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.
Today, the generation gap(代沟) 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 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 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.”
1. The underlined word “gulf” in Para. 3 most probably means ________.| A．interest | B．problem | C．difference | D．habit |
| A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities. |
| B．Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities. |
| C．Parents and children talk less about sex and drugs. |
| D．Parents share more interests with their children. |
| A．Less confusion among parents |
| B．New equality between parents and children |
| C．More respect for parents from children |
| D．More strictness and authority on the part of parents |
| A．describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with |
| B．discuss the change of the parent-child relationship |
| C．suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relationship |
| D．stress the importance of parent-child relationship |
2 . How to Make Friends
Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. It offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leave us without a friend.
1. Associate with others.
The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.
2. Start a conversation.
Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.
3.
Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.
4. Let it grow.
It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.
5. Enjoy your friendship.
The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.
| A．Be cheerful. |
| B．Do things together. |
| C．Do not wait to be spoken to. |
| D．Try not to find fault with your friends. |
| E．Making new friends comes easy for some people. |
| F．For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch. |
| G．So you will need to give your friend time to react to you. |
3 . When was the last time you had great fun with your family?
Going to the zoo is definitely a number-one pick for family activities. Other than visiting animals, most zoos nowadays have rides that you can enjoy with your family. Meals are served in the zoo.
Having a picnic at the park is also a good activity for your family. Even though you might not be really keen on outdoor activities, you can still enjoy your time by playing together after having your lunch.
Visiting the nation’s capital would be your choice if you want to go on a trip with your family. Learn more about the history by visiting historical sites.
A treasure hunt is a popular activity, so going hunting with your family is a nice choice. You can train yourself by asking to be the person in charge who can hold the treasure map and make decisions.
Create a video clip (片段) with your family.
| A．History creates topics for you and your family. |
| B．Family is always the most valuable thing in life. |
| C．At bedtime read to your young kids and read with your elder kids. |
| D．Bring your own snacks if you want to save some money. |
| E．Here are two examples. |
| F．Make your family the characters in the clip. |
| G．Doing some yard work together can also be a fun quality time for your family. |
4 . I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Seeing what Mother was doing, I thought that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
My mother was a kind person, who always showed her love on me in action. However, as a little girl, I only wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. But such talks never happened. I was sad about it and often rude to her, eager to start a new life somewhere else.
When I had my own family, I came to understand mother’s love. So I wrote to mother and asked if she’d forgiven my rudeness. Then, I posted the letter and waited for her answer, but it never came. I felt disappointed and slowly didn’t care too much about it.
Years later, during mother’s final illness, she left some things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said in a weak voice, “is specially for Elizabeth.” When I cleaned the desk-her present for me, I found a one — page letter inside, folded many times. It was the letter that I wrote years ago.
Then, tears came down, “Oh, dear mom, you’ve chosen the silent act to show you did forgive me and always be proud of my writing. Thank you for your silent love. I love you forever!”
1. According to the author, the most wonderful thing in the world must be the act of__________.| A．reading | B．cooking |
| C．writing | D．dancing |
| A．Arm-in-arm walks with her mother. | B．Face-to-face talks with her mother. |
| C．Hand-in-hand walks with her mother. | D．Heart-to-heart talks with her mother. |
| A．Elizabeth. | B．Elizabeth’s son. |
| C．Elizabeth’s sister. | D．Elizabeth’s brother. |
| A．In words. | B．In action. |
| C．By music. | D．By painting. |
5 . Raising teenagers can be both difficult and rewarding(有回报的). They are becoming young adults. Almost all teenagers will have some behavioral outbursts(爆发) with their families during this period of life.
Have meals together. Mealtime is when we check in with each other.
Find time to have fun together! What do you both enjoy? Playing chess? Going to the ballet? Volunteering in your community? Take time to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. No one wants the attention of people they love to be focused only on what not to do. This is true for teenagers, too.
| A．Talk with your teen. |
| B．Never try to control your child. |
| C．Parents have a role in keeping their teens safe. |
| D．Relaxing together helps them feel loved and valued. |
| E．This can be hard to do with busy schedules, but it is important. |
| F．Some teens learn this by playing in music bands or team sports. |
| G．But strong relationships can help teens and their parents through hard times. |
6 . After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to his sons school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake.
He was shocked. He didn’t know what he should do for a while, then he remembered the words he had said to his son, “No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins.
As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying, “It’s too late! They’re all dead! There’s nothing you can do!” To them he replied with one line, “Are you going to help me now?” And then he kept on digging.
No one helped, however. He went on alone because he needed to know for himself, “Is my boy alive or is he dead?” He dug for eight hours…12 hours.….24 hours.….36 hours.. then in the 39th hour, he pulled back a rock and heard his son’s words. He shouted his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad!?! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it Dad!”
“What’s going on there? How is it?” the father asked.
“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We’re frightened, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle, and it saved us.”
“Come out, boy!”
“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”
1. The underlined word “collapsed” probably means_________| A．fallen down | B．shaken violently | C．stood by | D．gone off |
| A．he was mad | B．all the children had died in the earthquake |
| C．he was too dangerous to others | D．it was not his job to dig |
| A．Fourteen. | B．Thirty three | C．Forty seven | D．Nineteen. |
| A．it took the father one day to find his son and other students |
| B．his wife died in the earthquake |
| C．his son was the last one to come out of the ruins |
| D．the son didn’t believe his father would come to save him |
7 . When you feel down, you are expecting to receive support or comfort from your friends. Your friends feel the same way. However, it may be not easy to cheer up your friends when you can’t be by their side.
Ask if there’s anything you can do to help. Different people prefer to be comforted in different ways. Ask if there’s anything specific you can do to help your friends.
List why you think they’re special.
Send them a gift. Surprise them with something special to make their day. Arrange for flowers to be delivered to their apartment or mail them one of their favorite albums.
| A．Send a gift to them to celebrate their success. |
| B．Thankfully, there are many ways you can help. |
| C．Therefore, you can visit them to cheer them up. |
| D．Text them to let them know they’re on your mind. |
| E．You don’t have to go all out in terms of spending. |
| F．If they’ve been down on themselves lately, they may need a reminder. |
| G．The question alone will show you care, and they will appreciate your kind offer. |
8 . I always pictured myself graduating from college, getting a cool job and even having a cute little place of my own. So far, I have a master's degree and the coolest job ever as a physician assistant. But instead of waking up in a pretty apartment, I hear the early morning sound of my parents making coffee downstairs. At 27, I still live with my parents, and I love it.
As a physician assistant, I make a good salary and would be able to live on my own comfortably if I needed to do so. By the time I finished graduate school, I had had a ＄150,000 debt from both undergraduate and graduate education. My father calculated that my loans were increasing by ＄15 a day in interest (利息) alone. At this rate, it would take me 30 years to pay off my student loans. At last, I decided to live with my parents.
Several of my physician assistant friends are in the same boat as I am — we are all highly educated, white collar employees who live at home. Our coworkers in the medical field think it is a great idea because many of them are facing the same piles of debt. They often say if they could do it all again, they would do the same thing.
There's a stigma (耻辱) that comes along with this arrangement. Some people might think that we are too lazy to find a job. I don't think my neighbors understand it, as they continually ask me when I am going to graduate and if I am old enough to look after their children. My mom just tells them that I'm successful, well educated and that I save lives.
1. What did the author once dream to do before ?| A．Take care of her parents. | B．Have her own beautiful house. |
| C．Make her parents pay for her living. | D．Live with her parents after graduation. |
| A．She missed them very much. | B．She couldn't cook by herself. |
| C．She needed to repay a huge debt. | D．She was not ready to support herself. |
| A．Critical. | B．Approving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Uninterested. |
| A．She is a helpful lady. | B．She is popular with kids. |
| C．They don’t think she has a job. | D．They know she is well educated. |
9 . "True friendship is like sound health. The value of it is seldom known until it is lost," Charles Caleb Colton said. Just like in any other relationship, arguments and fights are also part of friendship. You will hardly find friends who have never fought with one another. Whatever the reason is, if a person feels that he is responsible for causing the differences, it is important that he should apologize to his friend.
Though you can use the email, text messages or chat for expressing your apology, the good old way of saying sorry to your friend through a letter will surely have a great effect on him. This will make your friend realize that your efforts of saying sorry are genuine and that you really care about him.
Points to Remember:
Timing: Write the letter at the proper time. It is not advisable to put it off for too long.
Words: While you are writing the letter, what matters most is that you truly feel sorry.
Sequence: Always begin by apologizing and saying sorry for your mistake. Then explain to him your side of the story. In the third and last paragraph, talk about what his friendship means to you and make a promise of not repeating the mistake.
Delivery: You should either post the letter or deliver it personally or through someone else. You can also keep it at a location where your friend will be able to find it easily.
Some people may try to point out the friend's mistake while writing the letter. Avoid this completely, as it can make matters worse. The letter has to be brief and should only talk about the subject that has led to your apology. Keep patient and do not expect immediate results. In some cases, it may take time for the person to forgive and forget.
1. What is the author's purpose of mentioning the saying in the first paragraph?| A．To let readers study the famous saying. |
| B．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| C．To show who is Charles Caleb Colton. |
| D．To tell readers the importance of health. |
| A．sincere | B．general |
| C．open | D．careful |
| A．Sending an email. | B．Sending text messages. |
| C．Chatting online. | D．Writing a letter. |
| A．Try to point out the friend's mistake. |
| B．Make the letter long and interesting. |
| C．Begin by apologizing and saying sorry for your mistake. |
| D．Write the importance of your friendship in the first paragraph. |
10 . My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard.
My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon.
Often, she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is!
| A．As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort. |
| B．She enjoys listening to classic music. |
| C．She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals. |
| D．She loves her students and cares for them. |
| E．My mother is hard-working and never wastes money. |
| F．Can you tell us something about your mother? |
| G．I never forget it and always bear it in my mind. |
