If I could select a word that best describes the majority of American parents, that word
would be guilt-ridden (内疚的). How sad it is to see parents become the willing victims
of the "give me game", only to discover that, no matter what they do, it isn"t enough. In the
end, they are looked down for their lack of firmness and blamed when their spoiled children
get into trouble. With this in mind, I shall first answer this question: "What do parents owe
their children? And I shall start with what they don"t owe them.
Parents don"t owe their children every minute of their day and every ounce of their energy.
They don"t owe round-the-clock car service, singing lessons, tennis lessons, an expensive car
when they reach sixteen, or a trip to Europe when they graduate.
I take the firm position that parents do not owe their children a college education. If they
can afford it, fine. But they must not feel guilty if they can"t. If the children really want to go,
they" II find a way. Here are plenty of loans and scholarships for the bright and eager who
can"t afford to pay.
After children marry, their parents do not owe them a house or money for the furniture.
They do not have an obligation to baby-sit their grandchildren when the parents were on
vacation. If they want to do it, it must be considered a favour, not an obligation.
In my opinion, parents do not owe their children an inheritance, no matter how much
money they have. One of the surest ways to produce a loafer is to let children know that
their future is assured.
Do parents owe their children anything? Yes, they owe them a great deal.
One of their chief obligations is to give their children a sense of personal worth, for
self-esteem is the basis of a good mental health. Parents owe their children firm guidance
and consistent discipline. Parents owe their children privacy and respect for their personal
belongings.
No child asks to be born. If you bring a life into the world, you owe the children something.
And if you give him his due, he"ll have something of value to pass along to your grandchildren.
A. Age.
B. Education.
C. Skin color.
D. Sex.
Title: 1. _______ | |
2. ______ | ●For- profit organizations, such as other companies and businessmen ●3. _____ organizations including 4. ____ parties and other interest groups |
Purposes | ●Persuade 5. ____ customers and 6. ____ sales ●Spread knowledge ●Change attitudes ●Improve society |
7. ____ | ●Improve brand image ●Express ideas |
8. _____ | ●Has increased constantly in recent years |
Opinions | ●Its advantages are that it supports economic 9. ____ and social development. ●It is also a major burden for both users and 10. ____ of Internet email service. |
阅读理解. | |
Impatient drivers, pushy people on the subway, kids shouting into their mobile phones... we see these unpleasant incidents almost every day. This is why Canadian filmmaker John Curtin"s new documentary, To Hell With Manners! The Decline of Civility ,couldn"t be more timely. He puts these impolite behaviors under a microscope in an attempt to explain why we seem to have become so much ruder in recent years. Curtin travels to New York and London to record rude and sometimes not-so-rude behaviors. " I"m not actually saying that everyone is impolite. I would say we are becoming less kind to each other simply because we"re not paying attention to one another, " he said. Cutin attributes people"s indifference (冷漠) largely to the modern technology we have: iPods, cellphones and stuff like that. Montreal Gazette columnist Josh Freed, who talks in the film, agrees withCurtin." We"ve become less human as a result of these technological advances and by the fact that,so often,we"re now surrounded by strangers, " Freed said. Curtin wanted at all costs to make sure his film was not full of older people talking about how impolite young people have become. Instead, _________ "We just live in a very rushed, stressed-out society and it"s very easy to feel you"re under pressure and you"ve got to take care of yourself. So we imagine ourselves in some kind of Darwinian struggle where you have got to take care of number one," Curtin said. 1. Why does the author think Curtin"s new documentary couldn"t be more timely? ( Please answer within 20 words) ______________________________________________________________ 2. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one? Curtin examines these unpleasant incidents carefully, trying to make clear what leads to our worsening manners. _______________________________________________________________ 3. According to Curtin, what results in people"s indifference? ( Please answer within 15 words) ________________________________________________________________ 4. Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 into Chinese. _________________________________________________________________ 5. Fill in the blank in the last paragraph with proper words.( Please answer within 5 words) _________________________________________________________________ | |
阅读理解 | |
A friend asks me "Why don"t Chinese go Dutch?" So I want to regard this question as the topic and write an article. As everyone knows,westerners will go Dutch while having a meal in the restaurant. But Chinese don"t go Dutch. Chinese will pay the bill and check out generously. Westerners don"t often entertain guests;but Chinese often invite friends to dinner. A lot of westerners feel puzzled to this question. Why does there exist such a difference? First of all,food systems between China and West are different. Chinese put into practice Gather Dining System;westerners put into practice Individual Dining System. Everybody can share the delicious food of all over the table when eating Chinese food. Please note it is sharing,but westerners just eat the food in one"s own plate. If you eat beef and he eats chicken,it is impossible that you taste the flavor of his chicken. The result of the Individual Dining System is that you can only eat the food in your plate. So to eat Chinese food is happier than to eat Westernstyle food. And I want to ask you a question. Do you like the free thing? I think nobody doesn"t like the free thing. OK! Suppose I invite you to eat the delicious Chinese food,then I pay the bill. This is equivalent to that you have enjoyed a delicious Chinese food free. So you will be very glad. It will strengthen the relation between us in the happy atmosphere. Secondly,westerners eat for the health;Chinese eat for the friendship. Westerners advocate individualism and independence is strong. So westerners express that respect for each other"s independence through the way go Dutch. Chinese like making friends and solidarity. Chinese value the interpersonal relationships and the friendship very much. Third,it is only simple "Have a meal!" for westerners to entertain guests. Unlike the purpose and the means that Chinese entertain guests,in Americans" idea,"Have a meal" definition is to add fuel to the body for keeping health and normal life activity. That is to say,there is not any additional value. In the Chinese idea,"Have a meal" not only is a kind of life enjoyment,but also is the means to promote friendship between the friends. After enjoying the sumptuous delicious food,you are glad,and I am glad,too. The friendship between the friends has been strengthened in this kind of atmosphere. | |
1. What does "go Dutch" mean? | |
A. They will pay for the meal separately. B. Either part will pay for the meal. C. They will go to Dutch for a meal. D. They can enjoy a meal free of charge. | |
2. The differences between Western and Chinese Dinning System lie in the following aspects EXCEPT ________. | |
A. individual and gathering B. the purpose for health and for the friendship C. health maintenance and life enjoyment D. opposition and dependence | |
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? | |
A. Westerners will share the food in their plates with each other. B. Chinese would like the free meal so they never pay the bill. C. Westerners don"t value the friendship so they never pay the meal for others. D. Chinese attitudes towards the meal seem more complicated than westerners". | |
4. The underlined word "means" in the fifth paragraph refers to ________. | |
A. the definition of "Have a meal!" B. the way of strengthening the friendship C. the meaning of a meal D. the dinner set used for a meal | |
5. The passage mainly analyzes the cause of ________. | |
A. the different cultures between the West and China B. the various styles of food between the West and China C. the ways of paying the bill between westerners and Chinese D. all kinds of tastes of food from different countries |