1 . Who needs friends? According to most psychologists (心理学家) we all do, especially nowadays when so many other aspects (方面) of modern life are changing. It seems that having friends keeps us both healthy and happy.

The number of TV series about groups of friends shows just how important friendship is to us. Psychologist Dorothy Rowe says that many of us now turn to our friends, instead of our families, for advice, comfort and security. One woman named Rebecca she interviewed even told her that if she had got to choose between her husband and her friend, she would choose her friend.

Since our friends mean so much to us, it is not surprising that the happiest marriages are also friendships. “Once the romantic stage of a relationship has passed, it is friendship that holds people together,” says Rowe. If the couple do not make some change, they will either get tired of each other and break up or stay together and seek friendship with others.

But is friendship equally important to women and men? According to author Rhonda Pritchard, women are more likely than men to have close friends. “ You tell a friend things that you’d never tell a partner”，says one woman she interviewed. For men, friendship is usually based on doing things together rather than the private conversations that are typical of women friend. Men share time and activities like building a fence or a business, running, riding a bike, fishing or watching football, but they don’t often share their feelings.

Although many women find their relationships with a husband or boyfriend is not enough, many men say that their partner is their best friend. Even women who are very happily married are likely to become very unhappy without a close friend and can even find the breakup of a close friend as painful as the end of a marriage.

Lasting friendships can provide a lot of the same support that families provided in the past, but the perfect situation is to have your family there for as well. Friendships and family relationships can both change, but a friend will not consider you when making really important decisions in the same way that a family member will.

1. What did Rebecca think about friendship?

A．Families are reliable forever.	B．Her friend means more to her than her husband
C．One needn’t have too many friends.	D．Friends are as important as families.

2. Some couples look for friends outside their relationships because         .

A．they are encouraged by their partners.

B．they are not fairly treated by their partners

C．they don’t get what they need from their partners.

D．they think their friends are more romantic.

3. What is the main different between men’s and women’s friendships?

A．Women often do things together.

B．Women often talk about business with friends.

C．Men seldom talk about their feelings.

D．Men often talk to their friends about work and family.

4. When a friendship ends, some women may      .

A．feel as upset as when a marriage ends.	B．share feelings with their partners.
C．treat their partners as friends.	D．turn to their husband for comfort.

2 . With the young unable to afford to leave home and the old at risk of isolation(孤独), more families are choosing to live together.

The doorway to peace and quiet, for Nick Bright at least, leads straight to his mother-in-law, she lives on the ground floor, while he lives upstairs with his wife and their two daughters.

Four years ago they all moved into a three-storey Victorian house in Bristol - one of a growing number of multigenerational families in the UK living together under the same roof. They share a front door and a washing machine, but Rita Whitehead has her own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room on the ground floor.

“We floated the idea to my mum of sharing at a house,” says Kathryn Whitehead. Rita cuts in: “We spoke more with Nick because I think it’s a big thing for Nick to live with his mother-in-law.”

And what does Nick think? “From my standpoint, it all seems to work very well. Would I recommend it? Yes, I think I would.”

It’s hard to tell exactly how many people agree with him, but research indicates that the numbers have been rising for some time. Official reports suggest that the number of households with three generations living together had risen from 325,000 in 2001to 419,000 in 2013.

Other varieties of multigenerational family are more common. Some people live with their elderly parents; many more adult children are returning to the family home, if they ever left. It is said that about 20% of 25-34-year-olds live with their parents, compared with 16% in 1991.The total number of all multigenerational households in Britain is thought to be about 1.8 million.

Stories like that are more common in parts of the world where multigenerational living is more firmly rooted. In India, particularly outside cities, young women are expected to move in with their husband’s family when they get married.

1. Who mainly uses the ground floor in the Victorian house in Bristol?

A．Nick.

B．Rita.

C．Kathryn

D．The daughters.

2. What is Nick’s attitude towards sharing the house with his mother-in -law?

A．Positive.

B．Carefree.

C．Tolerant.

D．Unwilling.

3. What is the author’s statement about multigenerational family based on?

A．Family traditions.

B．Financial reports.

C．Published statistics.

D．Public opinions.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Lifestyles in different countries.	B．Conflicts between generations.
C．A housing problem in Britain.	D．A rising trend of living in the UK.

3 . A Great Way to Teach Children to Take Responsibility

As parents, one of the most important things to teach children to take responsibility is to include chores as a part of their daily routine. In order to make a family function smoothly, every member must contribute. Teaching your children to take responsibility at an early age makes it easier for them to shoulder greater responsibilities as they grow older.

    1     If your children leave their crayons lying on the table after drawing, picking up those crayons is not a chore. It is cleaning up a mess they have created.     2    

    3    . For example, if it is to feed the dog every day, make   sure   the   children understand that if they fail in their responsibility, the dog will go hungry.

Make rewards and punishments a part of the lesson. Together decide whether they will be rewarded or not.     4     Some parents make their reward a monetary payment, while others choose to reward with certain privileges, such as extra television viewing time.

Children need to be taught that there are punishments for their actions in case of not doing their assigned chores. Decide and agree from the start what the punishment will be.

Teaching your children the importance of contributing to the family is of great importance.     5     By taking this step, you have done a wonderful thing for your children by providing them with life skills they can take with them into society.

A．A chore is a specific task a child has been assigned which helps improve the life of the entire family.

B．And what punishment they will receive if a chore isn’t done.

C．Actually you are taking a critical step in empowering them for their future.

D．Start by teaching children the difference between a chore and cleaning up after themselves.

E．Teach children the importance of each assignment, and why it matters.

F．Children will not be rewarded at all for merely cleaning up.

G．And if so, what the reward will be for a job well done.

4 . It was about seven years ago. I just picked up my three­year­old daughter from the nursery. I was weighed down with shopping bags, and with my daughter’s things. We arrived at a pedestrian crossing and she pressed the button. In the distance, I heard alarms, told my daughter to wait and watched a police car approaching.

Little did I know, as the_green_man flashed, that my daughter had begun to run into the road. I watched the police car speed toward us—that’s when you sounded your horn and waved wildly to me. My daughter was about a meter from the path of the police car, hidden from their view by your car.

I screamed her name and ran toward her. She stopped and was shocked by the rush of the police car as it sped past. She wondered why you had blown your horn, asking, “Mom, why was that woman so rude？” not realizing you had saved her life.

She wondered why I picked her up and burst into tears. My legs gave way as I reached the other side of the road. I should have followed my “wait” with a hand on her shoulder, or an explanation of why we were ignoring the green man this time, especially as I had in effect conditioned her to cross the road at the sight of the green flash.

I beat myself up for months, and still do, with flashbacks and horrible assumptions about what might have been. But for your sounding your horn, seeing what I hadn’t seen, I would have been left a mother on the other side of the road, totally broken. I apologize for putting you in that position—I can imagine that it upset you, too. You saved her life and I am so grateful.

1. What does the underlined part “the green man” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A pedestrian.	B．A policeman.
C．A traffic sign.	D．A button.

2. Why did the woman sound her horn?

A．To stop the police car.

B．To show her impatience.

C．To greet passing pedestrians.

D．To draw the mother’s attention.

3. What can we infer from the incident?

A．The mother didn’t regret what had happened.

B．The daughter didn’t follow the traffic rules.

C．The woman responded quickly and properly.

D．The police drove beyond the speed limit.

4. How did the mother feel when taking hold of her daughter?

A．Angry and shocked.	B．Scared but relieved.
C．Guilty and confused.	D．Grateful but sad.

5 . Both of my parents worked full­time when I was a little girl，so my grandmother would stay at our house during the day. We would watch game shows in the living room. Our favorite was The Price Is Right. We would call out our answers along with the contestants.

When I got older and started going to school，we couldn’t watch our game shows regularly. That was okay with me，though，because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping her bake cakes. Watching her in the kitchen was amazing：she never seemed to need the recipes（食谱）but everything she made tasted delicious.

At first I would just sit in the kitchen and watch，even though I didn’t understand what she was doing. As I got older，she let me help with the easy parts，such as measuring the sugar. The day she let me separate the eggs，I felt like I had found complete pleasure.

At last，my parents decided that I could take care of myself，and my grandmother stopped coming over every day. The love of baking，however，stayed with me. I started baking by myself，and even if the cookies ended up burnt sometimes，more often they turned out pretty well. I tried out new recipes，and whenever I got to a thorny part，I would call my grandmother for advice. Sometimes I would call her just to talk too. I felt like I could talk to her about anything.

My grandmother passed away ten years ago，but I still think of her every day. Last week，I found a recipe book she made for me. It included her recipes for brownies，cookies，and my favorite，lemon pie. As I looked through the pages，I thought I could hear her voice. She was the one who taught me not just about baking，but about life.

1. The passage is mainly developed by        .

A．analyzing causes	B．making comparisons
C．following the time order	D．examining differences

2. While helping her grandmother bake，the author        .

A．found it interesting	B．turned out to be a troublemaker
C．hoped to make a living by baking	D．regretted missing the game shows

3. What does the underlined word “thorny” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A．Basic.	B．Common.
C．Special.	D．Difficult.

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To describe her childhood memories.	B．To show her good baking skills.
C．To remember her grandmother.	D．To talk about her happy family life.

6 . When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer, so we would have time for a conversation with each other. I never saw my dad drinking or taking a night out. All he did after work was taking care of his family.

I grew up and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when I bought a house several years later, my dad painted it by himself in the fierce summer heat. All he asked was to talk to him, but I was too busy in those days.

Four years ago, my dad visited me. He spent many hours putting together a swing for my daughter. He asked me to have a talk with him, but I had to prepare for a trip that weekend.

One Sunday morning we had a telephone talk as usual. I noticed that my dad had forgotten some things that we discussed lately. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was short. Several hours later that day I received a call. My father was in the hospital. Immediately I bought a plane ticket and on my way I was thinking about all the occasions I missed to have a talk with my dad. By the time I arrived at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have time for a conversation with me. I realized how little I knew about my dad, his deepest thoughts and his dreams.

After his death I learned much more about him and even more about myself. All he ever wanted was my time. And now he has all my attention every single day.

1. When the author was a little girl, she       .

A．was good at repairing things	B．liked playing with the hammer
C．often talked with her father	D．learned to take care of her family

2. What happened when the author was at college?

A．She phoned her father every Sunday morning.

B．She received a call from her father every Sunday morning.

C．Her father bought her a house.

D．She often asked her father to talk with her.

3. Why did the author fail to have a talk with her father four years ago?

A．Because her father was busy putting up a swing for her daughter.

B．Because she had got tired of talking with him.

C．Because she was busy planning a trip.

D．Because her father often forgot what they had once talked about.

4. What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

A．The author found an excuse to forgive herself.

B．The author and her father were both busy.

C．The author complained about her father’s leave without saying goodbye.

D．The author regretted missing the talks with her father.

7 . Letting me move into my university dormitory wasn’t an easy decision for my parents. However, they knew if I wanted a good education, I’d have to live away from home. I’d always dream of living alone the life of no rules and regulations and being independent. So I was delighted about this new stage in my life.

Unexpectedly, during the first few months of living alone, I would find myself crying every day. I would call my mum every day. Coming from a big family, I was used to noises surrounding me. Therefore, the scary silence at night was the worst. I couldn’t even sleep without keeping the lights on.

As time went by, I started enjoying the freedom that came with living alone. I could do things in my own time: eat whenever I want, wake up whenever I want. The space of loneliness was also then filled up by friends who became like family, so I started missing my family less.

When it was time to say goodbye and go back home after my graduation I was bittersweet. I’d enjoyed my time alone, learning things which wouldn’t have been possible if I had never moved away from home. But I’d also missed my family too much.

I’d learned a lot from this experience. Living alone made me value family time even more. I realized every second with them was important though I might not get the freedom while living alone.

I guess it’s different for everybody, but for me, there is no warmth in a house unless it’s filled with loving members and people you love.

1. How did the author feel before moving into the university dormitory?

A．Sad.	B．Happy.
C．Nervous.	D．Cold.

2. What can we know about the author from paragraph 4?

A．He had mixed feelings.

B．He didn’t enjoy his time alone.

C．He has been used to the life in school.

D．He found living with his family was better than in the school.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The author felt cold living in school.

B．The author’s dormitory was the warmest place.

C．The author felt warm living with his beloved ones.

D．Everyone felt warm when living with his beloved ones.

4. What does the author want to tell us?

A．Family is the most important place in people’s life.

B．As time goes by, people can get used to what happened.

C．People can find freedom only when they leave their family.

D．People need to grow up on their own, but family plays an important role.

8 . Today's world is not an easy adjustment for young adults. Key skill set for success is persistence (毅力), a characteristic that researchers say is heavily influenced by fathers. Researchers from Brigham Young University discovered that fathers are in a unique position to help their adolescent children learn persistence.

BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 American families over several years. And over time，the persistence gained through fathers led to higher achievement in school.

"There are relatively few studies that stress the unique role of fathers，"Padilla-Walker said. "This research also helps to prove that characteristics such as persistence-which can be taught-are key to a child's life success.”

Researchers determined that dads need to practice an "authoritative" parenting style. Authoritative parenting is not authoritarian:rigid，demanding or controlling. Rather，an authoritative parenting style includes some of the following characteristics:children feel warmth and love from their father；responsibility and the reasons behind rules are stressed children are given an appropriate level of autonomy(自主权).

In the study，about 52 percent of the dads exhibited above-average levels of authoritative parenting. A key finding is that over time，children raised by an authoritative father were significantly more likely to develop persistence，which leads to better outcomes in school.

This particular study examined 11 to 14-year-olds living in two-parent homes. Yet the researchers suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the benefits of persistence，which is an avenue of future research.

1. What is special about the BYU professors' study?

A．It centered on fathers' role in parenting.

B．It was based on a number of large families.

C．It analyzed different kinds of parenting styles.

D．It aimed to improve kids' achievement in school.

2. What would an authoritative father do when raising his children?

A．Ignore their demands.	B．Make decisions for them.
C．Control their behaviors.	D．Explain the rules to them.

3. Which group can be a focus of future studies according to the researchers?

A．Single parents.

B．Children aged from 11 to 14.

C．Authoritarian fathers.

D．Mothers in two-parent homes.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Three Characteristics of Authoritative Fathers.

B．Key Skills for Young Adults to Succeed in Future.

C．Children Tend to Learn Determination from Father.

D．Family Relationship Influences School Performance.

9 . What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn later.

The idea that popularity could have a serious effect on one's earning potentia（潜在性） shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The researchers found that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work..

“If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations," said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. "Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you   feel bad," said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a higher salary”.

Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism (交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large number of social contacts.

But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency（货币）?

“Call me uncoil, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition (定义) of ‘friend',” said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.

Daum dislikes the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of friendaholism. She thought the idea of friendship, at least among the growing population of Internet social networkers, was to get as many of not-really-friends as possible. For example, a friend might be someone you might know personally but who could just as easily be the friend of a friend of some other Facebook friend you don't actually know. Although she agreed that social ties grease (润滑) the wheels of life, she also wamed, "Too bad one thing money can't buy is a real friend."

1. What will be needed if you are to achieve success according to the researchers?

A．Social skills, friends, good mood and fortune.

B．Social skills, talent, hard work and facebook.

C．Social skills, networking, potential and fortune.

D．Social skills, networking, talent and hard work.

2. What can friends do in the eyes of Xu Yanchun?

A．They can help you with your schoolwork.

B．They teach you how to make more money.

C．They introduce their friends to you.

D．They help you to get rid of sadness and cheer up.

3. We learn that Meghan Daum's attitude towards friends is somewhat _____.

A．up-to-date	B．traditional
C．confused	D．optimistic

4. What does the word "trumps" in the last paragraph mean?

A．is worse than	B．is equal to
C．is better than	D．is similar to

10 . It is rightly said one can share any secret with a true friend. He may know your deepest fears and weaknesses and yet will never take advantage of you. However, keeping a friend’s secrets to yourself and not telling the world is what makes the bond grow strong and last forever. You need to develop trust and mutual (互相的) understanding before you start sharing secrets with each other. With friends, secret talks never seem to end and it can get really amusing to know what has been going on in your friend’s mind.

There is a certain time in life especially from the teenage years when one starts having a personal periphery (界限) in life and parents are excluded (排斥) from it. It is because there are certain things that they can’t understand and we can’t discuss with them. That is when friends become the best secret sharers. They are the ones to whom one reveals one’s feelings and best kept secrets.

It is a general belief that only girls share secrets. But boys have their own secrets that they discuss with only closest friends. The secret talks can range (变化) from relationships, talks about fights with parents, secret activities and anything that is not supposed to be known to others! If you think secrets are limited to only teenagers, get your facts right! Secrets can be shared at any age and there is no hard and fast rule that secrets are shared only among youngsters.

Sharing secrets with a friend is not just fun, but it also helps to develop a lasting trust in one another. Sometimes, sharing secrets will tell you more about the person. You will come to know whether your friend is reliable and trustworthy and whether it is worth sharing your secrets with them. You can call it a test of friendship.

1. What is an advantage of sharing secrets with a friend?

A．It helps a lot in your study.

B．It leads you to a carefree life.

C．It makes you popular with other people.

D．It contributes to a long-term mutual belief.

2. What does Paragraph 2 mainly try to show?

A．Parents are always the best people to share secrets with.

B．Teenagers prefer to share secrets with their friends.

C．Parents should build trust with teenagers.

D．Teenagers grow to be independent.

3. The underlined word “reveals” in paragraph 2 can be best replaced by ______.

A．proves	B．tells
C．gets	D．holds

4. What can be learned about sharing secrets?

A．It’s limited to girls.

B．It follows strict rules.

C．It can happen at any age.

D．It does harm to a strong bond.