Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project.
Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want.
But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard patterns into which they plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.
There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the "standard patterns" of the newsroom seem alien to many readers. In a recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions.
Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercedes, and trade stocks, and they’re less likely to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community.
Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite. The surprising distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers.
This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then it sponsors lots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wondering why customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．needs of the readers all over the world |
| B．causes of the public disappointment about newspapers |
| C．origins of the declining newspaper industry |
| D．aims of a journalism credibility project |
The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be______.
| A．quite trustworthy | B．somewhat contradictory |
| C．very instructive | D．rather superficial(肤浅的) |
The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their _________.
| A．working attitude | B．conventional lifestyle |
| C．world outlook | D．educational background |
第二部分：阅读理解：（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面的短文，然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
My father came to the United States as a Ukrainian immigrant （移民）when he was 14 years old. Unable to speak English but willing to do anything to succeed, he learned the language, and became a barber. He put his two daughters, my sister and me, through college during a time when most people thought that women didn’t need an education and that they should be satisfied by getting married and having children.
I was preparing to get married and my father was trying to practice the polka, a must at any Ukrainian wedding. But he couldn’t do it! He had lost the mobility（活动能力）in his leg and suffered a brain tumor（瘤）. He was forced to retire as a result of paralysis（瘫痪）of his right arm and leg. Dad had always worked two jobs and spent his spare time working around the house. Now his life came to a sudden stop. Yet never once did he complain. He bought rubber balls and spent his days trying to regain his hand mobility by squeezing those balls over and over.
After his second brain operation, he chatted pleasantly in the hospital room until a nurse flew into the room, waving her finger at me, and yelling, “You’d better tell your father to stay in bed. He is paralyzed and will never walk again. I am sick of picking him up and you’d better warn him to stay put!” My father smiled. He spent a great deal of time on the floor that year, but he eventually got up and walked.
My father lived nineteen more years after that second brain operation. He bought himself a motorized scooter（单脚滑行车）and spent years moving around the streets of Philadelphia. He was proud, free and always smiling.
56.In what way was the father different from most other people in his time?
A. He succeeded immigrating to the US.
B. He learned the new language easily and quickly.
C. He achieved his life goal by working as a barber.
D. He tried to offer his daughters the education chance.
57. The underlined word “polka” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ________.
A. a song B. a dance C. a rubber ball D. a new language
58. The author’s father played with rubber balls to ________.
A. kill his too much spare time B. reduce his work pressure
C. get his hand mobility back D. recover from the brain tumor
59. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Love can create wonders. B. Failure is the mother of success.
C. Father’s love is the most valuable. D. Never give up your life and dream.
E
The small number of newborn babies, which has been caused by high prices and the changing social situation of women, is one of the most serious problems in Asia. When people talk about it, you can hear a word invented in Japan. “DINKS”, which means Double Income No Kids(小孩).
In many major Asian cities like Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, the cost of a house is extremely high. A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about $300,000 (though prices have fallen). For a flat with one bedroom, one dining-room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, the couple will pay about $900 a month. What’s more, if they want to have a child, the child’s education is very expensive. For example, most kindergarten charges are at least $5.000 a year. In such a situation, it’s difficult to afford children.
The number of married women who want to continue working increases rapidly because they enjoy their jobs. However, if they want to have children, they immediately have serious problems. Though most companies allow women to leave their jobs for a short time to have a baby, they expect women with babies to give up their jobs. In short, if they want to bring up children properly, both parents have to work, but it is hard for mothers to work. Indeed, women who want to continue working have to choose between having children or keeping their jobs.
In a word, Asian governments must take steps to improve the present situation as soon as possible.
57．What is the main problem being discussed in the passage?
A．The small number of newborn babies.
B．The changing social situation of women.
C．The high prices of houses and education.
D．The necessary steps of Asian government.
58．According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A．It is easy for a couple to afford a child in Asia.
B．The prices of houses in Asia are quite low now.
C．Fewer and fewer married women want to have a job.
D．The word “DINKS” first appeared in an Asian country.
59．To buy a flat and send a child to kindergarten, how much will a couple pay each year?
A．$5,000 B．$5,900 C．$10800 D．$15800
60．The writer seems to believe that Asian governments should ________.
A．care for the growing needs of women for jobs.
B．allow one of the parents to go out to work
C．let women stay at home and have a baby
D．punish the companies that permit women to leave.
D
I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my adult-education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-year-old daughter. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said, “Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”
This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, eat, rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to the doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped. He said, “My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤) — if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪) by sorrow, you know what the meant.
“But thank God, I had one child left — a four-year-old son. He gave me the solution to the problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent fellow! I had to gave in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.”
“The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”
No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, “I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”
53. The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to _____.
| A. having lost a loved one |
B. having lost a valuable article |
| C. having lost a profit-making business |
D. having lost a well-paid job |
54. Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because _____.
| A. he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family |
| B. he was suffering from sleeplessness disease |
| C. he couldn’t get out of mental pressure |
| D. he felt tired of adult-education classes |
55. Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because _____.
A. he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them
B. he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them
C. the items had actually been broken and needed attention
D. repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind
56. At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to _____.
A. prove that he followed Churchill’s example
B. support his student’s solution to his problem
C. show that he was successful in his career
D. make it clear how his conclusion was reached
C
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49．Which hotel gives a promise?
A．Fort lauderdale Plaza Hotel B．Beach Plaza Hotel
C．Baymont Hotel D．All the three hotels
50．In which hotel is parking free?
A．Baymont HotelB．Beach Plaza Hotel
C．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel D．None of the hotels
51．If you ____.you will probably go to Beach Plaza Hotel.
A．enjoy seeing films without leaving your hotel room
B．are fond of swimming in heated water
C．want to eat food cooked by yourself in the hotel
D．are a cigarette smoker
52．Which of the following is NOT true to the ads?
A．All of the three hotels provide television with cable.
B．You can keep your money in the in-room safe in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel.
C．While staying in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel, you can surf the Internet.
D．In Beach Plaza Hotel a 24-hour maid is available.
B
Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.
When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colours and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.
The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression. They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.
So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.
Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past.
45. The author of the passage tries to make his viewpoint clear ______.
A. by raising his own examples. B. based on his own experience.
C. by mentioning some studies. D. by mentioning some typical patients.
46. The example of the cartoon book characters is taken in the passage to____.
A. support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health.
B. introduce a famous expert.
C. let the reader know the different colours of cartoon faces.
D. show how to control one’s temper.
47. The underlined phrase “holding on to” in this passage possibly means“__”.
A. removing. B. keeping up. C. getting rid of. D. learning about.
48. The best title for this passage is probably _______.
A. Forgiveness.
B. Forgiveness Is Good for Health.
C. A Secret to Keeping Health.
D. Anger Is Bad for Health.