One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. On this occasion, the task was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones. Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson,” I said. I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house. After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone. I was not my usual calm, rational self. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. This was too favorable to be believed. Well, it turned out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts. Mounted(裱装) and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
That was the most precious gift of all.
小题1:Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ____.
A．her son had brought his girlfriend home
B．the father of her son’s girlfriend had come to her home to take photos of the children
C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son
D．she should have taken the children along with her小题2:According to Paragraph 3, “it” means ____.
A．the two younger children have been in bed
B．the older children have been answering the phone
C．the author will give her older son a lesson
D．the older son has gone outside with his girlfriend小题3:The sentence “It was only part of the truth.” (Para. 5) implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ____.
A．had a birthday party
B．framed some photographs
C．had their pictures taken
D．showed off their best clothes小题4:Which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A．Puppy Love
B．Brotherhood
C．Mother and Children
D．A Precious Birthday Gift
小题1:C
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:D
题目分析：本文描述了我出去的时候让大儿子在家里照顾他的弟弟妹妹，但是当我10点30打电话的时候家里却没有人。后来才知道孩子们是为了给我制作礼物，这真是一个珍贵的礼物！
小题1:C 推理题。根据第一段最后一句Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.说明我发现这样的信心是不应该有的，不应该那么信任他，故C项正确。
小题2:D 推理题。根据第三段3,4,5行I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.说明It就是上句中提及的孩子们在10点钟还在外面，故D项正确。
小题3:C 推理题。根据文章倒数2,3行可知，在那天晚上孩子们还给我制作了生日礼物，所以那样的说法只是部分的真相，故C正确。
小题4:D 主旨大意题。本文在最后才突出了主题，孩子们很晚还出去是为了给我制作生日礼物，而我却对他们有误会。这份礼物是非常珍贵的，也是非常特殊的。故D项正确。
点评：本文描述了我出去的时候让大儿子在家里照顾他的弟弟妹妹，但是当我10点30打电话的时候家里却没有人。后来才知道孩子们是为了给我制作礼物，这真是一个珍贵的礼物！考查推理题为主，要求考生仔细审题，认真地考虑题目及选项，结合上下文的语义进行合理的推测和判断。