We tried so hard to make things better for our kids but we made them worse. For my naughty boys, I’d know better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.

My cherished boys, I hope you learn humility (谦逊) by surviving failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl (爬) under the covers (被子) with you because he’s scared, I hope you’ll let him. And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.

　　I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to add and subtract (减) in your head.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole (旗杆). I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don’t care if you try beer once, but I hope you won’t like it.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go fishing with your uncle.

I hope your father punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window, and that your mother hugs you and kisses you when you give her a plaster of pared mold (一个石膏模型) of your hand.

　 These things I wish for you—tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.

1.Who wrote the letter?

2.What does the author hope for the boys?

3.It can be inferred from the text that the boys _________________.

4. Why does the author write the letter?

Do you want to have a close friend? Do you know how to make a good friend? Now, let me tell you. Before you make friends, you have to decide who you want to be your friends. Most people like to have friends who like to do the same kind of things they do.

The quickest way to make a friend is to smile. When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk to. It may not be easy at first to smile, but remember most people will stay away from a scared or angry looking face.

One easy way to start a conversation with someone is to say something nice about him. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn’t it make you want to keep talking to that person?

Ask your new friends questions about themselves. Who’s their favorite singer, where do they live, what do they do after school are all good questions to start a conversation. Make sure you have something to add to the conversation, too. When someone asks you a question, do have an answer for them. There’s nothing that will stop a conversation quicker than a shrug (耸肩) for an answer.

Kids who show an interest in other kids and who are kind and friendly make good friends. Remember, everyone wants to be around people who like to do similar things and people who are nice to them.

1.What does the underlined word scared( in para.2) mean?

A．holy             B．frightening         C．happy            D．sad

2.The main idea is _________.

A．how to start a conversation                B．how to praise a person

C．how to make friends                     D．the importance of making friends

3.What kind of people are easy to become friends?

A．who are happy every day.                 B．who often speak ill of others.

C．who are good at communicating .           D．who share the same interest.

4.If a person shrug , what does he/she mean?

A．being very proud                       B．making no answer

C．being very happy                       D．be humorous

5.Most people enjoy talking to one _______.

A．who speaks highly of them                B．who are very out-going.

C．who is always smiling                     D．who points out their shortcomings

Children, especially at young ages, are very creative. And creativity can be a glorious thing. Look at all the amazing artists and architects that have created glorious pieces of history. Look at all the authors with the award winning books. Now I am not saying everyone is going to end up this way but creativity is an important part of growing up and becoming who you are. This should be encouraged in young children as well as the older children.

Young children grow up playing with make-believe. And so many people try to make their young child see that their invisible friend isn’t real or that talking when someone is not in the room is weird. To adults it is, but for small children it is them being creative. May it be them playing house, or chef, or playing with stuffed animals, it is their creative part coming out. Some kids can have fun playing with rocks and sticks and it’s because of their creativeness that they can do this. The invisible friend part is another part of being imaginative, and is not a bad thing since they will grow out of that phase. So encourage this and play along with them, play house or stuffed animals or whatever they want to play. Help keep their imagination running. You can even make up games, like treasure hunts, dinosaurs, or super heroes; there is just so much you can choose from.

For older children, talk to them. Help them see things through others’ eyes, or help them see things from a different point of view. Helping children see things from other views helps them keep their minds open for new ideas and new things.

All this can help your children’s minds stay creative. The arts and music, even thoughts are an important part of life and important in our society. If we didn’t have and encourage creative thinking, we wouldn't have had inventors, or philosophers, or as I said before, artists.

1.The underlined word “weird” is the closest in meaning to “_______”.

2.If a child plays with his invisible friend, it shows that _______.

3.According to the author, if a child talks alone in a room, we should _______.

4.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

  The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose(夸大的)words．“Outstanding” is the

new “good,”  “amazing” is the new “OK, ” and “huge” is the new “big.”

    I was in a restaurant in Washington D．C．last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration．

    Me：How is the salmon?

    Sever：Fantastic!

    Me：Does it come with rice?

    Sever：Absolutely!

    Would a “good” and a “yes” have been enough? Of course!

    My father is an average-sized man．He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same．However，in the same amount of time，his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large．

  The reason for the exaggerated word is clear：we are bored with our lives. We want the next

—next thing now．Immediately!

    And we also want others to think that we still care，that we can still be delighted，that we know that everything is just great．Even when deep inside we know it can’t be．Everything can’t be great．

  I’m not a scientist，so many methods of proof leave little to be desired，or a lot to be desired，or an immensity(无限)．   

  Listen to the voices around you．Listen to your own voices．There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad，weather is either beautiful or horrible．

  Listen，the next time when someone asks you something and you agree，because when you

could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely’’ or “without doubt ” or “Oh，yeah，unquestionably ---- absolutely without doubt."

  Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are? If everything is outstanding，if everything is the most amazing thing ever，is anything ever amazing at all?

By telling his experience in the restaurant，the author intends to ________．

    A. show his interest in exaggerated words

    B. prove that exaggerated words are widely used

    C. blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words

    D. tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good

What do we know about the author’s father?

    A. He has gained height and is now a tall man．

B. He likes following the fashion in clothing．

C. His weight is getting greater and greater．

D.The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words．

．So many people like using exaggerated words because_________．

    A. they are not satisfied with being normal

    B. they don’t want to be looked down upon by others

    C. they want to be different from others

    D. they are brave in telling their true feelings

According to the passage，if you approve of something，you’d better say “________”．

    A. fantastic    B. perfect    C. OK          D. absolutely

Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.

Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished. For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角) had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds. A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.

Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒). The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”. It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not.

1.Greenhorn now refers to ____.

A. a person who is new in a job                          B. a new solider

C. a young horse                                                   D. None of above

2.A person who has a green thumb is a person ____.

A. who is good at growing plants                     B. whose thumbs are in green color

C. whose garden is greener than others’                 D. who is younger than his neighbors

3.The author is actually talking about ____.

A. colors                     B. language        C. politics                            D. agriculture