When a first-time father saw his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might be made fun of his child. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy---- the ears presented only a small problem with its appearance.
But the nervous father continued. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule, or if they should consider plastic surgery(整形手术). The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.
The father finally felt more optimistic about his child, but now he worried about his wife's reaction to those large ears. She had been delivered by operation, and had not yet seen the child.
“She doesn't take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.
By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's large ears.
The baby was in a blanket(毛毯) with his head covered for the short trip through the cold air-conditioned corridor. The baby was placed in his mother's arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could look at her child for the first time.
She took one look at her baby's face and looked to her husband and gasped, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”
No problem with Mom. She married those ears...and she loves the man to whom they are attached.
The poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It's hard to see the ears when you're looking into the light.
【小题1】When the father first saw his baby, he was worried that________.

When a first-time father saw his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might be made fun of his child. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy---- the ears presented only a small problem with its appearance.

But the nervous father continued. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule, or if they should consider plastic surgery(整形手术). The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.

The father finally felt more optimistic about his child, but now he worried about his wife's reaction to those large ears. She had been delivered by operation, and had not yet seen the child.

“She doesn't take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.

By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's large ears.

The baby was in a blanket(毛毯) with his head covered for the short trip through the cold air-conditioned corridor. The baby was placed in his mother's arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could look at her child for the first time.

She took one look at her baby's face and looked to her husband and gasped, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”

No problem with Mom. She married those ears...and she loves the man to whom they are attached.

The poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It's hard to see the ears when you're looking into the light.

1.When the father first saw his baby, he was worried that________.

2.According to the doctor and nurse, the baby’s ears________.

3.What is true about the baby’s mother?

4.What does the underlined word they refer to in the last but on paragraph(倒数第2段)?

5.What’s the function of the last paragraph?

When a first-time father saw his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might be made fun of his child. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy---- the ears presented only a small problem with its appearance.
But the nervous father continued. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule, or if they should consider plastic surgery(整形手术). The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.
The father finally felt more optimistic about his child, but now he worried about his wife's reaction to those large ears. She had been delivered by operation, and had not yet seen the child.
“She doesn't take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.
By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's large ears.
The baby was in a blanket(毛毯) with his head covered for the short trip through the cold air-conditioned corridor. The baby was placed in his mother's arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could look at her child for the first time.
She took one look at her baby's face and looked to her husband and gasped, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”
No problem with Mom. She married those ears...and she loves the man to whom they are attached.
The poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It's hard to see the ears when you're looking into the light.

1. 1.

   When the father first saw his baby, he was worried that________.

   1. A.
      The baby might not grow up healthily.
   2. B.
      The baby might be laughed at by others.
   3. C.
      The baby might disappoint its mother.
   4. D.
      the baby might have mental problems.
2. 2.

   According to the doctor and nurse, the baby’s ears________.

   1. A.
      could not function well.
   2. B.
      looked the same as others.
   3. C.
      only caused a small problem.
   4. D.
      needed to have plastic surgery.
3. 3.

   What is true about the baby’s mother?

   1. A.
      She blamed her husband for the baby’s big ears.
   2. B.
      She was the first to discover the baby’s large ears.
   3. C.
      She suggested having an operation on the baby immediately.
   4. D.
      She found something similar between the baby and its father.
4. 4.

   What does the underlined word they refer to in the last but on paragraph(倒数第2段)?

   1. A.
      The ears.
   2. B.
      The parents.
   3. C.
      The doctor and nurse.
   4. D.
      The problems
5. 5.

   What’s the function of the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      To advise readers to listen carefully.
   2. B.
      To draw a conclusion from the story.
   3. C.
      To criticize the wrong attitude to physical beauty.
   4. D.
      To stress the importance of doctor-patient relationship.

Last year, on report card day, my son and a group of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald's. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A's, and Laurie got a cell-phone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she's only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $10 for each A.”
I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cell-phone, and the DVD player?       
I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle disappear before my eyes---no more of those $5 bags of already-peeled organic（施有机肥料的）carrots. No more organic anything!            
I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal achieved by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns（橄榄球底线得分）? What about the orchestra（管弦乐队）? Would first chair pay more than second? I'd be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.
“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that's about it.”
Don't you just hate that? We're all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation. And what about the primary grades? What do these students get? “When the teacher asked if anyone got rewards for good grades, everyone in my class raised their hands and said they got ice cream cones (蛋卷),” said one third-grader.
【小题1】What's the best title for the passage?

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.

The father asked his son, “What is that?”

The son replied, “That is a crow.”

After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?”

The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”

After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for the third time, “What is this?”

This time, the son said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”

After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?”

This time his son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘ITIS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”

A minute later the father went to his room and came back with a diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page.

Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel angry, but instead felt affection for my son.

If your parents reach old age, do not look at them as a burden（负担）, but speak to them gently, and be kind to them. From today say this aloud, “I want to see my parents happy forever. They have cared for me ever since I was a little child. They have always showered me with love. I will take care of my old parents in the best way no matter how they behave.”

1.The old man brought out the diary, which he had kept since his son was born, because ______.

A．he forgot what had happened

B．he would like his son to read it

C．it could remind himself of the past

D．he wanted to find what a crow was

2.The underlined word “affection” (last but one Para.) probably means______.

A．puzzle            B．hatred(恨)         C．worry            D．love

3.The writer mainly intends to ______ .

A．tell us the function (作用) of a diary         B．call on us to love our parents

C．teach us what a crow is                   D．introduce a pair of son and father