A few years ago it wascommon to speak of a generation gap between young people and their elders.Parents said that children did not respect and listen to them, while childrensaid that their parents did not understand them at all. What had gone wrong?Why had the generation gap suddenly appeared? Actually, the generation gap hasbeen around for a long time. Many people argue that it is built into every partof our society.

One important cause ofthe generation gap is the opportunity that young people have to choose theirown ways of life. In a more traditional society, when children grow up, theyare expected to live in the same area as their parents, to marry people thattheir parents know and like, and often to continue the family jobs. In oursociety, young people often travel great distances for their education, moveout of the family at an early age, marry or live with people whom their parentshave never met, and choose jobs different from those of their parents.

In our society, parentsoften expect their children to do better than they did, to find better jobs, tomake more money and to do all the things that they were unable to do. Often,that is another cause of the gap between them. Often, they discover that theyhave very little in common with each other.

Finally, the speed atwhich changes take place in our society is the third cause of the gap betweenthe generations. In a traditional culture, senior people are valued for theirknowledge, but in our society the knowledge of a lifetime may become out ofdate. The young and the old seem to live in two very different worlds,separated by different skills and abilities. No doubt, the generation gap willcontinue in American life for some time to come.

1. The firstparagraph tells us that ______.

a.the problem of the generation gap draws much attention from people

b.it is out of date to talk about the generation gap

c.children and parents are trying to understand each other

d.it is very important for people to frequently communicate with each other

2. In a moretraditional society, old people_______.

a.have their children respect and listen to them

b.do not care for their children at all

   c. expect their children to rebel againstthem

   d. do not live together with their children

3. InAmerican society young people________.

a.do not need to find jobs

b.leave home at an early age

c.have better education than their parents

d.marry people younger than them

4. Which ofthe following is NOT the cause of the generation gap?

a.Young people like to depend more on themselves.

b.Parents do not love their children dearly.

c.American society changes rapidly.

d.Parents expect too much of their children.

5. The mainidea of the passage is ________.

a.that the generation gap needs considering

b.when the generation gap is necessary in American society

c.why the generation gap exist

d.how we can reduce the generation gap

6. Womenworkers wear hats ______ their hair gets caught in the machinery.

A. if　　　B. unless　  C. incase　　D. because

7. ______the English examination I would have gone to the concert last Saturday.

A. In spite of          B. Because of   

C. But for               D. As for

8. Young______ John was, he was able to swim across the channel within minutes.

A. although    B. so     C. though     D. as

9. I didn’tremember his name ______ after I had greeted him.

A. when     B. as     C. while     D. until

10. Theinstruments of the older factory______.

A. is as good or betterthan the new one

B. are as good orbetter than the new one

C. is as good as orbetter than those of the new one

D. are as good as orbetter than those of the new one

11. — Excuseme，can you tellme where the nearest subway station is?

—_______________________.

A. It’s too far fromhere.

B. You can take a busfirst.

C. Sorry，I’m a stranger here myself.           

D. Sorry，I can’t.

12. — Iwonder if you could do me a favor.

—_______________________________.

A. Yes，I do.    B. I could.     C. Sure.    D. No，not at all.

13. — Themovie last night was really interesting.

— ____________________________.

A. But it was difficultto understand.

B. I went to the movie，too.

C. It sounds good.

D. I couldn’t agreewith you more.

14. — I’mawfully sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time.

—_________________________.

A. Just tell me thereason.

B. You shouldn’t havesaid so.

C. No problem.

D. Actually I’ve onlybeen here for twenty minutes.

15. —There’s a big party at the students’ center tonight. Are you going with us?

—_____________________________.

A. It’s none of my business.

B. It’s beyond myexpectation.

C. I’ve never had thechance to go there.

D. I’d love to，but I have to catch up with my mathsassignment.