You must have been troubled by when to say “I love you” because it is one of the greatest puzzles in our life.
What if you say it first and your partner doesn’t love you back? Or if they do say it but you don’t feel they mean it? Being the first to declare your love can be nerve racking(紧张）and risky and can leave you feeling as vulnerable as a turtle with no shell. But is the person who says it first really in a position of weakness? Doesn’t it pay to hold back, play it cool and wait until the other half has shown their hand fast?
A really good relationship should be about “being fair and being equal,” says psychologist Sidney Crown. “But love is seldom equal.” All relationships go through power struggles but, he says, if a love imbalance continues for years, the rot will set in. “That feeling of ‘I’ve always loved you more’ may be subverted(颠覆，破坏) for a time, but it never goes away completely and it often emerges in squabbling(大声争吵).” In love, at least, the silent, withholding type is not always the most powerful. “The strongest one in a relationship is often the person who feels confident enough to talk about their feelings,” says educational psychologist Ingrid Collins. Psychosexual therapist Paula Hall agrees. “The one with the upper hand is often the person who takes the initiative. In fact, the person who says ‘I love you’ first may also be the one who says ‘I’ m bored with you’ first.” Hall believes that much depends on how “I love you” is said and the motivation of the person saying it. “Is it said when they’re drunk? Is it said before their partner files off on holiday, and what it really means is ‘Please don’ t be unfaithful to me’ ?” By saying ‘I love you’, they are really saying ‘Do you love me?’ If so, wouldn’t it just be more honest to say that. Collins agrees that intention is everything. “It’s not what is said, but how it’s said. What it comes down to is the sincerity of the speaker.”
1. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. The importance of “I love you”
B. The meaning of “I love you”
C. The time of saying “I love you”
D. The place of saying “I love you”
2. In the first sentence the author means that _________.
A. it is easy to say “I love you”
B. it is hard to say “I love you”
C. we have many troubles in our life
D. people usually do not know when to say “I love you”
3. According to the expert, a good relationship should be _______.
A. fair and equal B. fair and kind
C. powerful and equal D. confident and fair
4. In the third paragraph, the phrase “with the upper hand” means _________.
A. being low in spirit B. having only one hand
C. being active D. being passive
①Researches show what we already suspected: Three out of four babies who died of SIDS(婴儿猝死) involved co-sleeping. We’ll say it again. The safest course is not to sleep with babies.
②We know the argument: Bad parenting, not co-sleeping, is to blame for the dozens of babies’ deaths. Some parents stick to co-sleeping because it helps them bond with their newborns. They say those who give co-sleeping a bad name either had been drinking, used drugs or were too tired to notice that they rolled over on their children.
③But, most of the cases did not involve drugs or alcohol. There’s a “but” here, however. Submitting to a test for drugs or alcohol in these cases is voluntary, so it’s difficult to know with certainty.
④Organizations like the Black Health Coalition and others have explained the safe way to co-sleep. While we understand those arguments, we also know that mistakes can happen and that it only takes one time for something to go terribly wrong. The risk outweighs the benefit.
⑤In all likelihood, parents will continue to co-sleep, and some will do so without ever having an incident, but babies are too vulnerable(易受伤的) for parents to take such chances. Therefore, the best place for babies to sleep is in their own beds, on their backs, with no pillows, blankets or toys. No parent wants a tragedy to occur. The best way to make sure the tragedy doesn’t happen is to allow babies to sleep alone in their own cribs.
1.According to the author, most of the SIDS cases happened because of ________.
A. drugs B. co-sleeping C. drinking D. bad parenting
2. Some parents think sleeping with their babies can ________.
A. keep the babies healthy
B. give co-sleeping a good name
C. prevent themselves from drinking
D. develop a good relation with their babies
3. The author holds the opinion that ________.
A. parents can sleep with babies, but cautiously
B. co-sleep helps to bring babies closer to parents
C. parents can’t take chances to sleep with their babies
D. accidents only happen to those careless parents
4. Which of the following best describes the structure of the text?
A. ① B. ①② C. ① D. ①
↙↘ ↓ ↙↓↘ ↙↓↓↘
②③ ④ ③④ ②③④ ②③④⑤
↘ ↙ ↓ ↘↓↙
⑤ ⑤ ⑤
I have to admit: I don’t flush the toilet every time I go to the bathroom. In fact, I firmly believe “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”
I’m
sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I work at home. Alone (well,
except for the cats and dogs). All day. And I drink a lot of water, which makes
for many trips to the bathroom.
Another thing I have to admit: I also try to use very little toilet paper. I wash my hands after, though. Every time. (So maybe the water I don’t use flushing makes up for the water used to wash my hands?)
Ironically, my husband, who only uses toilet paper when necessary, always flushes. But he doesn’t seem to mind that I don’t flush every time. Or, at least not enough to file for divorce yet.
Posted by Juliet Farmer
Jun 14, 2010 at 10:21 PM
When I’m at home alone I do not flush every time I pee(小便). My husband hates that, though, so when he’s home, I flush a little more often. I grew up doing that because I had a family that lived with huge tanks and you have to do it that way because it’s easier on the system, so it doesn’t bother me. I do flush when I’m out in public, at people’s houses that don’t have big tanks and when we have company!
CherBearCM, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:21 PM
Not always. But I have 4 children who are always hanging from the door knob（球形捏手） while I pee anyway. So I’m lucky I have time to wash my hands after. The average toilet uses 8 gallons of water per flush! Much less than what it takes to wash my hands after. (just saying)
luvbnmomnwife, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:32 PM
1.CherBearCM doesn’t flush the toilet every time she pees ______.
A. because she can’t afford so much water
B. because her husband doesn’t like that
C. when she is with her friends
D. when she is alone
2. luvbnmomnwife seems to enjoy ________.
A. washing hands after using the toilet
B. taking care of her four children
C. peeing with her kids watching
D. flushing the toilet after peeing
3.The text is taken from ________.
A. a newspaper B. a website
C. a magazine D. a handbook
4. Which of the following titles best suits the text?
A. Stop flushing your toilet!
B. Do you flush the toilet every time?
C. Don’t forget to flush the toilet after peeing!
D. Do you realize the importance of saving water?
The Touchstone
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for very little money.
The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.
The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.
The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand, and it’s just as easy to throw it away.
1.The man bought the book because _____________.
A. he wanted to read it B. it was very interesting
C. there was a secret in the book D. he wanted to find the touchstone
2. We can learn from the passage that the touchstone is _________.
A. pure B. cold C. magic D. big
3. Why did the man throw the pebbles into the sea?
A. Because he didn’t want to get the same pebbles.
B. Because he didn’t want others to pick them up.
C. Because he didn’t like their ordinary looks.
D. Because he didn’t like the cold feelings.
4. What does the author want to tell us in the passage?
A. We should offer opportunities in our life.
B. We should seek for opportunities in the world.
C. We may seize opportunities when we are watchful.
D. We may discover opportunities when forming habits.
完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
When I was 14, I was hired for an after-school job selling subscriptions (征订，订阅) to my hometown paper, the Houston Post. I was sent to some of the city’s worst neighborhoods to “beg” door-to-door. Even though I was often moving around after dark in bad areas __36__ for garage apartments, I was __37__ for the work.
It was a __38__ because people didn’t like a stranger knocking on their door, __39__ a kid trying to get them to buy something. On one ___40__, a man shut his door heavily in my face and __41__, “I don’t want your damn paper.” I __42__ myself to knock again and was able to tell him how great the paper was. I __43__ selling him a subscription. I was soon among the __44__ subscription sellers and, like other successful __45__, was given responsibility for training newcomers.
__46__ this time I started playing the harmonica and guitar. Before long I was playing in a __47__ at barbecues and other events. When I __48__ 18, I focused my __49__ on becoming a professional musician. I never lost ___50___ of this dream. I’m sure my determination came from what I __51___ knocking on strangers’ doors.
That ___52___ helped me in many ways. Early in my music career I was locked in a legal disagreement with a former manager. He ___53__ me to back off, but I refused.
Having all those doors shut in my face as a kid gave me the ___54___to stand up to this frightening figure. Except this time there was one ___55___: I was the one saying no. And I won.
1.A. leaving B. searching C. reaching D. asking
2. A. sorry B. ready C. doubtful D. thankful
3. A. challenge B. puzzle C. surprise D. failure
4.A. certainly B. obviously C. especially D. usually
5. A. time B. occasion C. day D. place
6. A. screamed B. whispered C. begged D. announced
7.A. allowed B. forced C. wished D. reminded
8.A. ended up B. gave up C. picked up D. kept up
9. A. rich B. large C. fast D. top
10.A. reporters B. managers C. salesmen D. secretaries
11. A. For B. Since C. Around D. Until
12. A. concert B. band C. kitchen D. party
13. A. seemed B. grew C. appeared D. turned
14.A. attention B. attraction C. service D. trust
15. A. sight B. use C. ability D. fortune
16. A. accepted B. decided C. expected D. learned
17. A. experience B. problem C. story D. introduction
18. A. invited B. pressured C. excused D. charged
19. A. pain B. right C. strength D. imagination
20. A. conclusion B. difference C. chance D. decision
These people were mentioned at the meeting, , Tom, Helen and Brown.
A. specially B. especially C. simply D. namely
