Having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week. “It’s a well-known pattern,” said lead researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. “Men usually work more outside the home, while women take on more of the housework.”
He points out that differences among households(家庭)exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. “And the situation gets worse for women when they have children,” Stafford said.
Overall, times are changing in the American home. In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are taking on more housework, more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005.
Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most-about 21 hours a week.
Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men. Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men.
Having children increases housework even further. With more than three children, for example, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands’10 hours. According to the “well-known pattern” in Paragraph 1, a married man___________.
| A．takes on heavier work | B．does more housework |
| C．is the main breadwinner | D．is the master of the house |
How many hours of housework did men do every week in the 1970s?
| A．About 23. | B．About 26. | C．About 13. | D．About 6. |
What kind of man is doing most housework according to the text?
| A．An unmarried man. | B．An older married man. |
| C．A younger married man. | D．A married man with children. |
What can we conclude from Stafford’s research?
| A．Marriage gives men more freedom. |
| B．Marriage has effects on job choices. |
| C．Housework sharing changes over time. |
| D．Having children means doubled housework. |
Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.
Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the’ 90s.
Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.
Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only's low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine's Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.
While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.
Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”
As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.
60．What is the central theme of this text?
| A．The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made. |
| B．The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date. |
| C．The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed. |
| D．The rose industry plays an important role in American economy. |
61．How does Roses Only obtain success in the discount rose retailing field?
| A．By setting up more chain stores across the country. |
| B．By selling roses in supermarkets. |
| C．By selling high quality roses at a low price. |
| D．By selling roses by the dozen. |
|
62．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?(①to ⑦ represent paragraphs 1 to 7)
| A．Selling roses is no longer as easy for traditional flower shops as it was. |
| B．Almost 90% of roses sold in US are imported from Colombia and Ecuador. |
| C．US rose growers are faced with intense foreign competition. |
| D．the Johnsons are trying to co-operate with foreign competitors instead of fighting them. |
The National Outline for Medium and Long Term Education Reform and Development (2010 - 20) was released over the weekend. Here are some of the highlights:
Four – percent effort
The government says spending on education will be 4 percent of GDP by 2012. globally, average spending on education is about 4.5% of GDP. China spend 3,33% in 2008. according to Hu Angang, of Tsinghua University’s Center for China Studies, even if China reaches that goal, it will only rank about 100 th out of 188 countries.
Administrative rank
Administrative rankings for school leaders are to be phased out to tackle the bureaucracy (官僚机构) problem that limits educational development, according to Cheng Fangping, of the national Institute for Educational Research. Areas like teaching programs, scientific research, and technological development will be more independent.
Vocational Education
The system will be free of charge. According to Wu Yan, of Beijing Institute of Educational Sciences, this will be key to developing China’s production capacity and will improve poor people’s lives dramatically.
Entering college
Universities could eventually have the freedom to choose some of their own high school applicants. Normally, students are accepted based on the uniform national exam scores. Also, students who agree to go to a remote area could be admitted to university under special circumstances. The most likely change could come on the college entrance English test, which might be modeled on the IELTS or TOEFL. Students will be able to take it several times and pick their best score.
56．Which of the following is true in the future according to the passage?
| A．Applicants could take the IELTS or TOEFL instead of the college entrance English test. |
| B．Colleges will be given the right to choose all of their own applicants. |
| C．Vocational education will be party free to make people’s lives better. |
| D．Applicants could sit for the college entrance English test more than once. |
57．Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “uniform” in the last paragraph?
| A．formal | B．official | C．same | D．united |
58．We can learn from the passage even though our country spends 4% of GDP on education in 2012, .
| A．there will still be 188 countries ahead of China in this aspect |
| B．China will certainly overtake the global average spending on education |
| C．there might be nearly 100 countries ahead of China in this aspect |
| D．China will be the 100 th country to spend over the global average on education |
59．From the third paragraph, we can infer that .
| A．school leaders will have more freedom to manage the school |
| B．schools will have more limits from the government |
| C．School administrative rankings are to be strengthened to solve the bureaucracy problem |
| D．schools and research centers will be fully independent from the government |
When I was about 12,1 had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings．
Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn't a good student; I talked too much; I was too proud and so on．I came very angry．1 ran to my father with tears in my eyes．
He listened to me quietly, then he asked, "Are the things she said true or not? Jane, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's opinion．Go and make a list of everything she said．and mark the points that are true．Pay no attention to the other things she said．"
I did as he told me．To my great surprise, I discovered that about half of the things were true．Some of them I couldn't change （like being very thin）, but a good number I co-aid and suddenly I wanted to change．For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself．
I brought the list back to Daddy．He refused to take it．"That's just for you," he said．"You know better than anyone else, the truth about yourself．But you have to learn to listen, not just closing your ears in anger and feeling hurt．When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you．Don't shut y
our ears．Listen to other people's opinions, but hear the tmth and do what you know is the right 'thing to do．"
Daddy's advice has returned to me at many important moments．In my life, I've
never had a better piece of advice．Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but a Best Friend |
| B．The Best Advice I've Ever Had |
| C．My Father |
| D．My Childhood |
What does "Week by week her list grew" mean?
| A．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious． |
| B．She had written down a list of my shortcomings arid kept on adding new ones to it, |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on． |
| D．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out． |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter's enemy said was mostly true． |
| B．Because he had teen so angry with his daughter's shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while． |
| C．Because he knew; that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment． |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth． |
What did the father:．do after he heard his daughter's complaint?
| A．He told her not．to．pay any attention to what her "enemy" had said． |
| B．He criticized （批评）her and told her to overcome her shortcomings． |
| C．He told her to write down all that her "enemy" had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true． |
| D．He refused to take-the list and have a look at it． |
How Long Can People Live?
She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121at birthday.
When it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s record holder. She lived to the ripe old age of 122. So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span（寿命）? If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150 or beyond?
Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers. “Calment lived to 122, so it”
wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135," says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．
Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．"People can live much longer than we think," he says．"Experts used to say that humans couldn't live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120．So why can't we go higher? "
The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it's all just guessing．"Anyone can make up a number," says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan．"Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．"
Won't new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries? Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most．So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller, "adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．"
So what can．we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers? That life span is flexible, but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．"We can get flies to live 50 percent longer," he says．"But a fly's never going to live 150 years．" Of co
urse, if you became a new species, one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story, he adds．
Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve （进化） their way to longer life? "It's pretty cool to think about," he says with．a smile．What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?
| A．People can live to 122． |
| B．Old people are creative,, |
| C．Women are sporty at 85． |
| D．Women live longer than men． |
According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, _____．
| A．the average human life span could be 110 |
| B．scientists cannot find ways to slow aging |
| C．few people can expect to live to over 150 |
| D．researchers are not sure how long people can live |
Who would agree that a scientist, will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?
| A．Jerry Shay． | B．Steve Austad | C．Rich Miler | D．George Martin |
What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
A
．Most of us could be good at sports even at 150．
B．The average human life span cannot be doubled
C．Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before．
D．New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species
If you walk slowly though downtown Helsinki（赫尔辛基）during the day, taking in the splendid 19th century buildings, white boats and noise of passing trams（有轨电车）, you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colors: white and blue.
The sea is always present in Helsinki. When you take a walk over the great open space of the central square, you will hear seabirds creaming. When over the great open space of the central square, you will hear seabirds creaming. When you take the tram, suddenly and unexpectedly, you are faced with a calm, shining blue sea. You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities. Instead, they walk along the roads, politely letting other people by.
A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats. You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself 
in front of a beautiful park. You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram. Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki. Watching the old houses, parks, theatres, churches, shops, restaurants and people in the streets, you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.
The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city. Following the waterfront （滨水区
）of the city after sunset, you couldn’t help stopping and listening to the sweet silence, interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.
However, in some way. Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe. You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace, the modern art museum, and all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.Helsinki is called a city of two colors mainly because of the colors of its,
| A．19th century buildings, boats and parks |
| B．19th century buildings, boats and seabirds |
| C．old houses, parks and trams |
| D．old buildings, boats and the sea |
The best way to see most of Helsinki is to go.
| A．by boat | B．by bus | C．by tram | D．on foot |
The 19th century buildings, the white Glass Palace, popular cafes and design shops in Helsinki all show that Helsinki is.
| A．both splendid and dull | B．both quiet and noisy |
| C．both historical and modern | D．both old and new |
This passage is most likely to be found in.
| A．a story-book | B．a geography textbook |
| C．a research report | D．a travel magazine |
