As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding. Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
68. What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A. They expect everything to be easy for them.
B. They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C. They are reluctant to face all of the challenges.
D. They are burdened by student loans.
69. The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
A. baby production B. pleasant C. baby comfort D. essential
70. What’s the author’s attitude towards the 20-somthings with high expectation in Paragraph 5?
A. Intolerant. B. Negative. C. Unbelieving. D. Understanding.
71. What is the best title for this passage?
A. How Young People Afford to Continue Their Study
B. Why Young People Can’t Afford to Buy a House
C. When Young People’s High Hopes Create Despair
D. What the 20-somethings’ High Expectations Are
Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners（小餐馆）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.
A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872. It wasn’t a real diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and a late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.
Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dishes, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.
Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.
Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today.
1.A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872. Why is the word “diner” in quotation marks(引号)？
A.Because it is spelled differently from “ dinner”
B.Because the first diner was not what it is now
C.Because diner was a new word
D.Because it is a special kind of restaurant
2.What meals did the first diners serve?
A. only breakfast B. Only lunch C. Only night-meals D. All of the above
3.According to paragraph 3, diners changed in __________
A. Two ways B. three ways C. four ways D. five ways
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Diners existed before a fast-food restaurant
B．The menu included more food than sandwiches and coffee
C．Burger King is a fast-food restaurant
D．Sandwiches became bigger
5.The main idea of the passage is that ______________.
A. The diner is a traditional , popular place to eat in the United States
B.Samuel Johns built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside
C.American diners serve many types of food 24 hours a day to their customers
D.Diners are different from fast-food restaurants in many ways
It's no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That's especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It's also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights.
Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody baffle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.
The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That's an important development, one that's long overdue.
Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly's biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn't the Twiggs' own daughter, but Kimt only was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting fights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.
The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue ( 起诉) on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.
Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren't always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.
36. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge's ruling?
A. The biological link. B. The child's benefits.
C. The traditional practice. D. The parents' feelings.
37. We can learn from the Kimberly case that
A. children are more than just personal possessions of their parents
B. the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized
C. foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care
D. biological parents shouldn't claim custody rights after their child is adopted
38. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because
A. they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays' custody B. they regarded her as their property
C. they were her biological parentsD. they felt guilty about their past mistake
39. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays
A. by sheer accident B. at his requestC. out of charity D. for better care
40. The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as
A. doubtful B. cautious C. critical D. supportive
三．阅读理解（共25小题，每小题2分，满分50分）
I don’t think there is anything wrong with your blood. The key to your problem is that long nap (打盹，小睡) after dinner.
If you didn’t sleep for hours during the early part of the evening, you would be more ready to sleep at bedtime. If you didn’t nap after dinner, you would not want to stay up so late, and you would not feel the need to take a sleeping pill. The pill is still working in your system when you get up in the morning. This helps account for the fact that you feel tired all day.
You should get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening. Right after your evening meal, engage in some sort of physical activity --- a sport such as bowling, perhaps. Or get together with friends for an evening of cards and conversation. Then go to bed at your usual time or a little earlier, and you should be able to get a good night's rest without taking a pill.
If you can get into the habit of spending your evenings this way, I am sure you will feel less tired during the day. At first it may be hard for you to go to sleep without taking a pill. If so, get up and watch television or do some jobs around your house until you feel sleepy. If you fall asleep and then wake up a few hours later, get up but do not take a sleeping pill. Read a while or listen to the radio, and make yourself a few hours’ sleep that night, you will feel better in the morning than you usually feel after taking a pill. The next night you will be ready to sleep at an earlier hour.
The most important thing is to avoid taking that nap right after dinner and avoid taking pills.
1. According to the writer, it is difficult for you to go to sleep because _____ .
A. you get the habit of staying up late B. you haven’t taken sleeping pills
C. you sleep for hours after dinner D. you fail to do some exercises
2. Which of the following is NOT true if you want to get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening?
A. Go to bed earlier than usual. B. Talk with friends after dinner.
C. Stay with friends after dinner. D. Do some physical labor.
3. You feel tired all day probably because ______ .
A. you stay up too late B. you get up too early in the morning
C. you take sleeping pills D. you wake up too frequently at night
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. You mustn’t take sleeping pills in order to get a good night’s sleep.
B. You should stay up if you want to sleep effectively.
C. Food is necessary at night if you fail to go to sleep.
D. It is very important to get out of the habit of taking a nap after dinner.
5. We may infer that the author is most probably a _____ .
A. doctor B. reporter C. scientist D. professor
Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it's painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.
During the hours when you labor through your work you may say that you're “hot”. That's true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak(高峰). For some people the peak comes before noon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues ( 自言自语 ) as: “Get up, John! You'll be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and- energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.
You can't change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes. Maybe you're sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract ( 对抗 ) your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won't change your cycle, but you'll get up steam ( 鼓起干劲 ) and work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours.
72. If a person finds getting up early a problem, most probably________.
A. he is a lazy person
B. he refuses to follow his own energy cycle
C. he is not sure when his energy is low
D.he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening
73. Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage?
A.Unawareness of energy cycles. B.Familiar monologues.
C.A change in a family member's energy cycle.
D.Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members.
74. If one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, he should________.
A.change his energy cycle B.overcome his laziness
C.get up earlier than usual D. go to bed earlier
75. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Getting off to work with a minimum effort helps save one's energy.
B.Dr. Kleitman explains why people reach their peaks at different hours of day.
C.Habits help a person adapt to his own energy cycle.
D.Children have energy cycles, too.
With a busy life and job, pressure can make you look tired and aged. Kissi Health-Beauty Center gives classes, makes training plans according to your physical conditions, and sets up an individual file. All these things will help you to get to know your body and the way to keep it fit.
1)BODY-BUILDING
Imported gym equipment will help you build up your body’s muscles, making you look full of energy and strength.
2)GYMNASTIC EXERCISES
A bright and large exercise room with excellent equipment and music will give your body a chance to enjoy movement with rhythm.
3)SPECIAL “LAZY-BONE” FITNESS CENTER
“Lazy-bone” fitness equipment is the first bodyshaping set of seven beds in Houston. Designed according to human anatomic (解剖学的) and kinematic（运动学的）theory， the seven special beds will help you to exercise your waist, abdomen（腹）, hips（臀）or legs. In the relaxing hours you may try them to strengthen your muscles and lose weight.
*Tuition: “Lazy-bone” fitness card, 1000 dollars /month (gymnastic classesincluded).
*Open Time: 10:30 a.m. —10:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
*Tel: 59185700
*Address: 16 Johnson Street, Houston
68.The purpose of this passage is to ______.
A. give advice on healthB. introduce new ways of body-building
C. ask you to go to the center D. introduce ways to lose weight
69.If you want some exercise as well as relaxation after a busy day, you’ll go to the center and ______.
A. learn anatomic and kinematic theoryB. lie still on the special beds
C. join in the gymnastic exercises D. buy a special card
70.Tom Everest who keeps a “Lazy-bone” fitness card can go to the center ______ this week.
A. 11:30 a.m. Monday B. 11:30 p.m. Monday
C. 10:00 a.m. Tuesday D. 10:00 p.m. Tuesday
71.According to the passage, the center wants to show it is _____ .
A. the most convenient B. the largest
C. the newest D. the most advanced