Dear God, Now that I am no longer young, I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them. I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her more each day. My mother does not change, but I do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person she is. How sad that I am unable to speak these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen. How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler, for understanding a moody teenager, for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For waiting for the day when a daughter realizes how wise her mother really is? How does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice (when asked) or remaining silent when it is most appreciated? For not saying, "I told you so", when she could have said these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself -- loving, thoughtful, patient, and forgiving? I don't know how, dear God, except to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine. A daughter According to the passage, the writer's friends _ before their mothers died. A) could tell them their appreciation B) never completely said "thank you" to their mothers C) lived to their mother D) were very thankful
B
(Question)
American actress Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her work in the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny. People laughed when they saw her film character telling a boyfriend that they need to get married. Why marriage? Because her biological clock is ticking and she wants a baby. "Well I hate to bring it up because I know you got enough pressure on you already. But...we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case(law case). Meanwhile, ten years later...my niece...the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is ticking like this (stomp, stomp, stomp). And the way this case is going...I ain't never getting married." "Lisa, I don't need this. I swear to God I don't need this right now." Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman's life when she is able to bear children. In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children. The time on her biological clock had run out. Well, that has changed. These days some women are resetting their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children. Make no mistake. Being a "Single Mother by Choice" is very different from younger women who find themselves pregnant, perhaps not by choice. Generally speaking, single mothers by choice are older and well educated. They are usually financially secure and successful in their careers. So, they have the money. What they may not have is a partner. This is the place in life where writer Kerry Reichs found herself several years ago. She says she did not plan to become a single mother. She says she just did not find the right partner. "Well, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn't meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own. What does "Single Mother by Choice" mean? A) It means single mothers have a choice. B) It means single mothers are pregnant by chance. C) It means single women in their late 30s or early 40s decided to have children. D) It means women want to make a choice.
(Answer)
C
Few buildings on earth can compete with the legendary beauty of the Taj Mahal. Towering over the ancient Indian city of Agra, the Taj Mahal is the grandest monument to love ever created. The lovers in this story are the 17th century Indian emperor Shah Jehan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She took a leading role in advising him, which is something unusual for a woman to do for a husband who's an emperor. Over the course of their nineteen-year marriage she gave birth to 14 children. But in 1631 while trying to deliver their fifteenth -- she tragically died. He was heartbroken when she died. And after her death, he decided to build the world's greatest monument ever built, for love. He ordered the royal architects to design the most beautiful building the world had known and decided to name it after his beloved, Mumtaz Mahal. He called on twenty thousand workers and sent many more people to all corners of his country in search of valuable metals and jewels. And after seventeen years of hard work, Shah Jehan's monument was completed and his beloved empress was moved to her final resting place. Everything had gone according to plan, but Shah Jehan's luck was about to change ... In 1658, just four years after the completion of the Taj Mahal, he was thrown out of power. Unfortunately, his son, Aran Azibe imprisoned him, his own father. And he spent the last seven years of his life in prison. And he was allowed to look at the Taj Mahal through a window. His life was in ruins, but when he died his last wish was promised. He was buried beside his beloved wife in the Taj Mahal. Which of the following is TRUE about Shah Jehan? A) He was killed by his own son. B) He lost his power as a result of the Taj Mahal. C) He put his own son into prison. D) He hoped to be buried together with his wife.
D