Every culture has a recognized point when a child becomes an adult, when rules must be followed and tests passed．

　　In China, although teenagers can get their ID cards at 16, many only see themselves as an adult when they are 18．In the US, where everyone drives, the main step to the freedom of adult life is learning to drive．At 16, American teens take their driving test．When they have their license, they drive into the grown-up world．

　　“Nobody wants to ride the cheese bus to school,”said Eleanor Fulham, 17．She brought the pressure back to memory, especially from kids from wealthier families．“It's like you're not cool if you don't have a car,”she said．

　　According to a recent research, 41％ of 16 to 19-year-olds in the US own cars, up from 23％ in 1985．Although most of these cars are bought by parents, some teens get part-time jobs to help pay．

　　Not all families can afford cars for their children．In cities with subways and limited parking, some teenagers don't want them．But in rich suburban areas without subways, and where bicycles are more for fun than transportation, it is strange for a teenager not to have a car．

　　But police say 16-year-olds have almost three times more accidents than 18 and 19-year-olds．This has made many parents pause before letting their kids drive．

　　Julie Sussman, of Virginia, decided that her son Chad, 15, will wait until he is 17 to apply for his learner's permit．Chad said he has accepted his parent's decision, although it has caused some teasing for his friends．“They say that I am unlucky,”he said．“But I'd rather be alive than driving, and I don't really trust my friends on the road either．”

　　In China a small families get cars, more 18-year-olds learn to drive．Will this become a big step to become an adult?

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　　Do you ever feel angry about someone who stands too close, talks too loudly or makes eye contact for too long?For many of us, the answer is probably yes．But what makes us feel uncomfortable with those“close talkers”?Or with strangers who stand very near to us in a line?

　　Scholars began studying personal space decades ago, in a field known as proxemics．They found that humans tend to avoid eye contact if they feel someone is standing too close．They put a distance between themselves and strangers．According to scientists, personal space involves not only an imaginary space around the body, but around all the senses．People may feel their space is being violated when they encounter an unwelcome sound, scent or stare：the woman on the bus shouting into her mobile phone or the co-worker sitting next to you putting on some perfume you don't like．

　　Whether people in recent times have become more protective of their personal space is hard to say．Yet studies of airlines show strong desire to have some space to oneself．In a recent survey from Trip Advisor, a travel website, travelers said that if they had to pay for certain benefits, they would rather have larger seats and more legroom than massages and extra food．A current advertisement for Eos Airlines, which flies between New York and London, is promoting the fact that it offers“21 square feet of personal space”．

　　While people may want space, they rarely know how deep these proxemics are．Scholars know that commuters hold newspapers in front of them to read, but also to shield themselves from strangers．“If you videotape people at a library table, it's very interesting that one of the corner seats will go first, followed by the chair diagonally opposite because that is farthest away,”said US proxemics expert Dane Archer．“If you break those rules, it's fascinating,”he added,“People will pile up books as if to make a wall．”

　　Preferences for personal space differ from culture to culture．Scholars have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people in Mediterranean and Latin American cultures and mean in Arab cultures．“In the US, it's closely linked to ideas of individuals,”said Kathryn Sorrells, a US communication studies professor．“It's part of a culture that highly values independence, privacy and capitalism．”

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　　The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party．The time printed on the invitation was 7∶30pm．Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song．

　　By 9∶45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared．Jane and David were restless．Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving．But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear．By 11∶00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads．Jane and David left, hungry and angry．

　　Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer．Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently．Most of us would agree that 6∶30－8∶30pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8∶00pm or 8∶30pm means possible dinner, but 9∶30pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late．

　　But this is not always the case．If asked to a students' party at 6∶30pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares．Being the first to arrive－looking eager－is social death．When my mother is asked to a party for 6∶30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven．My age group(late thirties)falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we're young, we're probably closer to student－time than grown-up time．

　　The accepted custom at present is confusing, sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element of surprise．

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阅读理解。

　　I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling(叛逆)．I wish it were so．At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents．You should be learning to stand on your own two feet．But take a good look at the present rebellion．It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents．Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching at one another's hands for reassurance．

　　They claim they want to dress as they please．But they all wear the same clothes．They set off in new directions in music．But somehow they all end up huddled round listening to the same record．Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it．They have come out of their cocoon(蚕茧)into a larger cocoon．

　　It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way．Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market．These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be．And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children．All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path．

　　But the barrier is worth climbing over．The path is worth following．You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party．You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records．You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates．Well, go to it．Find yourself．Popularity will come－with the people who respect you for who you are．That is the only kind of popularity that really counts．

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　　As De Witt Wallace lay in bed recovering from injuries that he unfortunately came by in World War Ⅰ, he found there was a wealth of interesting information to read．Realizing few people would have the time to get through all this information, he knew exactly what to do．In 1920, this young American submitted a sample magazine containing shortened articles to publishers across America．However, all turned him down．

　　Undeterred, De Witt and his new bride Lila Bell Acheson published the first issue of Reader's Digest in February 1922．Working from home, the Wallaces printed 5,000 copies, which were sold by mail to 1,500 people and priced at 25 cents．From these humble beginnings grew the world's most widely-read magazine．

　　The magazine became popular and, by 1935, sales topped one million．In 1938, the first international edition was published in the United Kingdom．During World War Ⅱ, editions were published for the first time in Latin America and Sweden．After the war Reader's Digest moved into Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland．In 1950, Reader's Digest published its shortened Books(now known as Select Editions in Australia)．In 1959, music, the first non-print product line, was introduced．In 1962, Reader's Digest revolutionized direct mail by introducing easy-to-enter Sweepstakes and a year later the first Reader's Digest general book was published．In 1986, video was added to the Reader's Digest product line．

　　In 1973, the Wallaces gave up active management of Reader's Digest．De Witt died in 1981, aged 91; Lila in 1984, aged 94．With no heirs to the Wallace empire to take control, Reader's Digest became a public company in the early 1990s and is now headed by a Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board．

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　　When people advise your children to“get an education”, they tell you only half the truth．What they really mean is to get just enough education to give manpower for your society．

　　Get a high school diploma, at least．Without that, you are occupationally dead, unless your name happens to be George Washington or Thomas Edison and you can successfully stop study in primary schools．

　　Get a college degree, if possible．With a BA, you should start to find a job．You have to put on the brakes now．If you do go for a master's degree, make sure it is an MBA and only from a first-class university．Otherwise, the famous law of diminishing(报酬递减率)begins to work．

　　Do you know, for example, that long-distance truck drivers make more money a year than full professors?Yes, each driver was paid 28,000 in 1997 while a full professor managed to get 27,930．

　　A PhD is the highest degree you can get, but except in a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry, where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial aim, you are facing a not very bright future．There are more PhDs unemployed in this country than in any other part of the world by far．

　　If you became a PhD in English or history or political science or languages or－worst of all－in philosophy, you take the risk of becoming over-educated for our national demands．

　　Thousands of PhDs are selling shoes, driving taxis, waiting on tables and filling out applications month after month, and then may be taking a job in some high school or college with the pay much less than a door-keeper makes．

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　　Over time, the custom of kissing developed as a way for adults to express their love and affection for one another．The roots of this form of affection can be traced back to primitive times, when mothers fondled their children, much as mothers do today．

　　Much later, in the sixth century, society apparently accepted the custom of kissing between adults as expression of their affection．Not surprisingly, France first accepted kissing in courtship(求爱)．There, figure dancing was popular, and each dance was sealed with a kiss．

　　The custom of kissing swept from France through Europe to Russia, where Russian nobility loved to imitate the French．Eventually, the kiss was incorporated into marriage ceremonies, and today lip-locks couples into sweet matrimony(婚姻)．

　　The custom of kissing today, as well as in ancient times, serves to pay homage to another．For example, early Romans kissed each other on the mouth or on the eyes to greet one another in a manner they thought to be dignified(valued and respected)．One Roman emperor even ranked a person's importance by the body part he was allowed to kiss．He allowed important nobles to kiss his lips, less important ones to kiss his hands, and the least important ones to kiss his feet．

　　In Russia, the highest sign of recognition from the Crown meant kiss from the Tsar himself．Today, natives of many African tribes pay homage to their Chief by kissing the ground over which he has walked．

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阅读理解。

　　Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver．The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman．

　　Thirty years have passed, but Odland can't get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman's kind reaction．She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland,“It's OK．It wasn't your fault．”When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson：You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter．

　　Odland isn't the only CEO to have made this discovery．Rather, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up．It's hard to get a dozen CEO's to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule．They say how others treat the CEO says nothing．But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul．

　　Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like,“I could but this place and fire you,”or“I know the owner and I could have you fired．”Those who say such things have shown more about their character than about their wealth and power．

　　The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson．He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management．

　　“A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,”Swanson says．“I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables．”

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