As school starts again, there's so much more for an American parent to nag （唠叨）about, like homework，bedtime and lost hours on the Internet.
But in the age of digital childhood，Jacky Longwell, 45 , of McLean, Virginia, often text – messages what she once told her children by mouth: Be nice to your brother; walk the dog; remember your reading.
This is the world of the modern family, in which even reminding children to do something has become electronic.
There are changes in how parents nag and in what they nag about and in how often of their nagging.
With technology," you nag more, and you are a little bit more precise （其体的）with your nagging,” said Reginald Black, 46, of Woodbridge. Virginia.
For many young people electronic nagging is part of the experience of growing up.
Charles Flowers, 17, a senior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, says his mother reminds him about everything from laundry, being on time to baseball practice and mowing the lawn by text.
When she uses capitals he knows she’s serious: GET HOME!
Some say technology has made nagging less annoying. Jacky Longwell thinks texts are less emotional than spoken messages and less likely to be resisted by teenagers.
“It’s not as painful for them to hear it by text. It becomes grouped with the friendly communication.” she said. “They can’t hear the nagging.”
She thinks a good way to do it is to mix friendliness with nagging. A parent can always start by saying hello.
Not all parents like the new electronic nagging. Joyce Bouchard, 51, a mother of four in Fairfax, Virginia , texts her 14 - year - old son but says that for many things-chores, homework-the old - fashioned way works better. Nagging by text has risks. She notes: “I always think, if you’re texting them something and they’re with their friends, they are getting a big laugh out of it.”
68. The main idea of the article is .
A. what American parents like to nag about
B. why American parents like to nag their children
C. that electronic nagging is becoming common in the US
D. how American parents began to nag their children by text mess
ages
69. The example of Reginald Black is used to show readers .
A. that her nagging is thoughtful
B. that she likes nagging her children very much
C. the kind of skills a parent needs to nag effectively
D. how the amount and kind of nagging have changed with the arriva
l of the digital age
70. The underlined sentence “Nagging by text has risks.” most probably means“ ”
A. Electronic nagging costs too much
B. Nagging messages may he resisted
C. Receiving texts is harmful to teenagers’ health
D. Parents are likely to be addicted to nagging by text
71. We can infer from the article that .
A. it’s better for parents to nag in a friendly way
B. if nagging is electronic, it is not annoying
C. American parents generally don’t like to nag
D. American parents like to use capital letters in messages
There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process．People have generally viewed personal growth as an external（外部的） result or product that can easily be identified and measured．The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language--- all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts．
By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way．The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they go through new experiences and unexpected obstacles．In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept．
In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to be faced with the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first．How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow．
These feelings of insecurity and self – doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow．If we do not face and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to grow．We become trapped inside a shell of our own making．A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when______．．
| A．he has given up his smoking habit |
| B．he has made great efforts in his work |
| C．he is interested in making anything new |
| D．he has tried to determine where he is on his journey |
In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would______．
| A．judge his ability to grow from his own achievements |
| B．succeed in climbing up the social ladder |
| C．face difficulties and take up challenges |
| D．aim high and reach his goal each time |
When the author says “a new way of being” （para．3）, he is referring to _____．
| A．a new way of taking risks |
| B．a new approach to experiencing the world |
| C．a new system of adapting to change |
| D．a new method of finding ourselves |
For personal growth, the author may not support __________． ．
| A．curiosity and more chances |
| B．being quick in self – adaptation |
| C．open – minded to new experiences |
| D．avoidance of internal fears and doubts |
Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes．
"Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers," the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．"Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues with symbolic messages．People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear．"
Medical Daily notes that the number of detailed personality traits detected in the study include a person's general age, their gender, income, political affiliation, and other personality traits, including someone's emotional stability．
Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes．In the study, 63 University of Kansas students looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants．Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire．
So, what do your shoes say about your personality?
Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier footwear was typically worn by extroverts（外向性格的人）．
However, some of the more specific results are intriguing．For example, "practical and functional" shoes were generally worn by more "agreeable" people, while ankle boots were more closely aligned with "aggressive" personalities．
The strangest of all may be that those who wore "uncomfortable looking" shoes tend to have "calm" personalities．
And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take exceptional care of them, you may suffer from "attachment anxiety," spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．
There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal types wearing "shabbier and less expensive" shoes．
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personality traits, but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were revealing deep insights into their personalities．We learn from the text that shoes one wears may ．
| A．be used to judge others’ personality accurately |
| B．show thick and useful information about one’s personality |
| C．convey useful information including one’s emotional stability |
| D．only convey some information about one’s personality |
Which of the following is not true according to the text?
| A．People who wear practical and functional shoes may be hard to deal with． |
| B．People with high incomes probably wear expensive shoes． |
| C．Ankle boots are closely aligned with “aggressive” personalities． |
| D．People wearing “uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to be calm． |
What can be the best title for this article?
| A．Shoes and Information | B．Shoes and One’s Personality |
| C．Shoes One Wears | D．Judging One’s Personality |
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．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．Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
| A．Both can continue for generations． |
| B．Neither can be put to an end． |
| C．Neither has any clear winner． |
| D．Both are about where to draw the line． |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．The teens cause their parents to mislead them． |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict |
| C．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict． |
| D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________．
| A．give orders to the other | B．gain respect from the other |
| C．know more than the other | D．get the other to behave properly |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Solutions for the parent –teen problems． |
| B．Examples of the parent –teen war． |
| C．Causes for the parent –teen conflicts． |
| D．Future of the parent-teen relationship． |
GAOMI, Shandong, Oct．11（ Xinhua）—Chinese writer Mo Yan said last Thursday that he was "very surprised" at winning the Nobel Literature Prize．
Speaking to reporters at a hotel in his hometown Gaomi city in east China's Shandong Province, Mo said, "（I was）very surprised upon winning the prize because I felt I was not very senior in terms of qualification（among Chinese writers）．There are many good writers and my ranking was not so high．"
"I am very happy," he said．"I was having dinner when I received the news．I was surprised．”
"Thank you for coming all the way to Gaomi．This should be a season of red sorghum, but no such crop is planted any more．I believe none of you have seen the crop," he said．
"The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top award．It represents the opinions of the jury（评审团 ）．I am satisfied with my major works and I still keep writing by hand．My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature．They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs．Meanwhile, my novels described human beings in the broad sense．I wrote in the perspective of a human being．These works stand beyond regions and ethnic groups," he said．
"The folk arts and folk culture accompanied my growth and I was influenced by the cultural elements I witnessed through my childhood．When I picked up the pen for literature creation, the folk cultural elements inevitably entered my novels and affected and even determined the artistic styles of my works," he added．
Mo's win brought joy to other writers and readers throughout the country as he is the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Literature Prize in its century--long history．
Born into a farmer's family in a village in Gaomi, Mo has been known since the late 1980s for his novels such as Big Breasts and Wide Hips and Red Sorghum, which was later adapted into a film by director Zhang Yimou．Mo Yan was surprised at winning the Nobel Prize because he felt ．
| A．he was not the best writer in China |
| B．he was not as famous as other writers |
| C．he was born in a farmer's family |
| D．he didn't have good education |
By reading Mo Yan's works, we can ．
| A．increase our sense of national pride |
| B．learn a lot about the Chinese folk culture |
| C．form a vivid picture of his childhood |
| D．learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize |
Which of the following words can best describe Mo Yan?
| A．romantic | B．self--confident |
| C．modest | D．humorous |
Where might you find the article?
| A．In a novel． | B．In a travel book． |
| C．In a student book． | D．In a newspaper． |
London taxis, with their friendly drivers who actually know where they are going, are ranked best in the world, according to an annual taxi survey.
The survey by travel website hotels.com found London taxis, despite being the most expensive, beat rivals（对手）across the globe to head the list for the third consecutive（连续的）years, scoring a total of 59 percent in votes on several categories by travelers.
London taxi drivers were voted both friendliest and most knowledgeable. Drivers in the English capital must pass a rigorous examination called The Knowledge to earn their taxi license.
New York's yellow taxis came second in the list, scoring 27 percent which was up 10 percentage points from last year even though Manhattan's cab drivers tied （打成平局）with Parisian taxi drivers as the rudest.
Travelers said New York had the most convenient taxis.
Taxi drivers in Rome were voted the worst drivers in the world with almost one in 10 travelers thinking the Italian capital had the world's worst taxi drivers when it came to the quality of driving.
"Traveling by taxi is one of the first experiences that many travelers have upon arrival in a new city. In fact, the research found that cabs are by far the most popular method of traveling from the airport to their hotel," a spokesman for hotels.com said in a statement.
The global survey scored city based taxis for their levels of cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and convenience.
Rounding out the top five were Tokyo with a total score of 26 percent, Berlin with 17 percent, and Bangkok famed for its tuk-tuks scoring 14 percent.
The survey for hotels.com, part of the Expedia group, was conducted among over 1,900 travelers between May 11-28 this year.Which of the following about London’s taxi drivers is wrong?
| A．They are the friendliest. | B．They are the most knowledgeable. |
| C．They charge the most money. | D．They drive fastest. |
What does the underlined word “rigorous” mean in the third paragraph? .
| A．strict | B．important | C．official | D．lawful |
The writer introduced the result of the study by ___________.
| A．interviewing city leaders | B．interviewing the taxi drivers |
| C．listing the ranks of cities concerned | D．reading forms concerned |
Rome’s taxi drivers are lack of __________.
| A．good manners | B．driving skills |
| C．the sense of cleanliness | D．the sense of safety |
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