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. The laws 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 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 to mislead 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 |
One day an old woman was traveling alone in the mountains. Suddenly she saw something shining in the stream. When she came close, she found it was a precious stone. She put the stone into her bag and went on with her trip.
The next day the old woman met a young man, who was also a traveler in the mountains. The young man looked very hungry, so the old woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked carefully, “The stone is beautiful. Would you like to give it to me?”
“Sure. Why not?” the woman said, and handed the stone to him.
The young man left happily with the stone. He knew it was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back and hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within your bag.”
The woman opened her bag. It was almost empty. She looked at the young man and smiled, “I have nothing special in my bag, but I do have something precious — the joy of giving!” The young man felt ashamed and left silently.How did the young man find the precious stone?
A.He found it in his food. |
B.He dug it out in a valley. |
C.He saw it in the woman’s bag. |
D.He noticed it shining in the stream. |
What does the underlined word “security” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Money. | B.Worry. | C.Health. | D.Trouble. |
The man returned the stone to the woman because ______.
A.he found the stone was not precious |
B.he understood the real meaning of joy |
C.he felt embarrassed at taking away the stone |
D.he wanted to get something even more precious |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
A.A special stone |
B.The joy of giving |
C.A woman and a young man |
D.An experience in the mountains |
One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school?
Listen — Listen when they are talking. Don't say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it's not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.
Help them — If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra (额外的) pencil or pen with you to classes in case (以防) they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.
Be there for them — Try to make something for your friend to help make them feel better in hard times. Making cards and encouraging them are among the nicest things you can do for a friend. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, “I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control. But if you can't stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve (值得) to be with me at my best.” Always remember this! If you don't want to stay with your friends when they're in hard times, then you don't deserve to be with them when they're having a good time!
Make plans — Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you'll remember these things when you're all old!While your friend is talking to you about his or her feelings, you should ________.
A.give him or her some advice |
B.calm him or her down |
C.just listen unless asked |
D.share your feelings as well |
When we provide help for our friends, we should_______
A.put them before ourselves |
B.try to do everything for them |
C.Change their bad habits first |
D.ignore their faults |
What can we learn from Marilyn Monroe’s words?
A.Life without a friend is death. |
B.A friend is easier lost than found |
C.A man is known by his friends |
D.A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.How to find a good friend. |
B.How to be a good friend. |
C.How to help friends in trouble. |
D.How to make more friends. |
A group of graduates, successful in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Before offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups — porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking and cheap, some extremely expensive — telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.The fact is that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously(有意识地)went for the best cups...And then you began eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not change the quality of life we live.Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."God makes the coffee, not the cups.Enjoy your coffee!"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.They just make the best of everything."
Live simply.Love generously.Care deeply.Speak kindly.Leave the rest to God.What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.the nice-looking cup |
B.the ordinary-looking cup |
C.the coffee of good quality |
D.the coffee of poor quality |
Why did the professor offer his students coffee with varieties of cups?
A.To give his students many more choices. |
B.To teach his students how to enjoy coffee. |
C.To tell his students the right attitude to life |
D.To show the students his collection of cups. |
According to the professor, the happiest people are the ones who _____.
A.get the best type of coffee cups |
B.care about social status and wealth |
C.have a wide range of coffee cups |
D.make the best of what they have |
Life affects (影响) friendships. As we grow, marry, fight in wars, move across the country or change jobs, old friendships fall away and new ones form. As long as we live, the things around us change, and as long as things change, friendships are affected.
When we were children we had best friends. No matter what happened we were still friends. We live our lives, however, and do what life calls for us to do, and as we get older, memories fade (逐渐消失), faces blur (变得模糊不清), and even friends' names from childhood are forgotten.
Do you have a question about friendship? Do you wonder what to do with a friend who is no longer friendly? Perhaps you will see that you can't control others. If someone wants to be your friend, it is their choice. All you can do is treat them well and do the best for them when you are with them. Then you wish them well when they leave.
You can talk to old timers and they will tell you that life is full of incredible (难以置信的) joy and incredible sorrow, and that what bothers you today will one day become a memory and the sting (痛苦) will be gone. Seniors might tell you that you will learn more as you get older. They will tell you that friendships come and friendships go.Sometimes when they go it will hurt, but you will be okay with it.It's the way life works, after all.The text is most probably taken from a __________
A.science newspaper | B.novel |
C.health magazine | D.Psychology book |
What can we learn about friendship, according?
A.Friends in childhood are sometimes forgotten by us. |
B.Friends are always around us and will never go away. |
C.Friends in childhood are the best no matter what happens. |
D.Friendship can not be easily affected by one’s family. |
What does the underlines words “old timers” mean in the last paragraph?
A.Rich people | B.Old People |
C.Kind People | D.Smart People |
The text mainly tells us__________
A.How to deal with unfriendly People |
B.that childhood friendship is valuable |
C.how to face the change in friendship |
D.how to share happiness with friends |
Smiling girls have their luck. It fits Huang Ruijia well. The 15-year-old student comes from Chengdu Experimental Foreign Language School. On March 22, 2014,she won third place(junior category)at the 12th China Daily “21st Century Lenovo Cup” National High School English Speaking Competition, which was held in Beijing. During the competition, many contestants(选手)kept a serious face. But Huang was smiling all the time. Her good manners also won her the Best Style prize at the contest.
“Smiling shows confidence, which is an important quality for speakers,” said Meng Qingtao, associate research fellow at the National Institute of Education Sciences, and one of the judges(评委). “Huang’s smile brought judges closer to her, and also cured(消除)her stress.”
Huang only became a smiling girl two years ago. At the time she was busy preparing for a speaking competition. One day, when she was practicing in front of the mirror, she was shocked by what she saw.
“I saw a poker(扑克) face reciting(背诵)a cold speech,” said Huang. “Who would like to listen to a speaker like that?”
Since then Huang decided to face everything with a smile. It has worked in speaking competitions and in many other situations in her life, such as building friendships.
Once Huang and her friend had a fight and were mad at each other. After three days, Huang said she wanted to talk but didn’t know how to start. She then decided to give a smile, the friend smiled back and gave her a hug in return.
“This is the power of smiling,” said Huang. “You can make a difference in your life simply by smiling.”Huang Ruijia succeeded because she was always _______ in the competition.
A.talking | B.discussing |
C.cooperating | D.smiling |
Meng Qingtao is a ________ according to the passage.
A.student | B.judge | C.nurse | D.headmaster |
Huang Ruijia started to smile ________ when she realized her poker face in the mirror.
A.many years ago |
B.three months ago |
C.two days ago |
D.two years ago |
Huang Ruijia thinks smiling is also helpful when ______.
A.studying | B.walking |
C.making friends | D.fighting |
Which is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Huang Ruijia is 16 in the year 2015. |
B.“21st Century Lenovo Cup” English Speaking Competition was held in Beijing. |
C.Smile can bring closer between people. |
D.Smile brought back Huang Ruijia’s friend. |