Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column. She had been a school teacher before she retired, but she needed to keep 1 . She was even willing to work without pay. She then offered her 2 to a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people. Every day she 3 other old folk like her, by talking with them, she 4 two things. Old people had abilities that were not 5 . But old people also had some 6 . She found a new purpose for herself then.
Through the years, she 7 to write stories about people for national magazines. There was now a new 8 : Old people like herself. She began to write a newspaper column called “Sixty Plus”, which was about 9 old. She writes about the problems of old people, especially their problems with being 10 . Anna Douglas uses her 11 ability to see the truth behind a problem. She understands 12 problems begin. For example, one of her 13 said that his grandchildren 14 the houses as soon as he came to visit. Mrs. Douglas 15 some ways for him to understand his grandchildren.
A．free B．rich C．powerful D．busy
A．services B．money C．students D．books
A．observed B．met C．comforted D．answered
A．enjoyed B．followed C．recognized D．demanded
A．studied B．agreed C．gave D．used
A．mistakes B．problems C．questions D．characters
A．had B．ought C．was D．used
A．subject B．life C．way D．plan
A．getting B．respecting C．employing D．supporting
A．unknown B．refused C．misunderstood D．discouraged
A．thinking B．working C．reading D．leading
A．that B．when C．whether D．why
A．visitors B．readers C．listeners D．friends
A．got B．entered C．left D．passed
A．suggested B．chose C．invented D．imagined
“It was all his own idea,” says Pat, the wife of California high school football coach Bob Peters. Bob had ___36___ made a “motherhood contract(合同)”—declaring that for 70 days this summer he would ___37___ the care of their four children and all the housework. ___38___ he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he sighed, he was very confident.
After40 of the 70 days, he was ready to ___39___. “ I was beaten down, “ admits Bob. “Not only is motherhood a ___40___ task, it is an impossible job for any normal human being. ”
Bob and Pat were married in 1991. After the married, Pat ___41___ a secretary to help put him through university. ___42___ Bob has been the football coach while Pat raised the kids. ___43___ two years ago Pat went back to work. “ I had been ___44___ children so much,” she ___45___, “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up. ” She continued to run the household, ___46___ -- until Bob sighed the contract.
Bob tried hard to learn cooking, but the meals he prepared were ___47___. For the last three weeks, the family ___48___ a lot--- sometimes having MacDonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
___49___ housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean ___50___ the bed is made. “ I found ___51___ –I shut the doors,” he says. Soon the kids were wearing their shirts inside out. “When we went to ___52___ Pat at work, I made them wear their shirts 53 side out so they would look clean. ”
Now that Bob has publicly ___54___ he was wrong, he is ___55___ the child-raising and household tasks with Pat.
36. A. only B. just C. nearly D. ever
37. A. stick to B. set about C. think about D. takeover
38. A. If B. As C. Since D. Although
39. A. carry on B. give up C. break down D. find out
40. A. strange B. pleasant C. difficult D. serious
41. A. sent B. employed C. learned from D. worked as
42. A. In time B. Before long C. Since then D. Later on
43. A. Then B. Thus C. So D. Still
44. A. near B. after C. about D. around
45. A. insists B. sighs C. jokes D. apologizes
46. A. besides B. therefore C. however D. otherwise
47. A. terrible B. tasty C. expensive D. special
48. A. starved B. traveled C. worked out D. ate out
49. A. Due to B. As for C. Along with D. Except for
50. A. until B. before C. if D. unless
51. A. an easier way B. a cheaper way C. a cleaner way D. a harder way
52. A. receive B. welcome C. greet D. fetch
53. A. good B. wrong C. right D. opposite
54. A. admitted B. suggested C. agreed D. explained
55. A. operating B. realizing C. sharing D. performing
We may look at the world around us, but somehow we manage not to see it until whatever we’ve become used to suddenly disappears. ___36___, for example, the neatly-dressed woman I ___37___ to see--or look at--on my way to work each morning.
For three years, no matter ___38___ the weather was like, she was always waiting at the bus stop around 8:00 am. On ___39___days, she wore heavy clothes and a pair of woolen gloves. Sometimes ___40___out neat, belted cotton dresses and a hat pulled low over her sunglasses. ___41___, she was an ordinary working woman. Of course, I ___42___ all this only after she was seen no more. It was then that I realized how ___43___ I expected to see her each morning. You might say I ___44___ her.
“Did she have an accident? Something ___45___?” I thought to myself about her ___46___. Now that she was gone, I felt I had ___47___ her. I began to realize that part of our ___48___ life probably includes such chance meetings with familiar ___49___: the milkman you see at dawn, the woman who ___50___walks her dog along the street every morning, the twin brothers you see at the library. Such people are ___51___markers in our lives. They add weight to our ___52___ of place and belonging.
Think about it. ___53___, while walking to work, we mark where we are by ___54___ a certain building, why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar, though ___55___ person?
36. A. Make B. Take C. Give D. Have
37. A. happened B. wanted C. used D. tried
38. A. what B. how C. which D. when
39. A. sunny B. rainy C. cloudy D. snowy
40. A. took B. brought C. carried D. turned
41. A. Clearly B. Particularly C. Luckily D. Especially
42. A. believed B. expressed C. remembered D. wondered
43. A. long B. often C. soon D. much
44. A. respected B. missed C. praised D. admired
45. A. better B. worse C. more D. less
46. A. disappearance B. appearance C. misfortune D. fortune
47. A. forgotten B. lost C. known D. hurt
48. A. happy B. enjoyable C. frequent D. daily
49. A. friends B. strangers C. tourists D. guests
50. A. regularly B. actually C. hardly D. probably
51. A. common B. pleasant C. important D. faithful
52. A. choice B. knowledge C. decision D. sense
53. A. Because B. If C. Although D. However
54. A. keeping B. changing C. passing D. mentioning
55. A. unnamed B. unforgettable C. unbelievable D. unreal
Elizabeth Clay decided to go home and spend the holiday with her parents. The next day she drove her old car home along the road. ___36___ she found she got a flat. The 22-year-old student ___37___to stop her car by the side of the road in the winter night and opened the trunk. no ___38___ tire.
At this time, a car ___39___. Paul and Diane told Clay to ___40___ them to a service station near their ___41___. They arrived to see that it had no suitable tires to ___42___ with her car. “Follow us home,” said Paul.
The couple called around to find a tire. No___43___. They decided to let her use their own car. “Here,” Paul said, handing Clay a ___44___ of keys, “Take our car. We ___45___ be using it over the holiday. ”
Clay was ___46. “But I’m going all the way to South Carolina, and I’ll be gone for two weeks,” she ___47___ them.
“We know,” Paul said. “We’ll be ___48___ when you get back. Here’s our number if you need to ___49___ us. ”
Unable to believe her eyes, Clay watched as the ___50___ put her luggage into their car and then ___51___ her off. Two weeks later she ___52___ to find her old car cleaned inside and out with three new tires and the radio ___53___.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “How much do I ___54___ you?” “Oh, no,” Paul said, we don’t want any money. It’s our ___55___. ” Clay realized that while it might have been their pleasure, it was now her duty to pass on their “do unto others” spirit.
36. A. Suddenly B. Finally C. Immediately D. Fortunately
37. A. afforded B. wanted C. allowed D. managed
38. A. spare B. free C. full D. empty
39. A. passed B. stopped C. paused D. started
40. A. help B. push C. take D. follow
41. A. garage B. house C. shop D. hotel
42. A. agree B. match C. go D. deal
43. A. way B. message C. success D. luck
44. A. set B. number C. pair D. chain
45. A. can’t B. shouldn’t C. mustn’t D. won’t
46. A. satisfied B. worried C. astonished D. disturbed
47. A. persuaded B. advised C. reminded D. promised
48. A. happy B. here C. away D. busy
49. A. get in touch with B. keep in touch with
C. be in touch with D. put in touch with
50. A. repairmen B. cleaners C. friends D. couple
51. A. sent B. shook C. watched D. drove
52. A. shocked B. happened C. returned D. came
53. A. loaded B. fixed C. tied D. rebuilt
54. A. owe B. lend C. give D. offer
55. A. wish B. job C. duty D. pleasure
The birthrate in Europe has been in a steady decrease since the 1960s. European countries, realizing crisis is at hand, are providing great encouragement for parents to create more babies in the 21st century.
Affairs Ministry concluded last year that, ___65___ cash encouragement, some women just don’t want to be ___66___ holding the baby. “What we know is that it’s good for the ___67___ if men and women share the burden of having children, says Soren Kindlund, family policy adviser at the Swedish ministry. ___68___ Swedish parents can take their paid leave as they wish, men use a mere 12% of it; 60% of fathers do not take even a(n)___69___ day off work.
Experts fear that the tendency for women to use most of the parental leave could make employers___70___ to give young women the permanent jobs they need to qualify for paid maternity leave(产假). In January, Sweden decided to allow new fathers two months paid leave, with a warning: use it or___71___ it.
Kindlund admits that men are under ___72___ to stay at work, even though parental pay comes out of the public purse. “It’s not popular among bosses and perhaps with other men in the workplace,. “But it’s good for the father and for the child if they can ___73___ a relationship. ”
In Norway, a(n)___74___ policy has worked wonders. 70% of dads in Norway now take parental leave, and the birthrate of 1. 85 children per woman is one of the highest in Europe.
65. A. in spite of B. at the cost of C. in addition to D. due to
66. A. sent B. left C. caught D. seen
67. A. birthrate B. income C. health D. spirit
68. A. Just as B. Only if C. Even though D. Now that
69. A. one B. mere C. only D. single
70. A. willing B. reluctant C. likely D. unable
71. A. reserve B. misuse C. ignore D. lose
72. A. discussion B. attack C. control D. pressure
73. A. make out B. add up C. build up D. set aside
74. A. impersonal B. similar C. severe D. global
Adults are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practised in the meantime. A man who has not had an opportunity to go swimming for years can ___55___ swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after several decades and still ___56___ away. A mother who has not ___57___ the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or recite the story of Cinderella or Snow White.
One explanation is the law of over learning, which can be stated as following: ___58___ we have learned something, additional learning increases the ___59___ of time we will remember it.
In childhood, we usually continue to practise such skills as swimming, bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and ___60___ ourselves of poems such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. We not only learn but ___61___.
The law of over learning explains why cramming(突击学习) for an examination, ___62___ it may result in a passing grade, is not a ___63___way to learn a school course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little over learning; ___64___, is usually a good investment toward the future.
55. A. only B. hardly C. still D. even
56. A. move B. drive C. travel D. ride
57. A. thought about B. cared for C. showed up D. brought up
58. A. Before B. Once C. Until D. Unless
59. A. accuracy B. unit C. limit D. length
60. A. remind B. inform C. warn D. recall
61. A. recite B. overlearn C. research D. improve
62. A. though B. so C. if D. after
63. A. convenient B. demanding C. satisfactory D. swift
64. A. at most B. by the way C. on the other hand D. in the end