The small number of newborn babies, which has been caused by high prices and the changing social situation of women, is one of the most serious problems in Asia. When people talk about it, you can hear a word invented in Japan. which means Double Income Kids(小孩).
In many major Asian cities like Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, the cost of a ****** is extremely high. A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about $3000,000 (though prices have fallen). For a flat with one bedrooms, one dining-room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, the couple will pay about $900 a month. What’s more, if they want to have a child, the child’s education is very expensive. For example, most kindergarten charges are at least $5.000 a year. In such a situation, it’s difficult to afford children.
The number of married women who want to continue working because they enjoy their jobs. However, if they want to have children, they immediately have serious problems. Though most companies allow women to leave their jobs for a short time to have a baby, they expect women with babies to give up their jobs. In short, if they want to bring up children properly, both parents have to work, but it is hard for mothers to work. Indeed, women who want to contimue working have to choose between having children or keeping their jobs.
In a word, Asian governments must take steps to improve the present situation as soon as possible.What is the main problem being discussed in the passage?
| A．The small number of newborn babies. |
| B．The changing social situation of women. |
| C．The high prices of houses and education. |
| D．The necessary steps of Asian government. |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．It is easy for a couple to afford a child in Asia. |
| B．The prices of in Asia are quite low now. |
| C．Fewer and fewer married women wan to have a job. |
| D．The word “DINKS” appeared in an Asian country. |
To buy a flat and send a child to kindergarten, how much will a couple pay each year?
| A．85,000 | B．85,900 | C．$10.800 | D．$15.800 |
The seems to believe that Asian governments should ________.
| A．let women stay at home and have a baby |
| B．allow one of the parents to go out to work |
| C．care for the growing needs of women for job. |
| D．the companies that permit women to leave. |
A recent survey made by BUPA, an international healthcare provider, shows that 54 percent of Chinese people aged between 45 and 54 consider themselves old, while 28 percent say that the thought of getting old upsets them. 25 percent are afraid of getting old, and a third worry about life in old age.
BUPA made the survey among 12,262 people from 12 countries over 2 months, starting in June 2010. The survey shows that 72 percent of international participants(参加者) aged over 65 don’t feel old and that 67 percent still feel healthy. On the other hand, 65 percent of Chinese feel old even before reaching 60. About one third of those surveyed in China said they have enough savings(存款), and 46 percent are insured(参加保险). Around 60 percent of the Chinese participants hope they will be taken care of by family members.
According to the survey, the French hold the most positive attitude towards getting old, with 32 percent of them considering age 80 and up old. 17 percent of Brazilians look forward to old age, compared with 3 percent globally. Indians are not bothered by old age, as 70 percent said that they don’t feel that they will be affected by old age and 71 percent say they have already made preparations for this stage of life. The illnesses that most people around the world are worried about are cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.According to the survey, many Chinese people surveyed feel old before they are ______.
| A．50 year old | B．60 years old |
| C．70 years old | D．80 years old |
Most of Chinese people surveyed expect help from _________.
| A．the government | B．family members |
| C．insurance companies | D．healthcare providers |
Who are the youngest at heart according to the survey?
| A．The Indians. | B．The Brazilians |
| C．The French | D．The Chinese |
Why are the Indians not afraid of getting old?
| A．Because they have got ready for old age. |
| B．Because old people are respected in India. |
| C．Because getting old means enjoying life. |
| D．Because they will get more help from society. |
The bar-tailed godwit(斑尾鹬) has just broken its own record for the world’s longest non-stop flight, including humans in planes, according to a report made by Lund University Press. The bird can fly non-stop for eight days, while the most impressive man-made airplane can only remain in the sky for 82 hours without a stop.
The bar-tailed godwit’s journey, from Alaska to New Zealand, covers over 6,835 miles. It completes this trip twice a year, in autumn going to New Zealand, and in spring back to Alaska. The tireless bird ends the trip without stopping once for food or rest. All other birds can only finish trips that are twice as short as what the bar-tailed godwit travels.
One reason for the bar-tailed godwit’s success is that it has made the best use of its fuel, which is only 0.41 percent of its body weight over each hour of any given long flight. Hedenstrom, a professor from Lund University, says, “This figure is extremely low compared with other birds.” The bird also has a special body shape that helps it fly easily. It stores body fat and protein to manage its trips. It also travels fast, compared to other birds and animals.
Many questions remain about this bird record holder that never gets lost in the air. Researchers wonder whether it has an inside compass(指南针) that helps it to know the direction. Please watch how beautiful bar-tailed godwits look as they come in for a landing, along with other birds.For the flight from Alaska to New Zealand, the bar-tailed godwit _____.
| A．doesn’t need to stop to eat | B．is afraid of hot weather |
| C．seems very tired at last | D．should fly less than 7000 metres |
The main reason why the bar-tailed godwit can break the record is that it ______.
| A．eats little food every hour | B．has a special body shape |
| C．stores much water in its body | D．has very light body weight |
The last paragraph tells us that ________.
| A．researchers have understood the bird very well |
| B．the bird has a very good sense of direction |
| C．there are still many who doubt the bird’s ability |
| D．the bird has an inner compass |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．A bird that breaks the record for the longest non-stop flight. |
| B．Birds and airplanes that can fly over a long distance. |
| C．Reasons for the bar-tailed godwit’s long-distance flight. |
| D．An introduction to long-distance flights of birds and humans. |
Let’s say you took violin lessons all through elementary school, but you haven’t got the instrument out of its case for years. Were all those lessons a waste of your parents’ money because you didn’t become a violinist?
Even though it has been a long time since you played the violin, a new study shows that as little as one year of music training can have a positive impact (影响) on your brain that will last the rest of your life.
In an experiment, researchers compared children who had taken music lessons to those who hadn’t. Laurel Trainor, who studies music and the mind, discovered that the musically-trained children had better brain responses in certain sound recognition exams. Trainor’s findings show the possibility that musical education can actually improve the brain’s hearing cortex(大脑皮层). “The study’s results show that music training affects attention and memory, and helps children develop learning skills. In this way music training might lead to better learning across a number of fields,” Trainor said in a statement. The effects of music education are even more obvious on children with difficulty in reading and writing and other language-related disabilities.
So, whether you can play a good piece of music or not, it’s likely that your years of music lessons have prepared your brain for all the speeches, emails, and adult conversations that are part of your life today. We should help make sure that children today have the same opportunities for music, and help out by volunteering with or donating instruments to your school’s music education department.Compared with children who haven’t taken music lessons, musically-trained children _______.
| A．sing better | B．do better in exams |
| C．recognize sounds better | D．response more quickly |
According to the study, we know musical education can _____.
| A．change the structure of the brain |
| B．improve children’s learning skills |
| C．help children focus their attention |
| D．provide more memorizing methods |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Adults should also take some music lessons. |
| B．The author has taken violin lessons when he was young. |
| C．Even a day’s music training can affect the human brain. |
| D．Music training can also help children with certain disabilities. |
He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t old. And he wasn’t losing. He had a very good final season and won his last game in 2008. And then he walked away.
Lloyd Carr was 62. That’s a few years earlier than retirement(退休) age in America and many years earlier than some college football coaches say goodbye. How was Carr, who coached University of Michigan, able to leave so easily?
“ It can be intoxicating,” Carr admits. “The Saturday afternoons and the crowds. And when you win, there’s nothing like it.”
But the job needs hard work. The pressure to win. The endless training. The hours are so long that sleeping at the office is a normal thing. I reported Carr’s career at Michigan from 1995 to 2007. I saw him run onto the field before 100,000 cheering fans, saw him enjoy a share of a national championship with a 12-0 season.
And when I visited him recently in retirement, the difference was noticeable. He seems much calmer, relaxed, more at peace. He says, “As much fun as it is, there’s a period when you have other things to deal with.”
Carr knew he wanted to travel, see the world, read more, do other work. He is now connected with a children’s hospital, does some speaking, plays golf, and enjoys relaxing with his wife, Laurie, and their many grandchildren.
Several of today’s big-name coaches are all about Carr’s retirement age. Nick Saban turns 59 this month. Jim Tressel is 57. Frank Beamer is already 63. None of them seems to be slowing down.
So when, I ask Carr, is the right moment to leave such a great job?
He thinks. Finally, he says, “When you love it and can still walk away from it. That’s the right moment.”Lloyd Carr stopped working as a coach because he _______.
| A．was too old | B．was injured seriously |
| C．had other things to experience | D．followed others’ examples |
The underlined word “intoxicating” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
| A．exciting | B．disappointing | C．surprising | D．puzzling |
It can be inferred from the text that Lloyd Carr ________.
| A．was always free after retirement |
| B．was a failure as a football coach |
| C．missed the time when he coached |
| D．enjoyed his retirement life very much |
The author is most probably ________.
| A．a football player | B．Lloyd Carr’s assistant |
| C．a retired coach | D．a sports reporter |
In June 2008,Benita Grist was driving in her hometown of Mississauga as a passenger in the car ahead threw a paper cup out of the window.When Grist horned to express her displeasure, the passenger responded by throwing out a bag.
Instead of annoyed, she decided to do something about it.She organized a one woman litterawareness campaign.She started small,chatting with her neighbors about litter—and asking them to be more conscious of any tendencies they might have to litter.Soon,she noticed local families, kids and all—picking up litter around their homes.”I thought,that’s all it took—for me to open my mouth?” she says.”So I decided to knock on more doors.”
And she didn’t stop there.She approached people on the street,in malls,even in the waiting room before getting an X ray. Grist often started her appeal with something such as,”I hope you don’t think I’m crazy,but...” Yet she was buoyed by the positive response—so much so that in August 2008, she began to contact officials in various levels of government, companies and other institutions in an effort to reach a wider audience.
Through a local Mac’s Convenience Store,Grist managed to contact the company that produces content displayed on their in store monitors.That led to a public service announcement about litter that ran in almost 600 Mac’s stores in Ontario from November 2008 to June 2009. Grist continues to explore every opportunity she has to get the message out.Her grassroots campaign may be different,but she has begun to open people’s eyes about the problem of litter.And thanks to her efforts,in Mississauga,at least,they have begun to do just that. How did Benita Grist start her campaign?
| A．She chatted with her neighbors. | B．She quarreled with a stranger. |
| C．She went door to door,talking. | D．She talked to patients in hospital. |
The underlined word “buoyed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “-------”.
| A．inspired | B．discouraged | C．confused | D．disturbed |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Introduction to a one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| B．How Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| C．Why Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| D．Benita and the one woman litter awareness campaign. |