Children find meanings in their old family tales．

When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker,   1  all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times   2  his strong-minded grandfather was nearly  3  , he loaded his family into the car and   4   them to see family members in Canada with a   5  , “there are more important things in life than money”.

The   6  took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to  7   house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was  8     that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset．To his surprise, they weren’t.  9     , their reaction echoed (共鸣) their great-grandfather’s．What they 10   was how warm the people were in the house and how  11    of their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding that family stories have surprising power to help children

  12   hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon reflects a growing   13    in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in storytelling events and festivals.

A university   14   of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to 15  parents’ stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The  16  is telling the stories in a way children can 17   . We’re not talking here about the kind of story that  18  , “ When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow.” Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child’s 19 , and make eye contact (接触) to create “a personal experience”. We don’t have to tell children 20   they should take from the story and what the moral is.

1.                A．missed         B．lost            C．forgot    D．ignored

2.                A．when          B．while           C．how D．why

3.                A．friendless       B．worthless       C．penniless D．homeless

4.                A．fetched        B．allowed         C．expected D．took

5.                A．hope          B．promise        C．suggestion D．belief

6.                A．tale            B．agreement      C．arrangement   D．report

7.                A．large           B．small           C．new D．grand

8.                A．surprised       B．annoyed        C．disappointed   D．worried

9.                A．Therefore       B．Besides         C．Instead   D．Otherwise

10.               A．talked about     B．cared about     C．wrote about    D．heard about

11.               A．much          B．many          C．little D．few

12.               A．beyond        B．over           C．behind    D．through

13.               A．argument       B．skill            C．interest   D．anxiety

14.               A．study          B．design         C．committee D．staff

15.               A．provide        B．retell          C．support   D．refuse

16.               A．trouble         B．gift            C．fact  D．trick

17.               A．perform        B．write           C．bear  D．question

18.               A．means         B．ends           C．begins D．proves

19.               A．needs          B．activities        C．judgments D．habits

20.               A．that           B．what           C．which D．whom

Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do. When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing. When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child.

There are many things that a parent can do. One thing that people have done is to spank the child. When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to strike them on their bottom. This is meant to show the child that they have done something wrong.

One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child. His parents used a wooden spoon. When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child’s leg. He never did that again.

One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing. Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard. Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing.

Many parents are not sure of what to do instead of spanking. Some people think that their religion（宗教）tells them that spanking is okay. Some think that the law lets them do it. The courts (法院) say that parents have the right to teach their children how to behave.

Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child. Telling the child exactly what is wanted from them can be one thing. Giving a child more than one choice is another thing that can be tried. Getting down to the child’s level and taking a more child-friendly approach (方法) can help as well.

1.          According to the passage, when children do something wrong, one thing that parents usually do to punish them is to _______.

2.          What does the word “spank” mean?

3.          Which of the following is NOT the problem caused by spanking?

4.          Which of the following can best describe the writer’s attitude towards spanking?

5.          From this passage, we can conclude (作出结论) that ________.

When a first-time father saw his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might tease his child. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy- the ears presented only a minor problem with its appearance.

But the nervous father persisted. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule（嘲笑）, or if they should consider plastic surgery（整形手术）. The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.

The father finally felt more optimistic about his child, but now he worried about his wife's reaction to those large ears. She had been delivered by operation, and had not yet seen the child.

“She doesn't take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.

By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's large ears.

The baby was in a receiving blanket with his head covered for the short trip through the cold air-conditioned corridor(走廊）. The baby was placed in his mother's arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could look at her child for the first time.

She took one look at her baby's face and looked to her husband and gasped(喘气说）, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”

No problem with Mom. She married those ears...and she loves the man to whom they are attached.

The poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It's hard to see the ears when you're looking into the light.

1.When the father first saw his baby, he was worried that________.

A. the baby might not grow up healthily.

B. the baby might be laughed at by others.

C. the baby might disappoint its mother.

D. the baby might have mental problems.

2. According to the doctor and nurse, the baby’s ears________.

A. could not function well.

B. looked the same as others.

C. only caused a small problem.

D. needed to have plastic surgery.

3.What is true about the baby’s mother?

A. She blamed her husband for the baby’s big ears.

B. She was the first to discover the baby’s large ears.

C. She suggested having an operation on the baby immediately.

D. She found something similar between the baby and its father.

4.What does the underlined word they refer to?

A. The ears.    B The parents.   C. The doctor and nurse.   D. The problems

5.What’s the function of the last paragraph?

A. To advise readers to listen carefully.

B. To draw a conclusion from the story.

C. To criticize the wrong attitude to physical beauty.

D. To stress the importance of doctor-patient relationship.

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel(剥……的皮) potatoes. I have only one hand.”

Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”

In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.

That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.

“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow(肘). Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”

For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint. I peeked(窥视) out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf（利益）. She had never let me see her tears.

1. Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?

A．Cruel.                                B．Serious.

C．Cold.                                 D．Strict

2. What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply(暗示)?

A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

3. When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because _________.

A．they felt sorry for what they had done before

B．they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C．they were astonished to find the author’s progress

D．they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

4.The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.

A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B．the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth

1 

With the little __________ money, the child told me in a ___________ voice that on the way home most of his money had been stolen.

A. remained; trembled              B. remained; trembling        

C. remaining; trembled                  D. remaining; trembling