Golden sunlight danced in the treetops, and children's laughter filled the park. The smell of popcorn played on the breeze, and life seemed good. It was one of the happiest Saturday mornings I had spent with my little daughter, Gigi. That is, until two strangers threw her into their car and sped away. It seemed like a bad dream. I could barely whisper when the police questioned me. For hours we waited,but there was no word on the whereabouts of the car. Tears would start to come. Then nothing. I was numb with fear. "Go home, Ma'am," the police officer said. "I'll have someone drive you. We'll also want to monitor your telephone. The kidnappers might call, and we'll want to keep track. Trust me, these guys can't get far. " After what had just happened, it was hard for me to trust anything. My friend Gloria came over that afternoon. "I heard about Gigi on the radio," she said. "Everyone is looking for the car. The interstates are all blocked." She took my hand. "Look here," Gloria said. " I want you to have this picture, and I want you to pray with me." It was a picture of a little girl sound asleep in her bed. Standing by the bed was a tall, blond angel. His hand was touching the girl's shoulder as he smiled down at her. My nerves were frazzled. "You know I don't believe in that kind of thing!" I snapped. "I'm too exhausted for any hocus-pocus right now, Gloria!I want my daughter home!" I started to shake, and then I began sobbing. Gloria placed the photo on our mantle and knelt down beside me. "Just pray with me," she said, holding my hand. I had no strength left, so we prayed and waited what seemed an eternity. Together, we waited by the phone until sunset. The phone never rang. Suddenly, the front door swung open. I looked up and screamed. There stood Gigi. "Gigi! Thank God!" I cried, throwing my arms around her, "Where did those men take you? How did you get home? Did the police find you?" "No Mommy!" said Gigi. "I was really scared because those men said they were taking me far away. We were going really... What is the writer's attitude towards the pray together with Gloria? A) Doubtful B) Curious C) Grateful D) Causal
A
Mom was right! If you say thank you, for even the smallest gift or slightest show of kindness, you'll fell happy. Gratitude , says Robert A. Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, is an extremely important element of happiness, In his most recent book, Thanks! (Houghton Mifflin, $30.95), Emmons uses the first major study on gratitude to prove mom's point. In acknowledging and promoting this much-ignored expression of thankfulness, he explains how people have benefited --even improved their health. As one of the leading scholars of the positive psychology movement, he admits gratitude may be difficult to express. He recommends you begin by acknowledging that life is good and full of events and elements that make daily existence a wonder. Second, recognize that the source of life's goodness is more than just you. That source may be your mom, a friend, partner, child, colleague at work or play, a caregiver or God --or any combination of these. Expressing gratitude should not be a reaction. Instead, it should be a state of mind, To feel grateful when life is a breeze and you have more than what you need is easy, To be grateful in times of crisis --anger, hatred and bitterness--is easier. Also, too many people are aware of life's blessings only after these are lost. It's crisis and chaos--danger, disease, disability and death -- that bring many individuals to realize just how dependent they are on others. Yet it's the way each of us begins life and ends it. It's too hard that so many people waste those decades in between laboring under the illusion that they are self-sufficient, says Emmons. I'm not a reader or advocate of self-help books, but I am thankful for the reference I found in a newspaper article to the research Emmons was conducting on gratitude involving organ donors and recipients . The chance discovery led me to this book. Mom implied that kindness seems to find its way back to the giver because life really is all about giving, receiving and repaying. So I'll follow her... Mom may most probably agree with the following point that _ . A) it is easy to express your gratitude B) kindness may somehow be repaid C) people should always think of giving rather than receiving D) only deeds like organ donation are worth your gratitude
B
Q: An American woman Anna Jervis was the first person to decide that mothers should have a holiday in their honor each year. Miss Jarvis started her campaign in 1906 in her home city Philadelphia. She wrote thousands of letters to congressmen ,city officials, teachers and newspaper publishers, proposing an official holiday for mothers. She traveled all over America, trying to get support for the idea. Her battle went on for years. In 1914 the Congress declared the second Sunday in May each year as Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis wanted Mother's Day to be a simple event. She thought children could honor their mothers by spending some time with them as an act of love and respect. However, the holiday turned out to be a major event for department stores, flower shops and greeting card industry, which Miss Jarvis didn't like. Americans spend millions of dollars on gifts for their mothers on this day. Younger children often try to prepare and serve breakfast for their mothers. Fathers may offer to take care of children so that mothers can enjoy themselves. The holiday becomes an important time for family fathering. Miss Jarvis didn't like _ . A) .department stores B) flower shops C) greeting-card industry D) the way people spend Mother's Day
A: D
(Q).
The US recession has opened up the biggest gap between male and female unemployment rates since records began in 1948, as men bear the blow of the economy's decline. Men have lost almost 80% of the 5.1 million jobs since the recession started, pushing the male unemployment rate to 8.8%. The female jobless rate has hit 7%. This is a dramatic change of the trend over the past few years, where the rates of male and female unemployment barely differed, at about 5%. It also means that women could soon overtake men as the majority of the prefix = st1 /USlabour force. Men have been badly hurt because they dominate those industries that have been affected: 9 in every 10 construction workers are male, as are 7 in every 10 manufacturing workers. These two sectors alone have lost almost 2.5 million jobs. Women, in contrast, tend to hold more stable jobs and make up 75% of the most unaffected sectors of all: education and healthcare. "It protects them a little bit and softens the blow," said Francine Blau, a labour market economist at CornellUniversity. "I think we are going to see this pattern until the recovery." The widening gap between male and female joblessness means many US families are totally reliant on the income the woman brings in. Since women earn on average 20% less than men, that is putting extra stress on many households. What does Francine Blau really mean by his words? A) Most households in the USdepend entirely on the female income. B) The female superiority in certain sectors may continue for the moment. C) Men won't dominate industries like building and manufacturing as they once did. D) Little difference existed between the rates of male and female joblessness in the past.
(A).
B