Anewstudyof8,000youngpeopleint-优题课

C
Educating girls quite possibly brings in a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world. Women education may be an unusual field for economists, but increasing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived（被剥夺） of an education.
Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else's family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school-the prophecy （预言） becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a bad circle of neglect.
An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The bad circle is thus transformed into a good one.
Few will question that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well. Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 percent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant effect on health practices, including family planning.
59. By saying "the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling..." in Paragraph 2, the author means that ________.
A. girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys
B. girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams
C. girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach
D. girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home
60. The author believes that a bad circle can turn into a good circle when ________.
A. women care more about education
B. girls can gain equal access to education
C. a family has fewer but healthier children
D. parents can afford their daughters' education
61. What does the author say about women' s education?
A. It deserves greater attention than other social issues.
B. It is now given attention before anything else in many developing countries.
C. It will bring in greater returns than other known investments
D. It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.
62. The passage mainly discusses________.
A. unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries
B. the potential earning power of well-educated women
C. the major contributions of educated women to society
D. the economic and social benefits of educating women

B
Although we already know a great deal about flu, and although the World Health Organizations is constantly collecting detailed information from its chain of flu reference laboratories throughout the world, it is extremely difficult for epidemiologists, who study infectious diseases, to predict when and where the next flu epidemic will occur, and how serious it will be.
There are three kinds of flu virus, known as A, B and C. flu C virus is relatively stable and causes mild infections that do not spread far through the population. The A and B types are unstable, and are responsible for the epidemics that cause frequent concern. Following any virus attack, the human body builds up antibodies （抗体） which can be changed into immunity to that type of virus but a virus with the ability to change its character is able to bypass this protection. Variability（可变性） is less developed in the flu B virus, which affects only human beings. As flu B virus may cause a widespread epidemic but will have little effect if introduced into the same community soon afterwards, since nearly everyone will have built up antibodies and will be immune. The flu A virus, which affects animals also, is extremely unstable and is responsible for some of the worst outbreaks of the disease, such as the world epidemic, of 1918&1919, when about half the world's population were infected and about twenty million people died, some from pneumonia caused by the virus itself and some from secondary complication caused by bacteria. Accurate prediction is difficult because of the complication of the factors. A particular virus may be related to one to which some of the population have partial involved immunity. The extent to which it will spread will depend on factors such as its own strength, or virulence （病毒性）, the ease with which it can be transmitted and the strength of the opposition it encounters （遇到）. Scientists, however, have a reliable general picture of the world situation.
55. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage?
A. Symptoms of Flu B. Man Vs Flu Virus
C. WHO: The Major Organization against Flu Virus D. Variability of Flu Virus
56. What does the author say about the flu B virus?
A. B Virus is relatively stable and causes mild infections that do not spread far through the population.
B. B Virus is unstable, and is responsible for the epidemics that cause frequent concern.
C. B virus is extremely unstable and is responsible for some of the worst outbreaks of the disease.
D. B virus has a very developed variability, and it affects only human beings.
57. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a factor contributing to the extent to which a virus spreads?
A. The strength of the virus. B. The ease with which the virus can be transmitted.
C. The strength of the opposition. D. The immunity the virus can bring about.
58. This article is quite probably ________.
A. a piece of news B. a special science report
C. an introduction to a book D. a scientific fiction

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery （火红的） ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. "It's getting late," she thought, "I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am."
She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn't understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: "Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking." Ellen was her mother but - where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents' room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas （睡衣）.
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared."
51. Three days later Jennifer came back home ________.
A. at sunrise B. at sunset C. at night D. at midday
52. The underlined part in Paragraph 4 most probably means "________".
A. The idea of going back home. B. Her anxiety about her parents.
C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.D. The feeling of getting back home safely.
53. Her father didn't take care of the garden because ________.
A. he was busy looking for her B. he had to look after his wife
C. he was not strict with his job D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden
54. What can we infer from this passage?
A. In fact Jennifer's mother had been sick for days.
B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.
C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.
D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.

E
Educating girls quite possibly brings in a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world.Women education may be an unusual field for economists,but increasing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived(被剥夺) of an education.
Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else' s family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school－the prophecy (预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a bad circle of neglect.
An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The bad circle is thus transformed into a good one.
Few will question that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 percent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant effect on health practices, including family planning.
77. By saying "the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling..." in the second paragraph, the author means that_______.
A. girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys
B. girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams
C. girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach
D. girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home
78. The author believes that a bad circle can turn into a good circle when_______.
A. women care more about education B. girls can gain equal access to education
C. a family has fewer but healthier children D. parents can afford their daughters' education
79. What does the author say about women' s education?
A. It deserves greater attention than other social issues.
B. It is now given top priority in many developing countries.
C. It will bring in greater returns than other known investments.
D. It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.
80. The passage mainly discusses_________.
A. unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries
B. the potential earning power of well-educated women
C. the major contributions of educated women to society
D. the economic and social benefits of educating women

D
To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment. Regardless of what happened yesterday or last year, and what may or may not happen tomorrow, the present moment is where you are — always!
We allow past problems and future concerns to control our present moments, so much that we end up anxious, frustrated, depressed, and hopeless.We often convince ourselves future will be better than today.John Lennon once said, "Life is what's happening while we're busy making other plans."When we're busy making other plans",our children are busy growing up, the people we love are moving away and dying,our bodies are getting out of shape,and our dreams are slipping away.In short,we miss out on life.
Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date. It isn't. In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow. Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over. When our attention is in the present moment, we push fear from our minds. Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future—we won't have enough money, our children will get into trouble, we will get old and die, whatever.
To struggle against fear, the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present. Mark Twain said, "I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." I don't think I can say it any better. Practice keeping your attention on the here and now and your efforts will pay off.
73. The purpose of this passage is to tell readers ______.
A. people who are busy making plans are living actively
B. how to help others overcome fear
C. we ought to learn to live in the present moment
D. someone who only enjoys the present time usually wastes his time blindly
74. It implies from the passage that ______.
A. many people know how to fight against fear
B. it isn't necessary to fear for future
C. you can gain more happiness by putting off your pleasure
D. some people make plans for their children to improve their lives
75. "Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal" suggests that ______.
A. they always wish to be an actor or an actress
B. they believe that their present life is well prepared for their future
C. they are always busy making plans for future
D. They all have a guarantee that they will be alive tomorrow
76. Why are some people depressed and anxious day and night?
A. Because they fear they cannot pass their tests.
B. Because past problems and future concerns control their present moment.
C. Because the people they love want to leave them alone.
D. Because they make some mistakes in the past.