【正文】 different from those of their parents.Inour upwardly mobile society，parents often expect their children to do better than they did：to find better jobs，to make more money and to do all the things that they were unable to do. Often，however，the ambitions that parents have for their children are another cause of the division between them. They may discover that they have very little in mon with each other.Finally, the speed at which changes take place in our society is another cause of the gap between the generations. In a traditional culture, elderly people are valued for their wisdom, but in our society the knowledge of a lifetime may bee out of date overnight. The young and the old seem to live in two very different worlds, separated by different skills and abilitites.Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.26. What is mainly discussed in the passage?27. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?27. What is the style of the talk?Passage 2The period of engagement is the time between the marriage proposal and the wedding ceremony. Two people agree to marry when they decide to spend their lives man usually gives the woman a diamond engagement ring. That tradition is said to have started when an Austrian man gave a diamond ring to the woman he wanted to marry. The diamond did not represent loyalty as some people thought. It represented beauty instead. The Austrian man placed it on the third finger of her left hand. He chose that finger because it was thought that a blood vessel or nerve in that finger went directly to the heart. Today, we know that this is not true. Yet the tradition continues.Americans generally are engaged for a period of about one year, if they are planning a wedding ceremony and party. During this time, friends of the bride may hold a party at which woman friends and family members give the bride gifts that she will need as as a wife. Friends of the man who is getting married may have a bachelor party for him. This usually takes place the night before the wedding. Only men are invited to the bachelor party. During the marriage ceremony, the bride and her wouldbe husband usually exchange gold rings. That represents the idea that their union will continue forever. The wife often wears both the wedding ring and engagement ring on the same finger. The husband wears his wedding ring on the third finger of his left hand.Many people say the purpose of the engagement period is to permit enough time to plan the wedding. But the main purpose is to let enough time pass so the two people are sure they want to marry each other. Either person may decide to break the engagement. If this happens, the woman usually returns the ring to the man. They also return any wedding gifts they have received.Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.29. What is the passage mainly about?30. What do the bride and bridegroom do during the marriage ceremony?31. Which of the following is true?32. What is the chief advantage of having the engagemnent period?Passage 3 My family came to America before I was born. In two weeks I am going to get married, and my fiancee (未婚妻), Rosa and I expect to be very happy. We do not plan to have a honeymoon because we want to spend two weeks setting up our own new business as real estate agents (房地產(chǎn)代理商).　　My mother, who is very traditional (傳統(tǒng))woman, says that our plan is absurd. She thinks that we should just spend the two weeks on a holiday in the Caribbean. In her days, and in the old country, young couples didn39。t start businesses together. Instead, the man went out to work, and the wife stayed home to raise a family.　　Both Samantha and I want children in the future, and together we plan to raise them. Needless to say, our plans and my mother39。s views don39。t agree. I suppose it39。s hard for my mother and father to understand our point of view. They are used to another way of setting up a marriage and a life.　　Another thing that worries my parents is the fact that Rosa and I are going to be spending seven days a week on our business until it is running smoothly. As my mother has pointed out to us, such a schedule will leave us little time for socializing. A young couple should enjoy themselves and get to know each other under less hectic circumstances, my mother says.　　Actually, Rosa and I know each other pretty well. We are both dedicated to our goals, and neither of us minds giving up weekends for a while. Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.33. Why do the speaker and his fiancee decide not to have a honymoon?34. Which of the following best describes the speaker’s mother?35. What do you know about the young couple?