OnJune21,1982,Prince(王子)Willia-优题课

“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” -a document(文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores(杂务). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press(also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids.
Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs(叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however-until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it.
Although Peters had consulted(咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria(食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative(暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
The couple signed the contract because _______.

A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself

B．Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest

C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks

D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book

It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.

A．pay a certain amount of money

B．do all the housework for years

C．say sorry to his wife

D．admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood

What can we learn about Pat Peters?

A．She was hard-working and selfless.

B．She was pretty and kind-hearted.

C．She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.

D．She did not love Bob any longer.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Bob managed to keep the kids’clothes clean.

B．Bob tried to cook good meals for his children.

C．Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work.

D．Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day.

Which of the following can best end the news story?

A．“My experience of being a mother.”

B．“I’m proud of you all, my dear!”

C．“Wait till your mother gets home!”

D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”

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