After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press(also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids.
Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs(叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however-until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it.
Although Peters had consulted(咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria(食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative(暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.

1. 1.

   The couple signed the contract because _______.

   1. A.
      Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself
   2. B.
      Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest
   3. C.
      they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks
   4. D.
      Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book
2. 2.

   It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.

   1. A.
      pay a certain amount of money
   2. B.
      do all the housework for years
   3. C.
      say sorry to his wife
   4. D.
      admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood
3. 3.

   What can we learn about Pat Peters?

   1. A.
      She was hard-working and selfless.
   2. B.
      She was pretty and kind-hearted.
   3. C.
      She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.
   4. D.
      She did not love Bob any longer.
4. 4.

   Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   1. A.
      Bob managed to keep the kids’clothes clean.
   2. B.
      Bob tried to cook good meals for his children.
   3. C.
      Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work.
   4. D.
      Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day.
5. 5.

   Which of the following can best end the news story?

   1. A.
      “My experience of being a mother.”
   2. B.
      “I’m proud of you all, my dear!”
   3. C.
      “Wait till your mother gets home!”
   4. D.
      “Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”

Don’t worry. You’ll ________ after such a bad disease.

A. take up　 B. pick up　　 C. put up　　 D. give up

My mother was a responsible teacher and she retired. So I decided to give her one of my old computers to help her pass the time. She had a little bit of computer    36   , so I just set it up for her and let her    37    with it on her own.

As time went on, I    38    the computer was hardly touched. She said she didn’t know    39    to use it. I decided to teach her. I sat and   40    everything and she seemed OK with what I said. Unfortunately, my sister called me at that moment   41    we talked on the phone for an hour. Then when I saw her again, she was sitting in front of the computer, looking quite    42   . The screen saver (屏幕保护) had appeared and she didn’t know how to    43    it off. She had tried    44    every key and it didn’t work. I told her, “Just   45    the mouse a little.” What I meant was that she just needed to move the mouse around to    46    the computer up. What she did was to    47    the mouse and start shaking it around in mid-air until the    48    went completely black. I couldn’t help laughing because of her funny    49   . The more I laughed the    50    she got.

She thought that I was a (n)    51   teacher and she decided to figure the thing out herself. Well, at least I helped her overcome her   52    of breaking something and encouraged her to    53    a little.

About a week later, I found a home-made    54    card with a mouse on the front making a funny face   55    to my door. It said, “Thanks for the computer lessons. Love, Mom.”

36. A. history          B. theory             C. technology     D. experience

37. A. watch           B. play                C. train              D. part

38. A. thought         B.realized      C.confirmed   D. ignored

39. A. why             B. when              C.how        D.where                      

40. A. retold            B. discussed        C. described       D. explained

41. A. because        B. but              C. and                D. since      

42. A. relaxed          B. discouraged     C. interested       D. amused

43. A. get           B. break              C. cut                D. turn

44. A. feeling          B. hitting             C. changing        D. removing

45. A. hang             B. shake              C. rub                D. pull

46. A. wake            B. clean               C. bring             D. take

47. A. put up           B. cut off            C. put away        D. pick up

48. A. screen          B. curtain            C. cover             D. window

49. A. gesture        B. movement       C. action            D. expression

50. A. angrier          B. calmer            C. ruder             D. better

51. A. respectful      B. humorous        C. careful          D. impatient

52. A. sadness         B. pressure          C. fear               D. depression

53. A. approach       B. observe           C. experiment     D. respond

54. A. birthday        B. inviting            C. shopping        D. greeting

55. A. appeared       B. printed           C. stuck             D. combined