Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests they both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits(轨道).
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.
But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority(权威) on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these changing roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic(民主的) process that encourages everyone to have a say.
“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily achieved by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”
1.The underlined word “gulf” in Para.3 most probably means _________.
A. distance B. interest
C. similarity D. cooperation
2.The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.
A. more confusion among children.
B. less respect for parents from children.
C. new equality between parents and children.
D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents.
3.By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.
A. can set a limit to the change.
B. follow the trend of the change.
C. fail to take the change seriously.
D. have little difficulty adjusting(适应)to the change.
4.The purpose of the passage is to _________.
A. describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with.
B. discuss the development of the parent—child relationship.
C. suggest the ways to handle the parent—child relationship.
D. compare today’s parent—child relationship with that in the past.
SAN FRANCISCO—A phone app（应用程序）in San Francisco gives information about open parking spots．City officials in San Francisco introduced the app to try to reduce traffic jams in the city, but some say it raises safety concerns．
In this city, drivers searching for parking spots lead to 30 percent of all downtown jams, city officials think．Now San Francisco has found a solution — a phone app for spot-seekers that shows information about areas with available spaces．The system, introduced last month, relies on wireless sensors（感应器）fixed in streets and city garages that can tell within seconds if a spot has opened up．
But the system could come with serious consequences．Some people say that drivers searching for parking could end up focusing on their phones, not the road．“It could be really distracting（使分心的）,” said Daniel Simons, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois．
City officials admitted the hidden problem．They are urging drivers to pull over before they use the city’s iPhone app, or to do so before they leave home. Nathaniel Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said safety could actually improve if drivers quickly found a spot instead of circling and getting frustrated．
San Francisco has put sensors into 7,000 parking spots and 12,250 spots in city garages．If spaces in an area open up, the sensors communicate wirelessly with computers that in turn make the information available to app users within a minute, said Mr. Ford, of the transportation agency．On the app, a map shows which blocks have lots of places(blue)and which are full(red)．
More than 12,000 people have downloaded San Francisco’s app, which is available now only for the iPhone.
1.What is the phone app mentioned in the text mainly aimed at?
A. Benefiting iPhone users.
B. Preventing traffic accidents.
C. Making the traffic flow smoothly.
D.Making full use of the parking spots.
2.According to the text, San Francisco city officials ________.
A. don’t consider the app distracting.
B. are aware of the app’s disadvantages.
C. advise drivers to park cars slowly.
D. believe more parking spots are needed.
3.The phone app mentioned in the text ________.
A. is a bit slow in reacting
B. hasn’t been put into service
C. was introduced several years ago
D. can’t be downloaded to all phones
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. A phone app has been introduced to relieve the pressure on traffic in the city.
B. Safety concerns are voiced about a phone app aimed at helping drivers find parking spots.
C. Looking for parking spots contributes greatly to downtown traffic jams.
D. Drivers’ attention is distracted in one way or another when they are driving.
I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare (兔子) and the tortoise (乌龟). At the end I said, “ Son, remember: Be slow and steady (镇定的), and that will win the race. Don’t you think there’s something to learn from the tortoise?”
Sonny opened his eyes wide, “Do you mean next time when I’m entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?”
I was shocked, “But the tortoise didn’t wish that the hare would fall asleep!”
“He must have wished that,” Sonny said, “Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did.”
“He didn’t have such a wish,” I insisted. “He won the race by perseverance (坚忍不拔), by pushing on steadily.”
Sonny thought a while. “That’s a lie,” he said. “He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn’t happened to fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he’d never have won the race. That’s for sure.”
I gave up. Today’s children are not like what we used to be. They’re just hopeless.
1.The writer argued with his son because ___________.
A. he liked tortoises while his son liked hares.
B. they disagreed about whether the tortoise was foolish.
C. he liked the story of the hare and the tortoise while his son didn’t.
D. he tried to teach his son a lesson but the son had different opinion.
2.Sonny believed that the tortoise ___________.
A. in fact did win the race luckily.
B. took a chance by agreeing to run a race.
C. was not given a fair chance in the race.
D. won the race by his own hard working.
3.Billy, Tony and Sandy must be___________.
A. boys who were unknown to Sonny’s father
B. boys who Sonny has run races with before
C. boys who Sonny has never raced with before
D. boys who Sonny did not expect to race with again
4.According to the passage, who do you think learnt a lesson?
A. The tortoise B. Sonny
C. Sonny’s father D. The hare
Win $ 50 in the Coolest Gadget(小装置) of the Week
Look at what’s the coolest gadget (vote for a chance to win $ 50).
Cryo S: A Cool Netbook Cooler
Like the other devices of NZXT, the Cryo S was designed to provide a competitive advantage at PC gaming. It has two adjustable 120mm fans that provide powerful cooling.
The full post can be found on Trends Updates.
Starry Night Bed
Are you having trouble getting that good nights sleep that you’re needing? Well, not any more. Why not take a look at the Starry Night Bed? The Starry Night Bed is a great new invention which will revolutionize the way in which you sleep. Not only is this bed fashionable and comfortable but it’s also a gadget heaven. With this bed you get many added gadgets including anti-snore technology, movie projector with speakers, temperature control and many more.
The full post can be found on Tech Styling.
Fugoo—talking gadgets
Fugoo gets all your appliances(装置，设备) talking to each other so your alarm clock could first wake you up and then tell the coffee machine to start working while checking traffic conditions online to tell you how long it will take you to get to work.
The full post can be found on Decide What to Buy.
Vote What is this week's coolest gadget?
〇 A Cool Netbook Cooler
〇 Starry Night Bed
〇 Fugoo—talking gadgets
1.Where can you find the full post of the “Cryo S”?
A. Tech Styling. B. Super Cool Pets.
C. Trends Updates. D. Decide What to Buy.
2.If you buy a Starry Night Bed, you can get all the following gadgets EXCEPT ___________.
A. adjustable fans B. movie projector
C. temperature control D. anti-snore technology
3.Where does this advertisement probably come from?
A. A magazine. B. A website.
C. A newspaper. D. A textbook.
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Some people allow bad past experiences to keep them in fear. A personal example of this happened when I was in middle school. We each were asked to give an oral in front of the whole class. When my turn came, I became and I started swinging my legs back and forth. I did this during the entire presentation (介绍). I was a student and I did not realize I was doing it.
After I completed my presentation, I did or even wanted to give another oral presentation for the rest of my years in school. I got older, I realized I wanted to improve my personality and build over my fear. I began listening to motivational speeches (励志演讲). I would go to seminars (研讨会) and found I was feeling better and better about myself. This me to want to reach out and help others in need.
After listening to one particular speaker many times, I decided to write to him for . He had advised in his speeches that if there was something you wanted to , you should be persistent(坚持不懈的). So I became very persistent.
I wrote to his office many times and they called me back. They offered me help by instructing me to a local Toastmasters and see what it was all about. Toastmasters is a great organization for people who are interested in improving their skills in preparation and presentation in front of a(n) . I certainly needed to do this. I located the nearest Toastmasters and a meeting.
At first, I sat in the background and was too overcome by my . I did not even want to introduce myself. But by this was just the false evidence appearing real, I my fear and within a short period of time I was President of that Toastmasters.
Don’t get in fears from unpleasant past experiences. Fears are but false evidence appearing real, which are made broken.
1.A. presentation B. test C. announcement D. promise
2.A. upset B. nervous C. curious D. excited
3.A. careful B. lazy C. young D. slow
4.A. always B. often C. sometimes D. never
5.A. Until B. Before C. As D. Once
6.A. health B. confidence C. business D. strength
7.A. disturbed B. surprised C. inspiring D. satisfying
8.A. frightened B. encouraged C. confused D. prevented
9.A. practice B. experience C. pleasure D. advice
10.A. achieve B. challenge C. devote D. succeed
11.A. probably B. hardly C. immediately D. finally
12.A. manage B. contact C. organize D. control
13.A. speaking B. listening C. reading D. writing
14.A. mirror B. company C. audience D. teacher
15.A. arranged B. suggested C. attended D. hosted
16.A. appearance B. behavior C. position D. fear
17.A. forgetting B. doubting C. realizing D. regretting
18.A. faced B. loved C. understood D. questioned
19.A. interested B. hurt C. changed D. drowned
20.A. something B. nothing C. everything D. anything
She has expressed her hope ______ the foreign students will spread the good will and sincerity of the Chinese people to other parts of the world.
A. that B. which
C. whether D. what
