My mother used to ask me what was the most important part of the body.Through the years I would   36  the correct answer.When I was younger, I thought   37   was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy." She said, "No.Many people are    38 .But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."
Several years passed before she asked me again.Since    39 my first attempt, I had often thought over the correct answer.So this time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it   40_  be our eyes." She looked at me and told me, "You are learning fast, but the answer is not   41 because there are many people who are blind."
  42  the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her response to my answer was, "No, but you are getting  43  every year, my child." Then last year, my Grandpa    44 .Everybody was crying.My Mommy looked at me when it was our   45  to say our final good-bye to Grandpa.She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?"
I was   46 when she asked me this now.I always thought this was a  47
between her and me.She saw the   48   on my face and told me, "This question is very important.It shows that you have really  49  your life." I saw her eyes well up with tears.She said, "My dear, the most important body part is your  50  ."
I asked, "Is it because it holds up your head?" She replied, "No, it is because a crying friend or­­  51 one can rest their head on it .Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometimes in life, my dear.I only   52  that you have enough love and friends that you will have a shoulder to cry on 53  you need it." Then and there I understood the most important body part is not a   54  one.It is sympathetic(同情的) to the pain of  55 .

Mother used to ask me what the most important part of the body is. Through the years I would guess at the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us, so I said, “My 1___________, mum.” She said, “No, many people are deaf. But think about it and I will ask you again.”
Since making my first attempt, I had often thought over the question. So the next time I told her, “Mum, it must be our eyes.” She said, “You are learning fast, but the answer isn’t correct because there are 2___________ people”
Over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, “No, but you are getting smarter, dear.” Last year, my Grandpa 3___________ away. Everybody was heartbroken, crying. When it was our turn to say our final good-bye to Grandpa, Mum asked me, “Do you know the most 4___________ body part yet, my dear?”
I was 5___________ when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me. She saw the puzzled look on my face and told me, “This question is very important. It shows you have really lived your life.” I saw her eyes full of tears. She said, “My dear, the most important body part is your 6___________.” I asked, “Is it because they hold up your head?” She replied, “7___________, it is because on them a crying friend or a loved one can 8___________ their head. I hope you will have a shoulder to cry 9___________ when you need it.”
Then and there I understood the most important body part is not a selfish one. It is being sympathetic to the pain of 10___________.
B
My father brought home a sailboat when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at 11___________. As for me, I learned both before twelve because of living close to Lake Ontario.
The last time Dad and I set sail together was really unforgettable. It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and invited Dad to go sailing. Out we set soon on the calm lake. Dad hadn’t 12___________for years, but everything 13___________ well with the tiller（舵柄）in his hands.
When we were in the middle of the lake, a 14___________ wind came all of a sudden. The boat was hit violently. Dad was always at his best in any danger, 15___________ at this moment he froze.
“John! 16___________!” he shouted in a trembling voice, with the tiller still in his hands.
In my memory he could fix any 17___________. He was the one I always 18___________ to for strength and security. Before I could respond, a wave of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller but it was too late. Another huge wall of water turned 19___________the boat in a minute. We were thrown into the water, and Dad was struggling aimlessly. At that moment, I felt fiercely protective of him.
I swam to Dad quickly and assisted him in climbing onto the hull（船壳）of the boat. Upon sitting on the hull, Dad was a little awkward about his flash of. 20___________ “It’s all right, Dad. We are safe now,” I comforted him.
That was the first time Dad had counted on me in a moment of emergency. More importantly, I found it was my turn to start looking out for my father.

John's mother used to be very _____ about what she wore，although her family was not that rich.

1. A.
   curious
2. B.
   special
3. C.
   particular
4. D.
   anxious

“It hurts me more than you” and “This is for your own good” — these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.

That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it as all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.

Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who speaks of her students “so passive” and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Klompus, contributes to children’s passivity. “We’re talking about a generation of kids who've never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying  'go and look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”

Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It's time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it's for their own good. It's time to start telling them no again.

1.Children are becoming more inactive in study because _______.

2.By “permissive period in education” (L.1, Para. 2) the author means a time _______.

3.The main idea of the passage is that _______.

When I was growing up, I always gave my mom an apron （围裙）on her birthday．I wanted my own mom —   21  that apron I'd just given her, of course —to   22  me at the end of each afternoon bearing a plate of home-baked   23  as she waited breathlessly to hear about my   24  day at school．
Mom loved her family without question, but as an elementary-school teacher she had her own exciting days to   25   .She had hardly any extra time and   26 , and home-baked treats were rare in our house except   27  very special occasions．Since Mom didn't make cookies very often, the   28  of her baking were not always the same．Sometimes the cookies were browned a little more than planned or   29  together and other times the cookies weren't smooth．  30 , none of that bothered anyone in the family．All we   31  was swallowing whatever we were having for dinner that night so we could get to the cookies   32  us on the kitchen counter．
Now that I'm a mom myself, I can   33  all too well why my mother didn't always have the time to wear the apron．As was true with my mother, the list of things I need to do is often   34 than the day itself．But I also understand the desire to   35  the same yellow mixing bowl my mother used and make something special for my family every so often．Whatever I bake is met with approval, appreciation and good   36  by my husband and children．At some level, I believe they're   37  that I was thinking about them as I   38  the brown sugar into the butter or frosted the cake with their favorite kind of icing．They always know I love them．I  39  they know it a little better when I'm in a baking mood．
I'm sure my mother felt   40  the same way whenever she made cookies for us．Those cookies will always, in my mind, be the best treat．