third-youngest是第三年轻还是最年轻的之一

Mother asked the youngest kid _____________ with his toy car.

A．what the matter is	B．what is the matter
C．what the matter was	D．what was the matter

Your youngest son or daughter has just graduated from high school, and soon he or she will trade his or her bedroom in your home for a college residence hall. You’re starting to worry about the coming silence in your home and are wondering how you will fill the hours that you previously spent with your son or daughter attending his or her school and sporting events.
Take heart — the empty nest “is often worse in anticipation (预料) than in day-to-day practice”, says psychologist Bert Hayslip Jr.
Hayslip, who has studied retirement adjustment (调整) and other aging problems, such as aging sleeplessness, for many years, points out that, more often than not, children who leave do not completely cut off contact with their parents. He advises parents to think of it as a series of life events, instead of a sudden change. He also says an empty nest can cause bigger problems to surface “if a couple hasn’t looked after their marriage while raising their children”. According to Hayslip, some couples may find they no longer have anything in common once the children are out of the house.
Thinking of an empty nest as the loss of children makes the adjustment more difficult. “With the empty-nest syndrome (综合症), parents actually need to deal with the loss of the parenting control over children, not with having really lost their children,” Hayslip says. “They just have to find a new way to get along with their children.”
“Relating to their college-age children in this new way will come easily to parents as the months pass. As with many things, the passage of time heals the pain of loss,” Hayslip says.
小题1:What does the “empty nest” mean?

A．Children’s cutting off contact with their parents.

B．Children’s not liking spending time with their parents.

C．Children’s growing up and leaving home.

D．Children’s not accepting parents’ care and love.

小题2:What does the underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refer to?

A．Retirement adjustment.	B．Aging problem.
C．Sleeplessness.	D．The reality of empty nest.

小题3:Why do many parents find it hard to adjust to the empty-nest life？

A．Because they think they have actually lost their children.

B．Because they often disagree with their children on many things.

C．Because their children completely cut off contact with them.

D．Because these parents don’t have anything in common.

小题4:According to Hayslip, what parents actually lose in an “empty nest” is _______.

A．their children’s love for them

B．their control over children

C．their interest in life

D．their contact with children

Benjamin Franklin was a great scientist .He was the youngest of the 46 boys in his family . He was a clever boy, 47 cleverer than his nine brothers . He studied in school for only three years . He 48 to learn new things .He 49 worked on new ideas even when he was a child . There are a lot of stories about him and here’s one of them.
One day in winter Benjamin Franklin learned from one of his 50 that something black in colour holds heat 51 than something white in colour “ Is that true ?” he asked himself . He wanted to know the answer.
It happened to be a 52 day and there was snow on the ground. He put two large pieces of cloth over the snow . One piece was black in colour and the other was white . The sun shone (照耀) 53 the two pieces of cloth .Two hours later ,Franklin took off the cloth and found that the snow under the black cloth melted (融化) more 54 than the snow under the white cloth.
He was happy that he had learned 55 from his friend.

小题1:	A．eihgt B．nine C．ten D．eleven

小题2:	A．less B．more C．little D．much

小题3:	A．started B．will like C．wanted D．liked

小题4:	A．seldom B．always C．hardly D．never

小题5:	A．classmates B．brothers C．friends D．teachers

小题6:	A．slower B．wore C．better D．longer

小题7:	A．bad B．fine C．cloudy D．rainy

小题8:	A．beside B．in C．on D．above

小题9:	A．easily B．quietly C．slowly D．quickly

小题10:

A．all things B．everything C．anything D．something

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend . My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.
56. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
A. He was silent most of the time.
B. He was too proud of himself.
C. He did not love his children.
D. He expected too much of her.
57. When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel .
A. nervous B. sorryC. tired D. safe
58. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
A. More critical. B. More talkative
C. Gentle and friendly. D. Strict and hard-working.
59. The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to .
A. the author’s son B. the author’s father
C. the friend of the author’s father D. the café owner