It
is natural for young people to be critical of their, parents at times and to
blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always
complained, more or less justly, that their parents are out of touch with modern
ways; that they are possessive and dominant; that they do not trust their
children to deal with crisis; that they talk too much about certain problems—and
that they have no sense of humor, at least in parent-child
relationships. I think it is true that parents often
underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt
when young. Young people often irritate their parents with their
choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their
motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been
accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, it turns out
that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate
their parents. This gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are
superior, at least in small way, and that they are leaders in style and
taste. Sometimes you are resistant, and proud because you do not
want your parents to approve of what you do. If they did approve, it looks as if
you are betraying your own age group. But in that case, you are assuming that
you are underdog: you can't win but at least you can keep your honor. This is a
passive way of looking at things. It is natural enough after long years of
childhood, when you were completely under your parents' control. But it ignores
the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself.
If you plan to control your life, co-operation can be part of that plan.
You can charm others, especially your parents, into doing things the way you
want. You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative,
so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do.
【答案解析】本段第一句话就是本段的主题句(topic sentence):"It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them"，由此可以推出A为正确答案。而B和C只是抱怨的内容，D与原文不符。
单选题
Teenagers tend to have strange clothes and hairstyles because they ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】作者认为年轻人选择奇异发型和服饰的目的不是为了激怒父母，而主要是因为“They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted so they create a culture and society of their own”，故可肯定A正确的。
单选题
Teenagers do not want their parents to approve of whatever they do because they ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】根据第四段中的“If they did approve, it looks as if you are betraying your own age group”，以及第四和第五段的内容可以肯定D是正确的，而A和C与文章内容不符。B中内容文章虽提及过，但它仅仅是年轻人选择奇异服饰与发型的感觉而已，不符合本题题意。
单选题
To improve parent-child relationships, teenagers are advised to be ______.