I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching (紧握) at one another's hands for reassurance.
They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up huddled (聚在一起) round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon (蚕茧) into a larger_cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come—with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.
1.In this passage, the author wants to tell ________.
A.teenagers to try to pursue their real selves
B.readers to try to be popular with people around
C.parents to try to control and guide their children
D.people to try to understand and respect each other
2.The author disapproves of rebelling teenagers ________.
A.growing away from their parents
B.following the popularity trend
C.walking a new way on their own
D.turning to their friends for help
3.The phrase “larger cocoon” at the end of the second paragraph refers to ________.
A.the distractive and variable society
B.the dazzling music world
C.the parental care and love
D.the popularity wave in the society
4.What does the author think of advertisements?
A.Convincing.
B.Instructive.
C.Influential.
D.Authoritative.
5.According to the author, what might happen when a teenager stands up against the popularity wave and follows his/her own path?
A.He/She falls behind the time.
B.He/She loses good friends.
C.He/She faces all kinds of criticism.
D.He/She gains valuable popularity.
答案及解析
1.A 主旨大意题。文章首先分析了青少年从众这一不良现象，然后告诉我们，要想有所作为，青少年应该有自己的特色，并分析了其意义和困难，由此可见，关键词就是teenagers。故选A。
2.B 推理判断题。由文章可知，作者并不赞成青少年从众。
3.D 词义猜测题。这是对上文的“…wear the same clothes，…they all end up huddled (聚在一起) round listening to the same record”的比喻，指的就是社会上的流行波。
4.C 推理判断题。倒数第二段作者说“All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.”All this就包括前文说的广告(advertisements)，也就是说作者认为，广告对青少年的流行波是有影响的，故选C。
5.D 推理判断题。文章告诉青少年应该如何走自己的路，最后一句又告诉他们这样做的意义：That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.由此可以看出D项正确。选项中的关键词为：popularity。valuable对应count。
