A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house, the same house I grew up in, I had a sudden, scary realization. When my parents bought the house, in 1982, they were only two years older than I am now. I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I’d still be living in almost 30 years later.
It seemed ridiculous. On a practical level, there’s no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon. More importantly, I wouldn’t want to. I’m not sure where I’ll be living in two years, or what kind of job I’ll have. And I don’t think I’ll be ready to settle down and stay in one place.
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents. When our parents were our age, they’d gotten their education, chosen a career, and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives.
My friends and I – “Generation Y” – still aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives. Whatever we end up doing, we want to make sure we’re happy doing it. We’d rather take risks first, try out different jobs, and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place. We’d rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account.
This casual attitude towards responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”, “impatient”, and “overprotected”. Some of these complaints have a point. As children we were encouraged to succeed in school, but also to have fun. We grew up in a world full of technological innovation: cellphones, the Internet, instant messaging, and video games.
Our parents looked to rise vertically（垂直的）– starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company. That doesn’t apply to my generation.
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, struggle for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.
1.What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?
A. Their ways of gaining experience.
B. Their attitude towards responsibility.
C. Their attitude toward high technology.
D. Their ways of making their way to the top.
2.Which of the following might the author agree with?
A. It involves too much effort to rise vertically.
B. It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier.
C. It’s all right to try more before settling down.
D. It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”.
3. What can we conclude from the article?
A. The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age.
B. “Generation Y” people don’t want to grow up and rush into adulthood.
C. Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships.
D. The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better.
4.What is the main theme of the article?
A. Criticisms of the young generation.
B. The sudden realization of growing up.
C. A comparison between lifestyles of generations.
D. The factors that have changed the young generation.
C
Father’s Day Sunset Live Music Dinner Cruise
Sunday, June 16th, 2013
6:30pm-8:30pm
Join us aboard the 95’ Dana Pride for our special Father’s Day Dinner Cruise. Enjoy a unique evening of fun on the water, complete with live music by Mike O’ Brien and a delicious barbecue dinner.
Adult – $59 Kids (3-12) – $29 Two and under are Free
LOCATION: Dana Point Harbor
BOOK ONLINE OR CALL: 949-496-5794
Rancho Days Fiesta
July 13, 2013
Celebration the history of Saddleback Valley, there will be children’s activities including free crafts projects. Help make and taste homemade ice cream and butter, warm bread from the oven. Dip water and grind（磨碎）corn while learning about the early days of Orange County.
Admission is $3 for children 3 to 12 years old and $4 for adults.
LOCATION: Heritage Hill Historical Park
INFORMATION: 949-923-2230
Annual Silverado Counter Fair and Art Festival
October 5-6, 2013
The 42th Annual Silverado Country Fair explores the wonders of the area’s Old West rustic（乡村的）culture, great live music, tasty food, handmade arts, crafts and family games under the oak-trees below Orange Country’s famous Saddleback Mountain.
Daytime adult admission: $4 / Kids under 12: only $2
Saturday Night Music Fest（联欢）: $5 for everyone
LOCATION: Silverado Community Center
INFORMATION: 714-997-3968
Starr Ranch Sanctuary
October 20-21, 2013
Audubon California’s Starr Ranch Sanctuary invites you to our fall classes for adults. Join our wildlife biologist for two peaceful days at beautiful 4,000-acre Starr Ranch in southeast Orange County and experience nature hands-on as a wildlife researcher.
Cost: $95 for those not camping (including dinner) / $100 for those camping (dinner and breakfast provided)
LOCATION: Starr Ranch Sanctuary
RESERVATIONS OR INFORMATION: 949-858-0309
1.Which event is suitable for one who wants to enjoy dinner in a boat with live music?
A. Rancho Days Fiesta.
B. Starr Ranch Sanctuary.
C. Father’s day Sunset Live Music Dinner Cruise.
D. Annual Silverado Counter Fair and Art Festival.
2.At Rancho Days Fiesta, you can _______.
A. taste food made in the local factories
B. join in activities for the whole family
C. pay a great deal of money to join in camping
D. experience the early life of the Orange County
3.How much will a couple have to pay if they go to Saturday Night Music Fest with their 10-year-old son?
A. $12. B. $15. C. $10. D. $5.
4.Mr Smith wants to take his wife and daughter to have some family games in early October. He will call _______ for information.
A. 714-997-3968 B. 949-923-2230
C. 949-496-5794 D. 949-858-0309
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette（礼仪）is sort of strange,” Gray told the BBC. “They are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, liftusers unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally（对角线地）across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed（理解）as threatening or strange. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.
1.The main purpose of the article is to _______.
A. share an interesting but awkward elevator ride
B. tell us some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette
C. analyze what makes people feel awkward in an elevator
B. remind us not to behave strangely when in an elevator
2.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _______.
A. turn around and greet one another
B. look around or examine their phone
C. try to keep a distance from other people
D. make eye contact with those in the elevator
3. Which of the following describes how people usually stand when they are in the elevator?
4. The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. judge B. ignore C. put up with D. make the best of
Hercule Poirot looked over the small gate which gave admission to Pine Crest. It was a modern nicely-built house. It was on a hill top, and the hill top was planted with a few sparse pines. It had a small neat garden and a large elderly man was watering with a big tin.
Spence’s hair was now grey all over. He had not shrunk much in girth（围长）, though. He stopped watering and looked at the visitor at the gate. Hercule Poirot stood there without moving.
“God bless my soul,” said Spence. “It must be. It can’t be but it is. Yes, it must be Hercule Poirot!”
“Aha,” said Poirot, “you remember me. I’m grateful.”
Spence abandoned the watering can and came down to the gate.
“What brings you down here?”
“What has brought me to many places in my time,” said Poirot, “and what once a good many years ago brought you to see me. Murder, Spence.”
“I’m done with murder since I retired,” said Spence, “except in the case of weeds. Killing weeds is never easy as you think, something’s always wrong. How did you know where to find me?” he asked as he opened the gate and Poirot passed through.
“You sent me a Christmas card. It had your new address on it.”
“Ah yes, so I did. I’m old-fashioned, you know, I like to send round cards at Christmas time to a few old friends. I’m an old man now.”
“We both are.”
“Not much grey in your hair,” said Spence.
“I take care of my hair with a bottle,” said Poirot. “There is no need to appear in public with grey hair unless you wish to do so. By the way, why have you come to live in Woodleigh Common?”
“As a matter of fact, I came here to join forces with a sister of mine. She lost her husband, her children are married and living abroad. So I moved in here. Pensions（退休金）don’t go far nowadays, but we do comfortably living together.”
1.From their dialogue, we can learn about _______.
A. their common friends B. Spence’s sister’s characters
C. their relationship D. Poirot’s recent life
2.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Spence used to deal with murder.
B. Poirot didn’t care about his appearance.
C. Spence moved to join his sister for lack of money.
D. Poirot came specially to reunite with his old friend.
3.From the passage we can infer that they might _______ next.
A. meet Spence’s family B. discuss about a murder
C. visit Spence’s new home D. water the garden together
A Lesson in Caring
It was a cold evening. My daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora . She wasn’t even four, but she at my coat and said, “That man’s cold. Daddy, can we take him home?”
I don’t remember my . But I do remember a sudden feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her , whether it was birds flying or children playing. But now she was noticing and beggary.
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and it to an elderly person. I signed us up. Nora was about it. She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how our job was. When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to myself to leave the house to fetch the food package. On my way to the school, I fought a(n) to turn back. The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home. Why do this? , we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed. She us right over.
The building was in a bad state. A silver-haired woman in an old dress received us. Nora ran inside. I followed. However, when we talked, I was moved by her struggle against the hard life and realized what our little help meant to her. When the time came to say goodbye, we three hugged. I walked home , touched.
Professionals call such a “a volunteer opportunity”. They are opportunities and I’ve come to see. else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and clothes for the homeless. Yet, as I’ve her grow over these past four years, I still wonder – which of us has benefited more?
1.A. did B. was C. has D. had
2. A. pulled B. stared C. pointed D. aimed
3.A. debate B. reply C. explanation D. expression
4.A. light B. funny C. heavy D. magical
5.A. image B. dream C. memory D. world
6.A. coldness B. kindness C. suffering D. sharing
7.A. sent B. applied C. devoted D. posted
8.A. concerned B. curious C. satisfied D. excited
9.A. attractive B. valuable C. creative D. lucky
10.A. encourage B. expect C. allow D. push
11.A. urge B. effort C. hurry D. must
12.A. Therefore B. But C. Anyhow D. Instead
13.A. requested B. promised C. invited D. thanked
14.A. happily B. cautiously C. eagerly D. unwillingly
15.A. in tears B. in disappointment C. with tiredness D. with anxiety
16.A. stay B. visit C. reception D. challenge
17.A. How B. Where C. When D. What
18.A. reliable B. fair C. difficult D. enjoyable
19.A. collect B. order C. make D. design
20.A. had B. felt C. watched D. noticed
—What do you say to a weekend in New York?
—_______.
A. Sounds like fun B. I think so C. I really envy you D. No comment
