A.     Try to know more about your child.

B.      Being a daddy is your top priority.

C.      Value your child for what he is.

D.     Let your child teach you.

E.      Time is of the essence.

F.      Look for the good and praise it.

Seven Simple Rules for Dad

My main object in life is to make sure I do the best possible job rais­ing Tommy, now aged ten. That means I have to be the best possible father I can be. I am no psychologist, but I do see what succeeds with my son and me. I also observe other fathers. Here is what I have found works best in the dad department.

1.

The key to a happy child is having a dad who is there with him consis­tently, day in and day out. It is far better to spend evening after evening just sitting near him while he reads a book or plays on the computer than to spend a couple of hours every Saturday buying him toys or taking in a movie.

2. Share your strengths and fears.

You are your child's ally, not his adversary. The child who knows that his father was once afraid of the dark, and is still afraid of needles, gets to know that his own weaknesses are part of mankind, not a unique shame.

3.

 Encouragement is the primary engine of human development. I have been telling Tommy for a year now that he is a whiz in math because I know he can calculate in a nanosecond the number of toys he can buy with his allowance. Now he's a whiz in math at school too. Consistent recognition of a child's strengths is more important by far than vitamins. You deny it to them at their peril and yours.

4. Do not allow your children to be rude.

My son is expected to share, answer others when they greet him and congratulate those who succeed. By teaching him about politeness, I make sure he realizes that others' feelings are worth taking into account. If he can get that into his little towhead, he will have learned the most basic foundation of human interaction.

5.

A common misstatement about child development is that “kids don't come with instruction manuals(操作指南).” Not true—they do. They tell you when they’re hungry. They tell you when they're lonely or scared. They are like little guided tours of themselves. Children will tell you what they want, although not always with words. Fatigue, irritability and sadness are ways of telling Dad what they need. Look and listen.

6.

When Tommy knows he is loved for himself, not for any particular accomplishment, he has a certain peace that allows him to learn better, sleep better, play better, be more helpful around the house. Whether he becomes a rocket scientist or a plumber, I want Tommy to know he's No. 1 with me.

7.

If you decide your kids come before your sales quota or bridge game, you will find that all the other pieces of Daddyhood fall into place. When you put your kids first, you're getting the most value for every hour on earth. What’s more, you have made the rightest decision of your life.

—benjamin j. stein in The Washingtonian

A man who knows how to write a personal letter has a very powerful tool．A letter can be enjoyed, read and   1  ． It can set up a warm conversation between two people far apart （远离的）;it can keep a   2   with very little effort．

I will give   3  ．A few years ago my older brother and I were not getting   4 ．We had been close as    5    but had grown apart．Our meetings were not   6  ; our conversation was filled with arguments and quarrels; and every effort to clear the air seemed to only   7   our misunderstanding．Then he   8   a small island in the Caribbean and we  9  touch．One day he wrote me a letter．He described his island and its people, told me what he was doing, said how he felt, and encouraged me to   10  ．Rereading the letter, I was  11   by its humor（幽默）and clever expressions．These were all qualities for which I had  12   respected my older brother but   13   he no longer had them．I had never known he could write so   14 ．And with that one letter we became friends   15  ．

It might never have occurred to   16   to write me if he had not been in a place where there were no   17  ．For him, writing was a necessity．It also turned out to be the best way for us to get back in touch．Because we live in an age of   18   communication（通讯）, people often   19   that they don’t always have to phone or email．They have a   20   ．And that is to write．

1．A．received          B．rewritten             C．returned            D．reread

2．A．record              B．promise          C．friendship            D．secret

3．A．an example          B．a lesson          C．an experience         D．a talk

4．A．through             B．together           C．along              D．away

5．A．brothers             B．children            C．fellows               D．classmates

6．A．normal               B．necessary           C．pleasant              D．possible

7．A．deepen               B．start               C．express               D．settle

8．A．toured               B．stopped over      C．reached               D．moved to

9．A．lost                 B．kept in             C．needed               D．got in

10．A．think              B．write              C．enjoy                 D．read

11．A．driven             B．beaten             C．surprised             D．honored

12．A．never              B．seldom            C．sometimes            D．once

13．A．realized             B．judged           C．thought                D．expected

14．A．well               B．often            C．much                D．soon

15．A．later               B．anyhow          C．too                   D．again

16．A．us                B．anyone else       C．someone              D．my brother

17．A．mail services        B．transport services  C．phones                 D．relatives

18．A．poor               B．easy             C．popular              D．busy

19．A．believe             B．decide           C．argue                D．forget

20．A．habit              B．choice           C．method              D．plan

A man who knows how to write a personal letter has a very powerful tool．A letter can be enjoyed, read and   1  ．It can set up a warm conversation between two people far apart; it can keep a   2   with very little effort．

       I will give   3   ． A few years ago my older brother and I were not getting along well．We had been close as    4    but had grown apart．Our meetings were not   5  ; our conversation was filled with arguments and quarrels: and every effort to clear the air seemed to only   6   our misunderstanding．Then he   7   a small island in the Caribbean and we   8   touch．One day he wrote me a letter．He described his island and its people, told me what he was doing, said how he felt．Rereading the letter, I was   9   by its humor and clever expressions．These were all qualities for which I had  10   respected my older brother but   11   he no longer had them．I had never known he could write so well．And with that one letter we became friends   12 ．

       It might never have occurred to him to write me if he had not been in a place where there were no   13  ．For him, writing was a necessity．It also turned out to be the best way for us to get back in touch．Because we live in an age of   14   communication, people often forget   that they don’t always have to phone or email．They have a   15 ．And that is to write．

1．  A．received              B．rewritten             C．returned            D．reread

2．  A．record                 B．promise              C．friendship          D．secret

3．  A．an example          B．a lesson             C．an experience      D．a talk

4．  A．brothers              B．children             C．fellows          D．classmates

5．  A．normal                B．necessary           C．pleasant         D．possible

6．  A．deepen                B．start                  C．express         D．settle

7．  A．toured                B．stopped over       C．reached         D．moved to

8．  A．lost                   B．kept in              C．needed          D．got in

9．  A．driven                B．beaten                C．surprised        D．honored

10．A．never          B．seldom               C．sometimes       D．once

11．                                A．realized        B．judged               C．thought         D．expected．

12．A．later                   B．anyhow             C．too             D．again．

13．A．mail services    B．transport services C．phones          D．relative

14．A．poor                   B．easy                  C．popular          D．busy

15．A． habit               B．choice         C．method         D．plan

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always known that my brother was different. At first I thought this was a  31   thing. But when I got older I learned the truth. My brother had autism (孤独症) and Attention Deficit Disorder (儿童多动症) — serious  32   conditions. At 15, he  33   like a 7-year-old child. When he was little, I didn’t  34   it as much. But as he got older, it became more obvious. When something didn’t go his  35  , he got angry and it took hours to  36   him down. He would talk to himself and play with string. We could never  37   to give him his medicine, otherwise he’d go wild. I was always  38   when we took him anywhere, and I never wanted to bring any of my friends  39   with me.
When I was 10,  I felt like I couldn’t  40   it any more. I’d shout at him for being different and would ask  41   he couldn’t be normal. Of course, he had no  42   what I was talking about. It became very hard,  43   when a friend of mine didn’t want to come over  44   her mom had said my brother was dangerous. Our fights  45   up until one day he came up to me. He gave me a big  46  ,  like he was saying, “I don’t know what I did  47  , but I hope you still love me.” At that moment I realized that I’d better learn to  48   him.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how  49   I really am. Having him as a brother has made me kinder and more patient. No matter how busy my  50   is, he’ll always listen to my problems. I worry about his future, but I know he’ll always be loved.