My class and I visited Chris Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona to comfort the old people who needed a little cheering up during the holiday season.

The first two  (1)  there were for persons requiring help in taking care of themselves. We sang  (2)  for them. They loved our sweet songs and the flowers that we left with them.

As we were  (3)  on the third floor for old people with Alzheimer (老年痴呆症), most of them   (4)  off at the walls or floor. However, one lady  (5)  my eye. She was sitting by the door, in a wheelchair, singing songs to herself. They weren’t the songs that we were singing, at least they didn’t    (6)    like that. As we got   (7)   with each festive song, she did as well. The louder we got, the louder she got.   (8)    she was singing, she was also    (9)   out to us with her hands and body. I knew that I should have gone over to her, but I thought that my    (10)  were to my students. People who worked at the care center could    (11)    to her, I thought. Just when I stopped feeling   (12)   about not giving her the attention she needed, one of my students, Justin, showed me what the holiday season is really about.

Justin also   (13)   the same lady. The difference between us is that he  (14)  on her needs, but I didn’t. During the last song, “Silent Night,” Justin walked over to her and held her hand. He looked this aged lady in her   (15)   and with his actions said, “You are important, and I will take my  (16)   to let you know that.”

This tired, elderly lady stopped singing and held his hand. Then she touched his cheek with  (17)  hand. Tears began to fall down her face. No   (18)   can completely describe that touching moment...

It  (19)   a boy to teach me, a man, about kindness and love. Justin’s example of a complete, selfless attitude toward another was a   (20)   that I will never forget. He was the teacher that day, and I consider myself  lucky to have witnessed his lesson.         

Many theories regarding the causes of juvenile delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories    36   on the individual suggest that children      37     criminal behavior before they were not sufficiently     38     for previous misbehaviors or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. Theories focusing on the role of society suggest that children commit crimes in    39    to their failure to rise above their socioeconomic status or as a rejection of middle-class values.

Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from    40    families,   41      the fact that children from wealthy homes also commit crimes. The latter may commit crimes for lack of adequate control from parents. All    42    , however, are uncertain or unimproved and are of course challenged with criticism.

Changes in the social structure may indirectly     43     juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that     44    to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising unemployment     45      make gainful employment increasingly difficult to obtain. This results in    46    among youths and may in    47    lead more youths into criminal behavior.

Families have also experienced  48  these years. More families consist of one parent households or two working parents;     49    , children are likely to have less supervision at home than was common in the traditional family    50     . This lack of parental supervision is thought to be an influence on juvenile crime rates. Other noticeable     51     of offensive acts include     52    experience or failure in school, the    53    availability of drugs and alcohol, and the growing phenomenon of child abuse and child neglect. All these conditions tend to increase the    54     of a child committing a criminal act,     55    a direct cause and effect relationship has not yet been established.

With their visas in hand and their bags packed, students may feel prepared for their study abroad experiences. __36__ once they set foot in foreign lands, some students realize that they don’t have the skills to communicate their thoughts and feelings in their __37__ culture.

Guo Yichen, a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, observed a(an) __38__ of poor communication during her time abroad.

When Guo first got to the US, she stayed in the house of a 63-year-old lady, with another Chinese girl. Guo and her housemate were __39__ to take turns tidying up the bathroom. But the housemate never __40__, because she didn’t know how. Her mother had always cleaned the bathroom for her back home. And when the landlord asked about it, the housemate __41__ replied, “I never needed to do housework back home, and I won’t do it here __42__.”

“I was shocked by how __43__ her answer was,” said Guo. “She could have explained it in a better way.” It was __44__ surprise that the girl was asked to move out almost immediately.

In fact, “difficulty in __45__” is among the three major psychological problems that ZMN Education, an agency on overseas education, __46__ among Chinese students studying abroad, the other two being“fear of class discussion” and “fear of homework based on critical thinking”.

A professor at theUniversityofCalifornia, Berkeley, once told the agency that many of his Chinese students only came to see him when they got __47__ scores. They should have talked to him after each class to get a better grade __48__, he said.

According to the agency, studying abroad itself may trigger(引发) certain mental problems because it is a “__49__ and stressful shift to new environments and __50__”. It has been found that students are 23 times more likely to __51__ a mental health condition than business travelers headed abroad.

And during this period of major life transitions(过渡), __52__ better communication skills is particularly important. It helps you get assistance and solve problems.

The New York Times published an article recently that shows great regret for the "death of conversation".It suggests that while technology such as cell phones, e-mails , and Internet posting makes us feel more   (1)  than ever, they’re also driving us   (2)  from people around us.

Users get final connectivity   (3)  the price of   (4)  face-to-face conversation. Sherry Turkle, author of the article in The New York Times says people are   (5)  to a different way of being “alone together”.

Actually   (6)  text messages or writing micro-blogs allows us to   (7)  thoughts.

  (8)  bits and pieces of online cannot   (9)  a “real conversation.” Lan Guo, 19, a freshman English major from Changsha University , said that she would like to hear people’s tone of voice and see their faces in a (n)  (10)  .“The give and take of ideas in a conversation sharpens our minds,” she said．She also mentions that   (11)  ourselves in mobile technology reduces our chance of starting conversations with strangers and   (12)  People.

Turkle mentioned the popular   (13)  of “I share, therefore I am” among this generation. Liu Xuan, a young writer from Taiwan and psychology graduate from Harvard University, thinks it’s a mindset adopted by most young people. They are so busy creating or polishing their online persona (网络人格)that they forget how to live a (n)  (14)  life. For example，They may   (15)  more about blogging about attending a party rather than enjoying being   (16)  

However，experts remind us that it’s unfair to   (17)  mobile technology. Chen Chen, a sociology expert at China Youth &Children Research Center, points out that it is still owners of gadgets , such as cell phones and tablets , who’re avoiding personal  (18)  We take advantage of these devices to hide ourselves   (19)  others. Texting messages or calling may be a (n)  (20)  to avoid contact with others, such as having eye contact．“Only by strengthening conversation can we understand each other. Simply throwing away the mobile gadgets is not a solution.”she said.

 It takes plenty of time for some adults to try to stop children playing. They are usually people who think of play as being the   (1)   of work and therefore a waste of time. For humans, work is a way of getting food to eat, and like humans,   (2)   must spend time doing the  (3)   things. Regardless of this, children   (4)   playing, and so do other young animals. It is quite   (5)   to keep both a small child and a young cat   (6)   for hours with a piece of paper.

    Hunting may be the most obvious skill   (7)   in play, but it is far from being the only one. Lambs and goat kids play   (8)  , although as adults they will never   (9)   anything other than some grass. But for these young animals too,   (10)   is an important part of learning. Sheep and goats are   (11)   hill and mountain animals. Running and skipping exercise young legs and develop a strong sense of   (12)   that will keep them safe on the steepest rocks.

  (13)   animals’ play, children’s play is not so different.   (14)   trees and catching flies are not the most obvious training for the adult world, but the flexibility   (15)   in these activities is similar to that required of a bus driver or businessman.

What we know about animals shows us that playing is a very good way of   (16)  , so maybe one of the best ways for   (17)   to learn is also by playing. Children find playing is fun, but   (18)   notice that they are also learning at the same time. Most people continue to play games long after they have become   (19)  , and perhaps that is because we rely so much on our   (20)   to learn.

Why do young adult children become independent so much later than they did in 1970，when the average age of independent living was 21? Why have reduced class sizes and increased per-pupil expenditures (花销）not  (1 )  higher academic achievement levels? Why is the mental health of today’s kids so poor when   (2 )  with that of children in the 1960s and before? Why do today’s    ( 3)  become defensive when told by teachers that their children have misbehaved in school?

The answer in two words: parental   (4)  . Those two words best summarize the   (5 )   between “old” child raising and new, post-1960s parenting. Then, the overall philosophy was that parents were not to be  ( 6 )  involved with their kids. They were available    (7)   crisis, but they stood a (an)  ( 8 )   distance from their kids and allowed them to experience the benefits of the trial-and-error process. It was the child’s   ( 9 )  , back then, to keep his or her parents from getting involved. That was   (10)    children learned to be responsible and determined.

Today’s parents help their kids with almost everything. These are parents who are  (11)  when it comes to an understanding of their purpose in their kids’ lives. Their involvement leads them to personalize everything that happens to their kids;     (12)  , the defensiveness. But given that schools and mental health professionals have been pushing parent involvement for nearly four decades, the confusion and defensiveness are  (13)    .

University researchers analyzed three decades of data relating to parent participation in children’s academics. Their conclusions   (14)    what I’ve been saying since the 1980s: parental help with homework  (15)  a child’s academic achievement and is not reflected on standardized tests.

Parents who manage a child’s social life interfere with the    (16)    of good social skills. Parents who manage a child’s after-school activities grow kids who don’t know how to    (17)    their own free time. Parents who get involved in their kids,   (18)        with peers grow kids who don’t know how to avoid much less trouble.

These kids have anxieties and fears of all sorts and don’t want to leave their     (19)   . And their parents, when the time comes, don’t know how to     (20)    being parents. You can imagine what will become of their future.

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

      In the north of Scotland there is a lake called Loch Ness. It is the biggest 36 in Britain. It is over thirty kilometers long and nearly 300 meters 37 . It is cold and dark and not many people went there until after 1930. Then a road was made 38 the lake.

     Holiday makers began to use the road, and this was when the 39 began. Someone said that he had seen a monster(妖怪) in the lake. He said it was twelve meters long. It had a long 40 and a small head. Then someone else said he seen 41 . Others said the same thing and in 1933 a London doctor took a 42. It 43 like a monster with a long neck and a thick body but the photo was not too 44. The newspaper printed the picture and 45 it the Loch Ness monster, or “Nessie”. Then the argument began. 46 people, however, were certain there was something living in the lake. Others said there was 47 there. In 1961, a lot of people joined together to make a real 48 to see and photograph the monster to find 49 there was one! Several times people thought they saw something but after ten years there was 50 no real proof（证据）.

      Later underwater television cameras were used, but 51 found any real proof. However, they 52 find something interesting: a huge underwater cave. It was big enough to be 53 of a monster, but of course, this was not a proof. In 1975, however, some American scientists 54 a search group. They used an underwater camera. It took pictures every seventy seconds. Some of the pictures seemed to show aredbrowncreature. Its body was about four meters long, 55 had a very ugly head on the end of a four-meter neck. Many people then began to believe in the monster. But even today we can’t be certain.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The   (1)   is that countries around the world have growing mountains of    (2)   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

   How did we    (3)  a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to   (4)    an object than to spend time and money to repair it.  (5)   modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and    (6)    .

  Another cause is our   (7)   of disposable (一次性的) products. As   (8)    people, we are always looking for   (9)   to save time and make our lives easier. Companies     (10)  thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

   Our appetite for new products also    (11)    to the problem. We are   (12)   buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that  (13)   is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we  (14)   useful possessions to make room for new ones.

    All around the world, we can see the   (15)  of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To  (16)   the amount of rubbish and to protect the  (17)   , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   (18)    , this is not enough to solve our problem.

    Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions   (19)  throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about   (20)   . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The    41  is that countries around the world have growing mountains of   42   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we   43    a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to   44 an object than to spend time and money to repair it.    45 modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and   46  .

Another cause is our  47 of disposable (一次性的) products. As  48  people, we are always looking for   49 to save time and make our lives easier. Companies   50  thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also  51 to the problem. We are   52 buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that   53 is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we  54 useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the   55 of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To  56  the amount of rubbish and to protect the   57, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   58 , this is not enough to solve our problem.

 Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions    59  throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about   60 . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

The world would be a better place if we all had children’s eyes. This is not because children’s eyes are too sharp to allow any blot（污点,瑕疵）to pass without being  36 , but because adults have too many conflicting concerns to keep their eyes open to all wrongdoing.

Not long before, an examination, intended to  37  some police officers to higher positions, was held in Gansu province. Someone  38  with a good idea that 18 primary pupils could be invited to act as invigilators (监考人). At that age, students would do as they are told and act fearlessly.  39 , they caught 25 officers cheating on the spot, which has caused a stir (轰动,搅动) and  40  the question of whether adult invigilators would  41  their duties as well.

The implication of this event goes  42  its impact on the work style of local police officers and the examinations. Most people said what these children have done points to the sad fact of  43  being less trustworthy. If adults acted as invigilators, they would quite  44  turn a blind eye to cheating.

We Chinese have been holding the  45  that human nature was good at birth: as  46  of blot as a sheet of blank paper, which can be  47  with content (good or bad) in the process of growing up. Everything should be done on the basis of certain principles.  48 , nowadays the repeated reports of cheating in examinations, selling ranks and  49  and embezzling (挪用) public funds paint a  50  picture of common social morals. Adults have become too concerned with their own personal gains to  51  basic sense of principles. When no one  52  any principle and the only concern is personal interest, everyone will  53 , not only those who first break the rules.

Besides, cheats are unfair to honest examinees, and when the success of cheats  54  more people to cheat, the consequences will be disastrous.

In a word, we adults need to have our eyes as  55  as children’s on matters of principle.