Until the 1960's, almost everyone in the U. S. followed tradition and gave all the children in the same family the same last name or surname, as it is called. But during the 60's, young parents began giving their children strange names—names like Moonglow, Eternal Peace, and Sunshine. Some states passed laws controlling the names that parents could use. But after a court case in 1981, a federal judge ruled that parents are free to give any surnames they wish to their children.

So , for the last few decades , more parents are not giving their children the fam­ily 's sur- names .Some insist that while it ' s OK for a boy to have the father ' s family name, a girl should have the mother' s family name . Thus, Philip Gaylord and Pan Zimmitti could be brother and sister. Some parents think that using family surname is old —fashioned and boring. One couple gave their son the last name Sue because they like the Johnny Cash song," A Boy Named Sue." And finally, some parents think that giving their children different surnames is just a "neat thing to do". So the first son of a New York family has the last name Washington —Lincoln, after the two fa­mous presidents. The daughter has the last name Anthony—Tubman after two women who fought for women's rights.

This change in naming customs presents two problems. First, if each person in the family has a different last name, family records will be very confusable. It will be hard to track a person's family, and record keeping will be difficult .Second, some physiologists are afraid that different surnames will threaten family unity. Since names have  an important effect on one's identify (身份) , they think brothers and sisters will not feel connected if they have different last names.

So this problem of names will get worse as new and different last names increase. Get ready to meet Welcome Baby Darling , sister of Aren't We Glad , You ' re Here and It ' s About Time.

1．In America, ________to give children different surnames these days.

    A．it is allowed by the law                  B．it breaks the law

    C．it is one of the customs                  D．it is unusual

2．In the second paragraph of the passage a "neat thing to do" means________.

    A．a good thing to do                                                  B．a terrible thing to do

    C．a dirty filing to do                   D．a clean thing to do

3．According to some psychologists, the different last names will let brothers and sisters feel they

are________.

    A．enemies                          B．as close as before

    C．good fiends                       D．separated

4．From the last paragraph, we can see the author _____this change in naming customs.

       A．is for        B．is against          C．doesn't care         D．doesn't notice

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.

My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life.

We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day,my mother spoke to me in her gentle,loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I would walk again if I want to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her.A year I returned to school—walking on my own !

When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.

Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel(汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.

Not surprisingly, Mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business,we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed.Fifteen years later,we had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $1billion a year.

You may not have started out life in the best situations. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1.What Kemmons’mom often told him during his childhood was______

A．caring            B．moving           C．encouraging       D．interesting

2.According to the author, who played the most role in making him walk back to school again?

A．Doctors           B．Nurses            C．Friends           D．Mom

3.What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A．His terrible experience in the hotel

B．His previous business success of various levels

C．His mom’s support

D．His wife’s suggestion

4.Which of the following best describles Kemmons’s mother?

A．Modest,helpful and hard—working

B．loving, supportive and strong—willed(有坚强意志的)

C．careful, helpful and beautiful

D．strict, sensitive and supportive.

5.Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?

A．Self-cofidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family

B．Mom’s encouragement, clear goals. Self—confidence and hard work

C．Clear goals,mom’s encouragemen, a poor family and higher education.

D．Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities

Embroidering (刺绣)

When I was a little boy living in New York, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the    36    and ask what she was doing. She    37   me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched her work within the    38   of the little round hoop（铁环）that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked    39    from where I sat.

    She would smile at me, look down and   40    say, "My son, you go about your    41    for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my    42    and let you see it from my side."

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the    43    ones and why they seemed so jumbled（混乱的）from my   44   . A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, " Son, come and sit on my knee." This I did only to be  surprised and    45  to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not    46   it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

   Then mother would    47   to me, "My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a   48   plan on the top. It was a    49   . I was only following it. Now look at it from my side    50    you will see what I was doing."

   Many    51    through the years, I have    52    up to my Heavenly Father and said, “ Father, what are You doing? ” He    53   , “ I am embroidering your    54   . ” I say, " But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright ? " The Father seems to tell me, " My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to    55    and put you on my knee and you will see the plan from My side. "

1.A. floor                   B. corner          C. ceiling                       D. step

2.A. demanded       B. blamed                 C. persuaded        D. informed

3.A. decorate              B. boundaries        C. picture           D. surface

4.A. messy                  B. dirty              C. shabby            D. tight

5.A. smartly                 B. cautiously       C. gently             D. precisely

6.A. complaining            B. playing                        C. embroidering              D. imagining

7.A. back           B. chair             C. knee             D. table

8.A. white          B. black                       C. bright            D. shining

9.A. eyes                   B. opinion           C. heart           D .view

10.A. hopeful      B. thrilled                       C. expecting           D. enthusiastic

11.A. believe         B. consider              C. see                   D. touch

12.A. talk            B. mention              C. say                           D. whisper

13.A. pre-drawn      B. previewed         C. preserved                   D. produced

14.A. direction        B. line                 C. diagram                      D. design

15.A. or             B. and                    C. until                         D. unless

16.A. times                  B. days              C. seasons                   D. chances

17.A. climbed               B. jumped                   C. shouted                      D. looked

18.A. required             B. answered          C. instructed               D. concluded

19.A. decision       B. fortune          C. life                      D. business

20.A. home                 B. mother                   C. America                     D. Heaven

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.

My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school—walking on my own!

When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.

Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred（出现）on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel(汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.

Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $1 billion a year.

You may not have started out life in the best situations. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1.What Kemmons’ mom often told him during his childhood was_______.

A．caring            B．moving           C．encouraging       D．interesting

2.According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?

A．Doctors.                              B．Nurses.

C．Friends.                               D．Mom.

3.What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A．His mom’s support.

B．His previous business success of various levels.

C．His terrible experience in the hotel.

D．His wife’s suggestion.

4.Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?

A．Modest, helpful and hard-working.

B．Careful, helpful and beautiful.

C．Loving, supportive and strong-willed.

D．Strict, sensitive and supportive.

5.Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?

A．Self-confidence, hard work, higher-education and a poor family.

B．Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities.

C．Clear goals,mom’s encouragement, a poor family and higher education.

D．Mom’s encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.