Parents are the closest people to you in the world．They love you just because you are you．And they would do anything for you．

    Like a lot of middle school students，ZhuangShuxia has a problem．She and her parents don’t get on well．

    “I really want to be my Daddy’s little girl．But it feels like he just doesn’t understand．He talks at me and doesn’t listen，”said Zhuang，a Junior 3 student

    Do you and your parents also have problems?

    Well, why don’t you all take a walk and have a talk on Saturday? It’s the International(国际的) Day of Families．On May l5，people around the world give thanks for good things about their families and work on family problems．

    A study last year showed that l,500 Beijing families had the same problem as Zhuang’s family：The children，12 to 15 years old，didn’t like talking with their parents much．They weren’t happy at home．

    Of course，lots of kids feel that way．But you and your parents will be much happier if you can be friends．Here are some ways to have a good talk with them：

    Find a good time to talk，like when you’re eating dinner, going out for a walk or watching TV．

   Tell them something you’re interested in，or ask them about their lives when they were young．They love to talk about it．

   Listen to them carefully，and look them in the eye．

   Be honest(诚实的)．Your parents will trust(信任)you more．And a trusting family is a happy family．

1. Who are the closest people to us according to the writer of this passage?

A. The people who love us.          

B. The people who understand us.

C. Our father and mother.          

D. All the family members.

2. What is Zhuang Shuxia's problem?

     A. Her father thinks she is old enough.

     B. Her father doesn't like to talk with her.

     C. She really wants to be a little girl again.

     D. She and her father don't understand each other well.

3. What does the writer suggest (建议) the students do on the International Day of Families?

     A. They should remember the special day for the families in the world.

     B. They should take a walk and have a talk with their parents.

     C. They should do something to celebrate the International Day of Families.

     D. They should help others to solve their family problems.

4. How does the writer know 1,500 families had the same problem as Zhuang's family?

     A. From a study made in Beijing.

     B. From reports about family problems.

     C. From discussions with parents and their children.

     D. From a report on the International Day of Families.

5. In this passage the writer tells the children,12 to 15 years old,           

     A. how to show their thanks to their parents

     B. how to make friends with their parents

     C. how to feel happier at home in different ways

     D. how to win their parents' trust by listening to their parents

　　Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. He knows what he wants, and his objective is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock（存货）, the salesman produces（呈出）it, and the business of trying it on proceeds（继续进行）at once. All being well, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly chat and to everyone's satisfaction.

　　For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants. In that case the salesman, as the name implies, tries to sell the customer something else. No good salesman brings out such a substitute bluntly（直率地）; he does so with skill. “I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it for size? It happens to be the color you want.” Few men have patience with this treatment. And the usual response（反应，回答）is:“This is the right color and may be the right size, but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on.”

　　Now how does a woman go about buying clothes? She does so in a different way, Her shopping is not based on need, She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look round”. She will try on any number of things. In her mind there is the thought of finding something that everyone thinks suits her. Faced with a roomful（一室所能容纳之量）of dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour looking around before selecting the dresses she wants to try on. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.

(1) If a man goes shopping, ________.

[　　]

A．he wants anything

B．he knows his purpose before shopping

C．he hardly decides in advance

D．he asks the assistant what he wants

(2) If a man doesn't get what he needs, ________.

[　　]

A．the salesman brings out a substitute and advises him to buy with skill

B．the salesman suggests him to buy something else

C．the salesman is angry

D．the salesman doesn't know what to do

(3) When a woman goes shopping, ________.

[　　]

A．she does know what she needs

B．she wants something

C．she's only walking around the shop

D．she hasn't decided what she wants

(4)The underlined word “provide” may mean ________.

[　　]

(5)Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Husbands are willing to go shopping with their wives.

B．Husbands have to go shopping with their wives.

C．Husbands help their wives go shopping.

D．Wives must follow their husbands' advice.

When I was a child, my parents often took me to an old house in a thick forest. No other children ever stayed there. I didn’t even have the choice of playing with a brother or sister.
I could never understand what the attraction(吸引) of the house was, even for my parents, who enjoyed nothing better than to sit in silence with a good book. The woman in the house, my father’s distant cousin, was a terrible cook and her food was inedible.
One day, when I was wandering around the garden behind the house, I noticed a wooden house which had clearly been abandoned(被遗弃的). As I walked towards it, I heard a noise, like an animal moving hurriedly away. Then I saw a man with a long beard standing at the door. I was greatly surprised.
“Please don’t tell them you saw me,” he said. “They never use this place, and I have nowhere else to live.” “Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t tell anyone. But are you all right out here? I mean—do you have enough to eat?” The old man shook his head.
The same evening, I took a small plastic bag into the dining room and, while no one was looking, emptied some of the food into it. Later, I got out of the back door secretly and gave the food to the old man, whose name I had discovered was Taff.
I had never seen anything else as lovely as the smile of satisfaction on Taff’s face when he ate the food. From then on, my visits to the old house had a purpose, and I enjoyed every minute of the rest of my stay.
【小题1】 How did the writer feel about staying in the old house at first?