Teenage life — better now，or in the past?

    Does this situation sound familiar (熟悉)？

    You are complaining (抱怨)to your parents about something. Maybe your computer isn't powerful enough to play the latest games. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Then you hear...

    When I was your age, there weren't any computers or video games. And I didn't get a bike until I was sixteen. And it was second-hand. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    So, is it really true that life is better for teenagers now? It is certainly true that many teenagers have got more things nowadays.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} So parents have got more money to spend on each child. And many things are cheaper than they were when our parents were children.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Forty years ago, no one could imagine a world with tiny computers and amazing smartphones. And now these things are necessary — we can't imagine living without them!

However, technology often means we spend more time at home. And often it is just us with our computer or television. Teenagers don't do enough exercise. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}And, although young people still get on well with their friends，some people think teenagers today don't have so many social activities as they did in the past.

    What do you think? How is teenage life better these days?

    Different families have different table manners. For example, some people don't talk while they eat, some do. Some people talk with their mouths full, others don't. Some people put their elbows (肘) on the table, but others consider it unacceptable.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Here's some good advice. If you're new somewhere just watch what other people do and don't do. If you follow the people you're eating with, you'll always have good table manners in their eyes.

    I grew up in an old-fashioned family. The main time my family saw each other was at dinner.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. We talked about our day through the dinner whether we had good stories or not.A reason we talked so much was that our parents didn't allow us to get up until we finished all of our food. Being the daughter of a Greek cook and an Italian woman, my mom always put doubleportions (双份) of delicious meals on our plates.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. I still remember my father making us eat dinner for almost two hours just because we couldn't finish our food!

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

A. When we sat down to eat it was our time to talk.

B. The problem was that sometimes we couldn't finish all the food.

C. Table manners vary (变化) with different people and different situations.

D. You may find Western table manners are different from Chinese manners.

    Today taxis are very common in cities all around the world. While London is world- famous for its special back taxis, New York's yellow taxis are also well- known all over the world. How about the taxis in Mumbai, India? Before a project (项目)named Taxi Fabric, taxis got little public attention. But now things are different because some of them have changed their common looks. Artist Sanket Avlani started the project last year with some other artists. He said," Taxi drivers here try hard to decorate(装饰）their taxis and make them stand out from others, but they usually pay little attention to the insides of their taxis. "He hopes to use his art project to connect young designers(设计师）with taxi drivers." The designs that cover the taxi seats are often boring and forgettable ,but they can be improved with the help of designers in Mumbai.

    Last summer the project raised over £l1, 000, and they invited local designers to create different designs inside the taxis. All the designs are about Mumbai. The designers are local but they got their ideas from all around the world. So far they've created 26 different designs, which make the insides of Mumbai's taxis as colorful as the views from their windows. Taxi Fabric is now hoping to spread to other cities in India. They are also inviting designers from all over India to take part in the project and planning to redesign buses, trains and subways besides taxis.

    As teenagers, you have a lot of dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize, or they can be small. You may just want to become one of the top ten students in your class.

    Once you find a dream, what do you do with it? Do you ever try to make your dream real? Making our dreams real is life's biggest challenge(挑战).

    You may think you're not very good at some subjects, or that it is impossible for you to become a writer. These kinds of thoughts prevent you from being successful.

    In fact, everyone can make his dream come true. The first thing you must do is remember the dream in your mind. Don't let it leave your heart. Keep telling yourself what you want. Do this step by step and your dream will come true faster because a big dream is made up of small ones. Please never give up.

    You may have difficulties on the road to your dreams. But the biggest comes from yourself. You need to decide what is the most important. Studying instead of watching TV will lead to better exam results while saving five yuan instead of buying an ice cream means you can buy a new book. As you get closer to your dream, it may change a little. This is good as you have the chance to learn more skills and find new interests.

How to{#blank#}1{#/blank#} your dreams