Dear Abby,
I'm a helpless mother. My son Tom is 15 years old. I find that the older he grows, the less we talk. I feel very sad and I really need help.
My first problem is about his hobbies. He spends almost all his spare time on computer games. When he gets home, he always turns on the computer and closes the door. I'm getting worried about him, especially when his English teacher tells me he always gets low marks in the English exams.
Second, he likes new technology, but I don't have enough money and I can't afford all the things he wants.
Recently, I've found that he is always alone. I've never seen him talking to his friends on the phone or going out with anyone on weekends. That is the last problem I have.
What should I do to help him? Please give me some advice.
A helpless mother
【小题1】The helpless mother has          problems.

“I don’t often talk with my parents or grandparents, but I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ, ”said Fox’s Shadow, the online name used by a girl student in China. “Most of my classmates use QQ after school. ”

QQ is the biggest messaging service in China. A record from Tencent, the company which developed QQ, shows that 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October.

And probably Fox’s Shadow was one of them. “I log in （登陆）on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel everything around me boring. I usually spend about ten hours chatting （聊天）online every week, ”she said. “But I never talk with stranger, especially boys or men. ”

Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with stranger online. “You don’t know who you’re talking to. You should always be careful about whom you believe in online. ”

Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have got to know someone very well. Fox’s Shadow once met one of her online friends face to face. It was a girl who was a football fan like herself and they went to a football match together. 

A 16-year-old Beijing boy, named Bart Simon online, dislikes QQ users. “I used to chat on QQ, but I found that most people were talking about foolish things, ”he said. Now he chats online in English, using MSN. “I only chat online because I’ve got friends in Japan, the US and Singapore, ”he said. “I want to learn more about foreign cultures（文化）. ”But he spends little time chatting on QQ as he sees it as a waste of time and money. 

“If you are really addicted to （上瘾）it, sometimes you can’t give your mind to your lessons, ”he said. “And friends in your real life are always more important than those so-called friends you meet online. ”   

1. People meet face to face offline when they think they ________.   

A. have known each other well　　   B. have the same interest　　

C. have enough free time　　　　    D. have nothing to do   

2. Fox’s Shadow thinks QQ is ________.　　 

A. the biggest messaging service in China　　  B. a good place to spend her boring time　　  C. a safe place to chat with strangers　　　　　　 D. the best place to make friends   

3. From the passage, we know “… they are all just a few clicks away” means “_______”.　　  A. it is wonderful to see your friends by clicking　　 

B. it is easy and fast to get in touch with your friends　　 

C. it is possible to live much closer to your friends　　 

D. it is popular to make friends online   

4. Which of the following sentence is TRUE according to the passage?　　 

A. All the people on QQ are talking about foolish things.　　 

B. Chatting online is a waste of time and money.　　 

C. We should be careful about boys or men online.　　 

D. We should think more of our friends in real life. 

动词填空

1. Daniel needn’t 　　　 (finish) his homework now and he can do it

after school.

2. It’s bad 　　　 ( not take) exercise for some time a day.

3. Try this kind of mango, and I’m sure you 　　　 (like) it.

4. We will go to the cinema if it 　　　 (be) sunny tomorrow.

5. Look! Tom 　　　 (play) with his parrot.

6. The skirt makes her 　　　 (look) pretty.

7. I 　　　 (take) the photo in Beijing two years ago.

8. He spends more than two hours 　　　 (do) his homework every day.