Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs. The latest government report shows that their share of nonfarm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September.
Not only have more and more women entered the labor market over the years, but the depression has been harder on men. In October the unemployment rate for men was almost eleven percent compared to eight percent for women.
Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts. For example, manufacturing and building lost more jobs last month. But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth. Both of those industries employ high percentages of women.
Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned. Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn. And women hold fifty-one percent of good-paying management and professional jobs.
Yet a study released Thursday said men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at the four hundred large companies in California. The results have remained largely unchanged in live years of studies from the University of California, Davis.
Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their family. Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women. She found they all valued their independence and many enjoyed having the power of control, though not all wanted it.
But they also felt pressure, worry and guilt. Partly that was because of cultural expectations that working women will still take care of the children. Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened.
The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year’s financial crash. Now, a judgment has been reached in the first case involving charges of criminal wrongdoing on Wall Street.
Last week, the government lost its case against two managers at Bear Stearns, the first investment bank to fail last year. A jury found Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of lying to investors.
The hedge funds they supervised lost their value in two thousand seven. But jurors said there was no clear evidence that they meant to mislead investors.
The Justice Department continues to investigate other companies.Why is the unemployment rate for men higher.
A.Because there are more men workers in industries. |
B.Because many industries mainly employing men now don’t need so many workers. |
C.More and more women take the place of men. |
D.Because health care and temporary employment services don’t employ men. |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
A.women haven’t got complete equality as men |
B.only by becoming the main earners in their family can women gain a high position |
C.all women now value independence and the power of control |
D.taking care of children is now shared by men and women |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Men hate that women earn more money. |
B.It is commonly believed that women should take care of children. |
C.The job market has recovered from the effect of the financial crisis. |
D.Now women working full time earn more than men. |
Why does the government accuse two managers?
A.They contributed to the financial crash. | B.They led a corrupt life. |
C.They lied to investors. | D.A jury found them misleading investors. |
Every summer thousands of Americans stay at home instead of going on holiday because they're overweight. They don't want people to see them sunbathing and they don't want to have to squeeze into plane seats,But now,thanks to the growing number of weight-friendly holiday packages,the overweight are having their days in the sun.
"Overweight people will have a great time on our holidays as we don't judge them like other people do," said Liz Nickels,the owner of Big Adventures,a US-based company that hosts scuba-diving—a sport of swimming underwater while breathing through a tube connected to a tank on your back for larger people. As a way to keep up with the demand for extralarge accommodation,many hotels in the US have started to offer features such as wide beds and hand-held showers. But the best in plus-size vacation lies at Mexico's Freedom Paradise,a 112-room resort(度假胜地) opening this month,which urges guests to" Live Large,Live Free" .
The hotel has wide doorways,reinforced furniture and extra large chairs. It also boasts a private beach to protect people from the stares that can occur on public beaches. "It's not a hotel just for large people. It's a size-friendly place where anyone can enjoy a holiday," said owner J urrian Kilnk,"What we noticed was that a lot of oversized people don't feel comfortable at resorts. "Staff members of all sizes are hired by the hotel to make overweight people feel OK.
Though many welcome the new service,some feel differently. "I have a real problem with this,"said Nancy Lenhart,the owner of Camp La Jolia,a Californian weight-loss and fitness camp.
"If you talk about oversized beds and doorways you are throwing their weight in their faces. Overweight people want to be normalized. They shouldn't be discriminated against like this. "
. Large people don't want to go on holiday because .
A.they don't like sunbathing | B.they don't want to be looked at |
C.the planes are too crowded | D.hotels are not open to them |
.In the first paragraph,weight-friendly holiday packages mean.
A.there are some free packages for the overweight |
B.people are friendly to the overweight |
C.special holiday for the overweight |
D.the overweight can lose weight |
.Scuba-diving is a sport of swimming .
A.for people to lose weight | B.only for larger people |
C.jumping from the platform | D.underwater |
Mexico's Freedom Paradise is a hotel .
A.for people of all sizes | B.only intended for larger people |
C.where everything is oversized | D.where larger people can live for free |
The underlined part" you are throwing their weight in their faces" means .
A.you are beating them in the face | B.you are showing them that they are overweight |
C.their faces seem bigger than others | D.you can make them lose weight |
Sandstorms hit northwestern China's Gansu Province and North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on the first day this year. According to Sun Landong, a meteorologist with the Lanzhou Meteorology Observatory,visibility was less than 100 meters in Minqin, a Gansu county near Inner Mongolia, because of sand. When visibility drops to less than 1 kilometer,it is called a sandstorm. The sandstorm in Minqin blew up dust in neighboring towns, such as Baiyin, Wuwei, Jinchang and Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province. Dust-laden winds also
swept into Beijing. Brought by northwesterly blowing at more than 20 meters per second,dust first reached the capital's suburbs at 7 a. m,downtown areas at 9 a. m. The winds,which died down during the night,brought the temperature down to as low as 80C below zero and many flights put off their planned time from the city's airport.
It is quite rare for sandstorms,which are frequent between March and June,to happen in winter,when the earth is frozen. The sandstorms in Gansu and Inner Mongolia do not necessarily mean there will be more of them in the spring than last year,when they were serious,but Beijing is taking it very seriously. It is reported that Beijing will spend 6 billion yuan ( US 725 million) in preventing sandstorms in the capital and has already set up a special team to make sure what causes them. What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Sandstorms took place in Gansu. |
B.Sandstorms happened on the first day of the new year. |
C.Sandstorms are very serious,compared to last year. |
D.Experts are trying their best to determine the cause of the sandstorm formed this year. |
Suppose the dust was 300 kilometers away from Beijing, it would reach Beijing about ——— hours later if it travels at a speed of 20 meters per second?
A.4. 2 | B.1. 5 | C.2. 0 | D.2. 5 |
. Why did sandstorms begin in the winter this year?
A.Because there was little snow this season. |
B.Because a lot of trees have been cut down. |
C.Because people took few measures to control them. |
D.It is not mentioned in the passage. |
Which of the following doesn't belong to the bad effect the sandstorms have do
ne in Beijing?
A.The temperature fell. | B.Flights put off their ![]() |
C.The air is dirty. | D.People had three days off. |
The author wrote the passage to .
A.tell us the environments are becoming worse and worse |
B.explain what measures people have taken to control sandstorms |
C.make people realize the need to protect the environment. |
D.call on us to do what we can to save the earth |
“If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives — the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因) engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do — as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送) electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I’m pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read — sports and international news, etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media(媒体). They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen.. What is the best title for the passage?
A.The Best Way to Get News | B.The Changes of Media |
C.Make Your Own Newspaper | D.The Future of Newspaper |
. In the writer’s opinion, in the future, _______.
A.more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news |
B.newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer |
C.newspapers will cover more scientific research |
D.more and more people will watch TV |
.. What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?
A.Sports and international news. | B.A menu of important news. |
C.The most important news. | D.What you are interested in. |
.. From the passage, we can infer _______.
A.newspapers will win the competition among the different media |
B.newspapers will stay with us together with other media |
C.television will take the place of newspaper |
D.the writer believe some media will die out |
.. The phrase “feed off” in the last paragraph means _______.
A.depend on | B.compete with |
C.fight with | D.kill off |
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A.At-Home Profession Corp | B.Globe Insurance Company |
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I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square, It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be full - grown..
According to the passage, the Indians _______.
A.don’t have modern instruments in their homes |
B.refused to move from round places |
C.lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses |
D.lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses |
.
Two things being compared in the passage are _______.
A.the Indians’ past and present living conditions |
B.the Indians’ past and modern beliefs |
C.the Indians’ old and new power |
D.people and nature |
.
. In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.
A.the four rooms of the Indian’s house |
B.the four kinds of natural power |
C.the four seasons |
D.the four directions |
.
According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, ______________.
A.they had to move to other houses |
B.boys took more time to grow into men |
C.they forgot the old way of life |
D.everyone was not happy |