When I was a child, my mother often told me, “Don’t run around, or bad uncles will grad（抓住） you. And you know what? You will never see Mum and Dad again.”

    “Why, Mama? Why would these uncles grab me?” I would ask. “The city is a dangerous place and we don’t trust any strangers, ”she would reply.

  Well, that might answer the question of why my second brother never picks up calls from an unknown person either on his mobile or his home phone. It seems that he doesn’t care if he misses an important call. because he thinks that all unknown calls are from bad persons.

    So, have we given too much protection to our young kids? Perhaps it is so. But the adults’ thoughts are indeed easy to understand. The kids meet swindlers sometimes as we adults tell them. Also they get some news about cheating（欺骗） in newspapers or on TV every day. That makes the kids believe that they just cannot trust strangers.

    Let’s look at an example from everyday life. Say, if someone carrying a wooden stick（棍子） comes nearer to you, will you try to run away at once even before he or she starts talking to you? Will you guess this person’s intentions（意图） and think that he or she wants to rob（抢劫） you of something? Think of the answer for yourself.

    Of course, the kids should look after themselves, but overprotection can sometimes stop them from making new friends. Sometimes it’s not good for their new friendships.

    Trust is like a mirror. When we offer trust to people, they might just show you trust in return.

1 What do “swindlers” probably do?

  A. They cheat other people.

  B. They often call other people.

  C. They rob people of something.

  D. They teach children to protect themselves.

2 Which of the following is NOT the reason why children don’t trust strangers?

  A. Their parents tell them not to trust strangers.

  B. They get to know some news about cheating in newspapers or on TV every day.

  C. Strangers always have bad intentions.

  D. They sometimes have experiences of being cheated.

3 What does the writer want to tell us?

  A. Children should always follow their parents’ advice.

  B. We should never talk to strangers.

  C. Parents should learn to protect their children.

  D. People should try to trust each other.

Do your parents ever say, “Act like a lady” or “Be a gentleman” to you? But in the eyes of today’s teenagers, what qualities (品质) should a lady or a gentleman have? Let’s take a look.
What is a gentleman?
The girls have their say:
Huang Xiaoyu of Guizhou: A gentleman is not a strong, stupid guy. He doesn’t get angry. He cares about others’ feelings. He’s always ready to help. There is a boy in my class I think is a gentleman. I didn’t do well in the mid-term English exam. He comforted (安慰) me by saying I would do better next time. His words made me feel happier.
Chen Tingting of Henan: A gentleman always says, “ladies first”. When cleaning the classroom, he does the heavy work. He lets girls go into rooms first. There aren’t any gentlemen in my class. When there are snacks, the boys in my class are always the first to grab them!
Boys tell us what they think a lady is:
Wu Yifan of Dalian, Liaoning: A ladylike girl is gentle and quiet. But she’s not shy; she’s not afraid of expressing herself. She is kind and beautiful. To me, actress Dong Jie is a lady. She is pretty and gentle. She also has a kind heart. She does a lot for charity.
Wang Lichao of Tianjin: A lady is not just pretty-looking but wise too. She never says rude words. She is not noisy. She is always calm and at ease. There aren’t any real ladies in my class, I think. Most of the girls are of a style I call “wild beauties”.
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