The Best of Friends

The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image (印象) of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.

An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,” said one member of the research team. “They’re expected to be rebellious (叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation (商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”

So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. “My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. “I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”

Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, “Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”

What is the popular image of teenagers today?

A. They worry about school.                  B. They quarrel a lot with other family members

C. They have to be locked in to avoid troubles.   . D. They dislike living with their parents.

The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ______.

A. share family responsibility              B. make family decisions

C. go boating with their family             D. cause trouble in their families

Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents______.

A. go to clubs more often with their children       B. give their children more freedom

C. care less about their children’s life             D. are much stricter with their children

According to the author, teenage rebellion ______.

 A. existed only in the 1960s                  B. is common nowadays

 C. may be a false belief                     D. resulted from changes in families

What is the passage mainly about?

A. Harmony in family.                         B. Education in family.

C. Negotiation in family.                       D. Teenage trouble in family.

Autumn means different things to different people. It all depends on your personality, said British naturalist Richard Mabey. "Personality shapes your view of the season," he said. "You may see it as a fading away, a packing up(结束), or as a time of packing in another sense – the excited gathering of resources before a long journey."
If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet. About November, he wrote:
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees
November!
On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn. He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it.
According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side. Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures. For example, just at the moment that Keats's "gathering swallows" (in To Autumn) are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll(叶绿素) and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe-keeping over winter. What remains are the natural antioxidants(防老剂) in the leaves: the yellow and orange carotenoids(类胡萝卜素), and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the bright-red anthocyanin(花青素). High color is not a signal of deterioration(退化) and decline, but of detox(排毒的) ability and good health.
A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal: "Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn. [And that we could] disintegrate(瓦解) like autumn leaves…dropping their substance like chlorophyll. Would not our attitude towards death be different?"
【小题1】From Thomas Hood’s poem, we may infer that _______.

A.he suffered a lot from cold November
B.he missed the shining summer days very much
C.he had a negative attitude towards autumn
D.he enjoyed butterflies and bees very much
【小题2】Which word can best describe Loren Eiseley’s attitude towards autumn?
A.Optimistic. B.Fearful. C.Doubtful.D.Realistic.
【小题3】In autumn, leaves turn yellow before falling because ______.
A.they can’t bear the freezing
B.they can’t get enough water from the wood part
C.chlorophyll and carbohydrates have been lost through leaves
D.chlorophyll and carbohydrates have come back to the wood part
【小题4】What does the underlined sentence mean?
A.Man can never live long, just as leaves must leave the tree annually.
B.Man is different from autumn leaves, which will come again the next spring.
C.Man should treat death calmly, just like autumn leaves fall to the ground.
D.Man should have a positive attitude towards death, quite different from autumn leaves.

Below is a page adapted from an English dictionary.
Important words to learn:E Essential I improver A Advanced
Pump
noun [C] DEVICE 1 A a piece of equipment which is
used to cause liquid, air or gas to move from one place
gas pump SHOE2[USUALLY PLURAL]US (UK COURT SHOE)
8 type of plain shoe with a raised HEEL and no way of
fastening it to the foot which is worn by women
3 [USUALLY PLURAL]  type of flat shoe, like a BALIET dancer’s shoe when is worn by women 4 [USUALLY PLURAL]UK a flat·shoe made of heavy cloth, which is worn by children for doing sports.
verb LIQUID/GAS1 [T USUALLY·ADV/PREP] to force
liquid or gas to move somewhere:our latest machine can
pump a hundred gallors a minute , o The new wine is
pumped into stirage tanks.o The heart pumos blood
through the arteries/round the body. INFORMATION2[T]
INFORMAL to keep asking someone for information,
especially in a way that is not direce:She was pumping me
for details of the new projece.
Idioms pump sb’s hand to SHAKE someone’s hand
(="hold" their hand and move it up and down, espacially
In order to greet them)·pump lron INFORMAL to lift
Heavy weights for exercise: These days both men and
Women pump iron far fitnets.
Pharsal verbs pump sth into sth to spend    
Money trying to make something operate succesfully:
They had been pumpinh money into the business for some
Years without seeing any results.
Pump sth out(M)REMOVE1 to remove water or other
liquid from something using a pump:We took turns
pumping out the boat.PRODUCE2 INFORMAL DISAPPROVING
to produce words or loud music in a way that is repeated,
forceful and continuous: The government keeps pumping
out the same old propaganda.O The car radio was
pumping out music with a heacy beat.
Pump out sth someone’s stomach is pumped out, a
Poisonous substance is removed from it by being-sucked
Through a tube. She had to go to hospital    
Stomach pumped out.
Pump sth up [M] INFORMAL to make someone feel more
contident or excited: He was offering them advince and
trying to pump them up.O[R]The players were pumping
themselves up by singing the national anthem, before the
game.
Pump sth up[M]1 to fill something with air using a
pump: Have you pumped up the balloons yet?O I must
pump the tyres up on my bike.2 INFORMAL to increase
something by a large amount:The US was able to pump
up exports.O Let’s pump up the tolume a bit!
Pump-action /pamp ek/ n/adjective describes a device which operates by forcing song     especially air ,in or out of a closed space or container, a pump-action shotgun , a pump   action   
Pump priming noun specialized the activity of helping a business ,programm ,economy    etc   to  develop by  giving it money.  The government is carding small,pump-priming grants to single moter who are starting their own businesses.
Pun
noun a humorous use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sound like another word:she made a couple of dreadful puns.  This is a well-known joke based on a pun “What’s  black and white and red   all  over   A newspaper
Verb  to make a pun
Punch
Noun      (c)a forceful hit with a fist (="closed" hand) she gave him a punch lik on us in the nose effect
2 U the power to be interesting and have a strong effect on people ,I felt the performance speech presntation lacked punch DRnk  3  a cold or hot drink made by mixing fruit juices pieces of frut and often wine or other alcoholic drinks tool  4  a piece of equoce  which cuts boles in a maena by pushing a piece of met through it a ticket punch have you seen the hole puneh anywhere?
Verb(t) hit 1  to hit someone or something with your FIST (="closed" hand);He punched him in the stomach.2 MALY US to hit with your fingers the bugins on a telephone or the kdys on a keys on a keyboard USE TOCL make a hole in something with a special piece of equipment:I was just punching holes in some sheets of paper  .This belt’s too big .I’ll have to punch an extra hole in it.
Idioms punch sb’s lights out informal to hit someone repeatedly very hard punch the clock us to put a card into a special machine to record the times you amive at and leave work:After 17 years of punching the clock,he just disappeared one morning and was mever heard from again.
【小题1】
What does the word“pump”mean in “He ran in every five minutes to pump me about the case”?

A.Talk withB.ask for information.C.Listen toD.Provide with evidence
【小题2】
When Sally says“The TV propram kept pumping out commercials”,she may be______.
A.excitedB.interestedC.annoyedD.annoyed
【小题3】
What will the government most probably provide if it is engaged in a pump-priming program?
A.sums of moneyB.Raw materials
C.informative and significantD.intereing and powerful
【小题4】
When Sylvia says“His speech was OK but it had no real punch”,she thinks it was not_____.
A.fluent and impressiveB.logical and moving
C.informative and significantD.interestitng and powerful

根据下列句子所给首字母在横线上写出空缺处各单词的正确形式。(每空只写一词)
【小题1】He drew a ____________(结论)after a lot of experiments.
【小题2】Word came that our football team was _____________ (打败)again.      
【小题3】Who do you think is to ____________(该受指责)for the accident?
【小题4】What he did was not ________ (与……一致)with what he said.
【小题5】England is divided __________ (粗略地) into three zones.
【小题6】At first my new __________ (环境) were difficult to tolerate.
【小题7】If it is _____________(方便的)to you I’ll be with you next Tuesday.
【小题8】 Please ________(安排) for a taxi to pick me up at six o’clock.
【小题9】To their __________(高兴), their son was admitted into a famous university.
【小题10】Wang Ping ________(系好) my safety belt and showed me how to use the hovering carriage.
【小题11】 Being ______(暴露)to sunlight for too much time will do harm to one’s skin.
【小题12】With extra evidence John Snow was able to______(宣布) with certainty that polluted water carried the virus.
【小题13】For historical__________ (建筑) ,you have to go to older but smaller towns built by the Romans.
【小题14】Just as I tried to make the necessary ________(调整)to this new situation, Wang Ping appeared.
【小题15】Westminster Abbey contains ________(雕塑) in memory of dead poets and writers.

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