单选题 Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than past history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. Today the difference is very marked indeed.
The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don't like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning the assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn't people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? If we ruin our minds to more serious matters, who said that human differences can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so obsessed with mean ambitions and the desire to amass more and more material possessions? Haven't the old lost touch with all that is important in life?
These are not questions the older generation can shrug off lightly. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn't been exactly spotless. Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old—if they are prepared to admit it—could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not "sinful". Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure, to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future.
单选题 What's the old generation's comment on the young?
  • A. The young are more knowledgeable than they are about the world around.
  • B. The young treat historical events as seriously as they do.
  • C. The young do not behave the way they did when they were young.
  • D. The young tend to ruin their minds to more serious matters.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节题。由第一段第一、二句话可知，选项C的内容是老年人对年轻一代的评价。选项A、B、D都与年轻一代的特点相悖。
单选题 The old people believe that ______.
  • A. the old values they have kept to should also change with the advancing society
  • B. they know more because they have experienced much more of life
  • C. young people are good successors to their ideals
  • D. young people should not continue to live the way they did
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】句意理解题。根据第二段第一句话内容“The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer．”可知，选项B的含义与该句话意思相同。A、C、D选项都反映了与时俱进的观点，与本文的代沟观点相悖。
单选题 The young are challenging traditional values EXCEPT in ______.
  • A. clothing fashion
  • B. traditional concepts
  • C. fixed working hours
  • D. marriage patterns
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节归纳题。由第二段第七、八句话可知选项A是年轻人向传统的观念挑战的一项内容；由第四、五句话可知B、C两项是挑战传统价值观念的内容；只有选项D文章中未提及，故是正确选项。
单选题 We can infer from the second paragraph that ______.
  • A. the young generation differs from the old in their attitude toward life
  • B. the young generation seeks to possess more material wealth
  • C. the old are regretful for their past personal lives
  • D. the old have been trying to keep up with modern life
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推理题。综合本段内容，特别是最后几句，可以推论出年轻人对老一代的生活理念提出了挑战，所以选项A符合题意，是正确答案。选项B的说法是老一代的观念；C、D两项的说法文章未提及。
单选题 One important aspect the old should learn from the young is that ______.
  • A. they should fully enjoy life and reject worries
  • B. they should expect a better future and cherish the hard past time
  • C. they should try to integrate leisure in work
  • D. they should learn to indulge in material life
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节推理题。从文章第三段第六、七句话“One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not 'sinful'．Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life．”可以推断出选项A的说法是正确的。选项B、C、D的观点文章未提及。