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.
【小题1】Who wrote the letter?

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.
【小题1】Who wrote the letter?

阅读理解

　　Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practising until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. A great athlete practises until he can play quickly, correctly, without thinking. Tennis players call that “being in the zone”. Educators call it “automaticity (自动)”.

　　A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and get the meanings of the words. With practice, he speaks with fewer and fewer pauses and mistakes, reading by the phrase. With automaticity he doesn't have to think about getting the meanings of the words, so he can pay attention to the meaning of the text.

　　It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in some schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found automatic readers in the first grade were reading almost three times as fast as the other children and scoring twice as high on comprehension tests. At the fifth grade, the automatic readers were reading twice as fast as the others, and still outscoring them on correctness, comprehension, and vocabulary. “It's not I. Q., but the amount of time a child spends reading that is the key to automaticity, ”According to Rossman, any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will most probably reach automaticity. At home, where the average child spends 25 hours a week watching television, it can happen by turning off the set just one night in favour of reading.

　　You can test your child by giving him one paragraph or two to read aloud-something unfamiliar but suitable to his age. If he reads aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, he probably is an automatic reader. If he reads hesitatingly, one word at a time without expression or meaning, he needs more practice.

1．The main idea of the first paragraph is ________ .

[　　]

A．what is automaticity

B．how correctness is obtained

C．how a child learns to walk

D．how an athlete is trained

2．The Illinois study shows that the automatic reader's high speed ________ .

[　　]

A．costs him a lot of work

B．affects his comprehension

C．leads to his future success

D．doesn’t affect his comprehension

3．From the passage, it can be inferred that a bright child ________ .

[　　]

A．also needs practice to be automatic reader

B．always achieves great success in comprehension tests

C．becomes an automatic reader after learning how to read

D．is a born automatic reader

4．The main idea of the whole passage is ________ .

[　　]

A．how to score high on comprehension tests

B．reading is the key to school success

C．how to test your child’s reading ability

D．automaticity is important for efficient reading

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A，B，C，D)中，选出最佳选项．

　　Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practising until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. A great athlete practises until he can play quickly, correctly, without thinking. Tennis players call that“being in the zone”. Educators call it“automaticity(自动)”.

　　A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and get the meanings of the words. With practice, he speaks with fewer and fewer pauses and mistakes, reading by the phrase. With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about getting the meanings of the words, so he can pay attention to the meaning of the text.

　　It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found automatic readers in the first grade who were reading almost three times as fast as the other children and scoring twice as high on comprehension tests. At fifth grade, the automatic readers were reading twice as fast as the others, and still outscoring them on correctness, comprehension, and vocabulary. “It's not IQ, but the amount of time a child spends reading that is the key to automaticity.” according to Rossman, any child who spends reading at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will most probably reach automaticity. At home, where the average child spends 25 hours a week watching TV, it can happen by turning off the set just one night in favour of reading.

　　You can train your child by giving him one paragraph or two to read aloudsomething unfamiliar but suitable to his age. 1f he reads aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, he probably is an automatic reader. If he reads hesitatingly, one word at a time without expression or meaning, he needs more practice.

1．The main idea of the first paragraph is ________.

[　　]

2．The Illinois study shows that the automatic reader's high speed ________.

[　　]

A．costs him a lot of work

B．affects his comprehension

C．leads to his future success

D．doesn't affect his comprehension

3．From the passage, it can be inferred that a bright child ________.

[　　]

A．also needs practice to be automatic reader

B．always achieves great success in comprehension tests

C．become an automatic reader after learning how to read

D．is born automatic reader

4．The main idea of the whole passage is ________.

[　　]

A．how to score high on comprehension tests

B．that reading is the key to school success

C．how to test your child's reading ability

D．that automaticity is important for efficient reading

完形填空

I had my first job at the age of thirteen , when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop . I was very  36   to earn my own pocket money and my parents   37 interfered (干涉) with how I spent it , even when I was spending it  38  .They believed that by earning money ,spending it ,and learning from the  39  ,I would become more mature (成熟的)and  40  in how to handle work ,relationships with others ,and money.

Like many  41  parents ,my parents also let me and my brothers do things about which they  42  a great deal .When I was sixteen ,for example ,after I finished high school and before I entered university ,I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around  43   .My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great  44  for me .In the end , my father won the  45  on the condition that I limited my traveling to France ,my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins  46  through the country who could  47  shelter and help if I needed them .

Three years later ,my younger brother decided to  48  a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not  49  to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother spent a (n) 50   year working his way on trains and ships to  51  his passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

These kinds of experiences are probably  52  for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start  53  their children at a young age to do small things by themselves .By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had  54  jobs and traveled around the US or other countries on their own , have selected the university they plan to attend , maybe even have decided on their future  55 ,and so on .

A．anxious       B. worried        C. proud        D. nervous

A. never          B. ever          C. always           D. even

A. carefully       B. foolishly        C. seriously        D. honestly

A. work          B. mistakes       C. others       D. books

A. strict          B. reasonable       C. polite           D. responsible

A. American      B. Japanese      C. Chinese           D. British

A. helped          B. supported        C. shared           D. worried

A. Asia          B. Africa         C. Europe           D. Oceania

A. journey         B. experience       C. chance           D. possibility

A. argument      B. game           C. discussion       D. plan

A. sending out    B. giving out        C. carrying out     D. spreading out

A. promise       B. decide         C. provide          D. serve

A. leave         B. make           C. take             D. prepare

A. angry         B. eager          C. sorry            D. sad

A. unusual       B. hard           C. strange          D. busy

A. accept        B. earn           C. find          D. search

A. welcome      B. fit             C. necessary        D. rare

A. bringing        B. forcing     C. pushing          D. protecting

A. part-time      B. full-time         C. good             D. well-paid

A. life           B. career       C. hope        D. benefit