One evening last summer, when I asked my 17-year-old son, Ray, for help with dinner, his response surprised me, “What’s a colander (漏勺)?” he asked.
I could only blame myself. Nobody’s hands went in the sauce except my own. But that night, as I explained with a touch of panic that a colander is the thing with holes in it, I wondered what else I hadn’t prepared Ray for.
As parents, while we focus on our child’s confidence and character, we perhaps don’t always consider that we are also raising someone’s future roommate, boyfriend, husband, or father. I wanted to know that I’d raised a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, “What’s for dinner?” So I came up with a plan: I would offer Ray a private home economics course. I was delighted to find that he didn’t say no.
For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine. One day, as his tomato sauce reduced on the stove, he washed and seasoned a chicken for roasting. Then he rolled out the piecrust (馅饼) and filled it with apples, all while listening to my explanation on the importance of preheating an oven.
I knew that he would rather have been shooting hoops I the driveway than learning to mend socks with his mother — he tried to beg off sewing lessons, even though I insisted that one day, someone would find the sight of him fixing his own shirt very attractive — but it couldn’t be denied that he was learning, and more than just housekeeping. “I appreciate more what you do as a mom,” he told me one day.
Ray now understands the finer points of cooking, and more important, he realizes there’s nothing masculine (男子气的) about being helpless. Not only can he make his own dinner, he can make it for his family, too. That’s what I call a man.
1.Hearing her son’s question, the author felt _______.
A. shocked B. angry
C. disappointed D. calm
2.We can learn from the text that Ray ________.
A. preferred sewing to cooking
B. made great progress in cooking
C. was unwilling to take the course at first
D. always thought it attractive to do housework
3.The underlined part “more than just housekeeping” shows that Ray ______.
A. fell in love with house work
B. did other work in the house
C. began to be more important
D. acknowledged the author’s efforts
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Should boys be involved in housework?
B. Present for my future daughter-in-law.
C. I’m proud I’ve raised a curious son.
D. Dependent or independent.
Making the announcement, Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, called Alice Munro a “master of the contemporary short story”.
“She has taken an art form, the short story, which has tended to live a little bit in the shadow of the novel, and she has cultivated it almost to perfection,” he said.
The 82-year-old, whose books include Dear Life and dance of the Happy Shades, is only the 13th woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature since its start in 1901.
“I knew I was in the running, yes, but I never thought I would win,” Munro told Canadian media.
Alice Munro: “I would really hope that this would make people see the short story as an important art form.”
Munro, who began writing in her teenage years, published her first story, The Dimensions of a Shadow, in 1950.
Dance of the Happy Shades, published in 1968, was Munro’s first collection, and it went on to win Canada’s highest literary prize, the Governor General’s Award.
In 2009, she won the Man Booker International Prize for her entire body of work — but she downplayed her achievements.
“I think maybe I was successful in doing this because I didn’t have any other talents,” she once said in an interview.
BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz said Munro had been “at the very top of her game since she started”.
“Very few writers are her equal,” he said, adding “She gets to the heart of what it is to be human”.
The award “probably won’t make a commercial difference” to the author, he added, but it “makes a huge difference to how her work will be viewed in historical terms”.
“If she hadn’t won it before she died, I think it would have been a terrible, terrible omission (遗漏).”
Often compared to Anton Chekhov, she is known for writing about the human spirit and a regular theme of her work is the dilemma faced by young girls growing up and coming to terms with living in a small town.
Several of her stories have also been adapted for the screen, including The Bear Came over the Mountain.
1.According to the text, Alice Munro ________.
A. is very good at writing short stories
B. had her first story published in 1968
C. is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature
D. was confident of winning the Nobel Prize for literature
2.What does Will Gompertz think of Alice Munro?
A. He thinks very highly of her.
B. He thinks she’s a productive writer.
C. He is amazed by her different skills.
D. He compares her to Anton Chekhov.
3.Which words can best describe Alice Munro?
A. Honest and responsible.
B. Cautious and friendly.
C. Caring and determined.
D. Talented and modest.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A. Short story — an important art form.
B. A master of the contemporary short story.
C. Alice Munro’s novel adapted for the screen.
D. Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize for Literature.
Perhaps because I was city kid, my exposure to wildlife was limited. That when I moved to the wooded hills of Oregon many years later. For the first time, I animal communities.
One evening, a nursing raccoon (浣熊) with four kids . She extended her tiny paw asking for some food. I was attracted by their cuteness, so I put out a serving of fresh cat food and water. She the next evening. And the next.
All was well until the wildlife began behaving . The raccoons started crying noisily. They could be throughout the entire valley. A few days later, our homeowners association (业主协会) newsletter arrived in the mail. Among the announcements of garage sales came a gentle reminder that feeding the wildlife was not a(n) thing to do.
My face became red with as I read the letter. I’d been found out! I was now identified as the maker!
I went downstairs to discuss the matter with my husband. “I’m not that the association has come up with a policy about it. They must have gotten ,” he said.
“OK, I’m going to feeding the animals,” I said.
Although I told myself that the wildlife around me would without cat food, I felt guilty. Late that night, I walked slowly into the kitchen for a snack. Then a scene outside my attention: There, on the hillside, was my neighbor. She was two deer in the cold.
Another animal , I thought. Even well-intentioned neighborhood associations can’t control our human impulse (冲动) to with wild creatures and the natural world.
1.A. happened B. grew C. changed D. started
2.A. built B. met C. caught D. ignored
3.A. appeared B. waited C. shouted D. slept
4.A. even if B. only if C. if only D. as if
5.A. secretly B. instantly C. directly D. suddenly
6.A. remained B. left C. settled D. returned
7.A. wildly B. politely C. stupidly D. naturally
8.A. seen B. recognized C. heard D. hunted
9.A. special B. usual C. simple D. exact
10.A. suitable B. noble C. valuable D. enjoyable
11.A. disappointmentB. embarrassment C. sadness D. eagerness
12.A. decision B. tool C. trouble D. policy
13.A. surprised B. satisfied C. delighted D. concerned
14.A. requirements B. expectations C. agreements D. complaints
15.A. stop B. keep C. delay D. consider
16.A. survive B. practice C. suffer D. compete
17.A. escaped B. attracted C. deserved D. avoided
18.A. pulling B. washing C. protecting D. feeding
19.A. trainer B. watcher C. lover D. owner
20.A. connect B. play C. live D. work
– I don’t think I can go any further.
– ______. You can do it if you keep trying!
A. Come on B. Take it easy
C. Never mind D. It doesn’t matter
– Do you mind if I smoke?
– Well, I’d rather you ______.
A. don’t B. didn’t C. won’t D. aren’t
Their youngest girl is at the stage ______ she can say a single word but not a full sentence
A. when B. which C. that D. where
