You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.

It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. The dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last for a long time.

Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Tune magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.

Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And running their own business is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.

So what has led to this huge change?

Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity,” noted The Daily Beast.

“The rate of 16-to-24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.

The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.

Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations. “This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennials are feeling they can only attain a day-to-day lifestyle that suits them.”

1.Which has similar meaning to the underlined word “cornerstone”?

A. value B. average

C. reason D. basis

2.What has changed Millennials’ views of the American Dream?

A. The discouraging economy and unemployment.

B. The fierce competition in getting a degree.

C. Their dissatisfaction with the government.

D. Their lack of confidence in themselves.

3.What does Dan Kadlec’s think of Millennials’ definition of the American Dream?

A. considerate B. understandable

C. curious D. negative

4.What can be the best title for this passage?

A. Meaning of American Dream B. Redefinition of American Dream

C. Value of Achieving American Dream D. The Reasons of American Dream

A class teacher, in my opinion, plays an important role in a child’s development. 1. This year, she is moving to Class Three and I can’t wait to see how things are going on.

Last year, my daughter did not like her teacher at all. It was so bad that she did not look forward to school. It was a year full of trouble and that worries.

This year, Miss Purity is gentle and humorous. It’s hard not to like her.2..

She becomes an early bird. Last year, mornings were like a fight because I had to force Tasha to hurry up when she was preparing for school. I had to pull her out of bed, tell her to take breakfast and then drove her to school. But now, our mornings are like a party. She wakes up early, prepares everything at a high speed and then rushes to school to be with Miss Purity.

She’s happy. She enjoys school and school work and keeps talking about what they did at school when she comes home.

She’s responsible. 3. But now she never forgets even her water bottle at school. She makes her bed and helps in the kitchen.

Her diary is full of praises. The diary is the tool of communication between the teacher and the parents. Last year, her diary was always full of negative reports. One time, she poured water in a child’s lunchbox, another time she threw another kid’s textbook in the toilet. 4. She’s always volunteering to clean the blackboard, the teacher’s chair and desk.

5. Finishing her classwork was such a big problem. She had to do it at home. But now, she finished both the classwork and homework at school.

A. Here are the changes in my daughter.

B. Now she began to share her snacks with those who did not have anything.

C. Every year when my daughter moves to a new class, I have a usual big worry—her new class teacher.

D. Her diary was good.

E. She has a good class teacher.

F. She used to be careless and forgetful.

G. She does well in school.

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