Like most big projects, learning to manage your mother well is what you should do. Here are what I believe the best steps towards a better relationship with her. They are not necessarily surprising or revolutionary, but they have worked for many people. Try them.

Remember your mother’s age. As children, we often do not think of our mother as having an age. Even when we become conscious of her as an individual, age does not change our view; she is still our mother. Knowing our mother’s age, not just in numbers of years but in terms of her psychological and physical state, often helps us to understand her better.

Listen to your mother. I have found that sometimes the things my mother told me long ago are remarkably useful. If your mother knows that you respect her point of view, even if you do not share it, it will help her feel close to you.

Remember that your mother has a past. A key step in managing our relationship with our mother is to find out about her early life. Niclle’s mother suffered much during the Second War World War. “My parents are both Jewish-Turkish. They met in France and married young for love. They were in their twenties when war broke out and because they were Jews, they had to go into hiding. She does speak to me about the war, and I think it is important to know what she went through. It is a part of her life that must have affected her deeply. ” Sometimes, in learning about our mother’s past, we know that it can encourage us to think about her whole life.

Ask your mother about your childhood history. My grandparents died when I was young. If you are fortunate enough to have living family, think of your life as a jigsaw puzzle and ask as many questions as you can to put the picture together. Understanding your roots and your childhood can help you now more clearly who you are, as part of a family which you share with your mother.

Keep a sense of humor about your mother. When we hear about someone else’s misfortunes with their mothers and are amused by them, our laughter is one of recognition. I have often listened to stories of difficult mothers and I have also listened to the following piece of advice they have found most helpful is: “Don’t have a sense of humor failure about your mother. ”

Remember that managing your mother is really about managing yourself. Taking any measure to managing our mother is the issue of how we manage ourselves. No matter how difficult we find her, it is important to remember that is not her behavior it self that is causing us discomfort, but the way we feel about her behavior. We should follow the way of her life. At the heart of managing your mother is being able to accept your flawed self. Only then are you able to accept your mother—-with all her failings.

The followings are the steps you can take to get on with your mother EXCEPT________.

A. Remember your mother’s age and past  

B. Share your roots and your childhood with your mother

C. Have a sense of humor failure about your mother

D. Managing your shortcoming while managing your mother

What does the underlined phrase “a jigsaw puzzle” mean?

A. 拼图玩具         B. 浏览迷宫        C. 填充字谜       D. 游戏人生

Which of the following is implied but not stated in the passage?

A. It will help you have a better relationship with your mother if you respect her opinion.

B. You should follow a most useful piece of advice——a sense of humor.

C. The key measure of managing our mother is how we manage ourselves.

D. It is unreasonable to expect our mother to change totally from the way she was brought up.

The main purpose of writing the text is ________.

A. to give information about how we think of your mother.

B. to improve the relationship with your mother.

C. to keep a sense of humor about your mother all day long.

D. to accept your mother—-with all her failings.

　 English as a Foreign Language

　 Who taught you to speak English? Your parents, while you were a young child? Your teachers at school? Perhaps even the BBC as a grown-up. Whoever it was, somehow you have developed an understanding of what is rapidly becoming a truly global language.

　 There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language, and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. There are said to be one billion people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.

　 Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures（文化）？Or should we worry about the dangers of ‘mono-centralism’, a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music?

　 Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? On the contrary（相反），I would have thought－although I have never accepted the argument that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people of India（where many of them speak at least some English）and Pakistan（the same situation with India）…

　 If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonalds burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant（占主导地位的）, it will kill other languages ? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps some French or German as well.

　 When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic email from a listener in Ireland. “The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it’s like a rose,” he said. “But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?”

　 Well, I love roses, and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don’t necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that’s fine by me.

67．By saying “Ask the people of India…and Pakistan”（in Paragraph 4）, the author is trying to show that _____.

A．speaking the same language doesn’t necessarily bring peace

B．wars can destroy the relationship between two countries

C．English doesn’t kill other languages

D．English is widely used in the world

68．What does “garden” in the last two paragraphs stand for?

A．Language　　　　　　　 B. Family　 　　　　　　　 C. The world　　　　　　　 D. The Earth

69．The author would probably agree that ______.

A．it’s very hard to plant many kinds of flowers in a garden

B．it’s good for people from other countries to learn English

C．more and more people like to plant roses in their gardens

D．English is easier to learn than other languages

70．This passage is mainly about ________.

A．why English has become a global language

B．how many people in the world speak English

C．how people in the world learn English as a foreign language

D．whether we need to worry about English being a world language

阅读理解

　　Who taught you to speak English? Your parents, while you were a young child Your teachers at school? Perhaps even the BBC as a grown－up. Whoever it was, somehow you have developed an understanding of what is rapidly becoming a truly global language.

　　There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language, and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. There are said to be one billion people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.

　　Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures(文化)? Or should we worry about the dangers of “mono－culturalism”, a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music?

　　Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? On the contrary (相反), I would have thought－although I have never accepted the argument that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people Of India (where many of them speak at least some English) and Pakistan (the same situation with India)…

　　If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonalds burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant(占主导地位的), it will kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps some French or German as well.

　　When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic e－mail from a listener in Ireland. “The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it's like a rose,” he said. “But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?”

　　Well, I love roses, and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don't necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that's fine by me.

1．By saying “Ask the people of India… and Pakistan” (in Paragraph 4), the author is trying to show that ________.

[　　]

A．speaking the same language doesn't necessarily bring peace

B．wars can destroy the relationship between two countries

C．English doesn't kill other languages

D．English is widely used in the world

2．What does “garden” in the last two paragraphs stand for?

[　　]

3．The author would probably agree that ________.

[　　]

A．it's very hard to plant many kinds of flowers in a garden

B．it's good for people from other countries to learn English

C．more and more people like to plant roses in their gardens

D．English is easier to learn than other languages

4．This passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．why English has become a global language

B．how many people in the world speak English

C．how people in the world learn English as a foreign language

D．whether we need to worry about English being a world language