Many people seem to think that science fiction is typified by the Bug-eyed Monster, embodying every feature that most people find unpleasant. This is unfortunate because it degrades a worthwhile literary endeavor. Instead, the basic interest of science fiction lies in the relation between man and his technology and between man and the universe. Science fiction is a literature of change and a literature of the future, and the aspects of human life that it considers make it well worth reading and studying for no other literary form does quite the same things. What is science fiction? To begin, the following definition should be helpful: science fiction is a literary subgenre which postulates(...) a change (for human beings) from conditions as we know them and follows the implications of these changes to a conclusion. The first point that science fiction is a literary subgenre is a very important one, but one which is often overlooked. Specifically, science fiction is either a short story or a novel. There are only a few dramas which could be called science fiction; the body of poetry that might be labeled science fiction is only slightly larger. To say that science fiction is a subgenre of prose fiction  is to say that it has all the basic characteristics and serves the same basic functions in much the same way as prose fiction in general, that is, it shares a great deal with all other novels and short stories. Everything that can be said about prose fiction, in general, applies to science fiction. Every piece of science fiction, whether short story or novel, must have a narrator, a story, a plot, characters, setting, and language. The themes of science fiction are concerned with interpreting man's nature and experience around him. Themes in science fiction are constructed and presented in exactly the same ways that themes are dealt with in any other kind of fiction. They are the result to a particular combination of a narrator, story, plot, character, setting, and language. In short, the reasons for reading... An appropriate title for this passage would be  _  . A) Man and the Universe B) Toward a Definition of Science Fiction C) A Type of Prose Fiction D) The Bug-Eyed Monster
B


Mr Parker was born in a small village. His father was so poor that he couldn't send him to school. The boy had to help his parents to do some farming and learned English and maths by himself when he was free. Later on he was made to leave his home village and hoped to find a job in a city. And as soon as war broke out, he joined the army . He couldn't forget his terrible past and fought with the enemies bravely . So he became a general when he was fifty. He was honest and friendly to his soldiers and often punished those who tried to pocket a portion of the soldiers' pay . And his soldiers liked him very much. Once Mr Parker heard from a soldier. In the letter the young man said the food in their military camp was very bad and he wished the general could go to find out the reasons. The old man went there at once without telling anybody. He went in the kitchen and examined everything carefully and found it was very dirty. Then he went in the soldiers' bedrooms and found there were a lot of fleas. He became angry and asked the soldiers, "What do you think of your food, young men?" The soldiers saw their officer standing by the general and said nothing. Only a new soldier said, "Very bad, sir!" "What did you have for lunch today?" asked Mr Parker. "A fried chicken, some fish and pork, a cake, six eggs and I had three cups of wine ." "Really?" Mr. Parker called out in surprise. "It's the King's lunch, I think!" "So do I, General," said the young man. "But it's my birthday today. I paid  three hundred dollars for them all in the restaurant!" Mr. Parker was respected because_. A) he was strict with the officers B) he cared about his soldiers C) he was friendly to everybody D) he paid attention to the soldiers letters
B


(Question)
Parents, our first teachers, play a highly significant role in our lives.However, doesn't it seem that many of us come to have conflicts with them when we start high school? We're less likely to listen to them and take their suggestions--we even rebel against them. Why? It may be the so-called "generation gap".A generation gap appears when we begin to feel our parents are ignoring us, don't understand us, and we feel we can no longer share our feelings with them. The key reason is our desire for independence.In senior high school, we start to want to take responsibility for our own lives and make our own decisions.But parents resist this.They still want to control us and try to force us to do things they think we should do.Debate and discussion often come to nothing.Gradually, we talk with them less, and keep our feelings locked up inside. Zhang Xiaoyun, 16, of Ningbo, Zhejiang, has talked less and less with her mother since she started senior high school."She believes studies should be my priority, not my inner world," Zhang said."Each day, she asks me the same old questions like, 'How was your last exam? or 'Have you made any progress in physics?" To Zhang, these questions are annoying and so she always tries to ignore them and answers _ ."Sometimes, when I get upset, I quarrel with her.After, she comes to apologize and comfort me.But I know, she doesn't completely understand me," Zhang said.Now, a home that was once full of laughter has fallen into gloom and silence. The generation gap can be harmful.Because of the lack of communication, our parents no longer know what we are thinking about.There are quarrels, even over trivial things.When that happens, we may not be able to concentrate on our studies.Some of us even become afraid to go home after school-- a very serious situation for the whole family. In the view of the author,  _  . A) parents should allow their children more freedom B) parents and children should not stay together C) the younger generation should value the older generation D) academic records are more important than one's inner world
(Answer)

A