Like most big projects, learning to manage your mother well is what you should do. Here are what I
believe the best steps towards a better relationship with her. They are not necessarily surprising or
revolutionary, but they have worked for many people. Try them.
     Remember your mother's age. As children, we often do not think of our mother as having an age.
Even when we become conscious of her as an individual, age does not change our view; she is still our
mother. Knowing our mother's age, not just in numbers of years but in terms of her psychological and
physical state, often helps us to understand her better.
     Listen to your mother. I have found that sometimes the things my mother told me long ago are
remarkably useful. If your mother knows that you respect her point of view, even if you do not share it,
it will help her feel close to you.
     Remember that your mother has a past. A key step in managing our relationship with our mother is to
find out about her early life.In learning about our mother's past, we know that it can encourage us to think
about her whole life.
    Ask your mother about your childhood history. My grandparents died when I was young. If you are
fortunate enough to have living family, think of your life as a jigsaw puzzle and ask as many questions as
you can to put the picture together. Understanding your roots and your childhood can help you know
more clearly who you are, as part of a family which you share with your mother.
     Remember that managing your mother is really about managing yourself. Taking any measure to
managing our mother is the issue of how we manage ourselves. No matter how difficult we find her, it is
important to remember that it is not her behavior itself that is causing us discomfort, but the way we feel
about her behavior. We should follow the way of her life. At the heart of managing your mother is being
able to accept your flawed self. Only then are you able to accept your mother-with all her failings.

1.What does the underlined phrase "a jigsaw puzzle" mean?
A. 拼圖玩具  
B. 瀏覽迷宮  
C. 填充字謎  
D. 游戲人生

2.Which of the following is implied but not stated in the passage?
A.You will have a better relationship with your mother if you respect her opinion.
B. Knowing your mother's age is a useful piece of advice.
C. The key measure of managing our mother is how we manage ourselves.
D. It is unreasonable to expect our mother to change totally from the way she was brought up.

3. The main purpose of writing the text is _______.
A. to give information about how you think of your mother
B. to improve the relationship with your mother
C. to keep a sense of humor about your mother all day long
D. to accept your mother-----with all her failings

     Bernice Gallego sat down one day this summer, as she does pretty much every day,and began listing
items on eBay. She dug into a box and pulled out a baseball card. She stopped for a moment and
admired the picture. "Red Stocking B. B. Club of Cincinnatti," the card read, under the reddish brown
color photo of ten men with their socks pulled up to their knees.
     As a collector and seller, it's her job to spot old items that might have value today. It's what Bernice,
72, and her husband, Al Gallego, 80, have been doing since 1974 at their California antique store.
     This card, she figured, was worth selling on eBay. She took a picture, wrote a description and put it
up for auction.She put a $10 price tag on it, deciding against $15 because it would have cost her an
extra 20 cents. Later that night she got a few odd inquiries---someone wanting to know whether the
card was real, someone wanting her to end the caution and sell him the card immediately.
     The card is actually 139 years old. Sports card collectors call the find "extremely rare" and estimate
the card could fetch five, or perhaps, six figures at caution.
     Just like that, Bernice is the least likely character ever for a rare-baseball card story. "I didn't even
know baseball existed that far back," Gallego says, "I don't think that I've ever been to a baseball game."
The theory is that the card came out of a storage space they bought a few years back. It is not uncommon
in their line of work to buy the entire contents of storage units for around $200.
     When she met with card trader Rick Mirigian, she found out what the card was-an 1869 advertisement with a picture of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnatti Red Stocking.
     "When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich bag and she was smoking a cigarette, I
almost fainted," Mirigian says. " They've uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to
imagine. That card is history. It's like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso."

1.What can we conclude from paragraph 3?
A. Bernice had to pay some fees for her card on eBay.
B. Bernice wanted to end the caution that night.
C. Bernice decided to sell the card for $15.
D. EBay charged her 20 cents for the card.

2. The underlined word "fetch" in paragraph 4 most probably means "_______".
A. go and bring  
B. add up to  
C. go down to  
D. be sold for

3. From the passage we may learn that _______.
A. Bernice is a baseball fan 
B. Bernice is the last person to purchase the rare-baseball card
C. Bernice unexpectedly became the owner of the rare-baseball card
D. Bernice didn't realize the value of the card until she put it up for auction

4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A Surprisingly Valuable Discovery
B. The History of the Baseball Card
C. Bernice Gallego-A lucky collector  
D. Sports Card Collectors

     When I was a girl of 16, I met a common boy who would make jokes at you and then you would run
after him and his guys and beat them up(打鬧). After that first meeting, we kept on meeting and beating
each other up at the fence. We would meet at the fence all the time and we were always together. I would tell him all my secrets. I found him easy to talk to and I could talk to him about everything.
     In school we had separate friends. One day I told him that a guy I liked hurt me and broke my heart.
He just comforted me and said everything would be okay. He gave me words of encouragement and
helped me get over him. I was happy and thought of him as a real friend. But I knew that there was
something else about him that I liked. I thought of it that night and figured it was just a kind of friend that
I was feeling. All through high school and even through graduation we're always together and of course I
thought of it as being friends. But I knew deep inside that I really felt it differently.
     On graduation night even though we had different dates to the dance I wanted to be with him. That
night after everybody went home, I went to his house and wanted to tell him that I wanted to see him.
Well, that night was my big chance and all I did was just sit there with him watching the stars and talking
about what I was going to do and what he was going to do. I looked into his eyes and listened to him
talk about what his dream was, and how he wanted to get married and settle down. He said how he
wanted to be rich and successful. All I could do was to tell him my dream and sit next to him. I went
home hurting because I didn't tell him how I was feeling.

1. The first sentence in Paragraph 1 describes a kind of            relationship.
A. normal    
B. special      
C. dangerous      
D. harmful

2. From the Paragraph 2, we can learn the following are boy's advantages but           .
A. communicating with others    
B. understanding others
C. giving girls better impression          
D. comforting others

3. The author tells the story in a way of           .
A. anger      
B. regret
C. excitement  
D. anxiety

4. The author felt hurt on graduation night because           .
A. they would have no opportunity to meet again
B. she failed to express her true feeling
C. the boy did understand her
D. she got poor grades in her study

     You probably have lists of remember and steps to follow in order to have the best pet-friendly trip.
There are, however, a few things that are best left at home. Here are a few things to forget when you're
traveling with pets. Forgetting them will make your trip run more smoothly and more effectively.
     Time
     Traveling with pets will take longer and will have unexpected turns. In reality, forgetting about time
means leaving impatience behind. Don't be in a rush. Your pets will require more extra stops than you
will, and they'll often surprise you with unpredictable delays. Plan on leaving early and arriving later and
you'll be right on time.
     Anger
     Getting angry at the delay will only make matters worse. Your feelings can add unnecessary stresses
to you and your pets' travel experience. If you feel yourself becoming out of control, stop and take a
deep breath. Your pets have little control over their emotions, bowel movements, or motion sickness
when traveling. Remember to be kind and understanding at all times, especially when under pressure.
     Work Attitude
     This may seem like a no-brainer, but when you are traveling, leave your work attitude behind.
Traveling is not a task to be accomplished; it can be an enjoyable and memorable experience for both
you and your pets as long as you have the right attitude.
     Control
     Part of the joy of traveling with pets is dealing with the unexpected. You can't control everything and
trying to do so will only end in frustration and anger. Knowing that things will happen beyond your
control will bring great relief to you and your pets. Messes happen; accidents happen. Once you accept
that, traveling with your pets will be far easier to manage.
     Selfishness
     Traveling with pets often requires an extreme amount of selflessness. Your pets rely on you to take
care of their needs, and sometimes you will need to put their needs before your own. Leave your selfish
ambitions behind when traveling with your pets. They need your attention and care more than anything
else because of the stresses and strains of traveling.
     Traveling with pets can and will be a joy if you remember to leave these five items behind. It can be
difficult at times to handle, but the traveling will go well if you can manage to do so.

     Forget Twitter and Facebook, Google and the Kindle. Television is still the most influential medium around.
Indeed, for many of the poorest regions (地區(qū)) of the world, it remains the next big thing-finally becomes
globally available. And that is a good thing, because the TV revolution is changing lives for the better.
     Across the developing world, around 45% of families had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number had climbed
above 60%. That is some way behind the U.S., where are more TVs than people, and where people now easily
get access to the Internet. Five million more families in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five
years. In 2005, after the fall of the Taliban (塔利班), which had outlawed TV, 1 in 5 Afghans had one. The
global total is another 150 million by 2013-pushing the numbers to well beyond two thirds of families.
     Television's most powerful effect will be on the lives of women. In India, researchers Robert Jensen and
Emily Oster found that when TVs reached villages, women were more likely to go to the market without their
husbands' approval and less likely to want a boy rather than a girl. They were more likely to make decisions
over child health care. TV is also a powerful medium for adult education. In the Indian state of Gujarat,
Chitrageet is a popular show that plays Bollywood songs with words in Gujarati on the screen. Within six
months, viewers had made a small but significant (有意義的) improvement in their reading skills.
     Too much TV has been associated with violence, overweight and loneliness. However, TV is having a
positive influence on the lives of billions worldwide.

1. The underlined word "outlawed" in paragraph 2 probably means "_____".

A. allowed
B. banned
C. offered
D. refused

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Americans used to get access to the Internet easily.
B. The world's TV sets will total 150 million by 2013.
C. 45% of families in the developing countries had a TV in 2005.
D. Over two thirds of families in the world will have a TV by 2013.

3. The author intends to _____.

A. stress the advantages of TV to people's lives
B. persuade women to become more independent
C. encourage people to improve their reading skills
D. introduce the readers some websites such as Google

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. TV Will Rule the World
B. TV Will Disturb the World
C. TV Will Better the World
D. TV Will Remain in World

     In the past decade, openness has become mainstream, and the vast majority of domestic adoptions
(家庭領(lǐng)養(yǎng)) are open ones. Even so, potential adoptive parents and birthparents are often fearful when
they first hear of the concept.
     Making Room in Our Hearls: Keeping Family Ties Through Open Addption answers the most
common questions about the influence of open adoption, and how it affects the lives of everyone related.
Duxbury, a family expert who specializes in adoption advice, is also an adoptive parent. Her book opens with her own family's story.
     Duxbury surveyed 150 families, but her book is not a collection of data. Instead, it allows these
families to share their thoughts and wisdom, their joy and pain; the stories communicate the great
happiness families feel at" working together for the sake of the child" and the steady view that the
adoptive parents are the parents. They also touch on problems that can arise from opening closed
adoptions.
     The most convincing advocates for open adoption here are the adopted teens themselves.
Commenting on the question people always ask: "Are you confused about who is you real
mother?", Josh, age 2l now. states, "Kids aren't stupid. I think I would be confused if my birthmother
was not in my life. But my birthmother is not another parent. Your parents are your parents. My
birthmother is really important to me. She is like a special aunt, but she is not my parent."
     "Openness gives children the gift of possibilities, for now and for the future," writes adoption expert
Patricia Martinez Dorner in her closing thoughts. "It is not a ctre-all, but it creates the possibility for a
stronger sense of permanence and identity." This book is important reading for everyone touched by
adoption.

1. The first paragraph is written with the aim to        .

A. advise people to open their adoptions
B. bring in the topic of open adoption
C. explain why open adoption has become mainstream
D. advertise the book Make Room in Our Heart

2. What kind of view may both Duxbury and Josh agree with?

A. The adoptive parents are the parents.
B. Only stupid kids may regard their birthmother as parent.
C. A collection of data of adoptive families is useless.
D. All adoptive families should share their joy and pain.

3. We can learn from the text that kids of"closed adoptions"         .

A. will not be told the truth of adoption
B. hate their birthparents very much
C. usually have fewer family problems
D. will become stupid with no birthparents

4. The adopted children's attitude towards open adoptio11 is          .

A. ridiculous      
B. disapproving      
C. positive        
D. uncertain

5. We can learn the advantages of open adoptions in           .

A. paragraph 2     
B. paragraph 3        
C. paragraph 4    
D. paragraph 5

Timetable

1. Which of the following is true of the membership card?

A. Its number is l0865 305305.
B. It belongs to Mr. E. M. Driscoll.
C. It is valid through the year of 2010.
D. It gets the owner a discount when used.

2. If one wants to attend a business lunch in London at l2:00, the latest train that he should take at Oxford
    leaves at _____.

A. 11:45
B. 11:15
C. 10:35
D. 10:05

3. If you would like to have some vegetable beef, what may be your choice?

A. French Slam?
B. Chicken-Fried Steak?
C. The Super Bird?
D. Sandwich with Salad or Soup?

4. The chart shows that from 2005 to 2008, _____.

A. the percentage of the Spanish families with a computer rose 35 points
B. the percentage of the White families with a computer remained unchanged
C. the number of the Black families with a computer was on the decrease
D. the number of the Asian families with a computer showed the sharpest increase

     Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than
people in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the
United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
     In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work
less. In other words they have decided to"spend" a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over
the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in
the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America,
which increase the rewards to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.
     Longer hours does of course increase the GDP. So the United States has produced more per worker than,
say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and
older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher
than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
     It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other
values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the different trends (趨勢(shì))
in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness
has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in
the work-life balance?

1. From the text we know that author ____.

A. says nothing certain about which pattern is better
B. prefers shorter working hours to longer ones
C. believes that longer working hours is better
D. thinks neither of the patterns is good