The birthrate in Europe has been in a steady decrease since the 1960s. European countries, realizing crisis is at hand, are providing great encouragement for parents to create more babies in the 21st century.
Affairs Ministry concluded last year that, ___65___ cash encouragement, some women just don’t want to be ___66___ holding the baby. “What we know is that it’s good for the ___67___ if men and women share the burden of having children, says Soren Kindlund, family policy adviser at the Swedish ministry. ___68___ Swedish parents can take their paid leave as they wish, men use a mere 12% of it; 60% of fathers do not take even a(n)___69___ day off work.
Experts fear that the tendency for women to use most of the parental leave could make employers___70___ to give young women the permanent jobs they need to qualify for paid maternity leave(产假). In January, Sweden decided to allow new fathers two months paid leave, with a warning: use it or___71___ it.
Kindlund admits that men are under ___72___ to stay at work, even though parental pay comes out of the public purse. “It’s not popular among bosses and perhaps with other men in the workplace,. “But it’s good for the father and for the child if they can ___73___ a relationship. ”
In Norway, a(n)___74___ policy has worked wonders. 70% of dads in Norway now take parental leave, and the birthrate of 1. 85 children per woman is one of the highest in Europe.
65. A. in spite of B. at the cost of C. in addition to D. due to
66. A. sent B. left C. caught D. seen
67. A. birthrate B. income C. health D. spirit
68. A. Just as B. Only if C. Even though D. Now that
69. A. one B. mere C. only D. single
70. A. willing B. reluctant C. likely D. unable
71. A. reserve B. misuse C. ignore D. lose
72. A. discussion B. attack C. control D. pressure
73. A. make out B. add up C. build up D. set aside
74. A. impersonal B. similar C. severe D. global
I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself．And otherwise assigned a seat by the teacher, I always to sit at the back of the classroom．
All this after I joined a sports team．It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team．At first I thought it was a crazy because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me．But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “ for it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give it a try．
Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the of it! When I first started the practice sessions, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much what I was doing．Sometimes I’d get and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid． , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not to be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t “just yet”．
I practiced and practiced．Soon I knew the and the “moves”．Being part of a team was fun and motivating．Very soon the competitiv in me was winning over my lack of confidence．With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player．I never had so much fun!
With my self confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates．I have gone from “ “in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself, raising my hand—even when I sometimes wasn’t 100 percent I had the right answer．Now I have more self confidence in myself．
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第一节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A,B,C和D)中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I used to abandon myself to despair. Last year my mother from stroke（中风）and had an operation on her brain. I felt my whole world turn upside down and I had no what I could do to help her to relieve her . Tears welled up in my eyes whenever I was alone.
Last month I precious watch，which was an 18-year-old birthday gift from my father. I could not fall asleep for a couple of nights because I felt about the loss.
There have been many like these in my life. I could never figure out how to deal with such tough things I read“If You Have a Lemon，Make a Lemonade" by American writer Dale Carnegie.
“When the wise man is handed a lemon，he says，‘What 48 can I get from this? How can I my situation? How can I turn this lemon into a lemonade？’”he wrote.
I suddenly that life is full of ups and downs，so I need to stay all the time.
Now when I think of my past，I wish I could have handled things ．When my mother was fighting for ，I should have held her hands in mine，telling her things would get better instead of and crying.
Several weeks ago，I took part in a campus singing competition. I didn't a prize. If I had not this article，I would definitely have felt again. But instead，I smiled after the competition. I was happy that at least I had got some stage ．
Life is not just a bed of roses. There are thorns（刺）as well，but these thorns help us become and strong. When life us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade.
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A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a , I had decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it from my hand and crashed to the floor. The peas, like marbles, everywhere. I tried to use a broom, with each swipe they just rolled across the kitchen．
For the next week, every time I was in the , I found a pea---in a corner, or behind a table leg. They kept . Eight months later I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it, and 12 frozen peas hidden underneath．
At the time I found those few remaining , I was in a new relationship with a wonderful I’d met in a support group. After we married, I was reminded those peas under the refrigerator, and realized that my had been like that bag of frozen peas. It had shattered（破碎）. My wife had died; I was in a new city with a busy job, and with a son having trouble his new surroundings and the of his mother. I was a bag of spilled frozen peas; my life had come apart and scattered．
When life gets you , when everything you know comes apart, and when you think you’ll never , remember that it’s just a bag of scattered frozen peas. The peas can be , and life will move on. You’ll find all the peas , including the ones that are hardest to find. And when you’ve got them you’ll start to feel whole again．
The life you know can break apart at any time. But you’ll have to , and how fast you collect your peas depends on you. Will you keep scattering them around with a broom, will you pick them up one by one and put your life back together?
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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A, B, C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In 2014 I was 22 years old and had just come back to Brazil after 14 months in England, holding my Cambridge Proficiency certificate. After nervously a short training course, I began to give class to my 12 students, all of them older than I was. I hard to remain calm in class and they wouldn't find out how unconfident I felt a lot of the time. I was quite , actually, until the end of and the night of the final oral test.
The test was going to start at 7 pm, and at 6:50, I myself in the teachers' bathroom to all the test questions again. I really wanted to learn the by heart so no one would think I was an inexperienced tester. The 4 is, I actually locked myself in the bathroom. I couldn't get out! The bell rang at 7 pm and I could hear the noise in the halls the students went to their rooms. I tried hard to the bathroom door, but failed.
I heard the cleaning lady's voice and asked for help as as I could. However, she wasn't exactly a thoughtful person, and started ;"Diana's locked in the bathroom!"Shame had fallen upon me! the course director, the secretary and some teachers were outside the bathroom trying to get me out, and, ,my students gathered outside too, happily saying things like "Aren't we !No test today !” All I could do was , feeling miserable and utterly stupid. The door finally opened, and my entire was waiting for me outside, naughty smiles on their faces." ! Teacher.” they said," we know you are human too!"
They all passed their test. True to the Brazilian style, we all went out for a beer afterward, and laughed the whole thing off.
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Teenage years can be confusing for both teenagers and parents．At about 15, many teens start thinking about how they feel about themselves and out how this matches or mismatches what others think of them．Most teens work through this by the age of 16 or 17．
Often teenagers are treated like bigger children, but they will never become and responsible if they are not allowed to make some decisions for themselves．If parents forbid their children from doing something, chances are that they will do it without permission anyway．The role of a parent must, therefore, change from that of protector and keeper to that of friend and ．
Yet even the most caring parents misunderstand their children sometimes, and some think of teenagers as insecure, stubborn and ．As a result, teenagers always keep their from their parents．Teens often that their parents repeat the same things over and over again and never listen to them．Parents must understand that teens need to be allowed to their side of any problem and express their point of view．
Thus, more private and level-headed communication is needed for the parents．Every parent should try to schedule time to be with their child, like taking a short trip together．This time allows parents to talk and listen without from work or other family members．It might also be good to encourage teens to important issues at dinner．Discussion time shows teens that parents are interested in them and their lives．
A person’s teenage years are a key time for them to identify their own ,like distinguishing good from evil．Handling and improving communication with teenagers is not easy, but success will be for parents and teens alike．
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