Begging was useless. Mom’s “no” meant “No!”
But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.
We studied the recipe. That was easy. “Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt.”
We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.
“Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough (面团) holds together, squeeze it.”
We took turns working like that. “Is the dough ‘holding together’?” we asked each other.
I remembered my neighbor’s instructions: “If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water.”
We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.
“Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth,” the recipe instructed.
We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.
“Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour.”
This was good news --- we’d have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. “See?” we would tell my mom. “Isn’t it worth the work?”
Hanna and I couldn’t help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.
“Maybe something will happen in the hot oven,” I said.
Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.
Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right.

1. 1.

   To the writer, what her mother said was __________.

   1. A.
      law
   2. B.
      rubbish
   3. C.
      advice
   4. D.
      warning
2. 2.

   Which of the following can best describe the children’s feelings while making their first bread?

   1. A.
      Confident; hopeful; disappointed.
   2. B.
      Curious; hopeful; disappointed.
   3. C.
      Interested; excited; satisfied.
   4. D.
      Worried; satisfied; proud.
3. 3.

   Which of the following did the writer do without instructions?

   1. A.
      Placed dough on floured surface.
   2. B.
      Added eight cups of flour to eggs.
   3. C.
      Returned dough to a cleaned bowl.
   4. D.
      Placed the dough into the hot oven.
4. 4.

   The passage mainly tells us ______________.

   1. A.
      the process of making bread
   2. B.
      the conflict between mother and daughter
   3. C.
      the first experience of making bread
   4. D.
      the way of doing housework

 “Where is the bus?” I asked myself. I was going to be late ___36__the manager wasn’t going to be__37___. “Thank God, here it is!” The bus came round the corner and I got on. Ten minutes later I was walking into the___38__ where I work.. “Twenty-five past nine. I __39__the manager doesn’t notice.” But no___40__!

“Smith!” shouted the manager. “Late again. What’ s your __41___this time?” “I’m afraid the bus was late, Mr Brown .” “___42___up earlier tomorrow! Anyway, get to business at the counter. We’ll be opening in a few minutes.”

My first customer was a pretty girl___43_ a red dress. Behind her was a young man of about 25. He seemed very nervous, and every few seconds he looked towards the main___44__ . The girl asked about opening a bank account{账户}.I gave her the necessary_45__and she walked out. __46___,I noticed a tall man by the door, carrying something___47__ brown paper. Turning to my next customer, I was terrified to see a gun sticking out of his coat. The next moment a loud noise__48___my ears. Everything went black. I was falling. After_49__seemed a very long time, I opened my eyes and found myself in bed! _50_shaking from the memory of this terrible dream, I got dressed and ran out of the house. As usual the___51____wasn’t on time, and I arrived at 9:25.

“Smith!” the manager cried out in a___52___like thunder. “Late again! Go and start work at once!” To my__53___, the first customer was a girl in a red dress and___54___her stood a man carrying something wrapped in brown paper. The dream,__55__that ? The surprise of my life!

The other day at a supermarket, I saw a naughty child of about six crying loudly, falling to the floor and refusing to move. All the while the troubled mother was trying to persuade him to behave well but failed. A little smack(打)on his bottom would have worked ,I thought.
Teenagers also cause discipline(纪律)problems. As a teacher I had a 16-year-old student who had fallen in love with a waiter at a fast-food restaurant. In fact, she had left home to stay with him. So we decided to put her in the school hostel .She refused. When she heard her mother begging her to stay in the school hostel, she turned around and said: “Why don’t you stay in the school hostel if you like it so much?”
My hands were going to slap her for being so rude but the poor mother continued to cajole her , hoping the gentle persuasion would work wonders. It did not. Later I heard that she had run away from home again.
The list goes on and on. Could it be that today’s parents are so softer and believe that they must not rod(棍棒惩罚)their children for fear of the bad results? Or do they really believe that the children will get rid of the bad habits and behave well as they grow older? I beg to disagree. I believe it is the parents’ duty to discipline the children even at a young age.
My children who are now adults will prove the fact that I used the rod when I thought it necessary. Later when they went abroad, they told their university friends how they were disciplined. Their friends were shocked and said that I could be charged with child abuse. However ,my daughter showed great respect for me when she told them that she would not be where she was today if not for my strict discipline.
【小题1】According to the passage, the author would probably________.

The other day at a supermarket, I saw a naughty child of about six crying loudly, falling to the floor and refusing to move. All the while the troubled mother was trying to persuade him to behave well but failed. A little smack(打)on his bottom would have worked ,I thought.

   Teenagers also cause discipline(纪律)problems. As a teacher I had a 16-year-old student who had fallen in love with a waiter at a fast-food restaurant. In fact, she had left home to stay with him. So we decided to put her in the school hostel .She refused. When she heard her mother begging her to stay in the school hostel, she turned around and said: “Why don’t you stay in the school hostel if you like it so much?”

   My hands were going to slap her for being so rude but the poor mother continued to cajole her , hoping the gentle persuasion would work wonders. It did not. Later I heard that she had run away from home again.

The list goes on and on. Could it be that today’s parents are so softer and believe that they must not rod(棍棒惩罚)their children for fear of the bad results? Or do they really believe that the children will get rid of the bad habits and behave well as they grow older? I beg to disagree. I believe it is the parents’ duty to discipline the children even at a young age.

My children who are now adults will prove the fact that I used the rod when I thought it necessary. Later when they went abroad, they told their university friends how they were disciplined. Their friends were shocked and said that I could be charged with child abuse. However ,my daughter showed great respect for me when she told them that she would not be where she was today if not for my strict discipline.

1. According to the passage, the author would probably________.

A. beat the children every day   B. treat the children in a soft way

C. leave the children as they are  D. punish the children when necessary

2. The underlined word cajole” (in para.3)means_______.

    A. persuade    B .scold    C. forgive      D. punish

3.In the author’s opinion, how should parents make their children grow up well?

    A. rod their children        B .punish their children

    C. discipline their children   D. discipline and punish their children if necessary

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A. The naughty boy’s mother hit him

    B. The teacher’s daughter lived with her mother

    C. The daughter was thankful for her mother’ strict discipline

    D. The author was charged with child abuse by the daughter’s friends

Last year was the year of the travel deal, with resorts and
airlines practically begging for bookings, and many travelers
finding bargain airfares and hotel rooms as a result．Now the
economy looks as if it might be on a slight rebound．So now is
the perfect time to review your booking strategy（策略）．
Here are 4 simple steps you can take to help cut your travel costs in 2010．
1．Find the Cheapest Dates to Fly
ITASoftware．com, which provides the technological backbone for many airfare shopping sites, allows users to scan an entire month's fares for the least expensive rate．（Log in as a "guest" and click on "month-long search．"） In January, the 28th and 30th were the cheapest dates to fly nonstop to London from New York （$536） for a week's vacation, according to a recent search．The next best was Saturday, Jan．23, at $640．To book the ticket, users must go to another site．Kayak．com has a flexible-dates option （registration is required）and a calendar that shows the best fares found by other Kayak users in the last 48 hours．Bing Travel, the Microsoft search engine, offers a similar option, found under "plan trips," about halfway down the page．
2．Consider Nearby Airports
A recent Web search showed nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Miami International from $299 round trip on American in early January．But flying into Fort Lauderdale, roughly 30 miles north of Miami, was $219 on Virgin America, an $80 saving．
3．Go Against the Grain
If possible, avoid popular travel dates like holidays and spring break because airlines have begun to charge anywhere from $10 to $30 extra at those times．Farecompare．com offers a handy breakdown of the new fees by date, airline and amount．Early-morning and late-night flights may also be cheaper depending on the route．
4．Make Yourself at Home
For a 6 to 12 percent booking fee, AirBnB/com connects budget travelers with locals who are offering a place to bed down．The Times's Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, described it as "a cross between CouchSurfing．com and the vacation rentals section of Craigslist．" There were more than 2,000 listings in a recent search for New York including a futon （床垫） in a one-bedroom near Gramercy Park （$65） and a bedroom with private bath and separate entrance in Hell's Kitchen （$150）．
65．According to the first paragraph, ____．
A．the economy in 2010 is surely getting better
B．2009 saw a sharp decrease in travel fees
C．the booking strategies can be put away in 2010
D．in 2009, airlines begged the travelers to buy more travel guides
66．If you want to book a ticket, you may log on to _____．
A．ITASoftware．com                B．CouchSurfing．com
C．AirBnB．com         D．Kayak．com
67．What does "Go Against the Grain" probably mean in the passage?
A．Going travelling in the off-season．
B．Going travelling without taking any grain．
C．Going travelling during holidays and spring break．
D．Going travelling without meals served on early-morning and late-night flights．
68．The passage is most probably taken from ____．
A．a book review         B．a magazine 
C．a website            D．a story book