1 . It is most difficult for parents to decide whether to have a second child or not.
It is often heard that a single child is like to be a lonely child. There are no other children in the family for the child to talk or play with. An only child is not able to get along well with children of his age. Some parents regretted making the decisions to have only one child.
But the number of parents choosing to have only one child is increasing in many parts of the world. In the US, for example, more than 14 percent of women between 18 and 34 plan to have just one child. The same can be seen in the UK. In Japan, the average number of children born per family had gone down to 1.42 by 1996.
For some single-child parents, especially who are busy working every day, time and energy seem to be overwhelming. They don’t have enough time and energy to share with more children. For other people, money is their first consideration. Many couples in Japan choose not to have large families as the cost of supporting a child up to the age of 18 reaches around $ 160,000.
根据短文内容，判断下面各小题的正(填A)误(填B)
1. According to the passage, a single child doesn’t have a brother or a sister to talk or play with so he is likely to be lonely.
2. The number of parents choosing to have a second child is increasing in many parts of the world.
3. The underlined word “overwhelming” in the last paragraph means “宽松的”.
4. In the US, more than 14 percent of women between 18 and 34 plan to have just one child.
5. Parents in America choose not to have a second child because the cost of supporting a child is so high.
2 . Some parents said that they had difficulty in getting along with their children. I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are holding firmly at one another’s hands for reassurance.
They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up crowded round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or actin g in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon (蚕茧) into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come — with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.
1. In this passage, the author wants to tell______.| A．teenagers to try to decide things for themselves |
| B．readers to try to be popular with people around |
| C．parents to try to control and guide their children |
| D．people to try to understand and respect each other |
| A．There is no popularity that really counts. |
| B．It is not good for a teenager to disagree with his or her classmates. |
| C．What many parents are doing is helping their children to go on their own ways. |
| D．Most teenagers claim to do whatever they want, but they are actually doing the same. |
