For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner.
Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the
line between what I control and what you do?
     Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither
is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents' point of view, the only cause of their fight
is their adolescents' complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except
oppositely. Both feel trapped.
     In this article, I'll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then
suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples
include the color of the teen's hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child's
failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends.
     Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason
why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn't matter what the topic is-politics, the laws of
physics, or the proper way to break an egg-the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the
other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority-someone who actually knows something-and
therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know
more than the other, they'll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A. Both can continue for generations.
B. Both are about where to draw the line.
C. Neither has any clear winner.
D. Neither can be put to an end.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.
B. The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.
C. The teens accuse their parents of misleading them.
D. The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

3. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to _____.

A. give orders to the other
B. know more than the other
C. gain respect from the other
D. get the other to behave properly

4. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.
B. Examples of the parent-teen war.
C. Solutions for the parent-teen problems.
D. Future of the parent-teen relationship.

     Parents are busy people. If they are working, they are usually not at home 1______ their children return
from school. Sometimes it is necessary for a parent to write 2______ after-school note for their children.
They sometimes put the note on the kitchen table, the refrigerator, 3______ another place where their children
are sure to find it. A note is often a 4______ way to "talk" with a child than using the telephone. For one thing,
parents have time to think about 5______ they want to say before they write. For 6______ another, the note
lists all the information in one place. It is easy to read again and again. People often forget all the details that 
7______ hear in a telephone call. Finally, cell phones can be turned 8______ or telephone calls not answered.
For these reasons, after-school notes are very popular with parents.

     I hated dinner parties. But I decided to give them another shot because I'm in London. And my friend
Mallery invited me. And because dinner parties in London are very different from those back in New York.
There, 'I’m having a dinner party' means: "I'm booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you can't afford and
we'll be sharing the checque evenly, no matter what you eat. " Worse, in Manhattan there is always someone
who leaves before the bill arrives. They'll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me,
who don’t drink, end up paying even more. But if I try to use the same trick, the hostess will shout:"Where
are you going?" And it's not like I can say I have somewhere to go: everyone know I have nowhere to go.
     But in London, dinner parties are in people's homes. Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix. The
last time I went to one, the guests were from France, India. Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a gathering at
the United Nations in New York. The mix is less striking. It's like a gathering at Bloomingdale's, a well-known
department store.
     For New Yorkers, talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New York. But
at Mallery's, when I said that I had been to Myanmar recently, people knew where it was. In New York people
would think it was a usual new club.

1. What does the word"shot" in Paragraph j probably mean?

A. Choice.
B. Try
C. Style.
D. Goal

2. What does the writer dislike most about dinner parties in New York?

A There is a strange mix of people.
B. The restaurants are expensive.
C. The bill is not fairly shared.
D. People have to pay cash.

3. What does the author think of the parties in London?

A. A bit ummul
B. Full of tricks.
C. Less cosdy.
D. More interesting.

4. What is the author's opinion of some New Yorkers from her experience?

A. Easy-going.
B. Self-centered.
C. Generous.
D. Conservative.

     You are seeing a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another over the heads with chairs.
And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He
is dead!
     Of course he isn't really dead. With any luck he isn't even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high
windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars or even catch fire, are professionals. They do this
for a living. These men are called stuntmen (特技演員). That is to say, they perform tricks.
     They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building.
However, they do not fall onto hard ground but onto empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress (床墊).
Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through
windows, the glass is made of sugar!
     But although their work depends on tricks of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training.
Often a stuntman's success depends on careful timing. For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene,
he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.
     Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They sometimes get seriously
injured, and even killed. A Norwegian (挪威的) stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff a thousand
feet high. His parachute (降落傘) failed to open and he was killed.
     In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women to
perform some dangerous actions. For nowadays there are stunt girls, too.

1. What can be inferred from the author's example of the Norwegian stuntman?

A. Sometimes an accident can happen to a stuntman.
B. Parachutes must be of good quality.
C. The percentage of serious accidents is high.
D. The cliff was too high.

2. Stuntmen are those who _____.

A. often dress up as actors
B. like to lead dangerous lives
C. often perform seemingly dangerous actions
D. often fight each other for their lives

3. Stuntmen earn their living by _____.

A. playing their dirty tricks
B. selling their special (特別的) skills
C. jumping out of high windows
D. jumping from fast moving trains

4. When a stuntman falls from a high building, _____.

A. he needs little protection
B. he will be covered with a mattress
C. his life is in danger
D. his safety is generally all right

5. Which of the following is the main factor of a successful performance?

A. Strength.
B. Exactness.
C. Speed.
D. Carefulness.

     Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials
(商業(yè)廣告) thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether
you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard (廣告牌) glides (滑行) by outside the bus window.
"Buy Super Clean Toothpaste." "Drink Good Wet Root Beer." "Fill up with Pacific Gas." Only if you sleep,
which is equal to turning the television off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!"
     The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you've traveled that way before.
Usually some things have changed new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver
has a style of driving and it's fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless
(魯莽的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling (驚險的) as a suspense (懸念) story. Will the driver pass the
truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane (車道)? After a while, of course, the
excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus
rides more interesting. But you've got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can
make you very thirsty between stops.
     The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there's a kind of
expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now
you've sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests even with
your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.

1. According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?

A. Buses on the road.
B. Films on television.
C. Advertisements (廣告) on the billboards.
D. Gas stations.

2. What is the purpose of this passage?

A. To give the writer's opinions about long bus trips.
B. To persuade you to take a long bus trip.
C. To explain how bus trips and television shows are different.
D. To describe the billboards along the road.

3. The writer of this passage would probably prefer _____.

A. bus drivers who aren't reckless
B. driving alone
C. a television set on the bus
D. no billboards along the road

4. The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because _____.

A. the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B. they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
C. the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D. neither traveling nor watching TV are not exciting.

5. The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are _____.

A. exciting
B. comfortable
C. tiring
D. boring

Cathy, Jason, Kate, Wayne和Frank各自打算訂一份雜志。第1至5題是他們的個人情況介紹。
     _______ 1. A young mother raising her first child, Cathy tries to spend as much time as she can playing
with her baby girl. She is eager to get more knowledge of child development and to better understand how
young children look at the world.
     _______ 2. Jason is a successful young businessman. He travels widely and enjoys adventures and
challenges. Having been to many different countries, Jason is still looking for new places to visit. His biggest
dream is to see every corner of the world before he retires.
     _______ 3. Smart and pretty, Kate is very popular among her friends. She takes great care of how she
looks and has a great interest in fashion and the lifestyle of famous people. Besides, she also enjoys reading
articles written especially for young girls.
     _______ 4. Wayne teaches science in a middle school. He not only wants his students to know more about
the modern science, but also tries hard to develop a curiosity about nature among his students. He is gathering
materials for his students to read.
     _______ 5. Frank is the father of a 10-year-old boy. He believes that in this fast-developing world parents
should prepare their children for lifelong learning at an early age. Therefore, in his opinion, the most important
skill for children to learn is to discover things on their own. He is looking for a magazine for his son.

     閱讀下面六種雜志的簡介(A、B、C、D、E和F)，選出符合各人需要的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有一項(xiàng)是
多余選項(xiàng)。
A. Seventeen
     Seventeen provides advice and encouragement for masses of young girls. Although its primary focus is
fashion and famous people, this teen magazine offers more. Mixed among the latest styles, you'll find short
but interesting articles. Topics range from beauty to the risks of drinking.
     Price: $ 22.95 ($ 3.83/issue)
B. Muse
     Muse seeks to stimulate, delight, and challenge every curious child between the ages of 13 and 16.
Produced by the editors and publishers of Cricket, Muse features articles on space, genetics, lasers, rain
forests, computers, physics, math, earth sciences, and almost everything else in the universe.
     Price: $ 32.97 ($ 3.66/issue)
C. WONDERTIME
     WONDERTIME is a new magazine from the editors of Family Fun, devoted to helping parents develop
children's love of learning. A blend of how and why, WONDERTIME inspires parents to see the world through
the eyes of their children. WONDERTIME mixes playful activities with scientific knowledge about how children
develop physically, socially, intellectually, creatively, and emotionally.
     Price: $10.00 ($1.00/issue)
D. National Geographic Adventurer
     A new magazine from National Geographic, National Geographic Adventurer is intended for a generation
of active men and women who seek new challenging ways to explore and experience the world. The magazine
offers an exciting mix of great photography and interesting articles. Features focus on best adventure stories,
travel destinations, sports and more.
     Price: $14.95 ($1.50/issue)
E. Family-fun
     What does family fun mean to you? Crafts? Recipes? Party ideas? Family-fun magazine dishes up these
and more interesting activities in over 180 colorful pages. Aimed at parents with young children, this energetic
magazine promises to enrich the lives of families. Reviews of computer games, books, videos, and DVDs,
written by experts, help parents feel up to the minute.
     Price: $ 9.95 ($ 0.99/ issue)
F. Kids Discover
     To help children aged 6 to 12 become lifelong learners, each issue of Kids Discover looks into a single
topic in science or social studies which children of this age have a great interest in. The combination of
exciting color photography, lovely pictures and informative kid-friendly text engages readers with attractive
content.
     Price: $ 26.95($ 2. 25/issue)

     If you go to Brisbane, Australia, you can easily get a small book called "Discover Brisbane" free.
The book tells you almost everything in Brisbane: the restaurants, the shops, the cinemas, the streets,
the buses, the trains, the banks, etc.. Here is something about banks on page 49:
ANZ Banking
Group Cnr. Greek & Queen Sts ……………………………………......................228 3228
Bank of New Zealand
410 Queen Street ……………………………………………................................221 0411
Bank of Queensland
229 Elizabeth Street ……………………………………………............................229 3122
Commonwealth Banking Group
240 Queen Street …………………………………..............................................237 3111
National Australia Bank Ltd
225 Adelaide Street…………………………………….........................................221 6422
Westpac Banking Corp
260 Queen Street…………………………………………….................................227 2666
     Banking Hours are Mon-Thurs 9:30 am to 4 pm.
     Fri. 9:30 am to 5 pm. All banks close Sat. Sun. & Public Holidays.
     Australia has a decimal currency with 100 cents to the Dollar.
     Notes available are: $ 100, $ 50, $ 20, $ 10, $ 5
     Gold coins are: $ 2 & $1.
     Silver coins are: 50, 20, 10 & 5.
     Copper coins are: 2 & 1 cent.

1. You can find ANZ bank on _____.

A. Queen Street
B. Elizabeth Street
C. the corner of Greek Street and Queen Street
D. the corner of Queen Street and Elizabeth Street

2. _____ seems to be the most important street in Brisbane.

A. Greek Street
B. Elizabeth Street
C. Queen Street
D. Adelaide Street

3. On Saturday, you can go to _____ to put your money in or take your money out.

A. ANZ Banking Group
B. Bank of Queensland
C. National Australia Bank Ltd
D. no bank

4. In Australia, the banks have their longest service hours on _____.

A. public holidays
B. Sundays
C. Saturdays
D. Fridays

     We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly
everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of
things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same
time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby
pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to
your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband
arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
     Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit
each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner.
She suddenly go into a panic (恐慌) and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly.
His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through
the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck
all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck
on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police
nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meanwhile, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds
of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having
what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!

1. According to the author's opinion, _____.

A. a small matter may cause great trouble
B. accidents may happen anytime
C. troubles always come in groups
D. anyone may have trouble any day

2. When the telephone rings, _____.

A. you'd better have your baby a little distant from your table before answering it
B. your trouble is sure to come
C. you'd better just let it ring all the way
D. you should never go to answer it in a hurry

3. What did the police do after the accident?

A. They helped the driver clean up the road.
B. They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.
C. They tried to stop the people from arguing.
D. They would find out who should be responsible

4. From the story we can see _____.

A. such accidents are rather common
B. such accidents are rather strange
C. no one can explain why such accidents happen
D. some drivers are too careless

(     )1. Mike spent his childhood mostly in his father's study, where he read novels by British and American
writers. Next term he will become a senior student. He thinks it's time that he read more of their works and
learned to write about them.
(     )2. Joseph is good at the language arts, and in his spare time he likes to write short stories. It is his wish
that his stories would be printed in local newspapers. So he is thinking of taking a course to develop his writing
skills such as wording and paragraph organization.
(     )3. A lively and caring girl, Anna takes an active part in social activities. She is trying to write reports for
newspapers about what she sees and hears. But few of them are accepted because of poor organization of
information. She feels the need to improve her writing and communication skills next term.
(     )4. Jan traveled worldwide with his parents when he was very young. Under their influence, he becomes
greatly interested in stories of travel and adventure. He hopes to write his own stories in the future. So next
term, he will choose a course to study the best writing of this type.
(     )5. Susan comes from China. As a junior back home, she wrote quite a lot of short stories, some of which
were published in newspapers. Her parents hoped she read some classics by Asian and Western writers. She
thinks it helpful in her writing. So she is going to take a course of this kind next term.

A. Creative Writing
     -by Mrs. A. McClellan
     Creative writing is a course in which we study and apply the methods used in various forms of fiction
writing. Writing is a skill of art in itself. We are guided by Ezra Pound's opinion: “Make it new. ” Creative
writing does not only provide us with an opportunity to express ourselves, but also holds our attention to
word choice, paragraph development, and other skills useful in writing.
B. Journalism
     -by Dr. E. Brandt
     Journalism is a course for serious, in which we will cover how to gather, write, and report the news. We
will discuss how information is, or can be, organized. This course also aims to develop communication skills
required of journalists.
C. American & British Classics
     -by Dr. E. Walter
     A classic is a literary work that has stood the test of time. Generations of readers have learned to classics
to discover that which is over-lasting. Through both the works themselves and the people they mirror, we may
better be able to see ourselves. In this course, we will read works in both British and American literature (文學(xué)).
We will write reviews of what we read.
D. Technical Writing
     -by Mr. J. Allen
     What is technical writing? It is the course devoted to improving your communication skills in, for, and
through technology. Activities for this course will help you develop communication skills that are necessary
for writers and speakers working with technology or in business.
E. Non-fiction
     -by Dr. M. Yimm
     The course is a study of non-fiction through reading many different topics of non-fiction. The course will
also be about the possible changes in journalistic reporting and the sharing of personal stories of various people
on various topics such as travel and adventure. We will examine some of the best writing in the world and deal
with the techniques used in this text type
F. World Literature
     -by Mrs. A. McClellan
     World Literature examines the common people found in quality literature worldwide, from Europe to Americ
a, from Asia to Africa, and introduces a variety of cultural background at different points in history. In these
worlds, we find not only what is unique to each culture, but what is universal. We are also able to tell what
makes for a good story, no matter from where or whom the story springs.