In “Relax, We’ll Be Fine”, columnist David Brooks writes, “the fact is, despite all the problems, America’s future is extremly bright.”
Mr. Brooks acknowledges that “According to recent survey, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is not functional. A financial crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be sad.”
But, he writes:
“Demographers(人口学家) predict that over the next 40 years, the U.S. population will increase by an additional 100 million people, to 400 million over all. The population will be determined, hardworking and relatively young. In 2050, only a quarter will be over 60, compared with 31 percent in China and 41 percent in Japan.”
As the rising generation leads an economic recovery, it will also participate in a communal
(of community) one. We are living in a global age of social entrepreneurship(创业精神).
In sum, the U.S. is on the edge of a demographic, economic and social recovery, built on its historic strengths. The U.S. has always been good at destructive change. And it’s always been good at decentralized community-building, too. Surely a country with this much going for it is not going to wait around passively and let a rotten political culture drag it down.
51．In his article Relax, We’ll Be Fine, David Brooks intends to____________.
A．encourage Americans to be optimistic about their future
B．give Americans courage to face their financial crisis
C．persuade Americans to live happily and generously
D．inspire Americans to lead an economic recovery
52．There are all the reasons for Americans to be unhappy except____________
A．the function-failed political system B．the increasing population
C．the declining economy D．the wrong direction and financial crisis
53．Over the next 40 years, according to David Brooks, Americans will be____________
A．more optimistic and humorous B．more pessimistic and stronger
C．more energetic and promising D．more considerate and aggressive
54．In the author’s opinion, America____________.
A．has always benefited from wars B．has done well by its political system
C．has contributed a lot to human progress D．has contributed to world’s economy
55．We can learn from the passage that____________
A．American political system and culture are backward
B．Americans are not a nation to give in to difficulties
C．Americans are very destructive and aggressive
D．America has been in an economic and social recovery
Cellphone users in the United States have contributed more than $11 million to Haitian earthquake relief through text messages in what is being called as an unexpected mobile response to a natural disaster．
The Mobile Giving Foundation called it a “mobile-giving record” for funds raised for a single cause．Donations are rising swiftly, as former President Bill Clinton and other politicians urge the American people to give．
Jim Manis, chief officer of the organization helping to manage cellphone donations, said it was receiving up to 10,000 text messages per second．The foundation said more than $11 million has been donated．
Cellphone users can donate $5 to Haiti-born hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund by texting the word “Yele” to 501501, or they can donate $10 to other nonprofit organizations, such as the American Red Cross, by texting the word “Haiti” to a specified number, like 90999．
The donation is charged to a user’s cellphone bill．
The American Red Cross said it has received more than $ 9 million in donations from more than 900,000 mobile phone users．
“It’s beyond our imagination that we’ve received this amount,” said spokeswoman Nadia Pontif．
Jean’s fund had raised $2 million via text messages, according to Give on the Go, Yele’s mobile application service provider．
The giving is also being fueled by the popularity of websites like Facebook and Twitter, where users are urging one another to make donations using cellphones．
Wireless carriers(无线运营商) Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc．, Sprint and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, have waived(免收) fees for customers wishing to send mobile donations．Carriers are also letting users know they are not taking a cut of the donations．
“There are no text messaging fees and 100% of the $10 donation goes to the American Red Cross, and every carrier is working through a solution to push those funds out faster．” Verizon said in a statement．
68．A mobile phone user can donate some money to Haiti by texting the word _____ ．
A．“Yele” to 501501 to donate $10
B．“Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10
C．“Yele” or “Haiti” to 501501 to donate $ 5
D．“Haiti” to the American Red Cross to donate $ 5
69．The underlined word “fueled” in the ninth paragraph most probably means “_____ ”．
A．protected B．discouraged C．inspired D．reflected
70．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Facebook and Twitter are two relief organizations from the USA．
B．Many American politicians force Americans to give donations to Haiti．
C．The American Red Cross expected to receive much more donations．
D．Carriers have promised not to take a share from the donation．
71．Which may be the best title for the passage?
A．U．S．Texting Raises $11 Million for Haiti Earthquake
B．An Unexpected Terrible Earthquake Hit Haiti
C．The American Red Cross Offers Help to Haiti
D．Wireless Carriers Donate $11 Million to Haiti
A．You and Me, Baby
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B．Ruff! Ruff! Where's Scruff?
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C．The Giving Tree
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D．Where the Wild Things Are
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64．Little Tom who likes to read picture books with a hide-and-seek adventure will be likely to buy _____．
A．Ruff! Ruff! Where’s Scruff? B．You and Me, Baby
C．The Giving Tree D．Where the Wild Things Are
65．How much will you pay if you order three books named Where the Wild Things Are?
A．$16．26 B$ 75 C．$ 50．58 D．$34．59
66．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
A．The language of four kinds of books is English．
B．Four kinds of books are available at present．
C．The cover of four kinds of books is hardcover．
D．The reading level of four kinds of books are the same．
67．Where would this advertisement probably appear?
A．In a children’s story-book B．On the front page of a newspaper．
C．On the Internet． D．In a popular magazine．．
Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners．
One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week．The runners were observed on a treadmill machine．Sometimes they wore running shoes．Other times they ran barefoot．
Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study．
They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot．They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels．
The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine．
The other study appeared in the journal Nature．It compared runners in the United States and Kenya．The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland．
They divided the runners into three groups．One group had always run shoeless．Another group had always run with shoes．And the third group had changed to shoeless running．
Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first．That puts great force on the back of the foot．But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot．That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel．
Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study．He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels．The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first．Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings．
60．How many organizations are involved in the two studies?
A．Three． B．Four． C．Five． D．Six．
61．What can we learn from the text?
A．Most running shoes are designed improperly．
B．The design of high heels is better than that of running shoes．
C．No one will run with running shoes in the future．
D．Both of the studies are done in America．
62．Why do running shoes increase the risk of injuries to runners?
A．They could create stress．
B．They’re too big and heavy．
C．They can affect the way the runners land．
D．Their heels can soften landings．
63．How did the researchers do the two studies?
A．By practising． B．By comparing．
C．By questioning． D．By reasoning．
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel．The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sport car．Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras．The bride wore a silk wedding dress．She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time．
Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station’s competition．The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other．Miss Germaine, 23, is a model．Mr．Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman．They were among the two hundred people who entered a peculiar “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England, Greg, and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on a radio．They took a lie detector（测谎仪） test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities．The competition judges include an astrologer（占星家） who declared that they were suited．
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy．Miss Germaine’s mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr．Cordell’s parents are reported to be less than delighted．
Organizations, including the marriage guidance Service Relate, have criticized the marriage．As one person put it, “We have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this．Marriage should always be about love．”
The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists．Their other prizes include a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment in the center of Birmingham, and a car．But will it last?
56．How did the couple’s parents react to the wedding?
A．The bride’s mother shared their joy．
B．The bride’s father felt uncomfortable about the wedding．
C．The bridegroom’s parents were quite delighted．
D．The bridegroom’s parents were not that joyful．
57．Some experts believe that _____．
A．marriage without the couple’s meeting each other first ends up in divorce
B．young people nowadays are too careless about marriage
C．taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems
D．most young people take marriage seriously except this couple
58．One of the prize for the couple is _____．
A．to spend their honeymoon wherever they like
B．to use an apartment free for some time
C．to have a wedding dress free
D．to own an American sports car
59．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A．Two strangers and a wedding B．A wedding based on love
C．A short-lived marriage D．A well-matched couple
Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a
parent you might never guess all the way a good imagination benefits
your child. It helps a preschooler：
Develop social skills
As children play pretend games, they explore relationship
between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more about how people communicate. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients. Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about their children. Imaginative play help develop sympathy for others. If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.
Build self-confidence
Young children have very little control over their lives. Imagining oneself as builder of skyscrapers or a superhero defending the planet is inspiring to a child. It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.
Boost intellectual growth
Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. Children who can see a king’s castle in a pile of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically. This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.
Practice language skills
Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps increase their vocabulary, Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps increase their vocabulary, improve sentence structures and develop communication skills.
Work out fears
Playing pretend can help children work Out their fears and worries. When children role-play about the big, bad monster under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn’t seem quite so big or so bad. Imaginative play also helps kids vent（发泄）confusing feelings they might have, such as anger toward a parent or rivalry（较劲）with a new brother or sister.
68. Which of the following can help children develop social skills in a game?
A. Imagining being a superhero. B. Preparing a delicious dinner with mud.
C. Pretending to have a talk with friends. D. Pretending to be a doctor.
69．Why can imagination build children’s self-confidence?
A．It makes them more willing to play fair.
B．It helps them gain control over themselves.
C．It helps them protect people and make much greater progress.
D．It makes them feel as if they were much more powerful than they really are.
70．Which of the following is NOT true according to the progress.
A．Playing pretend games only helps children psychologically.
B．Playing pretend games is good for children’s development.
C．While playing pretend games, children learn to get along with others.
D．Playing pretend games helps children to do well while they are in school.
71．The passage mainly tells us something about .
A．advantages of playing outdoors
B．skills in playing pretend games
C．benefits of developing your child’s imagination
D．tips on how to improve our child’s imagination
