Mom and Dad are two of the most important people in your life. You probably see at least one of them every day. If your dad worships(崇拜) the Pittsburgh Stealers, you are likely to grow up being a big fun of that football team. And if your mom loves to read you just might grow up carrying everywhere you go, just like she does.
Here are four ways you can stay close and build a strong relationship with your parents.
1. Spent time together. How much time do you spend just enjoying each other’s company? Instead of playing a computer game or watching TV, maybe you can ask your mom and dad to play with you. Go outside together, try a board game, or read a book out.
2. Share your feelings and ask for help. Your mom or dad may not know that you are having a problem. Tell a parent if you are sad or struggling with something.
3. Show your care. Some families are always kissing, hugging, and saying “I love you”. It’s important to show that you care for each other. In addition to kisses and hugs, kids and parents show their love by respecting each other, being caring, polite, and thoughtful.
4. Whatever you do, do your best! You don’t have to be perfect, but when you do your best, you make your parents proud. It makes them happy to see how you are turning into such a great kid. Why? Because it lets them know they’re doing a good job.
【小題1】The first paragraph mainly tells us___________.   

A．the Pittsburgh Stealers is a famous football team

B．the kid will like reading if his or her mother likes

C．parents influence(影響) their kids greatly.

D．we should follow our parents’ hobbies.

【小題2】In the third paragraph, the author suggests that ____________.  

A．you keep your parents company all the time

B．you stay at home with your parents

C．you do something together with your parents.

D．you enjoy games when your parents watch TV

【小題3】The underlined part “they’re doing a good job” means_____________. 

A．they have very good jobs

B．their jobs can bring the family much money

C．they make you become a great kid

D．they make you find a good job.

【小題4】The text intends to（旨在）tell us______________. 

A．parents are important to everyone

B．how we get along with our parents

C．to respect our parents

D．to share feelings with our parents

Who is your role model? Normally the answer to this question would be anyone around you who you find truly inspiring. It could also be someone like J. K. Rowling or Martin Luther King Jr. who have proven to be strong and intelligent people.
However, in today's world, stars are regarded as role models along with the heroes listed above, despite their intentions or actions. Teens attempt to imitate their actions for two major reasons. First, to be fashionable and accepted by popular culture, and second»because stars' actions are so well documented by the media that it seems to grab our attention and turns it to following stars' lives. Much of the reports about stars is shocking and exhibits bad morals or lifestyles that aren't right for teenagers. In addition, almost everything stars do is described beyond truth to make a shocking story by taking it to the next level.
However, teens must take responsibility for their actions. We can't always blame stars for influencing us. Only you have control over yourself and only you choose to do something. Our bodies and actions are in the hands of no one else.
Now, who ever said stars are role models? Whether they choose to be or not, stars set examples as soon as they step into the spotlight. With reporters following and recording every move they make, it is impossible not to be watched and then be imitated. These people influence, teens whether or not they want to. Why should someone who doesn't want to be setting an example set one? So，should we look up to them or to people who are true and good role models? It's our responsibility as teens to know right from wrong, and it's time for us to take responsibility for our actions. In doing so，we will lean toward those inspiring people that want to be setting an example, and follow in their steps to be like them. 
【小題1】According to the first paragraph, _____can usually be role models.

A．political leaders

B．wealthy writers

C．people inspiring others

D．people with great intelligence

【小題2】What are the major reasons for the teens to imitate stars? _____.

A．Interest in stars' life and expectation of getting rich

B．Motivation for being fashionable and inspiration from popular examples

C．Intentions to gain acceptance and encouragement from stars' lifestyle

D．Desires to be stylish and great influence from the mass media

【小題3】The author writes the passage mainly to advise the teenagers to_____.

A．have a control over their own bodies and actions

B．be responsible for their own choices and behaviors

C．follow fashionable stars' steps to be more popular

D．choose right role models according to different reports

【小題4】It can be inferred from the passage that  .

A．stars have the responsibility for teenagers' actions

B．not all famous stars choose to influence teenagers

C．teenagers choose those inspiring people as their role models

D．stars set examples immediately they stepped into the spotlight

Dear Teresa Silva,
The official of the university has reported to us that you are an English major who meets the high standards for membership in Sigma Tau Delta. As is known, Sigma Tau Delta was founded in 1924 at Dakota Wesleyan University. It is an international collegiate honor society for students of English. It presently has over 850 chapters in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Over 9,000 new members are admitted into the organization annually.
Sigma Tau Delta’s purpose is to promote literature and writing and to advance the study of the written word. Members gather annually in the spring at the international meeting to present papers and share experiences and ideas within the English subject. The Society offers tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, awards, as well as publication chances in its journals The Rectangle and The Sigma Tau Delta Review.
It is our pleasure if you can complete the application for Sigma Tau Delta membership. If you would like to be included in this spring’s induction (入會) ceremony, please complete the application form, and include amount to cover both local and international fees. Your completed form must be received by date to be considered for the upcoming induction ceremony.
We congratulate you on your outstanding academic record and hope you will join us as a Sigma Tau Delta member. If you want to get more information, please visit our website www.sigmataudelta.org, or give us a call. The phone number is 583-2864.
Sincerely,
Emily Lister
【小題1】According to the passage, Sigma Tau Delta ______.

A．deals with language learning

B．opens its door to all the students of English

C．changes its members every year

D．mainly takes charge of scientific publications

【小題2】At the annual meeting, members of Sigma Tau Delta have the chance to ______.

A．meet all the chapter leaders

B．receive tens of thousands of dollars

C．share experiences and views

D．choose a particular subject as a major

【小題3】This passage is basically a letter of _____.

A．introduction

B．congratulation

C．thanks

D．invitation

When I asked my daughter which item she would keep; the phone, the car, the cooker, the computer, the TV, or her boyfriend, she said“the phone”. Personally, I could do without the phone entirely, which makes me unusual. Because the telephone is changing our lives more than any other piece of technology.
Point 1 The telephone creates the need to communicate, in the same way that more roads create more traffic. My daughter comes home from school at 4:00 pm and then spends an hour on the phone talking to the very people she has been at school with all day. If the phone did not exist, would she have anything to talk about?
Point 2 The mobile phone means that we are never alone. “The mobile saved my life,”says Crystal Johnstone. She had an accident in her Volvo on the A45 between Otley and Skipton. Trapped inside, she managed to make the call that brought the ambulance(救護車) to her rescue.
Point 3 The mobile removes our secret. It allows marketing manager of Haba Deutsch, Carl Nicolaisen, to ring his sales staff all round the world at and time of day to ask where they are , where they are going, and how their last meeting went.
Point 4 The telephone separates us. Antonella Bramante in Rome says, “We worked in separate offices but I could see him through the window. It was easy to get his number. We were so near——but we didn’t meet for the first two weeks!”
Point 5 The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives. Today we can talk to several complete strangers simultaneously ( 同時地) on chat lines (at least my daughter does. I wouldn’t know what to talk about). We can talk across the world. We can even talk to astronauts (if you know any) while they’re space-walking. And, with the phone line hooked up to the computer, we can access(進(jìn)入) the Internet, the biggest library on Earth.
【小題1】How do you understand‘Point 1 —The telephone creates the need to communicate,6…’？

A．People don’t communicate without telephone.

B．People communicate because of the creating of the telephone.

C．People communicate more since telephone has been created.

D．People communicate more because of more traffic.

【小題2】Which of the following best shows people’s attitude towards mobile phones?

A．Mobile phones help people deal with the emergency.

B．Mobile phones bring convenience as well little secret to people.

C．Mobile phones are so important and should be encouraged.

D．Mobile phones are part of people’s life.

【小題3】Which points do you think support the idea that phones improve people’s life?
a.      Point 1. b. Point2. c. Point3. d. Point 4. e. Point 5.

A．c, d

B．a(chǎn), e

C．a(chǎn), c

D．b, e

【小題4】It is possible to talk to several complete strangers simultaneously through .

A．the TV screen	B．a(chǎn) fax machine
C．the phone line hooked up to the computer	D．a(chǎn) microphone

【小題5】The best heading for the passage is .

A．The power of Phone	B．Kinds of Phone
C．How to Use Phones	D．Advantage of Phones

Sailing Through History
A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died. The ship, which was headed to New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants, who were seeking a better life in America.
Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship, are on the Balmoral. They want to remember the doomed ship and those who died on her first and last voyage. The historic liner had set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton. Late at night on April 14, she hit an iceberg. In the early morning hours of April 15, the Titanic sank.
The Balmoral is following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.
Balmoral will then cruise the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped the ship’s hull(外殼). On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m.—the time the Titanic went down—passengers and crew will hold a memorial service. The next two days will be spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.
Until today, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.
【小題1】How many passengers in Titanic survived at last?

A．More than 1500.

B．About 1309.

C．About 1000.

D．Less than 750.

【小題2】How many countries does the Balmoral reach before sailing to New York?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．five.

【小題3】The Balmoral will stay in Canada just __________.

A．in memory of the dead passengers in the Balmoral

B．in memory of the survivors in Titanic

C．in memory of the dead passengers in Titanic

D．in memory of the survivors in the Balmoral

【小題4】What might be the most important contribution of sunken Titanic?

A．Its site attracts more exploring teams.

B．It makes the later ships more secure.

C．Some of its items are on public display.

D．More trips are planned to its wreckage.

Have you ever intended to be fully absorbed in your work but found yourself distracted by e-mail, the Internet and other things throughout the day? According to the survey made by a famous university in the USA, most people have the experience.
"People often lose their concentration when they are bored, of course, but also when they are engaged in challenging tasks," says Peter Bregman, the head of the survey. "They sometimes have a feeling to escape from what's difficult or boring, so they jump out," he says. The part of the brain devoted to attention is connected to the brain's emotional center. Any strong emotion —quarrels with colleagues, problems at home —can interrupt our attention. Studies over the last decade have shown that too much work to do at a time can easily lead to distraction.
Refocusing is hard for many people. Robert Epstein suggests the following, "Stop and listen to some soft music for a few minutes. Find a good friend or a teacher and say out your matter on your mind. Go for a short walk or take a deep breath, where you breathe in deeply, count to five slowly, hold it and breathe out very slowly." This can "blow out all the tension and the unwanted in your mind to restore your focus."
Take more control by structuring your time and becoming more aware of your behaviors. "Setting the phone alarm to go off every hour is my way of creating awareness," Mr. Bregman says. "You have to inform yourself that you've lost focus in order to do something about it." Starting the day with a to-do list is also important, such as when to eat, when to go to the gym or take a walk. But if it's overly ambitious, you will put yourself in a state of anxiety, which makes it hard for the brain to concentrate. "Choosing three or four things as your priority for the day allows your brain to settle down and focus," he says.
【小題1】According to the passage, which is NOT the reason why some people can be distracted from their work?

A．They don't want to be devoted to their work.

B．They are disturbed by the Internet and other things.

C．They can't find interest in their work.

D．They feel their work is too hard for them.

【小題2】Which incident might NOT interrupt your attention?

A．You were scolded by your teacher.

B．You had words with your good friend.

C．You went to school at six as usual.

D．Your mother and father had a quarrel.

【小題3】What's the meaning of the underlined word "restore" in the passage?

A．recover

B．reform

C．release

D．react

【小題4】According to Robert Epstein, how can we refocus on what we should do?

A．Listen to rock music for some time.

B．Turn to your good friends or teachers for help.

C．Run around the playground for some time.

D．Take a breath from time to time.

If you want to teach your children how to say sorry, you must be good at saying it yourself, especially to your own children. But how you say it can be quite tricky.
　　If you say to your children “I’m sorry I got angry with you, but …” what follows that “but” can render the apology ineffective: “I had a bad day” or “your noise was giving me a headache ” leaves the person who has been injured feeling that he should be apologizing for his bad behavior in expecting an apology.
　　Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to say “I’m sorry you’re upset”; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing yourself to get upset by what the other person has done.
　　Then there is the general, all covering apology, which avoids the necessity of identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person who is apologizing should promise never to do again. Saying “I’m useless as a parent” does not commit a person to any specific improvement.
　　These pseudo-apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness. Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not resort to these pseudo-apologies.
　　But even when presented with examples of genuine contrition, children still need help to become aware of the complexities of saying sorry. A three-year-old might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old might need reminding that spoiling other children’s expectations can require an apology. A 12-year-old might need to be shown that raiding the biscuit tin without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent’s clothes without permission is not.
【小題1】According to the author, saying “I’m sorry you’re upset” most probably means “_______”.

A．You have good reason to get upset

B．I’m aware you’re upset, but I’m not to blame

C．I apologize for hurting your feelings

D．I’m at fault for making you upset

【小題2】We learn from the last paragraph that in teaching children to say sorry _______.

A．the complexities involved should be ignored

B．their ages should be taken into account

C．parents need to set them a good example

D．parents should be patient and tolerant

【小題3】It can be inferred from the passage that apologizing properly is _______.

A．a(chǎn) social issue calling for immediate attention

B．not necessary among family members

C．a(chǎn) sign of social progress

D．not as simple as it seems

When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.
It goes like this: You can’t take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks to the rail station. We’d take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.
The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.
Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.
On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where’s the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?
I’m writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.
【小題1】Which was forbidden by Mom on Transportation Days?

A．Having a car ride.

B．Taking the train twice.

C．Buying more than one toy.

D．Touring the historic district.

【小題2】According to the writer, what was the greatest benefit of her Transportation Days?

A．Building confidence in herself.

B．Reducing her use of private cars.

C．Developing her sense of direction.

D．Giving her knowledge about vehicles.

【小題3】The underlined word “paralyzed” (in Para. 5) is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．displayed

B．justified

C．ignored

D．ruined

【小題4】Which means of transportation does the writer probably disapprove of?

A．Airplane.

B．Subway.

C．Tram.

D．Car.

As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mill carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.
In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when 1 was a boy it was such a fun to stick your finger 'through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.
On Dad' s final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service. "Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route." he used to say, "and a story at every one. " One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read. "Nat, take these eggs to Marian; she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs. " Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken, or lying on the groom:. bat the mail was always delivered On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few button on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to 8 32,000.
A dozen years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad’s death,  the mailboxes along the way reminded me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that wasn't the case.
As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles, one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green and the other was red, and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SANTA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.
At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. " What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?" he asked.
"The letters?"
'I guess you never knew. "
"Knew what?"
" Remember, when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year. "
I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.
For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime.
【小題1】It can be inferred from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad us_____.

A．great chances to help other people

B．happy occasions to play with baby chickens

C．exciting experience* with a lot of fun

D．good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies

【小題2】The writer provides the detail about the businessman to show that_____.

A．Dad had a strong sense of duty

B．Dad was an honest and reliable man

C．Dad had a strong sense of honor

D．Dad was a kind and generous man

【小題3】According to the passage, which of the following impressed the writer most?

A．Dad read letters for a blind lady for years.

B．Dad paid for the stamps for a young girl.

C．Dad delivered some eggs to Marian.

D．Dad answered children's Christmas letters every year.

【小題4】The method the writer uses to develop Paragraph 4 is______.

A．offering analyses	B．providing explanations
C．giving examples	D．making comparisons

【小題5】What surprised the children most when they received letters in reply from Santa Claus every year?

A．Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole.

B．Santa Claus answered all their letters every year.

C．Santa Claus had unique mailboxes for the children.

D．Santa Claus had so much information about their families.

【小題6】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．The Mail	B．Christmas Letters
C．Special Mailboxes	D．Memorable Travels

Two friends have an argument that bleaks up their friendship forever, even though neither one can remember how the whole thing got started. Such sad events happen over and over in high schools across the country. In fact, according to an official report on youth violence, "In our country today, the greatest threat to the lives of children and adolescents is not disease or starvation or abandonment, but the terrible reality of violence". Given that this is the case, why aren't students taught to manage conflict the way they are taught to solve math problems, drive cars, or stay physically fit?
First of all, students need to realize that conflict is unavoidable. A report on violence among middle school and high school students indicates that most violent incidents between students begin with a relatively minor insult (侮辱). For example, a fight could start over the fact that one student eats a peanut butter sandwich each lunchtime. Laughter over the sandwich can lead to insults, which in turn can lead to violence. The problem isn't in the sandwich, but in the way students deal with the conflict.
Once students recognize that conflict is unavoidable, they can practice the golden rule of conflict resolution (解決) stay calm. Once the student feels calmer, he or she should choose words that will calm the other person down as well. Rude words, name-calling, and accusation only add fuel to the emotional fir On the other hand, soft words spoken at a normal sound level can put out the fire before it explodes out of control.
After both sides have calmed down, they can use another key strategy for conflict resolution; listening. Listening allows the two sides to understand each other. One person should describe his or her side, and the other person should listen without interrupting. Afterward, the listener can ask non-threatening questions to clarify the speaker's position. Then the two people should change roles.
Finally, students need f. consider what they are hearing. This doesn't mean trying to figure out what's wrong with the other person. It means understanding what the real issue is and what both sides are trying to accomplish. For example, a shouting match over a peanut butter sandwich might happen because one person thinks the other person is unwilling to try new things. Students need to ask themselves questions such as these: How did this start? What do I really want? What am I afraid off As the issue becomes clearer, the conflict often simply becomes smaller. Even if it doesn't, careful thought helps both sides figure out a mutual solution.
There will always be conflict in schools, but that doesn't mean there needs to be violence. After students in Atlanta started a conflict resolution program, according to Educators for Social Responsibility, "64 percent of the teachers reported less physical violence in the classroom; 75 percent of the teachers reported an increase in student cooperation; and 92 percent of the students felt better about themselves". Learning to resolve conflicts can help students deal with friends, teachers, parents, bosses, and coworkers. In that way, conflict resolution is a basic life skill that should be taught in schools across the country.
【小題1】This article is mainly about.

A．the lives of school children	B．the cause of arguments in schools
C．how to analyze youth violence	D．how to deal with school conflicts

【小題2】From Paragraph 2 we can learn that________ .

A．violence is more likely to occur at lunchtime

B．a(chǎn) small conflict can lead to violence

C．students tend to lose their temper easily

D．the eating habit of a student is often the cause of a fight

【小題3】Why do students need to ask themselves the questions stated in Paragraph 5?

A．To find out who to blame.

B．To get ready to buy new things.

C．To make clear what the real issue is.

D．To figure out how to stop the shouting match.

【小題4】After the conflict resolution program was started in Atlanta, it was found that______.

A．there was a decrease in classroom violence

B．there was less student cooperation in the classroom

C．more teachers fell better about themselves in schools

D．the teacher-student relationship greatly improved

【小題5】The writer’s purpose for writing this article is to_______.

A．complain about problems in school education

B．teach students different strategies for school life

C．a(chǎn)dvocate teaching conflict management in schools

D．inform teachers of the latest studies on school violence