Dear Michelle,
Why can't my daughter manage her life better? She is 17 and an honor student, but she seems to be wasting her life away with a boyfriend who is holding her back.
He consumes every waking minute of her precious time and smooth-talks her as well.
His goal is to get her to agree to go to the college of his choice, not her choice, and because his grades are lower, his choice will be limited.
A worried mother
Dear Mother of a 17-year-old Girl,
Hmmmmm. What's the matter with kids today? Remember that song from "Bye Bye Birdie"?
Well if you do not, let me fill you in about teenagers and their life-management skills. Do not expect too much too soon because at the ripe age of 17, life-management is not within their reach, nor should it be.
Life experience creates both the conditions and the skills for management, and if management went before experience, there would be little of it.
Your daughter is an honor student for good reasons. She is smart, studies with intelligence and you have given her good values.
When the time comes for her to apply for college, and she visits the ones that are specifically designed for students at the top of their grade, she will most likely break away from her boyfriend's influence.
It is rare for an honor student to change the path of their academic career for puppy love. That being said, there might be some adolescent wisdom in her behavior after all.
Perhaps she is choosing to worry you, her parents, for unconscious reasons. Being such a good girl and being a steady source of joy might have become a bit too much for her.
Let your daughter have her own private moment of 11th grade rebellion. She deserves a break from perfection.
Michelle
1.From the mother's letter we can learn that her daughter _________ . .
A. is being fooled by the boy
B. has fallen behind in her studies
C. doesn't talk much with her mother
D. has chosen which college to attend
2. According to Michelle, 17-year-old teenagers _________ . .
A. are too young to manage their life
B. are old enough to live their own life
C. should have management before experience
D. have reached the age of an adult
3.The underlined word "puppy-love" refer to_________ . .
A. false love B. foolish love C. pure love D. adolescent love
4.Michelle seems to believe that the daughter will finally_________ . .
A. come up with the right decision
B. follow her boyfriend's advice
C. worry her parents for unconscious reasons
D. influence her boyfriend's behavior
What is intelligence anyway? When I was in the army I_____an intelligence test that all soldiers took, and, against _____of 100, scored 160.
I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not ______ have scored more than 80. ____, when anything went wrong with my car I hurried to him -- and he always _____ it.
Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man____questions for some intelligence tests. By every one of them I'd prove myself a _____. In a world where I have to work with my ____, I'd do poorly.
Consider my auto-repair man_____.He had a habit of telling ____. One time he said, "Doe. a deaf-and-dumb (����) man______some nails. Having entered a store, he put two fingers together on the counter and made ______ movements with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He ______ his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk ______ him some nails. He picked out the right size and left. Well, Doe. the______man who came in was blind. He wanted scissors. ______ do you suppose he asked for them?" I lifted my right hand and made scissoring movements with my first two fingers. He burst out laughing and said, "Why, you fool, he used his ______ and asked for them. I've been ______ that on all my customers today, but I knew ______ I'd catch you." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because you are so goddamned educated, Dr. I knew you couldn't be very______.
And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.
1.A. failed B. wrote C. received D. chose
2.A. an average B. a total C. an exam D. a number
3.A. always B. possibly C. certainly D. frequently
4.A. Then B. Thus C. Therefore D. Yet
5.A. fixed B. checked C. drove D. changed
6.A. answered B. practised C. designed D. tried
7.A. teacher B. doctor C. winner D. fool
8.A. brains B. effort C. hands D. attention
9.A. again B. as usual C. too D. as well
10.A. lies B. jokes C. news D. tales
11.A. bought B. tested C. found D. needed
12.A. cutting B. hammering C. waving D. circling
13.A. nodded B. raised C. shook D. turned
14.A. brought B. packed C. sent D. sold
15.A. clever B. other C. right D. next
16.A. What B. How C. Who D. Which
17.A. imagination B. hand C. voice D. information
18.A. trying B. proving C. practising D. examining
19.A. for sure B. at once C. in fact D. right now
20.A. clear B. silly C. slow D. smart
Everyone in the village is very friendly. It doesn’t matter ___ you have lived there for a short or a long time.
A. why B. how C. when D. whether
She has never done anything for them, _______ they have done everything for her.
A. when B. whereas C. as D. because
You can’t expect a baby to ________ your existing routine.
A. fit in with B. fit on C. fit up with D. fit in
— What’s wrong with the little girl after the long running?
— She is ____and looks very uncomfortable.
A. out of breath B. out of sight C. out of reach D. out of control
