The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that

The evidence for harmony may not be obviousin some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get onwith their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image (印象) of unhappy teenagers lockedin their room after endless family quarrels.

An important new study into teenageattitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than ithas ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive today’syoung people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the researchteam. “They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds:they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school isserving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children,and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. Theydon’t want to rock the boat.”

So it seems that this generation of parentsis much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.”My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,”says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. “I always tell them when I’m going outclubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” SusanCrome, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was alot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all myhomework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents werea lot stricter with my parents than that.”

Maybe this positive view of family lifeshould not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenager rebellion isnot rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, “Our surprise that teenagerssay they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period inout social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But thatidea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happenedduring that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situationthroughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the familybusiness to taking it over.”

1. What is the popular images of teenagerstoday?

2.The study shows that teenagers don’t wantto ___

3.Compared with parents of 30 years age,today’s parents___.

4. According to the author, teenagerebellion____.

试题答案

【答案】

1.B

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】略