Parents often believe that they have a
good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry
noticed a change in the older son. Suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to
his friends than to his parents.“The door to his
room is always shut,” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in
their 14-year daughter. “She used to cuddle up（蜷伏）with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “ Now we
joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to
be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring
out which time is which.”
Before age
11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact,
parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera,
author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely
changes during the ten years,” Riera explained. “They
talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers and their parents last.”
Parents
who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to
help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to
understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and
write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children
also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that
to be a friend, not a manager, with their children, is a better way to know
them.
1.“The door to his room is always shut” suggests that the son .
A. is
always busy with his studies
B. doesn’t want to be disturbed
C. keeps himself away from his parents
D. begins to dislike his parents（C）
2. What troubles Tina and Mark most is that
.
A. their daughter isn’t as lovely as before
B. they can’t read their daughter’s mind
exactly
C. they don’t know what to say to their
daughter
D. their daughter talks with them only when
she needs help（B）
3. Which of the following best explains” the wall
of silence” in the last paragraph?
A. Teenagers talk a lot with their parents.
B. Teenagers do not want to understand
their parents.
C. Teenagers do not talk much with their
parents.
D. Teenagers talk little about their lives.（c）
4. What can be learned from the passage?
A. Parents are unhappy about their growing
children.
B. Parents have suitable ways to talk with
their teenagers.
C. Parents should be patient with their
silent teenagers.
D. Parents should try to understand their
teenagers.（D）
