Parents are creating an “I want it now” generation by indulging children's every demand at Christmas，say experts.Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish，claim the education analysts.
Consumer­savvy children are forcing their families into racking up huge debts and risk becoming spoilt and dissatisfied in the future.
Behavioural consultant Chris Calland said，“Parents are desperate to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale for their kids.There's nothing wrong with that as such.The problem arises when it means always giving in to all our children's demands—even if they are beyond our price range or not age­appropriate.”
Ms.Calland，who runs “Santa Says No” style sessions with colleague Nicky Hutchinson，added, “Many of us go into so much debt providing the gifts our children want that we spend the rest of the year paying off the bills.Yet so often the parcels we've carefully wrapped，once opened，are just pushed away because the very thing our little boy or girl was once so desperate for, they have now lost interest in.”
Ms. Calland and Ms.Hutchinson have drawn up a list of guidelines to help parents manage their offspring's Christmas lists this year.They say that adults can actually improve their relationships with their children by resisting “pester (糾纏) power”．
Ms.Calland said，“All too often we say yes because we want an easier life when the fact is that we're only building up problems for the future.We are helping create a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others and the necessity of hard work.”
“Children learn fast—if we sometimes change our mind，they quickly realise it might be worth lying on the floor and screaming for it.Make sure you and your partner are working together on this.Be consistent.And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends.”
小題1:How is the “I want it now” generation created?
A．Parents can't afford the gifts for their children.
B．Parents become heavily in debt.
C．Parents are trying to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale.
D．Parents give children whatever they want at Christmas.
小題2:What is the main problem with the “I want it now” generation?
A．They are quite self­centered.
B．They like to live in fairy tales.
C．They waste a lot of money on gifts.
D．They can't keep their interest in gifts.
小題3:What is probably the aim of “Santa Says No” style sessions?
A．To advise on how to wrap gifts properly.
B．To keep children's interest in the gifts.
C．To tell parents how to say no to children's demands.
D．To advise parents on what gifts to buy for children.
小題4:According to the passage，we can infer that Ms.Calland intends to ________.
A．a(chǎn)nalyze children's behavior
B．give advice to parents
C．introduce a new generation
D．give her support to parents
小題5:Ms.Calland would agree that parents should ________.
A．buy nothing for children at Christmas
B．choose gifts carefully for children
C．let children choose their own gifts
D．a(chǎn)void competing with others

小題1:D
小題2:A
小題3:C
小題4:B
小題5:D

【語篇解讀】　本文是時文閱讀。由于父母對孩子圣誕節(jié)的要求無限制地滿足，產(chǎn)生了“I want it now”一代。
小題1:解析　細節(jié)理解題。從第一段第一句可知，“I want it now”一代的產(chǎn)生是由于父母對孩子圣誕節(jié)的要求無限制地滿足。答案　D
小題2:解析　細節(jié)理解題。從第一段最后一句中的“Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish”以及倒數(shù)第二段中的“a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others”可知“I want it now”一代很自私、以自我為中心。答案　A
小題3:解析　推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四、五段內(nèi)容可知，“Santa Says No”style sessions的目的是教父母如何對孩子的無限制的要求說不。答案　C
小題4:解析　推理判斷題。綜合分析Mr.Calland的話可知，Ms.Calland在本文中為父母提出了不要滿足孩子的一切要求的建議。答案　B
小題5:解析　細節(jié)理解題。從最后一段最后一句“And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends”可知答案為D。答案　D
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops.But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions.If I put my house up for sale，I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along，simply because it’s the first.Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities，properly governed by different standards.
Sometimes standards change，and it is unclear which principle should apply.Think of the recorded message you hear，played over and over，as you wait on hold when calling your bank：“Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.”This is essential for the morals of the queue.It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.
But don’t take the recorded message too seriously.Today，some people’s calls are answered faster than others.Call center technology enables companies to“score”incomings calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places.You might call this telephonic queue jumping.
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B．Buying houses.
C．Flying with an airline.
D．Visiting amusement parks.
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A．the necessity of patience in queuing
B．the advantage of modern technology
C．the uncertainty of allocation principle
D．the fairness of telephonic services
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B．discuss the morals of allocating things
C．a(chǎn)nalyze the reason for standing in line
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Recently, professor of philosophy（哲學）in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our daily life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week. From the way they spend their money, they can see what they really value in life.
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B．how one spends money shows what is important to him
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C．is paid in the right wayD．is paid attention to
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A．He doesn’t feel that he is well educated.
B．He doesn’t think he is a very important person.
C．He doesn’t consider himself to be very successful.
D．He doesn’t think that being rich deserves so much attention.

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C．The change of female’s view on cooking.
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D．There is a sharp decline in the time men spend on cooking compared with 1961.
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C．It shouldn’t be advocated in modern times.
D．It is beneficial to the stability of the family.
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A．a(chǎn)re more flexible mentally
B．a(chǎn)re slow in the development of talking
C．have a poorer working memory
D．a(chǎn)re smarter in understanding abstract concept
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A．Americans are more interested in learning another language than Europeans
B．British kids began to learn foreign languages at the earliest age
C．21% of US children study a foreign language in the school
D．not all schools in America are teaching foreign languages
小題3:What does the underlined phrase “give a fig for” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A．a(chǎn)ttach importance to
B．have talent for
C．invest money in
D．have demand for
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A．Mandarin and Greek.
B．English, German and French.
C．Chinese, French and Spanish.
D．Chinese, German and Greek.
小題5:What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Chinese is becoming more popular in western countries.
B. The benefits and advantages of growing up bilingual.
C. Western worlds are paying more attention to learning foreign languages.
D. The differences between bilingual education in Europe and USA.

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If you live in America in the 21st century you'll probably have to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It's become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing: “Busy!” “Crazy busy!”. It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:“ That's a good problem to have, ”or“ Better than the opposite.”
Notice it isn't generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are. What those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted! Dead on their feet. It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed work and obligations they've taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they've “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted to busyness and dread that they might have to face in its absence.
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B．they are really proud of their present life
C．they are complaining about their current work
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A．history is full of interesting stories
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C．people may get inspiration when they are idle
D．inspirations come from hard work
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ambition      B. anxiety         C. busyness        D. dread
小題4:From the article, we can infer that ___________________.
A．generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU tell you they are busy
B．“Dead on their feet” means “being tired out”
C．a(chǎn)ll the kids are self-imposed due to the drive and motivation
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The British aren’t having as many children as they used to , One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer year in which they can have them,  After years at university ,they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want, They might then get married, but it’s incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.
The above explains why young British people now don’t move out of their parents’ home until they are around 30 years old on average, It’s only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child , However , it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK, Both parents need to work just to pay for their child during the day, Paying for this childcare is always expensive, What’s more ,financial crisis and unemployment are making things even harder for families, With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?
So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family ? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children , For example ,there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to bay so much for child care.
The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills, If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have moue time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare, On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week ,which is the most in Europe, The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees’ work –life balance, Let’s hope they’re not too late to save the British family , Otherwise, the British will always be too tired ,and won’t have enough time and money, to have children.
小題1:Young British people live in their parents’ home until around 30 because       
A．They are allowed to get married at 30
B．they can’t allowed to get married at 30
C．they can’t afford a house of their own until then
D．they enjoy family life with their parents
小題2:The British are now having fewer children than before for all the following reasons EXCEPT that       
A．they have fewer years to have children
B．they live much shorter lives than before
C．it is more expensive to bring up a child
D．people are losing their jobs because of the recent financial crisis
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A．food paid by the government
B．school buildings for poor students
C．free transportation
D．money from the government to benefit the public
小題4:It can be inferred from the text that       
A．with long work hours, it is hard for British parents to balance life and work
B．more and more families in Britain are breaking up because they are having fewer children
C．a(chǎn)mong Europeans, British people work hardest and earn the least
D．childcare takes up too much energy and time for the British
小題5:To make it cheaper to have children , the British government is         
A．bringing down prices
B．raising the salaries of parents
C．reducing family income tax
D．increasing subsidies for families and nursery schools

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