“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school . Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” ----- a document (文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores (杂务). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.) After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press (also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.” Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs (叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----- until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted (咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria (食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.
“I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner. As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-----I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative (暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
【小题1】The couple signed the contract because _______.

My husband hasn't stopped laughing about the thing that happened to me. It's _1 now but it wasn't at that time.

Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in town, I __2__ a rest before catching the train, so I bought a __3__ and some chocolate and went to the station coffee shop that was a cheap, self-service place with long __4___ to sit at. I put my heavy bag down on the floor, put the newspaper and chocolate on the table to __5__ a place, and went to get a cup of coffee.

When I came back with the coffee, there was someone in the ___6__ seat. It was one of those __7__ young man, with dark glasses and torn clothes, and hair coloured bright__8__ at the front, not so unusual these days. What did __9__ me was he'd started to eat my chocolate!

Naturally, I was annoyed(恼火). However, to avoid trouble-then really I was rather uneasy about him-I just __10__ down at the front page of the newspaper, tasted my coffee, and took a bit of chocolate. The boy looked at me __11___ . Then he took another piece of my chocolate. I could hardly ___12___ it. Still I didn't want to start an argument. When he took a __13__ piece, I felt more __14__ than annoyed. I thought, "Well, I shall have the last piece. "And I __15__ it.

The boy gave me a __16__ look, and then stood up. As he left he shouted out, "This woman's mad!" Everyone __17__ . That really made me feel silly, but it was __18__ when I finished my coffee and got ready to leave. My face went red-as red as his hair when I

__19__ I'd made a mistake. It wasn't my chocolate he'd been taking. There was mine, __20__ , just under my newspaper.

A. serious   B. wonderful   C. funny       D. exciting

A. enjoyed   B. took        C. had         D. wanted

A. cake      B. newspaper   C. magazine    D. bag

A. chairs    B. tables       C. benches      D. beds

A. order     B. find        C. keep         D. do

A. very      B. same       C. free         D. next

A. wild-looked  B. wild-looking  C. good-looked  D. good-looking

A. red        B. black       C. brown       D. white

A. interest    B. surprise     C. frighten      D. hurt

A. looked    B. lay         C. sat          D. put

A. eagerly     B. friendly     C. closely      D. shyly

A. believe    B. bear        C. notice       D. stop

A. last       B. big         C. single       D. third

A. angry      B. content      C. happy       D. pleased

A. covered     B. threw       C. got         D. wrapped

A. strange      B. terrible      C. disappointed   D. curious

A. agreed       B. promised    C. stared        D. followed

A. better      B. worse       C. later         D. easier

A. wondered    B. realized     C. decided       D. recognized

A. tasted        B. split        C. tied          D. unopened

(2013·高考江西卷)Diane Ray was completely self?centred and very spoilt.Her parents gave her____she wanted，knowing that she would throw a temper tantrum(耍小孩脾气)if they did not.She would scream and kick and____on the floor drumming her heels.Her parents always____.

That was why she was alone on the____，wearing an expensive swimsuit.It had taken a massive tantrum to___her parents to buy it.They were back at the beach?house，____from the tantrum she had thrown when they told her that it was too dangerous to go diving____.“Dangerous ？”she had said.“You just don’t want me to have____.I’m going and if you try to stop me，I’ll scream.”

“What are you doing ？”a voice asked.Diane jumped.She did not know that the man was there____he spoke.

“I’m going diving，”she answered.

“You shouldn’t swim today，” the man____.“There is a storm coming up.”

“You should mind your own____！”Diane replied and walked into the gentle waves.

“If you go out there you’ll be____，”the man called after her.She did not bother to reply.

Diane slipped into the water and dived____until white caps began rolling in and it became harder to___against the current (水流)．Saltwater hit against her face，making it____to breathe.Oh，why had she not listened to advice?

Panicking，she began to____.Then，just as it seemed as if she would slip beneath the surface，she heard a____voice.“Hold on! I’m coming.”With____，she saw the old man rowing an ancient?looking boat towards her.“I hope you’ve learned a lesson.You put us both in____，”he shouted angrily，as he dragged her over the side of the____.Gratefully，Diane thanked him and ran towards the beach?house.

1.A.either? B．neither

C．nothing? D．everything

2.A.jump? B．lie

C．spin? D．sleep

3.A.set out? B．set in

C．gave in? D．gave out

4.A.beach? B．bed

C．floor? D．ship

5.A.allow? B．warn

C．get? D．prefer

6.A.changing? B．recovering

C．appearing? D．traveling

7.A.alone? B．away

C．again? D．aside

8.A.time? B．money

C．food? D．fun

9.A.when? B．until

C．after? D．once

10.A.decided? B．intended

C．advised? D．repeated

11.A.business? B．swimsuit

C．friends? D．parents

12.A.angry? B．sorry

C．confused? D．excited

13.A.nervously? B．sadly

C．shyly? D．happily

14.A.rise? B．swim

C．stop? D．row

15.A.difficult? B．easy

C．comfortable? D．suitable

16.A.speak? B．sing

C．sniff? D．scream

17.A.calm? B．frightening

C．beautiful? D．disgusting

18.A.regret? B．relief

C．interest? D．ease

19.A.power? B．safety

C．danger? D．thought

20.A.house? B．wave

C．beach? D．boat

I really hadn’t meant to yell at them. But that grey afternoon saw it just as my son and daughter were making a terrible mess on the floor in the kitchen.

With a tiresome report to write, I felt bothered at my desk. Suddenly, it occurred to me that my kids were at fault. A voice inside me insisted that I do something quickly.

“Ok, you two here, but what an awful thing you are attempting!” I was shouting angrily. I made for them, while it became evident that the boy wanted no part of me. “Get away from us!” he shouted back, there being an expression of support from his sister.

All of a sudden, I found the fault in myself. Quickly I shaped my hands into pincers(钳子) and crawled towards them, “Crabby（暴躁的） Daddy is here. Ha, Ha, Ha, he likes to yell at children, and then eat them!” My son continued to keep me away, but now he was laughing and crying at the same time. My mission to repair the damage caused by my yelling seemed to work well. Still, I regretted not having controlled myself first in a right way.

Need I let them know how badly they were acting by blaming? This is a lesson that serves myself. It only shows just how to get rid of something (ill-feelings, responsibility…) by blaming others. It’s not my “best self”.

We have to search for our “best self” when with our children. They don’t need perfect parents, but they do need parents who are always trying to get better. Here, I am reminded of the words of a great thinker. “When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the book…” Then, in our lifetime, couldn’t we always speak to our kids in such a sweet voice since most of us consider them as the most precious in the world? And before we reach this level, what should we do when we come across various difficult cases with our children?

The author couldn’t help yelling at his kids this time probably because________.

A. the weather was so unpleasant         B. he was tired of his boring work

C. the kids didn’t ask him to join them     D. a Daddy has his right to do so

Which of the following made the author aware of his fault?

A. No obvious reason.              

B. The boy’s yelling back.

C. His self-awareness.              

D. The girl’s shouting back

According to the passage, the author will _____ in another similar situation.

A. play a crab again like this time  

B. apologize to kids in a sincere way

C. avoid blaming kids in a hurry   

D. beat them up about such things

What will the writer go on to write about in the next paragraph(s)?

A. How to behave ourselves properly when kids are at fault.

B. How to play with our children in a more interesting way.

C. How to deal with the housework with children around us.

D. How to persuade children to do what they are told to.

What does “the boy wanted no part of me” in the third paragraph mean?

A. The boy was happy because I loved them.

B. The boy was curious because I wanted to help them.    

C. The boy was very happy for I was angry.    

D. The boy didn’t want me to join them.

When Glen Kruger picked a small cat from an animal shelter, he did not expect much.  Yet right from the start, eight years ago, there was an uncommon connection between him and the small black cat.  He     36   her Inky.
“ I grew up on a hundred-acre farm and had only cats    37    playmates ,” Kruger,
The seventy-year-old man , says. “My hearing was damaged by the    38    of farm equipment , so I learned to connect with    39  .  They react to what they see and what you do.  ”
Inky was a gentle cat,       40     the house with five other cats.  But on a January night in 2009,  Inky did    41     that would set her apart from    42     cats forever.
Kruger had gone down to the basement to     43      the wood stove for the night.  When he was finished, he     44     to the top of the stairs and reached to  turn off the lights. In doing so , he slipped and    45      his back against an old shelf.  The heavy shelf came crashing down and sent Kruger down the stairs.
     46    in a pool of blood on the basement floor, Kruger felt     47    going into shock（休克）.  He shouted for help ,      48      his wife, Brenda , was asleep in their      
bedroom at   the opposite end of the house.     49      Kruger noticed Inky watching from the top of the stairs.
“Go get Brenda, ” Kruger said to Inky.
Inky    50     to the bedroom door and scratched     51     until Brenda opened it.  Then Inky led her to  the     52     Brenda found her husband     53      the stairs and called 911.  Kruger was rushed to the hospital. “I spent six months   54   therd,” 
Says Kruger .  “Although I became lame , I was blessed. ” Since the accident, Inky has   55     
Left Kruger’s side.