— You looked so ______, what’s the matter?

— I’ve had a very trying time this afternoon. I had to spend the whole listening to the _____ lecture by Mr. Smith.

       A．tired; boring           B．tired; boring            k+s-5#u 

       C．tiring; bored            D．tiring; bored

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition which she won last year.

As a writer, I know about winning contests – and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection letter from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and destroyed hopes can resurface in our children.

A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughter’s experience.

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

1.What do we learn from the first paragraph?

A．A lot of amusements compete for children’s time nowadays.

B．Children have lots of fun doing mindless activities.

C．Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time.

D．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.

2.What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A．She was constantly under pressure to write more.

B．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

D．Her road to success was full of pain and frustrations.

3.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A．She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

B．She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

C．She wanted to share her stories with readers.

D．She had won a prize in the previous contest.

4.The underlined sentence probably means that the author was _______.

A．trying not to let her daughter enjoy her own life

B．trying to get her daughter to do the thing as the author wished

C．making sure that her daughter would win the contest

D．helping her daughter develop real skills for writing

阅读下面短文，撑握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D），选出最佳选项。
I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a bookshop _36 me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very   37 to earn my own pocket money and my parents   38 interfered(干涉) with how I spent it, even when I was spending it   39 . They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the   40 , I would become more mature(成熟) and  41 about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.
Like many   42 parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they  43  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   44 . 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   45 for me. In the end, my father won the   46 on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins   47 through the country who could   48 shelter and help if I need them.
Three years later, my younger brother decide to   49 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   50 to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n)   51 year working his way on trains and ships to   52 passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.
These kinds of experiences are probably rare(稀少的) for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly   53 . Most parents start   54 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 part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have   55 the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.

An older friend once gave me a piece of advice, “Enjoy the last few weeks of college,” she said, “since college is the best time of your life.”

    This was not the first time I’d heard such a statement, but with graduation fast coming close, her words especially struck me. It seemed a bit disappointing to reach one's life peak at only 22 years of age, but in her opinion, college had been one of the best times in my life so far. I made friends, took classes, and learned a great deal about myself. But I was also excited for the time after college—moving to a new city, starting a new job, and becoming a "real" person. I hoped that my great dreams were practical.

    Then, last week I read a column in Real Simple Magazine called 100 Years of Attitude, in which women 100 years or older shared their life experiences and views. I noticed that none of them considered college as the "best" time of their life. Not all of them went to college, but still in most cases their teens and twenties were not the best times of their life. They said some of their favorite times were raising their children, traveling after retirement, and even enjoying their present time and age.

    Enjoying one's present time and age was a clear theme of the interviews. A piece of advice given by the women was about the importance of making the best of all situations. I think it more accurate than that of my friend; I can say with certainty that if I am lucky enough to make it to 100, I refuse to spend the last 80 years of my life plummeting (跌落) downhill, or even leveling off.

    I am sure that our eagerness and devotion will make us college students live a meaningful life. We will not just look backwards or miss our college days. We will look forward in excitement about continued journey uphill.

1.Which of the following opinions does the writer agree with?

A. College is the best time of one’s life.

B. Twenties were the best time of the old people.

C. One should make the best of all situations.

D. One should not look backwards at their college time.

2.In the second paragraph, the writer wants to say ______.

A. her achievements in college would be the peak of her success

B. she is looking forward to living as a “real” person in college

C. she becomes more and more uneasy with graduation

D. she is satisfied with the college life but is hopeful for the future

3.The column the writer read is mainly about those old women’s ______.

A. best time of life at youth                                             B. life experiences and views

C. different opinions about life                                       D. favorite time with best friends

4.By saying “I refuse to spend the last 80 years of my life plummeting downhill, or even leveling off” (in Paragraph 4), the writer really means ______.

A. she will not spend the rest of her time at college

B. she will not just obtain a college level certificate

C. she will not be satisfied with what she has already accomplished

D. she will not be content with the life in the future

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her free time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.

As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip (退稿条) from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and ruined hopes can surface.

A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?”

“No”, she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

What do we learn form the first paragraph?

A. Now too many entertainments take up too much time.

B. Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities.

C. Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her free time.

D. Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.

What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A. She was constantly under pressure of writing more.

B. Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C. She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

D. Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.

Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A. She had won a prize in the previous contest.

B. She wanted to share her stories with readers.

C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

D. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

What’s the author’s advice for parents?

A. Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.

B. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.

C. Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.

D. A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.