What do working mothers worry about the most? It's the kids of course. Whatever the setting, the question I get asked the most is "Will the kids be alright?" It has made me realize that we tend to look at the glass half-empty rather than half-filled when it comes to mixing work and family. We forget about all the benefits that we bring to our children when we work - and I'm not talking about the obvious financial benefits, although these of course shouldn't be taken for granted.
About a year ago I remember getting a call from the school just as I was pulling up to the house after having driven 20 minutes to the school and 20 minutes back. "Mrs. Brown Quinn, your son asked us to call. He forgot his sports clothes. Can you come back to the school and drop them off?" I was exasperated(恼火)! I had already spent 40 minutes in aggressive weekday morning traffic. I replied, "Sorry, I'm working at the moment. I'm afraid my son needs to learn to be organized."
Being a good parent requires delivering tough love sometimes. Kids need to learn to be independent. It can be a cruel and competitive world out there. Seeking interests, including business, outside of your kids, can give you that extra idea that you need not care for your kids with attention. This benefit of working isn't always immediately evident.
It wasn't until our daughter went away to college that she realized why we had raised her in the way that we did. "Mom, I can't believe how so many of my friends struggle to manage things on their own. They are constantly calling their parents for help." You'll love that moment! After all those years of complaining about why you don't do this or why you don't give them that, your kids realize that tough love has made them better people.
The purpose of the author is to ______.
| A．describe her own experience in raising children |
| B．advise us to mix work and family |
| C．throw light on a special benefit of working |
| D．argue for working mothers |
How can kids become better people according to the author?
| A．By showing them your deep love. |
| B．By giving them all your attention. |
| C．By giving them tough love. |
| D．By giving them freedom to do things on their own. |
The daughter's attitude towards the author is ______ when she grows up.
| A．understanding | B．caring |
| C．disappointed | D．surprised |
The author refused to drop off her son's sports clothes because ______.
| A．she wanted her son to be organized |
| B．she was caught in heavy traffic |
| C．she thought her son was lying |
| D．she was busy working |
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出适合填入
对应空白处的最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
I was a ten-year-old girl living with my parents and four-year-old brother in Madrid, Spain. We had our country Cuba just a few months before. The Christmas season arrived.
The Corte Ingles Department store had a shiny red that circled the town, its horn (喇叭) at every turn. My younger brother, Santiago, had never seen it. However, were considered a luxury(奢侈)then for my family and were very hard to . My brother fell in love with it. Every day he would push his nose the glass in the window. My parents’ pain was as they looked at their son’s face. But I didn’t want to the innocence of a four-year-old. So next time, I pulled him aside.
“Santiago, you know that we left our country and we are in a strange land” I said. “35 we are only here in Madrid for a little while, Santa probably doesn’t have our .”
I also told him that once we in the United States, Santa would find us once again. Much to my surprise, he accepted my without question. A year later, we lived in Union City, New Jersey. Both my parents were working in factories to make ends meet. Santiago and I were a new school and quickly learning English.
That Christmas was , but my parents bought a silver-colored Christmas tree. On Christmas Day, I woke up early, and to my surprise and , I found several presents under the tree. My brother
a square box. Inside was a shiny, brand-new train! It the one that had so attracted my brother a year before. Santiago’s face like the Christmas tree. He looked at my parents and me, happy and surprised.
“You were !” my brother told me eagerly, “Santa found our address.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
An 11-year-old boy who has been compared to Spanish Impressionist (印象派画家), the great Pablo Picasso, is holding his first exhibition at Llangollen’s Gardening Show this weekend.
Hamad al-Humaidhan, who was born in Kuwait but now lives in Bath, Britain, had no previous knowledge of art history when he first picked up a brush.
But he began to paint his favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, using Picasso’s trademarks (标志) —bright colours and impressionistic forms.
His father said, "I’ve got lots of books about Picasso and I showed them to Hamad but he didn’t know anything about Picasso —it’s just naturally the way he sees it and he just loves to paint."
His first painting of Ronaldo, done when he was just nine, was sold at auction (拍卖) in Bath for ￡650, which drew the attention of local art businessman Steve Turner. "A colleague sent me some pictures of Hamad’s work and I just couldn’t believe the size of it and how the colours blended (融合) together," he said. "He had talent and I thought Picasso had been reborn.""I’ve shown his work to private art collectors. They liked them very much and everyone was eager to buy, so the first six paintings have been snapped up. I bought two of them myself. The next set of his works will go on show for the first time at Llangollen, which will be the first opportunity for the public to see his amazing talent."
Hamad enjoys maths at school but ranks painting higher. "I think I prefer painting! It makes me relaxed and when I feel tired I just pick up a paint brush," he said. "I just close my eyes and see how it’s going to look and then I just paint it —I paint every day. I just love the colours and I want people to enjoy my paintings."
Now Hamad is nervously waiting for the opening of his exhibition.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Hamad’s painting exhibition. |
| B．Hamad and his talent for painting. |
| C．The popularity of Hamad’s works. |
| D．The similarities between Hamad and Picasso. |
From the text, we can learn that Hamad ________.
| A．began to learn painting when he was a boy |
| B．has read many books about art history |
| C．likes Cristiano Ronaldo very much |
| D．knows a lot about Picasso |
According to the text, Hamad’s first painting of Ronal-do ________.
| A．has bright colours and impressionistic forms |
| B．was bought by Steve Turner |
| C．was completed five years ago |
| D．is his favourite work |
What does the underlined phrase "snapped up"in the fifth paragraph probably mean?
| A．Shown to the public. | B．Bought very quickly. |
| C．Cleaned up. | D．Hung up. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Steve Turner speaks very highly of Hamad. |
| B．Hamad prefers maths to painting. |
| C．Hamad’s works will be sold after the show. |
| D．The public can see all Hamad’s paintings at the show. |
My first full-time job after high school was selling vacation packages via the telephone for a well-known company. One day, I was put through to a man who sounded a bit out of breath. I started with my normal pitch (音高), expecting to hear the normal reply —"I don’t want any."
Instead, he spoke in a faint, weak voice and told me how he wished to take a vacation I was offering, but he couldn’t because he was dying of illness. He explained how he was lacking in oxygen then, and it took almost all his energy to answer the call. He asked if I smoked, which I did, and begged me to stop. He told me smoking was what was killing him. He told me to spend every day with my loved ones, and tell them how much I love them. At this point, I couldn’t control myself. We ended the call, but I held on my phone to prevent another call coming in so I could collect myself.
I wrote down his name and address, and sent him a card appreciating his advice and praying for him and his family. Shortly after, I received a letter from Frank, along with a picture of him and his wife. We continued to write back and forth over the next few months, and became very fond of each other. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and in many ways, I felt as if he was.
About a year later I received a letter from his wife. When I started to read, tears came to my eyes. She told me how Frank’s battle with the disease had finally come to an end, and he passed away shortly before the Christmas. She wanted to thank me for the letters to Frank, and explained how Frank touched many lives over the years. At his funeral, to show just that, they read the 1st letter I had written to Frank to show how he affected a 19-year-old he’d never met. The author was then probably working for ______.
| A．a travel agency | B．a cigarette company |
| C．an e-shopping store | D．a vacation school |
The underlined part "collect myself" in the second paragraph probably means "_______".
| A．gather together | B．comfort myself |
| C．relax myself | D．calm down |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Frank was in hospital while answering the phone. |
| B．Frank is actually the author’s grandfather. |
| C．There was something wrong with Frank’s lung. |
| D．The author asked Frank to travel and he took his advice. |
We can learn from the text that the author ________.
| A．took down Frank’s name and address to visit him in person |
| B．was warmly welcomed by her customers when she called them |
| C．didn’t stop smoking even though Frank asked him to |
| D．kept in touch with Frank through letters until he died |
At Frank’s funeral the author’s 1st letter to Frank was read in order to ____.
| A．encourage people to fight against disease and live bravely |
| B．indicate that Frank touched many people’s hearts |
| C．show the good relationship between Frank and the author |
| D．praise Frank and give thanks to the author |
When 18th-century scientists first came across Australia’s platypus(鸭嘴兽), they thought it was a trick. It is not surprising that the platypus made people confused. This funny-looking animal has feet and is a kind of warm-blooded mammal.
While other mammals usually keep their blood at around 37 degrees, the platypus has a lower body temperature of 32 degrees. As to its appearance, the platypus’mouth is not really like ducks’at all; its mouth actually looks a bit soft. The platypus closes its eyes when swimming. It uses its mouth to pick up outside information made by the creatures underwater.
Strangest of all, the platypus is a mammal that can lay eggs. And there is only one other kind of mammal that can lay eggs, the echidna (针鼹鼠) of Australia. Both the platy-pus and the echidna lay soft-shelled eggs, and both feed their young with their own milk that comes out of their skin. These animals also walk in a way that is similar to crocodiles(鳄鱼), with legs on the sides of their bodies rather than under them.
Though pretty, in a special way, the platypus is actually one of the few mammals that are poisonous. A male platypus has knife-like bones on its back legs which have enough poison to kill a dog.
The platypus has the honor of being one of the oldest mammals in the world. Until the early 20th century, it was hunted for its fur, but the situation has changed. Although the platypus is easily affected by pollution, it is not under any immediate threat. What can we learn about the platypus according to the text?
| A．It has a lower body temperature than other mammals. |
| B．It only closes its eyes when underwater. |
| C．It’s the only poisonous mammal in the world. |
| D．It feeds its young on wild animal meat. |
Which of the following is NOT used as a comparison with the platypus in the text?
| A．The crocodile. | B．The echidna. |
| C．The duck. | D．The dog. |
The following characteristics of the platypus have been described in the text EXCEPT ________.
| A．its natural enemy | B．its appearance |
| C．its walking pose | D．its daily diet |
We can infer from the last paragraph that the platypus _______.
| A．is hunted for its meat | B．is in danger of extinction |
| C．is endangered by air pollution | D．is well-protected now |
Which of the following would be the best title for this text?
| A．Platypus, a Trick? |
| B．Platypus, the Only Warm-Blooded Mammal |
| C．The Characteristics of Platypus |
| D．The Strange Mammal —Platypus。 |
It is really a happy thing to look back on the days I spent with Jennie. We met in night school. After Jennie and I had completed the required courses, we started teaching in the same school. For a time we were just casual friends, but one day, when I was telling Jennie about my problem son, we discovered we were kindred (同类的) spirits. "He’s a difficult little character," I explained. Jennie looked thoughtful. "Maybe you’re only seeing him with your eyes." She was silent for a moment and then added softly, "It is only with the heart that one sees rightly." I stared at her. "You’re quoting (引用) that! It’s from The Little Prince, Saint-Exupery’s book for children, one of my favorites. You know it, too?" Jennie nodded. "I love it. I’ve read it so often. I’ve practically memorized it."
Now, when I think of Jennie, I recall that book because Jennie —more than anyone I know —possessed the gift of seeing with the heart.
From that moment of a treasured book shared, our friendship grew steadily. It wasn’t that I didn’t have an excellent relationship with my husband and son, but my mother had died shortly after my marriage, and I had neither sisters nor daughters. I realize, now, how I needed someone to share those little, seemingly unimportant things that add so much to life —things that must be shared to be fully appreciated.
And it was Jennie who helped me with my fourth-grade problem child. One day I was at my wit’s end. "What he needs is a good beating!" I exploded.
"He’s probably had plenty of those," Jennie said. "Maybe he just needs sincere praise for anything he does right, and a hug or two each day." I followed this suggestion, and eventually, because of Jennie, I discovered a lovable little boy.
Looking back, I have to admit that she taught me so much. The days I spent with her has become one of my happiest memories.What does the underlined part mean in the fourth paragraph?
| A．I was unsure of how to treat my son. |
| B．I decided to give up my job. |
| C．I faced financial difficulties. |
| D．I was very disappointed with myself. |
How did the author and Jennie’s friendship grow?
| A．They both were interested in children’s education. |
| B．They both liked a novel, The Little Prince. |
| C．They often chatted together about their families. |
| D．They both worked in the same school. |
We learn from the text that __________.
| A．the author has the gift of seeing with the heart |
| B．the author had no friends before meeting Jennie |
| C．the author had lost her mother before her marriage |
| D．the author seldom praised her son in the past |
How does the author feel about her family?
| A．No one listened to her seemingly unimportant things. |
| B．She didn’t get along well with her husband and son. |
| C．She once seldom spoke to her mother. |
| D．She felt quite lonely in her family. |
The text is mainly about _________.
| A．how to educate children properly |
| B．the fact that we should see nature differently |
| C．the influence of friendship in life |
| D．how friendship begins and develops |