Comprehension 理解
Give short answers to these questions in your own words as far as possible．Use one complete sentence for each answer.
1 What, according to the writer, is the one difference between an old man and a young one?
2 Why would the writer have been pleased to have been regarded as a problem when he was young?
3 Name three qualities in young people which the author particularly admires.
Vocabulary 词汇
Refer to the text to see how the following words have been used, then write sentences of your own using these words: create (1.2); teenager (1.6); devotion (1.11); link (1.12); origins (1.12); dreary (1.15).
Sentence structure 句子结构
A Complete the following sentences in any way you wish．Then compare what you have written with thesentences in the passage:
1 There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: _______．(11.3-4)
2 When I was a teenager, I ________．(1.6)
3 I find young people exciting．They _____．(1.10)
B Combine the following statements to make complete sentences．Add conjunctions of your own and omit the words in italics．Do not refer to the passage until you have finished the exercise.
1 If there is one, I take leave to doubt it．It is older people who create it．It is not the young themselves．(11.1-2)
2 They are not anxious social climbers．They have no devotion to material things．(11.11-12)
C Write three statements which an adult might make to criticize adolescents.
D Write three statements which an adolescent might make to criticize adults.
Key structures 关键句型
A Compare these two sentences: People are always talking about ‘the problem of youth’．(1.1)
Whenever I meet him, he always talks about his personal problems.
The first sentence describes something that happens all the time; the second sentence describes something that happens frequently.
Write similar pairs of sentences using the following verbs: change; make; tell; ask.
B Compare these two sentences:
It is older people who create it, not the young themselves．(1.2)
There is only one difference between an old man and a young one．(11.3-4)
Write similar pairs of sentences using the following words: the rich, a rich man; the sick, a sick man; theblind, a blind man; the dead, a dead man.
C Compare these two sentences:
Instead of saying: I would have been very pleased if anyone regarded me as a problem.
We can say: I would have been very pleased to be regarded as a problem．(1.7)
Write these sentences again using this construction with to be in place of the phrases in italics:
1 You would not like it if you were accused of theft.
2 I was astonished when they told me that all the tickets had been sold out.
3 I expect they will inform me about it tomorrow.
D Compare these two sentences:
Instead of saying: To be a problem gives you a certain identity.
We can say: Being a problem gives you a certain identity … (1.8)
Rewrite these sentences changing the form of the verbs in italics:
1 It is not very pleasant to have to write so many letters.
2 To expect others to help you and then not to help them in return is hardly commendable.
3 It is very enjoyable to teach young children.
E Note the construction in italics:
That is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking．(11.8-9)
Write sentences using the same construction with the following verbs: delight; interest; persist; believe.
F Compare these two sentences:
Instead of saying: They have no devotion to material things．(11.11-12)
We can say: They haven't any devotion to material things.
Write these sentences again using not … any in place of no.
1 He doesn't know．There's no point in asking him.
2 You'll pass your driving test if you make no mistakes.
3 I have no faith in him.
Special difficulties 难点
A Study the following pairs of words and then write sentences of your own to bring out the difference.
1 older (1.2) ---- elder
I know both buildings are very old, but which one is older?
My elder brother is a doctor.
2 agree (1.2) ---- accept
They invited me to their wedding and I've agreed to go．(agree to do something)
She offered me some clothes her children had grown out of and I accepted them．(accept + object = take what is offered)
But agree and accept are interchangeable in the text, as in these sentences:
I don't agree with your opinion / accept your opinion of the youth of this country．I agree / I accept that this is a difficult matter.
3 between (1.3) ---- among
It's hard to choose between these two pictures．I like them both.
There are quite a few talented artists among the people I know.
4 please (1.7) ---- begged
It pleases me to say you've got the job．
I begged the traffic-cop not to book me for speeding and he just laughed．
5 regard (1.7) ---- look at
I don't regard a degree as a meal ticket for life.
Just look at those children picking apples.
6 interesting (1.7) ---- interested
I found his talk very interesting.
I got interested in stamp collecting when I was a child．
7 exciting (L 10) ---- excited
There are some exciting items in the current fashion show.
We got excited when we thought we had won the lottery.
8 reason (1.15) ---- cause
What was the reason for the delay?
The doctor recorded the cause of death as heart failure.
B Note this phrase with get:
Let us get down to fundamentals．(1.2)
Explain these expressions with get:
1 The children are very quiet．I wonder what they're getting up to.
2 I can't see how we can get round this difficulty.
3 I've been abroad three times this year．I get about quite a bit.
4 Hasn't she got over her illness yet?
5 Don't think you'll get off so lightly if you're caught.
6 It's your turn to do the washing up and it's no use your trying to get out of it.
C Note the phrase in italics:
He may be ill-mannered．(1.14)
Write sentences using the following adjectives:
ill-advised; ill-protected; ill-tempered; ill-fated; ill-used; ill-bred; ill-natured．
Multiple choice questions 多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1 What's the main difference between young people and old people?
a．Old people think of the young as ‘a problem’.
b．Old people create this ‘problem’ of age difference.
c．Old people have a past; young people have a future.
d．Old people and young people forget they are all human beings.
2 One of the things young people want to do is to _____.
a．find out who they are
b．make sure they become ‘a problem’
c．feel uncertain about themselves
d．feel they are in a huge school
3 According to the writer, young people _______.
a．are conceited, ill-mannered or fatuous
b．don't see life in the same way their elders do
c．don't have any ambitions
d．come from another planet
4 The writer doesn't believe that ____.
a．people automatically deserve respect because they are old
b．young people and old people are equals
c．you should argue with young people if they are wrong
d．young people have any faults
Structure 句型
5 The problem, if there is one, ______ by older people．(1.2)
a．created
b．is created
c．creates
d．is creating
6 For one thing, if you ______ a problem, you have a certain identity．(11.7-8)
a．were
b．being
c．had
d．are
7 ______ to be linked with life, and the origin of things．(1.12)
a．They seem
b．It seems
c．This seems
d．What seems
8 It is _______ they are conceited and ill-mannered．(1.14)
a．necessary
b．permissible
c．possible
d．likely
Vocabulary 词汇
9 Let us get down to ______．(1.2)
a．what is needed
b．basics
c．the end
d．the bottom
10 Perhaps that's where the _____ is．(1.5)
a．wound
b．problem
c．hurt
d．injury
11 Identity is one of the things in life the young are busy _______．(11.8-9)
a．looking at
b．looking to
c．looking over
d．looking for
12 That's what I____ when I meet a young person．(11.13-14)
a．am annoyed with
b．care about
c．object to
d．think about