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The job of raising children is a tough one. Children don't come with an instruction handbook. And each child is different. So parents sometimes pull their hair out in frustration, not knowing what to do. But in raising children---as in all of life---what we do is influenced by our culture. Naturally then, American parents teach their children basic American values.

    To Americans, the goal of parents is to help children stand on their own two feet. From infancy, each child may get his or her own room. As children grow, they gain more freedom to make their own choices. Teenagers choose their own forms of entertainment, as well as the friends to share them with. When they reach young adulthood, they choose their own careers and marriage partners. Of course, many young adults still seek their parents' advice and approval for the choices they make. But once they "leave the nest" at around 18 to 21 years old, they want to be on their own, not "tied to their mother's apron strings."

   The relationship between parents and children in America is very informal. American parents try to treat their children as individuals ─ not as extensions of themselves. They allow them to fulfill their own dreams. Americans praise and encourage their children to give them the confidence to succeed. When children become adults, their relationship with their parents becomes more like a friendship among equals. But contrary to popular belief, most adult Americans don't make their parents pay for room and board when they come to visit. Even as adults, they respect and honor their parents.

    Most young couples with children struggle with the issue of childcare. Mothers have traditionally stayed home with their children. In recent years, though, a growing trend is to put preschoolers in a day care center so Mom can work. Many Americans have strong feelings about which type of arrangement is best. Some argue that attending a day care center can be a positive experience for children. Others insist that mothers are the best caregivers for children. A number of women are now leaving the workforce to become full-time homemakers.

    Disciplining children is another area that American parents have different opinions about. Many parents feel that an old-fashioned spanking(一顿打) helps youngsters learn what "No!" means. Others prefer alternate forms of discipline. For example, "time outs" have become popular in recent years. Children in "time out" have to sit in a corner or by a wall. They can get up only when they are ready to act nicely. Older children and teenagers who break the rules may be grounded, or not allowed to go out with friends. Some of their privileges at home like TV or telephone use may also be taken away for a while. Although discipline isn't fun for parents or children, it's a necessary part of training.

Being a parent is a tall order. It takes patience, love, wisdom, courage and a good sense of humor to raise children. Some people are just deciding not to have children at all, since they're not sure it's worth it. But raising children means training the next generation and preserving our culture. What could be worth more than that?

Title: The Job of Raising Children

America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect （影响） American society in many ways --- education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society - one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior （行为）is suitable （合适） at different ages.

A person's age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There's no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn't as strong as it used to be. It doesn't surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

Many people say, ‘I am much younger than my mother -  or my father - was at my age.’ No one says ‘Act your age’ anymore. We've stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

1.From the passage, we know in America____.

 A. they used to go to school or stop work at a certain age

 B. people won’t tell you their social position

 C. the children no longer go to school.

 D. people hold the old ideas about the age as before

2.It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America         .

A. has made people feel younger    B. has changed people's social position

C. has changed people's understanding of age

D. has slowed down the country's social development

3.The underlined word ‘one’ refers to          .

A. a society    B. America     C. a place D. population

4.‘Act your age’ means people should _______  .

A. be active when they are old    

B. do the right thing at the right age

C. show respect for their parents young or old

D. take more physical exercise suitable to their age

5. If a 25-year-old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it       .

A. normal   B. wonderful   C. unbelievable D. unreasonable

President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to a very important truth today — that business organizations have more prestige (威望) in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions still possess this great prestige?

One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the idea of competition than other organizations in society. Since competition is seen as the main source of progress and development by most Americans, competitive business organizations are respected. Competition is not only good in itself; it is the means by which other basic American values, such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.

Competition protects the individual freedom by making sure that there is no monopoly (垄断) of power. Compared with one and all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for benefit. If one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to the competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Since there are many businesses competing for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them unfairly and the customers would lose nothing.A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it gives more support for freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people while business leaders are not. Many Americans believe that competition is as important, or even more important, as democracy in protecting freedom.

Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the idea of equal opportunities. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to any person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American choice of the higher social position which is not based on one’s family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equal opportunities.

1.Which of the following is discussed as the main topic in the passage?

A．Competition in America’s business.        B．Freedom in America’s business.

C．Americans’ different values.             D．Business against government.

2.Americans believe that they can realize their personal values ______.

A．when given equal opportunities

B．through doing business

C．by protecting their individual freedom

D．by means of competition

3.Who can benefit from business competition?

A．Businessmen who compete.

B．Customers of those businesses.

C．People with the idea of equality and freedom.

D．Both business organizations and government.

4.It could be inferred from the passage that the author believes ______.

A．business in other countries are not as competitive as those in the USA

B．business problems are very important to the American government

C．the competition in business plays a very important role in America

D．American business is the most powerful one in the whole world

If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-related fields of study. However, if you want to study oceanography（海洋学）, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.

Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.

California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in Southern California is another story though. Life in Los Angeles is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes dangerous. As for me, I enjoy the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland and these states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.

Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won't like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace and quiet? Then you probably should stay away from America's large cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it. The place you live could be the difference between a great study-abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth.

1.From the first paragraph we can conclude （得出结论）that in the USA _______.

2.What should be considered first if you want to study in the USA?

3.From the third paragraph we can find that _______.

4.If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.

5. From the last paragraph of this passage we can get to know that _______.

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.

Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

1.The writer of this passage must be ______.

A. an American          B. a Chinese    C. a professor      D. a student

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

B. Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

C. Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

D. Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

3.From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.

A. warmly welcomed at the airport     

B. offered a ride to his home

C. treated hospitably at his home       

D. treated to dinner in a restaurant

4. The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.

A. strict with time    B. willing to spend time

C. careful with time    D. serious with time

5.A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.

A. Friendships between Chinese   

B. Friendships between Americans

C. Americans’ hospitality        

D. Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendship