Australiaisthelargestislandint-优题课

Why do women earn less than men?
Women earn less than men. For example, in 1988 the hourly wages of women in the U.S. were 16% less than those of men. The gap between male and female incomes varies with age. The gap between the labor incomes of young women and young men is much smaller than that between middle-aged women and men. It is also clear that jobs in which women are concentrated pay less. The larger the number of workers in an industry who are women, the lower the average wages.
Why do women earn less than men? Are the differences explained by the fact that women are looked down upon? If so, the government has to intervene, to force the employers to pay equal wages to equal jobs. however, there is no agreement among economists about the causes of the gap. One view argues that women on the average have chosen low-paying jobs in which workers enjoy the freedom of entering and leaving the labor force, which reduces their years of experience relative to men. Other people say the gap can also be explained by the difference in educational background which is shown in the difference in the marginal product between men and women.
Much of the gap, however, has not been fully explained. It might be the result of some bias against women. It is this part that has produced calls for government action. What would happen if the government did intervene to increase the wages paid to women? One possibility is that incomes for women as a group might actually decline. An increase in wage decreases the quantity of labor input demanded, resulting in decreased employment as the rate of hiring new workers declines. The result will be a surplus of labor. Those who can find jobs might be better off while those who had jobs might find themselves out of work.
The difference in labor incomes is most obvious between _______.

A．young men and young women

B．young women in the same industry

C．middle-aged men and middle-aged women

D．middle-aged women in the same industry

Some economists believe women earn less than men partly because ______.

A．women are less experienced than men

B．women are only provided with low-paying jobs

C．women have much freedom in selecting their jobs

D．there is more than enough women in the labor force

Which of the following cannot be inferred from the second paragraph?

A．Women receive less education than men.

B．Women are not as productive as men.

C．Levels of education are closely related to productivity.

D．Goods produced by women are not as good as those by men.

What does the author suggest that the government should do for women workers?

A．To ensure equal pay for women.

B．To explain why women are paid less.

C．To force employers to hire more women.

D．No solution is clearly suggested.

What would happen if women’s wages were raised?

A．Input of capital would be increased.

B．The unemployment rate would go up.

C．Those that have jobs would become better off.

D．Women as a group would earn more than before.

Macao, also called Macau, is on the western side of the Pearl River entrance, at the head of which is the Chinese port of Guangdong and it stands opposite Hong Kong which is on the eastern side of the entrance. It is made of a small narrow peninsula(半岛) sticking out from Guangdong province. The total area of Macao is about 21.45 square kilometers, and it is made up of three parts: Macao Peninsula, Dingbat Isle and Lehman Isle.
Between Macao Peninsula and Dingbat Isle there are two bridges which join the two parts together, and there is also a highway between the Dingbat and Lehman Isles. Therefore, two bridges and one highway make the three parts of Macao into an integrated region(一个整体).
Macao faces to the vast sea and its back is the Pearl River Delta. The two big cities, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and the two special economic zones Hula and Shenzhen are its neighbors. All of this offers much advantage for its economic development.
Macao has a population of about 450, 000. This is very large against the size of the area. The average population density(密度) reaches 20, 000 per square kilometer. It is one of the densest population regions in the world. The majority of its people are Chinese, who make up 96% of the whole population.
Which is the advantage for Macao’s economic development?

A．Macao is on the coast line.

B．Macao is near some big cities or special economic zones.

C．Macao’s back is a rich delta.

D．All of the above.

In Macao there are only about _______ people who are not Chinese.

A．18,000	B．20,000
C．21,450	D．428,000

We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests' coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big "to do" over the younger one because she's the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.
But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, "What are you doing, my dear?"
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, "Mommy, why don't people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I 'm not pretty? Is that why they don't say nice things about me as much?"
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend's home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
56．The underlined expression ' make a big "to do" over' (paragraph 4) means ______.
A．show much concern about B．have a special effect on
C．list jobs to be done for D．do good things for
57．The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs because of her ______.
A．beautiful hair B．pretty clothes
C．lovely smile D．young age
58．Kristen felt sad and cried because ______.
A．the guest gave her more coats to carry
B．she didn't look as pretty as Kelly
C．the guests praised her sister more than her
D．her mother didn't introduce her to the guests
59．We can conclude from the passage that ______.
A．parents should pay more attention to the elder children
B．the younger children are usually more easily hurt
C．people usually like the younger children more
D．adults should treat children equally
60．Which of the following saying is right?
A．Kristen and Kelly are not getting along with each other.
B．Kristen is older than Kelly.
C．The mother likes Kristen more than Kelly.
D．People usually talk more to Kelly than they do to Kristen.

The following is a true story. It happened in the northern end of Queens land, Australia, where all kinds of animals live in the forest.
Lisa, a 33-year-old woman, went to prepare lunch in the kitchen, leaving Barney, her three-year-old son, playing by himself in the back garden.
Suddenly, a sharp cry of Barney came into the mother’s ears, and Lisa rushed into the backyard in a hurry and found a big snake entwining(缠绕) the little child with its terrible body and trying to eat the boy as its delicious dish! It was a boa(蟒)! Lisa was terrified and quite angry. She made up her mind to save her son from the snake’s mouth.
It was fearless mother love that made Lisa forget what she faced. She took up an old hoe from the ground and beat the boa with all her might.
One...two... With the hoe, Lisa beat the snake repeatedly, but useless. The little boy’s voice and breath were getting weaker and weaker. Lisa’s heart was broken and she got nearly mad.
Suddenly Lisa put away the hoe and threw herself to the boa, opening her mouth and bit into the boa’s back as if trying to eat a rare steak(牛排). Lisa was really mad!
Blood was spurting(喷射) out of the boa’s body and covered most of Lisa’s body. The boa was so badly wounded that it let go of Barney and moved back into the forest hurriedly. It had never known how a man had such terrible sharp teeth! On halfway home, the boa died.
It was fearless mother love that saved the little boy.
61．When she rushed into the back garden, Lisa found ______
A．a boa eating her son
B．her son was playing with a big snake
C．her son in danger of losing his life
D．her son was fighting with a boa
62．Lisa failed in fighting against the boa at first just because ______.
A．she was bit by the boa
B．the boa was too strong
C．the hoe was not sharp enough
D．she was afraid that she would hurt her son
63． Lisa bit the snake because ______.
A．she was mad
B．she thought her teeth were much sharper than the boa
C．her son was entwined by the boa
D．she hadn’t got any other way to fight with the snake
64．The best title for this passage is ______.
A．Mother and Boa B．Fearless Mother Love
C．A Boa and a Boy D．Saving a Boy from a Boa

A German taxi-driver, Franz Bussman, recently found his brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before.
While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs Bussman said that the workman was closely like her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother. Franz laughed at the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs Bussman knew this story quite well, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.
A few days later, she sent a boy to the wokman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man’s name was Hans Bussman. And he really was Franz’s long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.
After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family house, but the house had been bombed. Guessing that his family had been killed during an air-raid. Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.
69．Which of the following can be used as the best title of the passage?
A．Living Not Far. B．A Chance in a Million
C．Coming Back to Life D．Back after the War.
70．Walking along the street, _______.
A．Mr. Bussman recognized his brother at the first sight.
B．Mrs. Bussman thought of her long-lost brother.
C．Mr. and Mrs. Bussman talked to a workman because he looked like his brother.
D．Mr. Bussman happened to meet a work-man and talked to him.
71. Which of the following order is RIGHT?
A．He walked back to Western German
B．He was wounded when the war was coming to the end.
C．The hospital was destroyed by bombs.
D．He came back to his family house.
e. He was sent to hospital.
f. His unit of German didn’t exist any longer.
A．b, a, e, d, f, c B．b, e, c, a, f, d
C．b, e, a, c, d, f D．b, c, f, d, a, e

A．the largest country in the world	B．larger than China
C．as large as Shanghai	D．not so large as China

A．increase the population	B．grow more plants
C．fight against pollution	D．show wild flowers

A．the capital of Australia	B．in the west of Australia
C．in the east of Australia	D．the biggest city in Australia