Dear Mr Zhu,
I am writing to your magazine’s “Teenagers Now” column(专栏) to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son. At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do. He is our only child and we treat him very well. His grandparents buy him many things, and yet he is still rude to us. He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him. Sometimes he acts as if he doesn’t even love us at all.
Now he refuses to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music. I cannot understand this music, but I don’t like it. He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online. He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life!
What am I to do? At present, to prevent making his mother unhappy with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom. However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants, he may fail at school, or worse.
How can I help my son without harming our relationship?
Yours
Liu Zhenhua
【小题1】 What’s Mr. Zhu’s job?

When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.
My whole life I have depended on the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.
【小题1】Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?

As a girl, I've spent a great deal of my time on earth concerned about my weight. So I do know something about exercise. Let me tell you about the calorie-burning activities I've tried or will try.

Salsa (萨尔萨舞)

I try to maintain my weight through dancing. Dancing improves my coordination and sense of rhythm in addition to burning calories. I'm personally interested in salsa, which I find sexy and expressive(有表现力的). But I have not yet to start classes, because classes are very expensive, and I cannot find a dance partner.

Ping-Pong

Ping-pong is the national sport of China, so how could I know nothing about it?

My father is a ping-pong fan, and a really good player. He's won several informal (非正式的) matches. My relationship with ping-pong has always been on-and-off. I'll get into it for a while, and then lose interest. The reason is because I can’t find a good partner. Some stronger can depress you, while someone weaker (or just as weak) can make the game boring.

Tae Kwon Do （跆拳道）

I've recently decided to try tae kwon do as my regular exercise activity. There’s a story behind this choice: A few weeks ago, I was sitting on a bus, concentrating on a book. Suddenly, the bus became very quiet except for the sound of a woman’s crying. I looked up to see what had happened and overheard whispers that she had just quarreled with a man, and the man slapped(拍打) her face. No one on the bus dared say anything because the man looked really strong. Even now I feel ashamed I was among the silent.

That’s why I've made up my mind to learn something that will help me protect others and myself.

1.We can guess that the girl is _____ according to the passage.

2.Why doesn’t the girl want to go to learn salsa?

3.She is interested in ping-pong because ________.

4.She has made up her mind to learn Tae Kwon Do mainly because______.

5.We can learn from the passage that________.

When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.
My whole life I have depended on (依靠) the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.
【小题1】Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?