Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue int0 adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the  ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

41. The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.

A. interest

B. distance

C. difference

D. separation

42. Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A. Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B. Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C. Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.

D. Parents share more interests with their children.

43. The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.

A. more confusion among parents

B. new equality between parents and children

C.1ess respect for parents from children

D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents

44. By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.

A. follow the trend of the change

B. can set a limit to the change

C. fail to take the change seriously

D. have little difficulty adjusting to the change

45. The purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B. discuss the development of the parent—child relationship

C. suggest the ways to handle the parent—child relationship

D. compare today’s parent—child relationship with that in the past

Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue int0 adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the  ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.

A. interest       B. distance     C. difference       D. separation

Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A. Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B. Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C. Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.

D. Parents share more interests with their children.

The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.

A. more confusion among parents            B. new equality between parents and children

C.1ess respect for parents from children

D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents

By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.

A. follow the trend of the change            B. can set a limit to the change

C. fail to take the change seriously           D. have little difficulty adjusting to the change

The purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B. discuss the development of the parent—child relationship

C. suggest the ways to handle the parent—child relationship

D. compare today’s parent—child relationship with that in the past

Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue int0 adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the  ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.

A. interest             B. distance             C. difference          D. separation

Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A. Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B. Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C. Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.

D. Parents share more interests with their children.

By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.

A. follow the trend of the change         B. can set a limit to the change

C. fail to take the change seriously              D. have little difficulty adjusting to the change

The purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B. discuss the development of the parent—child relationship

C. suggest the ways to handle the parent—child relationship

D. compare today’s parent—child relationship with that in the past

Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke。

That's the term being   1   to describe the invisible yet poisonous mixture of gases and particles(颗粒) clinging(依附) to smokers' hair and   2  , not to mention cushions and carpeting, that stays long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The remaining   3  heavy metals, carcinogens(致癌物) and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and take in,   4  if they're crawling or playing on the floor。

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to   5  these chemicals in a new study that   6  on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in the  7  issue of the journal Pediatrics。

"Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad,  8  they don't know about this," said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School。

"When their kids are   9  the house, they might smoke. Or they smoke in the car. Or they strap(用带子捆扎) the kid in the car seat in the back and crack the window and   10  , and they think it's okay because the second-hand smoke isn't getting to their  11  . We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins that aren't  12  ."

The study reported on  13  toward smoking in 1,500 households across the United States. It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were   14  that second-hand smoke is harmful to children. Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers  15  with the statement that "inhaling smoke from a parent's cigarette can   16  the health of infants and children"。

But   17  fewer of those surveyed were aware of the  18  of third-hand smoke. Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they agreed with the statement that "breathing air in a room   19  where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children"。

Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers agreed with that  20  , which researchers interpreted as acknowledgement of the risks of third-hand smoke。

(    ) 1. A. told                 B. discussed   C. used                 D. mentioned

(    ) 2. A. shoes                      B. clothing     C. body               D. mouth

(    ) 3. A. includes           B. covers       C. finds               D. improves

(    ) 4. A. especially        B. specially    C. immediately      D. regularly

(    ) 5. A. name                      B. call           C. explain             D. describe

(    ) 6. A. focused            B. tended       C. tried                 D. worked

(    ) 7. A. later                 B. latest        C. best                  D. previous

(    ) 8. A. but                  B. and           C. however           D. or

(    ) 9. A. alongside          B. out of            C. in                    D. beside

(    ) 10. A. cough             B. talk           C. observe            D. smoke

(    ) 11. A. cars               B. seats          C. kids                 D. windows

(    ) 12. A. visible            B. invisible    C. poisonous        D. concrete

(    ) 13. A. policies          B. attitudes    C. bans                 D. habits

(    ) 14. A. told               B. content      C. confident          D. aware

(    ) 15. A. opposed          B. agreed       C. fought              D. connected

(    ) 16. A. harm                  B. destroy      C. improve           D. confuse

(    ) 17. A. quite                  B. very          C. far                   D. too

(    ) 18. A. chances          B. risks          C. abilities            D. conditions

(    ) 19. A. tomorrow     B. today               C. yesterday          D. weekend

(    ) 20. A. statement               B. mark        C. discussion        D. Prejudice

Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’”says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversation on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents.

“There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,”says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourage everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,”explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _______.

A. interest       B. distance        C. difference        D       . separation

Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A. Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B. Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C. Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.

D. Parents share more interests with their children.

The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _______.

A. more confusion among parents

B. new equality between parents and children

C. less respective for parents from children

D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents

By saying“today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” the author means that today’s parents _______.

A. follow the trend of the change

B. can set a limit to the change

C. fail to take the change seriously

D. have little difficulty adjusting to the change.

The purpose of the passage is to _______.

A. describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B. discuss the development of the parent-child relationship

C. suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relation ship

D. compare today’s parent-child relationship with that in the past