A
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 into 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 (纠缠) 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.”
5．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.
6．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.
7．According to the passage，we can infer that Ms Calland intends to________.
A．analyze children’s behavior
B．give advice to parents
C．introduce a new generation
D．give her support to parents
8．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．avoid competing with others
B
I Don’t Think I Wrote Wrong
Lao Yang was born in a small town. He liked reading when he studied at school. He thought the writers were respected(尊敬) and could get a lot of money. He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments (编辑部) but didn’t receive any answers.
Now he works in a factory. He’s busy at work. When he’s free, he always reads something. He always remembers he hoped to be a writer when he was young. One day, Xiao Ping, his ten-year-old daughter, came back. She looked worried and didn’t eat anything. She said Miss GAO, her Chinese teacher, told them to write a solicit article(征文) “My Father” that evening. But she did not know what to write.
“That’s easy,” said Lao Yang. “Let me help you.”
Then he sat down to write the solicit article at once. He easily finished it on time. He was sure Miss GAO would like it. But one afternoon he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post to the editorial department.
“My teacher said your article digressed from the subject(离题),” said the girl.
“I don’t think so,” Lao Yang shouted angrily. “I described(描写) just my father!”
1. Lao Yang wrote a lot of stories because _______.
A. he likes reading
B. he learned much at school
C. he wanted to be a writer
D. he wanted to help others
2. Lao Yang posted the stories to the editorial departments, _______.
A. and he got a lot of money B. and he became a famous man
C. and he was respected
D. but he failed
3. As _______, Lao Yang decided to help his daughter.
A. he was a writer
B. he was free
C. he wanted to realize his ideal(理想)
D. he wanted to make his daughter happy
4. Lao Yang hoped _______.
A. his article could surprise the teacher
B. his article could be chosen
C. the children could like his article
D. everyone could soon know him
5. Lao Yang’s solicit article digressed from the subject _______.
A. because he couldn’t write it at all
B. because he didn’t know his father well
C. because it was too bad to be chosen
D. just because he described his father
C
In his 1930 essay “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren”， John Keynes，a famous
economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs, which are independent of what others have, and relative needs, which make us feel superior to our fellows. He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable(无止境的), this is not true of absolute needs.
Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.
Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demand for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.
There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demands for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sports car on the market. Priced at over $120,000, it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2004, the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling and acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however, they must pay almost four times the price.
By placing the desire to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.
72. According to the passage, John Keynes believed that________.
A. desire is the root of both absolute and relative needs
B. absolute needs come from our sense of superiority
C. relative needs alone lead to insatiable demands
D. absolute needs are stronger than relative needs
73. What do we know about the couple in Paragraph 3?
A. They want to show their superiority.
B. They find specialty important to meals.
C. Their demands for food are not easily satisfied.
D. Their choice of dinner is related to ideas of quality.
74. What does the underlined word “escalation” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Understanding.
B. Increase.
C. Difference.
D. Study.
75. The author of the passage argues that ________.
A. absolute needs have no limits
B. demands for quality are not insatiable
C．human desires influence ideas of quality
D. relative needs decide most of our spending
D
Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day
Gift No. I
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits
whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part ? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构) Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.
68. What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?
A. Take notes.
B. Be with her.
C. Buy medicine.
D. Give her gifts.
69. What can be a gift of organization for your mother?
A. Keeping her medical information together.
B. Buying all gifts for her from one company.
C. Making a list of her medical check-ups.
D. Storing her medicines in a safe place.
70. Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep?
A. In Gift No. 1.
B. In Gift No. 2.
C. In Gift No. 3.
D. In Gift No. 4.
71. Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to
A. enjoy good sleep
B. be well-organized
C. bet extra support
D. give others help
A
语篇解读： 本文是时文阅读。由于父母对孩子圣诞节的要求无限制地满足，产生了“I want it now”一代。
5．解析： 细节理解题。从第一段最后一句中的“Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish”以及倒数第二段中的“a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others”可知“ I want it now”一代很自私、以自我为中心。
答案： A
6．解析： 推理判断题。根据第四、五段内容可知，“Santa Says No” style sessions的目的是教父母如何对孩子的无限制的要求说不。
答案： C
7．解析： 推理判断题。综合分析Mr Calland的话可知，Ms Calland在本文中为父母提出了不要满足孩子的一切要求的建议。
答案： B
8．解析： 细节理解题。从最后一段最后一句“And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends”可知答案为D。
答案： DLao Yang 是个文学爱好者，但没能实现他的作家梦，他帮他的女儿写 my father，本来他应该描写他自己的，但他却写成了他的父亲。
1. C。细节题。根据 …he thought the writers were respected and could get a lot of money. He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments but didn’t receive any answers 可知答案为 C。
2. D。细节题。根据 He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments but didn’t receive any answers 可知答案为D。
3. C。推断题。Lao Yang 很早就喜欢写作，多次投稿却没有回音，于是他认为帮他女儿写作文是个很好的实现理想的机会，因此选 C。
4. B。细节题。根据第4段最后一句 …he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post the editorial department 可知答案为 B。
5. D。细节题。文章中说 I described just my father，但根据老师的要求他应该描写他自己。因此应该选择 D。
C
【要点综述】本文就人的需要的分类进行了论述。作者首先叙述了对John Keynes观点的部分认同，但其后则是对其观点的批驳。该文作者认为，人的需要在很大程度上是对质量的无尽追求。
72. C 细节理解题。短文第一段最后一句说明John Keynes需要论的观点：相对需要是无止境的。
73. D 推理判断题。从该段第一句可知作者在该段一再强调的是质量需求的重要性。这对夫妇在外面就餐庆祝结婚周年即体现了对该顿晚餐的选择与对其质量的要求相关。
74. B 词义猜测题。从该段材料对保时捷的改进及人们对此改进趋之若鹜的追求来看，人们对质量需求是不断提高的。因此可断定该词含义为“提高”。
75. A 推理判断题。第一段对John Keynes关于absolute needs的观点进行了肯定和质疑，而下文提出质量需求是无止境的。该题主要说明作者对John Keynes关于relative needs是无止境的论断的质疑。干扰最大的是B选项，该观点是作者的观点，而不是被质疑的观点。该题题干中的argue在此是“质疑和争辩”的意思。