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For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. 
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the dilemma. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is — politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg — the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority — someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.
【小题1】Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

One very cold and rainy night in the winter of 2012, my husband and I were in a fast food restaurant. We were about to begin our meal     a man walked in. He was completely       from the rain and went into the men's room.

I watched him go by, then I said to my husband, "That man must have had nothing to eat in a long time." When the man came out of the men's room, he just        himself in a chair, not going anywhere near the food counter. I       that he didn't have any money for food and        wanted to dry off for a while.

I just couldn't eat my food knowing that someone else was sitting      only a few tables away. So, I      a $20.00 bill from my shopping money to my husband. "Please get him dinner," I said. "We can do with less money this week."

    My husband      the man and quietly asked if he needed some food. The man      at us. "A small cup of coffee would be great," he said. "Thank you so much!" He        wasn't going to take advantage of us, but we       that he should have a full meal, which he gratefully(感激地)        .

   After he      the food, he thanked my husband and my husband said, "No. Thank my        . She noticed that you were       ." 

The man asked me, "      did you know I haven't eaten in a long time?" I smiled at him and said nothing , just asking him to      the change(零钱) from the $20.00.

Giving others a      whenever they’re in trouble not only brings happiness to the ones who       it but also to the ones who give it. I am so grateful that I was able to      with someone truly in need. It is a little bit of extra warmth on a rainy day.

1.A. while                        B. when               C. after                         D. as

2.A. angry                        B. cold                C. wet                          D. energetic

3.A. devoted                     B. found              C. helped                        D. seated

4.A. doubted                    B. guessed       C. imagined                        D. hoped

5.A. only                 B. completely         C. occasionally                  D. hardly

6.A. sad                          B. quiet               C. hungry                       D. silent

7.A. handed         B. took               C. borrowed                   D. saved

8.A. respected              B. approached       C. begged                      D. invited

9.A. shouted         B. laughed       C. smiled                   D. cried

10.A. rarely          B. easily        C. clearly                        D. immediately

11.A. instructed      B. insisted             C. admitted                    D. observed

12.A. accepted               B. expressed          C. refused                      D. expected

13.A. ordered               B. revised              C. booked                       D. fetched

14.A. friend          B. children            C. wife                          D. boss

15.A. in surprise     B. in shock             C. in danger                     D. in need

16.A. Why           B. When              C. What                          D. How

17.A. return                    B. lend                C. keep                         D. give

18.A. gift                B. face                 C. heart                             D. hand

19.A. take                      B. bring                C. refuse                         D. receive

20.A. connect                  B. share               C. talk                   D. communicate

 Dae Jang Geum 《大长今》 is a hot new Korean TV series. Because of this series, my personal status (地位) and living standard have been greatly     . My girlfriend used to cook every evening. Well, now she does nothing but        in front of the TV when she’s not       , and orders me, “You --- go and make some instant noodles. Come and watch the play and just imagine we are enjoying Korean        .”

         She once swore (发誓) to        all Korean dishes in Dae Jang Geum. So she ordered me to        the TV and record any details of Jang Geum’s cooking. But when she presented her version of Korean food, it was like the dog-meal. “You can        get things done if you find the right tool,” my girlfriend blamed her terrible kitchen performances on        . So I decided to       her a new kitchen knife. In a store, she became unusually         when making her selection. She finally picked one that was        Jang Geum’s. To prove that her slow knife skill was because of the blunt (钝的) knife, she         her cutting. As a result, she hurt her fingers three times. Fortunately the knife was not         the salesman boasted (吹嘘).

         My girlfriend is a fan of Jang Geum’s Korean        . Not only did she talk about the dress every day, she also threatened to change my tie into a  butterfly knot(蝴蝶结) like the one on Jang Geum’s dress. Finally, I lost my patience and took her to a maternity (孕妇装) shop where I recommended one suit to her, “Do you think it looks like a(n)       dress?”  Coincidently(巧合地)   , her parents just happened to be shopping at the time. They were         when they saw what we were doing.

         The Dae Jang Geum series         encouraging the youth to realize their ambition(雄心,抱负). However, it fails to realize my girlfriend’s.         being engaged in her work or study, she simply sits on the sofa every night, staring at       , a bag of chips in her hand. This situation has          even though the series is now over.

1.A. increased                    B. degraded                         C. risen                                 D. raised

2.A. stand                    B. lay                                     C. seat                                   D. sit

3.A. at work                         B. at table                    C. on leave                           D. on business

4.A. fruits                    B. vegetables                       C. dishes                               D. cakes

5.A. eat                                 B. learn                                 C. cook                                  D. perform

6.A. stand for             B. go by                                 C. pass by                    D. stand by

7.A. easily                   B. hardly                               C. difficultly                          D. carefully

8.A. her fork                        B. her spoon                        C. her knife                          D. her pan

9.A. buy                       B. borrow                    C. lend                                  D. fetch

10.A. careless                      B. angry                                C. patient                              D. modest(谦虚)

11.A. better than                B. the closest shape of       C. sharper than          D. taken from

12.A. speeded up               B. slowed down                   C. brought down                 D. improved

13.A. as fast as           B. as dull as                          C. as slow as                         D. as sharp as

14.A. diet style           B. dish flavor                        C. dressing style                  D. cooking style

15.A. Chinese        B. Korean            C. English            D. American

16.A. quite encouraged    B. pretty satisfied                C. very pleased          D. pretty shocked

17.A. shoots at           B. aims at                     C. directs at                          D. works at

18.A. In spite of                   B. Because of                       C. Instead of                         D. In case of

19.A. me            B. herself            C. the TV             D. nothing

20.A. changed little   B. turned a lot                     C. developed a little          D. improved a lot

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach.
In time, the labor pains come. But complications arise during delivery. Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With alarm in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. The days go by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric (儿科的) specialist tells the parents, “There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.”
Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby, but now they plan a funeral. Michael keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says. But kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive.
She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts, "Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed. Never disturb patients here.” The mother rises up strongly and said," He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"
Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings:" You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…" Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate begins to calm down and becomes steady.
“Keep on singing, Michael.”encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away."
The next day, the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it "the miracle of a brother's song". The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of Gods love!
Never give up on the people you love.
【小题1】What may the underlined words "the infant" refer to?

For as early as I could remember, my mother had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. However, in the last fifteen years of her life, she had to live with senile dementia (老年痴呆). I would go to my home to pay her a visit in California and she would curiously look at me and then ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I’m your own son, of course.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In Virginia”, I would tell her. “Isn’t that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in Virginia.”

Mother seemed only forgetful as well as confused at the beginning of that disease, but sometime later she would go through different time of intense anxiety. She would keep walk ing through the house she used to live in most of her life crying uneasily that she would like to go home. Or sometimes she left home and wandered away if she were unattended for a short time.

Hoping to make her happy and put her mind at ease I would take her in my car, visiting sites where she used to live when she was a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn(草坪). I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”

Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I think it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still energetic and attentive.

Watching my mother’s suffering set me wondering where I would have in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of senile dementia is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.

1.What’s the main idea of the first and second paragraphs?

A. The mother of the author could not find her home.  

B. The mother of the author could not remember who’s his son.

C. The author’s mother suffered with serious senile dementia.

D. The author didn’t know how to cure his mother.

2.Which of the following is NOT the symptom of the mother of the author?      

A. forgetful                         B. confused      C. cheerful       D. uneasy

3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “picture”?

A. photograph                  B. describe                 C. appear                   D. paint

4.What can you infer from the third paragraph?

A. The author cared much about his mother.    

B. The mother of the author liked pet lambs very much.

C. The author found a very little girl who was playing with a pet lamb.

D. The mother of the author did not like her usual home.

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

A. Where Is Home?                                              B. A story about a son and a mother.

C. Everyone will suffer with senile dementia.              D. Take Mother Home.