We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed like this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her driving, so I sent her to the store in my truck.
At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I enjoyed having it, but I said: "Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won’t last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won’t last."
After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted: "Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck."
My heart sank and my mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say: "Here is a chance to show Holly what you really love. She’ll never forget it."
The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van (搬运车). In her inexperience, she had confused the brakes and the gas pedal. Holly was unhurt physically, but when I reached her, she was crying and saying: "Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this truck." I held her in my arms as she cried.
Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes moistened (湿润) and she said: "That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and ran into a log that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me."
Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of that night.
I remember how sad Holly was and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know what really matters in my life.
【小题1】How did the crash happen?

　— Why didn’t you come to Mike’s birthday party yesterday?

　　— Well, I ____, but I forgot it.

　　A. should  B. must C. should have   D. must have

Music to My Ears

Robby was 10 for his first piano lesson in my class. Much as he tried, he ____ even the basic rhythm. However, he dutifully reviewed the pieces that I required.

 Over the months he tried and tried while I ____ and encouraged him. At the end of each lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." ____ it seemed hopeless.

I only knew his mother from a ____as she waited in her aged car to pick him up. Then one day Robby stopped coming. I was secretly ____ that he stopped because of his lack of ability.

    Weeks later I informed the students, including Robby, of the coming recital（独奏）. To my ____, Robby asked me if he could be included. I told him he really did not qualify because he had ____ out. He said his mom had been sick and unable to take him to lessons but he was still ____ .

“I've just got to play!" he ____. Something inside me let me allow him to.

Then came the recital night. The gym was ____ with parents. I put Robby up ____, thinking that I could save his poor performance through my “curtain closer（谢幕）.”

The recital went off smoothly. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was ____. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" I thought.

Robby pulled out the piano bench and began. I was not ____ for what I heard next. His fingers were ____ on the keys. Never had I heard Mozart played so well by people of his age. After he ended, everyone was ____ their feet in wild applause.

In ____ I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby. "I've never heard you play like that, Robby! How did you ____ it?"

Robby explained, "Well, Miss Hondorf…remember I told you my mom was sick? …____ she had cancer and passed away yesterday. She was born deaf, so tonight she could hear me play in heaven. I wanted to make it special."

There wasn’t a ____ eye in the house. That night I felt he was the teacher and I was the pupil, for it was he who taught me the meaning of perseverance and ____.

1.A. lacked                                B. had                             C. showed                           D. got

2.A. listened                     B. learned                   C. checked                         D. played

3.A. And                            B. But                           C. So                               D. Or

4.A. conversation          B. performance          C. distance                         D. picture

5.A. guilty                           B. sad                C. anxious                           D. glad

6.A. relief                          B. surprise              C. pleasure                D. satisfaction

7.A. stepped                          B. worn             C. run                              D. dropped

8.A. acting                                  B. performing    C. practicing                        D. recording

9.A. insisted                           B. suggested     C. complained                     D. threatened

10.A. lined                                 B. packed                    C. piled                                  D. filled

11.A. least                                  B. most               C. first                           D. last

12.A. messy                           B. cool           C. neat                               D. dull

13.A. eager                 B. concerned       C. prepared                        D. grateful

14.A. hesitating                         B. dancing                    C. touching                               D. crawling

15.A. over                                  B. under              C. in                                      D. on

16.A. chaos                           B. tears                C. silence                             D. return

17.A. find                          B. feel                           C. make                                D. like

18.A. Gradually          B. Suddenly                     C. Frequently                      D. Actually

19.A. dry                           B. curious                     C. bright                               D. wet

20.A. regret                           B. talent                       C. love                                  D. courage

If your preschoolers turn up their noses at carrots or celery, a small reward like a sticker for taking even a taste may help get them to eat previously disliked foods, a UK study said.
Though it might seem obvious that a reward could encourage young children to eat their vegetables, the idea is actually controversial, researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That’s because some studies have shown that rewards can backfire and cause children to lose interest in foods they already liked, said Jane Wardle, a researcher at University College London who worked on the study. Verbal praise, such as “Brilliant! You’re a great vegetable taster,” did not work as well.
The study found t hat when parents gave their small children a sticker each time they took a “tiny taste” of a disliked vegetable, it gradually changed their attitudes. The children were also willing to eat more of the vegetables-either carrots, celery, cucumber, red pepper, cabbage or sugar snap peas-in laboratory taste tests, the study said.
Researchers randomly assigned（分派）173 families to one of these groups. In one, parents used stickers to reward their children each time they took a tiny sample of a disliked vegetable. A second group of parents used verbal praise. The third group, where parents used no special vegetable-promoting methods, served as a “control”.
Parents in the reward groups offered their children a taste of the “target” vegetable every day of 12 days, Soon after, children in the sticker group were giving higher ratings to the vegetables-and were willing to eat more in the research lab, going from an average of 5 grams at the start to about 10 grams after the 12-day experience. The turnaround also seemed to last, with preschoolers in the sticker group still willing to eat more of the once disliked vegetable three months later.
Why didn’t the verbal praise work? Wardle said the parents’ words may have seemed “insincere” to their children.
【小题1】The purpose of writing the passage is       .

— You _______ for me this morning. I came over here with Michael in his car.
— Well, why didn’t you let me know earlier?