阅读理解
"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know that you
trust him." These words are from the black American educator, Booker Washington.He was saying that,
"If you want people to grow up, you have to stop treating them like children."
In America, families are close but children are encouraged to be independent, to make their own
decisions, even at a very early age.It's not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance (津贴)
every week.The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever
they choose, for example, buying clothes, school supplies or CDs.Some teenagers even have their own
credit cards!That's a big responsibility since even adults are tempted tooverspend when they have credit
cards.
From an early age, American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family
decisionmaking.At the dinner table, teenagers will be listened to on any topic, from politics to buying a
new family car or where the family will go on vacation.In this way, teenagers are getting practice in
independence.They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings.You can see this
in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose."Super Girl" Li Yuchun caught
the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the "Super Girl" television contest.She was not the traditional
"nice, young Chinese girl". With her short, spiky hair and boylike clothes, she was telling everyone that
she was different.She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she
won!
There is an old saying, "Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then
choose that way with all his strength." If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find
that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
1. The passage is intended to encourage the youth to________.
A. save money for useful things
B. become independent
C. express their great ambitions
D. make important decisions
2. A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______.
A. be accepted as a popular guy
B. learn to decide how to use money
C. overspend money without care
D. have school supplies of his own
3. The author implies that many Chinese children________.
A. are more independent than Americans
B. should become intereste
d in America
C. are happy with their present situation
D. are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
4. The main idea of the last paragraph is________.
A. that we should do things step by step
B. why we should understand our desires
C. what we should plan for our own life
D. how we can manage to realize our dreams
