When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was badly crippled (跛脚), and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare, I would be ashamed of the unwanted attention. If ever noticed or bothered, he never let on.
It was difficult to walk together—and because of that, we didn’t say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, “You set the pace. I will try to follow you.”
Our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. He went to work sick, and even in bad weather. He almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. It was a matter of pride for him.
When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help... Such times my sister or I would pull him through the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y., on a child’s sleigh to the subway entrance. Once there, he would try to grasp handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice free. In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in Brooklyn on his way home. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m
When I think of it now, I am surprised at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to suffer from shame and disability. And I am also surprised at how he did it—without bitterness or complaint.
He never talked about himself as an object of pity, not did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a “good heart”, and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.
Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don’t know exactly what a “good heart” is. But I know the times I don’t have one myself.
He has been away for many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about my troubles, when I am envious of another’s good fortune, when I don’t have a “good heart”.
【小题1】How did the man treat his father when he was young?

“Slow City” — a recently launched project focused on preserving the traditional quality of life enjoyed in some of Italy’s smaller cities and towns. The project was born from the idea of the “Slow Food” movement — started in Italy in the 1980s — which promotes leisurely eating and the growing of local, healthy products to fight against the American fast-food style.
“The American urban model has invaded our cities, making Italian towns look the same. We want to stop this kind of globalization,” says Paolo Saturnini, an Italian mayor.
The “Slow City” project plans to emphasize the rich, cultural, culinary(厨房的) and artistic local traditions of each community.
Walking areas will be enlarged and squares and parks will be made greener with more plants. Car alarms and other noise that disturbs the peace will be banned, and ugly TV aerials(天线), advertising posters, and signs will be taken down.
City councils will also insist on the use of recycling and renewable energy sources, and will also introduce ecological transport systems. Parking will be made stress-free by creating more public parking areas, and easily accessible walkways and bike lanes will cross the city. But in the “Slow City” way, all improvements will probably come about slowly.
Thirty-two Italian city councils, which joined the “Slow City” program, have decided to take further steps in this direction by increasing the numbers of traditional family-style eating establishments, reducing noise pollution, and concentrating on making their towns friendlier for people to live in.
Organic local produce will be promoted in all restaurants and genetically modified foods(转基因食品) will be banned. “We can’t stop large, fast-food chains from coming here, but we hope that people who come to our towns will not want to eat exactly the same hamburger they can eat in Melbourne, London or Paris, but want something genuine and different,” said Saturnini.
【小题1】According to the passage, the “Slow City” project aims at _____.

Freshmen, eager to get home for the Chinese New Year, queue up at the railway station for hours．Days later, they squeeze into a crowded train and dream of the home-cooked meals and love they'll enjoy once they arrive home．This, they say, makes all the trouble of getting home worthwhile.
However, many freshmen come to find that home is not exactly how they remembered it．Living away from their parents has exposed them to a new life of freedom – one that within hours of arriving some begin to miss．Household chores（家务活）and complaining parents are just a few of the things that can ruin students' winter fantasies．“My parents still treat me like I was in senior high,” Song Ying, a 19-year-old freshman at Shandong University, complained．“I get an earful from them every day.”
During her first term away from her Hubei home, Song missed everything – from her parents cooking to the city bus．She cried and ached to sleep in her own bed．So, upon finishing her exams, she fled home, thinking everything would be just as it used to be．But she was wrong．Now, she spends entire days at a friend's home to “avoid all the restrictions”．She logs online to update friends' profile on SNS, skips meals and sleeps in – just like she did on campus.
Things have been even tenser at home for Luo Ruiqi, a 19-year-old freshman at Beijing Jiaotong University．Instead of moving to a friend's house, though, he has decided to challenge his parents' rules for his right to be an adult at home．When they complained about the amount of time he spent in the toilet, Luo said he decided “enough is enough” and lost his temper．He feels guilty about his attitude, but he still argues that he is grown up enough to live by his own rules．“I just want to live my own way of living, wherever I am,” said Luo．
Recent graduates like Wang Kai know what Song and Luo are going through．But Wang, who graduated in 2008 and now works in Beijing, says students should value the time spent with their family and “just try to be nicer.” Wang says he acted the same way when he first returned home from college, but now, living 1,500 km away from his hometown in Hunan, he regrets his behavior．He realizes that his parents meant well．And, looking back, he says that “the way of living that we got used to on campus is not that healthy anyway”.
Parents, meanwhile, are more understanding than you might think．“Living on their own in a strange place can be hard –we've been there before,” said Luo's father．“We want to make sure that they are healthy and happy．Sometimes maybe we just worry too much.” As for the tension that's arisen between father and son, Luo senior laughed and said, “It's not a problem at all – he's my son; we work things out, always.”
1．Having read the passage, we can infer that home is now a(n) ___________for most freshmen.
A．birdcage                     B．paradise
C．temporary station in life               D．open house
2．Why are things even tenser at home for Luo Ruiqi during the Chinese New Year?
A．He has to spend entire days at a friend's home to “avoid all the restrictions”.
B．He has decided to go against his parents for his right to be an adult at home.
C．He feels guilty about his attitude towards his parents.
D．He has wasted much money his parents gave to him.
3．According to the text, there exists a main problem between parents and children that_______.
A．parents want to bring their children under control as before.
B．children look down upon what their parents always do.
C．their way of life is apparently different now.
D．they are always misunderstanding each other.
4．Who the text implies is mainly responsible for the bad parent-child relationship?
A．parents       B．social changes     C．professors        D．freshmen
5．What does the underlined part in the 2nd paragraph probably mean?
A．learn a lot             B．receive much punishment
C．get a scolding           D．have a narrow escape

When a friend is sad about a tragedy(悲剧)，it’s hard to know how to comfort(安慰) him/ her. But the worst thing you can do is say nothing. It could mean that you don’t care. You don’t have to say much.. A single supportive phrase doesn’t require absolutely perfect words to break the ice. Here are some conversation starters when life difficult situations have your tongue tied.
1. A friend loses his baby.
Don’t say: “Don’t worry. You’re so young. You’ll have another baby.” Do say: “ I’m so sorry. I can’t begin to imagine what you are going through, but if you want to talk about it, call me anytime.”
2. A guy deserts（抛弃）your friend.
Don’t say: “I never liked that rat bastard (坏蛋) anyway!” ( If the couple winds up reconciling (和解)， you could end up losing your friend.) Do say: “Breaking up is always hard to deal with, but I’m here for you, whatever you need.”
3. A friend has a death in the family.
Don’t say: “It’s God’s will.” or “I know exactly how you feel.” Do say: “I’m sorry about your loss. What can I do to help?”
4. A friend loses a job suddenly.
Don’t say: “Work is always boring. Those bosses didn’t suit you!” Do say: “I’m sorry for that, but I know there’s an even better job waiting for you there. Let’s think about possibilities.”
5. Someone’s pet dies.
Don’t say: “Gee! It was only a cat!” or “My roommate doesn’t like her dog and she is getting rid of her dog. Do you want it?” Do say: “I’m sorry, she was such a great cat. How long did you have it?”
【小题1】Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined part “have your tongue tied”?

B
Language is always changing. In a society where life continues year after year with few changes, the language does not change, either. The earliest known languages had difficult grammar but a small, limited vocabulary. Over the century, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew. For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth century gave names to all new plants and animals they found. In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies. Today life is changing very fast, and language is changing fast too.
 There are several major language families in the world. Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divide them differently. The languages in each family are connected, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language About 3 percent of the people in the world speak languages that are not in these major families.
60. The early language had ______.
A. a lot of problems                                  B. words and easy grammar
C. words but no grammar                           D. grammar but not many words
61. In the next few hundred years we can expect language to ______.
A. stay exactly the same                      B. change a great deal
C. change only a little                         D. add more words and drop some grammar
62. What this article shows is that ______.
A. languages change fast           B. languages really don’t want to change
C. language changes with changes of society     D. Spanish and English change
63. From this article we can see that ______.
A. language can change very slowly or very quickly
B. if we don’t change, then our language won’t change, either
C. we should give our plants new names
D. English and Spanish are the only languages that have changes