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第二部分阅读理解:（共两节, 满分50分）
Ⅲ. 第一节（共20小题; 每小题2分, 满分40分））阅读下列短文, 从每题所给的选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该选项标号涂黑。
“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator, Booker Washington. He was saying that, “If you want people to grow up, you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America, families are close but children are encouraged to be independent, to make their own decisions, even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance (津贴) every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose, for example, buying clothes, school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit.
From an early age, American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision-making. At the dinner table, teenagers will be listened to on any topic, from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals: they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice, young Chinese girl”. With her short, spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet ... and she won!
There is an old saying, “Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
41. The passage is intended to encourage the youth to ________.
A. save money for useful things B. become independent
C. express their great ambitions D. make important decisions
42. A child of seven is given allowance so that he can ________.
A. be accepted as a popular guy B. learn to decide how to use money
C. overspend money without care D. have school supplies of his own
43. The author implies that many Chinese children ________.
A. are more independent than Americans B. should become interested in America
C. are happy with their present situation D. are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
44. The main idea of the last paragraph is ________.
A. that we should do things step by step B. why we should understand our desires
C. what we should plan for our own life D. how we can manage to realize our dream