Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.
If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let the other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart. When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn’t solve anything.
Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can’t just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say “Hi”, and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.
If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary, it would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance of information; means of communication: a letter or a message”. To maintain a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it’s just by writing a note.
When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you’ll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.
This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn’t feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, not when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren’t as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie’s parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.
Communication isn’t a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie’s, telling the other person how you feel — listening is the key factor to communication.In the writer’s view, dealing with parents is _______ than with children.
A.more difficult | B.easier |
C.more uninteresting | D.more interesting |
The main idea of the second paragraph is _______.
A.the importance of friendship |
B.to make your feeling known to others |
C.the importance of communication |
D.the disagreement between generations |
The example in this passage proves that _______.
A.Sophie’s parents are willing to listen to her |
B.Sophie is very polite to her parents |
C.Sophie did well in explaining her being late |
D.communication is the solution to misunderstanding |
All the following statements are correct except _______.
A.If you don’t agree with others, you’d better let them know |
B.It is better to say “Hi” to others than say nothing |
C.If you are not able to communicate, walk away |
D.Communication is a two-way deal |
Have you got any wonderful plans for your coming winter vacation? Here are some wonderful films for you to kill time.
Away We Go![]() It’s about taking the scenic route in life, preparing for the hope and excitement and fear of new beginnings, while never forgetting to look out of the window. |
Orphan![]() You want a good horror film about a child from hell? Then you got one! Do not, in any cases, take children to see it. |
500 Days of Summer![]() Here is a rare movie that begins by telling us how it will end and is about how the hero has no idea why. |
2012![]() It’s just an entertaining Hollywood blockbuster(大片) with plenty of jokes, instead of a description of what the end of the world is really like. Don’t take it too seriously! |
This passage aims to __________.
A.make comments on films for a cinema | B.introduce films for a film corporation |
C.recommend several films for fun | D.advertise several films for a website |
If you bring your seven-year-old sister to the cinema, which of the following film should you avoid?
A.Away We Go. | B.Orphan. | C.2012. | D.500 Days of Summer. |
Among all the characters mentioned in the passage, who directed films in Hollywood?
A.Roland Emmerich. | B.Tom and Summer. | C.Burt and Verona. | D.Esther. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Orphan is a comedy about Esther adopted by a kind family. |
B.500 Days of Summer is a romance with a happy ending. |
C.Away We Go shows beautiful scenery on the young couple’s journey. |
D.The ancient Mayan prediction is going to happen in 2012. |
Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good ,most would admit that their spoken English is poor .Whenever I speak to a Chinese student they always say, “My spoken English is poor.” However ,their spoken English does not have to remain “poor” ! I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.
First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary .
Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary. However ,you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if your attitude is positive .Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know.
Second ,they are afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous .Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly .However ,in speaking your aim is fluency. You want to get your message across ,to talk to someone in English ,as quickly and as well as you can ,even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense ,but it doesn’t matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances(留出余地,体谅)for any mistakes he hears.
The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening .You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking.
Fourth ,most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners .Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor .If you have this proactive outlook ,then you will see English opportunities wherever you go.
If you do not use your English beyond the classroom you will forget what English you know .Remember: USE IT OR LOSE IT! You can learn how to speak English better by speaking English more.What is most probably the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To improve your reading. | B.To improve your spoken English. |
C.To improve your listening. | D.To improve your vocabulary. |
It can be inferred from the third paragraph that .
A.don’t be afraid of making mistakes .Just speak! |
B.don’t be nervous ,don’t be shy .Just write! |
C.don’t be fluency .Just be accuracy |
D.don’t be shy ,don’t be fluency. Just listen and write! |
The text is most probably taken from a .
A.teacher’s diary | B.report on study |
C.sports newspaper | D.movie magazine |
Most schools forbid chewing gum, but in a few years they might consider changing that rule. Why? Scientists are finding evidence that gum chewing may be good for your health. It may even help improve your test scores.
This exciting research is just beginning. And in the meantime, companies are also experimenting with adding vitamins, minerals, medicines, and other substances that could give g
um the power to cure headaches and fight everything from serious diseases to bad breath.
Other researchers are finding that gum might work better than a pill to deliver medicines and other substances into the bloodstream. That’s because the lining (膜) of our cheeks can absorb certain substances more quickly than our stomachs and intestines (肠) can.
That discovery could help other researchers develop medicine-containing gums that fight colds, ease headaches, battle nervousness, and more. Scientists might even create antimicrobial (抗菌的) gums that cure bad breath.
Those projects may take years, but gum scientists have already had at least one recent success: They’ve created a gum that could help us stay awake.
Researchers have produced a gum called Stay Alert. Each stick has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. It can take an hour for the caffeine in coffee to have its full effect, but the caffeine in Stay Alert hits in just a few minutes.
The gum is easy to transport and it’s stable in cold and hot climates. Unlike a pill, it doesn’t require water to swallow. Those qualities make it easy for soldiers to use.
For now, Stay Alert is available only to the military (军队). The manufacturer may one day offer it for sale to the public. People who work at night, such as truck drivers and medical personnel who ride in ambulances, might benefit from a product like Stay Alert.The passage mainly talks about _____.
A.the rule of forbidding chewing gum in school |
B.new research on chewing gum |
C.different kinds of chewing gum |
D.the relationship between chewing gum and medicine |
What does the underlined word “hits” i
n Paragraph 6 probably mean?
A.Touches. | B.Attacks. | C.Takes effect. | D.Affects badly. |
According to the passage, Stay Alert is a gum which can help people _____.
A.stay awake | B.fight colds |
C.cure headaches | D.overcome nervousness |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
A.stay Alert is not easy to store |
B.stay Alert needs water to swallow |
C.stay Alert is available to the public now |
D.we can’t buy gums tha![]() |
The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed.” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study’s authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is very positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your stupid friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable.”
Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
A.It has produced positive results. |
B.It is a highly profitable industry. |
C.It is based on the concept of positive thinking. |
D.It was established by Norman Vincent Peale. |
What does the word “underline” mean (Line 4, Para. 3)?
A.point out | B.lay emphasis on | C.pay no attention to | D.take for granted |
Which of the following is TRUE about the Canadian researchers’ study?
A.Encouraging positive thinking many do more good than harm. |
B.Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood. |
C.There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems. |
D.Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem. |
What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy. |
B.People can avoid making mistakes through meditation. |
C.Different people tend to have different ways of thinking. |
D.The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person. |
With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are getting pushed aside as households decrease in size and increase in number.
Small numbers of people per household on average use more energy and goods per person. Greater numbers of households require more natural resources for construction. The possible result of this problem may be insufficient natural resources to meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity.
Personal freedom and social choice may come at huge environmental cost. Direct costs include visible damage to animal habitats and plant life. Indirect costs include the release of more greenhouse gases.
The effects of such “personal freedom and social choice” have already surfaced in south-west China’s Wolong Nature Reserve. In Wolong, they found that a reduced average household size was directly tied to an increase in homes, and thus an increase in the amount of firewood consumed for cooking and heating. The rise in wood fuel use has contributed to disappearance of forests and to the loss of habitats for giant pandas.
Curious about whether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they got the support of a team of researchers including Stanford’s Paul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the household dynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000. Their study proved that the difficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend.
In the 76 countries considered biodiversity “hotspots”, such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number of households grew by 3.1% every year, while the population increased just 1.8%. Meanwhile, the number of people per home dropped from 4.7 to 4.0. The decline in household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspot countries, almost always limiting biodiversity.
In the 10 non-hotspot countries — those without high-density areas of animal and plant species — similar results were found, though on a lesser scale. Even in countries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number of households still increased because of a reduction in household size.What does the underlined word “insufficient” mean?
A.Plenty of. | B.Not enough. | C.Abundant. | D.Little. |
It can be learned from the passage that China’s Wolong Nature Reserve__________.
A.is facing the same threat as many other parts of the world |
B.sets a good example in protecting animals |
C.is a place where giant pandas and their habitats are not affected |
D.is a place where animals and their habitats are seriously damaged |
Which of the following is best supported by the last two paragraphs?
A.Biodiversity is better kept in countries with smaller populations. |
B.Biodiversity is bet![]() |
C.![]() |
D.Both hotspot countries and non-hotspot countries face the threat of the same scale. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Reduced household size leads to an increase in household number. |
B.Modern homes consume more natural resources. |
C.How to meet consumer demand without endangering animals and their habitats. |
D.Reduction in household size as well as increase in household number threatens nature. |