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 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 int0 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 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.”
56. The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.
A. interest B. distance C. difference D. separation
57. 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.
58. The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.
A. more confusion among parents
B. new equality between parents and children
C.1ess respect for parents from children
D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents
59. 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 of the change
B. can set a limit to the change
C. fail to take the change seriously
D. have little difficulty adjusting to the change
60. 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
Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you had a hundred dollars less. Also imagine what it would be like spending the rest of your life with you eyes closed. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your finger-tips.
With existing medical knowledge and skills, two-thirds of the world's 42 million blind should not have to suffer. Unfortunately, rich countries posses most of this knowledge, while developing countries do not.
ORBIS is an international non-profit organization which operates the world's only flying teaching eye hospital. ORBIS intends to help fight blindness worldwide. Inside a DC-8 aircraft, there is a fully-equipped teaching hospital with television studio and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest techniques of bringing sight back to people there. Project ORBIS also aims at promoting peaceful cooperation(合作) among countries.
ORBIS tries to help developing countries by providing training during three-week medical programs. ORBIS has taught sight-saving techniques to over 35,000 doctors and nurses, who continue to cure tens of thousands of blind people every year. ORBIS has conducted 17 plane programs is China so far. For the seven to ten million blind in China ORBIS is planning to do more for them. At the moment an ORBIS is working on a long-term plan to develop a training center and to provide eye care service to Shanxi Province. ORBIS needs your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.
For just US$38,you can help one person see; for $380 you can bring sight to 10 people; $1,300 helps teach a doctor new skills; and for $13,000 you can provide a training programme for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your money can open their eyes to the world. Please help ORBIS improve the quality of life for so many people less fortunate than ourselves.
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The first paragraph is intended to.
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What do we learn about existing medical knowledge and skills in the world?
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3. |
ORRIS aims to help the blind by.
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What does the author try to do in the last paragraph?
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What can be the best title for the passage?
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HOLIDAY FUN AT THE POWERHOUSE
500 HARRIS STREET ULTIMO ·TELEPHONE (02)9270111
Join in the holiday fun at the powerhouse this month linked to our new exhibition, Evolution & Revolution: Chinese dress 1700s to now. DON’T FORGET our other special event, the Club Med Circus School which is part of the Circus(马戏团)!150 years of circus in Australia exhibition experience!
Chinese Folk Dancing: Colorful Chinese dance and musical performances by The Chinese Folk Dancing School of Sydney. Dances include: the Golden and the Chinese drum dance. A feature will be the Qin dynasty Emperor’s count dance. Also included is a show of face painting for Beijing opera performances.
Sunday 29 June and Wednesday 2 July in the Turbine Hall, at 11.30 am & 1.30 pm.
Australian Chinese Children’s Arts Theatre: Well-known children’s play experts from Shanghai leas this dynamic youth group. Performance includes Chinese fairy tales and plays.
Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 July in the Turbine Hall, at 11.30 am & 1.30 pm.
Chinese Youth League: A traditional performing arts group featuring performance highlights such as Red scarf and Spring flower dances, and a musician playing Er Hu.
Sunday 6 to Tuesday 8 July in the Turbine Hall, 11.30 am to 1.30 pm.
Kids Activity : Make a Paper Horse: Young children make a paper horse cut-out. (The horse is a frequent theme in Chinese painting, including a kind of advancement.) Suitable for ages 8-12 years.
Sunday 28 June to Tuesday 8 July in the Turbine Hall, 12.30 pm to 1.00 pm.
Club Med Circus School: Learn circus skills, including the trapeze, tramp lining and magic. Note only for children over 5. There are 40 places available in each 1 hour session and these must be booked at the front desk, level 4, on the day.
Enjoy unlimited free visits and many other benefits by becoming a Family member of the Powerhouse. Our family memberships cover two adults and all children under the age of 16years at the one address.
Members receive Powerline, our monthly magazine, discounts in the shops and restaurants, as well as free admission to the Museum. All this for as little as $50, 00 a year! Call (02)9217 0600 for more details.When can you watch the Chinese drum dance?
A.On July 2. | B.On July 3. |
C.On July 6. | D.On July 8. |
To learn the magic tricks, you can go to .
A.Kids Activity. | B.Chinese Youth League. |
C.Club Med Circus School. | D.Children’s Arts Theatre. |
What is required if you want to enjoy free visits to the Museum?
A.Calling (02)92170600. | B.Gaining family membership. |
C.Coming for the holiday fun. | D.Paying powerline $50.00 a year. |
What is the main purpose of the text?
A.To attract visitors. | B.To present schedules. |
C.To report the performances. | D.To teach kids Chinese arts. |
Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different Spots for free. Larry didn’t even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.In what way was this expedition different for Larry?
A.His daughter had grown up. |
B.He had become a famous diver. |
C.His father would dive with him. |
D.His daughter would dive with him. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph2?
A.Larry had some privileges. |
B.Larry liked the rented diving suits. |
C.Divers had to buy diving equipment. |
D.Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive. |
Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?
A.To protect himself from danger. |
B.To dive into the deep water. |
C.To admire the underwater view. |
D.To take photo more conveniently. |
What can be learned from the underlined sentence?
A.Larry didn’t wear a watch. |
B.Larry was not good at math. |
C.Larry had a poor memory. |
D.Larry enjoyed the adventure. |
What did Larry expect his daughter to do?
A.Become a successful diver. |
B.Make a good diving guide. |
C.Take a lot of photo underwater. |
D.Have longer hours of training. |
Why is June 6, 1990 a special day for Mommy?
A.Her dream of being a mother came true. |
B.She found her origin from her Chinese mother. |
C.She wrote the letter to her daughter. |
D.Her female line was well linked. |
How does Mommy feel about her being given away?
A.It is bitter and disappointing. |
B.It is painful but understandable. |
C.She feels sorry but sympathetic. |
D.She feels hurt and angry. |
What does “I stood out like a sore thumb” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.I walked clumsily out of pains. |
B.I was not easy to love due to jealousy. |
C.I was impatient out of fear. |
D.I looked different from others. |
What can be inferred from Mommy’s Anglo family life?
A.She used to experience an identity crisis. |
B.She fought against her American identity. |
C.She forgot the pains of her early years. |
D.She kept her love for Asia from childhood. |
Why did Mommy name her daughter “Shao-ming?”
A.To match her own birth-name. |
B.To brighten the lives of the family. |
C.To identify her with Chinese origin. |
D.To justify her pride in Chinese culture. |
By “Your past is more complete than mine,” Mommy means ________.
A.her past was completed earlier than Shao-ming’s |
B.Shao-ming has got motherly care and a sense of roots |
C.her mother didn’t comfort her the way she did Shao-ming |
D.her past was spent brokenly, first in Asia, then in the US |
Most damagingly, anger weakens a person's ability to think clearly and keep control over his behaviour. The angry person loses objectivity in evaluating the emotional significance of the person or situation that arouses his anger.
Not everyone experiences anger in the same way; what angers one person may amuse another. The specific expression of anger also differs from person to person based on biological and cultural forces. In contemporary culture, physical expressions of anger are generally considered too socially harmful to be tolerated. We no longer regard duels (决斗) as an appropriate expression of anger resulting from one person's awareness of insulting behaviour on the part of another.
Anger can be identified in the brain, where the electrical activity changes. Under most conditions EEG (脑电图) measures of electrical activity show balanced activity between the right and left prefrontal (额叶前部) areas. Behaviourally this corresponds to the general even-handed disposition (意向) that most of us possess most of the time. But when we are angry the EEG of the right and left prefrontal areas aren't balanced and, as a result of this, we're likely to react. And our behavioural response to anger is different from our response to other emotions, whether positive or negative.
Most positive emotions are associated with approach behaviour: we move closer to people we like. Most negative emotions, in contrast, are associated with avoidance behaviour: we move away from people and things that we dislike or that make us anxious. But anger is an exception to this pattern. The angrier we are, the more likely we are to move towards the object of our anger. This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as of ensive anger: the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger. This approach-and-confront behaviour is accompanied by a leftward prefrontal asymmetry (不对称) of EEG activity. Interestingly, this asymmetry lessens if the angry person can experience empathy (同感) towards the individual who is bringing forth the angry response. In defensive anger, in contrast, the EEG asymmetry is directed to the right and the angry person feels helpless in the face of the anger-inspiring situation.
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The "duels" example in Paragraph 2 proves that the expression of anger.
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What changes can be found in an angry brain?
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Which of the following is typical of offensive anger?
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What is the key message of the last paragraph?
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