People from different generations often live and work together. Sometimes they’re happy being together, other times they’re not. One of the reasons for their unhappiness maybe a generation gap. A generation gap is the difference between two or more generations—not the differences between their years but the differences between the generations’ ideas, attitudes, and interests. Of course, people can have differences and still be happy together, but according to the experts, communication between the generations helps everyone get along.

Good communication between the generations starts in the family. These days many families are changing their communication style. They are moving from a “one-way” style to a “two-way” style of communication. To show this change, let’s compare two families:

The Smith family uses the “one-way” style of communication. Mr. and Mrs. Smith show interest in their children, but they don’t discuss problems of feelings. The parents make all the rules and decisions. They don’t ask for their children’s opinions. They explain their decisions to their children, but they don’t discuss them. The explanation is clear and the children understand. The communication goes one way: from the parents to the children.

The Jones family uses the “two-way” style of communication. Mr. and Mrs. Jones show interest in their children and ask for their opinions. They discuss problems and express their feelings. The family makes rules and decisions together after a discussion. The communication goes two ways: from parents to children and from children to parents.

Better communication between generations at home means better communication between generations at work and in the community. When people from different generations understand each other better, they learn from each other more. This helps them form stronger bonds, work together more easily. As a result, people of all ages can team up effectively and come up with new ideas in different parts of life.

If Jack’ parents discuss with him where to spend their summer vacation, they use the “one-way” style of communication.

【推荐3】Throughout my childhood, I constantly dreamed of being an only child-having no one around to fight with, to share with, to grab the remote control away from me in the middle of a “big game.” But I have an elder sister, whom I have always called “Kicki,” instead of her real name Christie, because I used to have trouble pronouncing the “r” and “s”.

I started playing basketball in primary school. My dad was the coach of my team, and my mom kept score. So my sister, not old enough to stay home alone, was forced to come to all my games. I remember looking toward the stands for my mother’s approval and seeing my sister’s face, confused. It was obvious that she wasn’t excited, but she cheered along with the crowd anyway.

On the car ride home, my parents and I would relive the game. My sister sat in the back seat with me in silence, not knowing how or when to enter the conversation. Often, she would say, “Good game, Brad. ” I would smile and thank her but never took it seriously. She couldn’t possibly know whether I had played well or not.

It wasn’t until I reached high school that I realized how popular she was, and I was referred to as “Christie’s little brother. ” I played basketball in high school, and although Christie wasn’t forced to attend my games anymore, she still came to cheer me every week. In the last game of the last season, she came with a large group of friends. Printed on her shirt, in big bright red letters, were the words “BRAD’S SISTER. ” Suddenly I was embarrassed, not for her presence, but for my previous attitude to her praise.

Kicki left for college after that game. I finally have the remote control all to myself. However, watching TV alone has turned out to be boring. I went to visit her at college during a weekend, and as I stood outside her dorm, waiting for her to come out, a friend of hers whom I didn’t know walked past me and asked, “Hey, aren’t you Christie’s brother?” I smiled broadly and said proudly, “Yeah, I am. I’m Christie’s brother.”

【推荐2】The first time Mohamed went to a restaurant in his new neighborhood, he realized that he wasn’t in Tunis anymore. He was excited when he first arrived here, but now, his excitement seemed gone.

He looked at the menu, not knowing what these names meant, and ordered an ice cream in a cup. While waiting, he looked at the pizzas, breads and cookies.

The waitress came back with a cup of soda. Mohamed, though feeling mystified at first, took it and thanked her. He must have used the wrong word! Then he forced a smile and pointed at a cookie, “That one, too”, which seemed to work.

Mohamed took his food to a table. Why had English been so easy in classes, but when it came to actually speaking, he couldn’t even name what he wanted. Mohamed wondered how foreigners traveling to Tunis would feel and if they would find their academic French was not the same as French in real life. The food would make them feel out of place. He smiled to himself, thinking about how hot the peppers were in Tunisian dishes, and how his mother had to avoid using them and cook western-style food every time they had foreign visitors.

Just then, a girl came over and asked, “Are you Professor Ammar’s son? ” He nodded, excited to talk to someone but hoping she didn’t notice what had happened. “I’m Luisa.” the girl said, “Don’t feel bad about your English — you’ll get better at it. I’m from Spain. The first time I tried to order a salad here, I ended up with a plate of pig’s feet!” Mohamed breathed a sigh of relief and realized that he wasn’t the only one struggling to communicate.

【推荐3】A great earthquake happened in southwestern China on May 12,2008, killing thousands of people. The quake struck Wenchuan and other parts of Sichuan Province in the middle of the afternoon and a number of school buildings, shops and homes were destroyed. The number of the dead and missing rose as rescue workers dug through flattened (夷为平地的) schools and homes to find survivors. It was reported that many people were still buried under the ruins in and around Mianyang, a city about 60 miles east of the epicenter (震中). People there spent a second night sleeping outside in the rain. The government ordered people not to return to their homes for safety concerns. Few lights were on in the city, and people ate and chatted by candlelight.

Rescue teams brought people to Mianyang's stadium for food and shelter. Outside the railway station, the police shouted in megaphones (扩音器) telling people where they could get free food. Buses carrying survivors left Beichuan, which is in the northeast of the epicenter and was also flattened by the quake. 1,000 students and teachers were killed or missing at a fallen high school in Beichuan County. At another school in the town of Juyuan, 900 students were buried under the ruins. There was little hope that many survivors would be found under the rubble. But officials asked the people not to give up hope. 20,000 soldiers arrived in the disaster area on the way by plane, train and truck and even on foot.

Thirty-one British tourists who were panda-watching in Wolong National Nature Reserve were safe. And the pandas were reported safe, too.