For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit
any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.
1.Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
A. Both can continue for generations.
B. Both are about where to draw the line.
C. Neither has any clear winner.
D. Neither can be put to an end.
2.Wha
t does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.
B. The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.
C. The teens accuse their parents of misleading them.
D. The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.
3.Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.
A. give orders to the other
B. know more than the other
C. gain respect from the other
D. get the other to behave properly
4.What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A. Causes for the parent –teen conflicts.
B. Examples of the parent –teen war.
C. Solutions for the parent –teen problems.
D. Future of the parent-teen relationship.
Mattel Inc. is recalling 4.4 million Polly Pocket toys with magnets（磁铁）after some of them caused serious injuries to children who swallowed magnets that fell off.
Tiny magnets inside the toys may fall off without being noticed by parents and babysitters. The magnets can be swallowed or placed in children’s noses or ears. When more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestine perforation（肠内穿孔）which can be deadly.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission（CPSC）received 170 reports of the small magnets coming out of these recalled toys. There were three reports of serious injuries to children who swallowed more than one magnet. All three suffered intestinal perforations that required operation. A 2-year-old child stayed in hospital for seven days and a 7-year-old child was hospitalized for 12 days. An 8-yeal-old child was also hospitalized.
The recalled Polly Pocket toys contain plastic dolls and accessories（附件）that have small magnets. The magnets measure one-eighth inch in diameter and are fixed in the hands and feet of some dolls, and even in the plastic clothing, hairpieces and other accessories to help the pieces stay on the doll or the doll’s house.
The model number is printed on the bottom of the largest pieces on some of the toys. Contact Mattel if you cannot find a model number on your product to determine if it is part of the recall. Polly Pocket magnetic toys currently sold in stores are not included in this recall. The model numbers included in the recall are: B2632, B3158, B3201, B7118, G8605, H1537, H1538 and H3211. The toys were on sales in department stores and toy stores from May 2006 through September 2009 for between $15 and $30.
Consumers should immediately take these recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel for the return of the toys. For more information contact Mattel at 888 597-6597 anytime or visit the company’s Web site.
1.The main purpose of the passage is .
A. to criticize Mattel Inc. for their bad products
B. to inform readers of Polly Pocket toys recall
C. to warn readers the danger of swallowing magnets
D. to suggest some ways to return Polly Pocket toys
2.What did the writer use to show the danger of the problem toy
s?
a. figures b. quotes（引言） c. serious cases
d. description of possible injuries e. description of operation scenes
A. abc B. abd C. acd D. ace
3.The word “recalling” in the first paragraph can be best explained as .
A. taking back B. destroying C. giving up D. examining
4.All of the following points are covered in the story EXCEPT .
A. the danger of small magnets
B. the ways of returning Polly Pocket toys
C. the methods of recognizing a recalled Polly Pocket toys
D. the apology made by Mattel Inc.
It was her giggling(咯咯的笑)that drew my attention. Note taking really wasn’t all that funny.
Walking over to the offender, I asked for the . Frozen, she refused to give it to me. I waited, all attention in the classroom on the quiet between teacher and student. When she finally it over, she whispered, “Okay, but I didn’t draw it.”
It
was a hand-drawn of me, teeth blackened and the words “I’m stupid” coming out of my mouth.
I managed to fold it up calmly. My mind, , was working angrily as I struggled not to . I figured I knew the two most likely candidates for drawing the picture. It would do them some to teach them a lesson, and maybe it was high time that I did it!
Thankfully, I was able to keep myself .
When there were about six minutes remaining, I showed the class the picture. They were all silent as I told them how this was for me. I told them there must be a reason and now was their chance to write down anything they needed to tell me. Then I let them write silently while I sniffed in the back of the classroom.
As I the notes later, many of them said something like, “I’ve got nothing against you.” or “I’m sorry you were hurt.” Some kids said, “We’re of you.” But two notes, from the girls who I were behind the picture, had a list of issues. I was too , too strict…
Reading those notes, I realized that over the course of this year, instead of my students, I had begun commanding them to . Where I thought I was driving them to success, I was driving them away.
I had some apologies to make. But the next day in the classroom, one boy and one girl each handed me a card. The one by all the boys expressed sincere regret for the ugly joke. The one from the girls asked for .
This was a lesson for both the kids and me. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the .
1.A. note B. advice C. reason D. help
2.A. battle B. competition C. argument D. conversation
3.A. took B. thought C. turned D. handed
4.A. statue B. graph C. picture D. poster
5.A. otherwise B. however C. therefore D. besides
6.A. leave B. cry C. explain D. argue
7.A. good B. harm C. favor D. punishment
8.A. amused B. controlled C. uninterested D. relaxed
9.A. meaningful B. forgetfulC. regretful D. hurtful
10.A. aside B. above C. beneath D. behind
11.A. wrote B. finished C. read D. collected
12.A. proud B. fond C. afraid D. ashamed
13.A. figured B. promised C. concluded D. saw
14.A. talkative B. mean C. clumsy D. considerate
15.A. forcing B. encouraging C. comforting D. teaching
16.A. appreciate B. apologize C. compromise D. achieve
17.A. actually B. normallyC. immediately D. generally
18.A. decorated B. offered C. signed D. bought
19.A. thankfulness B. forgiveness C. compensation D. communication
20.A. friendship B. education C. knowledge D. future
With a special train ticket, you can travel______ you’d like to go in England for just over 100 pounds.
A. what B. in which C. where D. which
To his surprise, Jack found his son ______ as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
A. dressed B. dressing C. to dress D. being dressed
—What a mistake!
—Yes. I ______ he do it in another way, but without success.
A. was suggesting B. have suggested
C. would suggest D. had suggested
