Getting your teen to think beyond his own immediate needs can be more difficult than cracking a nut with a plastic fork．But don't worry．It's not impossible．There are many ways to encourage your teen to care about th
ose outside his immediate circle of friends．As he begins to have responsibility towards others, he will realize he feels even better about himself．
"Teens are thinking about career, college, an
d what their future might look like," explains Michelle Maidenberg, a clinical director of Westchester Group Works, a center for group treatment in New York．"This is very challenging and just one of the reasons why they are so focused on their own
world．" Once teens participate in community service, however, they begin to look beyond their personal needs．They also learn firsthand about the challenges others face, and they experience a sense of authority as they realize they can make a real difference in others' lives．
Not sure how to convince a teen to get away from the cell phone and into a community project? Teens buy into community service when the project or program is in an area of their interest．
"Finding something in an area of interest for them keeps them motivated and inspired," Maidenberg says．For instance, if he is interested in culinary （烹饪） school, he could volunteer in a soup kitchen or bake for a project that supports families in need．Volunteer projects in your teen's area of interest will build her knowledge base as well as help others．
Parents can do their part by participating i
n community service themselves．Teens can learn directly from their parents that personal enjoyment is not ,all that matters．
Let teens know the benefits they will obtain．“Give them every reason in the world to volunteer," Maidenberg advises．She says that working on 
community service projects builds confidence．"By working with others, teens improve managerial, interpersonal and communication skills．Community service helps to approach maturity when they take a step back to see the needs of other people," she adds．Another reward: service hours look great on a resume!.
According to Michelle Maidenberg, it's hard to get teens to think beyond their own immediate needs partly because ___ ___．
| A．they care more about their circle of friends |
| B．they have no interest in doing anything |
| C．they have to work hard for college |
| D．they are facing many challenges |
.
The underlined phrase "buy into" in Paragraph 3 probably means ______．
| A．agree to join in | B．spend money on |
| C．get away from | D．are interested in |
.
The writer mentions the benefits in the last paragraph in order to ______．
| A．make teens feel much better about themselves |
| B．encourage teens to care about his own needs |
| C．help parents reason teens into volunteering |
| D．get parents to do more community service |
One of those big social networking sites, Facebook, has attracted over 58 million members. Commentator Melody Cramer is no longer one of them. Here is what she shares with us about her story.
I deleted all 1,281 of my coworkers, secondgrade classmates and people who I don’t know at all. I shut down my account, completely. I’m 30, and I’ve been on Facebook since March of 2004, which makes me one of the website’s earliest users.
At first, I used it obsessively. If I had a free moment, I’d log on to see whether my friends had updated their profiles. I’d sit alone scrolling through these updates and then run into someone at a coffee shop and have nothing to say because I already knew everything about them, and they knew everything about me.
In November, I went to my tenyear high school reunion and was not pleasantly surprised. Lauren became a model, Josh went to law school, Dina was a teacher. I hadn’t talked to any of them since graduation, but I knew exactly what they were doing, both now and last week. But lately, I’m overwhelmed(应接不暇). Facebook opened up to everyone, not just college students, and my coworkers started to join, which meant they now knew what I was doing when I wasn’t at work.
And as a rule: you can NOT make friends with your coworkers because then they’ll ask you the next day. But I thought we were friends. And you are friends but not the kind of friends who tell each other what they do outside of work. So now the people you work with can see what you did last night, and you’re constantly worrying what people might say about what you did last night instead of actually doing anything tonight. So Iquit. I became a 30yearold Luddite, a person who is strongly against technology development. I’ve retuned to how the world worked when I was 20, before I knew when my friends and coworkers were counting down the seconds to vacation or entering a complicated relationship. I’m hoping life will be a lot simpler now. People will be more mysterious now that I actually have to talk to them to find out their favorite books or hobbies or neurosis(神经症). I don’t know when my college roommate goes to the supermarket, and I think I’m a better person for not knowing. In fact, you could say getting off a social network was the best thing I’ve done this week.
Melody Cramer decided to quit Facebook mainly because ______.
| A．she thought it wasted too much time |
| B．she was afraid of the strangers on her account |
| C．she was tired of exposing her life to coworkers |
| D．she thought it made realworld life less interesting |
We can learn from the passage that Melody Cramer ______.
| A．had a 10year membership of Facebook |
| B．used to be very objected to Facebook |
| C．was unpleasant to attend high school reunion |
| D．was one of the co-founders of Facebook |
Which of the following about Melody Cramer is TRUE?
| A．She owes her communication skills to Facebook. |
| B．She wishes she could be several years younger. |
| C．She prefers to face her friends and co-workers in reality. |
| D．She is no longer curious about anything around her. |
The best title for this passage can be _____.
| A．Addiction to Facebook |
| B．Farewell to Facebook |
| C．Friends Online |
| D．A Simpler Life |
Cheerleading is the fastest growing girls' sport，yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport．Actually，competitive cheerleading is a sport．
A sport is a “physical activity against/with an opponent，governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared，and the primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants．"Because cheerleading follows these guidelines，it is a sport．
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activities．Like gymnasts，cheerleaders must learn to tumble (翻滚) ．They perform lifts and tosses．This is where the "flied' are thrown in the air，held by "bases" in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates．
Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play，so does competitive cheerleading．The whole routine has to be completed in less than 3 minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area．
Competitive cheerleaders' goal is to be the best．Just like gymnasts，they are awarded points for difficulty，creativity and sharpness．The more difficult a mount，the sharper the motions，the better the score．Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation，first place is out of reach．
Cheerleading is the number-one cause of serious sports injuries to women．Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number of those for any other sport，partially because they do not wear protective gear．While many athletes are equipped with hip pads or helmets，smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates．The fliersmust remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely．Also，because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools，neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety．Instead，the girls use whatever space is available．More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries．
So why do many Americans not think cheerleading is a sport？Some people argue that cheerleaders are just "flirts in skirts" with their only job to entertain the crowd，but cheerleaders today work just as hard as other athletes．
Hopefully，cheerleading will become as well-known a sport as football and basketball，and even appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports．
What does the underlined word "bases" in Paragraph 3 refer to？
| A．Strength and cooperation |
| B．Lifts and tosses |
| C．Supporting teammates |
| D．Physical activities |
Gymnasts are mentioned in the passage to _________
| A．explain the dangers of cheerleading |
| B．show their similarities with cheerleaders |
| C．suggest cheerleaders learn to do gymnastics |
| D．present the guidelines of gymnastic movements |
It can be leamed from the passage that cheerleading _________
| A．is a good sport for all people |
| B．lacks necessary guidelines to follow |
| C．is more than a form of entertainment |
| D．enjoys greater popularity than other sports |
This passage is written mainly to _________
| A．attract more girls to cheerleading |
| B．draw people's attention to cheerleading |
| C．call for more recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport |
| D．criticize some Americans who do not think cheerleading as a sport |
The Purpose of Boredom Being bored can encourage people's creativity-partly to escape the horrible，frustrated．And meaningless feeling of boredom-recent studies find．It could even be true at work．
Psychologists at the University of Central Lancashire had participants copy numbers out of the telephone book for 15 minutes，while others went straight into a standard creativity task．
Both groups were asked to come up with as many different uses as they could for a plastic cup．The group that felt more bored came up with more uses．
Dr．Sandi Mann，one of the study's authors said．" Boredom at work has always been seen as something to he removed．hut perhaps we should be welcoming it in order to encourage our creativity．What we want LO do next is to see what the practical implications of this finding are．Do people who are bored at work become more creative in other areas of their work-or do they go home and write novels？"
In a later study，Dr．Sandi Mann found that creativity was reduced when people were still bored but didn't have the chance to daydream．
While we tend to think of boredom as something；that certainly leads to trouble-drinking，gambling．and antisocial behavior，this research suggests different possibilities．
More than anything，the feeling of boredom is a 8trong signal that we are stuck in some kind of rut and we need to seek out new goals．In the study above，this research led participants to new ideas．
Usually people will do anything to avoid being bored．as it's such an aversive experience．But creative people，like writers，sometimes talk about seeking out boredom．
Here is the comedy writer Graham Linehan talking about boredom Lo The Cuardian．"I have to use all these programs that cut off the Internet，force me to be bored，because being bored is an essential part of writing，and the Internet has made it very hard to be bored．The creative process requires a period of boredom ，of being stuck．That's actually a very uncomfortable period that a lot of people mistake for writer's block，but it's actually just part of a long process．"
So，when you start to feel bored ，instead of g7ancing at your smartphone．，try being bored for a bit．Who knows what creative thought might come of it？
From the study of Dr．Sandi Mann，we can learn that________．
| A．boring tasks make people creative |
| B．daydreaming may increase creativity |
| C．plastic cups can be used very creatively |
| D．copying numbers might be very interesting |
The underlined word "aversive" in Paragraph 8 probably means________
| A．common | B．unpleasant |
| C．unusual | D．personal |
According to Craham Linehan________．
| A．glancing at a smartphone is a solution． |
| B．he is forced to feel bored by the Internet |
| C．the boredom period is a block for writers |
| D．being stuck for a period benefits him a lot |
What is the author's attitude towards boredom？
| A．Critical | B．Cautious |
| C．Positive | D．Unclear |
In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded．The advantages are clear：You can carry as many hooks with you as you want．You can simply download ever7 book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail．
However，one thing hadn't changed．If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books．Until now that is．Amazon．com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks．
Where to rent eBooks？
As mentioned before，Amazon．com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks．Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive．They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular eReader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work．
You can currently only rent eTextbooks．But this is likely to change as soon as the word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks．
Why rent eBooks at Amazon？
~ Save money：Save up t0 80% of the normal price of the eBook．
~ Decide how long you rent：From 30 days t0 360 days，you decide how long you want it．You can extend the time by as little as a day．Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all．
~ Use any device：If you rent an eBook from Amazon，you can read it on your PC，Mac，iPad，iPhone，Android device，Windows Phone 7．Blackberry．or Kindle．
~ Keep your notes：Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks？Don't worry．You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon．com．
How to rent eBooks？
Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon．com and select the "Rent eBooks" option．After that，a new page will open where you can select how long you’d like to rent the eBook．You can read eBooks for a period of 30 t0 360 days．
You decide how long you need the eBook．1f you later find out you need it for longer．you can simply extend the time．Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want．
Once you've chosen the Lime you want to rent the eBook，you simply go to checkout．Or you can use the "Rent now" button．
According to the passage，_________
| A．eBooks will be changed into other types by Amazon．com |
| B．eBooks will replace hardcover hooks in the next few years |
| C．readers get a discount of at least 20% of the normal price |
| D．readers are able to rent eBooks only at Amazon．com now |
To rent an eBook online，which of the following goes last？
| A．open a new page |
| B．select the "Rent eBooks" option |
| C．choose a rental date |
| D．press "Rent now" button |
The main purpose of the passage is to_________．
| A．inform and explain |
| B．discuss and assess |
| C．compare and evaluate |
| D．describe and argue |
I may not be the wisest person on this planet．but I will tell you a little secret to happiness：Help other，，and live life．It is that simple．Just help a friend study for a test，or volunteer at a nursing home ．I learned this after a long，hard search．
I was feeling really down because my long4ime friend had died．Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day every Saturday．My routine was to serve the meal and clean up．After that，I would wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do．
One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right．In the room I found a boy of eight sitting in his bed watching a movie．I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old．He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him．He motioned for me to sit down．I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness．
We started to talk，and I found out that his family rarely visited，and all he did ever7 day was watch TV．I wanted to cry for him，and for my lost friend．As we talked，he had a smile on his face，and I asked him why．
"The entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile．With this horrible disease，how do you still manage to stay happy？"
He thought for a moment，and then said that too many people are dead even before they die．
They walk around feeling that God has cursed (诅咒) them and that they have nothing to live for．
The boy said that he would not be like that．He wakes every morning thankful to see another sunrise．He keeps his window open so that he can smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun．He also said that he has hope．
"Too many people haven't seen much of that around here，" he said，" Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone．"
I don’t know what happened to him．I assume he passed away，but his lesson lives on．I now wake up and live each day to the fullest．The key to life is not money or fame，but the lessons we learn from it．The nursing home in the passage is mainly for_______
| A．the elderly | B．the homeless |
| C．the disabled | D．the abandoned |
The boy stayed happy mainly due to_______．
| A．wonderful TV programs |
| B．his positive attitude |
| C．good medical condition |
| D．others' encouragement |
The writer participated in the volunteering job in order to_______．
| A．find out the secret |
| B．search for help |
| C．enrich experiences |
| D．get out of sadness |
What would be the best title for the passage？
| A．A Lesson in Hope |
| B．The Life of a Sick Boy |
| C．A Voluntary Job |
| D．The Meaning of Life |
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