Who Influences Teenagers?

  "Teenager" means people from 13 to 19 years old. Although they're young,they have to make many important choices by themselves. They need to think about questions like these ： Should I go to college? What kind of jobs do I want? However,other people also influence their choices. Who influences teenagers? Teenagers were asked this question and here's what they said.

  It depends on the kind of choices. When teenagers buy things,friends are the most important influence. This is especially true for clothes and music. TV shows,advertisements and parents also influence teenagers. In more serious things,parents are probably the most important influence. Some teenagers say it's best to regard both parents and friends as influences. James,a seventeen-year-old boy says he's just "a crazy man". He also says, "Parents are really important because they can tell you what's right and wrong.”

  But teenagers also feel they need to make choices by themselves―to make their own mistakes. As one teenage girl said, "If our parents don't let us make our own choices,maybe in the future we won't know how to do it. " And they feel friends can also be a big help,and sometimes friends know more about their situation(處境)than their parents do.

  Do you depend on parents or others when you decide what to do and how to do it? Whoever you depend on,the correct choice is the most important. Your future is in your hand. 

(   ) 1. People from 13 to 19 can be called teenagers.

(   ) 2. When teenagers buy clothes and music,friends are the most important influence.

(   ) 3. TV shows and advertisements can't influence teenagers.

(   ) 4. In more serious things,friends are probably the most important influence.

(   ) 5. Sometimes friends know more about teenagers' situation than their parents.

 My name is Jack. It was my birthday yesterday,and an old lady stopped me on the street. "It's your birthday," she said. "Let me look at your hand. Yes,you have a friend Mark,and you like ice cream and cheese. Today you will see fire. Your mother will go away and a tiger will :ome to your house.”

  I went to Mark's home. He and his sister made a birthday cake and lighted the candles for me. But I was thinking about the old lady's words. I wanted to go home,so I said goodbye to them and ran home. Good,there was no fire,but Mum wasn't at home. Oh,no. . . I thought about the old lady's words again. Then Mum walked in with Mark and a box. "Here's your present. It's a lovely little dog and his name is Tiger, " said Mum. "But how about the fire and the old lady?" I asked. "The fire is the candles," Mark smiled and said, "and we hired(雇用) the old lady.”

(   ) 1. It was Jack's birthday yesterday.

(   ) 2. Jack liked to have a tiger and some ice cream for his birthday. 

(   ) 3. Mark and his sister made a birthday cake for Jack. 

(   ) 4. On his birthday,Jack got a little tiger as his birthday present. 

(   ) 5. Jack's mother and his friend Mark hired the old lady.

Dear editor,

I'm a 16-year-old girl. My problem is that I seldom meet boys!I go to a girl school and I haven't got any brothers. I want to go to school with boys and girls,but my parents don't agree with me. We often quarrel about it. I feel fed up(煩)and lonely. Is it wrong to make friends with boys?

                                                       Lynn

Dear editor ，

My father died two years ago and I live with my mother and my brother. The trouble is that my mum isn't very well at the moment and I have to look after her. I'm five years older than my brother,so I do everything for him,too. Sometimes I get fed up when I see my friends going out together and having fun. I'm also suffering from(苦惱)school work.

                                                    Eva

Dear editor,

I can't decide what to do next year. This is my last year at school and my parents say I must go to university. I don't really like studying that much. I want to get a job and make some money. I，m interested in fashion and I want to work in a clothes shop. My father gets angry whenever I talk about it.

                                                               Emily

(   )I. Lynn wants to make friends with boys.

(   ) 2. Eva has to take care of her mother.

(   ) 3. Emily is a university student.

(   ) 4. Emily's father would like her to get a job.

(   ) 5. The three girls have different problems.

  What a cold winter！How wonderful it would be if there was a fire!Fire keeps us warm. But fire is very dangerous and can kill us,too.

November 9th is National Fire Safety Day. It's a time for us to learn a lot more about fire,especially what to do if we are caught in a fire.

  Call 119.

  Never try to put out a fire yourself,even if it is a very small one!Get help from your parents or call 119. Tell 119 where you are and what is on fire. Listen to 119，s instructions. Keep down close to the floor.

  If there is a lot of smoke in your room,keep down close to the floor. There is less smoke down there,so it's easier to breathe(呼吸)and see where you are going. If you don't,the smoke may kill you before the fire does.

  Don't use the elevator.

  Never use the elevator during a fire. Always use the stairs. An elevator may stop at the floor where the fire is burning. It may also go wrong and keep you inside. Don't go back.

Never go back into a burning building ！ Even if you have left your pet or favorite toy inside ， do not go back for it. Don't worry about your pets. Animals have a very good sense of smell(嗅覺).They often get out of the building before people ！

(   ) 1. National Fire Safety Day is on November 9 th.

(   ) 2. If you smell smoke or see a fire,you should call 120 first.

(   ) 3. If there is a lot of smoke in your room,you should keep close to the floor so that you can keep away from the fire. 

(   ) 4. You mustn't use stairs during a fire because it may catch fire as well. 

(   ) 5. Animals have a good sense of smell.

 One Sunday ， Cody decided to go sailing in his boat with his friend Dane ， but Dane happened to be away. Dane's brother Brett wanted to go instead though he did not know anything about sailing. Cody agreed and they set out to sea.

  Soon they found themselves in a thick fog. Cody was sure they would be hit by a big ship. Fortunately(幸運地)he saw a large buoy(浮標)through the fog and decided to tie the boat to it for safety. As he was getting onto the buoy,however,he dropped the wet rope. The boat moved away in the fog carrying Brett who did not know how to use the radio. He drifted(漂流)about and was not seen until twelve hours later.

  Cody spent the night on the buoy. In the early morning he fell asleep and was having a bad dream when a shout woke him up. A ship,the Good Hope,came up and he climbed onto it and thanked the captain. The captain told him that Brett had been picked up by another ship and its captain had sent out a message.

(   ) 1. Cody went sailing in his boat with his friend's brother Brett.

(   ) 2. About sailing,Brett knew a little.

(   ) 3. Soon they got into trouble because of the thick fog.

(   ) 4. They drifted about and were not seen until twelve hours later.

(   ) 5. Brett was saved by the ship,the Good Hope.

 Sally was fourteen. She studied in a middle school. She liked dancing and singing,and spent a lot of time on them. But she hated maths and even decided to give it up. Her father was anxious (焦慮的)about it.

It was Sunday. Sally's father gave a call to his sister who taught maths in another school. He hoped she would come and tell his daughter how to learn maths. The woman came and said, "You are a clever girl,Sally. Fm sure you will soon learn maths well if you do your best."

  "I'm afraid I can't,Aunt," said Sally. "Girls can't be good at maths.”

  "I don't think so," said the woman. "I was good at it when I was a girl. You must do more exercises and try different ways to solve maths problems until you work them out or at least understand them better. Here is a maths problem. Please think it over and see if you can work it out."

  "OK，" said the girl. "Let me try."

  About an hour later Sally took the exercise book to her aunt and said, "I've tried several times and worked out the problem at last ！”

  "Well done！" her aunt looked at her answer and said happily. "Now you see,maths is not as difficult as you thought."

(   ) 1. Sally tried her best to learn maths but could not learn it well.

(   ) 2. Sally spent much more time in singing and dancing than in learning maths.

(   ) 3. Her aunt didn't think that girls could be good at maths.

(   ) 4. The father asked his sister to teach his daughter how to learn maths.

(   ) 5. Sally worked out the problem at last.

  Long long ago,there was a young man who made his living by making tofu. One day,the tofu was not sold out. In order to keep the tofu fresh,he cut it into pieces and mixed some flavors (香料)with it. Then he put it into a crock (瓦罐).Several days later,he opened the crock and found that the smell was terrible. But he tasted a piece. To his surprise,the taste was nice. An idea came into his mind—maybe the smelly (臭的)tofu would be a kind of special food. As expected ， the smelly tofu became popular with local people ， and soon it was well known all over the whole nation.

  Now smelly tofu is the most special food in Hunan. And it is recommended(;推薦)to all people around the world.

(   ) 1. Long long ago,there was a young man who made tofu for a living.

(   ) 2. A few days later,the young man opened the crock and found the smell was good.

(   ) 3. The young man didn't think that the smelly tofu would be a kind of special food.

(   ) 4. Soon the smelly tofu became famous in the whole nation.

(   ) 5. Although the smelly tofu smelt terrible,it tasted nice.

(   ) 1. This menu is for a restaurant.

(   ) 2. You can't get soup here.

(   ) 3. There are four kinds of hamburgers for you to choose.

(   ) 4. After your meal,you can get some fruit.

(   ) 5. You can have a beef hamburger _? a coke and fried rice if you have ten yuan.

 Have you ever seen the film Traveling Bird? In the film ， groups of birds fly high above the sky and cross the way above snow,rivers,fields,sea and grassland. I'm sure you will love the beautiful pictures when you see the film.

  But you may not feel so good if you have learnt about bird flu(禽流感)from TV or on the Internet. Some governments had to kill chickens in their cities. A large mumber of chickens and even some people died in Asia,and nearly 8,500 birds died in Russia because of bird flu.

  Chickens can get bird flu from the droppings(糞便)of the passing birds. It is not so difficult to control the chickens in cages or on farms. But it is much more difficult to control the birds in the sky.

Luckily,scientists have found a medicine for bird flu. But the virus(病毒;)can change easily and quickly. So bird flu is still a serious problem we must face. 

(   ) 1. We know how birds get bird flu from the film Traveling Bird, 

(   ) 2. Not only birds and chickens but also man can get bird flu. 

(   ) 3. The droppings of the passing birds cannot cause bird flu. 

(   ) 4. It is easier to control chickens than to control flying birds.

(   ) 5. Scientists have found the medicine,so we needn't worry about bird flu any more.

 Should calligraphy(書法)be taught at school?

  Although we are in an information age and most things can be found or done on computers ， still we should go back to handwriting by using a brush and ink. Some people think students should study calligraphy at school. Calligraphy is part of our old culture. It dates back to early times. Traditional calligraphy is well worth learning. Chinese need to carry on with it. What's more,calligraphy is fine art,more than writing. Written Chinese is well known for its beauty. For example,every stroke(筆畫)of a character shows richness,feeling,energy and so on. Even foreigners enjoy looking at it for its beauty. If you are good at it,it is certainly a way of self-cultivation (陶冶自我).It often helps build up one's personality. Are you going to learn it soon? 

(   ) 1. Our time is called an information age. 

(   ) 2. Calligraphy is part of Chinese culture. 

(   ) 3. There is nothing in Chinese writing. 

(   ) 4. Only foreigners enjoy the beauty of calligraphy.

(   ) 5. The writer thinks that calligraphy should be taught at school.