The family man?
Father was a hardworking man who tried his best to support his wife and three
children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself
so that he could one day find a better-paid job, except for Sundays. Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted
to provide his family with the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed with a good mark! Soon after , he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor (主管), which paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to get the position of manager. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
Father’s hard word paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid
so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room flat was not longer big enough, and it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a condominium(公寓). Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father decided to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him again.
As expected, father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium near the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening in their new home, father told his family that he had decided not to take any more courses or pursue(追求) any more promotions. From then on he was going to spend more time with his family.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked seven days a week, didn’t he ?
【小题2】Why did father work and study hard?
【小题3】What was father’s first well-paid job?
【小题4】What did the family complain about father?
【小题5】Where did father manager to buy a beautiful condominium for his family?
【小题6】Do you want to have the “father”in your family? Why or not?

The story below is a true story that happened in September.
During the month of September, a dear friend of mine lost her husband suddenly in an accident. The tragedy was a great shock to everyone.
This accident was sudden and certainly unexpected. It made me realize the fact that you just don’t know when a loved one is no longer going to be with you. We sometimes take our loved ones for granted(当然)，and we expect that they will be with us all the time. However, as we all know, life does not work that way and sometimes we get a wake-up call that shocks us and makes us stand back and realize how short life is.
To cheer her up, I tried to imagine if I were in her shoes how I would feel. It was impossible to imagine what she was going through. What words could I say to help her?Sometimes words just can’t express our feelings. Sometimes our actions are much more meaningful than words. So I gave her a hug(拥抱)…
Life is too short, and we should treasure(珍惜) every day staying with our loved ones.
【小题1】The writer’s friend lost her husband _______.     

Do you get angry at your friends’ singing loudly while you are working? Or when your best friend does not wait for you after school?
If you do, you need to control your feelings and stop getting angry so easily. Getting angry with people can make you lose friends.
Gary Egeberg, an American high school teacher, has written My feelings Are Just Like Wild Animals to help you control your feelings. It tells teens how to stay cool when bad things happen to them. The book says that getting angry only makes problems worse. It can never make them better. Getting angry is not a natural way to act. It is just a bad habit, like smoking. The book says you can control your anger easily—all you have to do is telling yourself not to be angry.
When a baby falls over, it only cries if people are watching it. Like a baby, you should only get angry if you are sure it is the right thing to do.
·Keep a record. Every time you get angry, write down why you are angry. Look at it later and you will see you get angry too easily.
·Ask your friends to stop talking to you when you get angry. This will teach you not to be angry.
·Do something different. When you get angry, walk away from the problem and go somewhere else. Try to laugh!
【小题1】The writer wants to tell us         .

You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience to study here.

In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.

When I first studied English, I was told to say, “I am fine.” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found that people say, “I am good.” or “I’m tired.”

One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made me confused(不知所措). I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.

Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.

To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan(晒黑). However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter”.

I was also surprised by how hard-working US students are.

In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.

The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.

1.According to the writer, textbook English is ______ everyday English.

A．quite different from                     B．the same as

C．more difficult than                      D．easier than

2.A good US student spends his / her time ______.

A．only in doing homework

B．only on sports or music

C．only in working for the public

D．on studies, sports or music and public work

3.Which of the following is NOT true ?

A．The writer is now staying in the US.

B．American girls love to have white skin.

C．The US students are hard-working.

D．Schoolwork is almost everything in China.