Being a good parent is, of course, what every parent would like to be. But defining what it means to be a good parent is undoubtedly very (1)_____, particularly since children respond differently to the same style of parenting. A calm, rule-following child might respond better to a different sort of parenting than, (2)_____, a younger sibling.

    (3)_____, there’s another sort of parent that’s a bit easier to (4)_____: a patient parent. Children of every age benefit from patient parenting. Still, (5)_____ every parent would like to be patient, this is no easy (6)_____. Sometimes parents get exhausted and frustrated and are unable to maintain a (7)_____ and composed style with their kids. I understand this.

    You’re only human, and sometimes your kids can (8)_____ you just a little too far. And then the (9)_____ happens: You lose your patience and either scream at your kids or say something that was a bit too (10)_____ and does nobody any good. You wish that you could (11)_____ the clock and start over. We’ve all been there. 

    (12)_____, even though it’s common, it’s important to keep in mind that in a single moment of fatigue, you can say something to your child that you may (13)_____ for a long time. This may not only do damage to your relationship with your child but also (14)_____ your child’s self-esteem.

    If you consistently lose your (15)_____ with your kids, then you are inadvertently modeling a lack of emotional control for your kids. We are all becoming increasingly aware of the (16)_____ of modeling tolerance and patience for the younger generation. This is a skill that will help them all throughout life. In fact, the ability to emotionally regulate or maintain emotional control when (17)_____ by stress is one of the most important of all life’s skills.

    Certainly, it’s incredibly (18)_____ to maintain patience at all times with your children. A more practical goal is to try, to the best of your ability, to be as tolerant and composed as you can when faced with (19)_____ situations involving your children. I can promise you this: As a result of working toward this goal, you and your children will benefit and (20)_____ from stressful moments feeling better physically and emotionally.

答案精析：形容词辨析题。空格所在句大意为：有时父母们会感到疲惫和沮丧，无法对他们的孩子保持一种____和平静的态度。上一句中提到，虽然父母们也想保持耐心，但实际上却很难做到。由此可知，空格所在句是对上句话的进一步解释，即父母们在感到疲惫时很难对孩子们还保持冷静。空格处应填入和patient或composed情感态度相类似的词，tolerant表示“包容的；容忍的”，与patient（耐心的）和composed（镇静的）意思相近，因此A项为正确答案。

错项排除：前文中并没有提到父母是否应该保持“正式”，且formal一词和耐心并无关联，故B项错误。C项“严格的”和D项“批评的”都表示负面的情感态度，无法和composed构成意义上的并列关系，故C、D两项排除。