One winter during college in New York, I took an 8 am history class to fulfill a requirement. It was 36 to get up for that class, but every morning I would 37 the cold winds and went to the lecture.

The professor for the class would step 38 into the room. He was terribly nervous about the class and always fixed his eyes on his book, never 39 us.

I felt that I needed to do something to 40 the boredom, so I tried to find something in his lecture to ask him, 41 me to pay attention rather than letting my eyes close. The first time 42 I raised my hand, he was surprised but was obviously 43 to have a question to answer. I continued to do this every day. The professor seemed to become a bit more 44 and some other students even joined in. In fact, his answers were always 45. In this way, I learned quite a lot and realized the professor was indeed a/an 46 in his field.

On the last day of class we 47 our books and headed out. The professor stepped directly in front of me, with obvious 48, putting out his hand. He said, “49 you for making my class so interesting,” shaking my hand and smiling. I was so 50. To me, it had been a pleasant way to 51 the time in his lesson. I had no idea that my 52 had any effect on him or the others at all.

That 53 has stayed with me for 30 years. I don’t 54 the fact I learned in his class, but I’ll never forget the professor who taught me a lesson about the 55 of acts of kindness, indeed or not.

A. impossible               B. rough             C. natural                  D. tough

A. slow                       B. brave             C. lower              D. warm

A. shyly                      B. eagerly           C. proudly           D. hurriedly

A. looking down at            B. looking up at     C. looking up to  D. looking down upon

A. ignore                        B. delay              C. stop                D. understand

A. forcing                       B. allowing         C. advising           D. persuading

A. when                      B. in which         C. *                    D. that

A. impatient                    B. sorry              C. shocked          D. pleased

A. relaxed                       B. annoyed          C. tired               D. determined

A. boring                       B. interesting       C. puzzling         D. worrying

A. permanent               B. temporary       C. expert             D. fool

A. read                           B. copied             C. ordered            D. gathered

A. pity                           B. effort              C. humor            D. guilt

A. Thank                       B. Forgive           C. Blame             D. Praise

A. honest                        B. nervous          C. surprised        D. disappointed

A. save                           B. spend              C. spare              D. pass

A. stories                      B. questions         C. appearance    D. care

A. moment                     B. opinion          C. suggestion       D. wish

A. like                            B. know              C. recall             D. believe

A. concept                      B. reward             C. price               D. power

The managing director took the _____ for the accident, although it was not really his fault.

A. guilt    B. charge    C. blame   D. account

It was a lovely day at the park and Stella Bianchi was enjoying the sunshine with her two children when a young boy, aged about four, approached her two-year-old son and pushed him to the ground.

“I’d watched him for a little while and my son was the fourth or fifth child he’d pushed,” she says. “I went over to them, picked up my son, turned to the boy and said, firmly, ‘No, we don’t push.’” What happened next was unexpected.

“The boy’s mother ran toward me from across the park,” Stella says, “I thought she was coming over to apologize, but instead she started shouting at me for blaming her child. All I did was let him know his behavior was unacceptable. Was I supposed to sit back while her kid did whatever he wanted and hurt other children?”

Getting your own children to play nice is difficult enough. Dealing with other people’s children has become a hidden danger.

In my house, jumping on the sofa is not allowed. In my sister’s house it’s encouraged. I find myself saying “no” a lot when her kids are over at mine. That’s OK between sisters but becomes dangerous when you’re talking to the children of friends or acquaintances.

“Kids aren’t all raised the same,” agrees Professor Naomi White of Monash University.” But there is still an idea that they’re the property of the parent. We see our children as a mirror of ourselves, so if you’re saying that my child is behaving improperly, then that’s somehow a criticism(批评) of me.”

In those situations, it’s difficult to know whether to approach the child directly or the parent first. There are two opinions.

“I’d go to the child first,” says Andrew Fuller, author of Tricky Kids. “Usually a quiet reminder that ‘we don’t do that here’ is enough. Kids have antennae (直觉) for how to behave in different settings.”

He points out bringing it up with the parent first may make them feel careless, which could cause problems. Of course, approaching the child first can bring its own headaches, too.

This is why White recommends that you approach the parents first. Raise your concerns with the parents and ask them to deal with it,” she says.   

Asked how to approach a parent in this situation, psychologist Meredith Fuller answers: “Explain your needs as well as stressing the importance of the friendship. Start with something like: ‘I know you’ll think I’m silly but in my house I don’t want…’” 

1.What did Stella Bianchi expect the young boy’s mother to do when she talked to him?

       A. Make an apology             B. Come over to stop her     

       C. Blame her own boy          D. Take her own boy away

2.What does the author say about dealing with other people’s children?

       A. It’s important not to hurt them in any way

       B. It’s no use trying to stop their wrongdoing

       C. It’s advisable to treat them as one’s own kids

       D. It’s possible for one to get into lots of trouble

3.According to professor Naomi White, when one’s kids are criticized, their parents will probably feel ______.

       A. discouraged       B. hurt    C. puzzled      D. affected

4. What should one do when seeing other people’s kids misbehave according to Andrew Fuller?

       A. Talk to them directly in a mild way  B. Complain to their parents politely

       C. Simply leave them alone            D. Punish them lightly

 

Driving to a store after a busy day at work, I saw a man standing near the store holding a sign that said, “Will work for food.” I knew at that moment that I was going into the store and   36   him something to eat.

   As I   37    the car park, I saw in my car mirror a lady come out from a hairdresser’s and 38   the man. I thought she must be going to give him some   39    or something to help him out. In the store I was   40   to get the things I needed and also the chicken dinner and a soda that I wanted to give the man outside. I hurried out to my car and    41    that I was going to be able to hopefully help this man.

When I drove out of the car park, I couldn’t see the   42  . As I turned the corner I saw the man sitting in a   43   area away from the hairdresser’s and still   44   up the sign. I immediately  45  over and gave the man the dinner and soda and said, “  46   this will get you through today.” He looked at me and said, “Thank you so much!”

As I got back into my car, I looked in the   47   and saw the man swallowing the dinner like he hadn’t eaten for days.

I was so   48   that I was able to help him and at the same time I was so sad that the woman from the hairdresser’s,   49    , had asked the man   50    from her shop. It’s sad to say that   51   I live in a small city where homeless is not as   52    as in larger cities, people are uncomfortable with these people in  53  . All they need to do is lend a helping hand  54   and it could make a huge    55   in their lives

1.A. cook              B. buy             C. pay               D. serve

2.A. turned into         B. got over          C. called at           D. pointed out

3.A, interview          B. comfort.          C. blame             D. approach

4.A. example           B. space            C. money             D. comfort

5.A. preparing          B. hurrying          C. hesitating          D. planning

6.A. explained          B. wondered         C. agreed             D. felt 

7.A. man              B. food             C.  lady             D. sign

8.A. different           B. strange            C. famous            D. comfortable

9.A. making            B. holding          C. taking             D. building

10.A. turned            B. thought          C.  pulled            D. looked     

11.A. Hopefully         B. Finally          C. Luckily             D. Naturally

12.A. store             B. mirror           C. square              D. crowd

13.A. popular           B. anxious          C. pleased             D. patient

14.A. immediately       B. obviously        C. carefully            D. nervously

15.A. stop              B. suffer           C. move               D. change

16.A. whether           B. because         C. though              D. unless

17.A. poor              B. visible          C. selfish              D. happy

18.A. danger            B. action           C. need               D. moment

19.A. at times           B. at the time       C. at one time          D. at a time

20.A. difference         B. mistake          C. decision            D. living

 

  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?

1.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

2.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．

3.．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

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

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