Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews． Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us． We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I'll let them fail．
I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure — along with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc．— will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone, is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．
My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate （协商） everything now．It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews．
1.Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?
A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties．
B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．
C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．
D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so．
2.According to the author, what is beneficial to kids' development?
A．Sheltering them． B．Keeping them safe．
C．Leaving them alone． D．Blaming them．
3.Why does the author stress failure in kids' life?
A．To make them stronger than other kids．
B．To help them grow in this tough world．
C．To help them develop all social skills．
D．To make them learn to compromise．
4.Which of the following might be the best title for die text?
A．Never Shelter Your Kids B．Let Your Kids Fail
C．Be Eager to Grow Up D．Live Without Parents
The Rockford police chief and some city officials want to install （安装） video cameras in all 100 police cars．They think this will reduce the number of lawsuits （法律诉讼）．In the last five years, Rockford has paid out more than five million dollars to settle about 40 lawsuits．
The chief said, "If cameras had been in those cars．we wouldn't have had to pay one cent． We're always pulling over drunks or drug users who try to fight the police or shoot them．Then they always claim （声称） that the police start beating them first or start shooting at them first．"
The cost of installing cameras will be about $500 each．The city council （委员会） will vote on the proposal （提议） next Monday．Ten of the 13 council members said that they like the idea． One member said that it makes good sense．
The police officers enthusiastically support camera use．One officer said that too many people think the police often lie; cameras would show citizens that police tell the truth．"The money that we've been spending on lawsuits will be better spent on more cameras," said one officer．
Citizen opinions to the idea of police car cameras are mixed．One person, said that the police should have started doing this years ago when video cameras were invented．But an elderly man strongly objected．'These police are trying to stick their nose into everything," he said．He was going to attend the council meeting to condemn the proposal．He hoped that other citizens would join him.
1.We can learn from what the chief said that with cameras on ___．
A．the police will not be treated unjustly
B．the police will be free from any lawsuits
C．the police can beat the law-breakers first
D．the police can monitor everything around
2.What's the purpose of installing video cameras in police cars?
A．To pay less money on lawsuits．
B．To cut the number of lawsuits．
C．To prevent lawsuits from happening．
D．To stop being beaten by law-breakers．
3.Which group of people support camera use most?
A．Council members, B．Police officers．
C．Local people． D．Drug users．
4.What can be learned from the last paragraph?
A．Most citizens support camera use in police cars,
B．The police are trying to take control of everything．
C．The man showed great disagreement on camera use in police cars．
D．Other citizens will join the man to object to camera use in police cars．
A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle （/JC^C）between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet．He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn't possibly imagine how this had happened．It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of jt. When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived．
He prayed this prayer, "Dear God, I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat!" He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered．As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water．Susie tripped （绊倒） in front of the teacher and dumped （倒） the bowl of water in the boy's lap．The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while was saying to himself, "Thank you．Lord!"
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy was the object of sympathy．The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out．All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk．The sympathy was wonderful．But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred （转移） to someone else—Susie．She tried to help, but they told her to get out．
When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispered back, "I wet my trousers once, too!"
1.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means ____ .
A．the boys would never play with him
B．the boys would treat him as usual
C. he would hardly hear any praise from the boys
D．he would be laughed at by the boys endlessly
2.After Susie dumped water in his lap, the boy was in a state of ___
A．excitement B．relief C．anxiety D．anger
3.What did the other kids do after the incident?
A．They offered him dry clothes．
B．They laughed at the boy rudely,
C．They helped the boy do the cleaning．
D．They urged the boy to get out angrily,
4.Why did Susie dump water in the boy's lap?
A．The boy asked her to do so．
B．She just did it by accident．
C．The teacher tripped her on purpose．
D．She knew the boy's embarrassment．
A few weeks ago, I followed a friend into an art supply store．I found him picking out tubes of water-color paint, which __36__ me because he's not an artist.
"I 37 up for a water-color class, and it starts next week," he said．"I really don't have 38_ for it, but it was on my list of 50 things to do before I die, so I _39__ it．Every few months I look at the list and decide what to focus on next． 40 I had the list, I complained a lot about what I was 41 _ in my life．Now I just bury myself in doing these things．Write your own list．and you'll 42 what I mean．"
So that night．I did just that, and he was right．The list revealed （显露出） a whole lot about what was __43__ to me．It also revealed how _44___ behind I am at getting to the things I really want．
I filled up the first twenty __45__ quickly, but then began to think carefully．
Eventually I __46_ items I've thought about for years, and __47__ I've carried with me since I was young．When I 48 the list later, some entries surprised me．
First, I want to _ 49_ much more, particularly now that my children are 50_ and can go with me to see the world．I would like to take them to bike through Denmark and camp in the Canadian Rockies．
I'm also surprised to _51_ some things on the list that need to be done soon．If I'm going to learn to roller-blade （轮滑）, __52_, I'd better start before I turn 50．
Like my friend, I now have an alternative to __53__．When I'm bored with life, I take out my list．
My friend told me the _54_ was preparing the ground so that life could work in mysterious ways．"If you want your ship to come in, you must build a dock （码头）," he said．
Thanks to my _55__, I'm working on some big docks．
1.A．surprised B．moved C．pleased D．excited
2.A．made B．took C．signed D．gave
3.A．interest B．concern C．time D．emotion
4.A．went for B．called for C．accounted for D．cared for
5.A．Because B．After C．Before D．Although
6.A．doing B．missing C．pushed D．engaged
7.A．admire B．abolish C．spot D．see
8.A．important B．strange C．beneficial D．special
9.A．slightly B．slowly C．possibly D．hopelessly
10.A．thoughts B．lists C．ideas D．blanks
11.A．studied B．added C．dropped D．obtained
12.A．burdens B．challenges C．dreams D．responsibilities
13.A．reviewed B．discovered C．wrote D．appreciated
14.A．play B．relax C．travel D．hike．
15.A．wealthier B．cleverer C．healthier D．older
16.A．write B．put C．find D．leave
17.A．such as B．for instanceC．in fact D．in particular
18.A．complaining B．relaxing C．objecting D．adjusting
19.A．problem B．key C．answer D．question
20.A．hobbies B．optimism C．list D．wishes
______ there was no conclusive evidence, most people thought he was guilty.
A. When B. As far as C. As long as D. While
---Where___?
—I got caught in the heavy traffic, or I ___ here earlier. A. did you go; had arrived B. are you; was C. were you; would come D. have you been ; would have been
