We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests' coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.

    The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.

    Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.

    I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big "to do" over the younger one because she's the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.

    But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.

    I said, "What are you doing, my dear?"

    She turned to me with a sad expression and said, "Mommy, why don't people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I 'm not pretty? Is that why they don't say nice things about me as much?"

    I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.

    Now, whenever I visit a friend's home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.

1.The underlined expression 'make a big "to do" over' (paragraph 4) means _______.

A. show much concern about

B. have a special effect on

C. list jobs to be done for

D. do good things for

2.The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs because of her _______.

A. beautiful hair

B. pretty clothes

C. lovely smile

D. young age

3.Kristen felt sad and cried because _______.

A.    the guest gave her more coats to carry

B.    she didn't look as pretty as Kelly

C.    the guests praised her sister more than her

D.    her mother didn't introduce her to the guests

4.We can conclude from the passage that _______.

A. parents should pay more attention to the elder children

B. the younger children are usually more easily hurt

C. people usually like the younger children more

D. adults should treat children equally

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D) 中，选出最佳选项。

Some myths are stories told since ancient times to explain the causes for natural happenings. The Greek myth that explains why there are changes of (1) ______ is about Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. She had a daughter, Persephone, whom she loved very much. Hades, god of the underworld, fell in love with Persephone, and he asked Zeus, the (2) ______ of the gods, to give Persephone to him as his (3) ______. Zeus did not want either to disappoint Hades or to upset Demeter, so he said he would not agree to the marriage, but neither would he (4) ______ it. Hades, therefore, decided to take the girl without (5) ______. When Persephone was picking flowers in the garden, he seized her and took her to the underworld. When Demeter (6) ______ what happened to Persephone, she became so (7) ______ that she caused all plants to (8) ______ People were in (9) ______ of starving. But Demeter was determined not to let crops grow (10) ______ her daughter, Persephone, was returned to her. (11) ______, still not wanting to disappoint Hades, decided upon a condition for Persephone's (12) ______. She could go back to her mother if she had not (13) ______ anything while she was in the underworld. Demeter (14) ______ it because she did not know that Persephone had eaten several pomegranate (石榴) seeds in the underworld. When Zeus (15) ______ this, he agreed that Persephone could spend part of the year with her (16) ______, but he added that since she had eaten the seeds, she must spend part of the year in the underworld. And so it (17) ______ that when Persephone is in the underworld, Demeter is sad and therefore (18) ______ not let the crops grow. That is (19) ______ we have winter when plants do not grow. When Persephone returns, Demeter is (20) ______, it is spring, and plants begin to grow again.

1.A. periods             B. seasons         C. time                 D. age

2.A. winner         B. ruler                C. advisor         D. fighter

3.A. wife            B. lover                C. partner         D. daughter

4.A. forbid         B. forgive         C. admit                D. accept

5.A. arrangement         B. warning         C. reason           D. permission

6.A. let out             B. worked out       C. thought out     D. found out

7.A. excited             B. tired                C. angry                D. serious

8.A. grow fast       B. start growing        C. stop growing         D. grow slowly

9.A. danger         B. hope                 C. turn                 D. case

10.A. since         B. until                C. after                D. when

11.A. Persephone         B. Zeus                 C. Demeter         D. Hades

12.A. return             B. change           C. marriage             D. journey

13.A. stolen             B. found            C. eaten                D. heard

14.A. understood         B. refused         C. doubted         D. accepted

15.A. discovered         B. studied         C. forgot           D. prepared

16.A. daughter       B. mother           C. god             D. ruler

17.A. works         B. remains         C. happens         D. starts

18.A. should             B. can             C. dare                 D. will

19.A. where         B. because         C. why             D. how

20.A. nice           B. friendly             C. fresh                D. happy

 Many people who had seen the film were afraid to go to the forest when they remembered the scenes ________ people were eaten by the tiger.

A. in which          B. by which             C. which            D. that

 Some researchers believe that there is no doubt ________ a cure for AIDS will be found.

A. which             B. that                 C. what            D. whether

 — I've taken someone else's green sweater by mistake.— It ________ Harry's. He always wears green.

A. has to be             B. will be              C. mustn't be           D. could be

 The policeman's attention was suddenly caught by a small box which _______ placed under the Minister's car.

A. has been          B. was being            C. had been             D. would be

 He hurried to the station only ________ that the train had left.

A. to find               B. finding              C. found                D. to have found

 The American Civil War lasted four years ________ the North won in the end.

A. after                 B. before               C. when            D. then

 I think he's just going to deal with this problem ________ day.

A. next              B. other                C. following            D. another

 Years ago we didn't know this, but recent science ________ that people who don't sleep well soon get ill.

A. showed            B. has shown            C. will show            D. is showing