and to acknowledge that I'm vulnerable and need others to rely on. There are certainly times like this in all of our lives，whether a parent or not. Sometimes life does just get too much.

　　If we can loosen our need for independence，though，and grow into more interdependence，ease and space do grow. The braver we are to reach out and be open，the easier life is. It not only gives us emotional relief，but it brings joy and stronger connections in our relationships.

21．We can infer that as a kid，the author________．

A．didn't have any friends B．had to do a lot of work

C．didn't like asking questions D．worked harder than her siblings

22．The author's attitude towards self-independence changed after she________．

A．had children B．became a teenager

C．formed her personality D．suffered from a disease

23．The underlined word "vulnerable" in the text means the author is________．

A．too sick to bring up the children B．too tired to carry on

C．weak emotionally D．likely to give up

24．What can we learn from the author's experience?

A．Every coin has two sides. B．Strike while the iron is hot.

C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. D．Where there is a will，there is a way.

　　One of the latest trends（趋势） in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs．Au Pair in Stamford，Conn，for example，has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from zero to around 4，000 since 2004．And that's true all across the country．

"I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age" Joseph Stocke，the managing director of a company，says of his 2-year old son．" I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future，"After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China，the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions，his dad says．