Think back to this time last year. What was on your mind?
Most likely, you were thinking about finals or the holidays, although in this city I’ve noticed that thinking about the holiday is a fancy way of saying how much stuff will I get.
Now reflect on your thoughts for this holiday season. Most people are still thinking about the holidays, but I say that with a grain of salt. Everybody with a functioning brain and the ability to communicate knows that this holioday season comes with a pretty large price tag: the debt of all the hardships, both domestic and foreign, that we’ve faced over the past 12months.
Let’s face it: some of us will get everything we want over the holidays. But there are others whose parents have lost their jobs or who have lost jobs themselves because of the current economic situation. As much as we try to ignore it, there is still economic unrest in the blue and gold suburb.
In this situation, we have three options. One: We ignore the situation, like we seem to do for every bad thing that happens around us, because by God, it’s the American Way! Two: We recognize that our economy is shot, feel bad about it and spend our time wishing for the good old days. Three: We recognize that our economy is shot, but instead of moping, reflect on every good thing that we have going for us. Now, which option sounds best to you?
I spent a week this summer working in and around New York City with the city’s homeless population. Or so I thought. Although a lot of the people I served were in fact homeless, a significant number of them had a job or a home or both. The truth of the importance of this situation is that they and thousands of others across the country can’t afford even the most basic things of life, even while working two jobs. Yet no one that I met complained about their hardships. Instead, they took whatever I happened to give them(which was, more often than enough, not enough) and were genuinely grateful for what they had.
Wrap your heads around that statement for a second. These people worked their butts off to stay alive with minimal results, yet were overjoyed by a flimsy(脆弱的) paper plate with donated green beans on it. Although I am ashamed to admit it( both as a girthy figure and an affluent citizen), I have taken for granted most of my meals, let alone green beans, and I know for a fact that I am not alone.
64. According to the passage when people think about holidays they care much for ____.
A. where to spend their holidays B. how to spend their holidays
C. what they can get for their holidays D. who they should go to visit
65. When the author wrote the article, the economic situation in his country ____.
A. began to go bad. B. began to improve C. was still serious D. was favorable for middle class.
66. The author wrote the article mainly to advise people____.
A.to be thankful in time of hardship. B. to spend their holidays in a wise way
C. to think little about their holidays D. to help the country to sail through the crisis
67. It can be inferred from the passage that the writer is most probably ______.
A. a homeless child B. an old professor C. a famous scientist D. a young student
It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.
We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.
You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.
For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.
The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.
Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.
A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.
And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?
| A．It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong. |
| B．It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize. |
| C．Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point. |
| D．Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything. |
What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?
| A．A service that is not as good as it should be. |
| B．Genuine mistakes. |
| C．Car accidents. |
| D．Causing offence or hurt. |
The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.
| A．should not waste time worrying about what happened. |
| B．should consider the problem |
| C．should forget about what happened. |
| D．should analyse who was at fault. |
How can timing compound problems?
| A．If you write immediately, they will be suspicious. |
| B．If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write. |
| C．Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity. |
| D．Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it. |
In some urban centers, workaholism is so common that people do not consider it unusual:
They accept the lifestyle as normal. Government workers in Washington D.C, for example, frequently work sixty to seventy hours a week. They don’t do this because they have to; they do it because they want to.
Workaholism can be a serious problem. Because true workaholics would rather work than do anything else, they probably don’t know how to relax.
Is workaholism always dangerous? Perhaps not. There are, certainly, people who work well under stress. Some studies show that many workaholies have great energy and interest in life. Their work is so pleasurable that they are actually very happy. For most workaholics, work and entertainment keep them busy and creative.
Why do workaholics enjoy their jobs so much? There are several advantages to work. Of course, it provides people with paychecks, and this is important. But it offers more than financial security. It provides people with self confidence; they have a feeling of satisfaction when they’re produced a challenging piece of work and are able to say, “I made that.” Psychologists claim that work gives people an identity through participation in work, they get a sense of self and individualism. In addition, most jobs provide people with a socially acceptable way to meet others. Perhaps some people are compulsive about their work, but their addiction seems to be a safe-even an advantageous-one.The passage indicates that workaholics .
| A．just know work but nothing else |
| B．are willing to work hard for long hours without pay |
| C．find their work provide them more satisfaction and self confidence than how much they are paid |
| D．has the work with more responsibility than others |
One of the reasons that some people are not willing to quit their jobs even in their eighties and nineties is that
| A．they are in the need of financial security |
| B．they would rather work than be disturbed by domestic affairs |
| C．they long for a sense of identity and being accomplished |
| D．they may have health problems from sheer boredom |
This passage is mainly about .
| A．workaholics are usually successful people, but their lives are in a mess |
| B．workaholism can lead to serious problems but it can also create a joyful life |
| C．people who are absorbed in their work may enjoy movies, sports and other kinds of entertainment |
| D．those who work even under difficult conditions may be very happy |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．in the eyes of all the common people workaholics are peculiar |
| B．to workaholics, work is the sole source of happiness |
| C．a piece of challenging work may provide the workaholics a sense of satisfaction |
| D．workaholics are as addicted to their job as other people are to drugs or alcohol |
Across the globe, single parent homes are on the rise. In the US, the 2000 census (人口普查) showed 24.8 million, or nearly 24 percent of the nation’s 105.5 million households, were traditional two-parent homes. By comparison, 9.8 million households, or 9 percent of all US households were headed by an adult raising a child alone. The 1990 census showed 26 percent of homes were led by a married mother and father, and 8 percent of homes were led by a single parent.
Similar increases occurred in other countries. In the UK, lone-parent homes increased from 3.3 percent in 1990 to 5.5 percent in 1999. Single parent households in Australia rose from 5.8 percent in 1990 to 7.6 percent in 1999. Belgium saw the increase from 1.8 percent to 2.7 percent during the same period of time. These countries tend to have greater acceptance of the single parent because there are fewer nearby family members to disapprove, Riche, a Census Bureau director, said.
Just as in the US, those changes raised new questions about how involved govenment should be in helping single parent families. Some research suggests children raised in two-parent families are better off than those who depend on one.
“The position of one-parent families in any country is very much a gender (性别) issue-women’s opportunities, especially working-class women on low income,” said Sue Cohen, coordinator (协调员) of the Single Action Parents Network in England.Not considering the exact number of the single-parent families, which country saw the fastest rise rate in 1999, compared with 1990?
| A．UK. | B．Australia. | C．America. | D．Belgium. |
What is the cause of the rise of single parent families across the globe?
| A．The nearby family members have a favourable opinion. |
| B．A lone parent is well off enough to support his /her children. |
| C．A lot of problems have arisen in two-parent families. |
| D．We cannot get enough proving information from the text. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the increase of single parent families according to the passage?
| A．It will somewhat limit the growing population of younger generation. |
| B．Governments should take actions about the social problems brought about by it. |
| C．Single parent families are not looked down upon in any country mentioned here. |
| D．Generally speaking, the single parents needn’t worry since they are highly paid. |
Which of the following diagrams correctly shows the rise of single parent families in the US from 1990 to 2000?
Does a drink a day keep heart attacks away? Over the past 20 years, numerous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption, say, one or two beers, glasses of wine or cocktails daily helps to prevent coronary heart disease. Last week a report in the New England Journal of Medicine added strong new evidence in support of that theory. More important, the work provided the first solid induction (归纳) of how alcohol works to protect the heart.
In the study, researchers from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School compared the drinking habits of 340 men and women who had suffered recent heart attack with those of healthy people of the same age and sex. The scientists found that people who sip one to three drinks a day are about half as likely to suffer heart attacks as nondrinkers are. The apparent source of the protection: those who drank alcohol had higher blood levels of high density lipoproteins, the so-called good cholesterol, which is known to prevent heart disease.
As evidence has mounted, some doctors have begun recommending a daily drink for patients of heart diseases. But most physicians are not ready to recommend a regular happy hour for everyone. The risks of teetotalling (绝对戒酒) are nothing compared with the dangers of too much alcohol, including high blood pressure, strokes and liver troubles—not to mention violent behaviour and traffic accidents. Moreover, some studies suggest that even moderate drinking may increase the incidence of breast and colon cancer. Until there is evidence that the benefits of a daily dose of alcohol outweigh the risks, most people won’t be able to take a doctor’s prescription to the neighbourhood bar or liquor store.The medical article quoted in the first paragraph indicates .
A. the way in which alcohol can help the heart
B. how a couple of cocktails daily can stop heart problems
C. why alcoholic drinks are dangerous to one’s health
that reports on the advantages of alcohol were misledExperiments showed that nondrinkers had __________.
| A．larger amounts of good cholesterol | B．smaller amounts of good cholesterol |
| C．higher blood pressure | D．lower blood pressure |
According to the passage, moderate drinking .
| A．is recommended by most doctors for heart patients |
| B．should be allowed on prescription |
| C．is still not medically advisable |
| D．is not related to liver problems |
The main theme of this passage is .
| A．the change in recent drinking habits |
| B．the connection between cancer and alcohol |
| C．whether moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers |
| D．whether alcohol may be good for one’s health |
When we hear the words “college students”, we usually think of a young person between 18 and 22 years old. But in the U.S.A today, a college student often is much older. In fact, educators say in the next few years colleges and universities may have more older part-time students than traditional (传统的) full-time younger students.
Educators report a big increase in the number of Americans who attend college and university classes in the evening or at night or weekends. Most of them are older than 25 years old and more have full-time or part-time jobs. Many are in their thirties or forties.
Why are so many people deciding to spend their time and money in order to continue their education? Most are doing it because they believe more education will help them to get a better job. Some are industrial workers whose factories have closed. They are learning new skills to prepare for other kinds of work. Some of the part-time students are not pleased with the jobs they have. They are studying for new ones. Some have retired (退休) and are looking for new kinds of work. Two of every three of the students older than 35 are women. Many of them are returning to school after years of staying at home to care for children.
Are older students good students? Most teachers say yes. They say older students really want to learn. They ask difficult questions and are not pleased with simple answers. They often get high grades. It’s said that in the next few years _________________.
| A．students in colleges and universities will be much older |
| B． full-time students in colleges and universities will be even younger |
| C． American colleges and universities will take in part-time students equally |
| D． The number of older students will be greater than that of the younger ones |
Judge which of the following is not true according to the above passage.
| A．It’s reported that a large number of Americans attend college or universities classes in their spare time. |
| B． Most of them are over 25. |
| C． Most of them are without jobs. |
| D． The number of students in colleges and universities is reported to have gone up greatly. |
Why are so many people deciding to go on with their education? Because___________.
| A．Most of the Americans enjoy learning something new |
| B． Most of them believe: more education, better jobs |
| C． They have lost their jobs |
| D． They are tired of their jobs they have |
They often get high grades” means ____________.
| A．they rise to high grades easily |
| B． they often get very good marks (分数) |
| C． they are more likely to receive a master’s or a doctor’s degree upon graduation |
| D．they often win high prize |
What does the whole passage mainly tell us?
| A．Why does so many older students go to college in America. |
| B．What older students in college can learn. |
| C．Older students are mostly good students |
| D．Higher education can help you get a good job. |