I think it was my mother who taught me the meaning of honesty. Not because she actually was honest, but because she lied all the time. She felt that the easiest way out of any given situation was generally the best way out. And, for her, that generally meant telling a “little white lie.” As a young child I thought it was kind of cool. And, naturally, when I would come to her with a concern or question wondering what I should do, she generally advised me to lie.
“Mom, I told Theresa that I would go over to her house, but now I would rather go to Sue’s house to play.”
“Tell Theresa you’re sick,” she would advise. And generally I did. But I didn’t seem blessed with her lack of conscience. On many painful occasions Theresa would find out that I really went to Sue’s house without her. These occasions taught me that it is more painful to be caught in a lie than it is to tell the truth in the first place. I wondered how it was possible that my mother had never learned that lesson.
I started thinking of all the lies that I’d heard her tell. I remembered the time she told someone that her favorite restaurant had closed, because she didn’t want to see them there anymore. Or the time she told Dad that she loved the lawn-mower he gave her for her birthday. Or when she claimed that our phone lines had been down when she was trying to explain why she hadn’t been in touch with a friend of hers for weeks. And what bothered me even more were all the times she had involved me into her lies. Like the time she told my guidance counselor that I had to miss school for exploratory surgery, when she really needed me to babysit. And it even started to bother me when someone would call for her and she would ask me to tell them that she wasn’t there.
So, I started my own personal fight against her dishonesty. When I answered the phone and it was someone my mother didn’t want to talk to, I said, “Louise, mom is here, but she doesn’t want to talk to you.” The first time I did it, she punished me, but I refused to apologize. I told her that I had decided that it was wrong to lie. And the next time it happened I did the same thing. Finally, she approached me and said, “I agree that lying is not the best thing to do, but we need to find a way to be honest without being rude.” She admitted that her methods weren’t right, and I admitted that mine were a bit too extreme.
Over the past few years, the two of us have worked together to be honest—and yet kind. Honesty should mean more than not lying. It should mean speaking the truth in kindness. Though I started by trying to teach my mom the importance of honesty, I ended up gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning of the term.
1. The author’s mother __________.
A. thought white lies were not lies
B. helped the author get out of trouble with white lies
C. told the author to lie when in trouble
D. taught the author the importance of being honest
2.The author __________.
A. was thankful to her mother’s advice
B. felt more awkward when being caught lying
C. found that telling the truth hurt more than telling a lie
D. felt guilty when hurting people with her honesty
3.It can be inferred that the author’s mother __________.
A. met her friends in the same restaurant regularly
B. didn’t get along with the author’s teachers
C. was not popular among her friends
D. wanted to have something else for her birthday
4.Finally the author and her mother agreed that __________.
A. kind-heartedness is more important than honesty
B. appropriate methods are the key to telling a good lie
C. honesty is defined as kindness as well as truthfulness
D. absolute honesty is basic to good interpersonal relationships
Thanks to a combination of young businessmen, large numbers of university students and revitalization (新生) efforts by the local and national governments, today’s Nanjing has an 36 of youthful exuberance (繁茂) that would have been 37 only a few decades ago. 38 , the city, a booming city of 6.5 million on the banks of the Yangtze River some 185 miles west of Shanghai, bears 39 resemblance to the former capital of China that suffered the worst cruelty and violence of World War II.
40 Nanjing has shown a remarkable capacity for reinvention during its 2,500-year history. And in recent years, the city has moved 41 its tragic past to become a vital engine of China’s economic growth, thanks 42 to its position in the middle of China’s prosperous eastern seaboard. Growth has also 43 thanks to improved ground transportation: A new bullet train linking Nanjing and Shanghai started service last year, 44 travel time between the cities from several hours to just 75 minutes, and a Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line is 45 to open later this year, with a stop in Nanjing. Within the city, two metro lines were built in the last few years; 15 more are planned to begin service by 2030.
Signs of Nanjing’s 46 wealth and optimism can be seen everywhere. In the heart of the downtown Xinjiekou district, a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, 47 the father of modern China, looks 48 over a busy 49 area.
There is perhaps no more 50 symbol of the city’s transformation than the Zifeng Tower, a 1,480-foot skyscraper that opened its doors last May. 51 offices, restaurants and an InterContinental hotel, the tower is the second-tallest building in China and billed as the seventh-tallest in the world.
Underlying all this development is a large Chinese and 52 student population — there are several major universities, plus a branch of Johns Hopkins’s international studies school. In fact, art and music 53 in all sorts of places.
On a larger 54 , local government officials and private investors are pushing the city as a rising center for contemporary art and architecture, hoping to attract 55 from the neon-bathed streets of its neighbor Shanghai.
1.A. advance B. affection C. air D. ability
2. A. unforgettable B. unthinkable C. unbearable D. unnecessary
3. A. Actually B. Regretfully C. Hopefully D. Consequently
4.A. close B. slight C. much D. little
5. A. Because B. But C. As D. Since
6. A. beyond B. on C. off D. out
7. A. in addition B. in all C. in part D. in fact
8. A. started B. enlarged C. existed D. accelerated
9. A. removing B. cutting C. dividing D. lowering
10. A. scheduled B. invented C. desired D. meant
11.A. attractive B. well-received C. newfound D. discovered
12. A. thought B. treated C. considered D. elected
13.A. out B. at C. about D. for
14. A. remote B. regional C. rural D. commercial
15. A. universal B. visible C. traditional D. political
16. A. Keeping B. Consisting C. Opening D. Housing
17. A. British B. western C. American D. foreign
18. A. spring up B. stand up C. set up D. keep up
19. A. extent B. degree C. scale D. level
20. A. businessmen B. students C. tourists D. painters
Out _________, still discussing the fashion show with great interest.
A. walked a crowd of young girls B. did a crowd of young girls walk
C. were walking a crowd of young girls D. a crowd of young girls were walking
Men are more suited to occupational environments ______require decisive action while women are better at jobs ______ a considered approach is most important.
A. which; that B. 不填; when C. which; when D. that; where
—Is he interested in sailing?
— Of course! In fact he is known ________ as the most daring sailor on the seas.
A. far and wide B. then and there C. safe and sound D. up and down
