They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation’s unemployed. A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored (政府资助的) youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies.
“We study for jobs that don’t exist,” Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said.
After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12.3 million people, and the number is climbing.
The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent. The title of a rock song “No Future” can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France.
One form of protest(抗议) tends to put the responsibility for a country’s economic troubles on the large numbers of “guest workers” from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity.
Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents. Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them.
“And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the café, and sit and stare,” said Isabella Cault. "There is usually not much conversation. You look for happiness. Sometimes you even find it.”Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected _______
| A．about 0.6 million people | B．250,000 people |
| C．1ess than half of the population | D．one million people |
What Nicollete Steggerda said (Para.2) means that ________.
| A．what the students learn is more than necessary |
| B．the students cannot get work after graduation |
| C．the students’ aim in study is not clear |
| D．school education is not sufficient |
The underlined word ‘‘it” in the last paragraph most probably refers to ________.
| A．material enjoyment | B．a sense of expectation |
| C．a job | D．happiness |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．British youths have pity on the unemployed on the Continent． |
| B．British youths care about unemployment in France and Belgium． |
| C．British youths show their disappointment over joblessness． |
| D．British youths have confidence to find work on the Continent． |
Dear Santa Claus,
My name is Amy. I am 17 years old. I have a problem at school. Can you help me, Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy. I just want one day when no one laughs at me or makes fun of me.
Love, Amy
At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters poured in for the Christmas Wish Content. When Amy’s letter arrived at the radio station, Manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He thought it wound be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special girl and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called up the local newspaper.
The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the “News Sentinel”. The story spread quickly. All across the country, newspapers and radio and television stations reported the story of the girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet remarkable Christmas gift—just one day without teasing.
Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation. They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy saw a world full of people who truly cared about each other.
Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to hold her head high.
Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne High School. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel.
That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially declared December 21st as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city. The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson. “Everyone,” he said, “wants to and should be treated with respect, dignity and warmth.”Amy’s letter showed that______.
| A．she wanted to win Christmas Wish Contest |
| B．she is more independent than before |
| C．she is often ignored in and out of class |
| D．her schoolmates can’t understand her disability |
We may infer from Amy’s story that_____.
| A．the disabled hate those who laugh at them |
| B．the news media played a key role in helping Amy |
| C．Amy will still be made fun of by her classmates |
| D．there are few disabled people in Amy’s country |
The mayor officially declared Amy Jo Hagadorn Day _______.
| A．to tell how bad teasing can make others feel |
| B．to encourage people to hold their heads high |
| C．to explain how brave Amy was by making her wish |
| D．to call on the public to treat everyone properly |
At thirteen, I was diagnosed（诊所） with kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs.Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said,”Mrs.Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”
She glanced down at me through her glasses, “you are no different from your classmates, young man.”
I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots（点）, which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class, being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?
I didn’t expect anything when I handled in my paper to Mrs.Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day- with an ”A” on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:”See what you can do when you keep trying?”The author didn’t finish the reading in class because.
| A．He was new to the class |
| B．He was tried of literature |
| C．He had an attention disorder |
| D．He wanted to take the task home |
What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?
| A．He had good sight |
| B．He made a great invention. |
| C．He gave up reading |
| D．He learned a lot from school |
What was Mrs.Smith’s attitude to the author at the end of the story?
| A．Angry | B．Impatient |
| C．Sympathetic | D．Encouraging |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The disabled should be treated with respect. |
| B．A teacher can open up a new world to students. |
| C．One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts. |
| D．Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges. |
D
The world is filled with smart，talented and gifted people．We meet them every day．A few days ago，my car was not running well．I pulled it into a garage，and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes．He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine．I was amazed．The sad truth is，great talent is not enough．
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn．I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100，000 a year．A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially．It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase，“They are one skill away from great wealth．”
There is an old saying that goes，“Job means ‘just over broke（破产）’”．And unfortunately，I would say that the saying applies to millions of people．Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence，most workers“ live within their means”．They work and they pay the bills．Instead I recommend young people to seek work for what they will learn，more than what they will earn．
When I ask the classes I teach，“How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands．I then ask，“So if most of you can cook a better hamburger，how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems．The reason why so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems．The world is filled with talented poor people ．They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger．The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph that ．
| A．he is just one of the talented people |
| B．he is ready to help others |
| C．he has a sharp sense of hearing |
| D．he knows little about car repairing |
The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by ．
| A．spend more than they can afford |
| B．do in their own way |
| C．live in their own circle |
| D．live within what they earn |
Why do talented people earn so 1ittle according to the author?
| A．They don’t work hard enough |
| B．They lack financial intelligence |
| C．They don’t make full use of their talents |
| D．They have no specialized skills． |
The main purpose of the author is to tell us ．
| A．how young people can find a satisfactory job |
| B．what schools should teach students |
| C．why so many talented people are poor |
| D．how McDonald’s makes much money |
C
It’s illegal for the police to attach a GPS unit to your car without your permission, as the U.S. Supreme Court settled in 2012. But if the police are in hot pursuit of a bank robber or other escaping criminals that threaten public safety, a GPS tracker is acceptable. But exactly how can the police GPS track a car that is moving fast?
The answer to that question comes from StarChase, a new police technology being used by a small-but growing number of law enforcement agencies. It allows the police to fire 4.5-inch glue-covered GPS bullet-like projectiles (发射体) from an air gun fixed in their police cars. If the GPS tracker makes contact with the escaping robber’s car, it’ll stick no matter how fast the vehicle is going. That way, the police will have a constant read on the car’s location and heading. Aside from simply apprehending (逮捕) criminals, it’s believed this new technology could help save lives. If the police successfully fire a GPS unit at a speeding criminal, they can pull back from a high-risk chase. Chases can be incredibly dangerous to all involved, including innocent bystanders and other drivers. Once the GPS bullet connects, there’s no need for the chase any longer.
Now, predictably, a GPS-loaded gun isn’t cheap. Police departments need to pay about $5,000 per vehicle for the technology, and individual GPS bullets cost as much as $250 each. That may sound expensive, but remember: The alternative is often thousands of dollars in property damage, and great human cost in injury and lost life. According to Star Chase, their GPS bullet system has an apprehension rate of 80% without any report of injury or property damage. If you’d like to learn more about the StarChase system, Popular Mechanics has just published a good article about it. There’s also plenty more information available at the company’s website.When the GPS bullet sticks to the escaping robber’s car, the police can______ .
| A．know the car’s condition |
| B．ensure the robber’s safety |
| C．play a fair game with the robber |
| D．know the car’s position and direction |
The GPS bullets could help save lives mainly because
| A．the bullets won’t hurt people |
| B．they can make the robber’s car stop |
| C．the police can stop the dangerous chasing |
| D．they have more advantages than normal bullets |
From the text we can learn that GPS bullets
| A．are useful for the police |
| B．are widely used in America |
| C．can control the rising crime rate |
| D．can replace the police in the future |
In which part of a newspaper can we read the text
| A．Life | B．Nature | C．Fashion | D．Technology |
B
However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing every day。However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing ever more rapidly. Some of this growth has occurred in the developed world, but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World. Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries
By the year 2030, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities.
This is actually good news in some ways. “Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity,” says Marc Weiss, chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development, “ both for the nation and for families.” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most countries of the world“ there’s the crazy notion that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them,”Weiss continued. “But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city.” For better or worse, urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities. Those cities will be bigger than ever. And yet, population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects; after all, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Hamburg, Germany, have the same population. Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor. “City problems,” one authority points out, “mostly have to do with weak, ineffective, and usually unrepresentative city governments.”In the author’s opinion, _________.
| A．better city, better life |
| B．both urban and rural areas have a larger population |
| C．the larger population, the faster a city develops |
| D．both urban and rural areas have larger gross domestic products |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The developing countries develop faster than the developed countries. |
| B．Cities contribute more to the GDP than the villagers. |
| C．Some problems are more easily solved in cities than in country. |
| D．It’s impossible to solve urban problems by getting people out of cities. |
The last paragraph implies that ____________.
| A．Public services are ineffective. |
| B．Cities are increasing too fast. |
| C．Population is not linked with development. |
| D．Government should be responsible for the problems in the cities. |