Why do parents have such a difficult time to communicate openly and honestly with their teens? For this, there are many reasons but most of them stem from not being able to properly understand their teens. It is a dangerous gap because parents will have to communicate with their teens about a wide variety of issues during the most important years of their lives. Thus, parents must know how to communicate openly and honestly with their teens.
Here are a few tips to make communication easier between parents and teenagers.
1. Try not to talk down to your teens. Make them feel as if their views really matter, which not only helps your discussions with your teen but bring you closer to him.
2. Imagine what it would be like to be a teen. Try to remember some of the negative feelings you experienced as a teenager and apply it to your teen's situation.
3. Never make negative remarks to your teen about what she has said or done.
4. Remember how much courage it would have taken for your teen to come and talk to you about his personal issues. So listen respectfully.
5. Don't ignore your teen's feelings because it is usually a cry for help. For instance, if your teen is unusually angry, it may be time to spend a bit of quality time with your teen to determine what is wrong and where he is coming from.
It is, therefore, necessary for parents to strive to keep lines of communication open at all times with their teens. Try to remember what it was like to be a teenager and how vulnerable（脆弱的）you felt. Then you will be well on your way to help your teen communicate more openly and honestly.
【小題1】Why don't teens want to talk about their personal issues with their parents?

A．Because they can't respect their parents.

B．Because they can't understand their parents.

C．Because their parents won't understand them well.

D．Because their parents are not honest.

【小題2】When your son comes to you for help, you should NOT _____.

A．listen respectively	B．treat him seriously
C．care about his feeling	D．make negative remarks

【小題3】Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined phrase  “talk down to”?

A．put down

B．look down upon

C．chat with

D．quarrel with

【小題4】The best title for this passage is _____.

A．Causes of generation gap

B．Relations between teens and parents

C．Suggestions for parents-children effective communication

D．Problems with communication between teens and parents

People who are hit by lightning and survive often have long-term effects. These may include memory loss, sleep disorders, muscle pain and depression.
Experts tell people to seek the safety of a building or a hard-top vehicle any time they hear thunder, even if it is not raining. They say lightning can strike as far as sixteen kilometers from any rainfall. Lightning can travel sideways. And at least ten percent of lightning happens without any clouds overhead that you can see.
People who are outdoors should make sure they are not the tallest thing around. Bend low to the ground, but do not lie down. And do not stand near tall object. Get away from water and anything made of metal. A car is safe, but don’t touch any metal inside.
Safety experts say people in buildings should stay away from anything with wires or pipes that lead to the outside. The National Weather Service says if you plan to disconnect any electronic equipment, do so before the storm arrives. Do not  use a wired telephone. Do not use water. All these can carry electricity.
Some people think a person struck by lightning carries an electrical charge afterward. Experts say this is not true. It is safe to begin emergency treatment
Each year about four hundred people in the United States are struck by lightning. Last year forty four people died. The average is close to seventy. The National Weather Service says that is more than the number of people killed by severe storms.
【小題1】According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Lightning can happen even if there is no cloud.

B．Lightning can’t strike very far.

C．Lightning can’t travel sideways.

D．Don’t stay in a car when lightning happen.

【小題2】We can learn from the passage that________.

A．it’s better to turn off any electronic equipment before the storm arrives.

B．a(chǎn) wired telephone is not safe to use in rainy days.

C．a(chǎn) person struck by lightning is said to carry an electrical charge afterward.

D．severe storms kill more people than lightning does.

【小題3】The underlined word ”depression” probably means”_______”.

A．excitement	B．a(chǎn) state of being forgettable
C．silence	D．a(chǎn) feeling of being sad

【小題4】The passage is mainly about______.

A．where people should stay in case of lightning

B．some common knowledge about lightning safety

C．how lightning travels

D．a(chǎn) report written by the National Weather Service

Everyone gets sick of hearing. “Put on your seat belt!”But it’s good advice. People who wear seat belts are 45 percent less likely to be killed while riding in the front seat of a car.
The US government wants more seat belt laws. It says children aged 4 to 15 are often killed in car accidents. In 2005, there were 1,627 children aged 4 to 15 killed in car accidents. More than 1,000 of those children were not wearing seat belts. If they had been wearing seat belts, 500 of those children could be alive today.
These children are too old to be in car seats, but they often sit in the back seat. Seat belt laws in many states, including Wisconsin, only require people in the front seat to wear seat belts. Children who aren’t wearing seat belts can be thrown from the car. The risk of dying in an accident is three times greater if the person is thrown from the car.
New laws could require children aged 4 to 8 to be in booster seats in the car. Booster seats help seat belts fit children properly. Right now, only 5 percent of children aged 4 to 8 are seated in booster seats.
While parents have the choice of whether wearing seat belts or not, children are too young to make that choice. Even if you decide not to wear a seat belt, make sure you children are in seat belts and car seats. It’s the law and it will save their lives.
【小題1】The underlined sentence “Everyone gets sick of hearing”in the first paragraph means“________”.

A．there is something wrong with everyone’s ears

B．a(chǎn)ll people fall ill when they hear something

C．many people don’t pay attention to wearing seat belts

D．none of the people knows it is a piece of good advice

【小題2】More than two-third of 1,627 children were killed because ___________.

A．they weren’t using seat belts

B．they were too careful when they walked on the road

C．they were not old enough to sit in the car

D．they wore seat belts

【小題3】You must get your children to put on seat belts in order to ________.

A．keep them comfortable in the car seat	B．keep them safe
C．keep them awake in the car all the time	D．prevent all kinds of traffic accidents

【小題4】What would be the best title of this passage?

A．Children Should Put on Seat Belts.

B．Too Many Traffic Accidents Happened Recently.

C．Traffic Laws Are Very Important.

D．Parents Are Important to Children.

Zoos divide opinion ： there are those who think it is cruel to keep animals locked up while others believe zoos are essential for the survival of endangered species.
To argue that zoos imprison animals is to misunderstand what zoos are about. Without zoos many of the creatures we love and admire would no longer exist. Every single day，over one hundred animal species vanish. Scientists predict that as early as 2050 one quarter of the Earth’s species will become extinct.
Some animals are in danger because they are hunted. Alarmingly, the population of tigers has already fallen by ninety-five percent. Other species are in danger because of a lack of food. For example, there are fewer than 1300 giant pandas left in the wild.
Zoos have special breeding programmes to help those animals at risk. These breeding programmes are proving extremely successful. As Irene Shapiro from Zoo and Wildlife Support says, “the Puerto Rican Parrot has grown in numbers from just thirteen to about eighty-five and the Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey, which has almost ceased to exist twenty years ago, has been reintroduced back into the wild. ”
Unfortunately, not everyone understands this important role zoos play. For example, Brian Featherstone from the Anti-Zoo Forum says, “I can’t believe we take animals from the wild and put them in cages for the entertainment of the public! We should view them on film or TV in their natural environment.，’
However, this misses the point. A zoo does more than display animals to the public. It ensures their survival. Without zoos you would not be able to see many of these animals on TV or anywhere else!
【小題1】What’s the writer’s attitude towards zoos?

A．He shows no opinion either for or against them.

B．He thinks that they are unnecessary and cruel.

C．He believes they play an important environmental role.

D．He expresses a desire that more of them be built.

【小題2】The underlined word “vanish” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _____.

A．remain

B．disappear

C．become rarer

D．get killed

【小題3】According to the passage the world’s tiger population _____.

A．will rise by 5% next year	B．is relatively stable
C．is 95% smaller than in the past	D．has fallen to 95%

【小題4】According to the passage some people do not agree with zoos because they _____

A．a(chǎn)re too expensive to run	B．put animals in danger
C．do not provide enough food	D．keep animals locked up

【小題5】According to the writer ，the most important function of the zoo is to _____.

A．make a lot of money	B．entertain visitors
C．ensure animals’ survival	D．educate the public

Who says constant texting is just a bad habit? The teenager with the fastest thumbs in the country was crowned on Wednesday at the LG US National Texting Championship in New York City, winning ＄50,000 after a series of fierce texting battles.
16-year-old Austin Wiershke comes from Rhinelander, Wisconsin of the United States. He took home the top prize at the fifth annual texting event, beating 11 other competitors in the final, including last year’s champion Brianna Hendrickson from Brooklyn, New York.
Wiershke, who was wearing a gray shirt and having Justin Bieber’s hairstyle, sailed through each level of the competition by typing passages of text on a QWERTY keyboard rapidly without any mistaken. One special round even included being blindfolded(蒙眼) on the state to make up phrases by memory.
“I’m extremely nervous,” Wiershke said while waiting for the results after the final round. “I’m getting ready to hear Brianna’s name. When I heard my name was announced, I really couldn’t believe my ears.” After the announcement was made, confetti(五彩紙屑) dropped from the ceiling and Wiershke was met on the stage by the singer who said that she liked texting very much. She was Ashley Tisdale, a famous and beautiful singer, who awarded him his check.
In August, a film on Music Television called “Thumbs” took a behind-the –scenes look at the teenager’s life. It shows how he practiced texting to be the fastest. The film followed a series of young texting competitors, including Brianna Hendrickson, in the weeks leading up to this year’s LG US National Texting Championship. Besides showing the always –connected lifestyle of these teenagers nationwide, the mover also shows the studies, sports , dreams and friendships among these competitors.
【小題1】What is the main idea of this passage?

A．A teenager receiver $50,000.

B．Teenagers in the US make money by texting.

C．A teenager was named the fastest texter in the US.

D．The LG US National Texting Championship was held in New York City.

【小題2】 During the special round, competitors were required to text_____________.

A．a(chǎn)mong confetti

B．without using their eyes

C．using a special keyboard

D．extremely difficult words

【小題3】We can infer that Austin Wiershke_________.

A．wasn’t used to using the QWERTY keyboard

B．didn’t think Brianna Hendrickson would win this time

C．didn’t expect he would beat Brianna Hendrickson

D．was very confident when he was waiting for the result of the contest

【小題4】Through the film called “Thumb”, people can know____________.

A．the development of the LG US National Texting Championship

B．various parts of the competitors’ life

C．what happened to the competitors after the contest

D．the details of the texting contest

It is not a secret that these are turbulent times that put everyone on edge all the time and it makes people angry with their families, co-workers, friends and relatives, frustrated (沮喪的)and highly annoyed just for the noise of the neighbors or the music coming from the opposite house. Anger and negative energy have a strong influence on everyone’s life, even when they don’t realize it.
Being in a calm state of mind is simply wonderful. Results of this can be seen when parents no longer shout at their children over any small thing and when one can keep him cool when bad things happen and doesn’t let the situation become worse by his negative influence.
Also results can be seen on a larger scale. In 1993 a very interesting scientific experiment called The US Transcendental Meditation experiment was conducted in Washington. A company called TM got 4,000 calm and relaxed people to simply sit and meditate (冥想) in a central Washington convention center. The results of this experiment showed that during those particular 8 weeks, violent crimes, such as murder, rape, assaults, clearly decreased by as much as 23%.
This is evident proof that meditation can change the state of mind, bring back peace of mind and collective meditation is contagious (蔓延的), just as anything done collectively is contagious. For example, a person has the urge to become aggressive (while in normal circumstances that person is very calm and normal), just because he is sitting at a stadium watching a football game and everyone around is shouting and is aggressive.
Isn’t increasing the quality of life worth spending 20 minutes of time on meditation? Yes, very few people follow through with a meditation method that should be a joy to do. Many start and leave it after only a few sessions.
So if collective meditation has proven that meditation works, that it calms people down and that it brings their levels of stress down, why not employ it in everyday life?
【小題1】The underlined word “turbulent” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “     ”.

A．changeless

B．disorderly

C．perfect

D．expected

【小題2】According to Paragraph 3, the scientific experiment      .

A．was to test whether meditation is useful

B．was conducted throughout America

C．a(chǎn)sked the participants to do a lot of sports

D．had no particular requirements on the participants

【小題3】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Violent crimes are closely related to aggressive characters.

B．People are sometimes easily annoyed by small things.

C．Many people fail to carry out a meditation method.

D．Meditation can cure people of many illnesses.

Researchers questioned nearly 9,800 people over the age of 50 about their lives and found women were happier than men and enjoy life more in old age.
Dr Elizabeth Breeze, one of the researchers, said that women could become happier as they get older as they no longer have to worry about looking after their families.
She said:“There is a difference between the way men and women view their quality of life and they are influenced by slightly different things. Women are affected negatively by caring for someone else or if they are not in employment but if they see their children and family more they are positively affected.”
“A strange thing happens to male actors, especially movie stars, in my experience,” said Helen Mirren, a 62-year-old Hollywood actress.“A young male actor feels that all the girls want him-he’s a star. As actors get older they bad-tempered for they have lost that sense of being in control of their destiny(命運(yùn)).”
Wealth also helps you live longer with the poorest people more than twice as likely to die earlier than the richest, researchers at University College London discovered. In some age groups. the difference was even greater. The poorest women between 60 and 74 are six times more likely to have died than the richest women of the same age.
According to the study, you have more chances of living longer if you are married, educated to certain degree or a professional. single people are twice as likely to die early as those  who are married or living with a partner.
【小題1】What may be the best title of the passage ?

A．Why Women Are Happier Than Men in Old Age .

B．How to Live Longer.

C．Women Happier Than Men in Old Age.

D．The Difference between Women and Men in Old Age

【小題2】What can we know from the passage？

A．Men should not worry about looking after their family any more in old age

B．Male actors, especially movie stars are easy to get bad—tempered when they get older and older.

C．The poorest women about the age of 50 can’t live longer than the richest women at the same age.

D．Education has nothing to do with happy life in people’s old age.

【小題3】What may be talked about if there is another paragraph as the ending ?

A．Things that the old should do to be happier.

B．The disadvantage of being actors.

C．We should earn money as much as we can.

D．How to become a professional.

While I was on a trip to Papua New Guinea to take underwater photographs, I asked a local dive guide to help me find a pygmy sea horse(侏儒海馬). I wanted to take a picture of it. These sea horses can be red or yellow-and-orange. The red pygmy sea horse lives on only one type of coral, a red sea fan that grows at depths below ninety feet.
This depth made the job even tougher. As the pressure on my body increased, I had to breathe harder, which used my air supply faster. So the deeper I dived, the shorter my time underwater.
I had a lot to do. First, I had to find the pygmy sea horse’s special type of fan .Then I had to look over the whole fan with my magnifying glass(放大鏡) to see if a sea horse lived on it. If not, I had to find another fan—all the while keeping an eye on my oxygen supply. The second fan rewarded me with a find. The dive guide held the magnifying glass so I could have my first look at the tiny fish.
My next challenge was to focus my camera on such a small subject. The dive guide pointed at the tiny creature. I looked through the viewfinder(取景物) on my large underwater camera housing(相架), found the guide’s finger, and followed it to the sea horse.
It was hard to hold ourselves steady because both of us were floating in mid-water, but our system worked. I could hardly contain my excitement as I focused on the eyes of the cutest sea horse imaginable.
【小題1】What do we learn about the red pygmy sea horse?

A．It lives on red sea fans only.	B．It swims very quickly.
C．It lives nine feet deep.	D．It usually floats in mid-water.

【小題2】From Paragraph 3 we learn        .

A．how the author swam under water	B．how the author found a sea horse
C．why the author dived with a guide	D．why the author used a magnifying glass

【小題3】While the author was taking pictures of the sea horse,        .

A．she felt extremely nervous	B．her camera didn’t work well
C．the guide helped focus the camera	D．the sea horse was swimming away

【小題4】Why did the author write the passage?

A．To study the natural habitat of sea animals.

B．To explain why sea horses are endangered.

C．To tell us how to be an underwater photographer.

D．To show us how she took pictures of a sea horse.

James is a good student and he has lots of friends，but he also has a problem．Some older boys are bullying(欺負(fù))him at school．James is very unhappy and he doesn't know what to do about it．Here are some suggestions to him and other teenagers in this situation．
Don't feel worried．It's not your fault(過錯)! Being bullied can make you feel very lonely and angry，but you are not alone．Don't feel that you have to hide the problem．You should find a person you can trust，and tell them．It might be your teacher，your parents，or even your friend's parents．After you tell someone，you will get some support and feel some relief(解脫)．
Speaking to an adult might make you nervous，but here are other things you can do．Some people express their feelings more easily on paper．Write a letter to someone or keep a diary．Include all the details about what the bullies do, as well as when and where the bullying happens．You can use it as proof to show what is going on．And it is a wonderful idea to show your letter or diary to a teacher or another responsible adult．Then the bullies will feel very afraid if their names appear in a letter!
Also，don't show you are sad and don't try and fight with the bullies. You could get in trouble yourself. Ignore them and just walk away. The bullies will soon stop.
【小題1】What do you think the text is trying to tell us?

A．What to do about being bullied.	B．How to be a good student at school.
C．What to write well in a diary.	D．How to give suggestions to teenagers.

【小題2】Why does the text advise you not to feel worried if bullied?

A．Because you are not alone.	B．Because it is not your fault.
C．Because someone has known about it.	D．Because you' re doing something wrong.

【小題3】You'd better go and find a person you can trust and ____.

A．know what happens

B．learn from them

C．a(chǎn)sk for help

D．make them lonely

When you leave home to go and live somewhere else, you naturally take your own personality and cultural ways with you. When you arrive in a new country with a different culture you can experience different kinds of feelings and reactions. For example, you may feel confused and nervous, and like to depend on others.
If you do experience these things, then you are probably experiencing culture shock. For example, coming to Australia from another country certainly gives you a chance to face many new things: the buildings look different, and the food is not what you are used to. You may not be able to speak with other people confidently.
Learning to function effectively in a new culture is not easy. Meanings in cross-cultural situations are often unclear. This can be stressful because you are not sure what others expect of you or what you can expect of them. In these situations it is natural to feel anxious and frustrated(挫折). If you recognize that these feelings are a normal part of the experience of living away from “home”, you may be able to deal with them more efficiently. Your sense of humor and openness will also help. As you gain greater understanding of the new culture, you can expect the stress to disappear.
Dealing with culture shock needs a special effort, but it is the most important to remember that you are not alone in your feelings of distress. Most people in their first weeks and months in a new country experience similar reactions.
【小題1】This passage mainly tells us _______.

A．How to adapt（適應(yīng)） to a new environment	B．how to live in Australia happily
C．how to study in a new environment	D．how to avoid being nervous

【小題2】Why do people have many kinds of feelings in a new country?

A．Because they are surprised at everything they see.

B．Because buildings are very beautiful.

C．Because culture shock does have a great effect on them.

D．Because they have to learn something quickly.

【小題3】The stress may disappear slowly as you __________.

A．have the ability to get along well with others

B．can know more about the new culture

C．can consider the stress to be normal

D．a(chǎn)re humorous and have a good mood

【小題4】Which of the following is the most important thing in dealing with culture shock?

A．Your efforts.

B．Your attitude.

C．Your feelings.

D．Your humor.