A
Confident, smart and high-tech, they’re followers of pop culture and know what social networking is all about. They’re tweens, children between the ages of 10 and 12. These young people are no longer little kids but they are not yet teenagers, because tweens are in a state of transition(转变).
The tween years are hard for children. From a social point of view, tweens are dealing with quite a lot. They have to face changing relationships, middle school and a whole lot of pressure(压力) to succeed and fit in. They may become angry over seemingly small things. A bad test grade, an argument with a friend, a bad day on the ball field, or a request to clean a bedroom might set them off.
Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer, a parenting expert in London and author of Talking to Tweens, says, “The tween years are when young people begin to realize the wider world and to see themselves as separate from their families.”
Right now, tweens’ friends are everything to them. It’s universal for the age, but they show it in different ways. For boys, the whole friendship thing is through technology and sports. Girls like to talk.
Tweens are also a hot market. What do tweens consider cool? Music is at the top of the cool list, followed by going to the movies. “Being smart” comes third, tied with video games, followed by electronics, sports, fashion and protecting the environment, according to a report.
Undoubtedly, tweens have great spending power in the United States. It was the tween market that made Justin Bieber and Harry Potter household names. Retailers(零售商) know tweens are a hot market for clothes, music and entertainment. Tweens have their own sense of fashion and enjoy their own parts of popular culture.
21. Which of the following words best describes the tween years?
A. Entertaining. B. Unchanging. C. Admirable. D. Difficult.
22. What can we know from the text?
A. Tweens remain dependent on their parents.
B. Friendship is very important in tweens’ eyes.
C. Retailers pay little attention to the tween market.
D. Playing video games is second to none on tweens’ cool list.
23. Where can we most probably read this text?
A. In a marketing report. B. In an education magazine.
C. On a fashion website. D. On a parenting poster.
