When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: “We have to go to work now,” you’re left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.

  Stage schools often act as agencies(代理机构)to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.

  A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn’t settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

 Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days.

 The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don’t make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.

 People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children they’re talking to________.

    A. attend a stage school      B. are going to the theatre

    C. have got some work to do     D. love singing and dancing

   In the writer’s opinion, a good stage school should ________.

    A. produce star performers

    B. help pupils improve their study skills

    C. train pupils in language and performing arts

    D. provide a general education and stage training.

 “Professional work” as used in the text means ________.

    A. ordinary school work       B. money-making performances

    C. stage training at school      D. acting, singing or dancing after class

  Which of the following best describes how the writer feels about stage schools?

    A. He thinks highly of what they have to offer.    

    B. He favours an early start in the training of performing arts.

    C. He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows.

    D. He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached.

Few people would defend the Victorian attitude on children, but if you were a parent in those days, at least you knew where you stood: children were to be seen and not heard. Freud and his colleagues did away with all that and parents have been puzzled ever since. The child’s happiness is all- important, they say, but what about the parents’ happiness? Modern child-rearing manuals(抚养孩子手册)would never permit cruelty to children .The trouble is you are not allowed even to shout. Who knows what deep psychological(心理的)wounds you might cause? The poor child may never recover from the dreadful experience. So it is the parents that bend over backwards to avoid giving their children complex which a hundred years ago hadn’t even been heard of. Certainly, a child needs love, and a lot of it. But the excessive permissive(纵容) of modern parents is surely doing more harm than good.

     Psychologists(心理学家) have succeeded in weakening parents confidence in their own authority. And it hasn’t taken children long to get wind of the fact. In addition to the great modern classics on child care, there are countless articles in magazines and newspapers. With so much advice flying about, mum and dad just don’t know what to do any more. In the end, they do nothing at all. So, from early childhood, the kids are in charge and parents’ lives are regulated according to the needs of their kids. When the little dears develop into teenagers, they take complete control. Lack of authority over the years makes teenagers rebellion against parents all the more violent. If the young people are going to have a party, for example, parents are asked to leave the house. Their presence merely spoils the fun. What else can the poor parents do but obey?

The author says that today’s parents _______.

       A. are bombarded with excessive amounts of child-care literature.

       B. draw a distinction between permissiveness and carelessness.

       C. are only towards children from happy home backgrounds.

       D. weigh their children’s knowledge rather than intelligence.

The phrase “get wind of” (Para.2) most likely means _______ .

A. become used to                  B. try to avoid

C. realize                            D. become puzzled of

Which of the following can be inferred from this passage?

A. Victorian child rearing is a model for parents to follow.

B. Psychologists have much to answer for today’s problems on child care.

C. With the help of so much advice, raising children is easier than ever.

D. Parents like to enjoy the freedom when there is a party in the house.

What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. The excessive permissiveness of today’s parents is harmful to children.

B. Psychologists shouldn’t interfere so much with child care.

C. Parents should hold the Victorian attitudes towards children.

D. Children are too sensitive to be hurt.

“如何真正处理好孩子与父母间的关系”一直是我们非常关注和想了解的话题。沟通是必要的方式之一,可如何能够进行真正心灵上的沟通?我们,作为父母的,作为孩子的,都得需要思索。这篇文章会给你一定的启示. . . .

I was 13 years old. My family had moved to Southern California from North Florida a year before. I hit adolescence with a vengeance. I was angry and rebellious, with little regard for anything my parents had to say, particularly if it had to do with me. Like so many teenagers, I struggled to escape from anything that didn't agree with my picture of the world. A "brilliant without need of guidance" kid, I rejected any overt offering of love. In fact, I got angry at the mention of the word love.

One night, after a particularly difficult day, I _____________, shut the door and got into bed. As I lay down in the privacy of my bed, my hands slipped under my pillow. There was an envelope. I pulled it out and on the envelope it said, "To read when you're alone. "

Since I was alone, no one would know whether I read it or not, so I opened it. It said "Mike, I know life is hard right now, I know you are frustrated and I know we don't do everything right. I also know that I love you completely and nothing you do or say will ever change that. I am here for you if you ever need to talk, and if you don't, that's okay. Just know that no matter where you go or what you do in your life, I will always love you and be proud that you are my son. I'm here for you and I love you—hat will never change. Love, Mom.

That was the first of several "To read when you're alone" letters. They were never mentioned until I was an adult.

Today I travel the world helping people. I was in Sarasota, Florida, teaching a seminar when, at the end of the day, a lady came up to me and shared the difficulty she was having with her son. We walked out to the beach, and I told her of my mom's undying love and about the "To read when you're alone" letters. Several weeks later, I got a card that said she had written her first letter and left it for her son.

That night as I went to bed, I put my hands under my pillow and remembered the relief I felt every time I got a letter. In the midst of my turbulent teen years, the letters were the calm assurance that I could be loved in spite of me, not because of me. Just before I fell asleep I thanked God that my mom knew what I, an angry teenager, needed. Today when the seas of life get stormy, I know that just under my pillow there is that calm assurance that love - consistent, abiding, unconditional love - changes lives.

1. What’s the best title of the passage?

                                                                          

2. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

I reached out my hands for the letter under the pillow that night when I went to bed, and I always felt relief with the letter under my pillow.

                                                                           

3. Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.(within ten words)

                                                                          

4. What do you learn after reading the passage? (within 30 words)

                                                                          

5. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

Are you tired of looking for love in all the usual places? Nowadays, millions of lonely singles are now going online instead.The World Wide Web is quickly becoming the world’s most popular matchmaker.With so many singles online, dozens of dating sites like Yahoo Personals and Match.com are helping singles find that special someone.Around the world, from America to China, love is now very much online.

       Singles are flocking to the Internet mainly because their busy lifestyles leave them little time to look for a significant other.Using dating sites is quick and convenient.They can “meet” a lot more people online than they could by hanging out at a club.Besides , many singles say the regular dating scene has just led them from one bad experience to another and are ready to try something else.They also appreciate the first distance of online dating, which allows them to hide themselves until they are ready to meet someone face to face.Dating sites also make it easy to avoid someone you are not interested in.In the real world, however, ignoring someone you don’t like can be awkward.

       Despite all the advantages, online dating also presents its own set of problems.People aren’t always who they claim to be in their online profiles.For instance, someone who tells you he is “handsome, successful and single” might turn out to be homely, unemployed and married.Safety is another concern.You are just as likely to find a criminal online as you are Mr or Miss Right.

       Even so, supporters of online dating see things in a positive way.In their opinion, singles can safely play the online dating game with a little common sense.Online dating experts recommend following a few safety tips:

       Guard your personal information.Never give out your personal information online.This includes your last name, phone number, home address and place of work.

       Watch for red flags.Do any of the people you are chatting with make disrespectful comments? Do they try to control you? Do they give false information about themselves? If so, forget them!

       Meet in a safe place.When meeting someone in person, choose a public location with other people around.

       Following these tips and you might be able to find the person of your dreams.

According to the passage, many lonely singles don’t appreciate the regular dating scene because it is ___.

       A.unpopular       B.troublesome    C.convenient     D.forgettable

This passage is mainly about   

       A.getting tired of falling in love in a usual way

       B.people with false information on the Internet

       C.new technology to find love through the Interent

       D.web sites such as Yahoo Personals and Match.com

Which of the following is NOT a suitable place for meeting someone you get to know through the Internet for the first time according to the text?

       A.At his/her house.           B.At a museum.

       C.At McDonald’s.      D.At a bookstore.

From this passage ,we can infer that   

       A.there are mostly homely and unemployed people online

       B.the police had better find criminals online

       C.we can find love only through the dating sites

       D.following safety tips ensure a safe online dating experience

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