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 toward 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, strive for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.
【小题1】When the author walked through her parents’ house, she _______.

Career education is instruction intended to help young people identify, choose, and prepare for a career. Such instruction may focus on a person's role in work, leisure, or family life. Career education differs from vocational education, which is designed to teach specific occupational skills.
Career education includes the formal and informal learning that occurs in the family, in the community, and in schools. In schools, career education consists of instructive activities included in many courses. These activities are designed to improve the attitudes, knowledge, and skills important for work roles. Career education helps students develop self- understanding and use it to plan their education and working life.
A complete career education program in school begins in kindergarten and continues at least through high school. Many colleges and universities also offer career education through their counseling (咨询) programs. In kindergartens and elementary schools, youngsters learn about different types of work. In middle schools or junior high school, children begin to explore the occupations and leisure activities that interest them most. In high school, students get more specific information about occupations and life styles. They may be in classroom, small group, or individual sessions where they learn how to make career decisions. They also should obtain the skills they need for further study or for a job after graduation. Counselors provide information on such matters as how to locate and apply for jobs and how to be successful in interviews. Teachers and counselors use a variety of methods to provide career education, including films about occupations or industries. Children may invite parents or other adults to come to school and describe their jobs. A student may accompany a worker on the job. Cooperative education combines classroom study with practical work experience.
【小题1】 According to the passage, which statement is true? (   )

A．Career education is carried out in primary schools only.

B．Career education is carried out in middle schools only.

C．Career education is carried out in colleges only.

D．Career education is carried out in the whole process of people's education - from kindergarten to university.

D

Ellen Swallow Richards was the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A chemist, social activist, teacher, and first woman member of the Institute of Engineering, she believed that housekeeping was a science. As a progressive thinker at the time, she thought that women needed to learn about money matters and have up-to-date information on cleanliness and nutrition. She encouraged women from all backgrounds to get the best education possible.

Ellen was born in 1842 and was brought up in Massachusetts. A graduate of Vassar College in New York, she returned to New England to attend MIT. After her marriage to Professor Robert Richards, she worked in a laboratory at MIT, examining pollution of water sources in Massachusetts. Her work led to the creation of the first food-inspection (检验) laws of that state. She was instructor at MIT from 1884 until her death in 1911.

Like other progressive thinkers of the time, Ellen was worried about problems of the poor and the effect of the environment on society. She considered the environment a key factor in quality of life. Within the family, as in the world at large, science was chief in tools used to help the poor. Science could help to manage money matters, keep a home safe and clean, and improve quality of life. Food properly cooked could be tasty, nutritious, and inexpensive. Better and cheaper food could protect the health and improve the lives of working-class families.

Ellen created the science of housekeeping, now called home economics, and elevated（提升）it to a serious college subject. She worked tirelessly as a national leader in developing standards, materials, and teacher training for this new field. Her publications cover many subjects—from the chemistry of cooking and cleaning to the cost of living.

57. According to the text, Ellen __________.

A. provided new jobs for the poor            B. helped to create new kinds of food

C. set up the field of home economics         D. created the ideas of food-inspection laws

58. As a progressive thinker, Ellen __________.

A. suggested people cook their own meals at home

B. believed cheap food was better than expensive one

C. advised women to get the best education possible

D. considered money matters a key factor in quality of life

59. Ellen believed that __________.

A. poor families knew how to manage money

B. families were well informed about good nutrition

C. cheaper food could not protect people’s health

D. families spent much on food but were not well nourished

60. One can infer that, as a result of the efforts of people such as Ellen, __________.

A. one may study home economics at a university for a career

B. the pollution of water sources is no longer a problem

C. most people today learn to cook at school

D. science does not help much within the family as in the world

B

The Young Can't Wait

By Severn Cullies Suzuki

When you are little, it's not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty（贫困） and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the thing you tell us not to do? You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect（反省） your words.”

I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur（刺激） action. Now, a decade（十年） from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.

When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices—education, career, lifestyle—life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was idealistic and naive.

Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.

60．The purpose of what the writer said at the age of 12 was to _______.

A．end poverty and make school beautiful

B．find environmental answers and keep the words that they always told themselves

C．end poverty and solve the problems about environment

D．find a wonderful place and clean it up

61．What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to _____.

A．a long period of laughing               B．a warm welcome

C．an expression used for greeting      D．a long period of clapping and applause

62．It becomes clear that the writer is possibly _________ now.

A．in his teens      B．in his twenties  C．in his thirties    D．in his forties

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

1. 1.

   When the author walked through her parents’ house, she _______.

   1. A.
      was frightened that she had no idea what she wanted from life
   2. B.
      started to think about her own life
   3. C.
      realized I should buy a house.
   4. D.
      wondered why her parents had settled down early
2. 2.

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

   1. A.
      Their attitude toward high technology.
   2. B.
      Their ways of making their way to the top.
   3. C.
      Their attitude towards responsibility.
   4. D.
      Their ways of gaining experience.
3. 3.

   Which of the following might the author agree with?

   1. A.
      It’s all right to try more before settling down.
   2. B.
      It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier.
   3. C.
      It involves too much effort to rise vertically.
   4. D.
      It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”.
4. 4.

   What can we conclude from the article?

   1. A.
      The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age.
   2. B.
      Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships.
   3. C.
      “Generation Y” people don’t want to grow up and love to be taken care of by their parents.
   4. D.
      The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better.
5. 5.

   What is the main theme of the article?

   1. A.
      The sudden realization of growing up.
   2. B.
      A comparison between lifestyles of generations.
   3. C.
      Criticisms of the young generation.
   4. D.
      The factors that have changed the young generation.