There is a fine line between a parent who is active and open-minded and one that doesn’t know when to let go (放手). As my daughter, Nicole, prepares to leave home for college, I’m discovering how hard it is to stay on the 36 side of this line. When I hold 37 the apron strings (围裙带) connecting us, Nicole, eager to 38 independence, tries to loosen my grasp. What results is a (an) 39 mother-daughter, push-me, pull-you kind of tango.
For the past two years, it’s gone like this:
My question: “Have you thought of taking an advanced placement class (高阶课程) so that you can earn college credit?”
Nicole’s 40 : “No, I’m not interested in that.” ………
Two months ago, she was 41 to a great university. However, I was still the mother having a 42 time letting go. The night before the introductory meeting of the university, I had read the course catalog carefully and 43 courses which I thought looked good. We met on the campus the next afternoon, and Nicole’s face 44 with excitement. “I have had my entire schedule figured out,” she said. “Already?” I was astonished, 45 she should have discussed it with me. I examined the schedule. Nicole hadn’t taken a (an) 46 one of the courses I had suggested. Every course she had chosen 47 suited her interests. Just then I saw a mature, capable young woman with a 48 mind and the ability to shape her future. She no longer needed her mother’s 49 every decision she made. I felt proud, though still a bit 50 .
I 51 the lessons carefully. Nicole has struggled to learn over the past 18 years: 52 , sympathy, and hard work. There have been a few holes along the way. 53 , she is well-equipped and eager to 54 the future. The next step, I recognized, was mine to take: giving my daughter and myself the 55 we both needed.
A．left B．right C．either D．each
A．onto B．up C．back D．out
A．keep B．refuse C．taste D．bear
A．embarrassing B．relaxing C．lively D．beautiful
A．comment B．word C．concept D．response
A．received B．invited C．treated D．accepted
A．good B．great C．hard D．easy
A．taken B．underlined C．offered D．emphasized
A．lit up B．built up C．turned up D．made up
A．imagining B．thinking C．hoping D．adding
A．only B．just C．even D．single
A．mostly B．hardly C．exactly D．slightly
A．sharp B．normal C．different D．typical
A．encouraging B．evaluating C．disagreeing D．agreeing
A．anxious B．excited C．sad D．tense
A．reviewed B．observed C．checked D．studied
A．ability B．honesty C．responsibility D．punctuality
A．Therefore B．Instead C．Still D．Besides
A．embrace B．discover C．determine D．lead
A．character B．strength C．relief D．independence
It was already half past seven and I was running late again for the dinner appointment with my wife, Eleanor. We had1to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock. I felt a little uneasy, but to my2，I had a good excuse: A business meeting had3and I'd wasted no time getting to the dinner.
When I arrived at the4，1 apologized and told Eleanor I didn't mean to be late. She screamed, "You never mean to." Well, I5tell she was angry. "I'm sorry but it was not6," I said. Then I told her about the business meeting.7, my explanation seemed to make things worse, which started to drive8mad as well.
Several weeks later, when I9the situation to my friend Ken Hardy, he smiled, "You10a classic mistake. You're stuck11your own way of thinking. You didn't12to be late. But that's not the point. What is13in your communication is how your lateness affected Eleanor." He pointed out that I focused on the intention14Eleanor focused on the result. Thus,15of us felt misunderstood and crazy.
Thinking more about Ken's words, I16recognized the root cause of such disagreement. It's the result of the action that really17.I should have started the conversation by expressing18my actions affected Eleanor and19the discussions about my intention for later, much later and even never.
Later on, after talking to Eleanor and really20her experience of the results of my lateness, I've managed to be on time a lot more frequently.
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“Mum, can I invite my classmate Brett over to stay tomorrow night, please? It’s Friday, and we don’t have any ___.Can I, please?” Mum was sitting at the kitchen table. Dad was ___next to her, resting his head on his arms. Mum could ___that James wanted so badly to have his friend over.
“I’m so sorry, James,” she said.
“I’m never allowed to have friends come to the house? Why, Mum?” James asked sadly, almost in ___.
“I know it’s ___ for you,” Mum said softly. “But I’m just worried other people might think we’re a little… strange. And then they would make fun of you.”
“No, they wouldn’t, Mum,” James protested. “We’re not ___ at all. We’re just ordinary people.”
Mum sighed heavily. “To tell you the truth, James, my neck has been so painful that it’s given me a heavy ___. And your poor father –he doesn’t feel ___. He really needs a rest.”
“I can help, Mum!” James said. “___ I can make you and Dad feel better, can Brett come over? Please?”
“Well…”Mum began.
“Great! Thanks Mum!” James almost shouted. “Just sit there, don’t move.” He rushed over to the kitchen drawer and ___ what he needed –two spanners. “Hang on, Mum,” he said. “This won’t take a second.” After some ___, James was finished. With a smile of ___ on his face he said, “There! How does that feel?” “Oh, James,” Mum said. “That’s a much better! How did you do it?”
“Easy,” James said ___.” Dad had tightened your neck bolts (螺栓) too much! I just___ them slightly! I learned that in robotic science at school.”
“What about you father? Can you ___ him?” asked Mum.
“I’ll try,” James replied. He ___ up Dad’s hair at the back of his neck. and plugged the electric wire into Dad’s head. Then he turned the ___on. Dad opened his eyes and ___ immediately. “He just let his ___run too low, that’s all,” James said, “Shall I tell Brett to come over straight after school tomorrow?”
“I guess so,” replied Mum. “Your friends will just have to ___ that we are a very unusual family. Thanks, son!”
A．chance B．message C．homework D．difficulty
A．asleep B．reading C．alone D．standing
A．explain B．see C．agree D．doubt
A．terror B．tears C．surprise D．silence
A．fair B．easy C．good D．hard
A．strange B．normal C．popular D．anxious
A．headache B．loss C．task D．day
A．ill B．funny C．sorry D．well
A．As B．If C．Since D．Before
A．kept B．controlled C．found D．returned
A．requests B．thoughts C．repairs D．instructions
A．sympathy B．satisfaction C．bitterness D．politeness
A．embarrassedly B．gratefully C．impatiently D．proudly
A．adjusted B．collected C．produced D．covered
A．greet B．accompany C．help D．ask
A．lifted B．caught C．gave D．filled
A．television B．power C．light D．gas
A．grew up B．lay down C．broke down D．sat up
A．food B．temperature C．battery D．blood
A．prove B．expect C．suspect D．accept
Dale Carnegie rose from the unknown of a Missouri farm to international fame because he found a way to fill a universal human need.
It was a need that he firstback in 1906 when young Dale was a junior at State Teachers College in Warrensburg. To get an, he was struggling against many difficulties. His family was poor. His Dad couldn't afford theat college, so Dale had to ride horseback 12 miles to attend classes. Study had to be donehis farm-work routines. He withdrew from many school activitieshe didn't have the time or the. He had only one good suit. He triedthe football team, but the coach turned him down for being too. During this period Dale was slowlyan inferiority complex (自卑感), which his mother knew couldhim from achieving his real potential. Shethat Dale join the debating team, believing thatin speaking could give him the confidence and recognition that he needed.
Dale took his mother's advice, tried desperately and after several attemptsmade it. This proved to be apoint in his life. Speaking before groups did help him gain thehe needed. By the time Dale was a senior, he had won every top honor in. Now other students were coming to him for coaching and they,, were winning contests.
Out of this early struggle tohis feelings of inferiority, Dale came to understand that the ability toan idea to an audience builds a person's confidence. And,it, Dale knew he could do anything he wanted to do-and so could others.
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The summer before I went off to college, Mom stood me in her usual spot behind the ironing board (烫衣板)and said, "Pay attention: I'm going to teach you to iron."
Mom clearly explained her1for this lesson. I was going to be2and needed to learn this vital skill. Also, I would be meeting new people, and properly ironed clothes would help me make a good3."Learn to iron a shirt," Mom said, "and you can iron anything."
But ironing shirts was not4work. It didn't make use of long muscles we used to throw a baseball，and it wasn't a5operation like ice-skating. Ironing was like driving a car on a street that has a stop sign every 10 feet, Moreover, an iron produced steam and it carried an element of6.If you touched the wrong part of it, you'd get burnt. If you forgot to turn it off when you7,you might bum down the house.
As for technique, Mom8me to begin with the flat spaces outward, always pushing the iron forward into wrinkled (有褶皱的）parts. Collars had to be done right. Mom said they were close to your face, where everyone would9them.
Over the years, I've learned to iron shirts skillfully, which gives me a sense of10Whatever failures I suffer in my life, an ironed shirt tells me I am good at something.11,through ironing I've learned the method for solving even the most troublesome problems. "12wrinkles one at a time," as Mom might have said, "and before long everything will get ironed out."
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When our restaurant business failed，we headed north in a camping truck to Texas，hoping to have a "fresh start".
At the1of Palo Duro Canyon (峡谷）State Park，I2a job advertisement hiring park hosts. The position offered a3，permanent campsite in the park, and4,the hosts served as a link between the park's guests and the rangers (护林人). It was the perfect solution: a rent-free place to reorganize our lives. We entered the park and I made an5for the following day.
The park was6, so it took us some time to find an available site. That evening, as we finished our dinner, my wife saw two large skunks (臭鼠由）walking toward our table. We7climbed onto the table and, for the next four hours, waited for them to8our camp.
Having survived that night, we were9that everything else would be all right. The next day we met with the people who ran the park. They explained our10and gave us a beautiful campsite.
That evening,11, we learned about the canyon12. They were strong and cold, rocking our little camping truck violently，and we lay13in the dark until the winds died away.
14the weeks that followed, we learned to survive in our truck and15the little money my wife16by substitute teaching. Building a successful business and then losing it had left very little time for building a successful17For a time after our business18I thought I might lose my family as well.
Living in the tiny19with no television, we sat close together reading and talking. One evening, standing under a jeweled sky，I found myself20for all the hardships. We had walked the trails and climbed the canyon walls. We had become a family!
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