4 . Cultural Differences of Teenagers

Knowing the cultural differences between yourself and others of your age can help you understand friends who are of a different race or culture.     1     You’ll also know if you arc misunderstanding your friend’s behaviour when it seems like he/she is being rude. The major differences between Asian and American teenagers lie in the following aspects:

Family

Family comes first in the Asian culture.     2     While Asian families have a greater dependence on each other, American families encourage their children and teenagers to be independent.

Friendship

Some Asian teens generally prefer having a small group of life-long friends. They are committed and loyal to their friends. Americans often prefer a larger group of friends. There might be less commitment to keeping friends for life because of their bigger pool of possible friendships.

Working Relationships

If you are working on a group project with teens from China or other Asian countries, they might focus on developing a good relationship with you.     3     Developing relationships with their group members might come second.

    4    

In China and many other Asian countries, making direct eye contact is considered rude and disrespectful. However, in America and some European countries, it is not only seen as appropriate but also necessary because it means the person is paying attention. In Asian culture people are usually more comfortable with less personal space than Americans arc. A touch on the shoulder or an arm is common for Asians even if you don’t know one another.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The example of a foreign teacher     1     volunteered to help fight the wildfires in Chongqing’s Beibei district with other local residents has touched many.

The local government issued     2     urgent call for volunteers with certain skills and experience, such as chain saw (链锯) operation,     3    (join) in the firefighting. Chain saws     4     (use) to create fire barriers.

“I was     5    (extreme) happy to help,” said Francis Stonier, 42, associate professor in the Education Department of Southwest University. He said he     6    (volunteer) many times in the US in the past years—for example, building houses for homeless people after big stom

“It was great to see such an outpouring of help in the extreme heat,” he said,     7    (note) that he was impressed     8     the number of locals who came to help. Motorcyclists gave up their jobs to carry materials and people up and down the mountains. Others gave their time to carry heavy     9    (supply), prepare and serve meals or help organize.

Looking back, Frank was glad enough to have made a significant     10    (contribute) and expressed his willingness to help anytime. “This was the first time in my life I got to race through town and up a mountain on the back of a motorcycle carrying a chainsaw, I wish I could have done more, but I did my best.”

6 . “Be able to do a pull-up” is a common fitness goal.    1    .Go ahead, take a minute to celebrate. But don’t drop the training that you were doing pre-pull-up.

It’s attractive to change up your training. Because for weeks or months, you were doing the things that you do when you can’t do a pull-up.    2    .You should not leave the resistance bands and the pull-down machines in the dust. They need to stay with you during the next moment of your journey.

You need to lock in that first pull-up. So you did a pull-up today. That doesn’t mean you’ll be able to do one tomorrow. That’s probably confusing.

    3    . For example, if you squatted（下蹲）225 pounds last week, that doesn’t mean you could also squat 225 today. We might say that your “range” is 200-225, and when you’re well-rested and on top of the world, you’re able to hit the top of that range. But even on a bad day, you know you can hit at least 200.

Pull-ups are like that, too.    4    , your strength was in the range of 50-55% of what it takes to do a pull-up. That means that when you get your first pull-up, your range might be something like 95-100%. The day you did the pull-up is a 100%day.The next day, maybe you’re only at 99%.    5    

What you need to do now is keep working until doing one pull-up is the bottom of your range of abilities. By the time you can do two or three pull-ups some days, you’ll be able to do one pull-up any day.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, 15 young people lay comfortably on colorful carpets and throw pillows arranged in    1    circle. Their eyes were closed, some with their legs spread forward and    2    curled up, looking as if they were asleep.

Kong Yi sat cross-legged before them, using a special stick to hit lightly metal bowls in front of her, making a sound    3    reverberated(回荡)long inside the quiet room. Following Kong’s    4    (instruction), they went in for a two-hour sound treating and meditation(冥想)course. Listening to the slowly disappearing sounds of age-old musical instruments such as singing bowls and gongs, the members reached a deeper center and a semi-conscious(半意识)state.

After, they were guided into supposing that they    5    (talk) to a wise man dressed in white, during which they could ask questions and get answers from the wise man in half an hour. In the final part, they were pulled    6    (share) their heart conversations with other members. “In that class, many people asked the meaning of life in the end    7    everyone gave different answers from the wise man —     8    (actual) themselves, ” said Kong, who runs a work room offering treating courses connected with art forms    9    painting, music and dance.

Such spiritual, meditative experiences that can lower stress and worry have become the    10    (late) choice for the country’s stressed-out younger generation looking for relaxation and heart exploration.

10 . One day, Tim came home from school. His face was filled with sadness and _______ . His classmate had said hurtful things to him, _______ Tim to feel upset and discouraged. Listening to Tim, the grandfather, John, sat him down and listened to his _______ . Then he told Tim a story.

“Once, in a dense forest, there lived an oak tree,” said John. “One day, a fierce storm _______ in the forest. The winds blew, the rain _______ , and the whole forest shook with fear. Despite the chaos, the oak tree stayed solid. _______ about the oak tree’s resilience (适应力), a tiny reed in the nearby wetland _______ and asked, “How do you manage to stand firm during the storm? ” The oak tree _______ gently, “Dear reed, I sway (摇摆)with the wind instead of resisting it. I _______ that storms are a part of life, just as __________ and misunderstandings are a part of growing up.”

Tim asked his grandfather, “What does this story mean?”

John smiled and said, “In life, we face difficulties and __________ . Stay strong and overcome them with a positive attitude. Don’t let hurtful words bring you down. They are __________ , like storms. Focus on your strength and keep moving forward.”

Tim understood and faced __________ at school with bravery. With his grandfather’s guidance, Tim __________ to be a caring and resilient person who inspired others like his grandfather.

The wise grandfather taught his grandson the __________ of resilience, empathy and the ability to overcome difficulties.