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English writer teaches us a lot about life

    Charles Dickens is a great British writer in the 19th century. Most of his books are still popular even today.

    In 1812, Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England. Dickens didn't like playing with other boys when he was a little child, but he loved reading books. Childhood was not easy for Dickens. He began to work at a factory at the age of 12. Every day, he spent 10 hours washing bottles and cleaning shoes.

    When Dickens was 16, he became a reporter for a newspaper. During that time, Dickens wrote his first book, The Pickwick Papers. The book came out in 1836-37 and made Dickens rich and famous. His hard times were at an end.

    Most of Dickens' books are about the difficulties of living in Victorian England. The characters（人物）in his books are often children. They usually live a hard life in a boarding（寄宿）school, or have to work in a factory at a young age.

    However, Dickens' works are all about hope. He wrote sad and dark stories, but they are always filled with humor（幽默）. And most of his stories have happy endings, as with A Christmas Carol. It is about a selfish man. He finds love and friendship after looking back on his life one Christmas Eve.

1.Where was Dickens from?

2.Was life difficult for Dickens when he was a child?

3.What made Dickens rich and famous?

4.What do the children in his books usually do?

5.Why does the writer say "Dickens' works are all about hope."?

 

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 of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.

An important new study into teenage attitudes (态度) surprisingly shows that their family life is happier than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive (积极的) 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 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 these parents are 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-year-old Daniel LaSalle. “I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. When they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Cromer, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call talk or discussion. For example, when 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（叛逆）is not based on real facts. A researcher explains, “Teenagers were thought to be different from others in a part of time in our social history. But to our surprise, they say they are getting on well with their parents. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled.”

1.The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ______________________.

A．share family duties                      B．cause trouble in their families

C．go boating with their family                D．make family decisions

2.Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents ___________________.

A．go to clubs more often with their children    B．are much stricter with their children

C．care less about their children’s life         D．give their children more freedom

3.According to the writer, teenage rebellion ____________________.

A．may be a wrong opinion                  B．is common at present

C．lived only in the 1960s                   D．was caused by changes in families

4.Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?

A．Discussion in family.                     B．Teenage education in family.

C．Harmony in family.                       D．Teenage trouble in family.

 

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 of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes (态度) surprisingly shows that their family life is happier than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive (积极的) 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 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 these parents are 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-year-old Daniel LaSalle. “I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. When they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Cromer, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call talk or discussion. For example, when 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（叛逆）is not based on real facts. A researcher explains, “Teenagers were thought to be different from others in a part of time in our social history. But to our surprise, they say they are getting on well with their parents. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled.”
【小题1】The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ______________________.

A．share family duties	B．cause trouble in their families
C．go boating with their family	D．make family decisions

【小题2】Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents ___________________.

A．go to clubs more often with their children	B．are much stricter with their children
C．care less about their children’s life	D．give their children more freedom

【小题3】According to the writer, teenage rebellion ____________________.

A．may be a wrong opinion	B．is common at present
C．lived only in the 1960s	D．was caused by changes in families

【小题4】Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?

A．Discussion in family.	B．Teenage education in family.
C．Harmony in family.	D．Teenage trouble in family.

Hello everyone, leaders, guests, and friends from news media, good afternoon, and thanks

for c     1    .

Today is an important day for me. For myself, my basketball career and the personal growth in the f     2   , it has a particular meaning.

At the end of last year I b    3    my left foot for a third time. I had to leave the basketball court, and s____4_____ the last half of the year waiting, just as many of those who care about me. During that period, I struggled a lot in my heart and thought a lot. Now I am going to announce a personal d    5    : I am going to end my career as a basketball player and officially retire.

Looking back on the past , I am very g    6    . First I'd like to thank basketball. This great sport has brought joys to so many people, including me. I e     7     the Shanghai Basketball Youth Team at 14. At 16, I began playing for Shanghai Basketball Team, wearing my father's number.

I feel so p    8    every time I look into the eyes of my parents, who love me and think I am the pride of them.

I would also like to thank life. Life is like a guide. When you sincerely f    9    it, it will open one and another door for you and the world outside of them is so different and exciting. Today, I retired. The door of basketball is c   10     , but another door has just opened which will lead me to a new life waiting for me to experience.

One spring day in 1937，Mr. Goldman put up a sign at the front of his grocery（杂货店）in Oklahoma City．He looked up just as one of his customers（顾客）walked by．“Good morning，Mrs. Hope，”he said．

Mrs. Hope just smiled．She was concentrating on the full shopping basket she was carrying．The basket was very heavy because she had put so much food in it．

That was when Goldman had a great idea：a shopping basket on wheels．Then his customers wouldn’t have to carry their groceries．Shopping would become easier, and more customers would prefer to shop at his store．

Before long Goldman had some shopping carts（手推车）made．However, on the first day none of his customers used the carts he had invented．Goldman came home looking disappointed．

Goldman didn’t give up，though．He knew he just needed a way to show his customers how easy it was to use the shopping carts，so the next day he asked a few people to come and wheel the carts around his shop and pretend to buy things．

“How did it go today?”Mrs. Goldman asked when her husband came home from work．

“Great!”he said．“When my customers saw people using the carts，they realized how much easier it would be to shop with them，so they all started using the carts．Not only that，but they filled the carts with more groceries than they ever did with their own baskets．I’m going to be a rich man soon，selling groceries and my new shopping carts，too!”

（    ）1．What did Mrs. Hope do when Mr. Goldman greeted her?

A．She smiled and said hello to him．             B．She didn’t say anything to him．

C．She shopped and talked with him．              D．She dropped her shopping basket．

（    ）2．What made Mr. Goldman want to invent the shopping cart?

A．He wanted to sell more groceries．

B．Mrs. Goldman told him to do that．

C．He wanted to save money on baskets．

D．He saw Mrs. Hope carrying a heavy basket．

（    ）3．The underlined phrase“concentrating on”has the similar meaning to“______”．

A．looking back on     B．picking up            C．paying attention to   D．looking after

（    ）4．Which word best describes Mr. Goldman?

A．Friendly．           B．Lazy．                C．Creative．              D．Serious．

（    ）5．The customers began to use the carts because______．

A．it was much easier to shop with them

B．they saw some people using them

C．they could fill the carts with more groceries

D．they got the carts for free