Dear Addie,
Greetings from New Jersey, how is New Zealand? I’m very excited to have you as my pen pal. I guess it’s my turn to tell you about myself.
First off, I live with my parents, two sisters, and our pet dog Brighty. Our town is called Whippangong. It is only about a half-hour away from New York City. My oldest sister, Ingrid, just turned 17, that means she now has a drive’s license. She drives us to the mall. Do you have a mall near you in Te Awamutu? My other sister is 11 and her name is Lucy. I guess I would say that she is my best friend. We still fight, though. She rides horses and takes lessons every Saturday morning. I have to go with her sometimes, and that is truly the most boring thing in the world. Do you like horses?
I take tap dancing classes. I like to practice in the food store. The sound of my feet stepping on the hard floors echoes(發(fā)出回聲). I play scores in the fall; I’m on the swim team during the summer. I like swim, but I am really looking forward to diving this year. Next year I will start music lessons in school. I think I am going to play the piano.
Our house has eight rooms and a small backyard where every year we try to grow vegetables. We mostly get zucchini because the rabbits eat everything else. I guess rabbits don’t like zucchini. I have a bike and mum allows me to ride up and down our street, but nowhere else. I hope that I will get to ride it to school someday. Right now I ride the crowed and yucky bus.
Well, that is enough about me for now. I look forward to hearing from you again soon. I hope your surfing lessons went well. And I hope your mum does let you learn to play the drums.
Write soon
Love,
Jessica
【小題1】 In this letter, Jessica doesn’t talk about     .

Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.

The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me.

Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby in different seasons.

She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy.

“I said ‘That’s not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he’s going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Hug(擁抱)him! And she started to do that. They just want a little hugging and a little love. And it works!” Delores Clemens said.

Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. “I’m doing something for them that never has been done for them before.”

In class, with her baby son, is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in looking for a safer life.

“Did you go to high school?”

“Yes.”

“Did you graduate?”

“No, I didn’t. I was in my last year and then, I got pregnant(懷孕)and I got lazy.”

“You look like you are willing to accept responsibility(責(zé)任)for that.”

“Yes, I am, and I would like to finish.”

Some teenage mothers wish they themselves could be children again. 18-year-old Placida knows that feeling. “Because you have to get up every two hours in the middle of the night, and you can’t go out and say ‘I am going to buy this for myself.’ No. I have to buy pampers, clothes and food. So now it’s two. So it’s very hard.” Placida said.

1.What did Natasha want to finish high school for?

A．To bring her high school life to an end.

B．To accept the responsibility to look after her baby.

C．To stop the chatting with Adam.

D．To end the relationship with her boyfriend.

2.From what Placida said, we know that she thinks _______.

A．looking after a baby needs love

B．having a baby costs more

C．being a mom is hard

D．loving comes from responsibility

3.The passage is mainly about _______.

A．a(chǎn) class where teen parents are looked after

B．a(chǎn) class where parents are teaching their children

C．a(chǎn) class where homeless mothers learn to find a job

D．a(chǎn) class where teens learn mothering and are mothered

Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.
The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me.
Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby in different seasons.
She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy.
“I said ‘That’s not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he’s going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Hug(擁抱)him! And she started to do that. They just want a little hugging and a little love. And it works!” Delores Clemens said.
Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. “I’m doing something for them that never has been done for them before.”
In class, with her baby son, is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in looking for a safer life.
“Did you go to high school?”
“Yes.”
“Did you graduate?”
“No, I didn’t. I was in my last year and then, I got pregnant(懷孕)and I got lazy.”
“You look like you are willing to accept responsibility(責(zé)任)for that.”
“Yes, I am, and I would like to finish.”
Some teenage mothers wish they themselves could be children again. 18-year-old Placida knows that feeling. “Because you have to get up every two hours in the middle of the night, and you can’t go out and say ‘I am going to buy this for myself.’ No. I have to buy pampers, clothes and food. So now it’s two. So it’s very hard.” Placida said.
【小題1】What did Natasha want to finish high school for?