As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.

Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping (录像) the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is.”

The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings (兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”

66．The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.

       A．show the relationship between parents and children

       B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table

       C．report on the findings of a study

       D．give information about family problems

67．Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ____________.

       A．they are busy serving food to their children

       B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table

       C．they have to pay more attention to younger children

       D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family

68．By saying “Middle children are invisible” in Paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children _________.

       A．have to help their parents to serve dinner

       B．get the least attention from the family

       C．are often kept away from the dinner table

       D．find it hard to keep up with other children

69．Lewis’ research provides an answer to the question _________.

       A．why TV is important in family life

       B．why parents should keep good order

       C．why children in small families seem to be quieter

       D．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life

70．Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?

       A．It is important to have the right food for children.

       B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner.

       C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently.

       D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food．Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more．    Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping（录像） the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes．They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children．But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make．That can have an important effect on the children．“In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says．“And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is．”

The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings（兄弟姐妹）．Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention．“Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis．“When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child．” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event．”

The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______．        

A．show the relationship between parents and children    

B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table   

C．report on the findings of a study 

D．give information about family problems

Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ______．

       A．they are busy serving food to their children

       B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table    

       C．they have to pay more attention to younger children   

       D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family

By saying “Middle children are invisible” in paragraph 3, Lewis means  that middle children ______．

       A．have to help their parents to serve dinner

       B．get the least attention from the family   

       C．are often kept away from the dinner table

       D．find it hard to keep up with other children

Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?       

       A．It is important to have the right food for children．   

       B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner．    

       C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently．   

       D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.

Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping(录像) the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is.”

The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”

66．The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.

       A．show the relationship between parents and children

       B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table

       C．report on the findings of a study

       D．give information about family problems

67．Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ____________.

       A．they are busy serving food to their children

       B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table

       C．they have to pay more attention to younger children

       D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family

68．By saying “Middle children are invisible” in paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children _________.

       A．have to help their parents to serve dinner

       B．get the least attention from the family

       C．are often kept away from the dinner table

       D．find it hard to keep up with other children

69．Lewis’ research provides an answer to the question _________.

       A．why TV is important in family life

       B．why parents should keep good order

       C．why children in small families seem to be quieter

       D．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life

70．Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?

       A．It is important to have the right food for children.

       B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner.

       C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently.

       D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner

As a young boy my family was very poor. I would often help do something for the neighbors to  36  a little pocket money.
One day I  37  on the door of an elderly woman and asked  38  she needed me to clean the yard. She asked why I was not in  39  and I showed her my worn  40 , which no longer kept me warm. She  41  me to work in the yard. When I finished, she looked at me and said, “I suppose you want to be  42  now.” She then  43  a jar filled with dollar bills and said, “I’m glad you’ve done a  44  job today but that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to  45  new clothes and get back to school. I also want you to come back to  46  me with your report card and I will  47  you when I see you have worked hard and have some good  48 . Now reach out your little hands and take out as much  49  as you can.”
I put my hands in the jar and  50  so much money that it was  51  for me to buy what I badly needed. Later, I returned several times to see the woman and she did just as she  52 . She looked at my report card and gave me a handful of dollars and some delicious food every time I  53  her that I had an “A”.
I was twelve years old when I moved from that neighborhood. I will never forget the huge  54 this wonderful lady made over my life with her  55 . This is something I hope to do myself in this lifetime over and over again.

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children." In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores," Lewis says. "And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is."
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟，姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are that it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event(扫兴的事).”
【小题1】The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.