One school night this month I walked quietly up to Alexander, my 15-year-old son, and touched his cheek gently in a manner I hoped would seem casual.A year ago he would have ignored this disturbance but now he reacted impatiently and leaned back to his computer screen.
I made a mistake: breaking into my teenager's personal space. “The average teenager has pretty strong feelings about his privacy," Lara Fox and her friend Hilary Frankel told me. Mr.Frankel and Mr.Fox, both 17, are the authors of Breaking the Code, a new book that seeks to bridge the generational divide between parents and adolescents.It is being promoted by its publisher as the first self-help guide by teenagers for their parents, a kind of "Kids Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus" that explains the language and actions of teenagers.The girls dealt with issues including hanging out late, money, school pressures, smoking etc.
Personally, I welcome their opinions.The most common missteps in interacting with teenagers arise from the war between parents exercising their rights to know what goes on under their roof and teenagers firmly guarding their privacy.Teenagers can be quick to interpret their parents' remarks and respond with anger that masks their vulnerability (脆弱 ). Ms Fox said, "What we want above all is your approval.Don't forget, no matter how much we act as if we don't care what you say, we believe the things you say about us."
Nancy, a New York child-raising expert said she didn't agree with everything the authors suggested but found their arguments reasonable."When your kids are saying, ' You don't get it, and you never will, ' there are lots of ways to respond so that they will listen and that is what the writers point out."
" My parents helped me see that, " Mr.Fox told me, " even though they used to stay out late and ride their bicycles to school, times have changed and the way parents educate children is different.These days there is a major fear factor in bringing up kids.Parents worry about their child crossing the street." The writers said they hoped simply to throw light on teenage thinking.
1.According to the two girls, teenagers nowadays are ____.
A.independent B.intelligent
C. inconsiderate D.sensitive
2.The underlined sentence "You don't get it, and you never will" in the 4th paragraph implies that ____.
A.the teenagers don't want/to admit their weakness
B.the teenagers think that their parents will never understand them
C.the parents do not necessarily force into the world of their children
D.the generation gap cannot be shortened despite their parents' efforts
3.It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that ____.
A.teenagers should guard their privacy
B.Nancy totally agrees with the two girls' opinions
C.parents are more concerned about children's safety
D.the two girls have obtained numerous support from the public
4.Why does the author mention the book "Kids Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus ?
A.It is one of the best-sellers
B.It is also written by the two girls
C.The two books have the similar theme
D.The two books have different opinions
My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates. We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other's handwriting at a glance. Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts.From second grade on, a small group started harassing (骚扰) two or three of the others.I was one of those two or three, though I didn't know why.In most cases when children get picked on, they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race.But in my class, we all read too much and didn't know how to play sports.We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other's race.This is what was so strange about my situation.Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group.But in my class, large differences did not exist.It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them.
The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around.If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent.Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense.
There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I.She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes.One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn't want to miss.We walked to a comer of the playground.Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl's diary.
I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others.Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt.If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can't honestly be sure.
1.The author was made an outcast because ____.
A.she couldn't play sports as well as others
B.her classmates needed to find an outcast her
C.her classmates found her clothes funny
D.family belonged to a minority group
2.How was the author treated as an outcast?
A.She was refused to approach others.
B.No one responded to her talking.
C.She was often the target of teasing.
D.Her diary was often made public.
3.What did the author do to the girl mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A.She showed great sympathy with the girl.
B.She found more materials about the girl for jokes.
C.She stopped the others from hurting the girl.
D.She joined others in making fun of the girl.
4.What does the passage intend to tell us?
A.Everyone is likely to become an outcast.
B.We shouldn't hit a person when he is down.
C.Everyone has a desire to be accepted by others.
D.One should pay somebody back in his own way.
☆Locks
You have a special card which operates the electronic lock on your room door and a key for the main door of the door of the hotel. These are your responsibility and should never be lent to anyone, including your fellow classmates. If you lose them you will be charged £20 per replacement. Do not leave your room unlocked even for short periods. Unfortunately, theft from student hotels is very common and insurance companies will not pay for stolen goods unless you can prove that your room was broken into by force.
☆Visitors
There are rarely any rooms available for visitors, except at the end of the summer term. Stan Jenkins, the hotel manager, will be able to tell you and can handle the booking. A small charge is made. Stan also keeps a list of local guesthouses, with some information about what they’re like, price, etc. You are also allowed to use empty beds for up to three nights, with the owner’s permission (for example, if the person who shares your room is away for the weekend ), but you must inform Stan before your guest arrives, so that he has an exact record of who’s in the building of a fire breaks out. Students are not allowed to charge each other for this.
☆Kitchens
There is a kitchen on each floor where light meals, drinks, etc. maybe prepared. Each has a large fridge and a food cupboard. All food should be stored, clearly marked with the owner’s name, in one of these two places. Bedrooms are too warm for food to be stored, and the cleaners have instructions to remove any food found in them. After using the kitchen, please be sure you do all your washing up immediately and leave it tidy. If you use it late in the evening, please also take care that you do so quietly in order to avoid disturbing people in nearby bedrooms.
1.If a friend visits you for the weekend, he or she can .
A.stay at a local guesthouse
B.book an empty house for free
C.use an empty bed without permission
D.share your room by paying your roommate
2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Your insurance will cover what you have lost.
B.The cleaners will take away food left in the bedrooms.
C.Spare rooms are least likely to be available in summer.
D.Students will be fined for lending their cards to others.
3.The passage is probably taken from ____.
A.a travel guide book B.a hotel brochure
C.a school poster D.a club newsletter
完型填空(共20小题,每题1分,满分20分)
Good Work Ethics (规范)
When I was younger, about 14, I was already ready to work.My father was a dairy man and he had been working his entire life.For him, getting up at 5 a.m.and working a couple of hours before I went to school, and then 36 more after school until there was not enough37 to see, were normal.
My father considered putting good work ethics in me to be very 38 .He began to show me these, not through 39 , but through his actions.He would not 40 a job until it was done.He 41 put his all into everything he did. 42 , he showed me this not just in working, but in everything.Like when I was in soccer, I wanted to 43 a game once.and he explained to me-that I had made a 44 and that even if I just skipped one game, then I did not 45 to play the rest of the games.
So the day I started my first job at the age of 14, I was 46 to show my father that I could do it well, and that I was not going to 47 . My entire 48 was to make my father proud of me. I knew that ___49 I did, he would not say it in words, but he would show it.My first job was doing 50 for a company.As most of you know, construction is not an easy job, especially being so 51 _. When someone as young as I was started working, they would either __52 or get stronger.I got stronger.I worked the 53 I had been taught and I gave that day everything I had.In the end, my boss was impressed.He even called to tell my parents what a good worker I was, and my parents' eyes __54 .From that day on I have worked every job to my full 55 , because that day defined (explain the truth of)my life.It defined how I was going to work, and I will always stick to it.
1.A.going B.learning C.working D.playing
2.A.light B.time C.chance D.strength
3.A.ridiculous B.easy C.hopeless D.important
4.A.words B.truth C.facts D.practice
5.A.finish B.find C.do D.quit
6.A.might B.could C.would D.should
7.A.Finally B.However C.Therefore D.Thus
8.A.enjoy B.skip C.defeat D.dip
9.A.commitment B.improvement C.devotion D.conclusion
10.A.decide B.stop C.resist D.deserve
11.A.interested B.shocked C.surprised D.prepared
12.A.stick B.fail C.leave D.play
13.A.problem B.world C.trick D.goal
14.A.in case B.now that C.even if D.as though
15.A.construction B.negotiation C.communication D.reception
16.A.weak B.young C.old D.poor
17.A.break B.struggle C.pause D.work
18.A.manner B.moment C.method D.way
19.A.stared B.lifted C.shone D.closed
20.A.ambition B.skill C.spirit D.potential
Canada is a large country _____ many people from all over the world live.
A.which B. in which C. that D. in that
I called the airline to ______ my flight reservation a week before I left for Canada.
A. expand B. book C. confirm D. strengthen