E
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. “DINKS”, which means Double Income No Kids(小孩).
In many major Asian cities like Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, the cost of a house is extremely high. A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about $300,000 (though prices have fallen). For a flat with one bedroom, 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 increases rapidly 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 continue 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.
57．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.
58．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 houses in Asia are quite low now.
C．Fewer and fewer married women want to have a job.
D．The word “DINKS” first appeared in an Asian country.
59．To buy a flat and send a child to kindergarten, how much will a couple pay each year?
A．$5,000 B．$5,900 C．$10800 D．$15800
60．The writer seems to believe that Asian governments should ________.
A．care for the growing needs of women for jobs.
B．allow one of the parents to go out to work
C．let women stay at home and have a baby
D．punish the companies that permit women to leave.
While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to the Olympics.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.From the passage we can learn that the young man _______.
| A．made his turn to start back pitifully | B．was skillful in freestyle in the game |
| C．swam faster than the average swimmer | D．was not capable enough to win the medal |
The crowd changed their attitudes because _______.
| A．they felt sorry for the young man | B．they wanted to show their sympathy |
| C．they were moved by the young man | D．they meant to please the young man |
According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______.
| A．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills |
| B．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself |
| C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors |
| D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Go for it! | B．Try again！ | C．Compete for Gold! | D．Break a Record! |
Cities alarmed by deaths and injuries of pedestrians are taking efforts to make crosswalks safer for people on foot, especially seniors and children who need more time to cross streets.
A pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident in the USA every 110 minutes; one is injured every nine minutes, according to official data. Crosswalks can be especially dangerous for the elderly. Among people 70 and older, 36% of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in crosswalks, compared with 21% of those younger than 70, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) advises that next year States increase by nearly 15% the amount of time traffic lights provide for pedestrians to cross the street after the flashing orange hand appears.
FHWA spokesman Doug Hecox says reasons for the change include an aging population that needs more time to cross, health conscious Americans walking more, children encouraged to walk to prevent getting overweight and high gas prices pushing people to walk instead of drive.
Pedestrian deaths went down by 12% from 5, 449 in 1996 to 4,784 in 2006,.But among those in 2006,471 were killed in crosswalks, down slightly from 488 ten years earlier, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says. Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Among 100 pedestrian deaths there were 21 people younger than 70. |
| B．Old people are more likely to meet with accidents in crosswalks. |
| C．Traffic accidents killed more old people than young people. |
| D．About seven traffic accidents happened per hour. |
What is FHWA’s suggestion to States?
| A．Fixing more traffic lights. |
| B．Providing more crosswalks. |
| C．Giving pedestrians more time to cross streets. |
| D．Increasing the time before the orange lights appear. |
What’s the cause of the crosswalk safety problem according to the text?
| A．There’re many cars and buses on the road. | B．Pedestrians are careless. |
| C．Crosswalks are more crowded than before. | D．Drivers don’t give way. |
The report from NHTSA suggests that .
| A．fewer people were injured in crosswalks |
| B．crosswalk safety has greatly improved |
| C．much has been done to reduce traffic accidents |
| D．pedestrian deaths in crosswalks remain a serious problem |
Friend,
The recent success of children’s books has made the general public aware that there’s a huge market out there.
And there’s a growing need for new writers trained to create the $3 billion worth of children’s books bought each year …plus stories and articles needed by over 650 publishers of magazines for children and teenagers.
Who are these needed writers? They’re ordinary folks like you and me.
But am I good enough?
I was once where you might be now，My thoughts of writing had been pushed down by self-doubt, and I didn’t know where to turn for help.
Then, I accepted a free offer from the Institute to test my writing aptitude（潜能），and it turned out to be the inspiration I needed.
The promise that paid off
The Institute made the same promise to me that they will make to you, if you show basic writing ability:
You will complete at least one manuscript（手稿）suitable to hand in to a publisher by the time you finish our course.
I really didn’t expect any publication before I finished the course, but that happened. I sold three stories. And I soon discovered that was not unusual at the Institute.
Since graduation, I have authored 34 nationally published children’s books and over 300 stories and articles.
Free test and brochure
We offer a free aptitude test and will send you a copy of our brochure describing our recognized home-study courses on the basis of one-on-one training.
Realize you writing dream today. There’s nothing sadder than a dream delayed until it fades forever.
Sincerely,
Kristi
Kristi Holl, Instructor
Institute of Children’s LiteratureFrom the first three paragraphs, we learn that .
| A．children’s books are usually bestsellers |
| B．publishers are making $3 billion each year |
| C．magazines for teenagers have drawn public attention |
| D．there is a growing need for writers of children’s books |
When finishing the course, you are promised to .
| A．be a successful publisher | B．become a confident editor |
| C．finish one work suitable for publication | D．get one story or article published |
Kristi Holl mentions her experience mainly to .
| A．prove she is a good instructor | B．promote the writing program |
| C．give advice on course preparation | D．show she sold more stories than articles |
Moral science is taught as a subject in most schools but with little effect. Perhaps part of the problem lies in the fact that morality is not a science, strictly speaking. It is too much of a social phenomenon, and also has too much of the personal and subjective things mixed within. Besides, morality itself changes with generations, so it is impossible to be printed in a normal textbook.
I remember sitting through forty minutes of moral lessons, which told stories about little children who never told lies and were rewarded for their goodness. It had little effect and left no impression on me, though.
If moral science has to be taught as a subject in schools, it needs a participatory approach. When you tell a child about moral, you also have to deal with social norms( 社会规范) and cultural differences. You have to explain that morality can be subjective, and be able to co-exist in society. You will probably have to refer to the morals at the present time.
The best way to tell a child how to live is to show him what is valued. If a child likes his friend, you have to make the child think about why. Once the child notices and recognizes goodness in others, he or she is likely to develop it as well.
In fact, children learn most of their morals by watching people around them. They absorb behaviour patterns from teachers and older students. They watch to see what is rewarded and who is punished. They learn on the sports field and through social work. Moral science lessons should simply consist of letting them live and interact, and watch you support correct values and reward good behaviour.Which is NOT the reason that moral science is taught in schools with little effect?
| A．Morality doesn’t belong to a science |
| B．Morality is more like a social phenomenon. |
| C．Different generations have different moral ideas. |
| D．Morality can’t be written down in textbooks. |
The author describes his own experience of learning moral lessons in order to .
| A．explain that telling lies is not moral for little children |
| B．advise that people should be rewarded for their goodness |
| C．prove that moral lessons in schools have little effect |
| D．show that he has no impression of moral science |
When you tell a child about morals, you should .
| A．teach him to share personal moral ideas with others |
| B．tell him about social norms and cultural differences |
| C．explain that nobody can influence his moral ideas |
| D．say that the morals at the present time will be changed |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The best way of teaching children about morals. |
| B．The value of teachers setting a good example. |
| C．The influence of people’s behavior on morals. |
| D．The importance of rewarding good behavior. |
As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods．“The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse．If I went to a friends house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone（语气） of airy acceptance．It is similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk．” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while．
We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring（探索）．Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today．History seemed to be mostly about explorers．Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way．Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Indian burial mound．
Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were．If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees．There were four or five trees that we visited regularly—tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in．
It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end．By then some of us had reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence（青春期）．In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring．We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree．Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria．The author and his friends were often out in the woods to _______．
| A．spend their free time | B．play golf and other sports |
| C．avoid doing their schoolwork | D．keep away from their parents |
What can we infer from Paragraph 2 ?
| A．The activities in the woods were well planned． |
| B．Human history is not the result of exploration． |
| C．Exploration should be a systematic activity． |
| D．The author explored in the woods aimlessly． |
The underlined word “skeptical” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______．
| A．calm | B．doubtful | C．serious | D．optimistic |
How does the author feel about his childhood?
| A．Happy but short． | B．Lonely but memorable． |
| C．Boring and meaningless． | D．Long and unforgettable． |