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.

Today, Friday, December 14
JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen.
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8 am. to 8 pm. Tel: 682-158.
Saturday, December 15
JAZZ Lysis at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 60p.
MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789-749.
FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond.
JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull's Head, Barnes. Admission 80p.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion(手风琴). Tel: 789-536
Sunday, December 16
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 am to 8 pm.
FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-remembers 70p. Tel: 688-626.
HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion.
【小题1】Where and when can you hear the Norman Chop Trio?

Four strange scholarships that actually exist

The scholarship for the tall

If you find yourself having to lower your head to enter doorways then you might get this unusual scholarship. If you are a boy 6'2" or taller, or a girl 5'10" or taller, then you can be in the running for the Tall Clubs International Scholarship. All you have to do is write a simple message titled “What being tall means to me,” and you could get $1,000.

The scholarship for the fat

This unusual scholarship is made available to New England high school seniors who are single, overweight, and have maintain(保持) at least a 2.5 GPA. Every year two people are awarded the $500 prize. It’s kind of like saying being fat and unpopular is not that bad after all.

The scholarship for the short

If you aren’t tall enough for the tall scholarship, maybe you are short enough for the short one. The Billy Party Foundation offers this unusual scholarship to students who are short. One needs to be shorter then 4'10" and have a medical certificate as proof of dwarfism.

The scholarship for golf caddies(球童)

Did you know that you could get a free ride to college for being a golf caddie? Okay, it’s a little harder than that, but each year the Evans Scholars Foundation covers tuition(学费) and housing for hundreds of student caddies from all over the country. Most Evans scholars go to one of the fourteen universities where the Evans Scholar Foundation owns and operates a scholarship house.

1.The person running for the Tall Clubs International Scholarship _____.

A．should pay $1,000 at first

B．should write a long passage

C．should be tall enough

D．could get $10,000

2.How many conditions should a student have for the scholarship for the fat?

A．Five.             B．Four.             C．Three.            D．Two.

3.The underlined word “dwarfism” in the text refers to the condition of being ____.

A．short             B．tall and fat         C．clever            D．thin and tall

4.Students caddies who win the scholarship for golf caddies can _____.

A．get $1,000 for housing and tuition

B．get $500 for housing and tuition

C．only go to fourteen universities

D．be free from housing and schooling costs

Researchers found that walking around with a forced smile and fake (假的) happiness simply leads to people feeling unhappier. So, putting a brave face on your sadness could be harmful. The research also found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy.

       Dr. Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can result in bad outcomes. He said, “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional tiredness, and that’s bad for the organization.” He also said the research showed customer-service workers who had “fake smiles” throughout the day fell into a bad mood and didn’t want to work, so their productivity dropped.

       The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional expressions over a period of time and compare the different effects on men and women. Dr. Scott’s team examined the effects of “surface acting”, or fake smiling, compared to “deep acting”, or making people smile by thinking of pleasant memories.

       Dr. Scott said, “Women were harmed more by surface acting, meaning their moods worsened even more than men’s. However, they were helped more by deep acting, which means their moods improved more by thinking of pleasant memories. ”

According to Dr. Scott, women tend to suffer more when pretending to be happy because they are expected to be more emotionally expressive than men. Therefore, forcing a smile while feeling down is more likely to go against their normal behavior and cause more harmful feelings.

       Although deep acting can improve moods a little in the short term, Dr. Scott says, it’s not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy. “There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period you start to feel unreal. You’re trying to develop positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself any more.”

1.According to the passage, Dr. Scott’s study ______.

A. is supported by some big employers in the USA

B. is meaningful as there haven’t been many similar ones

C. examined more women than men for a long time

D. aimed to make the employees more productive

2.Women suffer more from fake happiness mainly because ______.

A. they usually become shy in public places

B. they are supposed to be more emotionally expressive

C. they are often treated in a terrible way

D. they like thinking of pleasant memories

3.It is implied in the passage that deep acting _____.

A. doesn’t have any effect on men

B. cannot improve our moods in any case

C. harms our feelings in the long run

D. pleases people by feeling like another person

The month of May is not only a graduation month in the US, but also a month when some families hold reunions．Have you ever considered why it is important that families get together in one place for a particular time? I believe the reason is honor．
Family reunions are a time we can take out of our busy schedules and spend quality time with our extended families（大家庭）．It is a time when we can make our sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and others we love a priority （首要事情）in our life．
Some reunions take place over a picnic lunch and some last a whole weekend．They can be costly and are sometimes crazy．But the truth is, when people you love grow up and move away, getting together for a family reunion and holding that family bond together is so important．
Family reunions build a renewed closeness as we mix with our relatives．We sit and talk about old times and listen to the stories that our older and wiser relatives love to share．As the children run and play and get to know each other, we sit and revisit our childhood memories and enjoy the short time we have together．
The best part of a family reunion is the time spent simply being around the people you care about A reunion shows how important it is to take time for each other．When you receive a family reunion invitation, make it a priority in your life．It's a great chance to see your relatives once again, give them a big hug and enjoy the time you have with them．Life is too short not to!
【小题1】What would be the best title for the passage?