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 guests 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
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature. But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation(撤离) of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to have their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level rose 8-12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions(导致温室效应的气体排放), which are a main cause of global warming. “By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable(易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
1.The text is mainly about .
A. rapid changes in earth’s temperature
B. bad effects of global warming
C. moving of a country to a new place
D. reasons for lowland flooding
2.According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is .
A. greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B. higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C. continuous global warming
D. rising sea levels
3.Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not .
A. agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B. sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C. allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D. believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
In the clinic, I asked if Michael could be retested, so the specialist tested him again. To my
1, it was the same score.
Later that evening, I 2told Frank what I had learned that day. After talking it over, we agreed that we knew our 3much better than an IQ test. We 4that Michael’s score must have been a 5and we should treat him 6as usual.
We moved to Indiana in 1962, and Michael studied at Concordia High School in the same year. He got 7grades in the school, especially 8biology and chemistry, which was a great comfort.
Michael 9Indiana University in 1965 as a premedical student. Soon afterwards, his teacher permitted him to take more courses than 10. In 1968, he was accepted by the School of medicine, Yale University.
On graduation day in 1972, Frank and I 11the ceremony at Yale. After the ceremony, we told Michael about the 12IQ score he got when he was six. Since that day, Michael sometimes would look at us and say 13. “My dear mom and dad never told me that I couldn’t be a doctor, not until after I graduated from medical school! ” It is his special way of thanking us for the 14we had in him.
Interestingly, Michael then 15another IQ test. We went to the same clinic where he had 16the test eighteen years before. This time Michael scored 126, an increase of 36 points. A result like that was supposed to be 17.
Children often do as 18as what adults, particularly parents and teachers, 19
of them. That is, tell a child he is “ 20”, and he may play the role of a foolish child.
1.A. joy B. surprise C. dislike D. disappointment
2.A. tearfully B. fearfully C. cheerfully D. hopefully
3.A. student B. son C. friend D. doctor
4.A. argued B. realized C. decided D. understood
5.A. joke B. mistake C. warning D. wonder
6.A. specially B. strictly C. naturally D. carefully
7.A. poor B. good C. average D. standard
8.A. in B. about C. of D. for
9.A. visited B. chose C. passed D. entered
10.A. allowed B. described C. required D. offered
11.A. missed B. held C. delayed D. attended
12.A. high B. same C. low D. different
13.A. curiously B. eagerly C. calmly D. jokingly
14.A. faith B. interest C. pride D. delight
15.A. looked for B. asked for C. waited for D. prepared for
16.A. received B. accepted C. organized D. discussed
17.A. imperfect B. impossible C. uncertain D. unsatisfactory
18.A. honestly B. much C. well D. bravely
19.A. hear B. learn C. expect D. speak
20.A. wise B. rude C. shy D. stupid
The magazines are not allowed out of the reading room in our school.
A. taking B. to be taken C. being taken D. to take
— Look, that’s Tom—the lost boy!
— It’s really great comfort to see him safe again. He is sure to bring
comfort to his worried mother.
A. a; a B. the; the C. a; / D. the; /
Rose was wild joy at the result of the examination.
A. to B. with C. by D. for
