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Unit12dCouldyoupleasecleanyourroom?Sister:Tony,couldyoupleasehelpoutwithafewthings?Brother:CouldIatleastfinishwatchingthisshow?Sister:No.IthinktwohoursofTVisenoughforyou!Brother:Fine.Whatdoyouwantmetodo?Sister:Couldyoutakeouttherubbish,foldtheclothesanddothedishes?Brother:Somuch?Sister:Yes,becauseMomwillbebackfromshoppinganyminutenow.Andshewon’tbehappyifsheseesthismess.Brother:Butthehouseisalreadyprettycleanandtidy!Sister:Yes,well,it’sclean,butit’snot“motherclean”.Unit13ALastmonth,ourdogwelcomedmewhenIcamehomefromschool.Hewantedawalk,butIwastootired.Ithrewdownmybackandwenttothelivingroom.TheminuteIsatdowninfrontoftheTV,mymomcameover.“Couldyoupleasetakethedogforawalk?“sheasked.CanIwatchoneshowfirst?“Iasked.No!“sherepliedangrily.“YouwatchTVallthetimeandneverhelpoutaroundthehouse!Ican'tworkallday,anddohouseworkallevening.Well,Iworkedalldayatschool,too.I'mjustastiredasyouare!“Ishoutedback.Mymomdidnotsayanythingandwalkedaway.Foroneweek,shedidnotdoanyhouseworkandneitherdidI.Finally,Icouldnotfindacleandishoracleanshirt.Thenextday,mymomcamehomefromworktofindthehousecleanandtidy.Whathappened？sheaskedinsurprise.I'msosorry,mom.Ifinallyunderstandthatweneedtosharethehouseworktohaveacleanandcomfortablehome,Ireplied.Unit12BDearSir,Idonotunderstandwhysomeparentsmaketheirkidshelpwithhouseworkandchoresathome.Kidsthesedaysalreadyhaveenoughstressfromschool.Theydonothavetimetostudyanddohousework,too.Houseworkisawasteoftheirtime.Couldwejustletthemdotheirasastudents?Theyshouldspendtheirtimeonschoolworkinordertogetgoodgradesandgetintoagooduniversity.Also,whentheygetolder,theywillhavetodohouseworksothereisnoneedforthemtodoitnow.Itistheparents‘jobtoprovideacleanandcomfortableenvironmentathomefortheirchildren.Andanyway,Ithinkdoingchoresisnotsodifficult.Idonotminddoingthem.Ms.MillerDearSir,Ithinkitisimportantforchildrentolearnhowtodochoresandhelptheirparentswithhousework.Itisnotenoughtojustgetgoodgradesatschool.Childrenthesedaysdependontheirparentstoomuch.Theyarealwaysasking,”Couldyougetthisforme?”or“Couldyouhelpmewiththat?”Doingchoreshelpstodevelopchildren’sindependenceandteachesthemhowtolookafterthemselves.Italsohelpsthemtounderstandtheideaoffairness.Sincetheyliveinonehousewiththeirparents,theyshouldknowthateveryoneshoulddotheirpartinkeepingitcleanandtidy.Ourneighbor’ssongotintoagoodcollegebutduringhisfirstyear,hehadnoideahowtotakecareofhimself.Asaresult,heoftenfellillandhisgradesdropped.Theearlierkidslearntobeindependent,thebetteritisfortheirfuture.Mr.SmithUnit22DWhydon’tyoutalktoyourparents?Dave:Youlooksad,Kim.What’swrong?Kim:Well,Ifoundmysisterlookingthroughmythingsyesterday.ShetooksomeofmynewmagazinesandCDs.Dave:Hmm…that’snotverynice.Didshegivethembacktoyou?Kim:Yes,butI’mstillangrywithher.WhatshouldIdo?Dave:Well,Iguessyoucouldtellhertosaysorry.Butwhydon’tyouforgetaboutitsothatyoucanbefriendsagain?Althoughshe’swrong,it’snotbigdeal.Kim:You’reright.ThanksforyouradviceDave:Noproblem.Hopethingsworkout.Unit23ADearMr.Hunt,MyproblemisIcan'tgetonwithmyfamily.Relationsbetweenmyparentshavebecomedifficult.Theyfightalot,andIreallydon'tlikeit.It'stheonlycommunicationtheyhave.Idon'tknowifIshouldsayanythingtothemaboutthis.Whentheyargue,it'slikeabig,blackcloudhangingoverourhome.Also,myelderbrotherisnotverynicetome.HealwaysrefusestoletmewatchmyfavoriteTVshow.Insteadhewatcheswhateverhewantsuntillateatnight.Idon'tthinkthisisfair.AthomeIalwayslonelyandnervous.Isthatnormal?WhatcanIdo?SadandThirteenDearSadandThirteen,It'snoteasybeingyourage,andit'snormaltohavethesefeeling.Whydon'tyoutalkaboutthesefeelingswithyourfamily?Ifyourparentsarehavingproblems,youshouldoffertohelp.Maybeyoucoulddomorejobsaroundthehousesothattheyhavemoretimeforpropercommunication.Second,whydon'tyousitdownandcommunicatewithyourbrother?Youshouldexplainthatyoudon'tmindhimwatchingTVallthetime.However,heshouldletyouwatchyourfavoriteshow.Ihopeyou'llfeelbetteraboutyourselfinfuture.Unit22BMaybeYoushouldLearntoRelax!Thesedays,Chinesechildrenaresometimesbusieronweekendsthanweekdaysbecausetheyhavetotakesomanyafter-schoolclasses.Manyofthemarelearningexamskillssothattheycangetintoagoodhighschoolandlateragooduniversity.Othersarepracticingsportssothattheycancompeteandwin.However,thisdoesn’tonlyhappeninChina.TheTaylorsareatypicalAmericanfamily.LifeforCathyTaylor’sthreechildrenisverybusy.”Onmostdaysafterschool,”Cathysays,”Itakeoneofmytwoboystobasketballpracticeandmydaughtertofootballtraining.ThenIhavetotakemyothersontopianolessons.MaybeIcouldcutoutafewoftheiractivities,butIbelievetheseactivitiesareimportantformychildren’sfuture.Ireallywantthemtobesuccessful.”However,thetiredchildrendon’tgethomeuntilafter7:00p.m.Theyhaveaquickdinner,andthenit’stimeforhomework.LindaMiller,amotherofthree.Knowsallaboutsuchstress.“Insomefamilies,competitionstartsveryyoungandcontinuesuntilthekidsgetolder.”Shesays.“Motherssendthemsmallkidstoallkindsofclasses.Andtheyarealwayscomparingthemwithotherchildren.It’scrazy.Idon’tthinkthat’sfair.Whydon’tjustlettheirkidsbekids?Peopleshouldn’tpushtheirkidssohard.Doctorssaytoomuchpre