Dear Amy,

My in-laws are all the products of failed marriages, so there are blood relatives and step relatives to deal with on both sides of the aisle.

For years, my in-laws have told my children that my wife’s stepmother’s grandchildren are their cousins.

This alone is not true, since these kids are only involved in our lives due to marriage. I just keep talking to my kids and explaining to them the way the family tree works and that these kids are not their cousins.

At one point, my oldest son got mad and told one of these kids that he was not his real cousin, and then my in-laws confronted my son about what he said. They were apparently upset about it.

Amy, I am not going to create a world that does not exist. They are stuck on taking in these kids that have zero actual blood relation to them at all.

I stand my ground on this, and my wife just thinks that I am being an ass. Your thoughts?

Disturbed Dad

Disturbed Dad,

Before you spend the rest of your life carefully studying a family tree at every potluck dinner, remember that “family” isn’t some exclusive club that you get to join by having two or more of the same biological relatives.

People in highly functioning and inclusive families will tell you that all you have to do to be a part of any family is to be considered part of the family. This means being included, regardless of your biological status, and reveling in relationships that are auntlike, grandparent-like or cousinlike. It is wise to explain truthfully all of these many and varied relationships to your children, but to use loaded terms like “real family” only underlines your emotional ignorance about relationships.

Your in-laws are doing a wonderful thing accepting these children, so put down the genealogy chart and apologize. After all, if we follow your logic, then your in-laws shouldn’t be accepting you as family either; you aren’t related to them by blood, so you aren’t their “real family.”

The good news is, if you continue to treat your wife’s family this way, you won’t have to worry about keeping the blood relatives and the step-relatives in this family straight — given your lack of good manners, these family members might disregard you in favor of someone who is more open, accepting and inclusive.

Amy

1.The Disturbed Dad’s in-laws were upset because _______.

A. they all had failed marriages B. they knew of the Dad’s thoughts

C. one of the grandsons got mad D. some kids had no blood relation

2.What’s Amy’s attitude towards the Disturbed Dad’s opinion?

A. Objective. B. Negative.

C. Doubtful. D. Cautious.

3.Amy may agree that _______.

A. the Dad shouldn’t be narrow-minded about the family tree

B. it’s necessary to consider biological relationships in a family

C. the Dad shouldn’t be accepted as family by their in-laws

D. it’s good news for the family members to disregard the Dad

Guide Dogs of America, A History is the book that we all have been waiting for. It’s a book that tells how and where the guide dog movement really started, with information never before revealed--until now. After reading this 200-page, picture-filled work, you will know about every aspect of Guide Dogs of America(GDA) from its inception to how it has become one of the top guide dog schools in the country.

Joseph W. Jones, Sr., was refused a guide dog because of his age--he was fifty seven--but he would not accept defeat. He researched the guide dog movement and with the help of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, established his own school, one that would provide guide dogs free of charge to visually impaired people regardless of their age.

The school graduated 18 guide dog teams the first year with students staying at, GDA’s first trainer, Lambert Kreimer’s house on South Virginia Avenue in Burbank, and Jones manning the office on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.

In 1952, Jones addressed the quadrennial(四周年纪念的) IAM Grand Lodge Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. “I sincerely prayed to God for two things,” Jones said. “After my wife passed away and left me with a ten-year-old boy, I prayed that I would be spared long enough to see this organization well established and that my ten-year-old boy would become a man. Both prayers have been answered. The organization is well established, it is in the hands of the IAM and my boy is a man, and I am proud to say that today he is a member of the IAM.”

Jones’ pray for a successful organization had been answered now, ten years after he was rejected for being too old, his dream of having a guide dog for himself, hundreds of others had already been given the gift of sight because of his drive and determination. That school, now known as Guide Dogs of America, has provided guide dogs to thousands of people free of charge.

1.What can we known about the book Guide Dogs of America, A History?

A. It only tells us where the guide dog movement started

B. There are no pictures in the book

C. It mainly deals with Guide Dogs of America

D. It was written by Lambert Kreimer

2.Why did Joesph W. Jones, Sr. fail to get a guide dog?

A. He couldn’t afford to buy one

B. He was too old to get one

C. There were not enough guide dogs

D. He didn’t know how to make use of a guide dog

3.According to the passage, Guide Dogs of America .

A. trained 18 guide dog teams in 1952

B. received much help from the guide dog movement

C. has provided guide dogs to thousands of affordable people

D. had Lambert Kreimer as its first trainer

4.The underlined sentence in the passage means “ ”.

A. I prayed I could live long enough to set up a school to train guide dogs

B. I prayed I could have enough money to establish an organization

C. I prayed I could have a guide dog to help me realize my dream

D. I prayed I could have good health in the rest of my life

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网