For a while, I wrote a "Tuesday tip" on my blog Lyonsdenmom.com. It was about easy week-night dinners, organizing parties or perhaps finding time out for friends. About a year ago, I ran out of tips. The truth? As a busy working mom with five busy kids, I probably do have a few tips to share. But honestly, the bar is set pretty low---on a recent day when I was walking our dog, a stranger who knew I had five kids said, "Wow! You have a dog, too?! And it even looks like you showered today!" Yes, it's true, I shower. Not every day, but most days. See, I'm telling the truth. Honestly, in this cold winter, I'm probably taking a shower more to warm up than to clean up. Other funny truths? I'm tired. In fact, for the past year, I've been too tired to type up any update on our life here in Lyons Den. It's hard to arrange a career with all these kids. Although folks just believe that it must be so much easier now since all the kids are in school, I'm here to tell you, it's not. It's really not. When I get home from work, I'm often tearfully greeted by five kids and five homework folders filled with math facts, invitations, notices and artwork. All those happy smiling faces I share on Facebook are real. We are a happy family---thank God for that! But we're not always smiling, and even in those rare best times when I can get all five kids looking at the camera, the odds would be that one of them isn't wearing underwear, one is pinching someone behind the scenes and one is just perfectly pronouncing "Damn!" So, less perfectly-posed pictures, but more telling the truth. Even if only on Tuesday. The passage mainly talks about _ . A) the happiness of a working mother B) the worry of a working mother C) the hardship of a working mother D) the bittersweet of a working mother
D
(Question)
The size and location of the world's deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas appear. But within the last hundred years deserts have been increasing after frightful speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but most responsible for creating deserts are men. Man can make deserts, but they can also prevent them from getting bigger. Algeria is planning a green belt of trees along the edge of the Sahara Desert to stop the sand. In China, too, _ are being built in the northwest to keep the desert from growing. But desert still threaten the world. Experts believe that land that is on the way to becoming deserts equals the size of Australia, Russia and US put together. Can we stop the spread of the world's deserts and save the land that is so essential to mankind? Yes, we can, and we must. Which of the following do you think is the best method? A) People move away from the land that is on the way to become deserts B) To build great walls to stop the wind and sand C) To plant trees and grass on the surface of the tree D) To irrigate the desert
(Answer)
C
Ques: My father' s family is not a musical family. They are a family of words. My brother has my father's dark hair, his love of a good argument. I take after my mother. From her I inherited a curious nature, a sense of adventure, bright red hair. I did not, contrary to her hopes, inherit a talent for the piano. That fact was established beyond doubt after unsuccessful attempts to draw music from me. The piano lessons began when I was four. My mother was convinced that I would be a child Mozart. She found the ideal teacher--Madame Oblenka, a strict Russian woman, whose pursed lips were enough to frighten a wild horse into submission. Madame Oblenka, who expected a little Mozart, was not very delighted to find a little girl banging her fists on the keys. I tried to please her. "Feel the music," she urged. I "felt" it and winced my ear--for what is more unpleasant than a series of wrong notes played continuously? She "felt" my music, too, which is why she always left with an angrier expression than when she came. Once, when I was ten, I managed to record one of my own rehearsals . In order to escape my practice sessions, I would close myself behind the door of the piano room, put on the tape recording, and read until the tape had finished. That method worked for a week, until my mother began to wonder why I always missed the same B-sharp. She knocked on the door, and, receiving no answer, came in to check on me and found that I had fallen asleep while the tape of my performance played on and on. I was twelve when my parents finally acknowledged that my hidden talent was not about to _ any time soon. My mother, refusing to admit defeat, told me to pick another instrument. "Choose anything you want, Honey," she said, assuming that freedom of choice would inspire devotion. I thought long and hard and chose the drums. My parents, sensitive to noise, would be less than overjoyed by a daily bombardment of playing. I imagined my father in his study, cotton wads in his ears. I worked my way through several other... We can learn from the passage _ . A) art should be treated as a joy rather than a burden B) the ordinary backstage work can help one succeed C) you can only get better at something if you practice D) parents should encourage their children to create art
Ans: A
Chicago is considering firm measures to prevent the Asian carp,a giant fish native to the Far East,from coming into North America's Great Lakes in large numbers.Such a move could cost up to$18bn,a heavy economic burden to the city. This species,more than a metre in length,was originally introduced to southern US states three decades ago to control weeds in sewage treatment plants.But they escaped into the Mississippi River and increased in number quickly,making their way north towards the Great Lakes and threatening the native fish species along the way. "Dozens of them will often leap out of the water as boats approach.''Michael Beecham,a local environmental expert,described how frightening the scene was."I've gone down the river and seen these fish jump up and hit me in the face.It is a big problem for our native species," he said. A meeting has been organized to find a technological solution to the carp problem,one of which involves blocking parts of Chicago's canal system.Listening at the meeting was John Goss,who was worried about the effect that having barriers in the canal system would have on industry."It would certainly increase the cost of transportation,"he told."It is currently very cheap and efficient to bring materials and finished goods down the Chicago ship canal.'' Another cheaper option is to eat the fish out of existence.Dirk Fucik is selling carp burger at his fish shop not far from downtown Chicago.He thinks the carps are a great resource."To catch it and throw it away is a waste,"he says."Eating them helps solve the problem and also provides jobs."But the idea has not yet caught on.So far,he is the only person in Chicago selling carp burgers. From the passage we can see the Asian carp A) is very adaptable to the new environment B) has made the Great Lake their home C) is becoming a new food in restaurants D) becomes even more fierce than before
A