Every autumn, as families across the United States get ready to send their kids to college, the economics of higher education receive renewed attention. College is expensive and becoming more so in the U. S. The situation raises two questions: Why does it cost so much, and how can students and their families afford it?
Several studies published in the past few weeks reflect on these questions. The findings provide comfort to poor families.
First, it appears that only the minority actually pay the "high price". A study by the US Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics found that 55 percent of college students last year received some forms of help--scholarships, loans(贷款)or jobs.
Other factors are also at work. The government has increased the size of its grants (补助金)to lower-income students. Grants, unlike loans, don't have to he repaid and are awarded only to college students who have not earned a bachelor's or professional degree.
At the same time, most colleges are spending more on undergraduate education than they are collecting in tuition fees. A study, which is part of the Williams College Project on the Economics of Higher Education, reaches the conclusion that on average colleges “subsidize (赞助)” their students. The results of these studies, however, leave unanswered the questions of whether educational costs are higher than they need to be. Some experts argue that much of the college cost results from educational competition for fame, students and facilities.
This puts upward pressure on tuition, hut many colleges feel that good fame will enable them to attract students even if they charge them more.
Therefore, until something important changes in the marketplace, costs seem likely to continue rising. And American families will continue to beat down the doors of the high price "college in the end． From the fourth paragraph of the passage we can conclude that _______.
| A．American families earn only a little money every year |
| B．American families pay little attention to education |
| C．American students often have to stop their studies |
| D．American colleges have different ways to help poor students |
In the writer's opinion, for students from lower-income families, the best way is ________.
| A．to find a good job and make money |
| B．to borrow money from the banks |
| C．to ask for grants |
| D．to borrow money from friends |
It can be inferred that in America _______.
| A．famous colleges only accept rich students. |
| B．famous colleges charge their students more money |
| C．the government spends little money on education |
| D．families often break the doors of colleges |
The writer of this passage seems to hold the opinion that _______.
| A．college fees rise too fast for poor families. |
| B．poor people should borrow money from banks |
| C．poor people don’t need to send their children to college |
| D．colleges should get more money to improve themselves |
B
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.
55. Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
A. Parents bring up children.
B. Parents give love and care to children.
C. Parents pass away before children grow up.
D. Parents educate children to be good persons.
56. Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
A. It has only two kinds of colors.
B. It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes.
C. People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May.
D. It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
57. What do you know from the passage?
A. Not all the children respect their parents.
B. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.
C. Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.
D. Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.
58. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, _________.
A. people usually have family parties
B. everyone goes to visit the cemetery
C. children always go to parents’ home
D. hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts
III．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题1.5分；满分30分）
A
The food we eat seems to have a great effect on our health. Although science has made big steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of human illness is related to food and forty percent of cancer is related to food as well. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, some researchers realized that things commonly used to keep color in meats and other food additives（添加剂）caused cancer.
Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it is difficult to know which things on the wrappings of foods are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin (青霉素) to their animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of cows. Sometimes similar tings are supplied to animals not for their health, but just to make a profit.
The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market. Although some countries have tried to control such things, the practice continues.
51. According to this passage, we can know___________.
A. cancer was discovered in 1945
B. science has made food unfit to eat
C. perhaps most of human illness is caused by what we eat
D. perhaps most kinds of cancer are related to what people eat
52. The additives in food_________.
A. are bright and colorless B. have indirect effects on our health
C. have direct effects on our health D. have direct and indirect effects on our health
53. People use additives_________.
A. to change color of the food B. to make food more unfit to eat
C. to take off the diseases of the food D. to improve the color and taste of the food
54. Which of the following is Not true?
A. We needn’t take care of what we eat.
B. Some wrappings of food are harmful.
C. “The practice continues” means “things are still going on like that”.
D. Farmers try to make more money on the market by fattening their animals.
D
It’s hardly surprising that weather is a favorite topic for so many people around the world---it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics．Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it difficult to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reaction, and high humidity with hot, dry winds makes many people bad-tempered．
If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly, you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random．In fact, the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe．In the UK the weather depends on depressions, often called lows, and anticyclones, also known as highs．These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east．Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind．In modern times, human activities seem to be altering weather patterns．Gases produced by heavy industry change the temperature of the Earth’s surface, and affect cloud formation．Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s．
The human race has always tried to guess the weather, especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes．Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns, popular poems include:
Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning．
Flies will swarm before a storm．
Rain before 7, clear by 11．
While folk wisdom can still provide a guide to help forecast weather, today’s methods of prediction increasingly rely on technology．Satellites, balloons, ships, aircrafts and weather centers with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers．The data is then processed, and the weather is predicted．However, even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about a week．
66．When weather keeps changing, _____________．
A．people become bad-tempered
B．people’s reaction slows down
C．people find it hard to focus on their work
D．people become hungrier
67．What is mainly talked about in the second paragraph?
A．Changes in weather． B．Weather in Britain．
C．African droughts． D．Research on weather．
68．The weather in Britain is _______________．
A．random B．moist C．depressing D．satisfying
69．According to a traditional rhyme, if there is a red sky at night, the next day will be _______．
A．windy B．rainy C．fine D．snowy
70．Which of the following statements is true?
A．Anticyclones often bring rain and wind．
B．Weather forecasting has been done for a long time．
C．Weather could never be predicted．
D．Modern methods of weather prediction are developed from folk wisdom．
C
Not long ago, the world’s lowest-priced car was launched（投放市场） in Mumbai, India．The Nano, made by Tata Motors, is expected to cause a transportation revolution for millions of Indian families．The small three-meter long car will cost 2,000 dollars, which is about half the price of similar cars．That is expected to make car ownership possible for more Indians．So it is being called “The People’s Car．”
Ratan Tata, Tata Motors chairman, says, “It was never thought of as being the cheapest car but a car that would give the people of India an opportunity to own a car that had not been within their reach before．I hope that is what we will achieve．” Industry observers predict that soon roads throughout the country could be filled with Nanos．Tata, India’s top automaker, has done almost no traditional advertising of the Nano．However, early interest in the vehicle has been huge．The company says the Nano’s website has been visited 30 million times．
Tata Motors says it will begin taking orders for the car on April 9th both at car dealerships and on the Internet．However, the cars will not be ready for purchase（购买） until July．Demand is expected to be far greater than supply．Ratan Tata says the first 100,000 buyers of the car will be chosen by chance．The car is expected to be popular in industrial as well as developing nations．Experts say demand for low-priced automobiles is likely to increase as the international economic crisis continues．
However, some critics say the new cars will increase India’s traffic and pollution problems．However, Tata company officials say the Nano will produce less pollution than any other car in the country．
62．The Nano is called “The people’s Car” because it _____．
A．has been designed by common people
B．has caused a transportation revolution
C．can be available to more population
D．can offer more convenience
63．In Paragraph 2 Ratan Tata seems to ______．
A．explain the main goal of designing the Nano
B．give more information about the Nano
C．talk about the quality of the Nano
D．introduce the company’s future plan
64．Which of the following about the Nano is NOT mentioned?
A．Its website is very popular．
B．It has invited critics．
C．It will be sold abroad．
D．It can only offer four seats inside．
65．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．A new car is beyond your wildest dream．
B．India launches the lowest-priced car．
C．Welcome to the Nano website．
D．The tiniest car will be on sale．
B
When the population of the port town began to suffer from poisoning, the police came to find the cause of the poison．They thought someone was poisoning the people on purpose but no one knew how it was possible．Soon people took the position that the pork was poisoned．It was a popular food everyone ate and it could have possibly made everyone sick．Anyone who had possession of pork would throw it out．Even the poorest of the poor wouldn’t eat pork．Signs were posted on poles and letters were sent to everyone to warn people of the pork．Shortly afterwards, even policemen in high positions were also getting sick．
Soon it became political and popular．Politicians rushed to the town to talk about politics and promised how they would find the solution if they were elected．Everyone was so sick that they didn’t care about politics．Everyone was in a position where he or she didn’t know what to do anymore．They went to the post office to mail posts out asking for help．The poor town didn’t know how to deal with the situation．
One day, a well-known scientist from New York came to the town with a huge box containing many instruments and his possessions．He went to pools and the port and made measurements．He was quiet and polite．Then one day he made a speech at a newspaper meeting-room to announce his findings．
“I am sorry to say your water supply is so heavily polluted; it is poisoned．I know who has been poisoning you all for such a long time．It is you who have been poisoning yourselves with pollution．A great deal of rubbish has been thrown into the water day after day．No one here has taken good care of the environment．It is no wonder all of you have been sick．” Shocked at the news, the people present were lost in thought．
59．Which is the correct order of the facts described in the story?
a． People suffered from poisoning． b．Politicians came to make promises．
c． People began to realize the real cause． d．Pork was thrown away．
e． The water there was polluted． f．A scientist came to check the water．
A． e, a, d, b, f, c B．e, a, d, c, f, b
C． a, e, b, d, c, f D．f, c, d, b, e, a
60．Which of the following statements is correct?
A．Everyone was so sick of politics that they didn’t care about those politicians．
B．According to the scientist from New York, not all the population in the town have taken good care of the environment．
C．The reason why the people in the town got sick was that they ate the pork poisoned by the heavily polluted water．
D．if the people in the town hadn’t polluted the water supply, they would not have suffered from poisoning or sickness．
61．After reading the passage, we can infer that ________
A．politicians took every chance to make themselves elected
B．pork was the main food of the people in the town
C．people in the town were not well-educated
D．even some police officers were getting ill