“When your mother scolds you, you can look elsewhere and think about other things. Just ignore her words. But remember: such a tough attitude cannot be used often.”
These words are from a series of cartoons which outline skills for children to fight against their mothers. The images have created heated debate among Chinese netizens.
Regarded as “a book for children aged 6 to 12 who are always scolded by their parents”， the cartoons, drawn by two 10yearold Beijing girls, list over 20 skills which children can use to deal with their mothers' anger such as crying, pretending to be ashamed, fleeing into the toilet and pleasing her afterwards.
Each skill is described with vivid pictures and humorous notes. The creativity of the young girls has amazed netizens, the Yangtse Evening Post reported on Thursday.
According to one of the girls' mothers, her daughter once received a poor mark in an exam, and the mother blamed her and compared her performance with another classmate. The daughter's feelings led to her creating the cartoons.
The girl's father, who first posted the pictures on his Sohu Microblog on Monday, said he hopes parents pay close attention to the pictures, allow children to feel free to develop their own characteristics and try not to criticize them so often.
The father said the cartoons aren't finished yet; his daughter will continue with them when she has time.
“The cartoons, although an individual case, reflect a modern phenomenon and some of the problems within Chinese family education，” said Yu Qinfang, an expert on family education.
According to a survey of 104 children and their parents, Yu discovered that as many as 51.9 percent of primary school students hate being urged to do things by their mothers.
“Not giving children enough time and hurrying them to do things seems to be a very tiny detail within family life, but it is potentially a huge problem which can easily be ignored by parents. A mother's blame may lead to negative feelings within her child's heart，” Yu said. “Parents should learn to blame less and be more patient.”What amazed Chinese netizens according to the text?
| A．The girls' poor marks. |
| B．The girls' skills against their mothers. |
| C．The girls' creativity. |
| D．The girls' tough attitude to their mothers. |
What do we know about the book?
| A．It tells us how to control mothers' feelings. |
| B．It includes a number of vivid pictures and humorous notes. |
| C．It is intended for primary school teachers. |
| D．It is finished by children aged 6 to 12. |
By posting the cartoons on his microblog, the father wanted to ________.
| A．show off his daughter's cleverness |
| B．blame his daughter for drawing these cartoons |
| C．encourage his daughter to make greater progress |
| D．get other parents to draw a lesson from the cartoons |
According to a survey, Yu Qinfang found that primary school pupils ________.
| A．dislike being forced to do things |
| B．like drawing cartoons in class |
| C．seldom do well in exams |
| D．enjoy being compared with others |
We can conclude from the text that ________.
| A．parents often ignore their children's hobbies |
| B．parents often speak highly of their children |
| C．how to develop children's gifts puzzles parents |
| D．how to blame children needs parents' wisdom |
Marjorie Baer used to joke about her retirement plans. She wasn't married and had no kids, but she didn't intend to be alone—she and all her single friends would move into a fictional home she called Casa de Biddies. Instead, Baer developed terminal brain cancer when she was 52. But just as she'd hoped, her friends and family provided her with love and care to the end.
Ballance was only the first of Baer's friends who became her unofficial caregivers. With her brother Phil Baer from Los Angeles, they worked out a system to watch over their friend and allow her to keep some of the privacy and independence she cherished.
Baer's good friend Ruth Henrich took Baer to doctors' appointments and helped her deal with all the aspects of life —answering machines, TV controls, and even phone numbers. After Henrich sent out an e-mail request, a group of volunteers signed up to ferry Baer back and forth to radiation therapy（放疗）. Others in Baer's circle offered up particular talents: A nurse friend helped Baer figure out how to get what she was due from Social Security and her disability insurance; a lawyer pal helped Baer with her will; a partner who was an accountant took over her bills when she could no longer manage them. "There was this odd sense that the right person always showed up," says Ballance. Their arrangement worked remarkably well.
Unmarried women are one of the fastest-growing groups in America; experts are concerned about how care-giving will be managed for them as they age. If the experience of Baer's friends is a guide, the Internet will play a role. It's already making it possible to create communities of caregivers who may have only one thing in common: the person who needs their help. On personal "care pages" set up through services such as Lotsa Helping Hands, friends and family members can post a list of tasks that need to be done, volunteer to do them, and keep updated on the person's condition. As Baer's cancer progressed, for example, her friends set up a page on Yahoo! where people could sign up to deliver meals or do errands（差事）.
Catherine Fox, one of the friends who were present when Baer died, was deeply affected. "It was so comforting to know that if you're willing to ask for help, the generosity of family and friends can be phenomenal（显著的）. It makes me feel secure and hopeful to know that help is there when you need it. "The most appropriate title of this passage should be ______.
| A．On her own, but not alone |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| C．A new practice of American government |
| D．An impressive advantage of the Internet |
The underlined part in paragraph four suggests that the Internet will ______.
| A．play a role in American future pension system |
| B．provide online medical care for aged unmarried women |
| C．help manage care-giving for unmarried women as they age |
| D．help those aged unmarried women to kill their spare time |
The writer tells us the story of Marjorie Baer for the purpose of ______.
| A．reminding us to be kind and make as many friends as we can |
| B．informing that there will be a new trend of care-giving for the single elderly |
| C．persuading us that we can enjoy our retirement even if we don’t have a child |
| D．introducing the convenience that will be brought by the Internet after we retire |
My mother is the only living person who has never communicated via email or text. She has never turned on a computer, registered an email account, used data storage media or searched the Internet. Since 1955, she has settled in Silicon Valley, married to an extremely technical specialist in applied physics and engineering, designing photometric systems for NASA. Only when Dad suffered from cancer could we convince her she needed a cell phone. Mom’s being separated from the information age is voluntary and deliberate.
Mom is still that farm girl, and she takes the most pride in it. She sees her neighbor and her community “real”. She shows no interest in the digital and virtual life. My mother saw Depression, World War II and the beginning of the Cold War before reaching voting age. She enjoyed country music on “The Sons of the Pioneers”, a Canadian broadcast. The battery was so precious a resource that radio was limited to the barn because Grandma thought it helped cows produce milk. In the age when Churchill moved millions for the first time with radio broadcasts, she only experienced live media monthly, if at all.
In her early twenties, Mom completed nurses’ training and worked in that field before marriage, family and church became her life’s concerns. She never really warmed up to television, though I think she appreciated a few of the series we watched, comedies like All in the Family. Computers, the Internet and mobile apps are simply not part of her experience.
Mom disagrees with the opinion that technology simplifies life. In her life, she sees online records, email and paperless systems as mysteries in which no written reference can assist her.
However, I can partly understand: I like such kind of experience and relationship one has with physical books. I am a child of television who only recently switched to online viewing. I’ve written down my awkward, love-hate relationship with my devices. Mom’s technophobia surely played a role here, but it works for her. She’s happiest as she is.The author’s mother began to use mobile phone when.
| A．she found it hard to contact with her husband |
| B．she settled in Silicon Valley for fifty years |
| C．she got marred to a technical specialist |
| D．her husband suffered from cancer |
What is the author’s mother most proud of according to the passage?
| A．Having so many close neighbors. |
| B．Experiencing too much all her life. |
| C．Living simply and in her own style. |
| D．Being involved in modern technology. |
What is the author’s attitude towards his mother’s such kind of experience?
| A．Critical. | B．Positive. |
| C．Neutral. | D．Negative. |
It is implied in the underlined sentence that.
| A．the author should make efforts to learn from his mother |
| B．the author prefers watching movies online to watching TV |
| C．Mom’s attitude towards technology has an effect on the author |
| D．Mom should also set down the relationship with physical books |
Many Americans concerned about pollution are demanding cleaner supplies of energy. The demand has resulted in increased research about ethanol fuel. Ethanol is an alcohol that can be mixed with gas. It burns up most of the pollutants in gas. It replaces some of the chemicals that are known to cause cancer, and it can be produced in the United States.
Some experts say that in the future ethanol will replace some of the oil imported into America. Today ethanol is less than one percent of total American fuel supply. The head of the National Corn Growers Association, Kieve Hard, says ethanol will provide twenty-five percent of the fuel supply by 2030. The organization is involved in the production of ethanol because it can be made from corn.
One company in the American Midwest says it is starting to produce ethanol because of demands from people and from the government. The Congress approved the Clean Air Act in 1990. The company says this means the market for ethanol will expand. The company is a major producer of corn starch that can be used to make ethanol.
At Texas A and M University Professor Mark Holzapple produces ethanol from materials found in solid waste. He has developed a way to turn materials like paper into simple sugar. He then uses yeast to turn the sugar into ethanol. Professor Holzapple says two hundred liters of ethanol fuel can be produced from one ton of solid waste.
A professor at the University of Arkansas, John Geddie, is exploring another way to make ethanol. He is using acids on paper material. He says a large factory could produce ethanol from waste paper at a cost about the same as the cost of producing gasoline.
Environmentalists support the use of ethanol because it turns solid waste into a useful product. Professor Holzapple says law makers in industrial nations need to support the development of this clean, less expensive fuel of the future.Why does the interest in ethanol fuel increase in the United States according to the passage?
| A．Ethanol products are known to cause cancer. |
| B．Ethanol can remove some harmful pollutants from gas. |
| C．The production of ethanol is protected by law. |
| D．Ethanol-fueled automobiles are cheaper than gas-fueled ones. |
In this passage, what is the significance of the Clean Air Act passed by American Congress in 1990?
| A．It will increase the consumers’ demand for ethanol as a fuel. |
| B．It may increase the cost of producing gas. |
| C．It reflects the view of the government on automobiles production. |
| D．It limits the ethanol production of one company in the American Midwest. |
The author mentions all of the following resources for making ethanol except____.
| A．corn starch | B．natural gas |
| C．waste paper | D．solid waste |
What does Professor Mark Holzapple think of the development of ethanol in countries?
| A．It needs the cooperation of many chemists. |
| B．It associates with the use of advanced equipment. |
| C．It will improve the use of heat from exhaust gases. |
| D．It requires the support of the government. |
How can you help kids cope with stress? Proper rest and good nutrition can improve coping skills, so can good parenting. Make time for your kids each day. Whether they need to talk with you or just be in the same room with you, make yourself available.
Even as kids get older, quality time is important. It’s really hard for some people to come home after a tiring day of work, get down on the floor, and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day -- especially if they’ve had a stressful day themselves. But expressing interest in your kids shows that they’ re important to you.
Help your child deal with stress by talking about what may be causing it. Together, you can come up with a few solutions. For example, he should cut back on after-school activities, spending more time talking with his parents or teachers, developing an exercise plan or keeping a journal.
You can also help by predicting potentially stressful situations and preparing kids for them. For example, let a child know ahead of time, but not too far ahead of time, that a doctor’s appointment is coming up and talk about what will happen there. Keep in mind, though, that younger kids probably won’t need too much advance preparation. Too much information can cause more stress.
Remember that some level of stress is normal. Let kids know that it’s OK to feel angry, scared, lonely, or anxious and that other people share those feelings, too.
When kids can’t or won’t discuss these problems, try talking about your own concerns. This shows that you’re willing to handle tough topics and are available to talk with when they’re ready. If a child shows symptoms that concern you and is unwilling to talk, consult a counselor or other mental health experts.
Most parents have the skills to cope with their children’s stress. The time to seek professional attention is when any change in behavior continues to exist, when stress is causing serious anxiety, or when the behavior is causing significant problems in functioning at school or at home.What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To share the author’s ideas on proper parenting. |
| B．To persuade parents to spend more time with their kids. |
| C．To advise parents how to help their kids deal with stress. |
| D．To seek different ways to help solve kids’ problems. |
Why do some parents feel it difficult to spare quality time for their kids?
| A．Their kids are growing so fast. |
| B．They have too much housework. |
| C．Their kids are losing interest in them. |
| D．They are tired out after work. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Normal people share the same feelings. |
| B．It is normal for kids to have some stress. |
| C．Kids should get rid of the negative feelings. |
| D．Everybody feels angry, scared, lonely or anxious. |
John Milton, the most learned poet, is the greatest writer of the seventeenth century and one of the giants of English literature as a whole. He was greatly influenced by two historical movements of Renaissance and Reformation. Like Spenser and Shakespeare, he was also one of the Renaissance giants not only in England but also in the whole world. Almost all later poets in English literature respected Milton highly. Milton towers over his age as Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan age, and as Chaucer towers over the medieval period.
John Milton was born in London in 1608. His education began at St. Paul’s School, where he was very hard-working, where he showed wonderful gifts as a student of languages mastering Greek, Latin, Hebrew and many modem European languages. He also received very good home education under the influence of his father who was a Puritan (清教徒) and a lover of music and literature. He attended Christ’s College, Cambridge University, where he was very popular because of his handsomeness and talent, where he explained the true aim of knowledge as making the spirit of man “reach out far and wide, until it fills the whole world and the space far beyond with the expansion of its greatness”, where he graduated with B.A. in 1962 and M. A. in 1963. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．John Milton was a most learned poet. |
| B．John Milton was one of the giants of English literature. |
| C．Spenser and Shakespeare were the Renaissance giants in England. |
| D．Spenser, Shakespeare and John Milton had the friendly relationship between them. |
The underlined word “towers” in the first paragraph most probably means “_________”.
| A．likes to visit towers |
| B．looks like a tall building |
| C．builds a tall building like a tower |
| D．is better than others in ability and quality |
What was Milton’s opinion to the true aim of knowledge?
| A．To think about what we don’t know. |
| B．To research the whole world and space. |
| C．To make the spirit of man reach out far and wide with the expansion of the greatness of knowledge. |
| D．To make the character of man strong and great. |