A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house, the same house I grew up in, I had a sudden, scary realization．When my parents bought the house, in 1982, they were only two years older than I am now．I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I'd still be living in almost 30 years later．
It seemed ridiculous．On a practical level, there's no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon．More importantly, I wouldn't want to．I'm not sure where I'll be living in two years, or what kind of job I'll have．And I don't think I'll be ready to settle down and stay in one place．
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents．When our parents were our age, they'd gotten their education, chosen a career, and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives．
My friends and I-“Generation Y”-still aren't sure what we want to do with our lives．Whatever we end up doing, we want to make sure we’re happy doing it．We'd rather take risks first, try out different jobs, and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place．We'd rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account．
This casual attitude toward responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”, “impatient”, and “overprotected”．Some of these complaints have a point．As children we were encouraged to succeed in school, but also to have fun．We grew up in a world full of technological innovation：cellphones, the Internet, instant messaging, and video games．
Our parents looked to rise vertically(垂直的)-starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company．That doesn't apply to my generation．
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood．But that's not necessarily a bad thing．In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, strive for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did．
By Ariel Lewiton
(1)
When the author walked through her parents’ house, she ________．
[ ]
A．
was frightened that she had no idea what she wanted from life
B．
started to think about her own life
C．
realized I should buy a house．
D．
wondered why her parents had settled down early
(2)
What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?
[ ]
A．
Their attitude toward high technology．
B．
Their ways of making their way to the top．
C．
Their attitude towards responsibility．
D．
Their ways of gaining experience．
(3)
Which of the following might the author agree with?
[ ]
A．
It's all right to try more before settling down．
B．
It's better to take adult responsibility earlier．
C．
It involves too much effort to rise vertically．
D．
It's ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”．
(4)
What can we conclude from the article?
[ ]
A．
The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age．
B．
Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships．
C．
“Generation Y” people don't want to grow up and love to be taken care of by their parents．
D．
The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better．
(5)
What is the main theme of the article?
[ ]
A．
The sudden realization of growing up．
B．
A comparison between lifestyles of generations．
C．
Criticisms of the young generation．
D．
The factors that have changed the young generation．
The ability to memorize things seems to be a vanishing(消失的)technique．So what can we do to bring out brain cells back into-action? A newly published book on memory, Moomvalking with Einstein：The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by American journalist Joshua Foer, makes a telling point, one that is an analysis of the importance of memorising events and stories in human history; the decline of its role in modem life; and the techniques that we need to adopt to restore the art of remembering．
As Foer points out, we no longer need to remember telephone numbers．Our mobile phones do that for us．We don't recall addresses either．We send emails from computers that store electronic addresses．Nor do we bother to remember multiplication tables(乘法表)．Pocket calculators do the job of multiplying quite nicely．Museums, photographs, the digital media and books also act as storehouses for memories that once we had to keep in mind．
As a result, we no longer remember long poems or folk stories by heart, feats(技艺)of memory that were once the cornerstones of most people's lives．Indeed, society has changed so much that we no longer know what techniques we should employ to remember such lengthy works．We are, quite simply, forgetting how to remember．
And let's face it, there is nothing sadder than someone who has lost their mobile phone and who finds they cannot even phone home or call their parents or partners because they cannot remember a single telephone number．That is a sad example of loss of personal independence．So, yes, there is a need for us to he able to remember certain things in life．
Therefore, Foer's book outlines the methods that need to be mastered in order to promote our memories and regain the ability to recall long strings of names, numbers or faces．In the process, he adds, we will become more aware of the world about us．
The trick, Foer says, is to adopt a process known as " elaborative encoding", which involves transforming information, such as a shopping list, into a series of "absorbing visual images"．If you want to remember a list of household objects-potatoes, cottage cheese, sugar and other items, then visualise them in an unforgettable manner, he says．Start by creating an image of a large jar of potatoes standing in the garden．Next to it, imagine a giant tub of cottage cheese-the size of an outdoor pool-and then picture Lady Gaga swimming in it．And so on．Each image should be as fantastic and memorable as possible．
Using methods like this, it becomes possible to achieve great feats of memory quite easily, Foer says．It certainly seems to have worked for him：he won the annual US Memory Championships after learning how to memorize 120 random digits in five minutes; the first and last names of 156 strangers in 15 minutes; and a deck of cards in under two minutes．"What I had really trained my brain to do, as much as to memorise, was to be more mindful and to pay attention to the world around, " he says．
These techniques employed by Foer to master his memory were developed by Ed Cooke-a British writer and a world memory championship grandmaster．He acted as Foer's trainer during preparations for the book and helped him achieve his championship performances．" Memory techniques do just one thing：they make information more meaningful to the mind, making the things we try to learn unforgettably bright and amusing, " said Cooke．
(1)
Which of the following is conveyed in this article?
[ ]
A．
People become more independent with modern equipment．
B．
The memory's role in life is declining in modem society．
C．
Memory techniques can make information less meaningful．
D．
Ed Cooke is the first one who benefited from Foer's techniques．
(2)
According to Joshua Foer, people no longer memorize information today because ________．
[ ]
A．
museums can do everything for them．
B．
they no longer have the ability to memorize things．
C．
they have things that can act as storehouses for memories．
D．
it is not necessary to memorize anything in modem life．
(3)
One method of memorizing things mentioned in the passage is to ________．
[ ]
A．
link things to famous pop stars
B．
find the connection between different things
C．
form vivid, unforgettable images of certain things
D．
use advanced digital imaging technology to help
(4)
The underlined word "visualise" in the last paragraph most probably means " ________ "．
