Taking Care

From a very early age, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse and I have always  1  her and the way she took care of everyone. I wanted to be just like her.

So, here I am, a   2  for the last seven years. I love my work. Now, my father is quite   3  . He is 71 and has heart failure, and a lot of other medical  4  . Up until April of this year, he was able to live alone, drive, and   5  all of his own needs. His health has broken sown swiftly. I’m the only girl out of the five children. Being the only girl and a nurse  6  me at the top of the caregiver list. Taking care of a sick parent is very 7  , not at all like taking care of other patients. I have to   8  my own family to be here with Dad. I know this is   9  I need to be but it is still hard. I   10  abut 12-15 hours day taking care of him. I want to spend all of the time that I can with him because I know that our   11  left together is short.

At the same time, I find myself 12  that my brothers don’t help more. Sometimes, it is days between their   13  . they all have families of their own and busy lives but…so do I. My eldest brother does help some. He   14  at night. He comes in at 8 or 9pm and lets me go home. But he is up and   15  to hit the road at about 6 am. My   16  brothers pop in for 10-15 minute visits. It is   17  annoying. They say they  18  stand “to see Daddy this way” which I understand. It hurts me to see him so sick  19  weak, too. But …he’s our Dad. He has taken care of us our whole lives. I just  20  like we should all do our part to take care of him now.

1．A．missed                  B．admired               C．cheered               D．loved

2．A．nurse                    B．mother                C．doctor                 D．daughter

3．A．stubborn               B．healthy                C．lonely                  D．ill

4．A．puzzles                 B．difficulties           C．problems             D．matters

5．A．give up                 B．take care of         C．watch over          D．take up

6．A．put                       B．encouraged          C．obliged                D．showed

7．A．necessary              B．easy                    C．important            D．difficult

8．A．refuse                   B．support               C．abandon              D．own

9．A．when                    B．how                    C．where                 D．why

10．A．waste                  B．spend                  C．kill                      D．pass

11．A．  money               B．pleasure               C．emotion               D．time

12．A．angry                  B．calm                   C．enthusiastic         D．anxious

13．A．trips                    B．favours               C．visits                   D．meals

14．A．lives                    B．appears               C．sleeps                 D．stays

15．A．likely                   B．ready                  C．sorry                  D．glad

16．A．other                   B．dear                    C．busy                   D．pitiful

17．A．even                   B．ever                    C．still                     D．really

18．A．mustn’t               B．needn’t                C．can’t                   D．shouldn’t

19．A．or                       B．and                     C．yet                      D．but

20．A．feel                     B．sound                  C．smell                   D．look

Taking Care
From a very early age, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse and I have always1her and the way she took care of everyone. I wanted to be just like her.
So, here I am, a2for the last seven years. I love my work. Now, my father is quite3. He is 71 and has heart failure, and a lot of other medical4. Up until April of this year, he was able to live alone, drive, and5all of his own needs. His health has broken sown swiftly. I’m the only girl out of the five children. Being the only girl and a nurse6me at the top of the caregiver list. Taking care of a sick parent is very7, not at all like taking care of other patients. I have to8my own family to be here with Dad. I know this is9I need to be but it is still hard. I10abut 12-15 hours day taking care of him. I want to spend all of the time that I can with him because I know that our11left together is short.
At the same time, I find myself12that my brothers don’t help more. Sometimes, it is days between their13. they all have families of their own and busy lives but…so do I. My eldest brother does help some. He14at night. He comes in at 8 or 9pm and lets me go home. But he is up and15to hit the road at about 6 am. My16brothers pop in for 10-15 minute visits. It is17annoying. They say they18stand “to see Daddy this way” which I understand. It hurts me to see him so sick19weak, too. But …he’s our Dad. He has taken care of us our whole lives. I just20like we should all do our part to take care of him now.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      missed
   2. B.
      admired
   3. C.
      cheered
   4. D.
      loved
2. 2.
   1. A.
      nurse
   2. B.
      mother
   3. C.
      doctor
   4. D.
      daughter
3. 3.
   1. A.
      stubborn
   2. B.
      healthy
   3. C.
      lonely
   4. D.
      ill
4. 4.
   1. A.
      puzzles
   2. B.
      difficulties
   3. C.
      problems
   4. D.
      matters
5. 5.
   1. A.
      give up
   2. B.
      take care of
   3. C.
      watch over
   4. D.
      take up
6. 6.
   1. A.
      put
   2. B.
      encouraged
   3. C.
      obliged
   4. D.
      showed
7. 7.
   1. A.
      necessary
   2. B.
      easy
   3. C.
      important
   4. D.
      difficult
8. 8.
   1. A.
      refuse
   2. B.
      support
   3. C.
      abandon
   4. D.
      own
9. 9.
   1. A.
      when
   2. B.
      how
   3. C.
      where
   4. D.
      why
10. 10.
    1. A.
       waste
    2. B.
       spend
    3. C.
       kill
    4. D.
       pass
11. 11.
    1. A.
       money
    2. B.
       pleasure
    3. C.
       emotion
    4. D.
       time
12. 12.
    1. A.
       angry
    2. B.
       calm
    3. C.
       enthusiastic
    4. D.
       anxious
13. 13.
    1. A.
       trips
    2. B.
       favours
    3. C.
       visits
    4. D.
       meals
14. 14.
    1. A.
       lives
    2. B.
       appears
    3. C.
       sleeps
    4. D.
       stays
15. 15.
    1. A.
       likely
    2. B.
       ready
    3. C.
       sorry
    4. D.
       glad
16. 16.
    1. A.
       other
    2. B.
       dear
    3. C.
       busy
    4. D.
       pitiful
17. 17.
    1. A.
       even
    2. B.
       ever
    3. C.
       still
    4. D.
       really
18. 18.
    1. A.
       mustn’t
    2. B.
       needn’t
    3. C.
       can’t
    4. D.
       shouldn’t
19. 19.
    1. A.
       or
    2. B.
       and
    3. C.
       yet
    4. D.
       but
20. 20.
    1. A.
       feel
    2. B.
       sound
    3. C.
       smell
    4. D.
       look

Amanda took whatever pills she could get, largely because she was finding life hard to take. “There were a lot of problems,” she says. She had just found out that her parents were splitting(分开). It took her by surprise—and she was shocked. “I woke up one morning, and they told me.”
“On a few occasions during my two years of going to pharming parties(品药聚会), my heart would race so fast it felt like it was going to explode. I felt weak and confused sometimes and even passed out several times,” she recalls. “But I picked up from the ground because I had a lot of pride in my drinking and drugging. I was really crazy about it and proud of the fact that I could take more than a lot of people.”
Finally, though, things got out of control. “I couldn’t go a day without taking something,” she recalls, “and after a while, the pills upset my stomach; it hurt all the time, and I hardly ate. Finally, I couldn’t take it any more. I went to my parents and told them I needed help.”
Amanda entered a treatment program and has been calm since her release last January. “Detox(戒瘾) was the worst four days of my entire life,” she says. “I was throwing up all the food and had the shakes.”
She doesn’t care about drugs. “I’m so hurt from this,” says Amanda, who has ulcers(溃疡) and damaged kidneys from the drugs and alcohol. “I have to struggle daily to stay calm. But in some ways, I feel lucky I went through it, and I’m out of it now.” Amanda wrote a song called “Goodnight to the Moonlight”. Amanda says, “It’s about how it feels to be taking drugs and alcohol, how it hurts, how it makes you feel like you’re losing yourself.”

1. 1.

   The purpose of writing this passage is to tell us that _______.

   1. A.
      parents have a great influence on their children
   2. B.
      drugs are a danger to our health and mind
   3. C.
      once determined, you will face no difficulty
   4. D.
      once formed, bad habits are hard to get rid of
2. 2.

   From the second paragraph we can learn that Amanda_______.

   1. A.
      was bored with her behavior
   2. B.
      never felt frightened or ashamed of taking pills
   3. C.
      took pride in taking much more drugs
   4. D.
      was so strong in body that she never felt tired
3. 3.

   After taking drugs, Amanda _______.

   1. A.
      found out that her parents were splitting
   2. B.
      found her lungs were damaged
   3. C.
      was forced to enter a treatment program
   4. D.
      She felt confused and almost broke down
4. 4.

   It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.

   1. A.
      Amanda had such a strong will that she didn’t lose herself
   2. B.
      Amanda’s song expressed her thanks and delight
   3. C.
      Detox was not really a success to Amanda
   4. D.
      drugs and alcohol ruined Amanda’s health as well as her spirit

    By taking a few simple techniques, parents who read to their children can greatly develop their children's language skills．It is surprising but true．How parents talk to their children makes a big difference in the children'’s language development．If a parent encourages the child to actively respond to what the parent is reading．the child's language skills increase．

    A study was done with 30 three-year-old children and their parents．Half of the children took part in the experimental study；the other half acted as the control group．In the experimental group，the parents were given a two-hour training and they were taught to ask open-ended questions rather than yes-or-no questions．For example，the parent should ask，“What is the doggie doing?” rather than “Is the doggie running away?” The patents in the experimental group were also instructed in how to help children find answers，how to suggest different possibilities and how to praise correct answers．

    At the beginning of the study，the children did not differ in measures of language development，but at the end of one month，the children in the experimental group showed 5.5 months ahead of the control group on a test of expression and vocabulary．Nine months later，the children in the experimental group still showed an advance of 6 months over the children in the control group．

59．Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

    A．Children who talk a lot are more intelligent

    B．Parents who listen to their children can teach them more．

    C．Active children should read more and be given more attention．

    D．The power of speech can easily he developed using proper methods

60．According to the author，which of the following questions is the best one to ask children?

    A．Do you see the elephant?             B．Is the elephant in the cage?

    C．What animals do you like?            D．Shall we go to the zoo?

61．The difference between the control group and the experimental group was       

    A．the training that parents received       B．the age of the children

    C．the books that were read                  D．the number of the children

62．What conclusion is best supported by the passage?

    A．Parents should be trained to read to their children．

    B．The more children read，the cleverer they will become．

    C．Children's language skills can be developed when they are required to respond actively．

    D．Children who read actively seem six months older．

      People taking the stairs instead of lifts  at work can expect to live longer, according to a Swiss study .

     Regularly walking from floor to floor in an office building decreased death risk by 15 percent, said Dr. Philippe Meyer, the main author of the study, which was done at the University Hospital of Geneva.

    Stopping the use of lifts led to better fitness, less body fat, thinner  waistlines and a drop in blood pressure, the study found.

 “Using the stairs improves fitness, body shape, blood pressure” Meyer said to the  fitness website  Swissinfo .

 “The challenge remains to increase the people’s awareness,” he said.

For the study, 77 employees who don’t enjoy sports and exercise from Geneva University were asked to take only the stairs over a three-month period, Swissinfo reported.

      Results showed an increase in a decline  in waist , weight, fat , blood  pressure and cholesterol（胆固醇）.

 “This suggests that stair climbing can have major public health effects.” Meyer said.

    Professor Adam Timmis, at The London NHS Trust, said: “It's a small study but valuable because it provides a practical way for busy working people to increase their exercise. Although the amount of exercise appears small, the benefits were clear in improving physical fitness and reducing body fat and blood pressure. ”

45. We can see from the passage that___________

A. Swissinfo is a name of a Swiss university

B. Meyer is from the London NHS Trust

C. Some people from Geneva University took part in the study

D. Professor Timmis is from a Swiss university

46. Stair climbing can do good to people in the following ways EXCEPT______

A. lowering blood pressure

B. losing weight

C. shaping body

D. curing heart disease

47. Which word is similar in meaning to the underlined word “decline”?

A. Increasing.          B. Reducing,

C. Keeping.             D. Changing

48. What might be the best title of the passage?

A. People loving stair climbing.

B. Climbing stairs, climbing to health.

C. A Swiss health study.

D. How to keep fit nowadays.