Question

In the corner of my desk is a note, slowly yellowing from time. It is a card from my mother, containing only four sentences, but with enough impact 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; ________, the word “and” is there many times.

Every time I read it, I am _______ to ask myself how many times I’ve “but-ted” my own daughters. Although our eldest daughter ______ got all As on her report card, teachers would always suggest that she _______ too much in class. I always forgot to ask them if she was making improvements. Instead, I would greet her with, “Congratulations! Your Dad and I are very proud, 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 treats the floor of her room as a closet, which has often caused me to say, “Yes, that project is great, but _______ 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’s the homecoming (同學(xué)會) 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. _______ : “The hockey team won, and Mike did his best in the whole game.” “Amy’s the homecoming queen, and she’s going to look perfect!”

The _______ 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 respond to (響應(yīng)) their parents’______. They do and they will. When those expectations are ________ , 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. It’s an opportunity every day to put our attention on what is promising about our children. And if I ever forget, I have my mother’s note to remind me.

1.A. enrich B. prepare C. change D. ruin

2.A. love B. doubt C. interest D. humor

3.A. besides B. finally C. anyway D. however

4.A. reminded B. forced C. attracted D. requested

5.A. seldom B. never C. usually D. possibly

6.A. forgot B. talked C. remembered D. understood

7.A. tired B. certain C. true D. short

8.A. look into B. clean up C. put up with D. make use of

9.A. heard B. expected C. learned D. differed

10.A. After all B. For example C. In short D. In turn

11.A. fact B. purpose C. chance D. challenge

12.A. bad B. good C. hard D. curious

13.A. decisions B. questions C. instructions D. expectations

14.A. interesting B. low C. positive D. high

15.A. enough B. necessary C. normal D. difficult

Answer 1