Mom was cooking in the kitchen. She could hear the girls arguing in the living room. It was the third time this week that the sisters had been arguing over nothing. A few minutes later, Maria rushed into her bedroom angrily and closed the door heavily.
“Come to the kitchen, young lady,” Mom firmly （坚定地） said to Maria in her best mother tone （语气） of voice.
Maria walked into the kitchen and shouted, “I can’t stand living with Felicia another minute. I don’t ever want to talk to her again!”
Mom called out, “Felicia, come to the kitchen right now.”
While Felicia was on her way, Mom put two chairs opposite each other but very close together.
“Maria, you sit here and Felicia you sit there.” The girls sat face to face, with their knees almost touching. “Now you look each other in the eye for five minutes,” Mom ordered.
At first the girls moved their bodies from side to side. Mom said firmly, “You must stay staring at each other for five minutes. Each minute you don’t make eye contact （眼神交流） means another minute sitting in the chairs. ” They both wanted out, so they had to sit there and look at each other.
Felicia looked at Maria’s pouting （噘嘴的） face while Maria looked at Felicia’s angry face. They each thought the other one looked ridiculous （可笑的）. In fact, they were being ridiculous to fight and be mad at each other over nothing.
Soon Maria couldn’t stand it any longer and began giggling （咯咯地笑） and so did Felicia. They giggled and laughed.
Mom wisely didn’t say anything except, “Okay girls, you can go now.”
1.Maria and Felicia argued a lot this week. What was the reason?
A.They argued over nothing.
B.They didn’t want to live together.
C.They didn’t want to talk to each other.
D.They each thought the other one was ridiculous.
2.Which is the right picture to show the way the girls sat?
A.
B.
C.
D.
3.The right order of the following statements is _______.
① Maria and Felicia stared at each other.
② Maria argued with Felicia.
③ Maria and Felicia giggled and laughed.
④ Mom asked Maria and Felicia to sit opposite each other.
A.②④③① B.④②①③ C.②④①③ D.②①④③
4.Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Maria had quite a good relationship with Felicia recently.
B.The kitchen is a good place to stop an argument.
C.Mom solved the girls’ problem wisely.
D.The girls were under pressure from Mom to make it up （和好）.
5.After reading the passage, we can know ________.
A.parents can do nothing about the argument between children
B.it’s difficult to deal with the argument between children
C.there is no need to deal with the argument between children
D.5-minute eye contact is helpful to deal with the argument between children
It is a hot summer day. Clara is drinking juice in the yard. Her mom is cutting grass with a lawnmower （割草机）. The lawnmower is loud, and Clara wishes her mom would play with her instead. But mom says the grass is very long and has to be cut.
Suddenly, the lawnmower stops. Clara’s mom looks upset. Clara wonders what is wrong. Her mom picks something up out of the grass, and walks to Clara.
Clara’s mom has a little turtle in her hand! As Clara looks closer, she sees that one leg is in bad shape. “I think I broke its leg,” Clara’s mom says. “I’m really sorry. Will you help me nurse it back to health?”
Clara feels bad for the little turtle. Turtles move slowly, so it probably could not run away when it saw the lawnmower coming. And Clara’s mom could not see it in the long grass! It was a mistake, but Clara and her mom will make it right. Clara names the turtle Phillip.
They take Phillip to the vet. The vet takes an X-ray of Phillip’s leg, and makes sure that it is broken. The turtle gets a little splint（夹板）and bandage. The vet tells Clara that the turtle needs plants to eat, water to drink and a place to live in. Clara and her mom buy a small tank （水箱） for Phillip on the way home.
At home, Clara takes good care of Phillip. She puts water and rocks in the tank. She brings him fruit and leaves to eat, and keeps his tank clean.
After eight weeks, Clara and her mom take Phillip back to the vet, who says that his leg is healthy again. Clara is both happy and sad. Happy because Phillip is better, but sad because she has to let him go. When Clara gets home, she feeds Phillip some fruit, kisses his back and says goodbye, then lets him go in the yard. Clara will always remember Phillip.
1.Clara’s mom looks upset because ________.
A.she can’t play with Clara B.the grass is too long to cut
C.the lawnmower doesn’t work D.she hurts the turtle by mistake
2.What does the underlined word “vet” mean?
A.兽医 B.药剂师 C.饲养员 D.驯兽师
3.Clara provides ________ for Phillip.
A.some fruit, water and grass B.a tank, some leaves and water
C.a splint, a tank and some rocks D.a bandage, some water and leaves
4.What does Clara do after Phillip becomes healthy?
A.She takes him to get an X-ray. B.She feeds him some leaves.
C.She lets him go. D.She keeps him as a pet in the yard.
5.What do you think of Clara? She is ________.
A.kind B.polite C.careless D.creative
— I wonder_________.
— Well, I think Qingfeng Lake Park is a good choice.
A.what I shall sell at my street stall（货摊）
B.whom I could open a street stall with
C.if I can open a street stall after work
D.which is the best place for a street stall
By the end of 2025, garbage-sorting systems （垃圾分类系统） will be ________ in Dongying.
A.set up B.given up C.shut off D.brought out
We should__________to buy products that come from wild animals. A large number of them are in danger.
A.stop B.decide C.refuse D.continue
We asked 200 students in our school about whether they wanted a younger brother or sister. Here are the results.
It shows that ________ percent of them don’t want to have one. This is a big problem.
A.10 B.40 C.50 D.80
