HomestayprovidesEnglishlanguag-优题课

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.”
The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.

A．interest

B．distance

C．difference

D．separation

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.

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

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

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

James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.
“J. C.” , he replied.
She thought he had said “Jesse”, and he had a new name.
Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second-year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.
A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.
The stage was set for Owens’ victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic (体育的) but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African-American winners.
“It was all right with me,” he said years later. “I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway.”
Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone call from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.
Owens’ Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles, and dogs.
“Sure, it bothered (烦扰) me,” he said later. “But at least it was an honest living had to eat.”
In time, however, his gold medals (奖牌) changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years,” he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”
Owens got his other name “Jesse” when _______.
A. he went to Ohio State University
B. his teacher made fun of him
C. his teacher took “J. C.” for “Jesse”
D. he won gold medals in the Big Ten meet
In the Big Ten meet, Owens _______.

A．hurt himself in the back	B．succeeded in setting many records
C．tried every sports event but failed	D．had to give up some events

We can infer from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the U.S. at that time because _______.

A．he was not of the right race	B．he was the son of a poor farmer
C．he didn’t shake hands with Hitler	D．he didn’t talk to the US president on the phone

When Owens says “They have kept me alive over the years”, he means that the medals ________.

A．have been changed for money to help him live on

B．have made him famous in the U.S.

C．have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life

D．have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs

Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Jesse Owens, a Great American Athlete

B．Golden Moment—a Life-time Struggle

C．Making a Living as a Sportsman

D．How to Be a Successful Athlete

Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels, Belgium. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. While vacationing with her mother in Holland, Hitler’s army suddenly took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. After the liberation, Audrey went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her position in life—until the film producers came calling. After being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed up for a bit part in the European film Nederlands in 7 Lessons in 1984. Later, she headed to America to try her luck there.
Audrey gained immediate prominence (成功) in the U.S. with her role in Roman Holiday in 1953. This film turned out to be a big success as she won an Oscar as Best Actress. This gained her enormous popularity and many more roles. Roman Holiday was followed by another similarly wonderful performance in the 1957 classic Funny Face (1957). In 1959, she received yet another nomination（提名） for her role in Nun’s Story. Audrey reached the top of her career when she played Holly Golightly in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961. For this she received another nomination. One of Audrey’s most radiant（辉煌的） roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady in 1964. Her co-star Rex Harrison once was asked to choose his favorite leading lady. Without hesitation, he replied, “Audrey Hepburn in My Fair lady”.
By the end of the sixties, after her divorce from actor Mel Ferrer, Audrey decided to retire while she was on top. Later she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador（大使） to the United Nations UNECEF fund helping children in Latin, American and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 in Switzerland. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies.
Where did Audrey Hepburn become famous?

A．England.

B．America.

C．Switzerland.

D．Belgium.

We can infer that Audrey Hepburn was ______.

A．a learned woman	B．satisfied with her marriage
C．a woman with sympathy	D．very popular as a model

Choose the right order about the life of Audrey Hepburn.
a. Audrey began a modeling career.
b. Audrey went to London with her mother.
c. Audrey became popular in the film Roman Holiday.
d. Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund
e. Hitler’s army suddenly took over the town.
f. Audrey married Dr. Audrey Dotti.

A．a, b, c, d, e, f	B．b, e, a, c, f, d
C．c, a, b, f, e, d,	D．b, e, f, c, a, d

The underlined word “spotted” in the first paragraph can be replaced by ______.

A．seen

B．shot

C．recognized

D．dropped

My name is Liana Wexler. I’m 12 years old, and I am the founder of “Kids for Kerry”. “Kids for Kerry” is a grassroots organization of kids that support John Kerry, want to help their futures, and get active in politics.
When my parents went to see Teresa Heinz Kerry speak, they told me that she was amazing! And they thought John Kerry would make a great President. I decided to find out more about John Kerry. I talk about what I learned by using my ABCs. “A” is America. John Kerry is a hero to America, and he will help our futures. He is a great and positive role model. “B” is Better education. John Kerry wants to make class sizes smaller, so that children get the best part out of learning. He wants to help teachers because being a teacher is educating children, and letting them out into the world to do the good things. “C” is Compassion（怜悯;同情） towards children. John Kerry wants to make sure that health care is not a privilege, but it is something that we can all afford. This summer, I was supposed to go to my favorite camp But instead, I decided to go to John Kerry’s office every day. Kids can really help!
On KidsforKerry.org, we have an interactive presidential quiz. There are 270 questions for the electoral votes John Kerry will win. Plus, 25 questions to make up for Florida from the last election. Out next goal is to have a petition (请求) for “National No Name—Calling Day”, a day that the candidates don’t say anything negative about one another. When our Vice President had a disagreement with a Democratic Senator, he used a REALLY BAD word. If I said that—if I said that word, I would be put in a “time-out (暂停休息)”. I think he should be put in a time-out.
What would be the best title for this passage?

A．John Kerry	B．A letter to John Kerry
C．Kids for Kerry	D．John Kerry: Our to-be President

According to the passage we know that____.

A．only children in America want John Kerry to be their next President

B．John Kerry cares much for education but takes little compassion on teachers

C．Liana wishes John Kerry to be the President of America

D．Liana thinks John Kerry should be put in a time-out

Liana Wexler considers John Kerry to be____.

A．a good	B．a hero to America
C．a confident man	D．a persuasive speaker

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．“Kids for Kerry” is a grassroots organization of kids that support whoever wins the presidential election.

B．Liana Wexler is the founder of “Kids for Kerry”

C．“Kids for Kerry” has an interactive presidential quiz on-line.

D．Education and health care are two things-with which American citizens concern themselves most.

David Beckham was born in 1975,in London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was football, he played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Chariton Soccer Skills award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led him to go for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy he played for the schools of Essex and also for his county team.
In 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. In April, 1995, he played his first football leagues game against Leeds United. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won it both football seasons, with David scoring many goals.
His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996-1997 season, he scored an surprising goal from beyond the halfway line; seeing the goalkeeper the goal, it was a wonderful goal and Beckham sent the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and into the goal. It was a wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157 kph. He also had the ability to make the ball go from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose,. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal.
Which word can take the place of the underlined word “passion” in paragraph1?

A．Skill

B．Prize.

C．Success.

D．Interest.

Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to Beckham/
a. Beckham played his first football league game.
b. Beckham won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award
c. Beckham played for Manchester United Youth Cup team
d. Beckham went to Spain to join a football training camp
e. Beckham played for the schools of Essex.

A．e, b, a, d, c	B．e, d, a, c, b
C．b, d, e, c, a	D．b, e, d, a, c

The passage is mainly talking about____.

A．when Beckham became famous all over Britain

B．how Beckham became a successful football player

C．why Beckham could win in football league games

D．what abilities Beckham had to score so many goals

A．Dessert and coffee.	B．Fruit and vegetables.
C．Bread and fruit juice.	D．Cereal and cold meat.