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. In part, 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. 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. 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—someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as long as parents and teens continue to assume 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 Paragraph 2 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 cause 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 |
Robert Owen was born in Wales in 1771. At the age of ten he went to work. His employer had a large private library so Owen was able to educate himself. He read a lot in his spare time and at nineteen he was given the job of superintendent(监工) at a Manchester cotton mill. He was so successful there that he persuaded his employer to buy the New Lanark mill in Scotland.
When he arrived at New Lanark it was a dirty little town with a population of 2,000 people. Nobody paid any attention to the workers' houses or their children's education. The conditions in the factories were very bad. There was a lot of crime and the men spent most of their wages on alcoholic drinks.
Owen improved the houses. He encouraged people to be clean and save money. He opened a shop and sold the workers cheap, well-made goods to help them. He limited the sale of alcoholic drinks. Above all, he fixed his mind on the children's education. In 1816, he opened the first free primary school in Britain.
People came from all over the country to visit Owen's factory. They saw that the workers were healthier and more efficient than in other towns. Their children were better fed and better educated. Owen tried the same experiment in the United States. He bought some land there in 1825,but the community was too far away. He could not keep it under control and lost most of his money.
Owen never stopped fighting for his idea. Above all he believed that people are not born good or bad. He was a practical man and his ideas were practical. "If you give people good working conditions," he thought, "they will work well and, the most important thing of all, if you give them the chance to learn, they will be better people." For Owen, his greatest achievement in New Lanark was _____________.
| A．improving worker's houses |
| B．helping people to save money |
| C．preventing men from getting drunk |
| D．providing the children with a good education |
From the passage we may infer that Owen was born ___________.
| A．into a rich family | B．into a noble family |
| C．into a poor family | D．into a middle class family |
Owen's experiment in the United States failed because _______.
| A．he lost all his money |
| B．he did not buy enough land |
| C．people who visited it were not impressed |
| D．it was too far away for him to organize it properly |
We may infer form the passage that no children in Britain could enjoy free education until ____.
| A．1771 | B．1816 | C．1825 | D．1860 |
Sports News of the Week
Bolt regains 100m title in Moscow
Last updated: Mon, Aug-12-2013, 08:54
USAIN BOLT of Jamaica won the men's 100 meters final during the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow on Sunday．
Usain Bolt was made to look human by a combination of a Russian rainstorm and a fired-up Justin Gatlin on Sunday but the Jamaican superstar was still good enough to regain his world 100 meters title in a surging 9．77 seconds．
With former world and Olympic champion and twice-banned doper Gatlin leading at halfway, Bolt was forced to race a rival, rather than the clock．
Jason Dufner wins PGA Championship
Last Updated: Monday, August 12, 2013, 10:38
Jason Dufner won his first major title at the 95th PGA Championship, the top U．S． golf competition, seizing an early lead on Sunday at Oak Hill, Texas and holding on for victory despite a bogey-bogey finish．
The 36-year-old American, who squandered a four-shot lead with four holes to play in losing the 2011 PGA Championship, fired a final-round two-under par 68 to finish on 10-under par 270 for 72 holes．
Isinbaeva leads harvest day for host Russia at Moscow worlds
Last updated: WeD．August 14, 2013, 10:35
Russia's "pole vault queen" Elena Isinbaeva ignited the Luzhniki stadium as she claimed her third world title on the fourth day of the 2013 IAAF World Championships here on Tuesday, which saw host Russia harvested two gold and one silver medals in seven finals,
Ireland's Heffernan wins world walk title at 35
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 14,2013,15:15
Ireland's Robert Heffernan won the world championship 50km walk title on Wednesday as the 35-year-old finally tasted glory after 13 years of heartbreak and near-misses．
Heffernan, fourth in the 2012 Olympic 50km and fourth in both walks at last year's European championships, broke clear of Mikhail Ryzhov after 35km to deny Russia a clean sweep of the walks after they took gold in both 20km events earlier in the week．When did Bolt regain the men's 100 meters final?
| A．August 11． | B．August 12 |
| C．August 13． | D．August 14 |
Where is the PGA held?
A．JamaicA． B．RussiA
C．AmericA． D．Ireland______ won the world championship at last after trying hard for 13 years．
| A．Jason | B．Bolt |
| C．Isinbaeva | D．Heffernan |
Most summer camps for teens center around sports, or music and arts, or just for having fun． But some girls in the Washington suburb of Arlington County, Virginia, went to camp to get a taste of what its like to be a firefighter．
This is not a typical summer camp． But Michelle Pawlaw is glad she signed up for it．"Getting to experience the fires hands-on is really cool and something that most people don't get to do," she said．
Michelle and eight other teenage girls are participating in the three-day camp offered by the Arlington County Fire Department located just outside of Washington．
“The purpose is to try to get young women interested in considering the fire service as a career” said firefighter Clare Burley, who is in charge of the program．
The free of charge, overnight camp is designed to let the girls experience what firefighters do in the line of duty to protect the community．
They take classes and learn how to climb the ladder on a fire truck, operate emergency tools and rescue on injured person． They also do their share of cleaning the firehouse and the equipment Firefighting is still a male-dominated （男性主导） service． Clare joined the department seven years ago, saying "We do everything that the guys do to the same standarD．We are tested to the same standarD．We are expected to operate at the same standard．"
Most of the girls say they had never thought about becoming a firefighter, but the camp was a great learning experience．
"I think it is definitely not a job that only men can do. Women can do it just as well as men can," said Michelle Pawlaw．
'I think I can help other people if they need help and know what to do in case I am at a fire myself," said Kayla Ehrlich．
"I think it's fantastic; I could consider taking it as a career some day．" said Monica Bartorsh．
And, the girls say, by spending three days together, they also made new friends and had a lot of fun．____might become a firefighter in the future．
| A．Monica | B．Kayla |
| C．Michelle | D．Clare |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．The camp offers classes on curing the injured |
| B．Teenage girls will become volunteer firefighters |
| C．Women can perform as well as men in firefighting |
| D．Firefighting will soon be a female-dominated service |
What do we know about Clare Burley from the passage?
| A．She has served the department for 7 years |
| B．She doesn't like her career as a firefighter |
| C．She is the designer of the camp program |
| D．She does better in firefighting than men |
The purpose of the text is____．
| A．to attract more campers |
| B．to introduce a new type of camp |
| C．to praise women firefighters |
| D．to gain support from government |
One spring, when I was 10, during one of my father's layoffs, I could tell my mother was dispiriteD．I decided to cheer her up by buying her a special Mother's Day gift．
One day after school I rode my bike to the Agins, which, I learned years later, was known for its high-end fashions and style．I introduced myself to Sylvia Agins, telling her I was looking for a Mather's Day present．
"Do you think she'd like a purse?" she askeD．I told her．I thought she might．
She took out an Italian handbag made of leather． She asked me what I thought, and I told her that my mom would like it．
"How much money do you have?" she asked．
"Twelve bucks," I said．
“You’re in luck,” she told me． "It's only $11． You have a dollar left over for the card．" She gift-wrapped the purse and thanked me for my business, and I rode off home with the package under my arm.
When my mother opened the gift the next Sunday morning, she asked in an accusing tone, “Where did you get this?"
"I bought it at the Agins． It cost me $11．" I said．
My mother was shocked into silence．
It wasn't until many years later, when I learned that the purse was worth several hundred dollars, that I appreciated just how wonderful Sylvia Agins had been to me． I always felt bad that I never had a chance to properly thank her．
"You know, my son, what really amazes me to this day," my mother saiD．"Letting you have the purse for just a few dollars was unbelievable enough． But the fact that she let you leave the store with a dollar for the card was a touch of kindness that I'll never forget． "The author bought his mother a purse to _____．
| A．surprise his mother |
| B．make his mother happy |
| C．show his ability of making money |
| D．thank his mother for buying him a bike |
Why was the author's mother shocked?
| A．She wasn't expecting a gift from her son． |
| B．The purse was bought from the Agins． |
| C．The author bought a card to go with the purse． |
| D．The Agins charged so little money for the purse． |
Sylvia Agins behavior shows that_____．
| A．she is good at making money | B．she is kind and thoughtful |
| C．she knows how to choose presents | D．she is critical and mean |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．An Unforgettable Event． | B．A Considerate Mother． |
| C．A Priceless Mother's Day Gift． | D．A Kind-hearted Shop Owner． |
A victim of climate change
A polar bear's dead body found on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, has shocked experts who say climate change may be to blame for the animal’s death.The starved polar bear in Norway was said to be in good health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and labeled it． However, the animal was reduced to skin and bones by the time a group of explorers came across its body in July．
The bear is thought to have been heading north in a desperate search for sea ice that would allow it to hunt for seals.
"From his lying position in death the bear appears to simply have starved and died where he dropped," polar bear expert Dr. Ian Stirling, a professor at the University of Alberta said, "He had external suggestion of any remaining fat, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone．"
Stirling believes the bear starved to death as a result of a lack of sea ice which the animals use as a platform for hunting seals． That may also explain why the 16-year-old male bear was found about 155 miles north of where it was seen in April．
Arctic sea ice reached a record low in 2012, according to a report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pointed to continued signs of climate change．
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species．How did Stirling know the reason for the death of the polar bear?
| A．By the food he ate |
| B．By doing further experiments |
| C．By observing other polar bears |
| D．By his lying position in death |
The underlined word "vulnerable" probably means _____
| A．easily hurt | B．difficult to hunt |
| C．dangerous | D．amazing |
What is the author's attitude to the incident?
| A．Favorable． | B．Uncaring |
| C．Doubtful． | D．Concerned |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A novel． | B．A guidebook |
| C．A news report． | D．An advertisement |