If you want to teach your children how to say sorry, you must be good at saying it yourself, especially to your own children．But how you say it can be quite tricky．

       If you say to your children “I am sorry I got angry with you, but …” what follows that “but” can make the apology ineffective: “I had a bad day” or “your noise was giving me a headache” leaves the person who has been injured feeling that he should be apologizing for his bad behavior in expecting an apology．

       Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to say “I’m sorry you’re upset”; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing yourself to get upset by what the other person has done．

       Then there is the general, all-covering apology, which avoids the necessity of identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person who is apologizing should promise never to do again．Saying “I’m useless as a parent” does not commit a person to any specific improvement．

       These pseudo-apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness．Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not resort to these pseudo-apologies．

       But even when presented with examples of genuine contrition （悔悟），children still need help to become aware of the complexities of saying sorry．A three-year-old might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology．A six-year-old might need reminding that spoiling other children’s expectations can require an apology．A 12-year-old might need to be shown that raiding the biscuit tin without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent’s clothes without permission is not．

1．According to the author, “tricky” means __________．

       A．simple             B．complicated             C．cautious              D．various

2．It is not advisable to use the general, all-covering apology because _______．

       A．it is only an empty promise                   B．it is not necessary

       C．it is neither clear nor effective               D．it is hurtful and insulting

3．In teaching children to say sorry ______．                                  

       A．parents should often say “sorry” to their children 

B．parents should be patient and tolerant

       C．the significance of it should be involved

 D．their ages should be taken into account

4．According to the passage, apologizing properly is ________．       

       A．a social issue calling for immediate attention 

       B．a big problem faced by every family

       C．a sign of social progress

       D．not as simple as it seems

Traveling is more important than reading books to understand people and the world. A book about another country tells you about things such as the country’s history, its people and its culture in a very general way. When meeting foreigners, I found that books can’t be trusted totally. For example, when I was visiting Wisconsin University, many people were rigid(保守的), uneducated, had no sense of humor, and they all wore blue suits. Even the picture in some people’s minds was that Chinese still wore pigtails(辫子)as they did in the Qing Dynasty. Though the videotapes shown by me, they were surprised to find that these facts were not true at all and the Chinese people are outgoing and have great intelligence, dress well and have an equally strong sense of humor.

Reading a book about another country makes me interested in traveling. Then I make plans to go and see what I have read about.

In addition, people who go out and experience things themselves are likely to be open-minded, and are really interested in making things happen. A friend of mine, Chen Ming, went to a backward rural area(落后的农村地区) and experienced the sufferings of the children there firsthand.  Then he organized a medical team to give them treatment. Just reading about these children’s situation would not have had the same effect as seeing them in person.

More and more Chinese travel at home or abroad.  Especially the children who travel more will see the important landscapes（风景） and will truly be full of knowledge about their own country. I have always felt enriched by the experience. It is only by “getting into action” that one can make a mark in this world, and truly live a meaningful life.

1．The author gives the example in Wisconsin University to show that ____.

       A．Chinese are often misunderstood by foreigners

       B．Books never tell the truth

       C．Chinese people have changed their life style a lot

       D．Seeing is believing

2．The underlined word “outgoing” means ____.

       A．facing danger, pain, or difficult situations with courage and confidence

       B．behaving or speaking in a correct way for the social situation you are in

       C．being nervous about talking to other people, especially to strangers

       D．liking to meet and talk to new people and make friends with them

3．The author believes that the more you experience things, ____.

A．the more you want to try something

B．the more you want to travel

C．the more interested you will be in reading books

D．the less you think you know

4．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．If you want to know the world, you can only travel.

B．If you read about some place from a book, you must go and see it.

C．Traveling can make a person like his life even more.

D．Traveling can certainly make a mark in the world.

5．The best title for this passage should be “____”.

A．What’s Good for Travel                       B．Experience by Reading

C．Reading about the Outside World           D．Prefer Traveling to Reading