After commuting, cooking dinner and doing household chores, the average parent has just 30 minutes to devote to their children in the evenings, according to a new study. One in four working parents worry that half an hour simply isn’t enough, while almost half fret that they aren’t a good enough parent during the week.
However, parenting experts believe just 12 minutes a day may be enough for mothers and fathers to fully reconnect with their child — as long as they ask the right questions. Child psychologist Dr Claire Halsey said asking a series of open-ended questions can help improve parents’ relationship with their children.
Among the questions recommended in the research are: “How many times have you smiled today — what made you laugh?”; “Can you act out what you did at breaktime?”; “Who is taller — mummy or your teacher?” and “What are the names of the toys you played with today?” Parents of older children are advised to start up a conversation with: “I’ve got a great story for you but I want one in return… you first!” or “Tell me some school gossip … I’m all ears!”
Dr Halsey, working with the makers of Ribena Plus, who commissioned the research, said: “There is no one as tough on their own parenting skills as a parent — but this study shows there is no need for parents to be so harsh. It’s hard for working parents to juggle all their responsibilities and it can feel like guilt is simply a parent’s lot — but it’s absolutely not. By using clever tactics such as a little preparation alongside use of open-ended questions — such as ‘Tell me what the best bit about your day was?’ — parents can reduce the time worrying about chores and work and spend more time learning about their children’s day.”
1.The underlined word reconnect in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. discuss B. communicateC. understandD. combine
2.According to Paragraph 1, almost half of the working parents ________.
A. can spare only about half an hour to be with their kids every day
B. spend their daytime commuting, cooking dinner and doing household chores
C. worry that half an hour’s stay with their kids is far from enough
D. fear that they aren’t a good enough parent during the week
3.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. I will be glad to listen.
B. I will be very interested.
C. I will listen carefully.
D. I will call your teacher at school.
4.Which of the following open-ended questions is for a three-year-old child?
A. Where are you off to with your friends this weekend?
B. Who played the best in your football match today?
C. What science project are you doing at the moment and can I help with it?
D. What are the names of the toys you played with today?
5.What does Dr Halsey intend to tell us in this passage?
A. It is not necessary for parents to spend too much time with their children.
B. It is natural that working parents do not afford more time to reconnect with kids.
C. It is important that working parents learn more parenting skills.
D. It is clever that parents ask their kids questions instead of doing chores.
If you see someone drowning, speed is very important. Once you get him out of the water, if he isn’t breathing, you have four minutes before his brain is completely destroyed. Support his neck, tilt（使翘起）his head back and press his chin（下巴）upwards. This stops the tongue blocking the airway in the throat and is sometimes enough to get him breathing again. If that doesn’t work, start mouth-to-mouth breathing. Press his nostrils（鼻孔）together with your fingers. Open your mouth and take a deep breath. Blow into his lungs until his chest rises, then remove your mouth and watch his chest fall. Repeat twelve times a minute. Keep doing until help arrives.
To bring a child back to life, keep your lips around his mouth and nose and gently blow into his mouth. Give the first four breaths as quickly as possible to fill the blood with oxygen. If, in spite of your efforts, he starts turning a blue grey color, you can feel no pulse（脉搏）,then pressing is the last chance of saving his life.
With arms straight, rock（摇动）forwards, pressing down on the lower half of the breastbone. Don’t be too hard or you may break a rib（肋骨）. Check how effective you are seeing if his color improves or his pulse becomes independent to your chest pressing. If this happens, stop the pressing. Otherwise continue until rescue arrives.
1.This passage is mainly about ________.
A. how to save people out of the water
B. how to give first aid to people who are drowning
C. how to do mouth-to-mouth breathing
D. how to save a child from a river
2.Once you get a drowning man out of the water, if he isn’t breathing, you must first ________.
A. get him breathing again
B. take him to the nearest hospital as soon as possible
C. find someone to help you
D. call the First Aid Centre
3.In the last paragraph, the word “rescue” means ________.
A. breathB. doctorC. helpD. pulse
4.If the drowning boy has no pulse, ________.
A. pressing his chin upwards is enough to get him breathing again
B. blowing air into his mouth is sure to save his life
C. pressing his nostrils together with your fingers can work
D. pressing his chest is the last chance of saving his life
5.Which of the following statements is true?
A. If a man fails to breathe for four minutes, his brain will be completely destroyed.
B. If you see someone drowning, you must give him mouth-to-mouth breathing.
C. Don’t stop pressing his chest, if the drowning man starts breathing again.
D. When pressing, you can do it as hard as you can.
My grandmother often said to me, “You can count the number of your true friends on the fingers of one hand.” For a long time I thought this was true. However, I’ve now discovered my grandmother was only half right. Maybe we do only make a few “best” friends in our lifetime, but those aren’t the only people that we can call friends. There are many different types. Let me tell you about a few of them.
One type of friends is the type I call the “football mom friend”. My neighbor Sally is a good example. We both have kids who play football in a football club, and someone has to take them to practice and pick them up. Sally and I and two other mothers take turns to do this. We meet sometimes and have tea and talk about what our kids are doing, but those are the only times that we meet each other. I enjoy being with these women, but we don’t do anything else together.
Another type is called the “hobby friend”. That’s the person you share an interest or a hobby with. Michael and Cater, who are brothers, are a good example of this type. We’re all in a bird watching club. Every few weekends the members of the club go on a trip to watch different kinds of birds. There’s nothing romantic（浪漫的）about my relationship with Michael and Cater, of course. We just share interest in birds.
Then there’s the “other half of the couple” type of friends. Jim is married to Rose, a friend that I’ve known since college. When Rose married Jim, I realized that I would have to be Jim’s friend if I want to continue to be Rose’s. Jim and I don’t share so many interests, but we do have a friendly relationship.
1.What does the first paragraph tell us about?
A. We need true friends in our lifetime.
B. We have few best friends in our lifetime.
C. We should make new friends.
D. We must be friendly to all our friends.
2.Many people are mentioned in this passage. Who is the writer’s true friend?
A. Sally.B. Michael. C. Jim. D. Rose.
3.Which of the following statements is RIGHT?
A. Finally the writer agrees with her grandmother.
B. Michael and Cater both fall in love with the writer.
C. The writer herself sometimes takes her kid to the football club.
D. Sally and the writer are close friends.
4.How many types of friends are mentioned in the passage?
A. 2.B. 3.C. 4.D. 5
5.From the last paragraph we learn that ________.
A. the writer made friends with Jim only because of Rose
B. Jim was the writer’s good friend at college
C. Rose didn’t want the writer to be a friend of her husband
D. the writer made friends with Rose because of Jim
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Everyone had a childhood. And childhood experiences are often very funny. Children often make us 1.(laugh). It’s true 2.children brighten up a home. They never turn off the lights.
I often recall my childhood, the years 3. many interesting things happened. When I was a two-year-old child, both my parents were always very busy with their work. My mother worked 4. a sales manager in a company while my father served in 5. army. So I lived with my grandma in a village. I was always waiting for my parents at home. Once my father 6. (send) us a photo of his in a soldier’s uniform, 7. was posted on the table reminding me of him.
Once my mother came to see me and we went 8. (shop) together. On the way we saw a group of soldiers. And when I saw them, I became very 9. (excite). I said in a ringing voice pointing to 10. , “This is my father, and this is my father, and that is my father, too!”
My mother said she would remember that moment all her life.
A man was walking along the street when he saw a woman struggling with a large package（包裹）. It was half in and half out of her car.
He was a kind of man so he went up to the woman and said, "Let me give you a hand with that package. It looks very ."
"That's very kind of you," the woman said. "I'm having a lot of with it. I think it's stuck."
"Together we'll soon move it," the man said. "I'll get into the and take the other end."
"Oh, that's very . Thank you so much," the woman said gratefully. He got into the back of the car and took hold of the other end of the package.
"Right," he said, "I'm ready." And he began to push with all his .
For several minutes the man and the woman struggled with the package. Soon they were both red in face and out of .
"Let's pause for a minute," the man said. "You're right. It really is ."
They paused for a few to wipe the perspiration from their faces and get their breath back.
Then the man said, "Let's try again. Are you ?"
They took hold of the package again.
"One, two, three!" the man said, and again they their struggle with the package.
At last, when they were both , the man said, "I'm sorry, but the package really seems to be stuck. I don't think there's any way we can get it out of the car."
"Get it out of the car!" the woman cried. "You fool! I'm trying to get it in!"
1.A. helpful B. careful C. useful D. hopeful
2.A. big B. small C. heavy D. light
3.A. problems B. trouble C. pain D. worry
4.A. seat B. package C. street D. car
5.A. sensible B. interesting C. possible D. moving
6.A. car B. box C. seat D. chair
7.A. power B. strength C. hands D. arms
8.A. mind B. air C. exercise D. breath
9.A. stuck B. taken C. shaken D. broken
10.A. times B. hours C. moments D. days
11.A. alright B. ready C. OK D. right
12.A. both B. all C. each D. every
13.A. stopped B. kept C. paused D. continued
14.A. interested B. excited C. exhausted D. surprised
15.A. mostly B. completely C. nearly D. greatly
按照提示完成下列句子。（注意使用正确的形式，每小题1分。）
1.Gaudi the project from 1882 until his death in 1926.(从事)
2. size and population, how big is the Europe Union compared with China? (根据……/ 依照……)
3. , the number increased during the second half of the twentieth century. (逐渐地)
4.The bottom ten countries are all African countries, with Sierra Leone (in West Africa)
the list.(在……底部)
5.The second important goal is to that all children have education up to the age of 11. (确保)
6. , there are 800 tornadoes in the US each year, causing about 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries. (平均来说)
7.Tornadoes can the fur the back of a cat and the feathers off a chicken. (去掉)
8.The cemetery where Coghlan was buried was destroyed by the hurricane and Coghlan’s coffin in the sea. (结束，告终)
9.Hundreds of houses when the lava reached them. (着火)
10.During the Renaissance, some of the greatest painters lived and worked in Florence. (有史以来)
