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  ‘a(chǎn)fter’ 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.”
【小題1】The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.

My parents ran a small restaurant in Seattle. It was open twenty-four hours a day, six days a week. And my first real job, when I was six years old, was   31   the diners’ shoes. My father had done it when he was young, so he taught me  32   to do it well, telling me to  33   to shine the shoes again if the customer wasn’t  34  .

I was proud of working in the restaurant   35  I was also working for the good of the family. But my father   36   said that I had to meet certain standards(標(biāo)準(zhǔn)) to be part of the team. I   37   to be on time, hard-working, and polite to the  38  . I was    39   paid for the work I did at the restaurant. One day I made the mistake of suggesting to Dad that he  40   give me $10 a week. He said, “OK. How about you paying me for three meals a day you have here? And for the times you bring in your friends  41   free soft drinks?” He   42   the amount of money I owed him, about $40 a week.

I remember returning to Seattle after being  43   in the US Army for about two years. I had just been promoted（升職） to Captain at that time. And full of pride, I walked into my parents’ restaurant, but the   44   thing Dad said was, “How about your   45   up tonight?” I couldn’t  46   my ears! I am an officer in the Army! But   47  didn’t matter. As far as Dad was concerned, I was just  48   member of the team. I reached for the mop(拖把).Working for Dad has taught me that the devotion(奉獻(xiàn)) to a  49   is above all. It has nothing to do with  50   that team is for a family restaurant or the US Army.

1.A. washing               B. shining                    C. changing                          D. repairing

2.A. why                      B. what                                  C. when                                D. how

3.A. offer                    B. refuse                    C. continue                    D. forget

4.A. interested           B. annoyed                           C. relaxed                   D. satisfied

5.A. if                               B. because                   C. when                           D. though

6.A. anxiously          B. strangely                     C. clearly                 D. secretly

7.A. had                       B. tended                             C. hated                              D. pretended

8.A. family                            B. workers                            C. customers                        D. friends

9.A. never                            B. always                               C. seldom               D. already

10.A. must                            B. should                              C. might                           D. could

11.A. by                                B. to                                       C. on                                D. for

12.A. worked out                B. decided on                C. set aside           D. cut down

13.A. absent                        B. over                                  C. away                       D. alone

14.A. usual                           B. last                                    C. next                                  D. first

15.A. washing       B. going                                  C. cleaning                           D. turning

16.A. cover                         B. follow                     C. believe                      D. understand

17.A. they                            B. I                                    C. he                              D. it

18.A. no                         B. either                             C. any                                D. another

19.A. team                           B. family                          C. leader                           D. restaurant

20.A. when                          B. whether                           C. how                                   D. why

Dear Laura,
Hi! I am Veronica, your new pen friend from Singapore. I got your name and address from the Making Pen Pals' Column in Buddies magazine and thought I'd write to you. Well, let me start by telling you something about myself. I am 13 years old and I am studying in secondary one at Westdove School. I have just finished my exams. I live with my parents and younger sister in a five room apartment. I like swimming, playing tennis and reading novels. I love the outdoors, especially the sea and I have been on several trekking (long and hard) tours abroad. I enjoy listening to both pop and classical music. My favorite food is pizza and I love making it myself because I like to make it with lots of cheese and pepper. To sum it up, I am a talkative, caring and patient person.
I guess life in London must be wonderful with all the interesting places and good food to enjoy. I'd love to see the famous Big Ben. I hope to visit London during one of my school holidays. Laura, I would really like to learn more about your culture and lifestyle. I hope you will write back. I have enclosed(附有) my address and telephone number. Please feel free to call me if you make a trip to Singapore. I think you should because it is a wonderful place to shop. Till then, good-bye!
Yours faithfully
Veronica ?
60. Veronica writes the letter to Laura because she wants to ______.
A. tell her something about herself                     B. know something about her
C. invite her to her country                        D. make friends with her
61. Veronica says she loves making pizza because ______.
A. pizza bought in Singapore is not good     B. people can not buy fresh pizza in Singapore
C. she can make pizza to her own taste        D. she thinks it is cheap to make pizza
62. From the letter we know that ______.
A. Veronica is not interested in traveling     
B. Veronica has traveled a lot
C. Veronica has been to London before       
D. Veronica thinks Singapore is the best place for travelers
63. Veronica thinks that Laura should come to Singapore some day because ______.
A. she can do a lot of shopping in Singapore B. Singapore is a city of flowers
C. Singapore is a good place to visit?         D. Singapore is her native country

As a boy growing up in India，I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1970s，with great interest.
My big moment finally came in the summer of 1998 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe，where my father was to attend a meeting. We planned to travel to Belgium，Netherlands and West Germany.
I have vivid memories even today of going to Mumbai airport at night all excited about finally going abroad. I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand，during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew. The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable，even for someone like me，who is otherwise scared of flying.
After spending almost two weeks in Europe，we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport，for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine (萊茵河)，it was simply an unforgettable experience. I was in a sombre mood on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation，but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again，with the quality of their service.
Being the first airline to take me overseas，Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today，I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline. Flying，in general，for me，has always been an ordeal (terrible and painful experience)．Flying on Lufthansa，however，is something I always have and always will look forward to.
【小題1】What made the author so interested in traveling abroad?

下面短文中有10處語言錯誤。請在有錯誤的地方增加、刪除或修改某個單詞。
增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫上該加的詞。
刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉。
修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫上修改后的詞。
注意：1.每處錯誤及其修改均僅限一詞； 
2.只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計分。
Last summer holiday, I go to Dalian with my parents. We traveled there on
air. Dalian is a very beautiful and modern city. In morning, we arrived at the hotel.
After breakfast, we began us tour. First, we took a bus to Sea Park. There were such
many different kinds of fish that I couldn’t believe my eye. Then we had lunch in a
restaurant. The seafood, which is well-known, was delicious. After lunch we went
swim. During this trip, we also went to another places of interest. Several days later,
we left for Dalian. We felt very happily. This was the reason why we didn’t feel tired.