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 |
Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may beprotected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.
“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素),which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” Kinsley said.“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.
“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,”said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.”How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
| A．Some researchers have told them. |
| B．Many women say so. |
| C．They know it by experimenting on rats. |
| D．They know it through their own experience. |
What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
| A．Estrogen. |
| B．The hormones of pregnancy. |
| C．More exercise. |
| D．Taking care of children. |
Which title is the best for this passage?
| A．Do You Want to Be Smarter? |
| B．Motherhood Makes Women Smarter |
| C．Mysterious Hormones |
| D．An Important Study |
We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home.
On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard (柜厨) outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow.
“Buy it, ” my wife said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof rack. I’ve always wanted one like that.”
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was ￡20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack.
It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake, I wonder?”
In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.
“Right, sir, ” he said. “Do you need any more help?”
I was a bit puzzled. “Thanks, officer, ” I said. “You have been very kind. I live just on the road.”
He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. “Well, well, ” he said, laughing.
“It’s a cupboard you’ve got there! We thought it was something else.”
My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a cupboard, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could. In fact the husband _______ the cupboard.
| A．would like very much to buy | B．badly wanted |
| C．was glad to have bought | D．would rather not buy |
Other drivers thought they were _______.
| A．carrying a cupboard to the church |
| B．sending flowers to the church |
| C．carrying nothing but a piece of furniture |
| D．going to attend a funeral(葬礼) at the church |
The police will be more polite to those who are _______.
| A．driving in gathering darkness |
| B．in great sorrow (悲痛) |
| C．driving with wild flowers in the car |
| D．carrying furniture |
What did the husband think of the whole matter?
| A．It was very strange. | B．He felt ashamed of it. |
| C．He took great pride in it. | D．He was puzzled at it. |
On April 1st, Mike decided to fool(愚弄) his friends.
At lunch time he said to Tom, “I think we’re going to have a test this afternoon.” “Test?” said Tom, “Really?”
“Yes, it’s quite true,” said Mike. “When I was passing by Mr. Green’s room, he was talking with another teacher about the test. Tell John, Rose and Joan about it.”
Later Tom told them about the test. Soon almost all the students knew about it. “How foolish they are!” he thought.
When class began, Mr. Green said, “Class, we’re going to have a test today.” Mike was surprised. The test was too hard for him. After class, all his classmates thanked him very much. But he could only smile. “How foolish I was !”he thought.
It really was April Fools’ Day for Mike.Mike decided to fool his friends because ________ .
| A．they were talking about the test |
| B．they began to prepare (准备) their lessons |
| C．it was April Fools’ Day |
| D．they were foolish |
________ his classmates believe (相信) him before class.
| A．Almost all | B．None of | C．Only a few | D．Some of |
Mike didn’t prepare his lessons because _______
| A．he didn’t like to |
| B．it was his holiday |
| C．he thought the test was easy for him |
| D．he believed there wasn’t going to be a test |
Mike was surprised to see ________ .
| A．the test was too hard for him |
| B．the teacher really gave them a test |
| C．Tom didn’t believe him |
| D．his classmates were so foolish |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．Mike thought he himself was foolish. |
| B．All his classmates thanked him. |
| C．Mr. Green was talking with another teacher about the test. |
| D．Nearly everyone knew the test before long(不久). |
Tom was going home at five yesterday. He got on a bus. A mother with her little boy was sitting nearby. Suddenly the boy cried. His mother tried her best to make the boy stop crying. But the boy would not do so. At last Tom said angrily, “Oh, how that boy cried! Why don’t you give him what he wanted?” “I would if I could." answered the mother quietly,“But he wanted your cap.” What time was Tom going home yesterday?
| A．At four | B．At five | C．At six | D．At seven |
Who was sitting near Tom on the bus?
| A．An old man with his little girl |
| B．A young woman |
| C．A woman with her little boy |
| D．A young man |
The mother tried her best to make the boy ______.
| A．wake up | B．go to sleep | C．not talk much | D．stop crying |
When the boy cried, Tom ______
| A．was very angry | B．was very hungry | C．was very happy | D．did not hear this |
Why was the boy crying?
| A．Because he wanted something to eat. |
| B．Because he wanted to get off the bus. |
| C．Because he wanted to go home. |
| D．Because he wanted Tom's cap |
Baseball (棒球) Match
Mr. Jenkins works in a middle school. There he teaches his students English. He works hard and is very busy. After supper, when his family watch TV, he always reads some newspapers in his room. At times Robert comes in and asks him to tell him a story. He likes his little son and does all what the boy wants.
One Sunday Mrs. Jenkins was doing some housework and Mr. Jenkins was reading a newspaper.
Robert came in but he didn’t say anything. About ten minutes later the boy showed a newspaper to him and called out, “There will be a baseball match tonight, Dad!”
Mr. Jenkins was surprised. He said to himself, “The boy is only three years old. How can he read the newspaper?”
He held up the newspaper and began to look for the news. But he couldn’t find it. At last the boy showed him an exclamation mark on the newspaper.Mr. Jenkins is a ______.
| A．doctor | B．teacher | C．driver | D．farmer |
Mr. Jenkins always reads newspapers after supper because ______.
| A．he’s very busy at school |
| B．he works hard at school |
| C．he wants to teach his son |
| D．he wishes his family to listen to him |
“An exclamation mark” in the story means ____.
| A．逗号 | B．冒号 | C．句号 | D．感叹号 |
Robert found ______ and called out.
| A．a baseball match | B．a piece of good news |
| C．a today's newspaper | D．an exclamation mark |
Mr. Jenkins thought ______, so he was surprised.
| A．there was a baseball match |
| B．his son bought a newspaper for him |
| C．his little son learned to read |
| D．his little son learned to write |