helpless |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful | D．Fortunate and helpful |
On her way home the writer _______.
| A．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．lost her wallet unknowingly |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home. |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
| D．She heard someone call her name. |
From the text, we can infer that the writer _________.
| A．would stay on in San Francisco |
| B．would stop working at night |
| C．would make friends with cleaners |
| D．would give up her job at the bank |