There is a fine line between a parent who is active and open-minded and one that doesn’t know when to let go (放手). As my daughter, Nicole, prepares to leave home for college, I’m discovering how hard it is to stay on the  36  side of this line. When I hold   37  the apron strings (围裙带) connecting us, Nicole, eager to  38  independence, tries to loosen my grasp. What results is a (an)  39  mother-daughter, push-me, pull-you kind of tango.
For the past two years, it’s gone like this:
My question: “Have you thought of taking an advanced placement class (高阶课程) so that you can earn college credit?”
Nicole’s  40 : “No, I’m not interested in that.”   ………
Two months ago, she was   41  to a great university. However, I was still the mother having a   42  time letting go. The night before the introductory meeting of the university, I had read the course catalog carefully and   43  courses which I thought looked good. We met on the campus the next afternoon, and Nicole’s face  44  with excitement. “I have had my entire schedule figured out,” she said. “Already?” I was astonished,  45  she should have discussed it with me. I examined the schedule. Nicole hadn’t taken a (an)  46  one of the courses I had suggested. Every course she had chosen  47  suited her interests. Just then I saw a mature, capable young woman with a  48  mind and the ability to shape her future. She no longer needed her mother’s  49  every decision she made. I felt proud, though still a bit          50  .
I   51  the lessons carefully. Nicole has struggled to learn over the past 18 years:  52 , sympathy, and hard work. There have been a few holes along the way.  53 , she is well-equipped and eager to  54  the future. The next step, I recognized, was mine to take: giving my daughter and myself the  55  we both needed.

There is a fine line between a parent who is active and open-minded and one that doesn’t know when to let go (放手). As my daughter, Nicole, prepares to leave home for college, I’m discovering how hard it is to stay on the   36   side of this line. When I hold   37   the apron strings (围裙带) connecting us, Nicole, eager to   38   independence, tries to loosen my grasp. What results is a (an)  39   mother-daughter, push-me, pull-you kind of tango.

   For the past two years, it’s gone like this:

   My question: “Have you thought of taking an advanced placement class (高阶课程) so that you can earn college credit?”

   Nicole’s  40  : “No, I’m not interested in that.”   ………

   Two months ago, she was   41   to a great university. However, I was still the mother having a   42   time letting go. The night before the introductory meeting of the university, I had read the course catalog carefully and   43   courses which I thought looked good. We met on the campus the next afternoon, and Nicole’s face   44   with excitement. “I have had my entire schedule figured out,” she said. “Already?” I was astonished,  45   she should have discussed it with me. I examined the schedule. Nicole hadn’t taken a (an)  46   one of the courses I had suggested. Every course she had chosen   47   suited her interests. Just then I saw a mature, capable young woman with a   48   mind and the ability to shape her future. She no longer needed her mother’s   49   every decision she made. I felt proud, though still a bit          50  .

   I   51   the lessons carefully. Nicole has struggled to learn over the past 18 years:  52  , sympathy, and hard work. There have been a few holes along the way.  53  , she is well-equipped and eager to   54   the future. The next step, I recognized, was mine to take: giving my daughter and myself the   55   we both needed.

1. A. left              B. right    C. either              D. each

2.A. onto               B. up           C. back             D. out

3. A. keep              B. refuse       C. taste            D. bear

4. A. embarrassing      B. relaxing     C. lively           D. beautiful

5.A. comment            B. word         C. concept          D. response

6.A. received           B. invited      C. treated          D. accepted

7. A. good              B. great        C. hard             D. easy

8.A. taken          B. underlined   C. offered          D. emphasized

9.A. lit up         B. built up     C. turned up        D. made up

10.A. imagining     B. thinking     C. hoping           D. adding

11.A. only              B. just         C. even             D. single

12. A. mostly           B. hardly       C. exactly          D. slightly

13. A. sharp            B. normal       C. different        D. typical

14.A. encouraging       B. evaluating   C. disagreeing      D. agreeing

15.A. anxious           B. excited      C. sad              D. tense

16. A. reviewed         B. observed     C. checked          D. studied

17.A. ability           B. honesty      C. responsibility   D. punctuality

18. A. Therefore        B. Instead      C. Still            D. Besides

19. A. embrace          B. discover     C. determine        D. lead

20.A. character     B. strength     C. relief           D. independence

After the birth of my second child, I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced  21  for a few days, I was   22  to wait tables on my own. All went  23   that first week. When Saturday night came, I was luckily  24  the tables not far from the kitchen.   25   , I still felt a little hard to carry the heavy trays (托盘)。

    Before I knew it, the  26  was full of people. I moved slowly,   27  every step. I remember how  28   I was when I saw the tray stand near the tables, it looked different from the one I was  29   on. It had nice handles (手柄)，which made it  30   to move around. I was pleased with everything and began to  31  I was a natural at this job.

    Then, an old man came to me and said, “Excuse me, dear, my wife and I loved __32  you work. It seems your tray stand has been very  33  to you, but we are getting ready to  34   now, and my wife needs her  35  back.”

    At first his   36  did not get across. “What was he talking about!” Then I got it. I had set my trays on his wife’s orthopedic walker (助步器). I stood frozen as ice, but my face was  37  . I wanted to get into a hole and  38  .

    Since then, I have learned from many mistakes such as the one I just   39   , I have learned to be more  40  and not to be too sure of myself.