Dear Dad,
Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards. They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you. Yet as I selected and read, it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you.
You'll soon be 84 years old, Dad, and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together. I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart.
You know, Dad, there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap. You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other.
The Father-Daughter Duel shifted into high gear ( 档位) when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the '54 Chevy whether you liked it or not. The police officer who sent me home, after you reported the Chevy stolen, didn't have much tolerance for a stubborn 16 year old, while you were so tolerant about it, Dad, and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life.
Our relationship greatly improved when I married a man you liked, and things really turned around when we began making babies right and left. Somewhere along the line, the generation gap disappeared. I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together, rather like a fine wine.
But the strangest thing happened last week. I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car. It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car. It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day.
I guess what I'm trying to say, Dad, is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today. Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking. It's about loving someone more than words can say, and it's wishing that never had to end.
I love you, Dad.
Love,
Jenny How did Jenny probably feel on the night she was sent home by the police?
| A．Frightened | B．Guilty | C．Nervous | D．Disappointed |
We can learn from the passage that Jenny and her father_________.
| A．had a hard time understanding each other. |
| B．has been getting along very well. |
| C．are separated due to the generation gap. |
| D．kept in touch by writing to each other. |
Why did Jenny feel strange when she saw her father last week?
| A．She had never seen him driving so slowly before. |
| B．She didn't expect to meet with him there. |
| C．She had never realized his being old and weak |
| D．She seldom saw him driving that huge car |
Jenny wrote his father this letter to _________
| A．remind him of the early incident | B．express her gratitude to him |
| C．say sorry for her being stubborn | D．tell him about their conflicts |
Daredevil climber Alain Robert, known as the French Spiderman, stood strong winds and rain to climb the world’s tallest skyscraper, Taiper 101, Saturday.
Robert, dressed in a red rain jacket, tights and climbing shoes, climbed up ropes hung down the side of the 101-storey, 1,667-foot office tower, reaching the top in around four hours. “It was a very big moment and I felt a lot of satisfaction though I was already so tired and nearly all of my muscles were painful. I felt completely eased,” said Robert after taking the ride down in one of the tower’s lifts, the world’s fastest.
Several hundred onlookers and shoppers gathered at the base of the tower watching and cheering Roberts progress through live pictures on a large television screen. At times he disappeared from view as clouds passed by the top of the tower surrounding the upper storeys.
The 42-year-old Frenchman has covered scores of well-known structures around the world including the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower–without permission or any safety equipment or ropes.
This time Robert was wearing a harness(背带) fastened to safety ropes for the entire climb. He used the ropes to pull himself up most of the way, using his hands and feet to climb up the walls for only short sections. He said the management had requested he wear the ropes and safety equipment, which had also become necessary due to the rain making the windows and frames very slippery. Robert said he would not carry his pity the next time. The text mainly tells us that .
| A．another world record was broken by a Frenchman. |
| B．the French Spiderman climbed the world’s tallest building |
| C．how Alain Robert got the name “daredevil” |
| D．Alain Robert was praised for his great success |
During his climbing up Taipei 101, Alai Robert .
| A．never felt tired all the time |
| B．never used his hands and feet |
| C．had stayed somewhere for a short rest |
| D．was not seen on the television screen sometimes |
When Alain Robert climbed the Empire State Building, he was likely to .
| A．use only his hands and feet | B．be 42 years old |
| C．carry some safety equipment | D．get permission of someone |
According to the text, we can infer that .
| A．Alain Robert spent three hours climbing Taipei 101 |
| B．Alain Robert chose a rainy day on purpose |
| C．Alain Robert will climb Taipei 101 a second time |
| D．Alain Robert got lots of help from onlookers |
THE BRONTE FAMILY
Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels (小说) of the 19th century. These were Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extraordinary quality as her sisters’.
Their father was Patrick Bronte, born in Ireland. He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820. Soon after, Mrs. Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care of the remaining three girls and a boy.
Charlotte was born in 1816. Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls were determined to earn money for his art education. They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes.
As children they had all written many stories. Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher(出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte’s book. (It was not published until 1859.) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her works. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it. It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847.
Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do so well. People did not like Wuthering Heights. They said it was too wild, too animal-like. But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of the book, and Anne died in 1849.
Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis(肺结核) as her sisters had.We know from the text that .
| A．Jane Eyre was published in 1847 |
| B．Charlotte Bronte wrote 22 books in all |
| C．the Bronte sisters received good education |
| D．Patrick Bronte helped his daughters with their writing |
The underlined words “the other two” in the 5 th paragraph refer to .
| A．Shirley and Villette | B．The Professor and Agnes Grey |
| C．Agnes Grey and Wutheriing Heights | D．The Professor and wuthering Heights |
What do we know about the Bronte sisters from the text?
| A．Their novels interested few publishers. |
| B．None of them had more than two books published. |
| C．None of them lived longer than 40 years old. |
| D．Emily was the least successful of the three. |
Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble (气泡) and main sadness. Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply. According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator (赤道) to Australia to find the priciest homes.
The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines. An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category. And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9.5 times the average income. Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure.
Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land rationing (配给制) and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government.
Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes.
The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under.To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____.
| A．3 times or less of the average family’s income |
| B．4 times or less of the average family’s income |
| C．5 times or less of the average family’s income |
| D．9.5 times or less of the average family’s income |
What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?
| A．The rising family’s income. |
| B．The demand over supply. |
| C．The excessive development charges. |
| D．The decrease of land. |
The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____.
| A．cheerful | B．satisfactory | C．difficult | D．gloomy |
What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．Affordable Houses |
| B．A House is a Dream First |
| C．Housing Bubble |
| D．Homes Too Expensive |
What’s your idea of a good time? What about dancing in a rainy field with one hundred and fifty thousand other people while a famous rock band plays on a stage so far away that the performers look like ants?
It may sound strange but that is what many hundreds of thousands of young people in the UK do every summer. Why? Because summer is the time for outdoor music festivals.
Held on a farm, the Glastonbury Festival is the most well-known and popular festival in the UK. It began in 1970 and the first festival was attended by one thousand five hundred people each paying an admission price of ￡1 — the ticket included free milk from the farm.
Since then the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength — in 2004 one hundred and fifty thousand fans attended, paying ￡112 each for a ticket to the three-day event. Tickets for the event sold out within three hours. Performers included superstars, such as Paul McCartney and James Brown, as well as new talent, like Franz Ferdinand and Joss Stone.
Although many summer festivals are run on a profit —making basis, Glastonbury is a charity event, donating millions of pounds to local and international charities.
Glastonbury is not unique in using live music to raise money to fight global poverty (贫穷). In July of this year, the Live 8 concerts were held simultaneously (同时) in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin. Superstars such as Madonna, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder performed in order to highlight (强调) international poverty and debt.What does the author mean by saying “the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength”?
| A．The festival has achieved growing success. |
| B．Great efforts have been made to hold the festival. |
| C．The festival has brought in a large amount of money. |
| D．There have been thousands of fans attending the festival. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The Glastonbury Festival is run on a profit-making basis. |
| B．Tickets for the 2004 Glastonbury Festival were in great demand despite the high price. |
| C．Both James Brown and Joss Stone were born in poor families. |
| D．In the 1970 Glastonbury Festival, one could have lunch on the farm for free. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that _____.
| A．the Glastonbury Festival is not so popular as the Live 8 concerts |
| B．the Live 8 concerts are held every year in London |
| C．London, Paris, Rome and Berlin are famous for outdoor music festivals |
| D．some superstars are concerned about global poverty |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to have a good time |
| B．Charity events around the world |
| C．The Glastonbury Festival |
| D．Superstars’ performances in charity events |
The Adventure Guides Program
New Member Information for the Adventure Guides Program ( for children aged 4—12)
What Is the Adventure Guides Program All about?
The objectives of the program are:
● Fostering companionship and setting foundation for positive, lifelong relationships between parent and child
● Increased understanding of one another
● Expanded awareness of spirit, mind and body
● Great memories
● Fun!!!
Parent and Child Will Be Joining…
The nationwide affilicated(隶属的) program sponsored by local YMCA’s and part of the National Council of YMCA’s
A smaller group of families called a “circle”
What Is the Time Commitment?
● Program runs from October to May (ending with the Memorial Day Parade)
● One “circle” activity per month ( one circle decides on fees and dates)
Additional all participant activities (scheduled by Wilton Family Y) —additional fees and registration required.
Outing Dates: To Be Announced
What Do I Do Now?
● Registration is on-going. Registration forms are available online under “Registration”.
● You will be notified by the Wilton Family Y of which “circle” you and your child are in and who your “circle” leader is.
● You will be notified by your “circle” leader as to when your first parent/child “circle” meeting will take place.
Fees:
Participant: Full Child or Family member $110.00 / Program member $200.00
Sibling: Full child or Family member $75.00 / Program member $150.00
Adult: Family member FREE / Program member $125.00
Wilton Family Y Contact Information:
Geoff Malyszka Teen Director 762-8384 ext.224
E-mail: gmalyszka@wiltonymca. org
Kim Murphy Early Childhood Ed. Director762-8384 ext.214
E-mail: kmurphy@wiltonymca. org Which of the following is true about “circle”?
| A．You and your children will make up a “circle”. |
| B．A “circle” activity will be held once a month. |
| C．You have the right of choosing your “circle” leader. |
| D．You are free to choose to become a member of a “circle”. |
What information can you get from the passage？
| A．There is no extra fees for additional all participant activities. |
| B．The program will be held only in October and May |
| C．You can register just by making a call to 762-8384 ext. 224. |
| D．It has not been decided yet when you will go out. |
The passage is mainly written for _____.
| A．parents and their children |
| B．adventurous travelers |
| C．international students |
| D．children with bad memories |
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