Parents are creating an “I want it now” generation by indulging children's every demand at Christmas，say experts.Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish，claim the education analysts.
Consumersavvy children are forcing their families into racking up huge debts and risk becoming spoilt and dissatisfied in the future.
Behavioural consultant Chris Calland said，“Parents are desperate to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale for their kids.There's nothing wrong with that as such.The problem arises when it means always giving in to all our children's demands—even if they are beyond our price range or not ageappropriate.”
Ms.Calland，who runs “Santa Says No” style sessions with colleague Nicky Hutchinson，added, “Many of us go into so much debt providing the gifts our children want that we spend the rest of the year paying off the bills.Yet so often the parcels we've carefully wrapped，once opened，are just pushed away because the very thing our little boy or girl was once so desperate for, they have now lost interest in.”
Ms. Calland and Ms.Hutchinson have drawn up a list of guidelines to help parents manage their offspring's Christmas lists this year.They say that adults can actually improve their relationships with their children by resisting “pester (纠缠) power”．
Ms.Calland said，“All too often we say yes because we want an easier life when the fact is that we're only building up problems for the future.We are helping create a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others and the necessity of hard work.”
“Children learn fast—if we sometimes change our mind，they quickly realise it might be worth lying on the floor and screaming for it.Make sure you and your partner are working together on this.Be consistent.And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends.”How is the “I want it now” generation created?
| A．Parents can't afford the gifts for their children. |
| B．Parents become heavily in debt. |
| C．Parents are trying to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale. |
| D．Parents give children whatever they want at Christmas. |
What is the main problem with the “I want it now” generation?
| A．They are quite selfcentered. |
| B．They like to live in fairy tales. |
| C．They waste a lot of money on gifts. |
| D．They can't keep their interest in gifts. |
What is probably the aim of “Santa Says No” style sessions?
| A．To advise on how to wrap gifts properly. |
| B．To keep children's interest in the gifts. |
| C．To tell parents how to say no to children's demands. |
| D．To advise parents on what gifts to buy for children. |
According to the passage，we can infer that Ms.Calland intends to ________.
| A．analyze children's behavior |
| B．give advice to parents |
| C．introduce a new generation |
| D．give her support to parents |
Ms.Calland would agree that parents should ________.
| A．buy nothing for children at Christmas |
| B．choose gifts carefully for children |
| C．let children choose their own gifts |
| D．avoid competing with others |
Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents' house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town, I noticed that the family was there, standing outside the closed gas station.
My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents' house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, "I can't stand it!"
"What?" asked my mother.
"It's those people back there at the gas station, standing in the rain. They've got children. It's Christmas. "
When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children- two girls and a small boy.
My father rolled down his window. "Merry Christmas," he said.
"Howdy," the man replied.
"You’re waiting on the bus?" my father asked.
The man said that they were.
"Well, that bus isn't going to come along for several hours, and you're getting wet standing here. Winborn's just a couple miles up the road. They've got a shed with a cover there, and some benches," my father said. "Why don't y'all get in the car and I'll run you up there."
The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing.
Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three glum faces mutely gave him his answer.
"Well, I didn't think so," my father said, winking at my mother, "because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We'll just go get them before I take you to the bus stop."
All at once, the three children's faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.
When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.
When they left, my father reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars, which was all he had left. He pressed the money into the man's hand. The man tried to give it back, but my father insisted. “Take it. I've been broke before, and I know what it's like when you can't feed your family." We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, looking back at the little girl hugging her new doll.For the majority, what the story impresses most on us is __________.
| A．father’s kind offer to the family in the rain |
| B．mother’s generosity to give all our Christmas presents away |
| C．that my sister and I had no alternative as to my parents’ decision |
| D．that the family who got help seemed to be indifferent |
The writer didn’t get the Christmas presents, but he/she was happy. The reason was_________.
| A．his/her parents taught his/her a good lesson |
| B．they learned the joy of making others happy |
| C．they would get another presents somewhere else |
| D．they were likely to get more presents from others |
We can draw a conclusion from the story that _________.
| A．only you help others heart and soul can you feel more happy |
| B．God helps those who help themselves |
| C．Present rose to others with fragrance lingering at hand. |
| D．Happiness takes no account of time |
After reading the story, you will have the feeling of _________.
| A．great happiness | B．light sadness |
| C．little sorrow | D．some warmth |
The host poured the tea into the cup and placed it on the small table in front of his guests, who were a father and daughter, and the cover on the cup. Apparently thinking of something, he hurried into the inner room, leaving the thermos(热水瓶) on the table. His two guests heard a cupboard opening.
They remained sitting in the sitting room, the ten-year-old daughter looking at the flowers outside the window, the father just about to take his cup, when the crash came, right there in the sitting room. Something was hopelessly broken.
It was the thermos, which had fallen to the floor. The girl looked over her shoulder, shocked, staring. It was mysterious. Neither of them touched it, not even a bit. True, it hadn’t stood steadily when their host placed in on the table, but it hadn’t fallen then.
The explosion caused the host to rush back. Gawking at the steaming floor, the host said, “It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter!”
The father started to say something. Then he said softly, “Sorry, I touched it and it fell.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said the host.
When they left the house, the daughter said, “Daddy, did you touch it?”
“No, but it stood so close to me.”
“But you did not touch it. I saw your reflection in the window glass.”
The father laughed. “What would you give as the cause of its fall?”
“The thermos fell by itself. The floor is not smooth. Daddy, why did you say that you…”
“That won’t do, girl. It sounds more acceptable when I say I knocked it down. There are things which people accept less the more you defend. The truer the story you tell, the less true it sounds.”
The daughter was lost in silence for a while. Then she said, “Can you explain it only in this way?”
“Only in this way,” her father said. Which statement is a possible theme of this story?
| A．People should take the blame for what they didn’t do. |
| B．People rarely tell the truth. |
| C．If you defend yourself, people will believe you. |
| D．You can’t always make people believe the truth. |
The underlined phrase “Gawking at” probably means ___________.
A. staring at with anger
B. looking at curious
C, looking at in a dull way
D. glancing at hopelesslyIt can be inferred from the story that the father____________.
| A．didn’t know the host well |
| B．didn’t think the host would believe the truth |
| C．was sorry that he told the truth |
| D．felt satisfied that he didn’t tell the truh |
From the story we know that the daughter ___________ .
| A．thought her father should tell the truth |
| B．didn’t know why the thermos fell |
| C．glancing at hopelessly |
| D．looking at in a dull way |
We don’t know how different our life in the future. We can only try to imagine it.
At first we think about human relationship. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost every day, we will be making new friends through the Internet--- even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. It will be much faster and easier for us. On the other hand, our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today--- we will feel a little lonely.
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.
Spending holidays will also be completely different. Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will be using solar-powered cars, which will be much environmentally friendly.
We could expect that the faster economic development would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn’t true. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment. Scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as health will be in better condition.
Although we cannot predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children’s future; we have expectation, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future. We should be happy and believe good things will happen. The underlined word “sanguine” in the last paragraph most probably means __________.
| A．disappointed | B．surprised |
| C．curious | D．optimistic |
According to the passage, which of the following will happen in 2050?
| A．It will not be difficult for people to travel to other plants. |
| B．Our environment will be much polluted with a growing number of cars. |
| C．The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today |
| D．The relationship between people will be more important than today. |
The third paragraph mainly tells__________.
| A．that computers will do all the things for human being |
| B．how people will use robots to do housework. |
| C．that machines like computer and robots will help people a lot. |
| D．how people will use computer to communicate with each other. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．What high technology will appear in the year 2050. |
| B．What our life will be like in the year 2050. |
| C．How people will communicate in the year 2050. |
| D．How people will travel and spend their holidays in the year 2050. |
Why do you need British Accent Training? With the growth in the number of employees from Egypt, Spain and China, organizations need to ensure that their workers are able to communicate effectively with customers and colleagues alike.
First Language Influence (FLI) can have a great effect on an employee’s accent. British Accent Training from Communicaid will help your overseas workers decrease the influence of their first language.
Whether through online training courses or face- to- face classes, Communicaid offers suitable training solutions for your organisation’s international business.
A Communicaid’s British Accent Training course will provide your workers with the ability to :
---increase their customer experience and satisfaction,
---communicate more effectively with customers and colleagues by decreasing first language influenced accent,
---strengthen relationships with customers and colleagues through more successful communication.
Course content
All Communicaid’s British Accent Training courses are designed to meet the specific needs of our clients depending on their specific situations.
Generally, a British Accent Training course includes:
---rhythm and stress patterns,
---pausing and breathing,
---relationship between spelling and pronunciation,
---accent familiarisation and listening practice.
Ways to learn
Training can be received worldwide through either face-to-face classes or one of our many online learning methods. Using a combination of published materials and those offered only by Communicaid, we design and offer programmes that will meet the need of our clients.
Our trainers
All Communicaid’s British Accent course trainers are native speakers with at least 3 years’ professional training experience in the field. A client’s British Accent trainer will be decided according to his goals and areas of focus.We can learn from the article that Communicaid is a company that .
| A．sells books |
| B．designs ads |
| C．offers communication skill training |
| D．offers language training |
Who are the target readers of the article?
| A．Overseas students. |
| B．Overseas workers. |
| C．Bosses employing workers whose first language is not English. |
| D．People whose partners come from a non- English-speaking country. |
The article was written mainly to .
| A．attract people to attend Communicaid’s courses |
| B．introduce the history of the company Commuicaid |
| C．give instructions on English pronunciation |
| D．tell the readers the importance of the British accent |
For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants（污染物）can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.
People have paid more attention to the problem now. It is true that when builders began making houses and offices they did not waste energy. To do this they build buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building—green plants. Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves absorb（吸收）or take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and healthier place.Generally speaking, indoor air pollution may be more harmful than the air outside because .
| A．indoor air pollution can often make people seriously ill |
| B．man-made building materials give off dangerous gases |
| C．there may be more harmful gases outside the buildings |
| D．the air indoors is polluted, which is very harmful |
Some kind of indoor pollution can be found in .
| A．every modern house | B．every old house |
| C．all kinds of houses | D．all kinds of offices |
The indoor air pollution is caused by .
| A．the limit of the flow of air between inside and outside |
| B．the building way that the builders want to save energy |
| C．the building things that are made of man-made materials |
| D．the man-made building materials and the limit of air-flow |
The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that
| A．plants can let out all kinds of pollutants indoors |
| B．plants may take in more oxygen （氧气）which people need |
| C．plants can absorb all kinds of harmful indoor chemicals |
| D．plants can make our houses prettier and more healthy |
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