The entire house was lit with lights.  It was Meera's wedding the next day. Seema walked to her daughter's bedroom.  Meera was not there,  so she left the envelope on Meera's bed and went away. When Meera came out of the bathroom, her eyes fell on the envelope. She picked it up and opened it. Sitting on the bed, she started to read it:

      My darling daughter, I am so happy for you. My darling is getting married! To such a good man! At the same time, I am a little worried, too. The reason? You are going to a new house where everything is going to be new: the people, relationships and surroundings. Yes, you are smart and Vinod will be there with you to help, but I have a few things to say:

    Accept Vinod's parents as your parents.  Remember that your mother-in-law will have her own understanding about you. So it is up to you to give her a good impression.

     Earn respect from family members.  If that means changing yourself a little bit and adapting to their customs, just do it. It will help you to settle into your new home.

     Never compare your mother's home and their home.  It may not be appreciated.

     The kitchen is one place where small fights can appear.  It is your mother-in-law's king- dom, so ask her permission if you want to cook something. If she offers help, accept it. This will help in building trust between you. Similarly, offer her your help when she is busy cooking. Thus, a new relationship will be born: one of respect and understanding.

     Finally, respect your husband, as he is your life partner.  Remember that a marriage requires trust, love and compromise (妥協(xié)).

      I could have sat with you and told you, but I felt that writing all this down would make you understand better and I am sure you will give your whole heart to this relationship. Remember that both Papa and I are here for you always.

     Love, Ma

56. Where was Meera when her mother went to her bedroom?

     A. In the kitchen.   B.  In Vinod's house.   C.  In the bedroom.   D.  In the bathroom.

57.  What was Seema's attitude towards Vinod?

     A. Satisfied.          B. Cautious.            C. Doubtful.           D. Worried.

58. According to the mother, the daughter should NOT_____  in the new family.

     A.  earn respect from family members         B.  accept Vinod's parents as her parents

     C.  compare her mother's home and their home

     D. ask permission if she wants to cook something

59.  What will help if Meera wants to build trust with her mother-in-law, according to the mother?

     A. Living with her.               B.  Cooking meals instead of her.

     C. Making compromises with her.   D. Accepting her help in the kitchen.

60. The mother wrote the letter mainly to teach her daughter ______.

     A. how to respect her husband      B. how to trust her mother-in-law

     C. how to adapt to her married life   D. how to better understand her parents

Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world．But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism （雙語能力） are even more important than being able to converse with a wider range of people．Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter．It can have a deep effect on your brain, improving skills not related to language and even protecting against a serious mental disorder in old age．

This view of bilingualism is different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century．Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interruption that prevented a child's school work and ability to think and understand things．They were not wrong about the interruption: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual \s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system disturbs the other．But this interruption, researchers are finding out, isn't so much a disturbance．It forces the brain to solve inside conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its thinking muscles．

The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment．"Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often—you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language," says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompea Fabra in Spain．

"It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving．" In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr．Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, showing that they did better in it．

1.From the passage we can learn that experts used to believe that ______．

A．interruption forced a bilingual's brain to strengthen its thinking ability

B．a(chǎn) second language stopped children's studying as well as mental development

C．using two languages annoyed the children who have trouble in learning skills

D．language systems were busy in a bilingual's brain when he was using languages

2.The underlined word "switch" in Paragraph 3 probably means "______"．

A．change      B．use         C．speak     D．study

3.What is the author's attitude towards bilingualism?

A．Cautious．  B．Doubtful．   C．Concerned．  D．Favourable．

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．How Bilinguals Use Languages    

B．What Bilingualism Is Really about

C．Why Bilinguals Are More Intelligent   

D．When People Learn a Second Language

 

— Where is your mother?  

—She ________ the shop. She’ll be back in an hour.

A. has been to       B. has gone to      C. goes to       D. go to

 

-Is your mother a doctor in Qilu Clinic? –No!But she        there for ten years.

A、worked                 B、has been working                  C、has worked          D、had worked

 

On a cold winter day, two men walked along a valley. Finally, they stopped at a grave（墳?zāi)梗? which was covered with thick  1  . The gravestone looked very  2  . The older man said to the young man,“This is your mother’s grave…”The young man  3  in the snow.

This   4 took place 20 years ago. At that time the most intense 5  had occurred here. Among the soldiers was Wilson. The strong  6  had made the forces retreat（撤退）. Wilson had headed forward in the snow with the troops in front of him. 7  , he heard a baby’s cry, which came from a hole in the snow. Wilson dug into the snow, and was immediately  8  by what he had seen.

In a mother’s arms, the baby was crying aloud. What was even more shocking was that the mother was naked. It turned out that they were  9   in this valley by the heavy snow. In order to  10  her baby, the mother had wrapped all her 11   around the child while holding him tightly in her arms. Though the mother had been 12  , the baby in her arms had survived. Wilson was deeply moved by such an unexpected  13  . He buried the mother and held the   14   baby to pursue（追趕）the   15  .

After the war, he took this child to the United States to   16  . When the child grew up, Wilson told him what   17   that year and took him to the valley to   18   his mother.

Kneeling at the grave, the young man burst into tears. After a while, the young man started to clean the snow on the grave. After cleaning the snow around, he undressed himself, 19    the grave, threw himself on the grave and spoke out the words from his heart,“Mom, how   20   you were for so many years!”

1.A. leaves             B. snow                   C. dust           D. grass

2.A. simple            B. clean                      C. beautiful             D. big

3.A. gave up          B. stood up                C. knelt down   D. broke down

4.A. party     B. strike                  C. accident            D. story

5.A. speech           B. whisper                C. fighting     D. argument

6.A. competition        B. enemy                C. disease     D. storm

7.A. Fortunately         B. Frequently                     C. Immediately  D. Suddenly

8.A. shocked         B. puzzled                 C. frightened              D. annoyed

9.A. wounded       B. trapped                C. killed         D. frozen

10.A. feed             B. teach                  C. save                 D. hide

11.A. clothes         B. blankets               C. packages           D. handkerchiefs

12.A. sick          B. dead              C. hungry       D. lost

13.A. mark             B. condition              C. voice         D. scene

14.A. growing   B. crying          C. running      D. singing

15.A. troops          B. mother                   C. path            D. goal

16.A. show him in      B. call him in                C. bring him up  D. pick him up

17.A. happened         B. appeared                C. started           D. formed

18.A. depend on       B. attend to                 C. care about          D. look for

19.A. moved         B. decorated                 C. covered     D. dug

20.A. tired             B. fearful          C. lonely             D. cold