Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.

    My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.

    On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?

    The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.

1.Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?

A. He was silent most of the time.         B. He was too proud of himself.

C. He did not love his children.           D. He expected too much of her.

2.When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel         .

A. nervous      B. sorry      C. tired      D. safe

3.What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?

A. More critical.             B. More talkative.

C. Gentle and friendly.        D. Strict and hard-working.

4.The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to          .

A. the author’s son                     B. the author’s father  

C. the friend of the author’s father         D. the café owner

Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.

Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.

Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.

Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature (生态平衡). Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.

For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks (老鹰), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖)quickly.

Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.

Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid (禁止) the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.

1. Animals are important to us mainly because____ .

2.What has happened to the animals on the earth?

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

4. What can we infer from the fact that quite a few countries have passed laws protecting animals in danger?

Quite a few employees’ payments are cut down and barely cover their household ________ due to the serious economic crisis.

 A. bills    B. expenses     C. prices    D. charges

Many people say______ is shown on television.

A. too much violence           B. much too violence

C. too many violences          D. quite a few violences

The new studies show that fewer than half of the 9th graders in many of the nation’s largest cities, can ever graduate. The studies clearly show that the dropout rate isn’t dropping. And, in particular, the dropout rate isn’t dropping for poor and minority students.

Amazingly, though so many regret the rising dropout rate, our schools continue to lack formal plans--or any plans--to teach students motivation(动机). Most schools have no game plan to ensure that students understand that school will be completely necessary. Schools expect youth and children to act as though school is important, but they never teach them to believe that.

Years ago, families ensured that the offspring recognized the value of school. But in many modern families, the children may fail to recognize the importance of school life just because these families may actually tell the child that school is not important. Since many families are not motivating their children to be interested students, youth professionals, like teachers may need to provide this training. Otherwise, it is likely the dropout rate will continue not to drop, but only worsen.

Here are some strategies to convince even the most apathetic (无动于衷的) students that they must stay in school.

Ask students if they will ever need to work: The world has changed. 100 years ago, factory work was the booming job, and it required no education. Today, factories are increasingly automated. Most computer-related jobs require education and at least a high school diploma.

Ask students which century they will be prepared for: In 1900, the most common jobs were farm laborer and domestic servant—education not needed. Now, the most common jobs are office and sales worker—education and diploma usually needed. An amazing 6 out of 10 people today work in a store or office.

Ask students to devise a way that the employee could be replaced. For example, the coming trend in fast food is to use computers rather than people to run the restaurant. A prototype is apparently already being tested. The students should discover that most jobs that lack education and diploma requirements may be ripe for automation.

1. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph1?

2.Without the help of youth professionals,_____.

3.The author takes factory work for example mainly to ______.

4.It can be inferred that______.

5. If students play the “Replace Me” game, the result would be “______”.