.
Annual holidays have become a luxury and are no longer a staple of family life, according to government research．
A getaway of a week or more is no longer considered essential by many families and is often beyond their reach, said the analysis of what parents and children say they really need．Fashionable clothes for the children, expensive birthday parties and lots of toys are also on the list of luxuries families don’t have to have．Instead, recession-hit parents are thinking of the future, and the things they want for their children centre around learning to behave properly, good education and good health．
Their picture of what a family ought to have includes a space to eat together away from the television, plenty of fruit and vegetables, and bicycles so children can get exercise．
The breakdown of necessities and luxuries was prepared by researchers from the Department for Work and Pensions(DWP) who were trying to establish an up-to-date picture of what parents say they really need．
Their findings show how families have scaled down their expectations in the face of economic difficulties — how parents are now concentrating their attention and money firmly on the long-term interests of their children．Many believe that while it is vital for a family to do things together, day trips or weekend breaks are enough．
Spending on furniture or decorating the house was also considered luxurious, unless the state of the home was so bad it became difficult to invite visitors in.
Instead, researchers said: A family home should have an area where the family can eat together, not on their laps in front of a television．Families should be able to go on outings, overnight trips and possibly short holiday: the fact of being able to share these experiences is more important than the precise activity and its cost．
71．It can be inferred that ______________.
A．a week or more holiday is considered beyond many families’ reach
B．children hardly ever need fashionable clothes and lots of toys
C．what a family should have is basic things that they must have
D．annual holidays were once considered necessary and vital
72．In the opinion of most parents, _____________.
A．families can watch TV together in order to keep up their relationship
B．day trips or weekend breaks are enough for families to share experiences
C．their expectations should be increased in the face of economic difficulties
D．a week’s holiday is an essential minimum during the financial crisis
73．Which of the following is TRUE of the researchers from the DWP?
A．They confirm many families still need at least a week away on holiday each year.
B．They learn it is insignificant for a family to do things with each other regularly.
C．They want to know what parents really need in the face of economic difficulties.
D．They found spending on furniture or decorating the house was thought valuable.
74．We can conclude from the last paragraph____________.
A．being able to share experiences is important for families
B．a family needs at least a week away on holiday each year
C．a family home should have a comfortable area to watch TV
D．going on outings and overnight trips is wasting time for families
75．What does the author mainly discuss in the text?
A．Cycling is very important for children’s health.
B．Family holidays once a year have become a luxury.
C．It is vital for parents to eat together with children.
D．Parents are concerned with children’s future.
She was born to wealth and power in an era when money and politics were left to the men. Later, as The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham became one of America’s most powerful women.
Despite a privileged background, Katharine had to deal, while growing up, with the high demands her mother placed on her children. Katharine’s love of journalism, which she shared with her father, led to her career after college at The Washington Post, the newspaper her father bought in 1933. At the Post, Katharine met Phil Graham, a young, charming lawyer who became her husband. When, in 1945, Katharine’s father chose Phil over her to take over his struggling paper, Katharine didn’t object and stayed at home as a wife and mother of four.
While Phil’s successful efforts to restore the Post to prominence (显著) made the Grahams popular members of the Washington social scene, Katharine privately suffered tremendous pain from her husband’s increasingly abusive behavior and wild mood swings caused by severe depression. When Phil committed suicide (自杀), the 46-year-old Katharine found herself thrown into a new job, that of newspaper publisher. But determined to save the family paper for her children, Katharine rose to the challenge of running the Post, attending meetings in every department, working endlessly to prove herself to her critics, and becoming the toast of Washington.
In 1971, Katharine ordered the Post to print a copy of the Pentagon Papers, the top-secret documents disclosing the truth about the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. What’s more, he
r courageous decision and support for her journalists prep
ared the Post to break the most important political story in modern history: Watergate, one of the greatest scandals (丑闻) in American political history. Katharine managed to keep control over the most chaotic (disorder) of situations when it was reported, all the time insisting the news stories be accurate and fair. Watergate made the Washington Post an internationally known Paper and Katharine was considered as the most powerful woman in America.
Katharine Graham was born in a time when women were not ________.
| A．given the chance to receive education | B．considered as intelligent as men |
| C．permitted to achieve their goals | D．allowed to enter every field |
When her husband was chosen to take charge of the newspaper, Katharine Graham ________.
| A．was strongly against the idea |
| B．was not happy to be rejected |
| C．was willing to take her share of responsibility |
| D．didn’t believe her husband would do a good job |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．It was Katharine Graham’s husband who made the greatest contributions to the Post. |
B．When Katharine Graham first took over the Post, her critics dou bted her ability. |
| C．Katharine Graham was successful in her career but suffered severe depression. |
| D．Katharine Graham was free to do whatever she liked in her early life. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Ups and downs of The Washington Post. |
| B．Katharine Graham’s family life and career. |
| C．Katharine Graham: from housewife to successful publisher. |
| D．Katharine Graham: a woman who shaped American journalism. |
Reading is the key to success in all school subjects. With a bit of creativity, you can help your child enjoy reading more, and encourage him to do more!
Buy or borrow a lot of “fun” books. Choose books that are slightly below his level of reading ability. Don’t forget what your child likes to do when choosing books for him. Don’t comment about the books. Simply leave the books lying on the table where your child is sure to see them. Computer games are not as harmful as most parents usually think them to be. Instead, you should take advantage of your child’s love of computer games to purchase those that require a lot of reading and avoid those that are simply computerized video games.
Buy your child a bedside reading lamp, or a tiny book light. Tell him that from now on, he must be in bed by a specific time (say 8:30) and that he can either sleep or read. Most kids will do anything else rather than go to sleep, so there’s a chance you’ll create a new bedtime reading habit.
Many children will read when they are sitting alone having a snack, or when they have a few minutes of unplanned free time. Put a box of books and magazines near the kitchen table so that reading material is available.
Often, once children learn to read independently, parents stop reading to them. This change of routine causes great sadness to a child who has come to love falling asleep as you read. Even a teenager will enjoy being read to if you pick books that interest him. Select books together, and make sure they’re ones you enjoy as well, so your enjoyment will come through as you read to them.
To make children become interested in reading, parents should _______.
| A．choose books based on their interest |
| B．tell them what they can learn from these books |
| C．choose the easiest books for them to read |
| D．always read books together with them |
Which of the following is NOT what parents are advised to do?
| A．Pick the right computer games. | B．Reduce children’s sleeping time. |
| C．Have reading material available. | D．Read to children when possible. |
What attitude do most parents hold towards children playing computer games?
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Negative. | D．Neutral (中立的). |
The main idea of the passage is to ________.
| A．help children succeed in school subjects |
| B．give parents advice on how to educate children |
| C．remind parents of the importance of reading |
| D．teach parents how to encourage children to read |
When my grandmother was raising me in Stamps, Arkansas, she had a particular routine（惯例）when people who were known to be whiners entered her store. My grandmother would ask the customer, “How are you doing today, Thomas?”
The person would reply, “Not so good today, Henderson. You see, it’s this summer heat. I just hate it. It just makes me tired. It’s almost killing me.’ Then my grandmother would stand calml
y, her arms folded, and say, “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”
As soon as the complainer was out of the store, my grandmother would call me to stand in front of her. Then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times, it seemed to me. “Jane, did you hear what so-and-so complained about?” And I would nod. Grandmother would continue, “Jane, there are people who went to sleep 
all over the world last night, poor and rich and black and white, but they will never wake again. Those dead people would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this weather that person was complaining about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Jane. What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.”
I have learned a lot from my gra
ndmother. Her opinions always hit the nail on the head. Whining is not only impolite, but can be dangerous.
The underlined word “whiners” in paragraph 1 refers to those people who ________.
| A．think little of themselves | B．enter a store regularly |
| C．are afraid of hot weather | D．complain often |
From what the author’s grandmother said, we can infer that ________.
A．she tried to comfort the wh iners |
B．she was impolite to the whiners |
| C．she was against whining | D．she shared the whiners’ opinions |
The author’s grandmother told her to ________.
| A．be sympathetic(同情) to the dead |
| B．treasure（珍惜）every moment of her life |
| C．keep away from the whiners |
| D．get used to things she disliked |
What is the purpose of the author in writing the passage?
| A．To show that complaining is not only rude but harmful. |
| B．To tell us a story about her grandmother. |
| C．To show how to live one’s life to the fullest. |
| D．To tell us people’s different attitudes towards complaining. |
Many grown-ups worry that spending too much time playing video games isn’t good for a kid’s health. But some doctors have noticed that kids who bring their game players to the hospital seem less worried about being there. They also seem to feel less pain when they are giving all their attention on a car race or other games.
At a children’s center in Baltimore, Maryland, young kids are finding hospital visits easier to deal with, thanks to a test program called HOPE. Patients in HOPE have a life-threatening condition where their kidneys(肾) no longer get rid of wastes from their blood. To get their blood cleaned, these kids must use the dialysis (透析) machines at the hospital three times a week, for at least three hours each time. HOPE allows kids to play Internet sports, racing, and other games with each other. They will be able to connect with kids in other hospitals who have the same problem. “We want to use the Internet to bring together kids who are ill, and let them know they are not alone,” said Arun Mathews, the doctor of the program. He loved video games himself and got the idea to connect kids all over the country.
Many researchers elsewhere are testing video programs that might help young patients. For example, nine-year-old Ben Duskin of San Francisco, California, who was struggling with cancer helped to design a video game where players got rid of cancer cells.
That’s all great news, because doctors already know that reducing pain and worry helps patients heal(痊愈) faster.
According to the passage, the sick kids may feel less pain when they _________.
| A．use the dialysis machines | B．are in a car race |
| C．are playing video games | D．stay alone with illness |
HOPE allows the sick kids to play Internet games in order to _________.
| A．encourage them to fight against the illness | B．get rid of their pain and worry |
| C．let the kids make more friends | D．bring the kids in the country together |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Grown-ups all think video games are bad for kids’ health. |
| B．Some doctors think video games may help the sick kids reduce pain. |
| C．The HOPE is a famous organization all over the world. |
| D．Arun Mathews is against the testing program. |
Which can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Video Games Are Bad for Health |
| B．Video Games May Help Reduce Pain |
| C．A Famous American Organization |
| D．HOPE Allows Kids to Play Online Games |
The journey to the moon had been the first step toward future exploration(探险) in space. The distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between Earth and the other planets. Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away. Traveling to the planets will be man’s next aim. Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous.
Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings 1 and 2, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it. So far the signs of life on Mars has neither confirmed(确认) nor ruled out. Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus(金星) is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there. Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense(稠) and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on Earth , but man should realize Earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care for it.
According to the passage, traveling to the planets will be ________.
| A．much easier and even more interesting |
| B．far more exciting and dangerous |
| C．man’s final aim |
| D．man’s first step |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．Mars is nearer to the earth than the moon. |
| B．The moon is much nearer to the earth than Mars. |
| C．Of all the planets, Mars is the nearest to the earth. |
| D．All the planets are much farther to the earth. |
From the passage, we can guess______________.
| A．there is life on Mars |
| B．there is no life on Mars |
| C．the atmosphere of Mars is not so dense as that of Venus |
| D．scientists will have little hope to find the answers |
Man can live on under the conditions of ______________.
| A．much too hot surface |
| B．the same pressure as we get on earth |
| C．normal atmosphere as we have on earth |
| D．both B and C |