Passage 22
In the corner of my desk is a note, which is slowly turning yellow from time. It is a card from my mother, with only four sentences, but with enough influence to my life forever.
In it, she praises my abilities as a writer. Each sentence is full of . The word "but" never appears on the card; however, the word "and" is there many times.
Every time I read it, I'm to ask myself how many times I've said "but" to my own daughters.
Although our eldest daughter got all "A"s on her report card, teachers would always suggest that she talked too much in class. I always forgot to ask them if she was improving. , I would greet her with, "Congratulations! Your dad and I are very , but could you try to talk less in class?"
The same was of our younger daughter. Like her sister, she is a lovely and bright child. She also thinks of the floor of her room as a closet(壁橱) which has often caused me to say, "Yes, that project is great, but up your room!"
I've noticed that other parents do the same thing. "The hockey(曲棍球) team won, but Mike should have made that last goal." "Amy is the home-coming queen, but now she wants 200 to buy a new dress and shoes." But, but, but ...
What I from my mother is to start thinking "and, and, and" instead. For example, "The hockey team won, and Mike did his best the whole game." "Amy is the home-coming queen, and she's going to look perfect!"
The fact is that "but" feels bad, "and" feels good. When our children feel about what they are doing, they do more of it. This is not to say that children don't need or won't pay attention to their parents' . They do and they will. When those wishes are positive, amazing things happen. It's not just to say we love our children. We're also going to have to start guiding and taking part in what is right with our children.
"No more buts!" is a call for joy. And if I ever forget, I have my mother's note to remind me.
() 1.A. prepare
B. destroy
C. change
D. devote
() 2.A. doubt
B. interest
C. humour
D. love
() 3.A. reminded
B. forced
C. surprised
D. satisfied
() 4.A. seldom
B. never
C. usually
D. possibly
() 5.A. Besides
B. Also
C. Sometimes
D. Instead
() 6.A. proud
B. upset
C. hopeful
D. surprised
() 7.A. opposite
B. sure
C. true
D. fall
() 8.A. cheer
B. tidy
C. fix
D. check
() 9.A. insisted
B. expected
C. learned
D. discussed
()10.A. stressed
B. good
C. difficult
D. curious
()11.A. decisions
B. questions
C. instructions
D. wishes
()12.A. enough
B. necessary
C. normal
D. difficult

1.C 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.D 6.A 7.C 8.B 9.C 10.B 11.D 12.A

1. 根据后文作者教育孩子的方式发生改变，可知这张卡片足够影响并改变“我”的一生，change符合语境，选C。
2. 前文提到卡片是妈妈写的，还夸赞“我”的写作能力，所以每句话都充满爱，love符合，选D。
3. 每次读这张卡片，“我”都会被提醒去反思自己对女儿说“but”的次数，reminded符合语境，选A。
4. 根据后文“Congratulations!”可知大女儿通常能拿到全A，usually符合，选C。
5. 前文说“我”忘了问老师女儿是否有进步，反而一见面就先提她的缺点，Instead表示“反而”，符合语境，选D。
6. 女儿拿到全A，父母应该是骄傲的，proud符合，选A。
7. “the same is true of…”是固定表达，意为“……也是如此”，这里指小女儿的情况和大女儿一样，选C。
8. “tidy up”是固定短语，意为“收拾，整理”，这里指让女儿整理房间，选B。
9. 从妈妈的卡片中“我”学到要用“and”代替“but”，learned符合语境，选C。
10. 根据前文“‘and’ feels good”可知，当孩子对自己做的事感觉良好时，会做得更多，good符合，选B。
11. 根据后文“When those wishes are positive”可知，这里指父母的期望，wishes符合，选D。
12. 结合后文“We're also going to have to start guiding…”可知，只说爱孩子是不够的，enough符合语境，选A。