I had offered to watch my 3-year-old daughter, Ramanda, so that my wife could go out with a friend. I was getting some work while Ramanda appeared to be having a good time in the other room. No problem, I figured. But then it got a little too quiet and I yelled out, “What are you doing? Ramanda” No response. I repeated my question and heard her say, “Oh, nothing?” Nothing? What does “nothing” mean?

I got up from my desk and ran out into the living room, and then I saw her take off down the hall. I chased her up the stairs and watched her a little behind made a hard left into the bedroom. I was gaining on her! She took off for the bathroom. Bad move. I had her cornered. I told her to turn around. She refused. I pulled out my big, mean, authoritative(命令式的)Daddy voice, “Young lady, I said turn around!”

Slowly, she turned toward me. In her hand was what was left of my wife’s new lipstick. And every square inch of her face was covered with right red (expect her lips of course)!

As she looked up at me with fearful eyes, lips trembling, I heard every voice that had been shouted to me as a child. “How could you… you should know better than that… How many times have you been told…What a bad thing to do…”It was just a matter of my picking out which old message I was going to use on her so that she would know what a bad girl she had been. But before I could let loose, looked down at the sweatshirt my wife had put on her only an hour before. In big letters it said “I’M A PERFECT ANGEL!” I looked back up into her tearful eyes and instead to seeing a bad girl who didn’t listen, I saw a child of God …a perfect little angel full of worth, value and a wonderful spontaneity(自发行为)that I had come dangerously close t shaming out of her.

“Sweetheart, you look beautiful! Let’s take a picture so Mommy can see how special you look.” I took the picture and thanked God that I didn’t miss the opportunity to reaffirm(再肯定)what a perfect little angel he had given me.

1.When the author found the house was abnormally quite, ______.

A. he went on with his work

B. he went to check on his daughter

C. he called his daughter to come over

D. he knew his daughter must be behaving well

2.When he saw his daughter’s face, the author _______.

A. thought she was so beautiful and lovely a girl

B. no longer saw her as an angel

C. flew into an uncomfortable disappointment

D. remembered the words he was scolded with

3.What does the underlined sentence “I had her cornered” mean?

A. She had been in the corner of the room

B. She had screamed out of fear

C. I had forced her into a position from which she couldn’t escape

D. She had escaped from one corner to another

In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of(用光了...) money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.

After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,”the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.

On the way out of town, he began to understand what the owner did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all.“Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass(使尴尬)me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”

Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.

1.The young man was traveling across the country in 1971 to ______

A. look for a good restaurant B. improve his life

C. show his new car to others D. hand out dollars

2.The underline sentence means that the young man got to know that____

A. It was very lucky of him to get his lost money back.

B. It was very honest of the owner to return his money

C. the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feeling

D. another person who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money

3.From the end of the passage we can learn that_______

A. the man did carry out his promise

B. the man was not successful in the end

C. the owner was paid back the money

D. Santa give the man money each year

4.The message of the story is“_______”

A. One good turn deserves another

B. Where there is a will,there is a way

C. He who travels far knows much

D. Give love wings(翅膀) and it may fly higher

Before you walked down the aisle—if you even did---did you first agree to take your partner’s name? had you agreed to the bank for updated credit cards, changed your email address, and updated your Facebook?

I didn't; and I know plenty of women out there didn't, either. So I was pretty shocked to learn that in a recent survey, over 50 percent of U.S. citizens believe a wife should take her husband's name—and she should be required to do so by law.

Author Emily Schafer, a sociology professor at Portland State University, surveyed a representative national sample of 1,200 people tar the study, which found that a larger number of American adults think there needs to actually be a law in place to prevent women from keeping their own name.

The most common reason given? The general belief is that women should prioritize(优先)their marriage and their family ahead of themselves. To this, I admit I'm a bit confused, because I don't understand how exactly riot taking your husband’s last name means you aren't prioritizing your marriage.

Now, I didn't take my husband's name for a variety of reasons: I didn’t feel like the name was "mine" and professionally I had built up a reputation as a writer under my maiden(未婚的)name, so I didn't want to lose that. His surname wasn't easy to spell, either; everyone gets it wrong (including my mother—still—and we've been married 13 years).But most of all, I felt like in taking my husband's last name, I was losing a huge sense of self. And while yes, we are a family, I don't want his surname to define me. I'm not his possession.

Just like every aspect of motherhood, each woman should be respected for the choices she makes—without having to do anything by law. And we should all be grateful to Lucy Stone—the first American woman to legally maintain her last name after marriage in 1856.Just imagine how difficult that must have been to forego tradition in that time?

1.What can be learned about the tradition of taking a husband's name from the survey?

A. A law should be there to break the tradition.

B. The majority of American adults support the tradition.

C. The majority of American women go against the tradition.

D. The law requires wives to take their husbands' names in America.

2.Why does an American woman generally take her husband's name?

A. To value her marriage and family.

B. To show honesty to her husband.

C. To join in the family of her husband.

D. To unite a new family under the same name.

3.What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about?

A. Why the author didn't use her husband's name.

B. Why the author's mother didn't like her husband.

C. How worthy the author's own maiden name was.

D. How bored the author became with her husband's name.

4.What does the author think of the tradition?

A. It's reasonable B. It isn’t worth caring

C. Every coin has two sides D. It's out of date and confusing.

If you frequently travel for business,Staybridge Suites offer you a range of home comforts.Four recent visitors to Staybridge Suites explain why they booked,what they enjoyed and what made them want to return.

Claire Metcalf

“The concept is great,but the staff are the ones who really make it.”she says.“It takes a lot of discipline to always be friendly,but the staff at Staybridge Suites do that.They genuinely care about you.”

Andrew Roberts

“One of the best things is having my own kitchen.I often end up working late and I don’t fancy(喜欢) eating in a restaurant on my own,so cooking for myself is a big drawcard.”

“The main thing for me is being able to cook and have my own little flat.The staff are amazing.It is great to be recognized by them,”he says.

Pauline Robinson

“What I love about it is the way that you are treated by the staff,”she says.“Some of the staff have been there all that time and they do look after you well.As a woman staying on my own,it is reassuring that they look out for you,and recently when I was poorly depressed they even brought things I needed to my room.”

Ryan Ruckledge

“The fully-equipped kitchen is great.I always have a one-bed apartment so I have a separate kitchen and dining room and I’m able to relax and cook some meals.Eating out can feel a bit much when you do it day in and day out—it makes you hate what you do—and I don’t want that.”

1.What attracts visitors to Staybridge Suites?

A. A separate dining room. B. A one—bed apartment.

C. A home from home. D. A lot of discipline.

2.Who think highly of the kitchen of Staybridge Suites?

A. Pauline Robinson and Ryan Ruckledge.

B. Ryan Ruckledge and Claire Metcalf.

C. Andrew Roberts and Ryan Ruckledge.

D. Pauline Robinson and Claire Metcalf.

3.What does the underlined word“drawcard”in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A. barrier. B. attraction.

C. honour. D. difficulty.

4.Why does the author write the article?

A. To advertise Staybridge Suites.

B. To introduce four recent visitors.

C. To inform us of a new service.

D. To sing high praise for the staff.

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