Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.
If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you
drift apart.When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn’t solve anything.
Communication begins with the concerns (關心) of another. It means that you can’t just come home from school, go up to your room and take no notice to anyone. Even if you just say “Hi”, and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.
If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary, it would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance （表達）of information, correspondence （通信）, means of communication: a letter or a message”. To keep a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it’s just by writing a note.
When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you’ll listen to what they have to say, and ask them politely to listen to you. Shouting or walking away only makes the situation worse.
Here is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn’t feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, but when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren’t as mad and let it go. Communication is the key here. If Sophie’s parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.
Communication isn’t a one-way matter: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie’s, telling the other person how you feel-------listening is the key to communication.
小題1:In the writer’s view, dealing with parents is __________ than with children.
| A．more difficult | B．much easier |
| C．less interesting | D．more interesting |
小題2:The underlined phrase “ drift apart” in Paragraph 2 means __________.
| A．keep up with others | B．move along smoothly |
| C．distance yourself form others | D．come closer to each other |
小題3:The example in Paragraph 6 shows that ___________.
| A．Sophie is very polite to her parents |
| B．Sophie’s parents are willing to listen to her |
| C．Sophie did well in explaining her being late |
| D．communication is the solutionto misunderstanding |
小題4:All the following statements are correct except “_______”.
| A．Communication is a two-way matter |
| B．It is better to say “Hi” to others than say nothing |
| C．If you don’t agree with others, you’d better let them know |
| D．When dealing with parents, you only need to listen to them |
