It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don’t understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways, that they are too serious and too strict with their children, and that they seldom give their children a free hand.
It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking. It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset by something unexpected. When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.
Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble: it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture of their own, and if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say, “Yes” to what you do. All you want is to be felt alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control. If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.____are to blame for the quarrels between parents and their children according to this passage.
| A．Parents |
| B．Young people |
| C．Both parents and their children |
| D．Neither parents nor their children |
According to the passage, young people prefer to _______.
| A．do things without thinking carefully ahead. |
| B．ask for advice before they really start to do anything. |
| C．think in the same way as their parents do. |
| D．be very strict with themselves |
According to the passage, young people want to make a new culture of their own because____.
| A．they don’t feel they belong to the world of the older people. |
| B．they do not want to get into trouble. |
| C．they feel they are as clever as old people. |
| D．they want to show they have grown up. |
The underlined word “this” in the third paragraph stands for _______.
| A．the young people’s choice |
| B．their being accepted by their parents |
| C．developing a new culture of their own |
| D．their parents’ dislike of their choice |
If a young man intends to control his own life, it’s better for him to _______.
| A．do everything according to his own wish. |
| B．be responsible for what he does |
| C．do everything beyond his parents’ control |
| D．do everything the way his parents do. |
A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished, gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said,“You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic.” So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide.” “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his words. “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t request you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say’?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘really’. It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.”
Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions. Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because_________.
| A．English idioms were not important |
| B．I had no interest in English learning |
| C．my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance of them |
| D．I cared little about the teacher’s instruction |
At first, on hearing “You don’t say”, I thought the foreigner meant_________.
| A．I had talked too much |
| B．he was only interested in the Great Wall |
| C．he was not interested in the topic |
| D．I had to stop talking |
The underlined word “amusing” in paragraph 1 means_________.
| A．funny | B．important | C．lucky | D．terrible |
After the Englishman explained the idiom, _________.
| A．I thought the Englishman had made me a fool |
| B．the Englishman became a real fool |
| C．I felt very silly |
| D．I became more careful in everything |
Which of the following is true according to the passage？
| A．The Englishman left china without seeing the Great Wall. |
| B．The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it. |
| C．The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide. |
| D．The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting. |
It doesn’t matter if you have one friend or 20, because there are only a few people in this world that can make you truly happy. For me, my family and my three best girlfriends mean everything to me.
Some days I didn’t want to go to school because I felt so disappointed in myself but I don’t regret a thing. It makes you stronger as a person, and if you are able to mend your friendships as I have done, then you can do anything.
My mother always told me, “Stephanie, remember that a friend is a gift that you give yourself. A friend will make you laugh and be there for the good or bad. A true friend will never make fun of you. If a friend is a piece of work, then he or she has never been a friend at all. A friend is the biggest gift to yourself.”
Everyone is going to make mistakes but please don’t push them away, especially if it’s someone you really care about. I know when I make a mistake I beat myself up about it. I just wish someone would reach out a hand to help me back on my feet as my best friends did. If someone is new or doesn’t have a friend, please reach out and behind him/her because that small action could mean the world to him/her. Now that I’m older, I understand what my mom has been trying to tell me, and now I know that the friends that I choose will also be the kinds of friends that I would want to be surrounded by forever.According to the passage, a true friend should be a person that _________.
| A．often gives you gifts |
| B．makes you happy |
| C．does both good or bad things to you |
| D．seldom makes fun of you |
It can be inferred from the passage that the writer _________.
| A．understands what a friend means to her |
| B．doesn’t think that friends will make her truly happy |
| C．doesn’t have many friends |
| D．has nothing except her family and three friends |
If you hope to have a friend, you should do the following EXCEPT_________.
| A．giving advice and offering help if he or she makes mistakes |
| B．regarding him or her as a piece of work |
| C．considering him or her a valuable gift |
| D．trying to treat a newcomer as a friend |
The last sentence probably means_________.
| A．people around me are all my friends |
| B．I only choose the people around me to be my friends |
| C．the friends I choose will surround me every day |
| D．my true friends would always be by my side for my joys and sorrows |
In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.
Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.
The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.
Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.
But, it was this very bad act that sold well.
Marc Juries, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”
Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.
So, what does Hung think of this?
“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”
Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly. |
| B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye. |
| C．How an unsuccessful person became famous. |
| D．Success sometimes does not require hard work. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?
| A．William Hung. | B．Hung’s bad act. | C．Hung’s website. | D．The public’s opinion. |
Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?
a. The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.
b. The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.
c. Hung became popular among Americans.
d. Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.
e. Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.
| A．d, b, e, c, a | B．a, c, d, b, e | C．a, d, b, c, e | D．d, b, a, e, c |
How the iron of tomorrow
(the first Self Clean Iron)
can change your lifestyle today?
General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.
How? With a push of a magic blue button.
The magic blue button
The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.
Less chance of brown spots
Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.
Steams much longer
Common sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.
What does it mean to you
Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids.
You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better house maker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.
Lifestyle.
We’re with yours.
GENERAL ELECTRICThis passage is ______.
| A．an introduction to General Electric |
| B．an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron |
| C．an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron |
| D．a description of the change of lifestyle |
This iron can clean itself by ______.
| A．empting itself | B．washing out mineral deposits |
| C．locking up mineral deposits | D．giving off more steam |
According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?
| A．It is made by General Electric. |
| B．The iron will not produce mineral deposits. |
| C．There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes. |
| D．Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time. |
Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because ______.
| A．you can run your house better | B．you don’t have to run after the kids |
| C．you can use it while you are working | D．we want you to be a better house maker |
“Time is a problem for children,” states a news report for a new Swiss watch. Children in some countries “learn time slowly” because “they don’t wear watches” and “parents don’t really know how to teach them time.” The children grow up with this handicap and become adults-and then can’t get to work on time. Is there an answer to this problem? Of course-it’s the Flick Flak, made by a famous Swiss watch company.
The Flick Flak is being marketed as something teaching watch for children aged 4 to 10. The watch itself does not teach children how to tell time, of course; it merely “takes their imagination” by presenting the “hour” hand as a beautiful red girl named Flak and the “minute” hand as a tall blue boy named Flick. Flick points to related “blue” minutes on the dial, while Flak points to “red” hour numbers. The characters and colors combined with parental help, are supposed to teach young children how to tell time.
The watch comes equipped with a standard battery and a nylon band (尼龙表带). Peter Lipkin, the United States sales manager for the Flick Flak, calls it “childproof: if it gets dirty you can throw the whole watch in the washing machine.” The product is being sold in select department stores in Europe, Asia and the United States for a suggested price of $25. Parents who buy the watch may discover that it is one thing to tell time; it’s quite another for them to be on time.From the news report we know that ______.
| A．parents are patient when teaching children time |
| B．parents have little idea of how to teach children time |
| C．children are likely to learn time quickly |
| D．children enjoy wearing the Flick Flak watch |
The author doesn’t seem to believe ______.
| A．children will be on time if they have not learnt how to tell time |
| B．a Flick Flak can help parents teach their children how to tell time |
| C．the Flick Flak can take children’s imagination |
| D．children usually have trouble telling time if they don’t wear watches |
The underlined word handicap (Para. 1) means ______.
| A．displeasure | B．discouragement | C．disappointment | D．disadvantage |
The United State sales manager calls the new watch “childproof” because ______.
| A．it is designed to teach children to be on time |
| B．it proves to be effective in teaching children time |
| C．it is made so as not to be easily damaged by children |
| D．it is the children’s favorite watch |