Why must we pay taxes? The answer is that the government needs money for many things, for example to pay its soldiers, sailors and airmen, to build roads, bridges, offices, schools, etc and to buy goods from abroad; and only the people of the country can supply the money．One of the most important taxes is income-tax which a person pays according to the amount of his income-tax．Whether he is a businessman, a doctor, a lawyer, a shopkeeper, a miner, or anything else．This is called a “direct” tax, because it is paid in money direct to the government．
Another tax is paid on goods such as watches, jewellery, new clothes, tobacco, wine, etc, when they are brought into a country, such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are later sold in shops．We call it “indirect” tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeeper．
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on the things that they and their families need．We need policemen to catch thieves, to see that men obey the laws, to direct traffic, etc, and they must be paid what they earn; children need education and there must be schools and teachers; we want our streets to be kept clean, and the wages of men who do this kind of work have to be paid．Above all, the country must always be ready to defend itself against attacking enemies, and we cannot have an army without paying for it．
Taxes, therefore, cannot be avoided．We buy our own food and clothes and pay for our own amusements, but there are several things that the State finds the money for, and that are necessary for us if our society is to continue．So we have no real cause to complain when we are asked to supply money to be spent for the good of ourselves and for our fellow-citizens．
1．Indirect tax means _______．
A．tax that one pays direct to the government
B．tax that is not paid directly to the government
C．tax that is paid as an extra amount added to the price of certain goods
D．Both B and C
2．Which of the following is right?
A．Taxes are paid to the sellers．
B．Income-tax is an indirect tax．
C．The tax on new clothes is paid in money direct to the government．
D．Tax is amount of money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services．
3．People have no real reason to complain about having to pay taxes because _______．
A．some shopkeepers are very rich
B．they need money to buy goods from abroad
C．their children need education
D．the money is spent on the things that they and their families need
4．“Taxes cannot be avoided” means _______．
A．people have to pay taxes to the government
B．you do not have to pay tax on some goods
C．soldiers do not have to pay taxes
D．all goods have to be taxed
More than half of the parents in the United States are helping, or have helped, support their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and poor wages(工资), according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so-called boomerang kids, to return.
“Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they’re helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially. Half are providing housing and nearly half are helping with living expenses.
For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two-thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one-third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to find their financial feet than for their children.
Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices(牺牲) to help their adult children should be careful about their own finances.
“If you are taking on extra debt or delaying(推迟) retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger,” Beck warned.
Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and seven percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.According to the text, boomerang kids refer to ____.
| A．married adult children |
| B．grown-ups living with parents |
| C．adult children independent and successful in life |
| D．young adults depending on parents for financial support |
According to the survey, we can infer that _____.
| A．about 30% of parents offer their adult children housing |
| B．one-third of adult children earn money more easily than their parents |
| C．two-thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in school |
| D．about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily cost |
What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?
| A．Asking their children to help with the housework. |
| B．Being careful when helping their children financially. |
| C．Leaving their children to struggle to live. |
| D．Putting off their time of retirement. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Adult children are less independent | B．Parents help support adult children |
| C．Bad conditions affect children a lot | D．Adult children like living with parents |
During my review for the medical boards, I gained 101 pounds in four months and promised to exercise when all of this was over. I successfully passed the medical boards and now I have to face the music.
One morning, I woke up and decided to go to a park to start working out. I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and put on my sports shoes. Then I headed for the park. While going there, I decided to set a goal for myself, that, I had to finish 10 rounds before I went home.
Upon reaching the park, I joined the people in walking around the park. I was enjoying every step, breathing in fresh air, appreciating the green grass and looking at the dried leaves falling from the trees while listening to my iPod.
On my 5th round, I felt tired, hungry and thirsty. I thought of giving it up, going home and sleeping again. As the idea battled in my mind, I was reminded about the goal I had set just a while ago. I kept on walking and as I looked around, I saw myself in the midst of men and women much older than me who continued to move on. Some even suffered from a stroke(中风) that had difficulty walking, some took on small steps with a cane on hand and some took on pauses before they continued their walk but still they kept on walking.
Suddenly I realized that each of us has set our own goals in our lives, such as reaching a dream, building up a career, correcting a past mistake or starting a business. The process won’t be easy. We may encounter(遇到) a lot of difficulties and obstacles that may push us to just give up.
Amazed by the men and women whom I walked with that morning, I finished my goal in the end.
Let us be inspired with the people around us who experience the same or even a greater amount of difficulty but still don’t give up and continue until they reach their goals and now are savoring(享受) their success.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．Now I don’t feel like listening to my iPod. |
| B．Now I have to care more about my health. |
| C．Now I have to take physical exercise. |
| D．Now it is time for me to listen to music. |
What did the author do on his way to the park?
| A．He worked out a plan for his future. |
| B．He reflected on the causes of his overweight. |
| C．He decided to finish 10 rounds that morning. |
| D．He planned to take exercises every day. |
When the author was walking the 5th round _____.
| A．he didn’t want to continue walking |
| B．he found it easy to keep his promise |
| C．he was enjoying walking in the park |
| D．he was too tired to keep up with others |
What inspired the author to finish 10 rounds that morning?
| A．The goal he kept in mind. | B．His strong will to keep fit. |
| C．The good figure he wanted. | D．The people exercising in the park. |
Flowers only bloom(开花) when they are planted in the right soil. That is also true for me.
I first moved to Foxboro, Massachusetts, as a single mother with my baby daughter, Darcy. I was drawn to its New England beauty, friendly people and rich history. It happened that there were a lot of forsythia(连翘) bushes around the house in which I lived just like my childhood home. I joined St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where I taught the Sunday school. At church, I met my second husband, Dean. For more than 25 years, I bloomed in Foxboro, and I had another two children.
Then, when Darcy was a few years out of college, she moved to Alameda, California, to be near friends. I missed her badly. A year later my beloved husband Dean had deadly cancer. He only made it eight months. My heart was broken. Later I moved to Alameda with my children. It was a beautiful Victorian island, and I was grateful to spend more time with Darcy. I even attended a church and made a few friends there. Still, I couldn’t help but miss Foxboro. It had everything and everyone I loved.
One spring day, when I was walking by a school, something yellow caught my eyes. Forsythia bushes! They made me homesick and I kept back my tears. “I miss you, Foxboro,” I whispered. Then I went into a shop and looked at some ceramic(陶瓷的) pots lined up on a shelf. A large white one seemed to catch my attention. “That’ll be perfect in my living room,” I thought.
I turned it over to look at the price. Instead I found these words: “New England Pottery, Foxboro, Massachusetts.” A piece of artwork, from my second hometown, was right here. It was able to spread across the country and so were forsythia bushes. I took it as a sign that I can bloom, right where I am.From the text we learn that the author ____.
| A．gave birth to three children in Foxboro |
| B．planted forsythia bushes around her house |
| C．got to know her second husband at church |
| D．worked as a middle school teacher in Foxboro |
The author moved to Alameda so that she could ____.
| A．have more time together with Darcy |
| B．forget the sorrow at her husband’s death |
| C．visit her children at Alameda College frequently |
| D．enjoy the beautiful scenery on the Victorian island |
When the author saw forsythia bushes at a school she _____.
| A．wanted to buy a ceramic pot to put them in |
| B．thought of her life in Foxboro |
| C．felt they would look great in her living room |
| D．believed they were real art work |
Why does the author compare herself to flowers?
| A．Because she wanted to show she likes flowers. |
| B．Because she can live in any place that is right like flowers. |
| C．Because she moved across the country just like flowers. |
| D．Because girls are like flowers that are blooming. |
I studied engineering after enjoying top marks, as high school came relatively easy. Then university life came!
I thought that I must have some learning disorder, as it seemed that everyone else was absorbing the material and making progress while to me it was an insurmountable(不能克服的) struggle. There were never enough hours in the day and weekend to attend the lectures, study the lessons and then do the assignment.
During my darkest hour I called home to speak to my father: “Dad, I don’t think I can handle this.” My father then said something, which cut through me like a knife: “There is no returning home. If you quit, then you are on your own.”
I hung up thinking what a terrible heartless thing to say. Then, I determined to somehow gut it out(坚持到底). There seemed to be no other choices available! Soon afterwards, I noticed a sigh posted in a campus common area stating: “Studying Skills” with a place & time to meet. It said that “there is help available”. I attended that meeting! I soon discovered there were several others in a similar situation and that everyone wanted to help each other get through this challenging first term. I soon found a study partner, who helped me a lot, and I was grateful to him for his kind help.
Yes, it was still a very challenging first year, but I found the needed strength and support to get through it. In fact my father has been helping me since then, but he has done it in another way. I know now in my heart that he did the very best help he could to help me fly. Thanks Dad for the push!The story happened when the author _____.
| A．just came to the new high school |
| B．was in his first term in university |
| C．was in the last year of high school |
| D．had been in the university for one year |
What was the author’s problem?
| A．His father refused his request of returning home. |
| B．His father said some terrible words to him. |
| C．He found the course difficult to understand. |
| D．He could not understand his teachers. |
How did the author get through his challenge successfully?
| A．He got help from his father in another way. |
| B．He changed the place and time for study. |
| C．He joined those who helped each other. |
| D．He paid more attention to study. |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for the text?
| A．Differences between high school and university |
| B．My time in university |
| C．The importance of being strict with children |
| D．Push from my father |
Still waiting for little green men to make contact? Don't hold your breath.
A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there – meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe.
Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET.
Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact.
So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems – known as extrasolar systems – although they believe billions of others exist.
But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist – the most important thing for life.
Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist.
Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe.
Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries."By saying ＂don’t hold your breath＂, the author advised the reader not to _____.
| A．keep silent | B．give up | C．expect so | D．be afraid |
Dr Smith concludes there probably aren’t any aliens because other planets _____.
| A．are too far away from the earth |
| B．are different from the Earth in size |
| C．don’t have rich natural resources |
| D．don’t have a suitable living environment |
Researchers from the University of London are mentioned to show that ______.
| A．they have better explanations about aliens |
| B．aliens certainly exist on many planets |
| C．they disagree with Dr Smith’s suggestion |
| D．aliens can pick up signals from the earth |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．There must be other life forms in the universe. |
| B．We can communicate with aliens in decades. |
| C．The chances of finding aliens are slight. |
| D．Many other planets are quite different from the Earth. |