学进去

Read the passage and answer the questions:
Hi Geoff,

Don’t be shocked about what I’m going to tell you. Last week, I became a parent! Calm down, Geoff! This was only a project we did at school, but let me explain.

Every week, our teacher gives us a new topic to discuss in class. Last Monday, however, he asked us a very interesting question—“Do you think it is difficult to be a parent?” Some of the students said they thought it was easy, as parents never have to do any homework! Our teacher said he wouldn’t tell us the answer. He said he would let us be “a parent” for a week. He was sure we would have the answer by the end of the week.

The rest of the lesson was spent making flour babies. We first took some bags and filled them with flour in order to make the “babies” as heavy as real ones. We then tied the bag very tight, so the flour would not fall out. After that, we used cardboard to make some arms, legs and a face for our flour babies, and then dressed them in old pieces of clothing. My baby looked so strange, as I am not very good at art, but it was great fun.

When we had finished, our teacher gave us all notebooks and told us we had to write down our experiences with the babies for the whole week. We were told we had to carry them round with us every day, and look after them like real babies! That was really difficult. For example, one of my friends had quite a bad memory, and left his flour baby on the bus by accident. Another of my friends carried the baby upside down (we are supposed to carry them like real babies, with our arms under their “necks” at all times).

We also had to take the flour babies home with us, as well. My parents found it quite funny, as I was supposed to feed the baby in the evening, and then get it ready for bed. After doing that and finishing my homework, there was no time to chat with my friends on the phone, nor watch my favourite television programmes.

Every evening, I was so tired that I feel asleep very quickly. Yet only a few hours later my alarm clock woke me up. For that week, I had to get up three times every night to feed the flour baby! In the end, I got so little sleep that I had black bags under my eyes. It was a difficult time, but now the project is finished. I feel I have learnt that _________. I think it also gave me a new perspective (视角) on what my parents have done for me.

Let me know your news and hope to hear from you soon.

All the best

Rick

1．Did Rick take part in a project of “being a parent”?
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2．Why did the students make the “babies” by filling the bags with flour?
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3．What did Rick think of the process of making the flour baby?
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4．What happened to the forgetful student’s flour baby?
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5．How did Rick look after his flour baby like a real one at night?
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6．Complete the sentence in the last paragraph according to the context.
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