Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.
"Can we write him a letter?"
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."
My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.
"No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
"Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped (缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
"Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."
The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend (超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditar. I prayed to be a balloon.
【小题1】When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.

In Asia，there are special competitions where kites have complex designs and are fitted with instruments that make musical sounds as the wind blows through them.Although all kites have a similar structure(结构)，they are widely different in size and shape.Kite?fighting competitions are also held，in which competitors use their kites to attack and bring down their opponents’(对手) kites or cut their strings(线)．

For more than 15 years，the Big Wind Kite Factory has been giving kite?making and kite?flying classes for the children on an island in Hawaii.In its kite?making lessons，students can make kites in as little as 20 minutes！Children as young as four years old can learn how to fly a kite.Jonathan Socher and his wife Daphne started the kite factory in 1980.Their kites are made of nylon(尼龙)．Their designs are Hawaiian themes created by Daphne.The designs are cut out of the nylon with a hot knife that seals the edges and then fastened directly onto the kite.

The kite that is used to give lessons is a regular diamond kite with a rainbow pattern.The difference between this kite and the ones they make during the lessons is that it is a two?string controllable kite.Big Wind employees fly the kite and for a few minutes show students how pulling on one line and then on the other controls the direction the kite goes in.Then the controls are given to the students.

Jonathan insists that it is not necessary to make a huge impressive kite to have fun making and flying kites.Even the simplest structure can work，and can give hours of fun.Go on，give it a try！

(2012·安徽，D)

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．A hot knife is used to iron the nylon.

B．Children never fly kites on their own in flying lessons.

C．Kite strings must not be cut in kite?fighting competitions.

D．Daphne designs kites for the Big Wind Kite Factory.

2. What is different about the kite used for flying lessons?

A．It has two strings.

B．It is simple in design.

C．It has a rainbow pattern.

D．It is shaped like a diamond.

3. According to Jonathan，what do you need to have fun with kites?

A．A large kite.

B．Any type of kite.

C．A complex structure.

D．A kite that impresses others.

4.What is mainly described in the text?

A．A kite factory.

B．Kite?flying lessons.

C．Special competitions.

D．The kite?making process.

To learn an instrument such as the violin or accordion（手风琴）takes years. The job opportunities for musicians are scarce and competition is fierce. Then why are more people than ever before paying a lot of good cash to get their children the best music teaching they can afford?
The secret lies in the influence of music on the whole person. It has been found that learning a musical instrument actually increases a person’s IQ over time. Different instruments and different trypes of music have varying effect, with classical music and the string family coming out on top, potentially increasing you IQ by up to 12 points!
When is a good time to start learning music? Experts have found that even the fetus（胎儿）can benefit from listening to classical music. Surround yourself and your family with good music from the first. The Suzuki Piano Method teaches children from the age of 3 years piano, with two lessons per week. From preschool, children can learn to read music and play from sheet music. Progress in learning your instrument is directly proportional（成比例的）to the amount of practicing.
Is there such a thing as an unmusical child? Shinichi Suzuki proposes that music is the native home language of all human beings and therefore nobody can be “unmusical”. Of course there are exceptional talents, compared to which others may seem to be slower learners.
Is there any benefit for adults in starting an instrument? Apart from the purely relaxing aspect, yes. Learning an instrument can earn even adults additional IQ points, and as an added benefit in improves your health by reducing your stress levels. Your social life may benefit too, if you are prepared to come out of your box and join occasions such as Ceilidhs (musical get-togethers) or arrange house concerts. It has been established that people who play instruments tend to be more emotionally balanced and more patient with themselves, others and life in general.
So go ahead, sign up for that amateur orchestra, dust off your old trombone（长号）or take your first real six-string down from the attic（阁楼）; get out there and play!
【小题1】Playing which of the following musical instruments can help increase a person’s IQ most?

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．
“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”
She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．
【小题1】By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．  

People go fishing for many reasons, for one they like the sport of it, reeling in (搜卷轴拉近鱼钩) the big catch after a long day of work or just having a few drinks on the water with some friends and letting all the stress just go. Whatever the reasons may be, it is absolutely therapeutic.
People in the south sometimes do a strange type of fishing where they reach their arm inside a hole in the bank and pull out cat fish the size of a boat. There is one form called jug fishing where you get a milk jug or water jug and tie a heavy fishing line with a big hook, put on a small brim（容器的口）and throw it in the water. The next morning you get up and see what’s on the hook. There is fly fishing which is with a lighter string and top water jigs（滚钩）such as bugs that lay on the top of the water until the trout（鳟鱼）comes and takes it. It takes longer to reel them in because the line is so light and the fish are heavy.
Ice fishing is a dangerous kind of fishing in the north. You cut a hole in the ice, drop in your bait（诱饵）and wait for a fish to bite. You have to be careful that the fish doesn’t pull your line into the side of the ice and snap it. That is one problem with ice fishing but the fish are usually bigger and worth the trouble.
Going out on the lake with a couple of friends or alone with a couple of drinks and a fishing pole can be the most stress releasing thing you can do sometimes. Just to feel the waves rocking the boat and a good conversation is all the therapy you will need sometimes. Catching a fish is always a great bonus（奖励）.
【小题1】 The underlined word “therapeutic” may be replaced by ________.