Just 25 years ago, the top three career hopes for young people in Britain were teacher, banker and doctor. Now, they want to be sports star, pop star and actor, according to a survey by the Guardian newspaper.
Rachel, a character in the popular TV show Glee, may be said to speak for British teenagers. “Nowadays being nobody is worse than being poor.” He said.
Emma Brockes, a reporter with the Guardian, believes it is “the bad influence of celebrity(名人) culture”  that is to blame. “When children wanted to be doctor, it wasn’t because they were really more interested in the functions of human organs than they are now; you go where the respect is.” She wrote.
It could explain why there has been such an increase in levels of anxiety and depression. Dr Carlo Stranger, of Tel Aviv University, studied the sense of self for his new book The Fear of Insignificance: Searching for Meaning in the 21^st Century. He told the Daily Mail that young people now are “affected by the close connection to the global entertainment network, which has turned ranking and rating people according to wealth and celebrity into an obsession(痴迷).”
“As humans, we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a global village. We are comparing ourselves with the most ‘important’ people in the world and finding ourselves wanting…” he said. Today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media.
The way out? Simply stop measuring your achievement through a fantasy of wealth and celebrity. Dr Strenger said that it is a process called “active self-acceptance through a constant search for self-knowledge through life.”
“The fear of insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement,” he said.
【小题1】.Nowadays, young people in Britain want to        .

 "The world's oceans are slowly getting more acidic,”say scientists. The researchers from California report that the change is taking place in response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

    The lowering of the waters’pH value is not great at the moment but could cause a serious threat to current ocean life if it continues, they warn. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, report their concerns in the journal Nature.

Increasing use of oil fuels means more carbon dioxide is going into the air, and most of it will eventually be absorbed by seawater. Once in the water, it reacts to form carbonic acid. Scientists believe that the oceans have already become slightly more acidic over the last century.

    These researchers have tried to predict what will happen in the future by combining what we know about the history of the oceans with computer models of climate change．"This level of acidity will get much more extreme in the future if we continue releasing CO2 into the atmosphere," said Dr Caldeira. "And we predict the amount of future acidity will exceed（超过）anything we have seen over the last several hundred million years, let alone perhaps after rare disastrous events such as asteroid（小行星) impacts．”

    However, it is not absolutely clear what that means for ocean life．Most organisms live near the surface, where the greatest pH change would be expected to occur, but deep-ocean life forms may be more sensitive to pH changes．Coral reefs and other organisms whose shells contain calcium carbonate（小行星) may be particularly affected if the water's acidity levels keep going up, the team predict. They could find it much more difficult to build these structures in water with a lower pH.

    In recent years some people have suggested storing carbon dioxide from power stations in the deep ocean as a way of dealing with global warming．But Dr Caldeira said that such a strategy should now be re-considered. "Previously, most experts had looked at ocean absorption of carbon dioxide as a good thing-because in releasing CO2 into the atmosphere we warm the planet, and when CO2, is absorbed by the ocean, it reduces the amount of greenhouse warming.”

According to Dr Caldeira,__________ .

   A. ocean absorption of carbon dioxide is a good thing

   B. more oil fuels will be used in the near future

   C. scientists may predict climate changes with computer models

   D. the future situation of the amount of acidity is extremely serious

f the water's acidity level keeps rising,_________ .

   A. ocean life whose structures contain calcium carbonate may be affected

   B. the waters’pH value will become higher and higher

   C. organisms living near the surface are more sensitive to pH changes

   D. some disastrous events will occur more often than before

Most experts once believed storing carbon dioxide in the ocean would reduce________ .

   A. the CO2 absorbed by the ocean             B. the amount of greenhouse warming

   C. the acidity of the ocean                   D. the gradual release of CO2

The purpose of this passage is to_________ .

   A. show people the findings of a research team   B. inform people of how acid the ocean is now

   C. introduce Dr Caldeira and his team's research  D. warn people of the higher level of CO2

Michael, a typical American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work, he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder, or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn’t talk to any other human beings, and he doesn’t see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings.

The world of business is one area in which technology is isolating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their jobs at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with. In addition, the way employees are paid will change. Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their check. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.          Another area that technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.

36. After work, Michael likes to ________.

   A. listen to music at the concert hall    

B. watch a movie in his living room

   C. run a program on his computer in his office

   D. play baseball with his workmates

37. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Clerks will be able to work at home.    

   B. One can play baseball on the computer.

   C. One can listen to music without disturbing others.

   D. One can borrow books from libraries at home.

38. The sentence “Michael is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible” means ________.

   A. Michael is a person full of imagination and he can make his dreams come true

   B. Michael is not a real person but the lifestyle does exist

   C. Michael has ambitions but he can’t make his dreams come true

   D. Michael is a person full of imagination and his lifestyle is common nowadays

39. What will the author most probably discuss after the last paragraph?

   A. Games and sports.                                          B. Personal banking.

   C. Music and films.                                         D. International business.

40. What is the main idea of the passage?

   A. We may no longer need to communicate with other human beings.

   B. Modern technology seems to be separating human being.

   C. We may no longer need to work in the office.

   D.Modern technology makes it possible for us to work and entertain ourselves at home.

The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly-held image(形象) of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.

An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. "We were surprised by just how positive today's young people seem to be about their families," said one member of the research team. "They're expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There's more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don't want to rock the boat."

So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. "My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me," says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. " I always tell them when I'm going out clubbing. As long as they know what I'm doing, they're fine with it." Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. "Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I'd done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that."

Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, "Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over."

1.According to the author, teenage rebellion ________.

A．resulted from changes in families

B．may be a false belief

C．is common nowadays

D．existed only in the 1960s

2.What is the passage mainly about?

A．Education in family

B．Negotiation in family

C．Teenage trouble in family

D．Harmony in family

3.The study shows that teenagers don't want to ________.

A．go boating with their family

B．share family responsibility

C．make family decisions

D．cause trouble in their families

4.What is the popular images of teenagers today?

A．They dislike living with their parents

B．They quarrel a lot with other family members

C．They worry about school

D．They have to be locked in to avoid troubles

5.Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today's parents ________.

A．care less about their children's life

B．give their children more freedom

C．go to clubs more often with their children

D．are much stricter with their children

E
An old sea captain was often seen opening a small locked box, and looking inside. The crew’s curiosity grew and, on the day he retired, they rushed to cut the lock. There they found a sheet of paper that read, “Left—port(左舷). Right--- starboard(右舷).”
Are you afraid to make a mistake? If you made mistakes recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.
The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech and the university of California. Shortly before halftime, Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his teammates tackled(抢断) him after he had run 656 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct(明显的) advantage through the error.
After the first half was over, Riegels sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.
Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”
All the players except Roy went to the field. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained seated in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me?”
“Coach,” he said, “I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you; I’ve ruined the school; I’ve ruined myself.”
But the coach Price put his hand on Riegels’ shoulder and said,” Roy, get up and go on back; the game is only half over.”
Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as well as Roy Riegels played that second half.
The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC method.
A—Acknowledge(admit) your error and accept responsibility for it. Don’t try to fix the blame on other people or circumstances(客观环境). When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.
B—Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the mistake, so try to lighten up a bit now.
C—Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to amends(弥补过错），if necessary.
Now, go make your mistakes. And if you practice the ABC method, you’ll live to laugh about many of them.
67. The old captain kept a sheet of paper to_____.
A. give his men a lesson
B. arouse his crew’s curiosity
C. prove he was a good captain
D. tell “port” and “starboard” apart
68. From the passage we learn Coach Price______.
A. insisted on replacing Roy
B. decided to punish Roy after the match
C. criticized Roy for his serious mistake
D. encouraged Roy to finish the match
69. How was Riegels’ performance in the second half?
A. Very disappointing  B. Rather excellent  C. Fairly ordinary  D. Quite bad
70. The ABC method_____.
A. advised you to try to forget mistakes
B. helps you deal with mistakes 
C. helps find out the causes of mistakes
D. advised you to be strict with yourself.