Passage Three

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

　　Many Chinese high school students are tired of their parents’ nagging(唠叨). They think their parents’ high expectations are burdens. But a recent survey found that they are much luckier than teenagers in Japan, Korea and the US, who also find their parents annoying. The parents of foreign teens have even higher expectations of their children than Chinese parents. 62% of Chinese fathers and 66% of Chinese mothers have high expectations of their children at high school age. They rank third and fourth among fathers and mothers of four countries. Japanese mothers top the list with 76% having high expectations, while 70% of Korean fathers expect too much of their children. Japanese teens are the most deeply troubled by their parents constantly comparing them with other kids.

　　The survey also found that Chinese students are the most satisfied with their parents. They blame them less, and also receive less criticism than those from the other three countries. However, satisfaction doesn’t mean they are happy. Of the four countries, Chinese children are not the happiest at home. They get the least praise from their parents and they don’t feel able to express their unhappiness to them,

　　Results from the survey show that in spite of different cultural backgrounds, generation gaps exist in many countries other than China. It’s even bigger elsewhere. It is said that Chinese parents are used to burying their feelings deep in their hearts, which makes their children not want to talk openly with them. This survey shows that both parents and teenagers in China need to work on communicating and understanding each other.

　　Besides their family life, students were also questioned about their opinions on themselves and others in the world. US students showed more “individuality,” with 88% agreeing that “people should follow their own interests instead of those of others”. Koreans were the next most independent, followed by the Chinese and Japanese.

　　21. The text is mainly about________.

　　A) the unlucky school students’ troubles

　　B) the different generation gaps in different countries

　　C) the comparison of students’ family situations in different countries

　　D) the relationship between children and parents

　　22. Japanese students think it most troublesome that their parents______.

　　A) often compare them with other children

　　B) have the highest expectations

　　C) are not satisfied with them

　　D) seldom talk openly with them

　　23. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A) Chinese teens are happiest at home for they are most satisfied with their parents.

　　B) Chinese parents blame or criticize their children less and praise them more.

　　C) Generation gap in China is much bigger than that in other countries.

　　D) Chinese parents don’t often talk openly with their children.

　　24. According to the author, who are the most independent?

　　A) American students

　　B) Students from Japan

　　C) Students in Korea

　　D) Chinese students

　　25. From the passage we can infer that higher expectations of their children are ________.

　　A) not local terms

　　B) not universal

　　C) Chinese characters

　　D) characters of Asian people

　　Passage Four

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

　　Which are more likely to have with you at any given moment — your cell-phone or your wallet? Soon you may be able to throw your wallet away and pay for things with a quick wave of your smart phone over an electronic scanner.

　　In January, Starbucks announced that customers could start using their phones to buy coffee in 6,800 of its stores. This is the first pay-by-phone practice in the U.S., but we’re likely to see more wireless payment alternatives as something called near field communication (NFC) gets into America’s consumer electronics. Last December, some new smart phones which contain an NFC chip were introduced to the public.

　　Already in use in parts of Asia and Europe, NFC allows shoppers to wave their phones a few inches above a payment terminal — a contact-free system built for speed and convenience. But before NFC becomes widely adopted in the U.S., a few problems need to be worked out, like who will get to collect the profitable transaction fees. Although some credit card providers have been experimenting with wave-and-pay systems that use NFC-enabled credit cards, cell-phone service providers may try to muscle their way into the point-of-sale (POS) market. Three big cell-phone service providers have formed a joint venture that will go into operation over the next 15 months. Its goal is “to lead the U.S. payments industry from cards to mobile phones.”

　　The other big NFC issue, apart from how payments will be processed, is security. For instance, what’s to stop a thief from digitally pickpocketing you? “We’re still not at the point where an attacker can just brush against you in a crowd and steal all the money out of your phone.” says Jimmy Shah, a mobile-security researcher. “Users may also be able to set transaction limits, perhaps requiring a password to be entered for larger purchases.”

　　Are you still uneasy about this digital-wallet business? Keep in mind that if you lose your smart phone, it can be located on a map and remotely disabled. Plus, your phone can be password protected. Your wallet isn’t.

　　26. What is predicted to happen in the U.S.?

　　A) The expansion of cell-phone companies.

　　B) The boom of pay-by-phone business.

　　C) The disappearance of credit cards.

　　D) The increase of Starbucks sales.

　　27. The NFC technology can be used to ________.

　　A) ensure the safety of shoppers

　　B) collect transaction fees easily

　　C) make purchase faster and simpler

　　D) improve the quality of cell-phones

　　28. Three cell-phone service providers form a joint venture to ________.

　　A) strengthen their relationship

　　B) get a share in the payment industry

　　C) sell more cell-phones

　　D) test the NFC technology

　　29. The word “transaction” in paragraph 3 most probably means _______.

　　A) a chain of stores

　　B) a shift from one port to another

　　C) a message sent from one place to another

　　D) a piece of business

　　30. According to the passage, what can users do if they lose their smart phone?

　　A) Stop the functioning of their phones.

　　B) Set up a password.

　　C) Get all the money out of their phones.

　　D) Cancel large purchases.