I really hadn’t meant to yell at them. But that grey afternoon saw it just as my son and daughter were making a terrible mess on the floor in the kitchen.

With a tiresome report to write, I felt bothered at my desk. Suddenly, it occurred to me that my kids were at fault. A voice inside me insisted that I do something quickly.

“Ok, you two here, but what an awful thing you are attempting!” I was shouting angrily. I made for them, while it became evident that the boy wanted no part of me. “Get away from us!” he shouted back, there being an expression of support from his sister.

All of a sudden, I found the fault in myself. Quickly I shaped my hands into pincers(钳子) and crawled towards them, “Crabby（暴躁的） Daddy is here. Ha, Ha, Ha, he likes to yell at children, and then eat them!” My son continued to keep me away, but now he was laughing and crying at the same time. My mission to repair the damage caused by my yelling seemed to work well. Still, I regretted not having controlled myself first in a right way.

Need I let them know how badly they were acting by blaming? This is a lesson that serves myself. It only shows just how to get rid of something (ill-feelings, responsibility…) by blaming others. It’s not my “best self”.

We have to search for our “best self” when with our children. They don’t need perfect parents, but they do need parents who are always trying to get better. Here, I am reminded of the words of a great thinker. “When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the book…” Then, in our lifetime, couldn’t we always speak to our kids in such a sweet voice since most of us consider them as the most precious in the world? And before we reach this level, what should we do when we come across various difficult cases with our children?

The author couldn’t help yelling at his kids this time probably because________.

A. the weather was so unpleasant         B. he was tired of his boring work

C. the kids didn’t ask him to join them     D. a Daddy has his right to do so

Which of the following made the author aware of his fault?

A. No obvious reason.              

B. The boy’s yelling back.

C. His self-awareness.              

D. The girl’s shouting back

According to the passage, the author will _____ in another similar situation.

A. play a crab again like this time  

B. apologize to kids in a sincere way

C. avoid blaming kids in a hurry   

D. beat them up about such things

What will the writer go on to write about in the next paragraph(s)?

A. How to behave ourselves properly when kids are at fault.

B. How to play with our children in a more interesting way.

C. How to deal with the housework with children around us.

D. How to persuade children to do what they are told to.

What does “the boy wanted no part of me” in the third paragraph mean?

A. The boy was happy because I loved them.

B. The boy was curious because I wanted to help them.    

C. The boy was very happy for I was angry.    

D. The boy didn’t want me to join them.

    Michael was a farmer in Texas．His parents moved to the USA from Ireland in the 1940’s， and they became very rich．Michael decided to go back to Ireland to meet his old grandfather， who was still living on the same farm．

    Michael booked his ticket，flew to Shannon airport，hired a car and drove to the small village where his parents had been born．He asked for directions to the Ohagan farm，and in the end he drove up a bumpy path．He was shocked by what he saw：a small field，and in the middle of it was an old house，which looked as if it was falling down．Animals were wandering in and out of the front door，and on the porch an old man was smoking a pipe.

“Are you Mr. Ohagan?”asked Michael。

“Yes，”replied the old mall．

“I'm your grandson，Michael，”said Michael．

“A--ha，”replied the old man．

“Is this your farm?”asked Michael．

“Yes，all the way to the wall over there，”said the old man．

Michael was astonished．“Grandfather,”he said，“I have a farm in Texas．I can get into my car and drive all day and I still haven’t reached the end of the farm．”

“Yes，”said his grandfather．“I used to have a car like that．”

Michael’s parents _______．

    A．still lived in Ireland alone          B．owned a small farm in Texas

    C．returned to their birthplace         D．were Irish immigrants（移民）in America

Which of the following shocked Michael?

    A．The farm was small                       B．The old house looked like his own．

    C．Living conditions were poor in the fields．    D．Animals were free in the fields．

The old man _______．

A．owned a small farm, which extended only to the wall not far away

B．had so large a farm that he couldn’t cover it in a day

C．hadn’t his modern car any longer

D．used to have as good a car as his grandson’s

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Michael owned a large farm in Ireland.

B．Michael’s car was in such poor condition that it couldn’t reach the end of the farm within a day．

C．Michael’s farm was too large for a car to reach its end in a day．

    D．Michael didn’t know what to say to his grandfather

From“I used to have a car like that”，we can see that________．

    A．the old man really had a car like that

    B．the old man knew his son’s farm in the US was quite large

    C．the old man misunderstood what Michael said

D．the old man wanted to buy a car like that

Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.

     Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup(基因构成) as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.

Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.

    Exploration also allows minerals and other potential resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions. Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products (副产品) of technological developments in the space industry!

While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.

While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.

1.Why does the author mention the questions in Paragraph1?

    A. To express his doubts.             B. To compare different ideas.

    C. To introduce points for discussion.   D. To describe the conditions on Earth.

2.What is the reason for exploring space based on Paragraph2?

A. Humans are nature-born to do so.      B. Humans have the tendency to fight.

C. Humans may find new sources of food.  D. Humans don’t like to stay in the same place.

3.The underlined word “spin-offs” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to______.

    A. survival chances                     B. potential resources

    C. unexpected benefits                  D. physical possessions

4.What makes it possible for humans to live on other planets?

    A. O    ur genetic makeup.                  B. Resources on the earth..

    C. The adaptive ability of humans.      D. By-products in space exploration.

5.Which of the statements can best sum up the passage?

    A. Space exploration has created many wonders.

    B. Space exploration provides the best value for money.

    C.Space exploration can benefit science and technology

    D. Space exploration may help us avoid potential problems on Earth.

Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked．

Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup（基因构成）as human beings．What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival．Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible．

Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for．Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger．With knowledge, we can lessen its effects．

Exploration also allows minerals and other potential （潜在的）resources to be found．Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later．Resources may be more than physical possessions．Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration．The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives．We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems．Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products （副产品）of technological developments in the space industry!

While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us．While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers．The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive．Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist．

While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets．It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future．

1.Why does the author mention the questions in Paragraph1?

A．To express his doubts．                  B．To compare different ideas．

C．To introduce points for discussion．         D．To describe the conditions on Earth．

2.What is the reason for exploring space based on Paragraph2?

A．Humans are nature-born to do so．         B．Humans have the tendency to fight．

C．Humans may find new sources of food．      D．Humans don't like to stay in the same place．

3.The underlined word "spin-offs" in Paragraph 4 probably refers to______．

A．survival chances    B．potential resources  C．unexpected benefits D．physical possessions

4.What makes it possible for humans to live on other planets?

A．Our genetic makeup．                   B．Resources on the earth．

C．The adaptive ability of humans．            D．By-products in space exploration．

5.Which of the statements can best sum up the passage?

A．Space exploration has created many wonders．

B．Space exploration provided the best value for money．

C．Space exploration can benefit science and technology.

D．Space exploration may help us avoid potential problems on Earth.