Parents are creating an “I want it now” generation by indulging children's every demand at Christmas，say experts.Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish，claim the education analysts.
Consumersavvy children are forcing their families into racking up huge debts and risk becoming spoilt and dissatisfied in the future.
Behavioural consultant Chris Calland said，“Parents are desperate to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale for their kids.There's nothing wrong with that as such.The problem arises when it means always giving in to all our children's demands—even if they are beyond our price range or not ageappropriate.”
Ms.Calland，who runs “Santa Says No” style sessions with colleague Nicky Hutchinson，added, “Many of us go into so much debt providing the gifts our children want that we spend the rest of the year paying off the bills.Yet so often the parcels we've carefully wrapped，once opened，are just pushed away because the very thing our little boy or girl was once so desperate for, they have now lost interest in.”
Ms. Calland and Ms.Hutchinson have drawn up a list of guidelines to help parents manage their offspring's Christmas lists this year.They say that adults can actually improve their relationships with their children by resisting “pester (纠缠) power”．
Ms.Calland said，“All too often we say yes because we want an easier life when the fact is that we're only building up problems for the future.We are helping create a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others and the necessity of hard work.”
“Children learn fast—if we sometimes change our mind，they quickly realise it might be worth lying on the floor and screaming for it.Make sure you and your partner are working together on this.Be consistent.And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends.”
1.How is the “I want it now” generation created?
A．Parents can't afford the gifts for their children.
B．Parents become heavily in debt.
C．Parents are trying to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale.
D．Parents give children whatever they want at Christmas.
2.What is the main problem with the “I want it now” generation?
A．They are quite selfcentered.
B．They like to live in fairy tales.
C．They waste a lot of money on gifts.
D．They can't keep their interest in gifts.
3.What is probably the aim of “Santa Says No” style sessions?
A．To advise on how to wrap gifts properly.
B．To keep children's interest in the gifts.
C．To tell parents how to say no to children's demands.
D．To advise parents on what gifts to buy for children.
4.According to the passage，we can infer that Ms.Calland intends to ________.
A．analyze children's behavior
B．give advice to parents
C．introduce a new generation
D．give her support to parents
5.Ms.Calland would agree that parents should ________.
A．buy nothing for children at Christmas
B．choose gifts carefully for children
C．let children choose their own gifts
D．avoid competing with others
John and Bobby joined a wholesale company together just after graduation from college the same year.Both worked very ____.After several years, however，the boss ____ Bobby to the position of manager but John remained a(n) ____ employee.John could not take it anymore，handed in his resignation to the boss and ____ the boss did not value hardworking staff，but only promoted those who flattered (奉承) him.
The boss knew that John worked very hard for the years. He ____ for a moment and said, “Thank you for your criticism (批评)，but I have a(n) ____.I hope you will do one more thing for our company ____ you leave. Perhaps you will change your mind and take back your resignation.”
John ____.The boss asked him to find out anyone selling watermelon in the ____.John went and returned soon saying he had found out a man selling watermelon.The boss then asked how much per kg and John just ___ his head. He went back to the market and returned，telling the boss $ 1.2 per kg.
The boss told John to wait a second，and he called Bobby to come to his office.He asked Bobby to do the ____ thing as he had told John to.Bobby went，returned and said，“Boss，only one person selling watermelon，$1.2 per kg, $ 10 ____ 10 kg.He has 340 melons in ____.On the table 58 melons，each weighs about 2 kg，____ from the South two days ago.They are fresh，red，and of good quality.”
John was very ___ and realized the difference between himself and Bobby.He decided not to ____ but to learn from Bobby.
My dear friends，a more successful person is better at ___，thinks more and explores in depth.____ exist in the daily details.For the same matter，a more successful person sees more and ____ so that he can find out an opportunity and catch it to realize his ____.If a person sees one year ahead while you see only tomorrow，the difference between the two is 365 times.How could you win?
1.A.badly B．hard C．lazily D．happily
2.A.promoted B．praised C．encouraged D．supported
3.A.special B．unique C．devoted D．ordinary
4.A.charged B．proved C．complained D．convinced
5.A.thought B．apologized C．explained D．whispered
6.A.invitation B．order C．request D．promise
7.A.since B．before C．after D．unless
8.A.refused B．doubted C．agreed D．insisted
9.A.market B．office C．district D．building
10.A.nodded B．turned C．waved D．shook
11.A.other B．same C．different D．little
12.A.by B．to C．with D．for
13.A.store B．place C．control D．shape
14.A.discovered B．grown C．bought D．produced
15.A.confused B．disappointed C．excited D．impressed
16.A.resign B．compare C．envy D．suspect
17.A.expressing B．bargaining C．managing D．observing
18.A.Desires B．Experience C．Chances D．Harvests
19.A.farther B．nearer C．higher D．lower
20.A.success B．aim C．position D．wisdom
All Ric O Barry wants is to stop the dolphinkilling, so he is headed to this seaside Japanese town, Taiji.The American activist, who is the star of a new awardwinning documentary that portrays the dolphinkilling here, got an unwelcome reception when he showed up here this week for the start of the annual hunt.
His movie, The Cove(海豚湾), directed by National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, was released in the United States a month ago but has not yet to come out in Japan.
Scenes in the film, some of which were shot secretly, show fishermen banging on metal poles stuck in the water to create a wall of sound that scares the dolphins— which have supersensitive sonar(声纳系统)—and sends them fleeing into a cove.
There, the fishermen sometimes pick a few to be sold for aquarium shows, for as much as $150,000. They kill the others, spearing(刺) the animals repeatedly until the water turns red. The meat from one dolphin is worth about 50,000 yen, and is sold at supermarkets across Japan.
Greenpeace and other groups have tried to stop the hunt for years.Activists hope The Cove will bring the issue to more people internationally—and eventually in Japan.
Already，the Australian town of Broome dropped its 28year sistercity relationship with Taiji last month，partly because of the movie.
“Some regions have a tradition of eating dolphin meat，” said fisheries official Toshinori Uoya. “Dolphinkilling may be negative for our international image, but it is not something orders can stop.”
The town government in Taiji—which has made whales and dolphins its trademark—refused to comment about The Cove, or the growing international criticism against dolphinkilling.
Many in Taiji take the dolphin hunt for granted as part of everyday life. They are defensive about The Cove，seeing themselves as powerless victims of overseas pressure to end a simple and honest way of making a living.
1.Ric O Barry made The Cove because he wanted to ________.
A．stop the dolphinkilling
B．win an international award
C．support Greenpeace's efforts
D．make Taiji wellknown in the world
2.Viewers can learn from The Cove ________.
A．the advanced techniques to catch dolphins
B．the cruel and bloody dolphinkilling
C．the beautiful Japanese seaside town Taiji
D．the sale of dolphin meat around the world
3.What is the response to The Cove on the Japanese side?
A．Taiji broke up with its western sistercity Broome.
B．Japanese officials decided to ban dolphinkilling.
C．The town government in Taiji kept silent on criticism.
D．Most Japanese people were against eating dolphin meat.
4.What does the underlined word “defensive” probably mean?
A．Feeling guilty for killing dolphins.
B．Protecting themselves against criticism.
C．Attacking those against dolphinkilling.
D．Making the determination to change.
5.What can we infer from the passage?
A．Many people in Japan have seen The Cove in the cinema.
B．The Cove has not influenced Japan's international image.
C．Taiji's dolphinkilling industry has been seriously damaged.
D．The Cove has brought international attention to dolphinkilling.
(2013·东北三省四市联合诊断考试)I had a bad habit of skipping to the last pages of a book.I just wanted to see how it ended ____ I was still in the middle of it. This habit ____ first my mom，then my friends, and ____ even my own daughter. Often my ____ wouldn't be limited just to the books I read but also to what others were ____ as well.Then one day my daughter told me in anger, “Dad, please just read a book one ___ at a time like everyone else！”
At times I didn't ___ this bad habit to just books either.I also tried to skip ahead in my own life and ____ out what to do months and even years from now ____ enjoying each day at present. Although I knew that the ____ of my life wasn't done yet and that I had many pages ___ to go, I still couldn't control my burning desire to write the ____ of it halfway through.Time and again, I would ____ jump ahead and try to solve every potential problem before it happened. Life，____，doesn't work like that.It loves to ____ us，and you never know what new problems, changes, or opportunities each new day will ____.
Recently when I found myself living in the ____ again，I felt a voice that gently told me I needed to “live one day at a time”. When I heard those words, I ____，turned the book of my life back to the ____ page, and thanked God for today.
Each of us has to ____ the book of life line by line，moment by moment and trust that our story will be brought to its perfect end.
1.A.since B．for C．while D．because
2.A.confused B．annoyed C．delighted D．embarrassed
3.A.usually B．obviously C．accidentally D．finally
4.A.impatience B．misunderstanding C．disappointment D．disagreement
5.A.saying B．reading C．doing D．watching
6.A.page B．copy C．chapter D．edition
7.A.contribute B．devote C．apply D．limit
8.A.try B．figure C．let D．turn
9.A.on the part of B．other than C．instead of D．on the basis of
10.A.book B．river C．picture D．play
11.A.forgotten B．left C．kept D．regretted
12.A.feelings B．beginning C．ending D．comments
13.A.consciously B．strangely C．foolishly D．critically
14.A.otherwise B．moreover C．therefore D．however
15.A.surprise B．cheat C．satisfy D．frighten
16.A.make B．bring C．take D．award
17.A.present B．future C．memory D．dream
18.A.cheered B．cried C．lost D．smiled
19.A.exciting B．hopeful C．favorite D．right
20.A.write B．review C．explain D．translate
The first flights of the new airlines that will take tourists into space are ready to take off in 2012, and getting a seat on one is not all that different from booking a trip someplace on Earth. You can sign up on the website of, say, Virgin Galactic，the most wellknown of the new space tourism companies, or go to an approved travel agency and put down a large deposit. Soon you will be able to buy travel insurance，just as you can for any other vacation.
Until now，space tourism has been limited to the ultrawealthy. Just seven people have paid tens of millions of dollars each for a trip to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket.
But that could change this year, when Virgin Galactic intends to start offering flights just beyond the space barrier on a rocket ship it has built, featuring five minutes of weightlessness during a twoandahalfhour tour. At $ 200,000 a seat, this will open the final frontier to far more people.
At least two other specialty airlines have jumped in as well, taking reservations and deposits for future space flights.Allianz, the big insurer, will introduce an insurance product in 2012, lending space tourism the trappings of the regular travel industry.
“Just to be able to sell space travel as a regular part of your business, really, just how cool is that？” said Lynda Turley Garrett, president of Alpine Travel of Saratoga, Calif.，who is one of 58 accredited space agents for Virgin Galactic in the United States.
In five years，Ms.Garrett has sold three seats. But she expects that to change once passengers start going up and coming down to tell their friends. “By 2017，it'll be just like scheduling a flight to L．A.，” Ms.Garrett predicted.
1.If you want to book a flight to space in 2012, you can________.
A．go to any travel agency
B．telephone Virgin Galactic
C．pay a visit to Allianz
D．sign up on the website of Virgin Galactic
2.From Paragraph 2 we can know that ________.
A．only the extremely rich people can afford the space trip
B．seven people have paid tens of millions of dollars for a space trip
C．Russia is the first country to build the space station
D．ordinary people are not allowed to take space tour
3.Which of the following is true of Virgin Galactic?
A．It is one of the approved space agencies.
B．It is a famous space tourism company.
C．It sells insurance products to space tourists.
D．Its rocket has carried space passengers successfully.
4.What does the underlined word “trappings” in Paragraph 4 probably refer to?
A．Standard uniforms.
B．Traditional decorations.
C．Symbolic signs.
D．Personal belongings.
5.What does Ms. Garrett think of the future space travel?
A．Common. B．Changeable.
C．Flexible. D．Reasonable.
(2013·苏南四校3月联考)Everybody knows about it now! But no one knows ________ once prevented the rumor from spreading.
A．what was it that B．what it was that
C．how it was that D．why it was that
