Once the grandchildren have arrived, Grandma and Grandpa also seem to forget all of the responsibility lectures I so often hear in my daily life. If Mickey screams at his sister during dinner, he is “developing his own personality”; if Nancy breaks Grandma’s mirror, she is “just a curious child.” But, if I track mud into the house while helping to unload groceries, I become “careless”; if I scold one of the grandkids for tearing pages out of my textbook, I am “ impatient.” If Paula talks back to her mother, Grandma and Grandpa smile at her spirit. If I say one word about all of this excessive love, Mom and Dad reappear to have a talk with me about petty jealousies. (398 words)
41. As regards his parents’ shopping for the grandchildren, the author ______.
A. feels jealous B. feels amazed
C. thinks it unnecessary D. thinks it annoying
42. What happens after the kids have had all the sweets?
A. They get highly energetic.
B. They quiet down.
C. They want more sweets.
D. They go to bed.
43. Which of the following is NOT true of the visiting children?
A. They behave very well.
B. They like chocolate very much.
C. They receive toys from their grandparents.
D. They are having a lot of fun.
44. It can be inferred from the passage that when the author was a child, he______.
A. liked the foods he had
B. got a lot of pocket money
C. was spoiled by his parents
D. was scolded if he misbehaved
45. “Personality transformation” in the author’s parents means that they _______.
A.have turned into loving parents
B.have become strict parents
C.no longer care for the author
D.used to believe in discipline for children
Passage Three
Diego Chiapello, legally blind since birth, isn’t one of Italy’s famous “mama’s boys” who live with their parents into adulthood. The 27-year-old lives alone in Milan, works as a network administrator, loves diving and dreams of sailing across the Atlantic with a sight-impaired(有视力障碍的)crew.
Obviously, he’s not your average disabled person -----but especially so in Italy. The country has more barriers to integration than almost anywhere else on the Continent: among European countries, Italy ranks third from the bottom in accessibility for the disabled, ahead of only Greece and Portugal, People who use wheelchairs, especially, find it difficult to navigate the country’s cobblestone (鹅卵石) streets, ride buses or visit restaurants, shops and museums. Less than a quarter of Italy’s disabled hold jobs compared with 47 percent for Europe.
But the biggest obstacle for the country’s physically challenged may, in fact, be the fabled Italian family. Because of the social defect that still attaches to disabilities, “ they tend to keep disabled people at home” and out of public view, explains Giovanni Marri, head of an employment training center in Milan that caters to the handicapped. Thus while 15 percent of the country’s families include a disabled person, according to surveys, only 2 percent of Italians report going to school with a disabled person and only 4percent work with one.
