Ever since Stephanie's 13th birthday we have been receiving comments from other adults expressing their sympathies because our daughter is now a teenager.We've heard everything from,"Sure she's a good kid,but just wait,now that she's teenager..."to the ever inspiring,"Well,all kids are rotten when they are teenagers,just try to go through it the best way you can."What's more upsetting is that many of these insensitive adults feel the need to share their negative predictions well within the hearing of both our daughters. I know that teenagers can be moody and difficult at times,but I'm 38 and I can also be difficult and moody.We worry about the future and want today's kids to know that we care for them and that there are opportunities that wait for them.However, at the very point they set out on that journey toward adulthood we stand there watching them disapprovingly ,just waiting for them to make mistakes."just like we knew they would."We tell them to respect themselves and to say no to drugs,yet we fail to set a positive example by treating them with kindness and consideration,demonstrating our respect for them. I have,at times been guilty of this behavior but am now realizing that the more I see each person as a person,the more I am pleasantly surprised in some way or another. For example,a few weeks ago my husband and I were having dinner at our favorite restaurant and two teenage boys came in and sat down right beside us.I must admit that my first thought was,"perfect,there goes our quiet, peaceful dinner."I was so wrong! These young men were well behaved.quiet and left a nice tip for the waitress.Once I looked beyond the jeans so loose they were practically falling off and the multi-colored hair, I saw what fine people these kids were. Many of the people who,perhaps unknowingly, treat teens with disrespect are unhappy about the fact that pop singers and sports stars are our children's heroes. I feel that unless we give them something better to go after, we really shouldn't complain. When two teenagers came into the restaurant and sat beside the author, her first thought was that  _  . A) they were wrong to have chosen this restaurant for dinner B) something interesting was going to happen over dinner C) her quiet dinner with her husband would be ruined D) she and her husband were going to have a pleasant surprise
C
------
A friend of mine, in response to a conversation we were having about the injustices of life, asked me the question: "Who said life was going to be fair, or that it was even meant to be fair?" Her question was a good one. It reminded me of something I was taught as a youngster-life isn't fair. One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves or for others, thinking that life should be fair or that someday it will be. It's not and it won't. One of the nice things about accepting the fact that life isn't fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have. Accepting this fact also keeps us from feeling sorry for others because we are reminded that everyone is dealt a different hand; everyone has unique strengths and problems in the process of growing up, facing the reality and making decisions, and everyone has those times that they feel wounded or unfairly treated. The fact that life isn't fair doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole. On the contrary, it suggests that we should. When we don't recognize or admit life isn't fair, we tend to feel pity for others and for ourselves, a self-defeating emotion that does nothing except make everyone feel worse. When we do recognize life isn't fair, however, we feel sympathy for others and for ourselves. And sympathy is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving kindness to everyone it touches. The next time you find yourself thinking about the injustices of the world, try reminding yourself of  _ . You may be surprised that it can push you out of self-pity and into helpful action. From the passage, we can learn that the author's attitude to life is   _  . A) indifferent B) self-pity C) negative D) positive
D
------
The fast development of modern technology has not only provided people with more income, but also enable them to enjoy long weekends and holidays. Never before have so many people traveled to so many different parts of the world and, with the help of fast, comfortable forms of modern transport, more and more people are tempted to leave their homes to see more of the world. It seems as if there are travelers everywhere. People travel because traveling benefits them in a number of ways. First, it enables them to get much pleasure from sight-seeing and photo-taking. Second, traveling makes them fully relaxed and ready to get back to work happily. Third, it offers them an opportunity to visit old friends and make new friends as well. Finally, it allows them to see different customs, learn new things, gain new experience and enables them to come back with a broader mind. With so many advantages to traveling, I think people should be encouraged to travel from time to time, especially on holidays, if their pocket and health permit. Traveling benefits people in  _  ways A) 2 B) 3 C) 4 D) 5
C
------
A blind baby is doubly handicapped. Not only is it unable to see, but because it cannot receive the visual stimulus from its environment that a sighted child does, it is likely to be slow in intellectual development. Now the ten-month old son of Dr. and Mrs. Dennis Daughters is the subject of an unusual psychological experiment designed to prevent a lag in the learning process. With the aid of a sonar-type electronic that he wears on his head, infant  Dennis is learning to identify the people and objects in the world around him by means of echoes . The device is an improvement of the "Sonicguide", an instrument produced by Telesensory Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif, and used by blind adults in addition to a smart or guide dog. As adapted for Dennis, it consists of a battery-powered system about the size of a half dollar that is on a headgear. A transmitter sends out an ultrasonic  pulse that creates an 80 degree cone of sound at 6 feet. Echoes from objects within the cone are perceived (felt) as sounds that vary in pitch  and volume  with the size and distance of the object. The closer an object is, the lower the pitch, and the larger the object, the louder the signal. Hard surfaces produce a sharp ping, while soft ones send back signals with a slightly fuzzy quality. An object slightly to the right of Denny's sends back a louder sound to his right ear than to the left. Thus , by simply moving his head right and left and up and down, he can not only locate an object but also get some notion of its shape and size, thanks to the varying qualities of sounds reaching his ears as the cone of ultrasound  passes _ . Dennis likes to use the device to play a kind of peek-a-boo with his mother. Standing on her knee and facing her directly, he receives a strong signal in both ears. By turning his head away, he makes her seem to disappear. "From the first time he wore it," says Mrs. Daughters, "it was like a light going on in his head." What remains to be determined is how well the device will help Dennis cope with... Infant Dennis becomes the subject of the experiment most probably because   _  . A) he already lags behind the sighted children B) he leads a life as normal as any other children C) he is at the early stage of the learning process D) he has the aid of a sonar-type electronic device

C
------