ElixirWrittenbyEricWalterTwelv-优题课

I have happy memories of trips to Europe, but my trip to Romania was unique. My husband was born there, but his family sent him to study in Italy. He hasn’t seen his family since he was 16.
When we reached Bucharest, his family was waiting outside to greet us. After a lot of hugging, kissing, and crying, his family also embraced (拥抱) me, the American wife with two young children. They had great interest in me. Few Americans visited Romania at that time, and most Romanians had little chance to travel.His family loved our gifts. We made trips to the Black Sea and the Carpathian Mountains. Eating at outdoor cafes to the sound of gypsy violins was very different, but nothing was as unforgettable as family dinners.
Most Romanian homes had old-fashioned washing machines but no dryers. It was a hot summer. My husband’s relatives didn’t want to risk dirtying their clothes. Their solution was as simple as it was surprising: The women had dinner in their bras (文胸) and slips (衬裙). The men were shirtless. They all had jobs, so time was precious. Disrobing (脱去衣服) for dinner was a small inconvenience compared with the effort of doing laundry – at least in their household, and perhaps all across Romania. I washed my clothes by hand and hung them outdoors to dry. I, of course, having just met them, ate fully clothed.
On the last night of our three-week stay, we had a large family dinner. I was tired of washing my clothes. So I pulled my dress over my head and placed it on the chair behind me. The table applauded. Even with my poor Romanian, I understood that they were saying: “She’s part of our family now.”
When the author arrived in her husband’s hometown, _____.

A．his family showed no respect for her at first

B．she intended to talk to his family in English

C．she got extra attention from his family for her nationality

D．she found that she hadn’t brought enough gifts for his family

What surprised the author most during her visit to her husband’s family?

A．Most of his family members didn’t travel a lot at the time.

B．Women in his family had dinner in only their underclothes.

C．Most of her husband’s relatives didn’t like doing laundry.

D．They had old-fashioned washing machines but no dryers at home.

On the last night of the author’s stay, the family applauded her because _____.

A．the author disrobed for dinner as the family did

B．they just wanted to show their love for the author

C．the author could finally understand them easily

D．it was time for the author to give a speech

When couples get married, they usually plan to have children. Sometimes, however, a couple can not have a child of their own. In this case, they may decide to adopt(收养) a child. In fact, adoption is very common today. There are about 60 thousand adoptions each year in the United States alone. Some people prefer to adopt infants, others adopt older children, some couples adopt children from their own countries, and others adopt children from foreign countries. In any case, they all adopt children for the same reason ---- they care about children and want to give their adopted child a happy life.
Most adopted children know that they are adopted. Psychologists（心理学家） and child-care experts generally think this is a good idea. However, many adopted children or adoptees have very little information about their biological parents. As a matter of fact, it is often very difficult for adoptees to find out about their birth parents because the birth records of most adoptees are usually sealed. The information is secret so no one can see it. Naturally, adopted children have different feelings about their birth parents. Many adoptees want to search for them, but others do not. The decision to search for birth parents is a difficult one to make. Most adoptees have mixed feelings about finding their biological parents. Even though adoptees do not know about their natural parents, they do know that their adopted parents want them, love them and will care for them.
According to the passage, some couples adopt children because_________

A．They care a lot about children.

B．They need looking after in their old age.

C．They want to enrich their life experience.

D．They want children to keep them company.

Why is it difficult for adoptees to find out about their birth parents?

A．They are usually adopted from distant places.

B．Their birth parents often try to conceal（隐瞒）their birth information.

C．Their birth information is usually kept secret.

D．Their adoptive parents don’t want them to know their birth parents.

Adoptees find it hard to make the decision to search for their birth parents, because____

A．They generally hold bad feelings towards their birth parents.

B．They do not want to hurt the feelings of their adoptive parents.

C．They are fully aware of the expenses(费用) involved in the search.

D．They have mixed feelings about finding their natural parents.

What does the underlined word “infants” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?

A．teenagers	B．babies over 2-year old
C．new babies	D．persons under the age of 18

What can we infer from the passage?

A．Early adoption makes for closer parent-child relationship.

B．Most people prefer to adopt children from overseas.

C．Understanding is the key to successful adoption.

D．Adoption has much to do with love.

Parents have widely different views on the problem of pocket money. Four new fathers were asked this question and this is how they answered.
Ashish Khanna: Although many argue that pocket money helps develop children’s sense of value, I don’t agree. I wouldn’t give my child any pocket money. First of all, I never got pocket money and I seem to have a good value for money. If my child ever needed something and I felt it was a reasonable（合理）request , I would buy it for him .
Sharad Sanghi: No, I wouldn’t give my child pocket money because I don’t want to create the perception（观念） of “ her ” money and “ my ” money . Besides, if I refuse to buy her something that I think is bad for her, she may buy it with her pocket money on the sly. In this way, I would lose control over my child’s requests. I feel it also encourages children to care more about money than anything else. I don’t want my child to start judging(评判) other children by the amount of money or pocket money they have.
Rakesh Shah: Yes, I would give my child pocket money. I feel that children should learn to spend money intelligently and not go overboard spending. They will learn what their limitations（限制）are and feel the difficulty when they have to pay for something that is over their own pockets .
Rajiv Patel: Yes, I would give my child pocket money because it is important that she learns to manage money. I will give her a fixed amount every month and if she spends the money before the month is over, then she will learn a lesson and not spend money so freely.
Vikram Desai: Yes, I would certainly give my child pocket money. But I would not give it to him on a weekly or monthly basis. He would have to earn it. If he helped me finish some of my jobs or helped his mother with housework, I would reward him. This helps him realize that “money does not grow on trees” and it requires hard work to earn money.
Ashish Khanna may agree that ____________.

A．he was given too much pocket money when young

B．he can take much control of his child by money

C．he will buy anything he thinks his child really needs

D．pocket money helps children develop a good value for money

The underlined phrase “on the sly” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ___.

A．for free	B．at a lower price
C．happily	D．secretly

What do Rakesh Shah and Rajiv Patel have in common?

A．They want their children to learn to manage money.

B．They ask their children to get pocket money by working.

C．They teach their children the difficulty of making money.

D．They allow their children to spend money freely.

According to Vikram Desai, children’s earning money by themselves makes them know that ____.

A．money is not easy to get

B．money can be gotten from the trees

C．one can get lots of money if he / she works hard

D．money is not so important for people nowadays

Who would give his child pocket money every month ?

A．Ashish Khanna	B．Sharad Sanghi
C．Rakesh Shah	D．Rajiv Patel

Dear friend,
For the past 17 years, you have been my best friend. I remember that you told me you were called Cigarette because of your features. You have seen me through difficult times, happy times and just about every stage of my life. You have always been here when I need you. Some of my family and friends didn’t like you so much, but I’ve always been on your side. I thought you were a great friend, and I counted on you at all times, especially when I was not very happy.
It’s hard for me to tell you this, but in the past few months, I have been seriously thinking about ending our relationship. I think that I‘ve just been too dependent on you, and I feel that at the age of 35 I should start being more independent. I thought about just maybe seeing you once in a while, but I don’t think that would work. Eventually, I’d start relying on you all the time again. I feel the only way to end our relationship is to end it forever.
I’ve always included you in everything I’ve done. But next week, I’m going on a trip, and I’ve decided not to take you along. I feel this would be a good time to break up. I will be gone for a whole week without you and if I can make it on my own for that week, I know I can make it forever.
It is a little sad for me knowing that I won’t be able to rely on you any more, but I think I will be a better person in the end.
By writing the letter, the author wants to ______.

A．say goodbye to his girlfriend

B．tell his friendship with Cigarette

C．tell his travelling plan

D．give up smoking

The underlined phrase “counted on” in the first paragraph can be replaced by “_______”.

A．worried about	B．cared for
C．depended on	D．got along well with

According to the passage, the “letter-receiver” _______.

A．is the author’s girlfriend

B．has done harm to the author for years

C．will feel sad when reading the letter

D．will never leave the author

The author decided to take a trip to ______.

A．get away from his best friend

B．relax himself for a while

C．reduce his sorrow for the break

D．show that he is independent

Why does the author want to end his relationship with Cigarette?

A．Because he wants to be more healthy.

B．Because they are going through difficult times.

C．Because his family and friends no longer like him.

D．Because he is going on a trip.

Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors, cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic(天主教的) school.
After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead，he went to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time，day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.
Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise，little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns(修女)? ”
Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”
“Well then,” she asked again，“WHAT was it?”
Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed(钉) to the plus sign, I knew they weren’t joking. ”
Tommy’s mother felt surprised that his son____.

A．was still the same as usual

B．ate so much at dinner

C．kissed her hello after school

D．worked hard but said little

The underlined phrase “hitting the books” means “_______” in Chinese.

A．用功

B．捶书

C．发泄

D．振作

The last sentence in the passage shows that____.

A．Tommy felt sorry for the man

B．Tommy was afraid of being nailed

C．Tommy didn’t like the plus sign

D．Tommy liked playing jokes on others

From the passage, we can infer that____.

A．teachers should be strict with their students

B．mistakes might do good sometimes

C．a catholic school is much better than other ones

D．nuns are good at helping children with their math

“Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren’t joking.” We know that “the man” here is_____________

A．one of Tommy’s classmates	B．a nun
C．Jesus Christ (耶稣基督)	D．a teacher

A．Painful	B．Curious
C．Frightened	D．Disappointed.

A．Newton’s human friends	B．the names of the time machine
C．two dinosaurs	D．the inventors of the time machine

A．Elizabeth Macleod	B．Eric Walters
C．Rocky Landon & David MacDonald	D． Bev Spencer