单选题 It has never been easy to be a teenager, and it is particularly difficult today. The world expects us to be grown up but rarely treats us like adults; we are part of a society in which drugs are readily available but extremely dangerous; our education consists of examinations and more exemptions. Is it any wonder we struggle at times?
One of the biggest problems is that parents demand mature and intelligent behavior from us, yet usually think of us as still being children. We help do a range of housework and care for sickly grandparents, but cannot watch adult movies on television. We are expected to show an interest in current affairs and get a part-time job to begin to support ourselves, but are not even allowed a say in where we go for the family holiday—never mind being allowed to holiday with our friends!
Outside the home, we have to make sure our dissatisfaction does not lead us to rebellion and to the dealers who are just waiting to sell us various drugs. Older generations had to come to terms with alcohol arid cigarettes; that was easy, by comparison. We go to a club, to dance, then are faced with temptations (诱惑) , peer pressures and our own desire to fit in with the crowd. There is always someone there with a designer drink, a designer smile and the latest designer drug to tempt us. Being a teenager has never been harder.
Of course, it has never been so hard in school either. We have so many examinations that it is difficult to keep track: SATs, GCSEs ...and the practice tests that accompany them. Homework is never ending. No teacher seems aware of how much work the others are setting, and, anyway, they would not care, because they are all under orders to improve results or their own careers will suffer.
单选题 What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨题。第一段的主题句为首句：做个十来岁的青少年不容易，在今天尤其困难。后面的句子以分句的形式来阐述这些困难是什么。因此本段的主题为D选项(青少年不得不应对的各种问题)是正确答案。其他几个选项都是分论点。
单选题 Parents will most probably say no to their children if they want to ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。通过题干中的parents可定位到第二段。该段讲的是青少年面临的第一个问题：父母希望孩子们成熟理智，却仍然将他们当成孩子看待。他们期望(are expected to)孩子能了解时事，找兼职开始自立，却根本不允许孩子们与朋友一起去度假。因此本题选B。
单选题 What does the author mean by saying "Being a teenager has never been harder" in Paragraph 3?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。划线句子为结果(青少年史无前例地困难)，导致这种情况的原因在前一句，暗示青少年现在面临的诱惑很多。故本题选D。
单选题 As is used in Paragraph 4, "the others" refers to ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 指代题。第四段“No teacher seems aware of how much work the others are setting”中no others应该指代的teacher，大意是“没有老师会意识到其他老师布置了多少作业。”teacher也是“同事”，故本题正确选项为A。
单选题 Why do teachers give their students a huge lot of homework and examinations?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。通过最后一段最后一句可知，老师们不在乎其他老师给学生留了多少作业，因为他们都处于提高学生分数的重压之下，否则他们的职业生涯就会受到影响。推理可知本题应该选择C。