Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35.Thousands of books have been written on the conflict between parents and teenagers. Psychologists and sociologists have spent years trying to understand the reasons for the tension and endless arguments between these two groups.A close look at these arguments often reveals that the reasons are so trivial that we may wonder what the tears and ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35.

Thousands of books have been written on the conflict between parents and teenagers. Psychologists and sociologists have spent years trying to understand the reasons for the tension and endless arguments between these two groups.

A close look at these arguments often reveals that the reasons are so trivial that we may wonder what the tears and shouts have all been about. Most arguments are not about major issues like the nuclear bomb or the ecological problems of the universe. The fights are usually about simple matters such as food, clothes, the weekly allowance or the telephone.

Let's take an ordinary day and examine what happens. Problems start around 7 a.m. It is then that parents expect their children to get up, get dressed, eat and go to school. Parents and alarm clocks seem like the enemies of mankind at that early hour. Some parents even expect the "poor" youngsters to tidy up their room and put everything in its place before leaving for school - a ridiculous demand - in the eyes of the "victims". In the afternoon, parents want them to do homework and study hard. They resent their children's endless conversations on the phone. In the evening, they complain about the clothes and jewelry the teenagers wear and preach for hours about the dangers on the road and the need to be home by midnight at the latest, like Cinderella.

Youngsters expect parents to be more flexible; not to preach and lecture but to advise and explain. They would like them to be tolerant of different views, listen to their problems and respect their privacy. However, even if they don't admit it, youngsters need the guidance and support of their parents, their approval or disapproval and even their firm opposition on crucial subjects such as drugs or alcohol. They need limits. They need loving but firm authority. In short, youngsters should be more patient and sensitive to their parents' feelings and parents must understand that they cannot prevent their children from making mistakes. Trial and error is, after all, a very important part of the process of growing up

The word "trivial" is closest in meaning to_____________.