Young children whose mothers talk with them more frequently and in more detail about people’s thoughts and feelings tend to be better at taking another person’s perspective（观点）than other children of the same age.
That’s what researchers from the University of Western Australia found in a new study published in the journal Child Development.
“Parents who frequently put themselves in someone else’s shoes in conversations with their children make it more likely their children will be able to do the same,” said lead author Brad Farrant.
Researchers of the UWA’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research looked at the influence of how parents interact with their children to learn more about how people develop the ability to take another’s perspective.
The two-year study involved more than 120 Australian children aged between four and six, including children with typically developing language and others delayed in language acquisition（习得）.
The children completed tasks which were designed to assess their language skills, ability to infer others’ beliefs and use these to predict others’ behavior, and their ability to shift flexibly between different perspectives.
Among children with typically developing language, the researchers found that mothers who talked more often and in greater detail about people’s thoughts and feelings — commenting on how another person might react to a particular situation as well as their own feelings about the topic — had children with better language skills and better perspective-taking skills.
Children with delayed language acquisition were also delayed in their development of perspective-taking skills. This displays the role played by language as children develop the ability to take another’s perspective.
“Solving the many challenges that the world faces today requires us all to get better at taking the perspective of other people,” said Brad Farrant.
1.According to the text, to help children gain better perspective-taking skills, parents should __________.
A．give their children more chances to express themselves
B．talk more with their children about people’s feelings
C．encourage their children to guess other people’s thoughts
D．spend more time playing with their children
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the study?
A．Over one hundred American children took part in it.
B．All the children had delayed in language acquisition.
C．The children in the study were around five years old.
D．Mothers helped their children to complete the tasks.
3.Which have an effect on the development of children’s perspective-taking skills?
A．The surrounding environments. B．Mother’s perspectives.
C．Personal characters. D．Language skills.
4.In the last paragraph, Brad Farrant __________.
A．stressed the importance of perspective-taking skills
B．expressed his concern about the world’s challenges
C．showed how to take the perspective of other people
D．explained why other people’s opinions are important
5.According to the text, we can learn __________.
A．parents should talk to their children frequently no matter how old their children are
B．it was Brad Farrant who wrote the study in Child Development herself
C．the only way to improve language skill is talking to children more often
D．parents who are always thinking about others will help their children do the same way
Famous as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings,” Auguste Escoffier helped raise the position of cooking from a laborer’s task to an artist’s job. Escoffier was born on October 28, 1846, in the small village of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, France. Among the key figures in the boy’s life was his father, who worked primarily as a blacksmith（铁匠）. His grandmother, an enthusiastic cook, was perhaps more responsible than anyone for introducing the boy to an appreciation of the delights of cooking.
Young Escoffier attended the local school until age 12, upon which time his father thought it necessary that the boy learn a trade. In school he had shown a talent for drawing, yet he was told to regard this art only as a hobby, and to find his career in a more practical profession. Thus his father took him to Nice in 1859, where he would work as an apprentice（学徒）in his uncle’s restaurant, the respectable Le Restaurant Francais.
At Le Restaurant Francais, Escoffier was not treated as the close relative of the boss. Rather, he experienced a classically demanding apprenticeship. For this strictness of training he would later, in his memoirs（回忆录）, express gratefulness. During this time Escoffier also attended night school, and had to deal with his studies as well as the demands of a promising career.
When Escoffier was 19 and had taken on yet more responsibilities in his uncle’s restaurant, a customer recognized his skills and offered him work in Paris. This was the owner of Le Petit Moulin Rouge, one of the finest restaurants in Paris, where Escoffier was to become a sous-chef, ranking below the head chef. After three years in this position, he rose to the level of head chef, wearing the respected chef’s hat.
1.It was his __________ who first influenced Escoffier to be interested in cooking.
A．father B．mother C．uncle D．grandmother
2.We can infer that as a schoolboy, Escoffier might hope to be __________.
A．a chef B．a businessman C．an artist D．a blacksmith
3.According to Paragraph 3, Escoffier __________.
A．was badly treated by his uncle B．showed great interest in writing
C．disliked working as an apprentice D．was thankful for the strict training
4.Which of the following can best describe Escoffier?
A．Hard-working. B．Honest. C．Warm-hearted. D．Modest.
5.What is the text mainly about?
A．How to become a chef in France. B．The influence of Auguste Escoffier.
C．What an apprentice is required to do. D．The early life of a famous French chef.
I still clearly remember that day. I was on the side of the road for close to four hours with my big Jeep. I put signs in the windows that said, “NEED A JACK（千斤顶）”.
Right as I was about to give up, a truck stopped and a man got off. He sized up the situation and went back to take a jack. After about two hours, we finished the job with sweats. We were both dirty. His wife produced a large water jug for us to wash our hands in.
I tried to put $20 in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so instead I went up and gave it to his wife as quietly as I could. I thanked them up one side and down the other. I asked the little girl, their daughter, where they lived, thinking maybe I’d send them a gift. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon now so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. After that, they were going to pick peaches, and then go back home.
After I said my goodbyes and started walking back to the Jeep, the girl called out and asked if I’d had lunch. When I told her no, she ran up and handed me a tamale（玉米粽子）. I thanked them again and walked back to my car. When I opened the tamale, what did I find inside? My $20 bill! I ran to the van and the guy rolled down his window. He saw the $20 in my hand, started shaking his head smiling, and with what looked like great concentration said in English: “Today you, tomorrow me.” Then he rolled up his window and drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back.
This family, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours to help a stranger while others passed by quietly.
Since then I’ve helped many people like the Mexican family. I didn’t accept money. But every time I was able to help, I felt as if I was putting something in the bank.
1.From the passage we know that __________.
A．the Mexican man couldn’t speak English
B．the author’s car broke down on the road
C．the Mexican family came to Oregon for a visit
D．$20 was a small amount for the Mexican family
2.Why did the author give the money quietly to the man’s wife?
A．Because the man had refused to accept it.
B．Because the man’s wife needn’t wash her hands.
C．Because the author thought the Mexican family was poor.
D．Because the author thought the man’s wife would take it.
3.The Mexican man helped the author because he tended to think that ___________.
A．it was completely wrong for others to pass by quietly
B．it was quite easy to help the author mend the jeep
C．it was possible that everyone might get into trouble
D．the author was a polite stranger and deserved the help
4.Which of the following is TRUE about the author?
A．He hated those who didn’t offer help.
B．He would send a present to the family soon.
C．He wondered why they didn’t take the money.
D．He considered helping others as saving money in the bank.
5.What can we infer from the passage?
A．The Mexican family lived a richer life than the author.
B．The Mexican family did seasonal work in Oregon each year.
C．The author was inspired to help others by the Mexican family.
D．What made the writer moved was the tamale given by the girl.
There is an old story about an army of frogs that went jumping through the forest one day when two of them suddenly fell into a deep 1 . All of the other frogs gathered around to look 2 at their two fallen friends. They all began to 3 shake their heads and croak out warnings. “It’s too deep!”said one frog. Another said that there was no 4 they would ever be able to get out 5 .
The two fallen frogs began to continuously jump as they 6 to get out, but the frogs that were 7 kept croaking louder at them that they might as well stop 8 they were as good as dead and just 9 their time. One of the two frogs finally gave up, 10 their advice and died.
The other frog just kept on jumping harder than ever 11 all the loud croaks of disapproval from the frogs around the top of the hole. They kept croaking at him to 12 jumping and save himself from all the 13 and suffering as he jumped and fell back down to the bottom 14 .
Finally, to the 15 of all the other frogs, he jumped right out of the deep hole. The other frogs asked him, “Why did you keep jumping 16 we yelled and croaked at you to stop?” The frog explained to them he was 17 at that time and that he had thought they were cheering for him and yelling words of 18 to him the entire time!
A little encouragement can go a long way. We don’t often think about the 19 that our words have upon others. Our words do have the power to hurt or to 20 .
1. A．hole B．river C．well D．valley
2. A．up B．down C．over D．around
3. A．violently B．gently C．sadly D．doubtfully
4. A．wonder B．doubt C．Problem D．way
5. A．alone B．alive C．aware D．awake
6. A．attempted B．chose C．preferred D．failed
7. A．helping B．jumping C．watching D．cheering
8. A．if B．because C．though D．until
9. A．saving B．spending C．killing D．wasting
10. A．ignored B．offered C．followed D．rejected
11. A．in spite of B．as a result of C．in terms of D．instead of
12. A．try B．practise C．imagine D．quit
13. A．stress B．pain C．panic D．trouble
14. A．here and there B．now and then C．over and over D．neck and neck
15. A．delight B．disappointment C．embarrassment D．surprise
16. A．even though B．now that C．as though D．in case
17. A．blind B．deaf C．numb D．clumsy
18. A．warning B．trust C．wisdom D．encouragement
19. A．pressure B．magic C．effect D．force
20. A．help B．protect C．prevent D．create
— Hey, you haven’t been acting like yourself. Everything OK?
—______ .
A．I’m fine, thanks B．Sure, it is C．That’s good D．It’s OK
It was in the garden of his old house ______ he grew up ______ he dug up a pot of gold.
A．that; that B．where; where C．that; where D．where; that
