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 （分歧）．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 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 can also result in less respect for parents．
“There’s still a lot of strictness and authority 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 evolving（演化的） 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．”
72．Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?
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 more about sex and drugs．
D．Parents share more interests with their children．
73．The change in today’s parent-child relationship is ______．
A．more confusion among parents
B．new equality between parents and children
C．less respect for parents from children
D．more strictness and authority on the part of parents
74．By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” the author means that today’s parents ______．
A．follow the trend （趋势）of the change
B．can set a limit to the change
C．fail to take the change seriously
D．have little difficult adjusting （调整）to the change
75．The purpose of the passage is to ______．
A．describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with
B．discuss the development of the parent-child relationship
C．suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relationship
D．compare today’s parent-child relationship with that in the past
On September 22, 2007, 108 Chinese cities took part in Car-Free Day, a global event held every year, for the first time.
China became the world’s second-largest auto market and third-largest car-maker in 2006. It has also become the second-largest greenhouse gas producer in the world, and is rapidly catching up with the United States. In this sense, China’s participation will greatly promote the Car-Free Day movement.
The number of cars on the road is going up rapidly in China. In Beijing, about 1,000 new cars are added to the streets on an average day.
Cars certainly offer people plenty of freedom to move around. But in many Chinese cities, appearance of too many cars has turned into a major problem. Getting stuck in traffic jams is an everyday experience for drivers.
Even worse is the environmental impact（影响）caused by cars. According to a national report, on a “smog day”, 79 percent of the air pollution is caused by cars.
The growing number of traffic accidents is another problem. Over 100,000 people die from traffic accidents every year in China, which is by far the highest number of road deaths in the world.
108 cities’ participation in Car-Free Day shows growing public concern about the traffic and environmental problems caused by cars.
On this day, all cars were banned from running in selected areas of the participating cities. People were encouraged to walk, cycle and use public transport. According to experts, the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere produced by cars was reduced by 3,000 tons on Car-Free Day.
With cleaner air and smoother traffic flow on the day, more cities will hopefully want to join the event next year. And more people might share the hope that Car-Free Day is not just on September 22, but a possibility 365 days of the year.
59. From the passage, we can know that China ______.
A. has the world’s highest number of road deaths
B. has the world’s largest auto market
C. is the world’s largest greenhouse gas producer
D. is the world’s second-largest car-maker
60. Which of the following is discussed in the passage?
A. The causes of car growth in China.
B. The effects of car growth in China.
C. The history of World Car-Free Day.
D. The popularity of World Car-Free Day.
61. Car-Free Day in China will ______.
A. be held all the year round
B. stop air pollution and traffic jams
C. attract more people to join in
D. reduce the production of cars
Can trees talk? Yes, but not in words. Scientists have reason to believe that trees do communicate (交际) with each other. Not long ago, researchers learned some surprising things. First a willow tree attacked in the woods by caterpillars (毛虫) changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that they got tired of the leaves and stopped eating them. Then even more astonishing, the tree sent out a special smell---a signal (信号) causing its neighbors to change the chemistry of their own leaves and make them less tasty.
Communication, of course, doesn’t need to be in words. We can talk to each other by smiling, raising our shoulders and moving our hands. We know that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements. Bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns that tell other bees where to find nectar (花蜜) for honey. So why shouldn’t trees have ways of sending message?
55．It can be concluded from the passage that caterpillars do not feed on leaves that ______.
A．are lying on the ground B have an unpleasant taste
C．bees don’t like D have an unfamiliar shape
56．The willow tree described in the passage protected itself by ______.
A．changing its leaf chemistry
B．communicating with birds and bees
C．growing more branches
D．shaking caterpillars off
57．According to this passage, bees communicate by ______.
A．touching one anotherB．making special movement
C．smelling one another D．making unusual sound
58．The author believes that the incident described in the passage ______.
A．cannot be taken seriously B．should no longer be permitted
C．seems completely reasonableD．must be checked more thoroughly
One day, four lawyers were riding their horses along a country road. There had been a rain. Water was dripping(滴) from the trees, and the grass was wet. They rode slowly, talking and laughing. Suddenly they heard some noises from the tree above them. “What is the matter?” asked the first lawyer. “Oh, it’s only some old birds!” said the second lawyer， “The storm made one of the babies fall out of the nest. It is too young to fly, and the mother bird is very worried.” “What a pity! It’ll die down there in the grass,” said the third lawyer. “It doesn’t matter. It’s only a bird,” said the second lawyer. Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and took the little one in his big warm hands.
“Never mind, my little fellow,” said Mr. Lincoln， “I will put you back in your little nest.” He climbed up the tree and put the bird softly into their warm little home. A few minutes later, Mr. Lincoln joined them again. His shoes were covered with mud and he was wet. Then the other three laughed at him. They thought it was foolish for a strong man to do so much just for a young bird. “Gentlemen,” said Mr. Lincoln, “I could not sleep tonight if I had left the helpless bird in the grass.” Later Abraham Lincoln became very famous as a lawyer. He also became the president of America. He was one of the greatest American presidents.
51. The reason why the mother bird was worried was that ______.
A. there was a rain B. the lawyers were under its tree
C. one of its babies fell out of the nest D. it could not fly
52. We can learn about the other three lawyers from the passage that ______.
A. the second lawyer was kind
B. they were all cold-hearted
C. they did something to save the baby bird
D. the third lawyer put the bird into its nest
53. The underlined phrase “little fellow” in paragraph 2 means ______.
A. the mother bird B. Lincoln’s little friends
C. the other three lawyers D. the baby bird
54. From the passage we know Lincoln ______.
A. liked riding horses
B. was very kind and loved birds and animals
C. liked being laughed at
D. wanted to be the president of America then
People are being invited to sit down to eat with their neighbors in a nationwide lunch party designed to promote community spirit. The Big Lunch is the idea of the Eden Project in Cornwall. It aims to persuade people up and down the country to hold street lunch parties.
Tens of thousands of vegetables, fruits and flowers were used to construct a giant 2,000-square-foot lunch invitation in London’s Convent Garden. More than 9,000 cauliflowers and 800 bananas were used.
According to the organizers, people who decide to take part in the activity will get support from large companies which will supply many of the necessities, including plants to be given out to people to grow. The organizers think that the Big Lunch is a great opportunity for people to get together and spend time with their neighbors, friends and families. Events like this also help build strong communities. People can show their talents, get over their embarrassment, shake hands and get to know their neighbors, and realize that the neighborhood where they live can be a great source of happiness and enjoyment.
The Eden Project’s leader, Tim Smith, says, “It’s a good way to face this recession. Imagine a day on which millions of us, throughout the UK, sit down to have lunch together with our neighbors in the middle of our streets, around our tower blocks, and on every patch of common ground. We’ll have cooked our own food, made our own entertainment, and created our own decorations. It will be a day to share bread with our neighbors, and put a smile on Britain’s face.”
62. The Big Lunch aims to _____.
A. persuade people to eat healthy food B. encourage people to cook at home
C. help poor people in the community D. develop community spirit
63. Which of the following is false?
A. Large companies will give participants enough money to hold the lunch parties.
B. The Big Lunch may be a good opportunity to show talents and make friends.
C. The Big Lunch is a nationwide activity designed by The Eden Project.
D. The giant lunch invitation in London used a lot of vegetables, fruits and flowers.
64. Big Lunch is a good opportunity for people to _____.
A. enjoy free food B. have fun with neighbors and families
C. shop on the street D. eat without cooking
65. The underlined word “recession” in the last paragraph probably means_____.
A. nice environment B. grand ceremony
C. rapid progress D. economic decline
59. For admission to the Detective House, a shopper needs to _____.
A. be a DBS card owner B. spend a total of $150
C. answer 3 simple questions D. have experience in solving cases
60. Mrs. Rosland, a DBS card holder, spent $200 in the mall, and she would be entitled to _____.
A. a free air ticket and a mother-of-pearl necklace
B. a white gold diamond and a limited edition key chain
C. a sure win gift of limited edition car key chain
D. a Peugeot P200 and a set of white gold diamond
61. Which of the following statements is true?
A. DBS Bank and Fraser Mall are the official sponsors.
B. All shoppers are entitled to a draw for free air ticket.
C. The rewards are open to all shoppers for the entire month of April.
D. DBS Card owners enjoy double chances in the "Win a car" lucky draw.