Question

    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 remember 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.

Today,the generation gap has not disappeared,but it is getting narrow in many families.Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago.Now they are comfortable and common.And parent—child activities,from shopping to sports,involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.No wonder greeting cards today carry the message,“To my mother,my best friend.”

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 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 evolving roles and attitudes.They see the 1960s as a turning point.Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic 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 accomplished 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.What can we learn about Mr.Ballmer in Paragraph 1 ?

A.He and Elizabeth both 1ike Weezer.

B.He had different interests with his mom.

C.He had a bad relationship with his mom.

D.He liked talking about music with his mom.

2.What does the underlined word“democratic”probably mean?

A.Equal. B.Peaceful. C.Active. D.Considerate.

3.The passage is mainly about_____________.

A.the problems of parent-child relationship

B.the strategies for parent-child relationships

C.the development of parent-child relationship

D.the ways for parents to handle parent-child problems

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文主要讲述了随着社会的发展，家庭中更加注重平等，在许多家庭中代沟正在缩小。但家庭专家警告说，新的平等也会导致对父母的尊重减少。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中“I would never have said to my mom, ‘hi the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’ “says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”（ “我永远不会对我妈妈说，‘嗨，Weezer的新专辑真的很棒。你觉得怎么样?”Ballmer说。“他们的品味完全不同。”）可知Ballmer先生和他妈妈有不同的兴趣。故选B。

2.词义猜测题。根据下文“process that encourages everyone to have a say”可知巨大的文化变革导致更加开放的沟通和更民主平等的过程，鼓励每个人都有发言权。故可知划线单词意思为“民主平等的”。故选A。

3.主旨大意题。根据第三段第一句“Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families.”（今天，代沟并没有消失，但在许多家庭中代沟正在缩小。）以及文章主要内容为论述以前到现在亲子关系所发生的变化，可知这篇文章主要是关于亲子关系的发展。故选C。