“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him，and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator，Booker Washington. He was saying that，“If you want people to grow up，you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America，families are close but children are encouraged to be independent，to make their own decisions，even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance(津贴)every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose，for example，buying clothes，school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards.
From an early age，American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision making. At the dinner table，teenagers will be listened to on any topic，from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals：they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice，young Chinese girl”. With her short，spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she won!
There is an old saying，“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
【小题1】The passage is intended to encourage the youth to________.

A．save money for useful things	B．become independent
C．express their great ambitions	D．make important decisions

【小题2】A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______.

A．be accepted as a popular guy	B．learn to decide how to use money
C．overspend money without care	D．have school supplies of his own

【小题3】 The author implies that many Chinese children________.

A．are more independent than Americans	B．should become interested in America
C．are happy with their present situation	D．are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones

【小题4】The main idea of the last paragraph is________.

A．that we should do things step by step	B．why we should understand our desires
C．what we should plan for our own life	D．how we can manage to realize our dreams

选择方框内所给短语的适当形式填空（共6小题；每小题1分，满分6分）

apart from; take up; devote… to…; head for; take on; have affection for; make room for ; participate in; come up with

【小题1】My daughter ________ dolls when young, but she never does .
【小题2】Instead of _______ his time and energy ______ his studies, he wasted a lot of his time playing games.
【小题3】Some people believe that the world is sure _________disaster if we go on destroying the environment like this.
【小题4】Our head teacher often encourages us ___________ in class discussions and share opinions with our classmates.
【小题5】Opening the door, the man was shocked to find that ________ some old books, there was almost nothing left.
【小题6】Many high buildings have sprung up in our city in recent years, making it _______ a new look.

Certain people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you’ve known them half your life. These people have something in common. And once you know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves.
How is it done? Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they will help you to put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.
First of all, good talkers have asked questions. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question. One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It’s a common question, but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to other matters ----sometimes to really personal questions. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.
Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen for the answers. This point seems clear, but it isn’t. Your question should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively.
Real listening at least means some things. First it means not to change the subject of conversation. If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he is really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to the tone (语调)of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then it’s time for you to change the subject.
Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you’re saying goodbye, you may give him a firm shakehand and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you.” If you want to see that person again, don’t keep it a secret. Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they’ve known you half their lives.
【小题1】You’ll like to stay with some people____.

A．who have something in common with you

B．when you get into real trouble

C．with whom you feel it easy to get along well

D．from whom you can get necessary and timely help

【小题2】After asking somebody a question, you should____.

A．make it clear what is fit to ask next

B．wait quietly for his answers

C．go on to ask more questions

D．change the subject to another one

【小题3】If you want to see that person again,____ when parting.

A．let him know what you feel

B．giving them a firm shakehand

C．asking proper questions and being a good listener

D．keeping talking to others to them in the conversation

Jenny lived in a town．Her father，Mr．Young，had a shop there and sold clothes in it．The shopkeeper was born in a poor family and was in school no more than a year．He was always sorry for it though he had much money now．He hoped his daughter could become a scientist．But the girl didn’t 1ike anything else except singing．She often went to the concerts，bought a lot of records the famous pop stars made and insisted on listening to the music when she was free．Of course she wanted to be a pop star，too．Her parents wanted to prevent her，but she didn’t listen to
them and they had to agree to her choice．They engaged an old man who was good at music as a private teacher．
Five years passed．Mr．Young bought all kinds of musical instruments for Jenny and they visited some places where the famous singers were born．Of course he spent a lot of money on it．But he found the girl didn’t make any progress．At last the teacher didn’t think the girl could become a singer at all and had to tell Mr．Young about it．The man became angry and said，“Why didn’t you tell me about it earlier? My daughter learned nothing but I paid you month after month!”
“I think you should thank me for it，”said the teacher．“Another teacher, who teaches
badly，is paid more than I was．And I saved much money for you!”
【小题1】Mr. Young was in school for a short time because______  ．

A．he was too poor to go on studying	B．he had to help his parents
C．he was weak in his lessons	D．he didn’t like studying at all

【小题2】Jenny spent much money buying records and went to the concerts in order to ______

A．visit some places	B．know some pop stars
C．become a pop star	D．1earn singing

【小题3】Mr．Young became angry because______．

A．he paid a lot of money to the teacher

B．his daughter decided to drop music

C．his daughter spent four years on music

D．the teacher taught his daughter nothing

One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.
Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.
Everything in this universe is balanced and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to (录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.
Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.
【小题1】 When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

A．gave him some money

B．wrote an email to him

C．went to visit him

D．went for a journey with him

【小题2】 What good news did the author’s friend receive?

A．He received the author’s email.

B．He was told that life would go on.

C．He would go to Cambridge University.

D．His life would go back to normal again

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．The author wrote four emails to her friend.

B．The mother of the author’s friend died from cancer.

C．The author’s friend is a teacher in Cambridge University.

D．The author felt relaxed after sending the email.

【小题4】From the text, we can learn that the author is ______.

A．sincere and warm-hearted

B．proud and confident

C．serious and friendly

D．funny and responsible

【小题5】 The author aims to tell us that ______.

A．life is not fair to everybody

B．time waits for no man

C．everyone has good and bad times in life

D．where there is a will, there is a way