The 'me' generation and "yuppie" in the 1980s were those who lived just to make more money

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Knitting

My mother knew how to knit(编织), but she never taught me. She assumed, as did manywomen of her generation, that knitting was no longer a skill worth passing down from mother todaughter. A combination of feminism (女权主义) and consumerism (消费主义 ) made manywomen feel that such homely accomplishments were now out of date. My Grandmother still knitted, though, and every Christmas she made a pair of socks for my brother and me, of red wool.

They were the ones we wore under our ice skates (冰鞋), when it was really important to havewarm feet.

Knitting is a nervous habit that happens to be productive. It helped me quit smoking by giv-ing my hands something else to do 。it is wonderful for depression because no matter what else

happens, you are creating something beautiful. Time spent in front of the television or just sittingis no longer time wasted.

I love breathing life into the patterns. It&39;s true magic, finding a neglected, dog-eared oldbook with the perfect snowflake design, buying the same Germantown wool my grandmother used,in the exact blue to match my daughter&39;s eyes, taking it on the train with me every day for twomonths, working enthusiastically to get it done by Christmas, staying up late after the stockingsare filled to sew in the sleeves and weave in the ends.

Knitting has taught me patience. I know that if I just keep going, even if it takes months,there will be a reward. When I make a mistake, I know that anger will not fix it, that I just haveto go back and take out the stitches(针脚) between and start over again.

People often ask if I would do it for money, and the answer is always a definite no. In thefirst place, you could not pay me enough for the hours I put into a sweater. But more important,this is an activity I keep separate from such considerations. I knit it to cover my children and oth-er people I love in warmth and color. I knit to give them something earthly that money could neverbuy.

Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythm to the daily deadline. By day I can write aboutNorthern Ireland or the New York City Police Department and get paid for it, but on the trainhome, surrounded by people with laptops, I stage my little rebellion. I take out my old knittingbag and join the centuries of women who have knitted for love.

Why did many women feel that knitting was out of date？ 查看材料

A.Because their mothers didn"t teach them.

B.Because they were influenced by feminism and consumerism.

C.Because they were feminists.

D.Because t.hey were eonsumerists.

at four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly-held image of unhappy teenagers locked in their rooms after endless family quarrels. An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. "We were surprised by just how positive todays young people seem to be about their families," said one member of the research team. "Theyre expected to be rebellious and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. Theres more negotiation and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They dont want to rock the boat." So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. "My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me," says 17-year-old Daniel Lazall. "I always tell them when Im going out clubbing. As long as they know what Im doing, theyre fine with it." Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. "Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as Id done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that." Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 22. What is the popular image of teenagers today？ 23. What do we know about teenagers according to the study？ 24. What do we know about todays parents compared with parents of 30 years ago？ 25. What is the passage mainly about？23．

A．They don"t want to make family decisions.

B．They don"t want to share family responsibility.

C．They don"t want to go boating with their family.

D．They don"t want to cause trouble in their families.

st thing that crossed my mind when I awoke. I truly appreciated my happy rest. It was like a gift from heaven. Interesting to think that Bill Gales, or arty rich men you can mention, really couldn't have had a more satisfying and grate night of sleep—the best that money can't buy.

That started me thinking of other pleasures that cost nothing or very lime and that are often taken for granted, like a drink of cold water on a hot day when you're really thirsty, or a warm relaxing bath when you're extremely tired or mentally exhausted,

Remember your first real kiss—can you put a price tag on that？ Or the companionship of a faithful and loving pet, or the clean, fresh smell of mountain air？ There's an old song, "The Best Things in Life Are Free".

Did you ever eat a meal that not only filled your stomach and satisfied all your tastes, but refreshed your soul？ Ever spend a winter's evening in the company of good friends？

What could be better than listening to your favorite music or watching a good movie？ Or sharing the beauty of a sunset with a loved one？ These are quite delightful and delicate pleasures. I hope this doesn't sound too ridiculous in today's rough, loud world. I hope the new generation can appreciate some of these things.

What can be inferred from this speech？

A．The speaker enjoys sleeping very much.

B．The speaker doesn't like money at all.

C．Bill Gates does not know how to enjoy himself.

D．Mental well-being is the most important thing.

听力原文：M: Are you close to your parents？

W: Yeah, we're close. My father and I have always been close. Sometimes my mom and I don't really see eye to eye. What about you？

M: Well, I think my parents definitely don't understand me. My mother always says I'm perfect while my father often criticizes me for doing things wrong.

W: That's interesting. Do you think that's just a generational thing？

M: Well, I don't know. My parents grew up in the 60's. But they didn't seem to know much about their times.

W: So they were kept away from all the big social activities？

M: Yeah. They grew up in a small town and neither of them knew anything about politics, even though my father's father was a local judge and lawyer.

W: My parents grew up in the 60's too, but my dad taught physics at the university and my mom ran a small bookstore in town. I guess they were the kind of people who were open to current events.

M: I'm jealous. Sometimes I feel a lot more educated than my parents, which is fine, but also uncomfortable at times.

W: I can imagine.

M: They just don't understand some things. They haven't experienced life in the same way I have.

W: You mean the traveling you've done？

M: Yeah. My dad thinks I ran away from home because I hated him or something ridiculous like that. I just wanted to see the world.

W: I told my dad once that I'd find a way to study in America and then live there forever.

M: My dad always tells me that I'd be really homesick if I studied at a European university.

W: And then you have to remind him that Europe is only 10 hours away by plane.

(20)

A．Different family backgrounds.

B．The generation gap.

C．Traveling and studying overseas.

D．Different interests and hobbies.

听力原文： Nothing can buy a better night's sleep. Although it sounds silly, it was the first thing that crossed my mind when I awoke. I truly appreciated my happy rest. It was tike a gift from heaven. Interesting to think that Bill Gates, or any rich men you can mention, really couldn't have had a more satisfying and grateful night of sleep--the best that money can't buy.

That started me thinking of other pleasures that cost nothing or very little and that are often taken for granted, like a drink of cold water on a hot day when you're really thirsty, or a warm relaxing bath when you're extremely tired or mentally exhausted.

Remember your first real kiss--can you put a price tag on that？ Or the companionship of a faithful and toying pet or the clean, fresh smell of mountain air？ There's an old song, "the Best Things in Life Are Free."

Did you ever eat a meal that not only filled your stomach and satisfied all your tastes, but refreshed your soul？ Ever spend a winter's evening in the company of good friends？

What could be better than listening to your favorite music or watching a good movie？ Or sharing the beauty of a sunset with a loved one？ These are quite delightful and delicate pleasures. I hope this doesn't sound too ridiculous. in today's rough, loud world. I hope the new generation can appreciate some of these things.

(32)

A．The writer enjoys sleeping very much.

B．The writer doesn't like money at all.

C．Bill Gates does not know how to enjoy himself.

D．Mental well-being is the most important thing.

看资料，回答题

Each paragraph is marked with a letter．Answer the questions by ．marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2．First-Generation College-Goers: Unprepared and Behind Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know—how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation．

[ A] When Nijay Williams entered college last fall as a first—generation student and Jamaican immigrant，he was academically unprepared for the rigors of higher education．Like many first—generation students， he enrolled in a medium-sized state university many of his high school peers were also attending， received a Pell Grant， and took out some small federal loans to cover other costs．

Given the high price of room and board and the closeness of the school to his family， he chose to live at home and worked between 30 and 40 hours a week while taking a full class schedule．

[ B] What Nijay didn"t realize about his school—Tennessee State University—was its frighteningly low graduation rate: a mere 29 percent for its first-generation students．At the end of his first year，Nijay lost his Pell Grant of over $ 5，000 after narrowly missing the 2．0 GPA cut-off， making it impossible for him to continue paying for school．

[ C ]Nijay represents a large and growing group of Americans: first—generation college students who enter school unprepared or behind．To make matters worse， these schools are ill-equipped to graduate these students—young adults who face specific challenges and obstacles．They typically carry financial burdens that outweigh those of their peers， are more likely to work while attending school， and often require significant academic remediation （补习）．

[ D ] Matt Rubinoff directs I"m First， a nonprofit organization launched last October to reach out to this specific population of students．He hopes to distribute this information and help prospective college-goers fmd the best post-secondary fit．And while Rubinoff believes there are a good number of four—year schools that truly care about these students and set aside significant resources and programs for them， he says that number isn"t high enough．

[ E ] "It"s not only the selective and elite institutions that provide those opportunities for a small subsetof this population，" Rubinoff said， adding that a majority of first-generation undergraduates tend toward options such as online programs， two—year colleges， and commuter state schools．

"Unfortunately， there tends to be a lack of information and support to help students think bigger and broader．"

[ F] Despite this problem， many students are still drawn to these institutions——and two-year schools in particular．As a former high school teacher， I saw students choose familiar， cheaper options year after year．Instead of skipping out on higher education altogether， they chose community colleges or state schools with low bars for admittance．

[ G]"They underestimate themselves when selecting a university，"said Dave Jarrat， a marketing executive for Inside Track， a for—profit organization that specializes in coaching low-income students and supporting colleges in order to help students thrive．"The reality of it is that a lot of low-income kids could be going to elite tufiversities on a full ride scholarship and don"t even realize it．"

[ H] "Many students are coming from a situation where no one around them has the experience of successfully completing higher education， so they are coming in questioning themselves and their college worthiness，" Jarrat continued．That helps explain why， as I"m First"s Rubinoff indicated，the schools to which these students end up resorting can end up being some of the poorest matches for them．The University of Tennessee in Knoxville offers one example of this dilemma．A flagship university in the South， the school graduates just 16 percent of its first—generation students， despite its overall graduation rate of 71 percent．Located only a few hours apart， The University of Tennessee and Tennessee State are worth comparing．Tennessee State"s overall graduation rate is a tiny 39 percent， but at least it has a smaller gap between the outcomes for first—generat．ion students and those of their peers．

[I] Still， the University of Tennessee deserves credit for being transparent．Many large institutions keep this kind of data secret—or at least make it incredibly difficult to find The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill， for instance， admits only that the graduation rate for its first—generation pupils is "much lower" than the percentage of all students who graduate within four years （81 percent）．

[J] It is actually quite difficult to fred reliable statistics on the issue for many schools．Higher education institutions are， under federal law， required to report graduation rates， but these reports typically only include Pell recipient numbers—not necessarily rates specific to fLrst—generation students．Other initiatives fail to break down the data， too．Imagine how intimidating it can be for prospecitive students unfamiliar with the complexities of higher education to navigate this kind of information and then identify which schools are the best fit．

[ K] It was this lack of information that prompted the launch of I"m First in 2013， originally as an ann of its umbrella organization， the Center For Student Opportunity．"If we can help to direct students to more of these types of campuses and help students to understand them to be realistic and accessible places， have them apply to these schools at greater frequency and ultimately get in and enroll， we are going to raise the success rate，" Rubinoff said， citing a variety of colleges

ranging from large state institutions to smaller private schools．

[ L] Chelsea Jones， who now directs student programming at I"m First， was a first—generation college student at Howard．Like other student new to the intimidating higher—education world， she often struggled on her path to college， "There wasn"t really a college—bound cnlture at my high school，" she said．"I wanted to go to college but I didn"t really know the process．" Jones became involved with a college—access program through Princeton University in high school．Now， she attributes

much of her understanding of college to that: "But once I got to campus， it was a completely different ball game that no one really prepared me for．"

[ M] She was fortunate， though．Howard， a well—regarded historically black college， had an array of resources for its first—generation students， including matching kids with counselors， comecting first— generation students to one another， and TRIO， a national program that supported 200 students on Howard"s campus．Still， Jones represents a small percentage of first-generation students who are able to gain entry into more elite universities， which are often known for robust financial aid packages and remarkably high graduation rates for first—generation students．（Harvard， for

example， boasts a six—year graduation rate for underrepresented minority groups of 98 percent．）

[ N]Christian Vazquez， a first—generation Yale graduate， is another exception， his success story setting him far apart from students such as Nijay．"There is a lot of support at Yale， to an extent， after a while， there is too much support，" he said， half—joking about the countless resources available at the school．Students are placed in small groups with counselors （trained seniors on campus） ;they have access to cultural and ethnic affinity （联系） groups， tutoring centers and also have a

summer orientation specifically for first—generation students （the latter being one of the most common programs for students）．

[ O]"Our support structure was more like : " You are going to get through Yale; you are going to do well，" " he said， hinting at mentors （导师）， staff， and professors who all provided significant support for students who lacked confidence about "belonging" at such a top institution．

Many first—generation college—goers have doubts about their abilities to get a college degree．

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How to Guess Your Age

It seems to me that they are building staircases steeper than they used to. The risers are higher, or there are more of them, or something. Maybe this is because it is so much farther today from the first to the second floor, but I've noticed it is getting harder to make two steps at a time any more. Nowadays it is all I can do to make one step at a time.

Another thing I' ye noticed is the small print they' re using lately. Newspapers are getting farther and farther away when I have them, and I have to squint to make them out. The other day I had to back halfway out of a telephone booth in order to read the number on the coin box. It is obviously ridiculous to suggest that a person my age needs glasses, but the only other way I can find out what's going on is to have somebody read aloud to me, and that's not too satisfactory because people speak in such low voices these days that I can' t hear them very well.

Evrything is farther than it used to be. It's twice the distance from my house to the station now, and they've added a fair - sized hill that I never noticed before. The trains leave sooner too. I've given up running for them, because they start faster these days when I try to catch them. You can' t depend on timetables any more, and it' s no us asking the conductor. I ask him a dozen times a trip if the next station is where I get off, and he always says it isn' t. How can you trust a conductor like that？ Usually I gather up my bundles and put on my hat and coat and stand in the aisle a couple of stops away, just to make sure I don' t go past my destination. Sometimes I make doubly sure by getting off at the station ahead.

A lot of other things are different lately. Barbers no longer hold up a mirror behind me when they've finished, so I can see the back of my head, and my wife has been taking care of the tickets lately when we go to the theater. They don' t use the same material in clothes any more, either. I've noticed that all my suits have a tendency to shrink, especially in certain places such as around the waist or in the seat of the pants, and the laces they put in shoes nowadays are harder to reach.

Revolving doors revolve much faster than they used to. I have to let a couple of openings go past me before I jump in, and by the time I get up nerve enough to jump out again I'm right back in the street where I started. It' s the same with golf. I'm giving it up because these modern golf balls they sell arc so hard to pick up when I stoop over. I've had to quite driving, too; the restrooms in filling stations are getting farther and farther apart. Usually I just stay home at night and read the papers, particularly the obituary columns. It' s funny how much more interesting the obituary columns have been getting lately.

Even the weather is changing. It' s colder in winter and the summers are hotter than they used to be. I' d go away, if it wash' t so far. Snow is heavier when I try to shovel it, and I have to put on rubbers whenever I go out, because rain today is wetter than the rain we used to get. Draughts are more severe too. It must be the way they build windows now.

People are changing too. For one thing, they' re younger than they used to be when I was their age. I went back recently to an alumni reunion at the college I graduated from in 1943--that is, 1933--1 mean, 1923--and I was shocked to see the mere tots they're admitting as students these days. The average age of the freshman class couldn't have been more than seven. They seem to be more polite than in my time, though; several undergraduates called me "Sir," anti one of them asked me if he could help me across the street.

On the other hand, people my own age. are so much older than I am. I realize that my generation is approaching middle age (I define middle age roughly as the period

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

A.TD-LTE

B.5G-LTE

C.fifth generation

D.5th generation

Ice cream making secrets are passed down from generation to generation these days.

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

answer for each statement from the four choices marked A, B，C and D.

“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good.” These are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.

That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy on us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.

Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon·Klompus who says of her students—“so passive”—and wonders what happened. Nothing was demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Klompus, contributes to children’s passivity. “We’re not training kids to work any more,” says Klompus. “We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ve never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them. Instead of saying ‘go look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”

Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It’s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’s for their own good. It’s time to start telling them no again.

1.Children are becoming more inactive in study because__________.

A.they watch TV too often

B.they have done too much homework

C.they have to fulfil too many duties

D.teachers are too strict with them

2.According to historic books, women in the Song Dynasty used paper cut as headdress.()

A.Right

B.Wrong

C.Doesn’t say