When we moved from California to Colorado, 1,200 miles away from our parents, my husband and I decided that we did not want to travel a long way with our four______for Christmas. However, one late October day, I had a phone conversation with my mother-in-law.
“When are you ____?” she asked.
I did not know how to ______，and changed the subject. When she asked again later in the ____一 “ When are you coming?” 一I knew that we would ____our plan and not stay in our own home for Christmas.
The thought of not being in our own home caused me to be____. What would Christmas away from home look like? Would we be ____ the magic of Christmas by not being in our own home? It would be the first time our children would spend __ away from our own home. “How would you like to give ___the best Christmas present ever? We can do that____giving them the gift of our presence,” we told our kids. They all agreed we should go and so the trip to California was __.
My husband's large family always kept Christmas very ___. They only attached great importance____the special meal together. My in-laws' faces____with joy when our family arrived. Christmas Eve was filled with ____, as played games and sang our favorite songs.
Sadly, my mother-in-law's dementia(老年痴呆）became worse. I was ___that we had made an except
on and ___that Christmas together. I didn’t know it at that time，____it was the last Christmas with my mother-in-law.
The gift of being ___with her that year was the best gift I have ever ___and received.
1.A. friends B. children C. neighbors D. relatives
2.A. coming B. driving C. planning D. phoning
3.A. begin B. stop C. respond D. repeat
4.A. apartment B. letter C. conversation D. situation
5.A. swap B. change C. rescue D. show
6.A. anxious B. excited C. tired D. sensitive
7.A. giving up B. setting up C. picking up D. turning up
8.A. Thanks-giving B. Mother’s Day C. New Year D. Christmas
9.A. uncles B. grandparents C. cousins D. parents
10.A. after B. before C. by D. with
11.A. finished B. removed C. appreciated D. set
12.A. grateful B. official C. simple D. legal
13.A. on B. in C. to D. for
14.A. watched over B. lit up C. burst out D. gave in
15.A. power B. noise C. laughter D. merry
16.A. amazed B. mean C. frightened D. glad
17.A. spent B. missed C. packed D. ignored
18.A. but B. because C. unless D. so
19.A. calm B. present C. generous D. honest
20.A. got B. seen C. given D. heard
Did you ever look at your parents and wish they were healthier? You're not the only one. We did a survey of kids.1.69% of the kids would like their parents to make changes to be healthier. We also surveyed parents. They'd work extra hard to get healthier, if their kids asked them to.
Here are the tips on talking to your parents about their health habits.
▲Create an idea list. Try to remember what got you thinking about this topic. Is there an unhealthy thing you’d like to see them stop doing, or do less often? Get your list together.
▲ Practice how to say it. Changing can be hard. And it's not always easy to heat that someone you love thinks you need to do it. 2.If your parents wanted you to make a change, how would you like them to ask? A gentle earring way often works best.
▲3. in our survey, 85% of kids said they'll be willing to make healthy changes if it wou1d help the whole family. You might be willing to go for a walk together after dinner, Let your parents know you're willing to make an effort.
▲Make a decision, 4. It can be trouble if your goal is too general or you don’t have steps in mind.
▲5.Encourage your parents as the family starts making changes. An extra hug or a homemade card of encouragement can give them what they need to keep going down the healthy road.
A.Cheer them on.
B. Be willing to help.
C. Find the right person to talk with.
D. Parents care more about their kids’ health.
E. It helps to pick a single goal and be detailed.
F. 46% said they worry about their parents’ health.
G. So you'll want to bring up this topic in just the right way.
Kids’ lives should be filled with fun and excitement. Every parent wants their child to be able to look back on their childhood with memories filled with good times and humor. One of the ways to keep these memories is with pset of kids bunk beds.
For one thing , both children and parents get into the excitement of new bedroom furniture. For parents up the necessary money to buy something special themselves because new beds mean that they are “growing up.
Use the shopping experience as a means of starting to teach your children economics. For example, explain to them that you have X amount of money to spend on the new beds. It may not mean much to the kids now, but it will plant a seed (种子)that money play an important role in buying things.
Another learning method that can be employed for buying kids bunk beds is to have them reach certain goals. Explain to your children that they are growing up and therefore need “big kids” beds. However, you have to be sure they are really grown up enough for the new beds! Give them some goals to achieve that are age proper. Some examples would be to take the rubbish out every day without being told, read one or two books and be able to tell you what they were about, be able to say the ABC's or count to 10. This will give your children a sense of achievement and ownership of their new beds.
Getting kids bunk beds with a desk will also improve good learning habits. Have your children sit at the desk to do their drawing or coloring；this will improve the habit of doing homework at the desk.
Help your children learn and have fun with their new kids bunk beds!
1.How many advantages about kids bunk beds are referred to in the text?
A. Two. B. Three.
C. four. D. Five.
2.Why is it important to children economics when buying a kids bunk bed?
A. To help children learn about money spending.
B. To show children parents have lots of money.
C. To make children know money in everything.
D. To teach children to save their own money.
3.To own a new bunk bed .children are exported to .
A. give some opinions B. reach some goals
C. obey some rules D. follow some examples
4.What’s the best title of the text?
A. How to buy a kids bunk bed
B. How to make your children special
C. Giving your children a sense of achievement
D. learning while having fun with kids bunk beds
By May, 2012, my family was already distressed. My mother had breast cancer. And then an ulcer (溃疡) appeared on my tongue. It grew and wouldn't go away. My doctor suggested a physical examination and it was early June when I collected the reports.
“Your doctor will discuss the report with you, sir,” the nurse told me.
“You can tell me,” I said. “I can deal with it. My mother has cancer.”
“It's cancer. ”
The result hit me, and I had to idea how my life and I were about to change.
I shared the news with my family. I couldn't help crying. I thought about what I needed to do for my family and the everyday things as well. What was going to happen to my newspaper column(栏目)？I e-mailed the concerned editor about my situation. I also sent her a few columns to run while I was in treatment.
Two days later I had an operation, and I recovered quickly, but Mummy passed away soon. Except for the regular check-ups, life returned to normal. But a few months on, my doctor found cancer in my neck!
“What are my chances of survival?” I asked.
“Pick any number between one and hundred, ”the doctor replied.
I had another operation. This time my doctor said I also needed radiation therapy(化疗), which is very hard on a patient with cancer. But I was again not going to allow cancer to disturb my job and life.
I have been cancer-free for over three years now. I've been working, writing and columns and appearing on my TV shows. If the disease returns, I will be unhappy. But having experienced so much and enjoyed every day, I know I am also better equipped to deal with cancer or anything else.
1.The underlined word “distressed” in the 1st paragraph means .
A. Confident B. secure
C. upset D. doubtful
2.Which is correct order according to the story ?
a. Cancer was found in my neck.
b. I had an operation along with radiation therapy.
c. I have been free of cancer for three years.
d. Cancer was found in an ulcer on my tongue.
e. My mom passed away.
A. d - b - a - e - c B. e -a - c - d - b
C. e -d - a - b - c D. d - e - a - b – c
3.The author intends to tell us to .
A. put work in the first place B. kill cancer with operations
C. get along well with all family D. face difficulties and live bravely
4.Which of the following words best describes the author?
A. strong-willed B. easy-going
C. warm-hearted D. peace-loving
Small talk is a popular way of getting to know someone, getting into a school or job, or just passing the time. But do you think you're good at it? And do you even know how to do it? If not, then it’s never too late to learn. The art of small talk is the art of talking about unimportant things like the weather. So why should you find it important?
It's completely free. It doesn't matter if you fail, and you never know where it will go. “It can lead to many results，from a pleasant exchange to the signing of a million dollar business deal”，according to Brett Nelson in Forbes Magazine. The good things to small talk don't stop there. It can also make us smarter, as a study by researchers at the University of Michigan found that friendly, social communication could help us solve problems.
You may be wondering how best to break this ice. Weather is probably the number one thing that people who do not know each other will discuss. Sports news in also a very common topic, especially if a local team or player is doing extremely well or badly. And if you and the other speaker have something in common, that may also he acceptable to talk about. For example, if the bus you are on is full, you might talk about the reasons why.
Complimenting (恭维)someone on their clothing or hair is acceptable; however, you should probably not say anything — good or bad一about a person's body. Basically, any subject that makes the other person give a deep-thought answer in not welcome. If you bring up something like death, religion, politics, for serious opinions, you will turn people off.
1.The 2nd paragraph is mainly about .
A. the topics of small talk B. the development of small talk
C. the art of small talk D. the advantage of small talk
2.Which is the first choice for strangers to break the ice?
A. Weather. B. Clothing.
C. Sport D. Music
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means people will .
A. feel interested in your talk B. quarrel with you for your talk
C. get tired of your talk D. be grateful for your talk
4.Which part of a magazine might this text belong to?
A. Science & Technology B. Social Communications.
C. Modern Fashion. D. Travel Around the World.
Most people agree that eating healthy food is important. But sometimes making good food choices can be difficult. Now, there are apps that can help people learn about the food they eat to improve their health and their dining out experience.
Open Table app
Open Table app helps people choose restaurants when they want to go out to eat. It is a free service that shows users restaurant available based on where and when they want to dine. It gives users points when they make reservations, which can add up to discounts (折扣)on restaurant visits.
Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app
Wine and cheese can be a great combination. But which wines go best with which cheeses? Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app can help. It provides information about hundreds of different cheeses and suggests wines to pair with each. Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app is free.
Happy Cow app
Vegetarians do not eat animal meat. Vegans do not eat any animal products. The Happy Cow app is made for both groups. Users can search for vegetarian-vegan restaurants and stores around the world.
Local Eats app
Restaurant chains, like McDonalds, can be found almost anywhere a person might travel. But sometimes travelers want to eat like locals. The Local Eats app is designed for that. It can help you find local restaurants in major cities in the U•S. and in other countries. It costs about a dollar.
Where Chefs Eat app
“Where Chefs Eat” is a 975-page book. Most people wou
ld not want to cam that around. But there is a much lighter app version of the same name for just $15. Six hundred chefs provide information on 3,000 restaurants around the world on the Where Chefs Eat app.
1.What can users get when making a reservation with Open Table app?
A. prizes. B. Books.
C. Points D. Cheeses.
2.Happycow app is designed for those who prefer
A. local foods. B. wine and cheese
C. vegetables D. animal meat
3.What app costs you most according to the text?
A. Open Table. B. Where and cheese
C. Local Eats D. Max MeCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing.
