As nanny(保姆), cook, cleaner, shopper, driver, and gardener, she has one of the most demanding jobs in Britain today. And paying someone else to do the chores(家务活) which take the average housewife 71 hours a week would cost €349.
At over €18,000 a year that’s more than the earnings of 70 percent of the population, including train drivers, firemen, prison officers, and social worker. Looking after a baby less than a year old takes a housewife into a even higher pay league. According to a stud, she earns €457 a week – at nearly €24,000 a year, the same as teachers, engineers, and chemists.
Researchers put a price on each chore, then tried to find out how long the average person takes doing them. They found housewives spend an average 70.7 hours a week on housework – with looking after the children (17.9hours) and cooking and cleaning (12.9 hours each) the most time-consuming(费时).
A wife with a part-time job still works and average of 59 hours a week at home. Those in full-time employment put in longer hours at home than in the workplace. The good news is that these hours sharply as children get older. While the average mother with child under one puts in 90 hours weekly, the figure drops to 80 hours from one to four and to 66 hours from five to ten.
Mother-of-four Karen Williams from London said, “Paying the housewives may not be practical, but the government should recognize the value of housework, perhaps through the tax. Running a house takes a lot of time and most husbands don’t understand this. For example, my husband only puts a shelf up now and again. He never cleans the kitchen – that’s the real test.”Who earns most according to the text?
| A．A social worker. | B．A fireman. |
| C．A gardener. | D．A teacher. |
We lean from the text that looking after children ______.
| A．takes more time than doing any other housework |
| B．means more duties than being a teacher |
| C．requires the mother to be well-educated |
| D．prevents the mother from working outside |
According to the text, a housewife with a baby less than one year old may work _____.
| A．66 hours a week | B．71 hours a week |
| C．80 hours a week | D．90 hours a week |
By mentioning her husband, Karen Williams wants to show that ______.
| A．housework is no easy job |
| B．her husband has no time to clean the kitchen |
| C．a housewife needs to be paid for cleaning |
| D．the kitchen is hard to clean |
It is football time again．Currently, the qualifying rounds are being played to decide which countries will send teams to the next World Cup．Some Soccer is becoming more and more popular on a worldwide scale and these qualifying legs are causing much excitement．
The game is popular at club level as well．Many fans go every week to support their teams, whether the event is a home or away one, hoping to get a result．They all hope an attacking game, with a lot of goals being scored．Obviously, they do not want to see a boring, defensive match where the players are aimlessly passing the ball to each other．
Sadly, not all the action always takes place on the ground．All too frequently, there is action in the stands, too．Football supporters, most of whom declare their loyalty , by wearing their team colors, in the form of shirts, are not known for their quiet behavior．They are often very noisy, shouting noisy encouragement to their team and singing deafening songs．
There is much rivalry between supporters．Mostly, this is good-natured, but trouble can easily arise．Fans get angry if they feel that a referee has made a wrong decision, perhaps giving one of their team a red or yellow card unfairly, or perhaps failing to notice a foul committed by a member of the other team．
When trouble breaks out in a football crowd, it can be difficult to control．Stadium officials often seat the opposing fans in separate parts of the ground as a precaution against fighting． However, preventing trouble is more difficult outside the ground．In the worst cases, riot （暴乱）police have to be called in．
Unfortunately, there are some fans who enjoy this violent aspect of football．These football hooligans （流氓） really enjoy a running battle with the police, and call up other people to throw stones and bottles at them．They regard football not only as a sport, but as an excuse for trouble makings．Inevitably, their behavior spoils the reputation of the game．The qualifying rounds are played to ______．
| A．make the game more exciting | B．attract soccer fans at club level |
| C．raise funds for the organization | D．select the teams for the next rounds |
What do football fans hope to see?
| A．A home game． | B．A defensive game． |
| C．An exciting game． | D．An evenly matched game． |
Riot police are called in ______．
| A．to stop lighting occurring outside the ground |
| B．to separate the opposing fans inside the ground |
| C．as a precaution against trouble inside the ground |
| D．as a precaution against lighting outside the ground |
It is implied in the last paragraph that ______．
| A．football has a poor reputation |
| B．football hooligans are crazy about the games |
| C．football fans enjoy spoiling games |
| D．football can be an excuse for troublemaking |
To whom it may concern,
This letter describes the worst travel experience I have ever had．The problems we had were the result of poor management and thoughtless employees．Your airline should be ashamed of treating its customers so poorly．
On January 5, we arrived in Denver from Houston and checked in for our next flight．It wasn’t long before the agent announced that our flight would be delayed because of a mechanical problem． The equipment was in Aspen, and they expected it to be repaired soon．
Soon shortly turned to much later, and during the delay, weather temporarily closed the Aspen airport．The weather cleared in Aspen and the plane took off very late for Denver．While it was in the air, the agent announced that the plane would be used for the next flight and that our flight was being cancelled．
This cancellation struck me as being unfair．There was a mad scramble （争先恐后） as the 50 or so passengers scheduled for our flight fought for seats on later flights．When the dust settled, we were wait-listed on the 9’-00 flight the next morning．We had to spend the night in the airport．
Coming home was no better．Because of a mechanical problem, it looked like we would miss our connection in Denver．The agent assured us they would hold the Newark flight for us．Needless to say, the flight to Houston taxied out as we pulled into the gate．Arrangements were made for us to take the next flight, so we sat in the airport for 5 hours．When we finally arrived in Houston, our skis were missing．As of this writing, the skis have not been found．
Nothing you can do will make us feel better about our flights．If you are a responsible business, however, you will do what you can to see that passengers in the future are treated better．
With great displeasure,
Phyllis DooleyWhen Phyllis wrote her letter, she felt ______．
| A．tired | B．fooled | C．annoyed | D．ashamed |
What was Phyllis’ destination when she left home on January 5?
| A．Denver． | B．Houston． | C．Aspen． | D．Not mentioned |
What happened to Phyllis on her day coming home?
| A．She took a taxi to Houston airport． |
| B．Her flight to Houston was cancelled． |
| C．Her flight was delayed for five hours． |
| D．She missed her connection in Denver． |
Service Foods makes it easier for cooks to reduce mealtime complaints．Service Foods is so confident that they can reduce complaints, in fact, that the company is offering a series of mealtime complaint-reduction tips．
According to a representative of Service Foods, complaints can occur when busy cooks serve substandard, low quality meats．As products sit in packaging in the meat case at the store, the meat can age out too much．The natural flavor disappears, and it can be replaced with an undesirable strange flavor．According to Service Foods, complaints from children are common when you serve substandard meats．Kids may not have the words to describe why they don't like the meats, but they're certainly willing to express their displeasure．By serving meats from Service Foods, complaints
can be reduced．Service Foods meats are all natural and organic, meaning the meats have-no chemicals or water or colorings that could change the taste．And the meats are flash-frozen right after cutting, so they won't taste strange to your children．
If you're facing different types of complaints, Service Foods may still be able to help you．Some families have mealtime boredom．The same meals, served in the same way, week after week, can be incredibly boring and hard 'to look forward to．When it comes to these complaints, Service Foods has the answer right on the web．Just go to http: //www. servicefoods．com and you'll find a long list of recipes to try．Some of these recipes are made in demonstration format, so you can watch the video and get step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the meals．By following these recipes from Service Foods, complaints relating to boredom can certainly be reduced．
While Service Foods knows complaints at mealtime can never be totally eradicated, as picky kids will always be picky kids with concerns, the company is doing everything possible to deal with the problem and get cooks the help they need．Service Foods can solve mealtime boredom by ______．
| A．serving flash-frozen meat |
| B．expressing children's complaints |
| C．instructing different ways of cooking |
| D．supplying natural food without chemicals |
The underlined word "eradicated" in the last paragraph can be replaced with ______．
| A．covered | B．removed | C．reduced | D．accepted |
From the passage we can learn that Service Foods can do the following EXCEPT ______．
| A．cook food for picky kids |
| B．teach how to prepare meals |
| C．provide natural and organic meat |
| D．help reduce complaints about foods |
What will the readers probably do after reading the passage?
| A．Pay for Service Foods service． |
| B．Buy organic meat from now on． |
| C．Write recipes for Service Foods． |
| D．Answer complaints on the web． |
A motivational strategy that parents can employ with their kids, is to frame tasks and responsibilities in the context of what the end benefit is for them．I call this strategy WIIFM （"What's in it for me?" ）．
When a teen can combine an understanding of WIIFM with a sense of passion about achieving a goal, barriers will start to fall away．At our teen summer camps, we arrange an event near the end of the 10-day session that helps campers identify an important life goal and mentally break through their biggest barrier to achieving the goal． We pass around 12-by-12-inch pine boards．We tell campers that this activity is not about breaking a piece of wood．It's about how you can get what you want in your life．It's about breaking
barriers to grab on to your goals．
They have the power to break through any barrier．It has nothing to do with body size or physical condition．The skinniest, smallest teens will break through the board almost as easily as the big ones．
We talk to the campers about the reasons they might have had for not reaching their goals in the past．Maybe they got lazy and decided it wasn't worth the effort．Maybe they failed and let their fear of failure hold them back．But this exercise is about putting the past where it belongs．Today is about making new choices．
By this point in the program, we ask them to think of the goal they've set or themselves and write their goals on the boards．Then they write the possible obstacles which may hold them back on the opposite sides．An inch of pine now stands between them and their dreams．
The facilitators and their teammates gather around．The support is strong．One by one,
they break through the barriers and grab their goals! All around us teens are laughing, crying, hugging, and holding up the broken pieces of their boards．The confidence shown on their faces is beautiful．
While arranging such an activity in one's home is almost unrealistic for parents, the value of helping a teen break through a personal hairier simply by being there as moral support can not be overestimated．More help for parents in the form of videos and
articles is available at our website, in our blogs and in a monthly e-newsletter．The 12-by-12-inch pine boards are used as ______．
| A．materials to test one's muscles | B．signs of goals in one's life |
| C．assessments to show one's progress | D．symbols of barriers in one's life |
We can learn from the passage that through the event the campers ______．
| A．become hard-working | B．get moral support |
| C．gain confidence | D．set right goals |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Power of WIIFM | B．What's in It for Me |
| C．The Importance of Goals | D．Motivational Strategies |
The passage is intended for ______．
| A．teens | B．parents | C．campers | D．tutors |
Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.
When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.
The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression(抑郁). They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.
So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.
Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past. The author of the passage tries to make his viewpoint clear__________.
| A．by raising his own examples | B．based on his own experience |
| C．by mentioning some studies | D．by mentioning some typical patients |
The example of the cartoon book characters is taken in the passage to__________.
| A．support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health |
| B．introduce a famous expert |
| C．let the reader know the different colours of cartoon faces |
| D．show how to control one’s temper |
The underlined phrase“holding on to”in this passage possibly means“__________”.
| A．removing | B．keeping up | C．getting rid of | D．learning about |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this passage?
| A．People who are able to forgive feel less stress. |
| B．People who are able to forgive feel less depression. |
| C．People who are able to forgive have fewer problems on sleeping. |
| D．People who are able to forgive feel less tired. |
The best title for this passage is probably__________.
| A．Forgiveness | B．Forgiveness Is Good for Health |
| C．A Secret to Keeping Health | D．Anger Is Bad for Health |