For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries — where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. Partly, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents
and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. The second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. The third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is — politics, the taws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg — the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong for both wish to be considered an authority, and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to suppose that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
| A．Both can continue for generations. | B．Both are about where to draw the line. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. | D．Neither can be put to an end. |
What does the underlined part in Para. Two mean?
| A．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens accuse their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.
| A．give orders to the other | B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other | D．get the other to behave properly |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. | B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. | D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
What exactly is a lie? Is it anything we say which we know is untrue? Or is it something more than that? For example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you. You say “I wish I could help you, but I am short of money myself.” In fact, you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don’t want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this. Is this really a lie?
Professor Jerald Jellison of the University of southern California has made a scient
ific study of lyi
ng. According to him, women are be
tter lies than men, particularly when telling a “white lie”, such as
when a woman at a party tells ano
ther woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it’s terrible. However, this is only one side of the story. Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell more serious lies, such as making a promise that they have no intention of carrying out. This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at: the lie from which the liar hopes to profit or gain in some way.
Research has been done into the way people’s behavior changes in a number of small, unimportant ways when they lie. It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time, they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual. To the trained observer they are saying “I wish I were somewhere else now”. They also tend to touch certain parts of the face, particularly the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure. The tip of the nose is very sensitive to changes and the increased pressure makes it itch.
Another gesture that gives liars away is what the writer Decmond Morris in his book Man Watching calls the “mouth cover”. He says that there are several typical forms of this, such as covering part of the mouth with the fingers, touch the upper lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side off the mouth. Such a gesture can be understood as an unconscious(未察觉的) attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself from lying.
Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, moving about in a chair can not be taken as proof that the speaker is lying. They simply tend to happen more often in this situation. It is one gesture alone that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context(上下文) which the lie is told.According to the passage, a white lie seems to be a lie ______.
| A．that other people believe |
| B．that other people don’t believe |
| C．told in order not to hurt someone’s feelings |
| D．told in order to take advantage of someone |
Research suggests that women _____.
A．are better at telling les s serious lies than men |
| B．generally lie for more than men do |
| C．often make promises they intend to break |
| D．lie at parties more often than men do |
Researchers find that when a person tells lies _____.
| A．his blood pressure increases measurably |
| B．he looks very serious |
| C．he is likely to make some small changes in his behavior |
| D．he uses his unconscious mind |
The writer of the passage______.
| A．hates lying | B．enjoys lying | C．often tells a lie | D．tries to study about lying |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage as a sign of lying ?
| A．Touching one’s ears | B．Rubbing the nose |
| C．Moving in a chair | D．Covering the mouth |
A traveler hurried down to the hall of an American hotel and went to the cash-desk. He had just 15 minutes to pay his bill and get to the station. Suddenly he remembered that he had left something in his room.
"Look here, boy," he said to the bellboy, "run up to my room and see if I have left a parcel on the table there. Be quick about it."
The boy ran upstairs. Five minutes passed. The traveler was walking up and down the hall, looking very angry. At last the boy appeared.
"Yes, sir," he reported to the traveler," you have left the parcel there, it's right on the table in your room."The traveler _______.
| A．ran down the street |
| B．came downstairs hurriedly |
| C．ran so quickly that he fell down |
| D．came into the hotel hall very quickly |
Whichh statement is true?
| A．He had to pay his bill and arrived at the station in 15 minutes . |
| B．It took him 15 minutes to go to the station from the hotel. |
| C．He could pay his bill in 15 minutes and then go to the station . |
| D．He had nothing but 15 minutes. |
According to the passage, a bellboy is _____.
A. a boy whose work is to ring the bell
B. a boy who plays with a bell
C. a boy whose work in a hotel is to he
lp guests with their bagsThe traveler asked the boy _____ .
| A．to go upstairs |
| B．to look for his parcel |
| C．to fetch the parcel he had left in his room |
| D．only to see if the parcel was on the table in his room |
Five minutes later, the boy ______ .
| A．ran up to the room |
| B．came downstairs |
| C．reported to the traveler in the room |
| D．came down to the hall but brought nothing back |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
D． treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．willing to spend time |
| C．careful with time | D．serious with time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
A．Friendship s between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendship |
There are many ways to find a job. It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board. Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses.
Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local new
spapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.
Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet. For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the
world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job. Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month.
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job. Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute ?” by Richard Bolles. This book has been helping people choose a career since it was first published in nineteen seventy.
Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W. Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Finding a job. |
| B．College students’part-time jobs. |
| C．Craigslist Web site. |
| D．The relation between study and work. |
By logging on the Craigslist Web site, you can ______.
| A．sell your old things |
| B．do some shopping online |
| C．create your own announcement board |
| D．get useful information about 450 cities |
“What Color is Your Parachute?” is a book which gives tips to those who want to _____.
| A．work on the airplane | B．buy a parachute |
| C．publish a book | D．find a suitable job |
It can be learned from the passage that ______.
| A．companies often put job information in local shops |
| B．the Internet is the most popular tool for job hunters in the USA |
| C．Susan W. Miller’s company is helping people choose careers |
| D．California Career Services mainly serves university students |
How many ways of finding a job are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve.” Oh, !” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with
me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate(绝望的) now. I forgot all I had learned. I
was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were____.
| A．asleep | B．outside | C．working in bed | D．quietly laughing at him |
The underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means____.
| A．very happy | B．disappointed | C．very unhappy |
D．hopeful |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him
because______.
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author?
| A．He went to a church to pray again. | B．He passed the exa m by luck. |
| C．He failed in the exam. | D．He was punished by his teacher. |
The best title for the passage would be____.
| A．The Night Before the Examination | B．Working Far into the Night |
| C．A Slow Student | D．Going Over My Lessons |