Stepfamilies are commonplace in the United States and their number continues to grow．While stepfamilies differ widely in their make-up， they all consist of a parenting couple and children， one or more of whom is of a previous union．Such combinations of his kids， her kids， and then， possibly， kids of the new union make for complicated and often trying difficulties， more challenging than those of traditional families．

       Since stepfamilies involve more people and， consequently， more potential problems from the start than do childless new marriage， it is wise for the couple to do some careful planning prior to （＝before） marriage．Not only do the prospective（预期的） marital partners need agreement about their own carriers， life goals， finance and special interests， they must also prepare for new relationship with their children and attempt to accommodate their individual needs and feelings．Furthermore， there are often the rights of other relatives to consider．

       As for any family， the basic ingredient（成分） of a successful stepfamily are affection， kindness and mutual（相互的） respect．However， love alone is not enough．Certainly love is the cornerstone upon which the foundation of any family is built， but there are also many other important ingredients involved in building a successful stepfamily．

       Surveys reveal that successful families regard the ability to communicate openly as the most important factor in their success．Communication is what keeps families on track and functioning as a unit．Although healthy communication is easier for some people than for others， this skill can be learned and improved．Healthy communication involves speaking clearly and listening carefully．

       By their very nature， stepfamilies often are complicated by past events that give rise to ambivalent（矛盾的） loyalties， lingering（持久的） hurts， fears， feelings of guilt and unrealistic dreams．The difficulties that arise within the stepfamilies are human and understandable．However， there are ways to confront（面临） and resolve them．For example， support groups and professional counselors（法律顾问） are available in most communities to provide help and guidance when communications stopped and problems seem overwhelming（压倒性的）．

       Planning and building a stepfamily is not a responsibility to take lightly．It can be a very trying and， at times， seemingly impossible effort．Many potential troubles can arise and threaten to destroy the stepfamily．Nevertheless， meeting and mastering these special challenges can bring unexpected satisfactions and rewarding depths of family closeness and affection．

According to the passage， there are 　　　　 in the United States．

       A．no stepfamilies                       B．more stepfamilies than ever before

       C．fewer stepfamilies than ever before      D．fewer stepfamilies than traditional ones

Which of the following can help avoid the potential problems arising in a stepfamily？

       A．The pursuit of the same careers．        B．Professional interventions（干涉）．

       C．The development of special interests．   D．Careful planning before the marriage．

Many people believe that 　　　　 contributes most to the building of a successful stepfamily．

       A．everlasting loyalties              B．open communication

       C．kindness and mutual respect        D．persistent（持久稳固的） affection

It is natural for a stepfamily to be 　　　　．

       A．unrealistic     B．complicated          C．ambivalent           D．guilty

According to the author， planning and building a stepfamily is 　　　　．

       A．impossible                             B．satisfying and rewarding

       C．discouraging and frustrating                 D．a difficult and trying experience

Stepfamilies are commonplace in the United States and their number continues to grow. While stepfamilies differ widely in their make-up， they all consist of a parenting couple and children， one or more of whom is of a previous union. Such combinations of his kids， her kids， and then， possibly， kids of the new union make for complicated and often trying difficulties， more challenging than those of traditional families.
Since stepfamilies involve more people and， consequently， more potential problems from the start than do childless new marriage， it is wise for the couple to do some careful planning prior to (＝before) marriage. Not only do the prospective(预期的) marital partners need agreement about their own carriers， life goals， finance and special interests， they must also prepare for new relationship with their children and attempt to accommodate their individual needs and feelings. Furthermore， there are often the rights of other relatives to consider.
As for any family， the basic ingredient(成分) of a successful stepfamily are affection， kindness and mutual(相互的) respect. However， love alone is not enough. Certainly love is the cornerstone upon which the foundation of any family is built， but there are also many other important ingredients involved in building a successful stepfamily.
Surveys reveal that successful families regard the ability to communicate openly as the most important factor in their success. Communication is what keeps families on track and functioning as a unit. Although healthy communication is easier for some people than for others， this skill can be learned and improved. Healthy communication involves speaking clearly and listening carefully.
By their very nature， stepfamilies often are complicated by past events that give rise to ambivalent(矛盾的) loyalties， lingering(持久的) hurts， fears， feelings of guilt and unrealistic dreams. The difficulties that arise within the stepfamilies are human and understandable. However， there are ways to confront(面临) and resolve them. For example， support groups and professional counselors(法律顾问) are available in most communities to provide help and guidance when communications stopped and problems seem overwhelming(压倒性的).
Planning and building a stepfamily is not a responsibility to take lightly. It can be a very trying and， at times， seemingly impossible effort. Many potential troubles can arise and threaten to destroy the stepfamily. Nevertheless， meeting and mastering these special challenges can bring unexpected satisfactions and rewarding depths of family closeness and affection.
【小题1】According to the passage， there are 　　　　 in the United States.

A．no stepfamilies

B．more stepfamilies than ever before

C．fewer stepfamilies than ever before

D．fewer stepfamilies than traditional ones

【小题2】Which of the following can help avoid the potential problems arising in a stepfamily？

A．The pursuit of the same careers.

B．Professional interventions(干涉).

C．The development of special interests.

D．Careful planning before the marriage.

【小题3】 Many people believe that 　　　　 contributes most to the building of a successful stepfamily.

A．everlasting loyalties

B．open communication

C．kindness and mutual respect

D．persistent(持久稳固的) affection

【小题4】 It is natural for a stepfamily to be 　　　　.

A．unrealistic

B．complicated

C．ambivalent

D．guilty

【小题5】According to the author， planning and building a stepfamily is 　　　　.

A．impossible

B．satisfying and rewarding

C．discouraging and frustrating

D．a difficult and trying experience

   Editor’s notes: AWL is well known for its dictionaries and English language teaching materials． Some readers have written in to ask us for the latest information on high quality books on English, so here we introduce two texts that aim to improve spoken English fluency．

Let’s speak （Beginner)

By Bev Dusuya, Naoko Ozeki and Kevin Bergman

ISBN: 962001359X

Speak Up（Pre-Intermediate)

By Bev Kusuya, Nako Zeki

ISBN: 0583338050

“Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own．” How often are these worthy goals kept from being achieved by the limitations of your beginner level learners? Students at all levels want to talk about culture．

Topics include food, shopping, sports, fashion, the roles of men and women, health, music, and many more．

These are all chosen from surveys of over 15,000 students about their own interests in cross-cultural communication．

“Let’s Speak” and “Speak Up” share a special but excellent way that allows all students to take part in．

 The series has questions which start thinking and then help collect opinions about personal topics． Conversation practice is provided by ready to use （现成的)models of basic exchanges on the topic． Also, the cultural information presented in the series comes in the form of interesting, relevant（相关的）facts and ideas from other countries through listening tasks and Culture Quiz exercises．

Team activities in books provide lively problem solving games to enable sharing and comparison of cultural values．

“Let’s Speak” is fit for entry level students of all ages． “Speak Up” provides for the needs of higher level beginners, offering the same careful listening and speaking help, but with slightly more open ended discussion．

For any information about AWL’s books, please get in touch with the following addresses:

Beijing Addison Wesley Longman Information Center

Room 2306, FLTRP Beijing

19 Xi San Huan Beilu, Beijing 100081

Tel: （010)68917488 （010) 68917788

Fax: （010) 68917499E-mail: zrh@public．bat．net．cn

In the sentence “Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own”, “your culture” here means the culture of           ．

    A．the English native speakers　   B．the English learners

    C．the readers of the two books     D．the readers of the newspaper

Which of the following are mentioned about the two books in the passage above?

    a．publisher    b．titles  c．content      d．writers 

    e．prices  f．pages    g．book number

    A．a,b,d,f　        B．a,c,d,g          C．b,c,d,e          D．b,c,e,f

The two books have in common everything EXCEPT         ．

    A．the same interesting topics

    B．the same level of learners

    C．proper ways to excite the learners to talk

The passage above is probably taken from the            section in a newspaper．

    A．EDUCATION        B．NEWS

    C．ENTERTAINMENT    D．BOOKSHELF   

Stepfamilies are commonplace in the United States and their number continues to grow．While stepfamilies differ widely in their make-up， they all consist of a parenting couple and children， one or more of whom is of a previous union．Such combinations of his kids， her kids， and then， possibly， kids of the new union make for complicated and often trying difficulties， more challenging than those of traditional families．

       Since stepfamilies involve more people and， consequently， more potential problems from the start than do childless new marriage， it is wise for the couple to do some careful planning prior to （＝before） marriage．Not only do the prospective（预期的） marital partners need agreement about their own carriers， life goals， finance and special interests， they must also prepare for new relationship with their children and attempt to accommodate their individual needs and feelings．Furthermore， there are often the rights of other relatives to consider．

       As for any family， the basic ingredient（成分） of a successful stepfamily are affection， kindness and mutual（相互的） respect．However， love alone is not enough．Certainly love is the cornerstone upon which the foundation of any family is built， but there are also many other important ingredients involved in building a successful stepfamily．

       Surveys reveal that successful families regard the ability to communicate openly as the most important factor in their success．Communication is what keeps families on track and functioning as a unit．Although healthy communication is easier for some people than for others， this skill can be learned and improved．Healthy communication involves speaking clearly and listening carefully．

       By their very nature， stepfamilies often are complicated by past events that give rise to ambivalent（矛盾的） loyalties， lingering（持久的） hurts， fears， feelings of guilt and unrealistic dreams．The difficulties that arise within the stepfamilies are human and understandable．However， there are ways to confront（面临） and resolve them．For example， support groups and professional counselors（法律顾问） are available in most communities to provide help and guidance when communications stopped and problems seem overwhelming（压倒性的）．

       Planning and building a stepfamily is not a responsibility to take lightly．It can be a very trying and， at times， seemingly impossible effort．Many potential troubles can arise and threaten to destroy the stepfamily．Nevertheless， meeting and mastering these special challenges can bring unexpected satisfactions and rewarding depths of family closeness and affection．

According to the passage， there are 　　　　 in the United States．

       A．no stepfamilies

       B．more stepfamilies than ever before

       C．fewer stepfamilies than ever before

       D．fewer stepfamilies than traditional ones

Which of the following can help avoid the potential problems arising in a stepfamily？

       A．The pursuit of the same careers．

       B．Professional interventions（干涉）．

       C．The development of special interests．

       D．Careful planning before the marriage．

Many people believe that 　　　　 contributes most to the building of a successful stepfamily．

       A．everlasting loyalties

       B．open communication

       C．kindness and mutual respect

       D．persistent（持久稳固的） affection

It is natural for a stepfamily to be 　　　　．

       A．unrealistic

       B．complicated

       C．ambivalent

       D．guilty

According to the author， planning and building a stepfamily is 　　　　．

       A．impossible

       B．satisfying and rewarding

       C．discouraging and frustrating

       D．a difficult and trying experience

　　A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.

　　The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.

　　Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.

　　The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.

　　“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

　　Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.

　　“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施),” the authors wrote.

　　Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.

　　T  Pessimism gurantees chances of survival.he authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.

　　However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.

　　67. According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?

　　A. Optimistic adults.

　　B. Middle-aged adults.

　　C. Adults in poor health.

　　D. Adults of lower income.

　　68. Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.

　　A. to fully enjoy their present life

　　B. to estimate their contribution accurately

　　C. to take measures against potential risks

　　D. to value health more highly than wealth

　　69. How do people of higher income see their future?

　　A. They will earn less money.

　　B. They will become pessimistic.

　　C. They will suffer mental illness.

　　D. They will have less time to enjoy life.

　　70. What is the clear conclusion of the study?

　　A. Pessimism guarantees chances of survival.

　　B. Good financial condition leads to good health.

　　C. Medical treatment determines health outcomes.

　　D. Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age.