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 towards 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, struggle for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

1.What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?

A. Their ways of gaining experience.

B. Their attitude towards responsibility.
C. Their attitude toward high technology.
D. Their ways of making their way to the top.

2.Which of the following might the author agree with?

A. It involves too much effort to rise vertically.
B. It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier.
C. It’s all right to try more before settling down.
D. It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”.

3. What can we conclude from the article?

A. The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age.

B. “Generation Y” people don’t want to grow up and rush into adulthood.

C. Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships.

D. The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better.

4.What is the main theme of the article?
A. Criticisms of the young generation.
B. The sudden realization of growing up.
C. A comparison between lifestyles of generations.
D. The factors that have changed the young generation.

Having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week. “It’s a well-known pattern,” said lead researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. “Men usually work more outside the home, while women take on more of the housework.” 

He points out that differences among households（家庭）exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. “And the situation gets worse for women when they have children,” Stafford said.  

Overall, times are changing in the American home. In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are taking on more housework, more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005.  

Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most-about 21 hours a week.  

Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men. Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men.  

Having children increases housework even further. With more than three children, for example, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands’10 hours.  

1.According to the “well-known pattern” in Paragraph 1, a married man___________.  

A. takes on heavier work             B. does more housework 

C. is the main breadwinner            D. is the master of the house 

2.How many hours of housework did men do every week in the 1970s? 

A. About 23.                      B. About 26.  

C. About 13.                       D. About y.  

3.What kind of man is doing most housework according to the text? 

A. An unmarried man.               B. An older married man.  

C. A younger married man.           D. A married man with children.  

4.What can we conclude from Stafford’s research? 

A. Marriage gives men more freedom.  

B. Marriage has effects on job choices.   

C. Housework sharing changes over time.  

D. Having children means doubled housework.  

One day, Raul was miles away from the small ranch (牧场)house in a large valley. Everything seemed to be all right, yet he felt strange and somewhat uneasy. The wind had picked up, and angry, dark clouds  31  across the sky. He could smell the rain coming. And it did.  32 , the lightning flashed through the clouds, nearly  33  Raul. The thunder (雷声) was so loud that he buried his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. Then he heard it — hoof beats (蹄声). He  34 . There before him stood a tall, white horse. An old man stared down at him from its back.

“Wh-wh-who are y-y-you?” asked Raul. “Oh, my name is Gray Cloud,” the old man answered  35 , “come with me.”

Raul followed on with his horse. A  36  feeling came over him. All  37  them the rain was pouring down,  38  not a drop fell on them. They seemed to be  39  back toward Raul’s home. Raul lost track of time. Then all at once, he found  40  at the ranch gate. The old man turned his horse, waved his hand, and smiled. Lightning flashed again. The old man and his horse were  41 .

Raul’s father ran out across the yard to  42  him. “We have been  43  about you. Are you okay? Hurry. Let’s get in out of the  44 .”

“Wait,” said Raul. “Have you ever heard of an old man called Gray Cloud?”

“Can’t say I … wait. I believe my great-grandfather used to tell stories about a man called Gray Cloud. He died a long time ago. They all say he was  45  by lightning during a terrible thunderstorm. Why do you ask?” At this, Raul was really more shocked than puzzled.

1.                A．dropped        B．fell            C．rolled    D．covered

2.                A．Suddenly       B．Strongly        C．Quickly   D．Hardly

3.                A．beating         B．blinding         C．burning   D．touching

4.                A．looked up       B．woke up        C．lay down  D．sat down

5.                A．lazily           B．angrily          C．freely    D．slowly

6.                A．natural         B．common        C．strange   D．sad

7.                A．around         B．beside          C．through  D．above

8.                A．yet            B．for            C．so   D．or

9.                A．reaching        B．leading         C．heading  D．returning

10.               A．them          B．themselves      C．him  D．himself

11.               A．gone          B．left            C．followed   D．lost

12.               A．see            B．meet          C．beat  D．ask

13.               A．waited         B．thought        C．worried   D．excited

14.               A．yard           B．wind           C．grass D．rain

15.               A．defeated       B．caught         C．damaged  D．struck

Years ago while lying in my hammock（吊床）and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor’s 10 – year – old daughter’s rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.
The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as “natural caused”.
Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: “D—A—D—D—Y!!!”.
Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.
Her father less than calmly shouted, “What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl’s rabbit and put it back in its cage?”
【小题1】The girl was shocked because           .

   Have you ever received a gift that was so dearly, not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite "Why, thank you," but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and bad) reflect about your persona] qualities?

Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy -- the ability to put yourself into someone else's head and heart We're all able to do this; in fact, we're born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced (加强)--by our parents, teachers, friends. When it isn't, we're not able to understand other people's feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional (情感的) qualities.

   Think back to the presents you’ve given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping, and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. (Y/course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.

   We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won't make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time.

60.  The underlined expression "you had missed the mark" means "you had failed to _____'.

   A. make her feel better            B. keep your friendship

   C. receive a present in return   D. get the expected effect

61. Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?

   A. Natural empathy needs to be reinforced.

   B. Emotional changes influence one's choice of gifts.

   C. Selecting the right gift is an ability people are born with.

   D. Choosing gifts requires one to understand the receivers.

62. In the third paragraph, the author tells us that________..

    A. attention should be paid to the receivers' responses

    B. one learns from what he did in the past

    C. the choice of gifts reflects one's emotional qualities

    D. one should spend more time choosing gifts

 63. The best possible title for this passage is “_______”.

    A. Ways of Choosing Gifts                     B. An Important Tradition

    C. Exchanging Presents                         D. Message in a Gift