Commencement (毕业典礼) is a time for idealism.
But economic reality is cruel everywhere; especially for new graduate. They have been told repeatedly that a college degree is an open sesame(芝麻) to the global economy. But that’s not necessarily so, according to new research by two economists at he Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Levy and Peter Temin.
It is true that people with college degrees make more money than people without degrees. The gap has narrowed somewhat in recent years, which is disturbing. But the earning power of college graduates still far outpaces that of less-educated workers.
The bad news, though, is that a college degree does not ensure a bigger share of the economics pie for many graduates. In recent decades Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show, only college-educated women have seen their income grow in line with economy wide gains in productivity. The earnings of male college graduates have failed to keep pace with productivity gains.
Instead, a huge share of productivity growth, which expands the nation’s income, is going to Americans on the top of the income scale. In 2005, the latest year with available data, the top of 1 percent of Americans---whose average annual income was $ 1.1 million--- took in 21.8 percent of the nation’s income, their largest share since 1929.
Administration officials, and other politicians and economists, often, believe that income inequality, reflects an education gap. But Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show that in the case of men, the average bachelor’s degree is not enough to catch the rising tide of the global economy.
They argue that the real reason that inequality is worsening is the lack of strong policies that broadly distribute economic gains. In the past, for example, a more progressive income tax and unions promote equality. Positive measures have been eroding and new ones have not yet emerged, making the income gap even greater.
Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin conclude that only a new government policy can restore general prosperity. That’s a challenge to the nation’s leader and today’s graduates. America needs them to contribute to the development of the nation in global economy.The passage is mainly about that _______.
| A．there is a big income gap between female and male college graduates in America. |
| B．college graduates find it hard to find an ideal job after graduation in America. |
| C．research shows that American government should take measures to ensure income equality for college graduates |
| D．college degrees are losing value in America. |
What is the main idea of paragraph 5?
| A．The whole nation has enjoyed a big income growth with the growth of productivity. |
| B．Much of the total income in America has been gained by a few very rich people. |
| C．A small part of people in America have income increase. |
| D．Upper class Americans contribute most to productivity growth. |
The underlined word “eroding” in paragraph 7 probably means _______.
| A．being gradually destroyed by wind or rain |
| B．gradually reducing power |
| C．gradually disappearing |
| D．gradually not suitable |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．female college graduates have higher income than male ones. |
| B．female college graduates have benefited from some governmental measures to ensure their income growth. |
| C．income tax can grantee income equality. |
| D．new measures and policies have been taken to promote income equality. |
From the passage, some economists believe that the worsening income inequality is caused by ______.
| A．lower college degree of college graduates |
| B．lack of proper governmental policies |
| C．gender discrimination |
| D．underdevelopment of economy and productivity. |
In the United States in the early 1800’s, individual state governments had more effect on the economy than did the federal government. States controlled manufacturing, banking, mining and transportation firms and participated in the construction of various internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes（收费关卡）, and railroads. The states encouraged internal improvements in two distinct ways: first, by actually establishing state companies to build such improvements; second, by providing part of the capital for mixed public-private companies setting out to make a profit.
In the early nineteenth century, state governments also engaged in a surprisingly large amount of direct restricting activity, including extensive licensing and inspection programs. Licensing targets reflected both similarities in and difference between the economy of the nineteenth century and that of today: in the nineteenth century, state regulation through licensing fell especially on drug dealers, innkeepers and retail merchants of various kinds. The goods of trade generally came under state inspection and such important raw material as lumber and gunpowder were also subject to state control. Finally, state governments experimented with direct labor and business regulation designed to help the individual laborer or consumer, including setting maximum limits on hours of work and restrictions on price-fixing by business.
Although the states dominated economic activity during this period, the federal government was not inactive. Its goals were the facilitation of western settlement and the development of native industries. Toward these ends the federal government pursued several courses of action. It established a national bank to stabilize banking activities in the country and, in part, to provide a supply of relatively easy money to the region, where it was greatly needed for settlement. It permitted access to public western lands on increasing easy term, with a summit in the Homestead Act of 1862, by which title to land could be claimed on the basis of residence alone. Finally, it set up a system of tariffs（关税） that was basically protectionist in effect, although maneuvering for position by various regional interests produced frequent changes in tariff rates throughout the nineteenth century.
1.What does the passage mainly discuss？
A. States rights versus federal rights.
B. The participation of state governments in railroad, canal, and turnpike construction.
C. The roles of state and federal government in the economy of the nineteenth century.
D. Restricting activity by state government.
2.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that in the nineteenth century canals and railroads were ______.
A. built with money that came from the federal government
B. much more expensive to build than they had been previously
C. built predominantly in the western part of the country
D. sometimes built in part by state companies
3.According to the passage, which of the following is true of the Homestead Act of 1862？
A. It increased the money supply in the West.
B. It was a law first passed by state government in the West.
C. It made it increasingly possible for settlers to obtain land in the West.
D. It established tariffs in a number of regions.
4.Which of the following activities was the responsibility of the federal government in the nineteenth century？
A. Control of the manufacture of gunpowder.
B. Determining the conditions under which individuals worked.
C. Regulation of the supply of money.
D. Inspection of new homes built on western lands.
Reading Comprehension
Section B
Directions：Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
Are organically grown foods the best food choices？The advantages claimed for such foods over conventionally (传统地) grown and marketed food products are now being debated. Supporters of organic foods—a term whose meaning varies greatly—frequently announce that such products are safer and more nutritious than others.
The growing interest of consumers in the safety and nutritional quality of the typical North American diet is a welcome development. However, much of this interest has been sparked by sweeping claims that the food supply is unsafe or inadequate in meeting nutritional needs. Although most of these claims are not supported by scientific evidence, the flood of written material advancing such claims makes it difficult for the general public to separate fact from fiction. As a result, claims that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized.
Almost daily the public is besieged by claims for “no-aging” diets, new vitamins and other wonder foods. There are numerous unproved reports that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones, that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains and the like.
One thing that most organically grown food products seem to have in common is that they cost more than conventionally grown foods. But in many cases consumers are misled if they believe organic foods can maintain health and provide better nutritional quality than conventionally grown foods. So there is real cause for concern if consumers，particularly those with limited incomes, distrust the regular food supply and buy only expensive organic foods instead.
1.The “welcome development” mentioned in paragraph 2 is an increase in ______.
A. attention to food safety and nutrition among north Americans
B. the nutritional quality of the typical North American diet
C. the amount of healthy food grown in North America
D. the number of consumers in North America
2. The author implies that there is cause for concern if consumers buy organic foods instead of conventionally grown foods because ______.
A. organic foods can be more expensive but are often not better than conventionally grown foods
B. many organic foods are actually less nutritious than similar conventionally grown foods
C. conventionally grown foods are more readily available than organic foods
D. too many farmers will stop using conventional methods to grow food crops
3.What is the author’s attitude toward the claims made by advocates of health foods？
A. Enthusiastic. B. Favorable. C. Neutral. D. Distrustful.
In our life, we face situations where we are either asked to choose between trust and disbelief. Many of us would say we have to choose trust over disbelief. Actually we are given intellectual(智力的) power to choose what we want, and what we choose certainly need not be the one that sounds pleasing. That is, we can choose both trust and disbelief, but we have to know when to choose between these two.
We should all realize that we are living in a world which is unfortunately mixed with people of various types. We have been given the power of judging who we are working with and who we are partnering with. We cannot give an excuse for believing a scheming(诡计多端的)person, just because he looked or sounded nice, unless we consider ourselves mentally unskillful.
This world was there before us and it does not owe us a single thing. We are asked to take care of ourselves and our belongings. Trust, too, has to be saved for the deserving(值得的) people. When we give trust universally to all, we end up troubled by the undeserving common cheat. People say trust is life. True! But only wisely exercised trust is life.
When we start a conversation with someone, the first things that we usually notice would be their dress, behavior, style and their language. What sometimes we all forget to look at is the person’s intention. Now how to look at a person’s intention is a lesson everybody has to learn for themselves in their own way -- there is no single standard for it. But it is certainly possible to discover the purpose if we seek a little bit more.
Certainly a false offer of friendship or guidance cannot stand undiscovered for long; we are therefore called to exercise disbelief over trust at least momentarily till we find out that we certainly are in agreement with a mutual(相互的)good-willed person.
The world teaches you lots of lessons and if we are willing, we can learn all that we want.
1. In the first paragraph, the author ________.
A. concentrates on the reason why we make different choices
B. focuses on how to choose between trust and disbelief
C. suggests that trust should be wisely exercised
D. implies that people are forced to make the choice
2. The underlined sentence means __________.
A. trust and disbelief go hand in hand with each other.
B. disbelief is necessary if you aren’t wise
C. trust is established if two people know each other
D. doubt may serve as the precondition for trust
3. We can infer from the passage that _________.
A. people who we are working with are in fact those who we are partnering with
B. the first thing we notice tends to mislead our judgment
C. the mentally healthy people will not judge a person by his looks
D. the standards of looking at a person’s intention are various
4. Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
A. Trust or Disbelief? B. Trust Is Life.
C. Trust over Disbelief? D. When to Choose between Trust and Disbelief?
All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers. These never change. What one experiences in a barber’s shop the first time he enters one is what he always experiences in barbers’ shops afterward till the end of his days.
I got shaved this morning as usual. A man approached the door from Jones Street as I approached it from Main--a thing that always happens. I hurried up, but it was of no use; he entered the door one little step ahead of me, and I followed in and saw him take the only empty chair, the one headed by the best barber. It always happens so. I sat down, hoping that I might sit in the chair belonging to the better of the remaining two barbers, for he was a bit ahead. I watched the probabilities with strong interest. When I saw that No. 2 was gaining on No. 1, my interest grew to solicitude (孤单). When No. 1 was gradually losing the race, my solicitude rose to anxiety. When No. 1 caught up again, and both were about to finish and say “Next!” first, my very breath stood still with the suspense. But when I saw that he had lost the race by a single instant, I rose angrily and quitted the shop, to keep from falling into the hands of No. 2; for I have none of that firmness that enables a man to look calmly into the eyes of a waiting barber and tell him he will wait for his fellow-barber’s chair.
I stayed out fifteen minutes, and then went back, hoping for better luck. Unfortunately, all the chairs were occupied now, and four men sat waiting, silent, and looking bored, as men always do who are waiting their turn in a barber’s shop. I sat down and waited.
At last my turn came. A voice said “Next!” and I give in to No. 2, of course. It always happens so. I smiled and said that I was in a hurry, and it affected him as strongly as if he had never heard it.
He explored my hair with his claws and suggested that it needed trimming(修剪). I said I did not want it trimmed. He explored again and said it was pretty long for the present style. I said I had had it cut only a week before. He stopped for a moment, and then asked “who cut it?” I stared at him from the mirror and replied “You did!” Then a dog-fight attracted his attention, and he ran to the window and stayed and watched it…
1. The author left the barber’s shop mainly because_________.
A. he would like to wait for “No. 1” outside
B. he would rather be served by the best barber
C. he lacked the courage to tell “No. 2” his intention
D. he was angry at the slow speed of “No. 1”
2. What is the change of the author’s attitude from the moment he went into the barber’s to the moment he left it?
A. Disappointed---Anxious---Hopeful---Angry.
B. Disappointed --Hopeful---Anxious---Angry.
C. Hopeful--- Sad --- Anxious ---Angry.
D. Hopeful--- Anxious --- Angry --- Sad.
3. The author chose “No. 2” in the end, because________.
A. he had no choice B. he was in a hurry
C. “No. 1” avoided him on purpose D. he is always one step behind others
4. The underlined word “suspense” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
A. loneliness B. possibility
C. anxiety D. hope
5. What is likely to happen next?
A. The author lost his temper. B. “No. 2” ran out of his patience.
C. The author was well-served by “No. 2”. D. The author was treated the same way as usual.
It’s three devices in one.
iPhone is more than just a phone.
It combines three devices in one:
arevolutionary mobile phone, awidescreen iPod,
and abreakthrough Internet device.
All that and more makes it the best phone you’ll ever use.
Revolutionary Phone
With the Multi-Touch interface on iPhone, you can make a call simply by tapping a name or number in yourcontacts or favorites list, your call log, or just about anywhere. Visual(视觉的) Voicemail lets you select and listen to messages in whatever order you want — just like email.
Widescreen iPod
iPhone shows off your content — music, movies, TV shows, and more — on a beautiful 3.5-inch display. Add to your collection by downloading music and video wirelessly from the iTunes Store. Moves through songs and playlists with the touch of a finger. Even browse(浏览)your album artwork using Cover Flow.
Breakthrough Internet Device
iPhone uses fast 3G and Wi-Fi wireless connections to deliver rich HTML email, Maps with GPS, and Safari — the most advanced web browser on a mobile device. It has Google and Yahoo! search built in. And since iPhone multitasks, you can make a phone call while emailing a photo or surfing the web over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.
It opens a whole newworld of applications.
iPhone comes with some amazing applications. And you can choose from thousands more on the Application Store and download them with a tap. Your iPhone gets even better with every new application. Play games. Be more productive. Keep yourself entertained. No matter what you want to do on iPhone, there’s an application for that.
It works like no other phone.
With iPhone, Apple combined innovative(创新的)hardware features with the world’s most advanced mobile operating system to redefine what a mobile phone can do. Applications work together perfectly and they are at the same pace with your computer—whether you’re on a Mac or a PC. From its revolutionary Multi-Touch display to its intelligent keyboard to its smart sensors, iPhone is years ahead of any other mobilephone.
1. How can you add your music, movies, TV shows to your collection on the phone?
A. By using Voicemail to select what you want to add.
B. By downloading them from the iTunes Store.
C. By adding a new application from thousands more on the Application Store.
D. By using Google and Yahoo! search to search and then add them.
2. Which of the following is true?
A. You can’t deliver HTML email, Maps with GPS, and call at the same time.
B. Multi-Touch interface makes it easy to make a phone call.
C. You can only listen to the messages in the fixed order.
D. Wi-Fi is the most advanced web browser on a mobile device.
3. What makes iphone different from other mobile phones is that______.
A. it has aworld of new applications
B. it is a Widescreen iPod
C. it contains Breakthrough Internet Device
D. it redefines what a mobile phone can do