My husband and I insisted that our children were old enough to clean their rooms and make their beds. But they thought   11  . My complaints, even self-justified（自有道理）  12  , were always landing on   13   ears. Very often a whole hour’s scolding would end up with their   14   into tears. I felt very frustrated. I realized I needed to   15   my method of “mothering”.

One day when they were at school, I spent some time tidying their rooms. On their desks, in plain  16  , I left the cards: “Dear Bill(the other card was   17   to Sarah), your room was messy this morning and I’m sure you like it clean. Love, the Room Fairy.”  18   arriving back, the children were   19   excited to receive the little note from the Room Fairy. The next day, their rooms were fairly tidy. Sure enough, there was another note from the Room Fairy   20   

for them, thanking them for their nice “gift” of a clean room and   21   asking them to play a certain violin  22  . Each day, thank-you notes would be written differently to keep the ideas   23  ．

         Sometimes the Room Fairy would propose a little   24  : “If you can finish your homework and go over your lessons before dinner, I’d like to watch a particular television program with you tonight.” Sometimes some colored markers or other little items would be left in   25   of well-done jobs the day   26  .

  27   I can’t remember how long “the Room Fairy” continued leaving her love notes. When they were age appropriate, we used various versions of Post-Its （贴条）. The bathroom mirror became the   28   centre of our home. Appointments, notices about visiting relatives, lesson schedules, and changes in plans could be   29  .

We all benefited from and  30   the idea of sharing reminders and daily details of life through notes. I believe the true advantage of the Room Fairy notes survives in our frequent and enjoyable communication．

1.A.differently          B.positive          C.negative      D. same

2.A.shouting      B. crying   C. persuading    D. beating

3.A. side           B. neither        C.deaf   D. either

4.A.crying         B.bringing             C.droping D. bursting

5.A.addict B. adopt    C.access   D. adjust

6.A.sentence    B. words          C. speech D. sight

7.A.sent         B. addressed     C.delivered      D. read

8.A.As     B.On C. In          D. At

9.A.more than  B. rather than C.less than            D. other than

10.A.asking        B. praying C. waiting  D. expecting

11.A.gently       B. friendly          C.politely  D. toughly

12.A.music        B. piece            C.song            D. tone

13.A.respectable   B. uninteresting        C.incredible             D. fresh

14.A.suggestion         B. question       C.challenge      D. advice

15.A.response          B. answer         C.praise   D. honor

16.A.ahead        B. before  C. over     D. ago

17.A.though      B. Even so C.Even if D. Actually

18.A.memory           B. main     C. life             D. reminder

19.A.sent          B. posted  C.struck   D. hanged

20.A.appreciated      B. learned          C. shared               D. thanked

Dear son,

The day that you see me old and I am already not in good health, have patience and try to understand me.

If I get dirty when eating, if I can not dress, have patience and remember the hours I   26   teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I   27  the same things thousand and one times, do not   28   me, listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story   29   you got to sleep. When I do not want to have a   30  , neither shame me nor scold me. Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I   31  , in order that you wanted to bathe. When you see my   32   little about new technologies, give me the necessary time and do not look at me with your mocking(嘲弄) smile. I taught you   33   to do so many things: to eat good, to dress well, to confront life…. When at some moment I lose the memory or the   34  of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you   35   to me.

If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well   36   I need to and when not. When my   37   legs do not allow me to walk, give me your   38  , the same way I did when you gave your first   39  . And when someday I say to you that I do not want to   40  any more ---- that I want to rest forever, do not get ___41__. Someday you will understand.

Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived. Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the   42   thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you. You must not feel sad, angry or impotent(无可奈何) for seeing me   43   you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when you   44   living. Help me to walk, help me to end my way with love and  45  . I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.

I love you, Son

Your father

1.                A．paid           B．spent          C．cost D．took

2.                A．praise          B．think           C．repeat   D．criticize

3.                A．interrupt       B．disturb         C．look D．avoid

4.                A．when          B．after           C．since D．until

5.                A．rest           B．word           C．shower   D．sleep

6.                A．discovered      B．invented        C．noticed   D．assumed

7.                A．knowing        B．fearing         C．enjoying  D．consulting

8.                A．what           B．when          C．how D．why

9.                A．news          B．attitude         C．material  D．thread

10.               A．talking         B．listening        C．responding D．appealing

11.               A．where         B．how           C．that  D．when

12.               A．tired           B．short          C．long  D．strong

13.               A．leg            B．ear            C．hand D．mind

14.               A．step           B．pace           C．laugh D．cry

15.               A．talk            B．live            C．write D．sleep

16.               A．careful         B．interested      C．calm  D．angry

17.               A．last            B．first           C．best  D．most

18.               A．near           B．behind         C．below D．against

19.               A．made          B．started         C．earned    D．found

20.               A．mercy         B．care           C．excuse    D．patience

Dear son,
The day that you see me old and I am already not in good health, have patience and try to understand me.
If I get dirty when eating, if I can not dress, have patience and remember the hours I   26   teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I   27  the same things thousand and one times, do not   28   me, listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story   29   you got to sleep. When I do not want to have a   30  , neither shame me nor scold me. Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I   31  , in order that you wanted to bathe. When you see my   32   little about new technologies, give me the necessary time and do not look at me with your mocking(嘲弄) smile. I taught you   33   to do so many things: to eat good, to dress well, to confront life…. When at some moment I lose the memory or the   34  of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you   35   to me.
If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well   36   I need to and when not. When my   37   legs do not allow me to walk, give me your   38  , the same way I did when you gave your first   39  . And when someday I say to you that I do not want to   40  any more ---- that I want to rest forever, do not get ___41__. Someday you will understand.
Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived. Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the   42   thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you. You must not feel sad, angry or impotent(无可奈何) for seeing me   43   you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when you   44   living. Help me to walk, help me to end my way with love and  45  . I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.
I love you, Son
Your father

Someone at work gave my son, Sean, a red balloon on a string, and you would have thought it was the moon! __16__ don’t often come to my three-year-old son. Nor me! I was thankful for my job at a day-care centre, which enabled me to afford my son’s education, but it didn’t pay much. I had been so full of __17__ before doing it. Now it seemed like I would be forever struggling. I __18__ to tie the balloon to Sean’s wrist for our walk to the car. “I’m already a __19__ boy!” he said, pulling his hand away.

“Promise you will hold on to it __20__?” I said. Sean nodded. He didn’t know how quickly __21__ in life could float away.

A warm breeze blew through the car window. I heard a __22__ on the ceiling. “My balloon!” he shouted. The balloon was out of the window! I pulled over, but it had already gone up into the sky. Sean __23__.

I also felt sad, but there was nothing I could do. He might have __24__ the balloon, but on the way home two weeks later, __25__ in traffic and fog, I was still thinking about it. How am I going to make a __26__ life for Sean and me, God, if I can’t even hold a red balloon for him? Just then a man in his 30s who looked neat and clean__27__ out of the fog ahead. My eyes shone brightly with __28__. He was holding a red balloon. The man walked up right to our car. “I believe this is yours,” he said, __29__ it to me through the open window. Sean laughed.

I held the balloon tightly—and my belief of becoming happy. Maybe it was just another __30__ stranger with a gift; maybe it was an angel. But already it made our future look brighter.

16. A. Friends B. Toys C. Presents 　　 D. Dreams

17. A. strength　 　 B. feeling C. energy D. hope

18. A. went away B. passed by C. reached out D. drew back

19. A. tall B. big C. thin D. great

20. A. quietly　 　　 B. slightly C. gently D. tightly

21. A. treasures 　　 B. experiences C. hardships D. lessons

22. A. song B. knock C. movement 　　　　 D. sound

23. A. cheered B. cried C. fought D. glared

24. A. lost B. caught C. found D. forgotten

25. A. sitting 　　　　 　 B. lying C. walking 　　 D. speeding

26. A. rich 　　　　　 B. happy C. regular D. healthy

27. A. ran 　　　　　　 B. fell C. appeared D. jumped

28. A. surprise 　　 　 B. happiness 　　 C. anger D. disappointment

29. A. throwing 　　 B. showing C. handing D. leaving

30. A. outgoing 　　 B. lucky C. handsome 　 D. kind

Even when you’re extremely busy, you aren’t using your time with 100% efficiency. There are gaps in everyone’s schedule where they aren’t doing anything important. Even if your schedule has no gaps, there is probably lots of time where you aren’t working as fast or as effectively as you possibly could.

Why aren’t you completely efficient? It’s because time isn’t the limiting factor. If it were the limiting factor, people could work non-stop without breaks or any unproductive distractions(消遣). Instead, people, even those who are highly productive, need to take breaks, occasionally procrastinate(拖延) and slow down on tasks throughout the day.

The real and most important limiting factor for productivity is your energy levels to pay attention. Energy levels limit your productivity because when you’re tired, you can have ample time and still not get everything done. Your attention ability is also limited, because even if there are a million things that need to be done, you can only focus on one or two at a time.

You might not be able to insert another 4-5 hours into your schedule without making some sacrifices(牺牲). But even extremely busy people can add an hour or two into their schedule without cancelling anything. The reason it’s hard to “find time” isn’t a lack of time. It’s because you don’t have enough energy left to focus on something else that needs to fit into your day.

I first suspected time wasn’t the real problem during an extremely busy period in my life over a year ago. I was insanely busy, but at that time I still exercised regularly. I had daily to-do lists with over twenty items, and I still found time to exercise. However, after a few weeks off, due to illness, I stopped exercising. I was not busy by any standards, in fact, my schedule was incredibly light. Despite this free time, I found it hard to find time to exercise. It seemed to get pushed later and later into my schedule until it was gone. How can I explain this odd experience? I believe you have known it.

26. If someone can’t work with 100% efficiency, the most important limiting factor is ________.

A．a schedule without gaps                    B．breaks and distractions

C．the limited time                        D．the limited energy

27. According to paragraph 4, everyone, including the extremely busy people, can ___________.

A．work without any rest                 B．focus on many things at a time

C．find some more time in a day            D．do some exercise regularly

28. After a few weeks off, what was the change of the writer’s life?

A．He had a longer daily to-do lists with over twenty items.

B．He stopped doing exercise because of the lack of energy.

C．He found it hard to find time to exercise because he was busier.

D．He pushed most of the things later and later in his schedule.

29. The writer gives the example of himself in the last paragraph in order to ___________.

A．prove what the real limiting factor is        

B．show us how busily he needs to work

C．explain how important a healthy body is   

D．tell us what an odd experience he has

30. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Are You Really Lack of Time?            B．How Can You Work Efficiently?

C．What Makes Your Energy Limited?       D．When Should You Do Exercise?