完形填空，阅读下面短文，从各题所给的四个选项中，选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

　　When a person is curious about something, it means he is 1 in it and wishes to know more about it. There is 2 wrong with curiosity in itself. Whether it is good or bad depends on what people are curious about.

　　Curiosity is 3 silly or wrong. Some persons with nothing to do are full of curiosity about what their 4 are doing. They are 5 to know what they are eating or drinking, what they are 6 home or taking outside, or 7 they have come so early or late. To be interested in these things is 8 because they are 9 at all. It is none of their 10 to know what their neighbors do or are doing. Such curiosity is 11 not only 12 but also harmful. For most probably, it 13 to small talk which often brings harm, shame of disrespect to others, and thus 14 their feelings.

　　On the other hand, there is a 15 curiosity--the curiosity of wise men, who wonder at all the great things and try to 16 all they can about them. Columbus could never have found America if he had not been 17 . James Watt would not have made the steam engine 18 his curiosity about the raising of the kettle lid. All the discoveries in human history have been made 19 a result of curiosity, 20 , the curiosity is never about unimportant things which have few or nothing to do with the happiness of the public.

Who owns the large American companies that produce cars, washing machines, and television sets? They are owned by a large group of people called stockholders.
　　A company must have money to build factories and to buy machinery. To get this money, it sells shares of stock（股份）. Each share of stock is a share in the ownership of the company. The person who buys a share of stock becomes a part owner of the company. He is called a stockholder. A company can have thousands of stockholders. Sometimes a very large company is owned by millions of stockholders.
　　Few persons can afford to buy a whole company, but the average individual can become part owner of a business. He can save his dollars and buy a share of stock in a large company. A person does not have to be wealthy to be a stockholder.
　　When a company makes money, each stockholder may receive a dividend(股息) check, which is his share of the profits（利润）. Parts of a company’s profits are not paid out to the stockholders. This money is used by the company so it can grow larger. If the company does well, its shares of stock become more valuable.
　　More than 20 million people own shares of stock in America’s companies. By owning stock, they are helping America’s businesses grow. They are also putting their money to work to earn more money.
【小题1】The story makes you think that _____.

Who owns the large American companies that produce cars, washing machines, and television sets? They are owned by a large group of people called stockholders.

　　A company must have money to build factories and to buy machinery. To get this money, it sells shares of stock（股份）. Each share of stock is a share in the ownership of the company. The person who buys a share of stock becomes a part owner of the company. He is called a stockholder. A company can have thousands of stockholders. Sometimes a very large company is owned by millions of stockholders.

　　Few persons can afford to buy a whole company, but the average individual can become part owner of a business. He can save his dollars and buy a share of stock in a large company. A person does not have to be wealthy to be a stockholder.

　　When a company makes money, each stockholder may receive a dividend(股息) check, which is his share of the profits（利润）. Parts of a company’s profits are not paid out to the stockholders. This money is used by the company so it can grow larger. If the company does well, its shares of stock become more valuable.

　　More than 20 million people own shares of stock in America’s companies. By owning stock, they are helping America’s businesses grow. They are also putting their money to work to earn more money.

1.The story makes you think that _____.

A．a farmer is not allowed to buy the shares of stock

B．if a company does well, its shares of stock have no value

C．a person may own a part of the company that makes TV sets

D．the only people who can buy stocks are those who are wealthy

2.A dividend is the stockholder’s share of the _____.

A．company’s profits

B．company’s savings

C．company’s income

D．products made by the company

3.Why do companies keep part of their profits?

A．They want to buy the shares of stock, too.

B．They cannot find all the names of their stockholders.

C．They use the money to help the company grow larger.

D．They think they have sent their stockholders enough money.

　 Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV，start their chores(杂事)，or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions.Before you know it，you’ve started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments，clean their rooms，or take out the trash.Rather than saying “Do your chores now.” you’ll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed.So instead of arguing about starting chores，just say，“If chores aren’t done by 4 pm，here are the consequences.”Then it’s up to your child to complete the chores.Put the ball back in their court.Don’t argue or fight with them，just say，“That’s the way it’s going to be.”It shouldn’t be punitive(惩罚性的)as much as it should be persuasive.“If your chores aren’t done by 4 pm，then no video game time until chores are done.And if finishing those chores runs into homework time，that’s going to be your loss.”On the other hand，when dealing with homework，keep it very simple.Have a time when homework starts，and at that time，all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done.If your kids say they have no homework，then they should use that time to study or read.Either way，there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.

　 When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you’re trying to talk to him，make no bones about it；he is not ignoring you，he is disrespecting you.At that point，everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears.Don’t try to communicate with him when he’s wearing headphones—even if he tells you he can hear you.Wearing them while you’re talking to him is a sign of disrespect.Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing.Remember，mutual respect becomes more important as children mature.

1.According to the passage，it seldom happens that　　　　 .

　 A.kids turn a deaf ear to their parents’ requests

　 B.parents’ directions sound like a broken record

　 C.children are ready to follow their parents’ directions　

　 D.parents are unaware of what they are repeating to their kids

2.Parents will be able to deal with their children more effectively if they　　　　 .

　 A.avoid direct ways of punishment

　 B.make them do things at their request

　 C.argue and fight with their children

　 D.allow their children to behave in their own way

3.When the kid is doing his homework，parents　　　　 .

　 A.should provide him with a good learning environment

　 B.can do whatever they like

　 C.can stay aside watching TV

　 D.must switch off the power

4.It can be inferred from the passage that　　　　 .

　 A.parents should take off his headphones when trying to have a talk with their child

　 B.it will make no difference that a kid is wearing his earplugs while talking to his parents

　 C.parents shouldn’t give in to their kid when he shows no sign of respect

　 D.kids’ purposely talking to their parents with iPod gives them a sense of power and control

5.The main idea of the passage is　　　　 .

　 A.that respecting each other is more important than anything else

　 B.how kids behave to ignore and disrespect their parents

　 C.that children should make choices and decisions on their own

　 D.how parents can deal with their kids’ behavior effectively