Anyone who has ever traveled with a teenager knows that the teenager can make the vacation good or bad for the entire family. As a travel agent, Lynda Maxwell said, “If teenagers are happy, everybody is happy.”

    Teenagers are often interested in travelling, but their interests and schedules often aren’t the same as their parents’. It means that when the parents start to look for a place of interest in the early morning, their teenagers may be sleeping soundly!

    The thing makes travelling with teenagers very difficult, but it isn’t impossible. The experts said, “The keys to success is what parents do before they travel.”

For many families, the hardest part may be finding a vacation time that is right for everyone. Be sure to sit down with everyone else in the family before setting a date.

“After setting a date, ask teenagers where they would choose to go,” suggested Maxwell. It is possible that they’d like nothing more than to sit on a beach for a week. “Maybe there’s a compromise(折中),” said Maxwell.

“Most teenagers like using the Internet now, so parents can ask them to think up the ideas about what to see and do,” said Brad Anderson. “I find teenagers are excellent at making great suggestions.”

1.The main problem of travelling with teenagers is that______.

A. they are always causing problems                  

B. there’s no way to make them happy                        

C. they don’t want to travel with their parents                   

D. their interests and schedules are different from their parents’

2.Maxwell thinks that      .

A. teenagers are good at making suggestions                 

B. parents should discuss the travel plan with their teenagers

C. parents should choose the places where teenagers like to go                          

D. teenagers should try their best to make their parents happy

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. Teenagers often have some great ideas of travelling.            

B. Teenagers always make their parents disappointed.        

C. Most parents often look for travel information online.                 

D. Teenagers should learn how to get along with their parents.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon(巴比伦空中花园)

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built in the 7^th century BC and are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were amazing not only because of their beauty, but also because of their location.
In the 7^th century BC a king named Nebudchadnezzar II created the gardens as a sign of love for his wife, Amyitis. According to legend, Amyitis, the daughter of the king of the Medes, was homesick. She missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland.
Upon marrying Nebudchadnezzar II, Amyitis moved to the ancient chief city of Babylon. The area was in the Mesopotamian desert, and the climate there was totally different from where she had left. So the new queen was very sad about the flat and the sun-baked desert. To make Amyitis happier and more comfortable the king decided to build her a series of magnificent gardens.
Many think of the gardens as an otherworldly creation that hung in the air somehow. But experts agree that the gardens were actually built on a mountainside, rather than actually “hanging”.
The hanging Gardens of Babylon are famous. Stories of them spread throughout the ancient world, and ancient writers recorded a large number of descriptions of the gardens, but some wonder whether this paradise of the past ever existed. There are no historical records of it except stories. Whatever may happen, even the idea of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is amazing. They were essentially impossible to create because of the climate, but they were kept in the minds of many as a botanical beauty created in the middle of unattractive desert scenery.
【小题1】Hanging Gardens of Babylon are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, aren’t they?
【小题2】What makes the Hanging Gardens of Babylon so amazing and famous?
【小题3】Why did the king Nebudchadnezzar II create Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
【小题4】What made the Hanging Gardens of Babylon essentially impossible to create?
【小题5】According to the experts, were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon really hanging or built on a mountainside?
【小题6】Did Hanging Gardens of Babylon really exist? What makes you think so? (In no more than THREE sentences)

Can you remember a world before the Internet? If you answer is “no,” then you are probably a millennial. Millennials are the new generation of young Americans. They were born between 1982 and 1992. There are 33 million of them, and they are just starting to enter the workforce(劳动力). Many experts believe that millennials are different from young Americans of past generations. They also believe that millenials will change the workforce in important ways.
How are millennials different? They are the first generation born in the computer age. The internet has always been a part of their lives. They spend about 16 hours a week on the Internet, and this doesn’t include e-mail. And they spend 72 hours a week using other electronic media(媒体), including mobile phones and video games. They are “nation speakers” of the language of the computer age. People who were born earlier will never be native speakers of that language. Why not? They did not grow up “speaking” it.
How will millennials change the workforce? To answer that question, it is important to understand how millennials use the Internet. They use the Internet to communicate. They visit website such as FaceBook and MySpace every day. They share(分享)ideas, music, information, games, and friendships with people all over the world. When they start working, they will want to share their work and ideas with others.
It is also important to understand the way millennials grew up. Thair parents and teachers gave them a lot of attention. They taught them that their opinions were valuable(有价值的). As a result, amny millennials are very cinfident. At work, they will expect their co-workers and bosses to listen to their opinions.
Millennials also grew up with a lot of structure in their lives. Many of them went to school from the age of two or three and played on sports teams. At work, they will expect the rules to be clear. They will also expect a strong but fair boss, like a coach on a sports team. They will follow the person in charge (主管) if he or she is fair. But they will not follow an unfair boss. They will also expect their work to be fun and creative, similar to their experience on a sports team.
These are a few of the changes that experts believe millennials will bring to the American workforce. But the world is changing very fast. There will probably be more changes that are difficult to imagine today.
【小题1】According to the first paragraph of the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

The experts think that India’s population may be _______than China’s ______ 2020.