You are from a middle-class family, and live in a normal-size home without any showy possessions, but you are surrounded by surprising consumption (消费). This contrast is beginning to bother your 6-year-old son. You are worried that he will want to live as they do, and wonder if you should move.

Sometimes big pocket money, joyful birthday parties, special playrooms and super-big houses tell you that your neighbors probably have more money than you do, and that they’re not as careful as you are with money, but you may find that they cook and dig in the garden with their children just as often as you do, talk with them as freely and read to them every night.

Or you may find that some of these parents stay in one wing of their big house while their child plays by himself, way off in a wing of his own. In that unfortunate case, he is basically growing up alone without being looked after properly, but this can happen to a child who lives in a normal-size horse, too, if he has a TV, a computer and a few video games in his room. Even the most caring parent doesn’t walk in and out of it to see what show her child is watching, what Internet site he has found and if he’s still playing that video game.

Too much uncontrolled screen time may lead to a certain loss of innocence (天真), but mostly this child will lose the sense of unity and satisfaction that comes from being in a family.

A neighborhood should also provide you with a sense of unity and satisfaction, and if it doesn’t, you might decide to move. Don’t judge your neighborhood too harshly (严厉地), though. There are some things that are right with almost any neighborhood and some things that are wrong with the best of them — like those super-big houses. The wealth of their owners — and the way they throw money around — may make your son feel sorry for himself, unless you help him understand that you and his dad save some of the money, give some to people who don’t have enough and use the rest to pay for whatever the family needs.

Children want — should be provided with — explanations when their patents don’t give them what they want .

1.What is the problem with the worried parent in the text?

A． Her house isn’t as big as her rich neighbors’.

B． Her son is left alone without anyone in charge.

C． She cannot provide her son with a special playroom.

D． She worries about the effect of her neighbors on her son.

2.In paragraphs 2 and 3, the author seems to agree that parents should      .

A． spend more time with their children.

B． give their children more freedom.

C． work hard to lead a richer life.

D． set an example for their children to follow

3.By saying “throw money around” (paragraph 5), the author means that rich people      .

A．spend money carelessly              B．save money for their children

C．help the poor people willingly         D．leave money all round the house

4.What is the main idea the author aims to express in the text?

A． Children are unfortunate to have poor parents.

B． Children should enjoy their comfortable life.

C．Children need proper guidance from their parents.

D．Children feel ashamed of themselves in a rich neighborhood.

.

Many parents find that their children act very mean to their friends. They wonder what they can do about this behavior without squashing their spirit. Here is what parenting experts explain and suggest:

Pre-schoolers have no idea how others feel. They are in the process of understanding their own feelings and have not yet developed “emotional intelligence”. Children of this age also do things just because it can make them feel powerful when they are able to make others respond.

Here are some things you can do to reduce the mean talk: When the child’s in a good mood, look her in the eyes and lovingly tell her how you feel when she speaks in a mean way to another child. Have a look of disappointment on your face and role-play with her to show her the behavior you would like to see. Then, every time you see her demonstrating the “nice” interaction with others, stop what you’re doing, give her eyes contact and make a big deal out of it. Young children need to know what good behavior looks like with regular encouragement. When you catch her being mean to a child, get down on your knees next to her, and, with your arm around her, face the child that is receiving her meanness, and apologize to the child for both of you, then walk away. As soon as the other child is away, let your daughter know how disappointed you are in her behavior and quickly let it go.

Parents should set up a consequence when this negative behavior occurs. You can give these other ideas a try first. If you’re not seeing any results after a few times, then go ahead and set up the consequence（such as not being able to play with that child). Avoid using “time out” because it doesn’t work. It gives the child too much power and too much attention. The most effective consequences are those that are directly tied to the behavior. If she is being mean to children, then the play session ends. And most importantly, set up this consequence in advance when the negative behavior is NOT occurring.

If you should catch her being a “bully” to another child, and she has somehow hurt him or her, immediately put all your attention on the victim, not her. Don’t scold or punish your daughter. Softly, gently, and immediately, nurture the hurt child and get your daughter to assist you in the nurturing. When things have calmed down, let her know face to face how disappointed you are in her behavior, not her as a child.

65. When a child talks mean to his friend, the best way to correct it is to___________.

A. tell him directly that it is a wrong doing   

B. demonstrate what a good behavior is

C. make him apologize to his friend

D. ask his friend not to play with him anymore

66. The underlined phrase “make a big deal out of it ” in paragraph 2 probably

Means_____________.

A. show some disappointment B. say a few words of praise

C. exchange gifts with the child      D. present a surprised look

67. When dealing with a child’s mean action, you shouldn’t___________.

A. punish her in the presence of her friend.   

B. put on a disappointed look on your face

C. tell her that you are unhappy to see that   

D. nurture the hurt child immediately

68. The passage is mainly about how to___________

A. bring up children                     

B. solve pre-school children’s problems

C. help children make friends             

D. guide children when bad behaviors occur 

For years we have been told that encouraging a child’s self-respect is important to his or her success in life. But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect. Praise-aholic kids who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek the same kind of approval from their friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car.

The implication(含义) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores the highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.

Social psychologist Carol Dweck, PHD, tested the effects of over-praise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.

“Praising attributes(品质) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges,” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’d better quit while they’re ahead.”

1.The underlined words “Praise-aholic kids” refer to kids who are ______.

A. tired of being praised           B. worthy of being praised

C. very proud of being praised      D. extremely fond of being praised

2.The author quoted Dr.Dweck’s words in the last paragraph in order to make the article ______.

A. better-known                 B. better-organized

C. more persuasive               D. more interesting

3.We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. praise for efforts should be more encouraged

B. praise for results works better than praise for efforts

C. praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life

D. praising a child’s abilities encourages him or her to take on challenges

George, when your big brother and your little dog and I walked you up to schools today, you

had no idea how I was feeling.

You were so excited. You had packed and unpacked your pencils and safety scissors in your backpack a dozen times. I am really going to miss those lazy mornings when we waved your brother and sister off to school.

Because you are my youngest, I had learned a few things by the time you came along. I found out that the seemingly endless days of babyhood are gone like lightning. I blinked(眨眼), and your older siblings were setting off for school as eagerly as you did this morning, I was one of the lucky ones; I could choose whether to work or not. By the time it was your turn, the shining prizes of career advancement and a double income had lost their brightness. A splash(溅水) in the pool with you in your bright red boots or "just one more" rereading of your favorite book, Frog and Toad Are Friends, meant more. You didn't go to preschool and I hope that doesn't hold you back. You learned numbers by helping me count the soda cans we returned to the store.

I have to admit that in my mind's eye, an image of myself while you're in school has developed, I see myself updating all the photo albums and starting that novel I always wanted to write. As the summer wound down and more frequent quarrels erupted between you and your siblings, I was looking forward to today. And then this morning, I walked you up the steep hill to your classroom. You found the coat hook with your name above it right away, and you gave me one of your characteristically fierce, too-tight hugs. This time you were ready to let go before I was.

Maybe someday you will deliver a kindergartner to the first day of school. When you turn at the door to wave good-bye, he or she will be too deep in conversation with a new friend to notice. Even as you smile, you'll feel something warm on your cheek.

And then, you’ll know…

64．What does the author mean by the underlined sentence?

A．She gave up the job with a big salary and prizes.

B．She could only recall her good job at home now.

C．Many good jobs with better pay attracted her but she didn’t take them.

D．Compared with bringing up the baby, work seemed to fade to her.

65．Which statement is NOT TRUE about George’s family according to the letter?

A．George’s parents gave birth to three children

B．The Georges is a double income family.

C．The children had more arguments during the summer.

D．They recyled soda cans.

66．The passage tries to show us         .

A．how excited a child will be on his first day to school

B．how deeply a mother loves her child

C．how many efforts a mother has made to raise a child

D．how a mother plans her future life after her children go to school

An allowance is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their own decisions. Children remem­ber and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly.
How large an allowance is appropriate? Experts say there is not right amount. Actual amounts differ from region to re­gion, and from family to family.
To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work up a weekly budget. Allow for entertainment expenditures such as movies and snacks. Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, school supplies. "If you make the child responsible for these ‘ ills’," says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, " he or she will learn to budget for nec­essary expenditures."
Finally, add some extra money to make saving possible. If you can, keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends. A child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers’ can feel left out.
It can be tough, but avoid excusing your children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Ste­phens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her $5 a week, $1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch." If you lose your money," Brooke’s mother told her, "you walk home."
One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store, then she called home for a ride. " Mom made me walk home," recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brook­lyn. " At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson. "
Experts advise that an allowance should not be tied di­rectly to a child’s daily chores. Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of a family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home, which can develop his or her initiative.
63. Which of the following is the possible title of the passage?
A. How to develop a child’s initiative.
B. How to work up an amount of pocket money.
C. How to teach a child to save money.
D. How to teach a child about money.
64. It can be inferred from the passage that if a child is given an allowance, he or she may ________.
A. spend all the money very soon             
B. be spoiled and finally ruined
C. feel responsible and careful about money
D. lost the money and can not return home
65. In Paragraph 4, the words “his peers” refer to ________.
A. his parents      B. his teachers       C. his financial experts      D. his friends
66. The author implies in the passage that ________.
A. paying children for their housework is no good
B. a child’s initiative can be developed if he or she is paid for all the housework
C. children may feel lost and lonely if they have no pocket money
D. children may learn to put aside some money if they are given a great amount of pocket money