While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “Empty Nest Syndrome”(空巢综合症).
In order to seek better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”.According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by _________.
A.their earlier experience of feeling lonely |
B.the unfavorable living conditions in their native countries |
C.the common worry about their income |
D.the geographical distance between parents and children |
Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to _________.
A.live in the countries with more money |
B.seek a better place for their aged parents |
C.continue their studies abroad |
D.realize their dreams in foreign countries |
If young people go abroad, _________.
A.they do not hold to the value of duty at all |
B.they can give some help to their parents back home |
C.they cannot do what they should for their parents |
D.they believe what they actually do is right |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that _________.
A.the situations in the developed and developing countries are different |
B.“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society |
C.children will become independent as soon as they go abroad |
D.the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome” |
In some parts of the United States, farming is easy. But farming has always been difficult in the northeastern corner of the country, which is called New England.
New England has many trees and thin, rocky soil. Anyone who has wanted to start a new farm there has had to work very hard. The first job has been cutting down trees. The next job has been digging stumps (树桩) of the trees out of the soil. Then the farmer has had the difficult job of removing stones from his land.
The work of removing stones never really ends, because every winter more stones appear. They come up through the thin soil from the rocks below. Farmers have to keep removing stones from the fields. Even today, farms which have been worked on for 200 years keep producing more stones.
That is why stone walls are used instead of fences around New England fields. The stone walls are not high: A man can easily climb over them. But they keep the farmer’s cows from joining his neighbour’s cows.
64. New England is an area ______.
in the northeastern part of Britain
which has been newly discovered by the Englishmen
which lies between Australia and New Zealand
which lies in the northeastern part of the USA
65. According to the passage, farming is difficult in New England because ______.
A.the winter is very long there | B.the farms are very old |
C.the soil is rocky and thin | D.there are not enough machines for farming |
66. From this passage, we know the removing of stones ______.
must be done again and again
is usually done during the winter
is an interesting job children enjoy doing
was more difficult before machines were used
67. In New England, stone walls are used to ______.
keep dangerous beasts out
keep the farmer’s cows from wandering away
protect the farmers fields from thieves
provide comfortable living conditions for the farmer’s family
Come and see the Indian elephants and the new tigers from Northeast of China. The beautiful birds from England are ready to sing songs for you, and the monkeys from Mount Emei will be happy to talk to you. The lovely dogs from Australia want to laugh at you. Sichuan pandas will play balls for you. The giraffes from Africa are waiting to look down on you.
Tickets Opening time
Grown-ups (成人):¥3 9:00 a.m. ~ 4:00 p.m.
Children: Over 1.4m¥2 except Friday
Under 1.4m Free 10:00 a.m. ~ 3:00 a.m.
Keep the zoo clean!
Do not touch, give food or go near to the animals.
60. Why does the writer introduce so many animals from different places to us?
A. To frighten us in the zoo. B. To make us lovely in the zoo.
C. To attract us to the zoo. D. To show that animals can do everything.
61. How much does Mr. Smith have to pay if he visits the zoo with his son of three?
A. ¥3. B. ¥4. C. ¥5. D. ¥6.
62. At which of the following time can we visit the zoo?
A. 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. B. 9:30 a.m. Friday.
C. 3:00 p.m. Sunday. D. 5:00 p.m. Tuesday.
63. From the passage we can infer (推断) that a giraffe must be a very ______ animal.
A. fat B. short C. strong D. tall
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was walking along Orchard Road when I realized a tall young man wearing a jacket and tie was following me. I noticed him because not many people wear a jacket and tie in the middle of a hot summer day, and I had already seen this man four times that afternoon.
To make sure he was following me, I walked on quickly, turned right into a shopping center and then stopped to look in a shop window. Soon the man appeared and stopped at another shop window. I walked on and stopped several times. When I stopped, he stopped too.
I began to be rather worried and decided to try to get rid of this strange man. When I saw a taxi coming, I jumped into it. As I was telling the taxi driver where to go, I found the man get into another taxi, which then followed mine. As the two taxies slowly made their way along Orchard Road, I looked back at the taxi behind, and saw that the stranger was looking out at me. At MRT station, I told the taxi driver to stop and I got out. As I was paying my fare, I saw the man was getting out of his taxi.
By now I got angry, so I turned and walked straight to him. I asked him why he was following me. At first he said he was not following me at all, but when I threatened (威胁) to call the police, he admitted he was. He then told me that he was a journalist (news reporter) and that he was writing an article on how elderly people in Singapore spend their time. He said he was observing me to gather materials for his article.
56. What is strange about the man who followed the writer?
A. He seemed to be wearing too much.
B. He was out on such a hot day.
C. He walked quickly behind.
D. He was a tall young man.
57. Why did the writer get into a taxi?
A. To test the young man. B. To call the police.
C. To lose the young man. D. To get home earlier.
58. What did the stranger do when the writer jumped into a taxi?
A. He tried to stop the taxi.
B. He got into another taxi.
C. He almost gave up following him.
D. He made his way along Orchard Road.
59. The stranger followed the writer because ______.
A. he was interested in elderly people
B. he often did such things
C. he was writing a book about old people
D. he needed materials for his article
On Saturday, millions of people around the world will celebrate Stunt Patrick’s Day, which honors Patron Saint (or main religious figure) of Ireland. Communities across the United States will host parades, parties, and other festivities to mark the occasion.
This year, cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago have organized massive events celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. In New York City, hundreds of thousands of people will gather to watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade -- the nation's largest. It is one of the most watched parades in the world. Last year, almost 2 million spectators and more than 150,000 participants filled the streets. The parade, first held in 1776, is also one of the oldest.
Chicago also throws a big celebration. Every year, the Chicago River, which crosses the city, glows green 40 pounds of fluorescence, a powerful dye, into the water.
Boston keeps its parade rolling for three hours or more. It is the nation's second-largest parade. The city will also salute one of its most famous former residents, President John Kennedy, by opening the exhibit "A journey Home: John F. Kennedy and Ireland" at his official library.
Patron Saint lived in Britain in the early Fifteenth century, when it was still part of the Roman Empire. He was captured and sold into slavery, in Ireland when he was only 16. He eventually escaped slavery and turned to a life of religious devotion. He trained to become a minister and set out to spread Christianity throughout Ireland. After 30 years as a religious leader, Patrick died on March 17, 1461. Saint Patrick's Day is always celebrated on March 17. In Ireland, it is an official holiday.
71. What's the best title of the passage?
A. History of Saint Patrick's DayB. An Official Holiday in the US
C. The Largest Parade in the World D. Celebrations across the Country
72. What do you think is the official color of Saint Patrick's Day?
A. Green. B. Red. C. Black. D. Yellow.
73. The last paragraph is mainly about ________.
A. the cruel slave trade B. Saint Patrick's contribution
C. activities during Saint Patrick's Day D. Ireland's Patron Saint
74. Patron Saint became a religious leader ________.
A. at the age of 16B. in 1430s
C. in the early fifteenth century D. in his birthplace
75. Which of the following is not correct according to the passage?
A. Parade is a most important event to observe Saint Patrick's Day.
B. Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday.
C. Saluting the former president has become a main event on the occasion.
D. The Saint Patrick's Day parade has a history, of over two centuries.
Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won' t cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity -- 88% of full time
students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short- term debts of more than £5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的) or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the "wugging" movement grow in popularity with students. "When you're at university you become more socially aware, but it's sometimes, hard to give to others when you have little money yourself," says Beth. "Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny."
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don't feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms-of time or money and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK's 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.
67. According to the passage, "wugging" is actually ________.
A. a websiteB. a charity-related action
C. a school organization D. a student movement
68. In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ________.
A. frees students of the financial worriesB. receives much money from students
C. offers valuable information to students D. praises students for their money-raising
69. From the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A. most full time students do charity on the Internet every day
B. Evervclick.com helps students pay for the college education
C. "wugging" is a win-win idea for both students and charities
D. Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK
70. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. "Wugging", a new popular term on the Internet.
B. British people show strong interest in charity.
C. More Britain charities benefit from the Internet.
D. Students raise money for charity by "wugging".