1 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．Both are about where to draw the line.

B．Both can continue for generations.

C．Neither has any clear winner.

D．Neither can be put to an end.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them.

D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

3. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.

A．give orders to the other

B．know more than the other

C．gain respect from the other

D．get the other to behave properly

4. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

B．Examples of the parent-teen war.

C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

D．Future of the parent-teen relationship.

2 . Soppo was an enormous giant. He ____ quietly, fearing nothing. However, he didn’t have even one single ____ . What’s more, every time he visited a country, there was nothing but ____ . When he ate many clouds, drought would appear. His stomach ____ after eating too many clouds, which led to his crying, then everything would get flooded. In the end, ____ he was spotted, everyone would flee in ____ .

One night, seeing him ____ , various stars came down and asked him why he was so sad. On hearing his story they said: “Poor giant. You don’t know how to ____ friends. Yet the Earth is full of all kinds of friends.”

“But, where can I find friends? How do I do that? ” ____ the giant.

“By ____ people a hand or doing something for them.” replied the stars, amused.

Over the following ____ Soppo thought about nothing else but ways to find friends. He ____ long days observing the people. He discovered why everyone ____ when seeing him, and he realized he was causing ____ by eating all the clouds, and that his weeping flooded them out, and he learned a thousand other ____ that made him pity and joy. That night the giant ran to greet the stars. “Now I know how I’m going to make friends.”

And so it was. From that day on, Soppo ____ the skies, and when the clouds were preparing ____ storms he would feast himself on some of them. Then, when he spotted someplace where there was a(an) ____ of water, he would cry above it. Before long, Soppo ____ from being the worst to being a blessing for everyone, and he was ____ short of a good friend to play with.

1.

A．learned

B．lived

C．walked

D．slept

2.

A．friend

B．neighbour

C．boss

D．teacher

3.

A．usages

B．achievements

C．problems

D．settlements

4.

A．comforted

B．emptied

C．filled

D．ached

5.

A．whenever

B．whichever

C．whoever

D．however

6.

A．trouble

B．need

C．terror

D．danger

7.

A．crying

B．smiling

C．laughing

D．talking

8.

A．refuse

B．make

C．assist

D．consult

9.

A．suggested

B．accepted

C．asked

D．hesitated

10.

A．giving

B．taking

C．carrying

D．delivering

11.

A．ways

B．years

C．nights

D．days

12.

A．spent

B．deserved

C．wasted

D．wondered

13.

A．ran down

B．ran after

C．ran into

D．ran off

14.

A．droughts

B．snows

C．floods

D．rains

15.

A．friends

B．things

C．questions

D．reasons

16.

A．watched

B．flew

C．entered

D．traveled

17.

A．small

B．gentle

C．heavy

D．useless

18.

A．abundance

B．lack

C．support

D．preparation

19.

A．changed

B．treated

C．arranged

D．discovered

20.

A．ever

B．still

C．never

D．always

3 . This summer’s top four European music festivals

LONDON

LOVEBOX

Where: Victoria Park

When: July 15-16

No other country does a festival like the British and few festivals are as fun as Lovebox in Hackney’s Victoria Park. Dancing, disco balls, and more dancing. Don’t miss local acts Stormzy, Kano and Katy B who represent our homegrown talent. Good food is at the heart of Lovebox: go on an empty stomach to taste pizza from Voodoo Ray’s, hamburgers from Le Bun and cheese sandwiches from The Cheese Truck.

BUDAPEST

SZIGET

Where: Obudai-sziget

When: 10-17 August

On an island in the middle of the Danube is one of Europe’s most atmospheric festivals. 40,000 people crowd into 266-acres（英亩）of woodland for a week-long party. This year’s big-name acts will hold you there all day or you could check out the riverside beach, or the artworks there.

PARIS

ROCK EN SEINE

Where: Domaine National de Saint-Cloud

When: August 26-28

Rock and roll and Paris aren’t typical partners but Rock en Seine puts them together with excitement. As this is a great event where there’s even an art exhibition. All this plus wonderful views of the Parisian skyline (地平线) and Marie Antoinette’s rose garden.

BERLIN

LOLLAPALOOZA

Where: Treptower Park

When: Sept 10-11

Held in Treptower Park in the east of Berlin, 60,000 mostly local people come for the rock music and the friendly atmosphere — kids are just as welcome as grown-ups. Take a break from the music to seek out the rose garden. Keep it going all night in some of Berlin’s coolest clubs in neighbouring Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

1. Which of the following festivals lasts the longest?

A．Lollapalooza in Berlin.	B．Rock en Seine in Paris.
C．Lovebox in London.	D．Sziget in Budapest.

2. What is the characteristic of the Lollapalooza music festival?

A．Some of its performers are homegrown talents.

B．It combines rock’n’roll with an art exhibition.

C．Many works of art are used for decoration.

D．Most of the people attending it are locals.

3. Where can you go if you’re particularly interested in rock music?

A．Berlin and Paris.	B．London and Paris.
C．Budapest and Berlin.	D．London and Budapest.

4 . When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming many things. Sometimes, I wished I was an astronaut going up into space, finding new planets and jumping around in a cool space suit. Other times, I imagined being a cowboy in the Wild West, wearing stylish cowboy boots. On other occasions, I pretended to be a famous footballer, using my skills to score lots of goals for my team.

Looking back, I realize that imagination is a wonderful thing. I was able to create entire environments and scenarios in my head, using nothing more than my brain, and to be able to adapt things in my everyday surroundings to fit the specific story of the day. Growing up with siblings (兄弟姐妹) also helped, as it meant that even bigger stories could be created, combining our ideas and putting our thoughts into action. It also allowed for more varieties in the stories, as sometimes I could be the hero while on other occasions, I would be the bad guy.

One of my all-time favorite memories as a kid was playing in my back garden. I played the role of Indiana Jones, which cleaned up at the cinema at that time, with my younger sister as my assistant and my brother as a bad person. We used everything in our garden, from the path to the fence, as part of the storyline to create obstacles that needed to be overcome, and we would keep the story going for hours!

My personal favorite game was Indiana Jones and the Stolen Easter Eggs, where my brother hid small chocolate eggs around the garden and my sister and I had to find them by answering questions or solving a puzzle. It was difficult, but eventually we found all the eggs and shared them together.

Since then, I have seen many great things and met many amazing people. The elements of fun and varieties of my creative imaginations are what I try to bring into every part of my positive life. So I can enjoy sharing with and hearing about other people’s stories, too.

1. What do we know about the author from his childhood?

A．He enjoyed living a life full of freedom.

B．He was longing to experience adventurous things.

C．He was always imagining a bright life for his future.

D．He had a clear picture of what he would do after growing up.

2. Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “scenarios” in Paragraph 2?

A．experiences	B．situations
C．positions	D．excuses

3. From the passage, we know that Indiana Jones was       .

A．an astronaut	B．a famous footballer
C．a hot film	D．a very popular book

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．My Creative Imagination.	B．My Childhood.
C．My Positive Life Today.	D．My Pride in Myself.

5 . Curiosity is what drives us to keep learning, keep trying, keep pushing forward. But how does one generate (产生) curiosity, in oneself or others? George Loewenstein, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, offered an answer in the classic1994 paper, “The Psychology of Curiosity.”

Curiosity arises, Loewenstein wrote, “when attention becomes focused on a gap in one's knowledge. Such information gaps produce the feeling of deprivation (匮乏) labeled curiosity. The curious individual is motivated to obtain the missing information to reduce the feeling of deprivation.” Loewenstein's theory helps explain why curiosity is such a force: it's not only a mental state but also an emotion, a powerful feeling that drives us forward.

Scientist Daniel Willingham notes that teachers are often “so eager to get to the answer that we do not devote enough time to developing the question.” Yet it's the question that stimulates (刺激) curiosity; being told an answer stops curiosity before it can even get going.

In his 1994 paper, George Loewenstein noted that curiosity requires some basic knowledge. We're not curious about something we know absolutely nothing about. But as soon as we know even a little bit, our curiosity is aroused and we want to learn more. In fact, research shows that curiosity increases with knowledge: the more we know, the more we want to know. To get this process started, Loewenstein suggests, take steps with some interesting but incomplete information.

Language teachers have long used communication in exercises that open an information gap and then require learners to communicate with each other in order to fill it. For example, one student might be given a series of pictures for the beginning of the story, while the student's partner is given a series of pictures showing how that same story ends. Only by speaking with each other (in the foreign language they are learning, of course) can the students fill in each others' information gaps.

1. When one notices a gap in his knowledge, he       .

A．desires to fill it

B．tends to be afraid

C．might get tired and sad

D．will become focused on his learning

2. What does Daniel Willingham imply in the article?

A．Answers are more important than questions.

B．Teachers should be eager to get to the answer.

C．Teachers know how to stimulate students’ curiosity.

D．Teachers are partly to blame for students’ hating school.

3. According to George Loewenstein’s paper, curiosity about something occurs only when you       .

A．have read a lot of books	B．know little about something
C．have some related information	D．are given incomplete information

4. What is the article mainly about?

A．Why students hate school.

B．Why curiosity is important.

C．How to stimulate curiosity.

D．What makes people hungry for knowledge.

6 . When it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, which should come first — changing your diet or becoming more physically active?

Previous studies suggested that providing people with too much information about nutrition and physical activity at once tends to be discouraging. That has led to the popularity of advising people to make changes gradually, and set smaller goals.

So the scientists divided 200 inactive participants who were age 45 or older into four groups. One group was instructed about making diet and fitness changes at the same time, the second group was taught about diet changes first, then fitness changes four months later, the third group changed their exercise habits first and made changes in their eating habits four months later, and the final, control group was not instructed about either diet or fitness changes but about how to manage their stress.

The researchers tracked the groups for a full year. Compared to the control group, the three intervention (干预) groups made healthy changes in their diet. Those who changed their fitness habits first significantly increased the amount of exercise they received daily compared to the other groups after four months. However, at the end of the year, the group that changed both diet and exercise at the same time was the only one that met the nationally recommended targets for both exercise and nutrition levels, while those who worked on improving their nutrition first were unable to meet the recommended levels of fitness after a year. The researchers suspect that changes to diet are easier to make than changes to physical activity.

The findings show, however, that pairing diet and exercise changes may help to overcome some of the barriers people face in adding more physical activity into their lives. If folks change diet and exercise orderly, the scientists say, they may end up placing more importance on the first set of behavior changes and feel less pressured to address the second set.

1. The advice mentioned in the second paragraph seemed       .

A．popular

B．dangerous

C．scientific

D．unsatisfactory

2. Which group made progress earlier than other groups in increasing the amount of daily exercise?

A．The first group.	B．The second group.
C．The third group.	D．The control group.

3. The reason why those improving their nutrition first failed to meet the levels of fitness after a year might be that       .

A．they might be very lazy

B．they wouldn’t like to change their behavior

C．it is much harder to change physical activity

D．they might put on weight before changing their physical activity

4. Which of the following does the author probably approve of?

A．Pairing diet and exercise changes.

B．Becoming more physically active first.

C．Changing diet and exercise following a fixed order.

D．Changing diet first and placing more importance on it.

7 . Lead has proved to be a useful metal.     1     It goes into car batteries and also helps make bright pigments, used to paint walls, metal work and toys.

    2     In the worst cases it causes comas（昏迷）and death. More often its effects are slow but harmful. Research shows that lead is a threat to little babies, who are most likely to take in dust and paint chips that contain lead. Their brains can be easily harmed.     3    

The dangers of lead have long been known. American banned it from paint 40 years ago, and by the late 1990s leaded petrol had been stopped gradually in almost all rich countries. But the effects continue to exist.     4     The situation is more alarming in the poor world, where the use of lead-based paints is spreading. As people in Asia and Africa become richer, they start to decorate their homes, but the paint they use, even from pots labeled "lead-free" often contains it.

It is neither difficult nor expensive to stop using lead.     5     And industrial use is no exception, because the contamination （污染物）spreads and industrial paint inevitably finds its way into the consumer market. Yet only four sub-Saharan African countries have formally placed bans and local factories are often unaware of the harm that lead causes.

A．Yet lead is also a poison.

B．It turns up everywhere.

C．All countries should ban lead in paint.

D．Half a million American children are diagnosed with lead poisoning.

E．There is no excuse for poor countries to repeat the mistake of rich ones.

F．Taking some simple precautions can help protect you and your family from lead exposure.

G．But only years after exposure are the results apparent in lower IQ and learning disabilities.

8 . Being a Volunteer

What can you do to help people? The answer is ——to be a volunteer! Then what is the common opinion of volunteering?     1    

●Help yourself by helping others.

    2    It’s amazing to know that volunteering can calm you down when you feel upset. Lots of people really enjoy volunteering, because doing volunteer work could make a big difference in their life. So where do you start? School is a good place to start if you are looking for volunteer ideas.

●    3    

Volunteering is a great way to have fun with your family. Talk to your parents, brothers, or sisters and see what they might be interested in. Find something you all agree on. You can do the things as a family like cleaning up a park and planting trees or flowers in your local community(社区).

●Create your own opportunity for your future.

Kids can come up with their own ways to raise money or provide needed services. You can make and sell products, and donate(捐赠) the money.    4    Volunteering can also help kids learn important things about their future —— like what kinds of things they will be best at. A volunteer job can even help some kids decide what they want to do when they grow up.     5    Make a plan to start volunteering today!

A．So what are you waiting for?

B．Things to do with family members.

C．Clean up a school or other public buildings.

D．Volunteering gives kids a sense of responsibility.

E．Why don’t you choose to do a job you like best?

F．Volunteering means spending time in helping others.

G．When you volunteer to help others, you are helping yourself.

9 . Listening looks easy, yet hard to master. Don’t worry. Here we’ve collected four books to help you to be a good listener.

The Good Listener by James E. Sullivan

The book points out how our poor listening hurts others and how much we can heal（使……好受些）a person just by listening and understanding his/her feelings. It also gives suggestions on how we can improve our listening and how we can share so others will understand us better.

Just Listen by Mark Goulston

This book is about listening and giving responses. Just Listen is a good how-to guide to becoming a better face-to-face communicator. It reveals（揭露）how to make a powerful first impression, how to respond positively and more. If you deal with difficult people around you, this is a must-read for you to not only understand them but also make them feel understood.

Power Listening by Bernard T. Ferrari

Poor listening can lead to poor business decisions. The book focuses on corporate（团体的）listening. It’s great for anyone who leads groups through decision and design. The author offers a step-by-step guide to turn readers into active listeners.

The Lost Art of Listening by Michael P. Nichols

What is it that keeps so many of us from really listening? Nichols answers the question. The book is filled with real-world examples that show easy-to-learn techniques for becoming a better listener. The techniques enable us to break through misunderstandings and conflicts in our relationships.

1. Who gives helpful guides on listening and responding?

A．Mark Goulston	B．James E. Sullivan
C．Bernard T. Ferrari	D．Michael P. Nichols

2. Which book is useful to a general manager of a company?

A．Just Listen	B．Power Listening
C．The Good Listener	D．The lost Art of Listening

3. What do we know about the four books?

A．They are based on the author’s experience.

B．They are written in the same style.

C．They provide real-life stories.

D．They share the same theme.

10 . The year was 1932. Amelia Earhart was flying alone from North America to England in a small single—engined aeroplane. At midnight, several hours after she had left Newfoundland, she ran into bad weather. To make things worse, her altimeter (高度表) failed and she didn’t know how high she was flying. At night, and in a storm, a pilot is in great difficulty without an altimeter. At times, her plane nearly plunged (冲) into the sea.

Just before dawn, there was further trouble. Amelia noticed flames (火焰) coming from the engine. Would she be able to reach land? There was nothing to do except to keep going and to hope.

In the end, Amelia Earhart did reach Ireland, and for the courage she had shown, she was warmly welcomed in England and Europe. When she returned to the United States, she was honored by President Hoover at a special dinner in the White House. From that time on, Amelia Earhart was famous.

What was so important about her flight? Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone, and she had set a record of fourteen hours and fifty—six minutes.

In the years that followed, Amelia Earhart made several flights across the United States, and on each occasion (时刻) she set a new record for flying time. Amelia Earhart made these flights to show that women had a place in aviation (航空) and that air travel was useful.

1. Which of the following statements is NOT the difficulty which Amelia Earhart met in her flight from north America to England?

A．She was caught in a storm.	B．The altimeter went out of order.
C．Her engine went wrong.	D．She lost her direction.

2. When Amelia Earhart saw flames coming from the engine, what did she do?

A．She did nothing but pray for herself.

B．She changed her direction and landed in Ireland.

C．She continued flying.

D．She lost hope of reaching land.

3. Which of the following statements was NOT mentioned?

A．She was the first woman who succeeded in flying across the Atlantic Ocean alone.

B．She showed great courage in overcoming the difficulties during the flight.

C．She was warmly welcomed in England, Europe and the United States.

D．She made plans to fly around the world.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Amelia Earhart—First Across the Atlantic.

B．Amelia Earhart—Pioneer in Women’s Aviation.

C．A New Record for Flying Time.

D．A Dangerous Flight from North America to England.