Each boy ________ an apple this time.

1. A.
   have got
2. B.
   has got
3. C.
   have
4. D.
   get

One night I was sitting in my room half-listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy fought with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. I didn’t pay attention when Kevin rushed up the stairs with the hurt on his face.

About 20 minutes later, as I was walking upstairs I heard Kevin crying inside the bathroom. I knocked on the door and asked, “Hey Kevin, do you want to talk?”

No answer.

I tried again, “Why don’t you come out of there?”

Again, no answer.

So, joking around, I grabbed a stack of （一摞）cards and a pencil and wrote, “If you don’t want to talk, we can write notes to each other.”

An hour later I was still sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with two stacks of cards in front of me. One was blank and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his yucky feelings into words for me. As I read one of Kevin’s notes, tears came to my eyes. It said, “Nobody in this family cares about me. I’m not the youngest, and I’m not the oldest. Tommy thinks I’m silly and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he’s better at basketball. And you’re never around to even notice me.”

Tears came to my eyes as I wrote back to him. “You know Kevin, I really do love you and I’m sorry I don’t always show it. I am here for you and you are loved in this family.”

There was no answer for a while, but then I heard a tearing sound coming from inside the bathroom. Kevin, who had run out of cards wrote on a torn paper cup. “Thanks.”

I wrote back “For what?” it returned to me with “Loving me” on it.

Since then, I try my best to never only half-notice my family members any more. Kevin and I have a closer relationship now. And sometimes when one of us notices that the other is upset, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a paper cup.”

1.The underlined word “yucky” most probably means ____.

     A. upset     B. exciting     C. terrible     D. amazing

2.What could be the reason that Kevin’s Dad doesn’t like him?

A.Kevin is not as clever as his brother.

B.He is neither the youngest nor the oldest.

C.Kevin doesn’t like to make friends with others.

D.Kevin is not good at playing basketball.

3.What do we know about the writer?

A.She has two children in her family.

B.She didn’t pay enough attention to Kevin before.

C.She used to show her love to Kevin.

D.She has a closer relationship with Tommy after that.

4.What does the writer want to tell us?

A.Everyone should show how they love their family members.

B.It’s hard to get on well with family members.

C.It’s important to keep peace in the family.

D.We should try our best to stop our children from fighting.

Crazy is our new normal. With two teenage boys and three little boys, our family is restless- to the baseball field, track field (田径场) and piano lessons. Even though we've limited（限制） each boy's activities and try our best to spare some time for the family, it seems that we're always in a hurry.

"Accept it. Roll with it," my husband, Lonny, says, "It's going to be like this for a while."

He is right. It's likely that life will continue to go forward before it slows down. But I remembered the peaceful, quiet days that our family used to enjoy. I missed long walks through the park when we held the boys' little hands. I wished for lazy Saturday afternoons under the tree in our backyard. I wanted to go back a few years, when busyness was the exception and not the rule（惯例）．

One night, after a particularly ful day and evening games, our family gathered on the porch (门廊) for ice cream. Two parents, two teens, and three small boys sat on one old swing and a couple of rocking chairs. We were together, in one place, for a short period of time.

The moon was full. The Mississippi River, flowing past our home, was smooth as glass. I put my own arms around the son who sat on my lap and breathed in deeply his little-boy smell -dirt and sweat. My heart was peaceful and satisfied.

I realized that though crazy is our new normal, happiness is as usual. They may look different from before, but they are still there - even if they're in the form of a single moment on the porch. Maybe I just need the eyes to see.

1.What does the writer mainly talk about?

A．Her tiredness of her busy life.

B．Her family's struggle for a better life.

C．Her new feelings about the present life.

D．The pleasure of staying with her children.

2.Which of the following could best describe the writer's present life?

A．Busy and boring.                        B．Busy but happy.

C．Crazy and terrible.                       D．Normal but exciting.

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The writer has five sons.

B．There is at least one child learning to play the piano.

C．The husband likes the present life.

D．The writer used to live a peaceful and quiet life.

4.Which of the following might the writer agree to?

A．Happiness is everywhere, but we have to discover it.

B．Life is nothing but sadness, busyness and hurry.

C．Parents should do more for their kids' better life.

D．Life in the countryside is attractive, wonderful, and sweet.