People in the United States honor their parents with 2 special days: Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May and Father's Day on the 3rd Sunday in June. These days are to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens.They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home and more fathers must help with child-care. These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day, people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It's also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories. Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are more valued than those bought in stores. It's not the value of the gift that is important, but "the thought that counts". Greeting card stores,florists,candy makers, bakers, phone companies and other stores do lots of business during these holidays. Which is not a reason for children to show love and respect for parents? A) Parents bring up children. B) Parents give love and care to children. C) Parents educate children to be good persons. D) Parents pass away before children grow up.
D
Recently I spoke to some of my students about what they wanted to do after they graduated, and what kind of job prospects they thought they had. Given that I teach students who are training to be doctors, I was surprised to find that most thought that they would not be able to get the jobs they wanted without "outside help". "What kind of help is that?" I asked, expecting them to tell me that they would need a relative or family friend to help them out. "Surgery ", one replied. I was pretty alarmed by that response. It seems that the graduates of today are increasingly willing to go under the knife to get ahead of others when it comes to getting a job. One girl told me that she was considering surgery to increase her height. "They break your legs, put in special extending screws, and slowly expand the gap between the two ends of the bone as it regrows, you can get at least 5cm taller!" At that point, I was shocked. I am short, I can't deny that, but I don't think I would put myself through months of agony just to be a few centimeters taller. I don't even bother to wear shoes with thick soles, as I'm not trying to hide the fact that I am just not tall! It seems to me that there is a trend toward wanting "perfection", and that is an ideal that just does not exist in reality. No one is born perfect, yet magazines, TV shows and movies present images of thin, tall, beautiful people as being the norm. Advertisements for slimming aids, beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery clinics fill the pages of newspapers, further creating an idea that "perfection" is a requirement, and that it must be purchased, no matter what the cost. In my opinion, skills, rather than appearance, should determine how successful a person is in his chosen career. According to the passage, the author believes that _ . A) everyone should purchase perfection, whatever the cost B) it's right for graduates to ask for others to help them out in hunting for jobs C) media are to blame for misleading young people in their seeking for surgery D) it is one's appearance instead of skills that really matters in one's career
C
Q: Many of us enjoy doing it: you turn on the camera on your mobile phone and hold it at a high angle--- making your eyes look bigger and your cheekbones more defined. You turn to your best side and click. There it is - your selfie. Over the past year, "selfie" has become a well-known term across the globe. This August the Oxford dictionary added the word to their online dictionary and define it as: "A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website." Today it's not difficult to find social networking pages full of photos people have taken of themselves and their friends. And selfie culture has become especially relevant for young people. As many as 91 percent of teenagers have posted photos of themselves online, according to a recent survey by the US Pew Research Center. So what are the reasons for the rise of selfie culture? "The craziness about the selfie celebrates regular people," Pamela Rutledge, a professor at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, told Vogue magazine. "There are many more photographs available now of real people than models." Posting selfies also allows you to control your image online. "I like having the power to choose how I look, even if I'm making a funny face:' Samantha Barks, 19, a high school student in the US, told Vogue. In addition to self-expression and documentation , selfies "allow for a close friendship for long-distance friends, because you can see each other's faces every day", wrote Casey Miller at The Huffington Post. But US psychologist Jill Weber is concerned that selfies might lead to social problems. "There's a danger that your self-esteem may start to be tied to the comments and '1ikes' you get when you post a selfie, and they aren't based on who you are - they're based on what you look like," Weber told Vogue. "When you get nothing or a negative response, your confidence can decrease." How many reasons are mentioned for the rise of selfie? A) 2. B) 3. C) 4. D) 5.
A: B
Q: I wasn't surprised when I read that actress Helen Hunt recently stated that she would never allow her young daughter to become a child star. Ms Hunt is the daughter of a Hollywood technical director, and grew up in Hollywood. Now in her late 40s, she started acting and modeling when she was eight and has probably seen a lot over those years in show business. She has had a successful career. She earned four Golden Globes and four Emmys. She also attained the top honor of her profession when she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 1992 movie, As Good As It Gets. Given those _ , Ms Hunt is successful. There is no doubt that her early experiences as a child star prepared her for what has been an outstanding adult career. Given those achievements, why would this star declare she'll never allow her daughter, now at the age of six, to follow in her footsteps? Everyone familiar with the entertainment scene is aware of the reasons for her attitude. Recent tabloid news headlines featuring the troubles of former child stars, among them Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the late Gary Coleman, may answer the question. Although Ms Hunt managed to become a successful grown-up star, she apparently believes she's an exception. What Ms Hunt may be suggesting is that many very young stars go through unnatural childhoods on movie and TV sets. While they're earning big incomes, they're so pampered by directors and praised by fans; they may get false impressions that their lives will always be that way. Then, within a few years, when faced with reality, they're hurt and confused. After all the overwhelming affection, they find they can't deal with the problems. That's often when drugs and alcohol take over their lives. Helen Hunt has some other reasons why she doesn't want her daughter to be in the entertainment business. Many child stars can never make a successful transition to meaningful adulthood. However, as with many Hollywood movies, I believe there are both good and bad scenes about how it can be... Helen Hunt wouldn't allow her daughter to become a child star because she thinks _ . A) child stars often take drugs and alcohol B) being a child star may ruin her future C) child stars aren't able to solve their problems D) it is difficult to succeed as a child actor
A: B