1 . Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits. (轨迹)

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve (包含) a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality (平等) can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot strictness and authority (权威) on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College, “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these changing roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic (民主) process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

5 . As a kid, I remember that whenever my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer, just so we’d have time to talk with each other.

When I left for college, my dad would ________ me every Sunday morning. Years later, when I bought a house, my dad ________ it in the summer heat. All he asked me to do was help him dip (蘸) his brush and ________ with him. But I was too ________ those days to talk to him.

Four years ago, my dad was putting together a swing set for my daughter. He asked me to bring him a cup of tea and have a ________ with him, but I had to prepare for a trip that weekend.

One Sunday morning we were talking on the phone ________, and I noticed my dad had ________ some things we discussed recently. That morning since I was in a hurry, our conversation became ________. Later that day came a call. My father had had an aneurysm (动脉瘤) and was in hospital. ________ I flew back and on my way I was thinking about all the ________ opportunities to talk with my dad.

By the time I arrived, my father had ________. Now it was he who didn’t have time for a(n) ________ with me. After his death I ________ much more about him. All he ________ was only my time. And now I ________ that nothing is more important than my company with my dear parents.

6 . My brother is exactly one year older than me. We look like twins, but we are completely________.By the time we got to middle school it was clear that my older brother________meditation (冥想)，while I was a born________who liked the stage. I took his relative silence to be unfriendly. We simply didn’t________.

I didn’t________having a bad relationship with my brother because I was busy at school.________,I threw myself into the world of music. I practised singing in the bedroom every day to remain at my best and be________for roles; my brother would meditate on a window seat. He might feel high school was already hard enough________my noisy singing. So space to practise became a(n)________between us because we shared a room.

At the start of the term, I practiced “Circle of Life” for a musical play. This was the first time I________to learn a song, because my voice cracked (破音) when I changed to a head voice. I was annoyed in that period and________practising, announcing I had reached the ceiling of my singing career. For the first time in years my brother________quiet when I got home.

After two days of this, my brother asked me to________him in meditation. Feeling my anger at my failure to sing this song________, I accepted. My brother said, “When your mind calms down, you simply come back. Don’t blame yourself." I got the message, and it soon became my new________.I kept trying at the song, no longer getting________at myself. And just in time for the trial (选拔) performance, I was able to________power in my singing despite the change to a head voice. It was important for me to learn that you don’t have to always get everything________the first time and that good things come with________.I now understand why my brother prefers the________.

8 . Love your parents

Even if you think that your parents are mean-spirited at times, loving your parents is a normal and fulfilling （满意的）part of life. You love them for the fact that they created you, raised you, and are in part a source of who you are. Here are some ways to love your parents.

    1     A gentle "good morning" and "I love you" will warm a coldest heart. Remember that they brought you into this world. Without your parents, you might sill wander at an unknown corner in an unknown world.

Respect them more and cherish（珍惜）these moments. You can use these moments to learn from them when you're off on your own. It's OK to get angry but angry actions don't help you or your parents. Act calmly, cool off, journal about your feelings, or talk to a friend.     2    

Obey their requests. It will make your attitude better and earn you more respect from them. It may seem like you are going through hell when you don't get what you want or you have to clean. However, you had better remember they keep a roof over your head when it's cold, raining, snowing, or too hot. Understand that parents are human beings and make mistakes.     3     Since you can forgive your friends, why not forgive your parents?

Keep company with them. Do things with your parents like watching TV, or go somewhere with them.       4     Listen to their old stories and learn from them. You will find they are your teachers in this way or another.

Some people simply may not be able to love their parents. .    5     Look for help if you are being abused violently. Parents do not have a right to harm you.

9 . Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. A few days before Christmas, he _________ his five year-old daughter after _________ that she had used up the family’s only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.

As money was tight, he became even angrier when on Christmas Eve he saw that she had used all of the gold paper to _________ one shoebox. He was also concerned about where she had gotten _________ to buy what was in the shoebox.

The next morning the little girl, _________ excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, “This is for you, Daddy!” Holding the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier behavior, _________ what he had done to her.

But when he _________ the shoebox, he found there was nothing. “Don’t you know, young lady,” he said _________, “when you give someone a _________, there’s supposed to be something inside the package!”

The little girl __________ him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered, “Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was __________.” He fell on his knees and put his arms around the girl and begged her to __________ him for his unnecessary anger.

An accident took the girl’s life only a short time later. It is said that the father __________ this little gold box by his bed for all his life. Whenever he was __________ or faced difficult problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and __________ his daughter’s love.

When I was a baby, my parents gave me anything I wanted. I would play with a toy for a while, get bored, and ask my parents for a new one. Then my dad died when I was 2, and I got even more stuff as my mom, friends, and family gave me more and more stuff to try to make me feel better. My mom continued to treat me to whatever I wanted until I was seven and my world crashed.

That was when the real estate market crashed. My mom had thought buying houses was a good idea as a way to invest her money to take care of us. After the crash, I went from the kid who got a fine iPod and who had the coolest house, to almost having nowhere to stay.

Since then, when I would ask for a new toy or bike, or even to see a movie my mom would say “I’m sorry, honey but we really can’t afford that right now.” But my mom had grown up in a family where money was never a problem, so this change was as big for her as it was for me. My constant requests for toys and video games deepened her concern about our financial situation. But I wasn’t used to hearing “no.” So, for a year or two, I kept asking for things whether I really needed them or not.

Then something happened that would change my way of thinking forever. My mom had been working really hard all year, just to pay for the necessities, like our rents, and water and power bills. When she asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said that I wanted a new video gaming system. I didn’t know that it was expensive. All I knew was that my friends had them and that I wanted one, too.

On my birthday, I started opening presents, believing that I would get what I asked.

From then on, I wouldn’t ask for anything that I didn’t need.