D
Can it be true that Australian men spend more time during the week brushing their teeth than they do alone with their children?
A new study from the University of New South Wales has discovered that during the working week, Aussie fathers only spend an average of just over a minute each day alone with their children．Australian mothers, on the other hand, spend three hours a week looking after their children — a much
greater disparity （悬殊） than in other countries like America, Denmark, Italy and France, where couples divide the child-care more evenly．
These findings will upset those who want to shake off the perhaps unfair image of Australia as a land of old-fashioned male chauvinism （大男子主义）．
According to the study, Australian fathers appear to like the fun aspects of parenthood, but shy away from the drudgery．So while they tend to be happy taking the kids to the park or to sports events, they are unlikely to participate regularly in feeding, bathing, or taking the kids to school．In short, parenting is seen as a woman's job and a man's hobby in Australia．
Many people believe that in Europe the last twenty years have seen the arrival of the so-called "new man" — the man who is willing to share the housework and child-care．The "new man" never misses his children's school plays and he always gets home in time to read their bedtime story．Indeed, a questionnaire conducted in the UK indicated that almost 70 of British women thought that men were as good at raising children as women．
That's something for Aussie men to think about while they are brushing their teeth!
68．The underlined word "drudgery" refers to ______．
A．enjoyable activity B．easy job C．social responsibility D．boring work
69．In Australian parenting, ______．
A．both fathers and mothers take it as a hobby
B．neither fathers nor mothers spend enough time on child-care
C．parents don't share the same amount of child-care
D．fathers don't like the kids at all
70．The passage says that the "new man" would ______．
A．go home right after work B．spend more time on their work
C．read stories to their children D．do all the housework
71．According to the passage, Australian fathers should
A．spend more time with their kids B．know more about their family
C．learn from their wives D．stay at home longer
When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．
Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of 
milk and water ap
peared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．
The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as I watched I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．
Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．
The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．From the passage，we can learn that the author was．
| A．an animal protector | B．the cat owner | C．a prison officer | D．a prisoner |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison． |
| B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat． |
| C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds． |
| D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness． |
We can infer from the third paragraph that．
| A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong |
| B．the American prison culture will be improved |
| C．the author is not content with the prison culture |
| D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Caring Makes Us Human． | B．Prison Culture is Important． |
| C．Animals Need Care． | D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for． |
In Paragraph 2，the author mentioned that “Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．”to．
| A．show us the officer and prisoners get along well with each other |
| B．show us the American prison culture does need improvement |
| C．show us the officer and prisoners all like cat |
| D．show us the American prison culture is great |
Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year’s Eve after massive injuries, tests by Arkansas offici
als concluded on Monday. Some 5,000 birds mysteriously fe
ll from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas after dark on New Year’s Eve. “The birds suffered from acute physical injuries leading to internal hemorrhage（大量出血） and death. There was no sign of infectious disease,” the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement. The birds were otherwise healthy, it said.
One theory is that birds were frightened by New Year's fireworks and flew into buildings or other objects. “Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky,” the statement said, adding that blackbirds have poor night vision and seldom fly at night.
Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises but this was discounted because the violent weather had already left the area. “We’re leaning more toward a stress event," said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens.
The commission also is trying to determine what
caused the deaths of up to 100,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near a dam in Ozark, 125 miles west of Beebe. The fish were discovered on December 30. Stephens said the commission expected results on the fish tests in probably a month. Since almost all the fish were one species -- bottom-feeding drum, Stephens said, the test was very important. Stephens also said: “The events do not appear related.” Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins(毒素). Beebe is a town of about 4,500 people located 30 miles northeast of the state capital. What is NOT the probable reason why the dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky?
| A．Internal hemorrhage | B．Fireworks |
| C．Lightning weather | D．Murder |
In the third paragraph, the underlined word discounted probably mean________.
| A．not to reduce cost | B．not to believe |
| C．to make up a part | D．to explain mystery |
According to Stephens, we can infer the probable cause of the dead fish is _________.[来
| A．cold weather | B．poor management |
| C．disease | D．lack of food |
The passage is mainly developed by __________.
| A．analyzing causes | B．making comparisons |
| C．examining differences | D．following the time order |
Perhaps a parent’s most important contribution toward raising a trustful child is to develop a relationship founded on trust. A child of any age will feel proud and grown-up if parents frequently show their trust. In court a defendant(被告) is innocent until proved guilty. But in the family, a teenager “defendant” is too often assumed guilty.
Even when the child is caught in a complete lie, this should not be the end of trust. A parent can tell a child that a single lie is forgivable. Yet it should be clear that if lies continue, the child, like the boy who cried wolf, will suffer loss of trust.
When my wife and I discovered that our son Tom, then 13, had lied about throwing a party while we were away, we grounded him for a month. We also told Tom that we could no longer trust him, and we could not allow him to stay alone overnight again. This loss of freedom was an important lesson; he learned how hard it is to live with people when they don’t trust him. As a result, now more than three years later we can again trust Tom to stay alone overnight.
Parents must always remember there is no easy answer to this universal problem of lying. We can set a good example, allow for privacy, monitor friendship, develop trust and punish wrong doing, but still we discover our child has lied to us. Finally that’s why there is a need for trust on both sides of a parent-child relationship. Lying destroys closeness and friendship. For that reason, parents should always try to give a child the feeling that they can be trusted with the truth. Parents may start with a child’s trust, but as the child grows older, parents must earn it.When the writer and his wife discovered that their son had lied, they _________.
| A．took all his freedom from him |
| B．decided never to trust him again |
C．forbade hi m to stay alone overnight |
| D．arranged him to stay at home. |
We can infer from the passage that very often ________.
| A．parents don’t trust their child as they should |
| B．defendants are usually proved not guilty in court |
| C．parents have too much trust in their child |
| D．some children are founded guilty in court |
According to the passage, the writer believes that _____________.
| A．parents shouldn’t punish their children even if they lie |
| B．it is not easy to deal with the problem of lying as parents |
| C．there are effective ways to prevent children from lying |
| D．children will stop telling lies as they grow up |
Some weird, wild and wonderful stories coloured the news in 2010:
★A Copenhagen bus company has put "love seats" on 103 of its vehicles for people looking for a partner. "Even love at first sight is possible on the bus," said a spokesman for the British owned Arriva company to explain the two seats on each bus that are covered in red cloth and a "love seat" sign.
★Shoppers at an international luxury fair in Verona, Italy, found a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin among the items on display. The phones will help "the dead" contact relatives if they have been buried alive by mistake.
★A man in New York came up with a disarming way to set off his latest bank heist , approaching the clerk’s window with a large bunch of flowers and handing over a hold-up note saying
“give me the money!”
★ An Englishman who lost all his legs and arms in an electrical accident successfully swam across the Channel, a challenge he had been preparing for two years. The whole cost is 400 dollars.
★A set of artificial teeth made for Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as "the teeth that saved the world" sold for nearly 18,000 pounds (21,500 euros, 24,000 dollars) at auction.
★A British woman caused an Internet hate campaign after she was caught on camera dumping a cat in a rubbish bin. She was fined 250 pounds (400 dollars, 280 euros) after pleading guilty.
★The BBC apologized completely and without any doubts after a radio presenter jokingly announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died.
★Two Australian men needed surgery after shooting each other in the bottoms during a drinking session to see if it would hurt were charged 400 dollars separately.
★ A Kuwaiti MP(议员) proposed state-aid for male citizens to take second wives, in a bid to reduce the large number of unmarried women in the oil-rich state.What is special about the coffin in the second news?
| A．It is golden | B．It has a cell phone. |
| C．It is a luxury | D．It has many items |
What is the probable meaning of the underlined wordheist in the third news?
| A．robbery | B．proposal | C．begging | D．raising money |
Who has to spend 400 dollars to do the surgery?
| A．A British woman who dumped a cat in a rubbish bin. |
| B．One who bought Winston Churchill’s artificial teeth. |
| C．An Australian man who shot in bottom to test the hurt. |
| D．An Englishman crossing the Channel without legs and arms. |
From the last news we can infer that _________.
| A．In Kuwait many men are eager to get married |
| B．A lot of rich single men lived in Kuwait |
| C．There are quantities of oil in Kuwait |
| D．There are many single women in Kuwait |
Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Cubans,” she added, “are a musical people”.
Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!
When Gloria was ten, her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.
She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band lead
er Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine.
Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978 Gloria and Emilio married.
At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.
Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Gloria has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.
Gloria said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t 
work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it—that’s the main thing.”Gloria’s father was ill .
| A．when they settled down in Miami. |
| B．before they left their home country |
| C．after he returned from Vietnam War |
| D．as soon as she finished high school |
According to the passage, probably Gloria did the following except .
| A．organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims |
| B．winning an award for reading in English |
| C．teaching at school to support the family |
| D．taking care of her father and sister |
The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to .
| A．the concert | B．the celebration | C．the victims | D．the hurricane |
This passage mainly tells about Gloria Estefan’s .
| A．life story | B．happy marriage | C．music style | D．Cuban background |