Some children are natural-born bosses. They have a strong need to make decisions, manage their environment, and lead rather than follow. Stephen Jackson, a Year One student, “operates under the theory of what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine,” says his mother. “The other day I bought two new Star Wars light sabers(剑). Later, I saw Stephen with the two new ones while his brother was using the beat-up ones.”
“Examine the extended family, and you’ll probably find a bossy grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin in every generation. It’s an inheritable trait.” says Russell Barkley, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Other children who may not be particularly bossy can gradually gain dominance(支配地位)when they sense their parents are weak, hesitant, or in disagreement with each other.
Whether it’s inborn nature or developed character at work, too much control in the hands of the young isn’t healthy for children or the family. Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior, says family psychologist John Taylor. Children, he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation, “have secret feelings of weakness” and “a desire to feel safe.” It’s the parents’ role to provide that protection.
When a “boss child” doesn’t learn limits at home, the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family. The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches, for example, or trouble keeping friends. It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways.
“I see more and more parents giving up their power,” says Barkley, who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years. “They bend too far because they don’t want to be as strict as their own parents were. But they also fell less confident about their parenting skills. Their kids, in turn, feel more anxious.”Bossy children like Stephen Jackson __________.
A.make good decisions | B.show self-centeredness |
C.lack care from others | D.have little sense of fear |
The study on bossy behavior implies that parents __________.
A.should give more power to their children |
B.should be strict with their children |
C.should not be so anxious about their children |
D.should not set limits for their children |
Bossy children may probably become __________.
A.relaxed | B.skillful |
C.hesitant | D.lonely |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.How bossy behavior can be controlled. |
B.How we can get along with bossy children. |
C.What leads to children’s bossy behavior. |
D.What effect bossy behavior brings about. |
Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is why it’s possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally lived in Canada came from the US, there is little difference in American and Canadian English. Similarly, Australian English and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony (罪犯流放地) and New Zealand was not. New Zealanders were more attached to the Received Pronunciation of the upper class in England, so their dialect is considered closer to British English.
British colonialism (殖民主义) has spread English all over the world, and it is still popular in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution. However, only 3% of the country’s 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants (后代) of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.
India became independent from Britain in 1947. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the “isn’t it?” tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages all influence the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, “use to” means usually, and no articles are used before occupations.Why can people become a US citizen without speaking English?
A.They can learn English there. |
B.Different languages are spoken in the US. |
C.The US doesn’t have an official language. |
D.They can speak their own language there. |
What do we know about South Africa?
A.English is its only official language. |
B.It has 11 different official languages. |
C.English is becoming less important there. |
D.20 percent of its population are native English speakers. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The Indians are good at English grammar. |
B.People in Singapore often misuse count nouns. |
C.Singaporean English is similar to Indian English. |
D.English is a required subject in Singaporean schools. |
What is the text mainly about?
A.British colonialism. |
B.The wide use of English. |
C.English around the world. |
D.The history of the English language. |
JULY
MON. |
TUES. |
WED. |
THURS. |
FRI. |
SAT. |
SUN. |
132 |
2 29 |
3 31 |
4 40 |
5 46 |
6 38 |
|
7 27 |
8 34 |
9 30 |
10 24 |
1139 |
1245 |
1341 |
14 23 |
15 31 |
1628 |
1726 |
1838 |
19 49 |
2039 |
2126 |
22 35 |
2327 |
24 25 |
25 43 |
2647 |
2742 |
2829 |
2927 |
30 34 |
3129 |
Ms. Rossi owns the Roadside Motel(汽车游客旅馆),which has 50 units.She wishes to keep a handy record of the number of units occupied(占用).To do this she uses a calendar and writes the number of units occupied in a small box in the right-hand square of each date.The following questions are based on the occupancy rate(率) for July.The total number of units occupied during the week of July 14 through July 20 was ______.
A.234 | B.239 | C.240 | D.244 |
The average(平均) occupancy rate for Thursday was ________.
A.29 | B.31 | C.27 | D.28 |
Ms. Rossi regards a 90% occupancy rate as excellent.On how many days during the month did the Roadside Motel have a 90% or better rate of occupancy?
A.6. | B.5. | C.4. | D.1. |
After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spina bifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralyzed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually
she found athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics--- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?
A.Basketball | B.Swimming. |
C.Tennis. | D.Horse-riding. |
When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?
A.In 1984. | B.In 1988. |
C.In 1992. | D.In 2007. |
The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.
A.fifty weeks’ training |
B.being a good sprinter |
C.training almost every day |
D.part motivation and part preparation |
What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?
a. She works as a coach.
b. She took up athletics.
c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.
d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.
e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.
A.b,d,c,e,a | B. a,d,b,c,e |
C.a,d,c,e,b | D.b,d,a,e,c |
What can we learn from Tanni’s success?
A.Union is strength. | B.Never too late to learn. |
C.Well begun is half done. | D.No pains, no gains. |
I would never forget the time when we were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
“Look down, Elsa,” Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (纵横交错) of streets leading to the square. “See, my dear,” Father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere (干涉). Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, “The cook must have gone bad!” Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.The author's father took her to the top of a church tower to ________.
A.find out how many ways lead to the square |
B.enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town |
C.help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day |
D.inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem |
What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?
A.Do something delicious for lunch. |
B.Speak to the school about lunch. |
C.Taste her awful lunch. |
D.Dismiss the cook. |
The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________.
A.the cook agreed to serve the soup to Mother |
B.the matter of lunch was successfully settled |
C.her father persuaded her mother successfully |
D.the method the author thought of was effective |
On a freezing cold day, a couple had to move into a small apartment because of their failure in business. The husband worked day and night to support the family but with no care of his wife. So she thought, “He doesn't love me any more, he just cares about his business ... not me”.
One day, she was about to take a shower when he stopped her at the door, “Let me take it first, okay?”“Why not me first?” she asked.“I am tired, honey, you take it later, okay?”She was entirely unhappy.
One day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer. A few words came into her sight. Reading them, she burst into tears. It was his diary:
Today, I was quite sad. She asked me why I was always taking the shower first, and I said to her, I was exhausted. She was unhappy. In her mind, I treated her not as well as usual, but what could I do? I was not as rich as before! We moved to the small apartment, and there was only one shower in the bathroom. It was so cold to take a shower in such a cold winter. But I found that if one person took the shower first, the room could get a little warmer. So every day I rushed to the bathroom first. I was thinking that, when she took the shower, the room would get warmer, even if it was only 1℃.
Now I cannot give her a comfortable life, take her to good restaurants, or buy expensive dresses for her, but at least, I can give her 1℃love.Why did the couple move to the small apartment?
A.Both of them were out of work. |
B.They wanted to live a better life. |
C.The man could take better care of his business. |
D.They were too poor to live in the former house. |
Which of the following can replace the underlined word “exhausted”?
A.Devoted. | B.Worried. |
C.Tired. | D.Injured. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.They would live a richer life soon. |
B.The woman misunderstood her husband. |
C.The man would care less about his business. |
D.The woman would get angry after reading the diary. |
What's the best title of the passage?
A.A Love Story | B.1℃Love |
C.A Suffering Couple | D.Fight for the Bathroom |