Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.
Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.Now in an American family, people can find that ____.
| A．children never live with their parents |
| B．not all working people live with their parents |
| C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren |
| D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents |
The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.
| A．the old don’t like to live in a big family |
| B．the young can’t get enough money to support the old |
| C．different generations have different lifestyles |
| D．the old are too weak to live with the young |
The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.
| A．old people in America lead a hard life |
| B．old people in America enjoy banana bread |
| C．she had no time to take care of her children |
| D．old people are easy to get along with |
Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.
| A．they had never seen a baby before |
| B．the baby was clever and beautiful |
| C．the baby brought them the image of life |
| D．the baby’s mother would take care of them |
Why do children not get attention from their parents?
| A．Because they often make trouble and make their parents disappointed. |
| B．Because their parents are too busy to take care of them. |
| C．Because their parents have to take care of their grandparents. |
| D．Because their parents have been out of work for a long time. |
In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment. Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments. Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes. However, the critics say that after a long time, rent control may have negative effects. Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits. Therefore, they invest in other businesses where they can increase their profits. They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent-controlled. As a result, new apartments are not built. Many people who need apartments cannot find any. According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city.
Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way. The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers. The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low-paying jobs. However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers. They will replace workers with machinery. The price, which is the wage that employers must pay, increases. Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases. Thus, critics claim, an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment. Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage.
Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity. Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum. Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages.
Economic theory predicts the results of economic d
ecisions such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage. The predictions may be correct only if “other things are equal”. Economists do not agree on some of the predictions. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions. Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it. Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions.There is the possibility that setting maximum rent may.
a. cause a shortage of apartments
b. worry those who rent apartments as homes
c. increase the profits of landlords
d. encourage landlords to invest in building apartmentAccording to the critics, rent control .
a. will always benefit those who rent apartments
b. is unnecessary
c. will bring negative effects in the long run
d. is necessary under all circumstancesThe problem of unemp
loyment will arise .
a. if the minimum wage is set too high
b. if the minimum wage is set too low
c. if the workers are unskilled
d. if the maximum wage is setWhich of the following statements is NOT true?
a. The results of economic decisions can not always be p
redicted.
b. Minimum wage can not always protect employees.
c. Economic theory can predict the results of economic decisions if other factors are not changing.
d. Economic decisions should not be based on economic theory.
As we have seen, the 
focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease – especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking, and failure to exercise. The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further. Imagine a person who is about the right weight, but does not eat very nutritious foods, who feels OK but exercises only occasionally, who goes to work every day, but is not an outstanding worker, who drinks a few beers at home most ni
ghts but does not drive while drunk, and who has no chest pains or abnormal blood counts, but sleeps a lot and often feels tired. This person is not ill. He may not even be at risk for any particular disease. But we can imagine that this person could be a lot healthier.
The field of medicine 
has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “ not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well”. In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively striving to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise and theymake a point of monitoring their body's condition. Most important, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap may be "well," in this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health they can in the face of their physical limitations. "Wellness" may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can strive for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial impact on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.Today medical care is placing more stress on______.
a. keeping people in a healthy physical condition
b. monitoring patients' body functions
c. removing people's bad living habits
d. ensuring people's psychological well-beingIn the first paragraph, people are reminded that_____.
a. good health is more than not being ill
b. drinking, even if not to excess, could be harmful
c. regular health checks are essential to keeping fit
d. prevention is more difficult than cure Traditionally, a person is considered "well" if he ______.
a. does not have any unhealthy living habits
b. does not have any physical handicaps
c. is able to handle his daily routines
d. is free from any kind of diseaseAccording to what the author advocates, which of the following groups of people would be considered healthy?
a. People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures.
b. People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease
c. People who try to be as possible, regardless of their limitations.
d. People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care.
| CONTEST RULES ·Entries may be submitted(上交) no earlier than January 1, 2008, and will not be accepted until three winners are identified or December 31, 2008 whichever comes first. ·There is no cost to enter. ·Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. ·Any form and style is acceptable for this competition: fiction, observational essay, humor, etc. poetry is not acceptable. ·Total length of writing must be 500-1500 words, including any necessary notes or citations. ·Writing must be original, never before published, and entirely the work and property of the person who submits it. Ghostwritten is not acceptable. PRIZES Winners will receive ·$50 cash ·Professional editing of their winning entries. ·Publication of their entries in Word-wise. ·Recognition via press releases announcing the winning entries and introducing the authors. HOW TO ENTER ·Save your completed writing as a Word, WordPerfect, Open Document, or plain text file. ·Title the file with your first and last name. For example, Elton Smith would title his Word document thus: elton-smith.doc. ·Email the file as an attachment to contest2008@adminmaven.com. Use the subject line “Work-wise Writing Contest” to avoid being removed to the span bin. ·Entries submitted before the opening date of January1, 2008, will be deleted. Once the contest closes, further entries will be deleted. |
Ghostwritten work in “CONTEST RULES” might be ________.
a. written by someone other than the author
b. science fiction difficult to understand
c. a long essay in a very strange writing style
d. full of citations from other writersTo enter the writing contest, one ________.
a. has to pay a fee
b. must submit work by January 1, 2008
c. needs an eye-catching title for his word document
d. can submit any form or style of writing but a poemWhich of the following is NOT TRUE?
a. The final results will come out on December 31, 2008.
b. All entries must be emailed to contest2008@adminmaven.com.
c. One can not add a note to a 1,500-word essay for the contest.
d. the winning entries will be edited and published.
For more than ten years John Grimshaw has been pioneering a gentle revolution. He aims to get us going by bike on Britain’s network of disused railways. He works as an engineer for Sustrans, a Bristol-based charity.
He believes that there is no benefit or logic behind the building of bigger and faster roads that only encourage people to use cars more extravagantly(过分地). Britain’s roads being built ignore all but the motorists while miles of railway tracks no longer used by trains lie wasted.
His organization started work in 1994 with a
modest five mile track from Bristol to Bath, and cyclists and walkers now make a million journeys a year on the path. Sustrans has since completed a further 150 miles throughout Britain with the help of volunteer workers.
Building such paths is not easy or cheap. Sustrans buys or leases(租借) land from British Rail and the paths can cost from 6,000 pounds up
to 8, 0000 pounds per kilometer to build. Money comes from central and local government, charity bodies and gifts from individuals.
To encourage more walkers and cyclists along its paths, Sustrans plans to construct a work of art on every mile of path it builds. Most of their tracks quickly transport people from the city to the countryside. The latest route runs from the heart of Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Relics (遗迹)of the great railway age litter the routes—station houses, signals boxes and even steam trains.
Some might consider John Grimshaw a traveler from the past, out of touch with the modern world, but for many he is preparing the way for an alternative for a car-mad world. The aim of Sustrans is to _________.
a. encourage people to use cars more efficiently
b. use old railway lines for leisure purposes
c. provide a cycling network across Britain
d. build 
better and faster roadsHow does Sustrans finance its work?
a. with a mixture of money from the government and donations
b. with money from British Rail
c. by leasing its land
d. by using volunteer workersWhich of the following is TRUE?
a. Sustrans will not build any more tracks after Glasgow to Loch Lomond
b. Sustrans will have to clear the track of relics
c. Sustrans makes the countryside more accessible to the public
d. Sustrans believes more drivers will use their tracks.
Children are being indirectly affectly by the impact of the recession (经济衰退) on their parents, the Children’s society warns.
The chief executive of the Children’s Society, Bob Reitemeier, said that children were “on the front of recession”. He said the recession made it even more important to try to end child poverty.
The answers suggest children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be affected, but over a third of children across all backgrounds said they were aware that the recession was worrying their parents.
Fifteen-year-old Patricia said her family felt the impact of the recession on their everyday budget(预算). “We have to save up our money and do not spend it so much on unnecessary things,”she said.
Those questioned appeared to have great awareness of the economic crisis, which, unsurprisingly, was higher among the older children. But around 15% said they hadn’t been affected by it.
Recent figures showed that in 2007 there were 850,000 young people with no particular occupation. An official from the government said it was so “disappointing” that some young people were concerned about the economy.
Parents are clearly best placed to talk to their children about their worries, but schools also play an important role in teaching young people the skills they need to become healthy, happy and confident individuals.
( )68.Which of the following is true?
A. It is more important to try to end child poverty in the recession.
B.Children from poorer areas are less likely to be affected.
C.All the children questioned are worried about the economy.
D.That some young people are worrying about the economy is “good news”.
( )69.What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragraph 5?
A. The poorer background. B.The impact of the recession.
C. Everyday budget. D.The government.
( )70.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Many children are concerned about the recession.
B.Children are being directly affected by the recession.
C.The recession affected children indirectly.
D. Schools play an important role in teaching young people how to become healthy, happy and confident individuals.