Whenever my kids have a party at school, I am the mom who always signs up to bring the juice boxes. It’s not because I’m 36  or that I don’t care if my kids have a good party. I am just not good at making homemade bread into holiday-themed shapes like other mothers. However, I’m happy to try, even though it’ll take me a long time to do it.

People say that housewives should have the 37   to make delicious meals, keep their houses clean, and   38 every minute of their child’s life. Their words used to upset me a lot. I felt that I should also be able to do those things as a housewife. So when I couldn’t make the turkey-shaped cookies, I   39 feeling like a failure as a mom.

 After many   40  attempts at baking, and many afternoons spent crying over my inabilities as a mother, I finally accepted the   41  that my lot(命运) in life is to be the juice box mom. I worked hard to be the   42   one in the elementary school. And after one of my daughter’s class parties, it   43  . Her teacher stopped me as I was leaving and said,＂Thank you so much for always bringing  44   drinks. Sometimes parents forget that other children will also   45  class parties, and they end up being left out because we don’t have enough drinks for everyone.＂

 I just accepted her appreciation, rather than telling her that I brought extra drinks because I could   46   remember how many kids were in the class. But her appreciation taught me an important lesson: I’m not a failure as a mom.

 Not everyone is cut out to be a(n)   47 mom. I believe it’s okay to be the juice box mom. I may not bake cookies and decorate them beautifully, but I provided something to drink. And I think that’s just as important.

1.A. smart            B. tired              C. lazy               D. desperate

2.A. dream                    B. ability            C. experience          D. tool

3.A. compare          B. save                C. treasure          D. teach

4.A. ended up     B. went on        C. insisted on            D. set about

5.A. failed            B. careless        C. successful             D. useful

6.A. goal               B. opinion     C. fact                 D. impression

7.A. slowest             B. best                C. worst                     D. quickest

8.A. stood out     B. got out          C. came back            D. paid off

9.A. cold              B. soft                C. extra                D. fresh

10.A. attend            B. hold                C. enjoy                     D. leave

11.A. already      B. always           C. ever                       D. never

12.A. loyal                     B. clever           C. rich         D. able

The 1900 house

  The bowler family was one of more than 400 families who applied to 1900 house, a reality TV shout which took a typical family back a hundred years to se how people lived in the days before the internet, computer games and even electricity.

  The bowler family spent three months in a London home without a telephone, computers, TV, or fast food. The bowlers wore clothes from 1900, are only food available in English at that time, and cooked their meals on a single stove. Paul bowler still went to work every day in a then uniform. The children changed their clothes on the way to and from school and their classmates didn’t know about then unusural home life. Joyce stayed at home, cooking and cleaning like a typical housewife of the time, though everything took three times as long.

 So does Joyce think that people’s lives were better in the old days?

 “I think people in the old days had just ad many troubles and worries,” Joyce said.

And I don’t think their life was better or worse, there were lots of things back then that

I’m happy I don’t have to deal with nowadays, but on the other hand life was simpler.” “We had a lot more time with our family, and it was hard being nice to each other all the time,” eleven-year-old Hilary said.

   So what did the Bowler family miss most about modern life while living in the 1900 house?

   Paul,39:” telephone and a hot shower”

   Joyce,44:” a quick cup of tea from a kettle you could just turn on”

   Hilary,11:” rock CD”

   Joseph,9:” hamburger and computer games”

1.While the Bowler family was living in 1900 house,_____.                        

A the mother spent more time on housework

B the two children wore the then clothes for school

C they prepared their meals together on a stove

D they ate simple foods they had never seen

2. According to Paragraph 4, what’s Jovce’s opinion about life in 1900?             

A There were fewer problems for the family

B Life was simpler but worse than it is now

C There were things she liked and disliked

D The family had more time to stay together

3.What would Hilary expect most from modern life in the three months?           

A To play computer games             B To make phone calls

C To listen to music                  D To chat on the Internet   

I was feeling a little blue. My mother had been laid off from her job, but she said she was OK since her boss wasn't the nicest person   36   .
I got off the college bus and started walking. That's   37   I heard piano music and singing rising above the   38  of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower   39  I could find out where it was coming from.   40  the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a   41  next to her, singing songs about love. The way she was singing   42  me a bit. I stood there watching her   43  for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take   44  to perform on her own in public.
Feeling my presence, she looked in my   45  . I walked over and put some money in her carriage. “I have been going through a   46  time lately, but you’ve made me hopeful again.”
"I'm happy that I could   47  . Why are you so sad?"
"Well, my mum had got   48  from her job, but I’m not sure what to do….”
"You see, the way you were   49  ," she explained. “Don't look defeated,   50  come in different ways. If your head is down you might never see it. Smile more ...   51  your head up."
I smiled slightly, amazed by how she was   52  me.
“Why are you playing here?” I asked.
“I am not making music. I study psychology. I often see many   53  people and hope to relieve their   54  and make them think positively by sharing music.”
I smiled a little wider. She was doing a good thing. My heart was touched by a   55  soul.

Hi Hongbo,

I’m so glad to read about the changes talking place in your city. It’s really good news that you can travel by subway in Xi’an, though there’s only one line there. Here in London we have twelve lines. By the way, we don’t use the word “subway” here. It’s American English. We call it “the Underground”, instead.

The London Underground is very famous. It’s famous for several reasons. First of all, part of the underground railway today is the oldest in the world, which opened in 1863. Secondly, the London Underground is also the first line to have electric trains, in 1890. Thirdly but not the last, the London Underground is the second largest metro system in the world, after the Shanghai Metro. There are 270 stations in the Underground and it has 402 kilometres of tracks(轨道). What’s more, the city of London itself helps make the transportation system famous! I’ve got a few photos to help you build a clear picture of the Underground in my city. They are together with this mail.

In your email, you also said workers were building more lines. I’m sure your city is developing fast. Maybe you can send me a few photos of your city today. I really want to see the changes taking place there. I’m happy for you to live there in an ancient city with such a new look!

So much for now. I’ll write soon again. Best wishes!

1.Where is the writer from？

A．From London      B．From Shanghai      C．From Xi’an.       D．From New York

2.The second paragraph mainly tells us        ?

A．when the first subway was opened in the world.

B．when the London Underground first used electric trains

C．why the London Underground is the oldest subway in the world.

D．why the London Underground is famous in the world

3.In the email, the words “subway”, “underground”, and “metro” mean   .

A．three different things                    B．two different things

C．almost the same thing                    D．nothing like each other

4.What does the writer want Hongbo to do?

A．To buy a good book about Xi’an for him.

B．To send him a few photos of Xi’an.

C．To post him some postcards of Xi’an.

D．To tell him more about Xi’an subway.

Whenever my kids have a party at school, I am the mom who always signs up to bring the juice boxes. It’s not because I’m   26  or that I don’t care if my kids have a good party. I am just not good at making homemade bread into holiday-themed shapes like other mothers.   27 , I’m happy to try, even though it’ll   28  me a long time to do it.
People say that housewives should have the   29  to make delicious meals, keep their houses clean, and   30  every minute of their child’s life. Their words used to   31  me a lot. I felt that I should also be able to do those things as a housewife. So   32  I couldn’t make the turkey-shaped cookies, I   33  feeling like a failure as a mom.
After many   34  attempts at baking, and many afternoons spent crying over my inabilities as a mother, I finally accepted the   35  that my lot(命运) in life is to be the juice box mom. I worked hard to be the   36  one in the elementary school. And after one of my daughter’s class parties, it   37 . Her teacher stopped me as I was leaving and said,＂Thank you so much for always bringing   38  drinks. Sometimes parents forget that other children will also   39  class parties, and they end up being left out because we don’t have enough   40  for everyone.＂
I just accepted her appreciation, rather than telling her that I brought extra drinks because I could   41  remember how many kids were in the class. But her   42  taught me an important lesson: I’m not a failure as a mom.
Not everyone is cut out to be a(n)   43  mom. I believe it’s okay to be the juice box mom. I may not bake cookies and decorate them beautifully, but I   44  something to drink. And I think that’s just as   45 .