For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner．Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict．In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it．From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness．And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely．Both feel trapped．
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap．The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things．Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends．Second, blaming．The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong．Third, needing to be right．It doesn’t matter what the topic is．The laws of physics or the proper way to break an egg —the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect．Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress．
小题1:Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
A．Both can continue for generations．
B．Neither can be put to an end．
C．Neither has any clear winner．
D．Both are about where to draw the line．小题2:What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
A．The teens cause their parents to mislead them．
B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict
C．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict．
D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents小题3:Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________．
A．give orders to the other
B．gain respect from the other
C．know more than the other
D．get the other to behave properly小题4:What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A．Solutions for the parent –teen problems．
B．Examples of the parent –teen war．
C．Causes for the parent –teen conflicts．
D．Future of the parent-teen relationship．
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:B
小题4:A
题目分析：本文把父母和孩子的关系比作国家与国家的关系，并给出了三种出现矛盾的情况。
小题1:D 细节题。根据第一段后2行Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do? 说明这两者的相似之处在于界线的问题，故D正确。
小题2:C 推理题。根据From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness．And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely．说明父母认为孩子的无理是导致问题的所在，而孩子也有同样的想法，认为父母是争论出现的主要原因，故C项正确。
小题3:B 细节题。根据文章倒数3,4,5行for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect．说明父母和孩子都想证明自己是对的，认为自己是权威，需要对方的尊敬。故B正确。
小题4:A 推理题。在文章最后一段中提出了父母和孩子之间出现问题的三种情况，那么接下来就应该讨论的是对这些问题的解决方法，故A正确。
点评：本文讲述的是父母和孩子相处的问题。文章的描述有一定特点，主旨鲜明。做题时要注意文章的首段和每一段的首句或尾句，因为它们往往就是文章的主题句。阅读中要注意要点之间的关系。然后带着问题，再读全文，找出答题所需要的依据，完成阅读任务。