A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.
To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The problems faced by the old in society. |
| B．Why we should take responsibility for the old. |
| C．How we can improve the lives of the old. |
| D．Where the old can go to get their pensions. |
The underlined word "viable" most probably means" ".
| A．impossible | B．practical | C．useful | D．important |
What is the writer's main purpose in writing this article?
| A．To point out the need for government support for old people. |
| B．To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people. |
| C．To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem. |
| D．To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life. |
The text is most likely to be found in a book about____.
| A．social science | B．historical events |
| C．political problem | D．political systems |
One day, I happened to talk to a stranger (陌生人) on the bus. When he found out that I was from Chicago, he told me that one of his good friends lived there and he wondered if I happened to know him. At first I wanted to say that it was foolish (愚蠢的) to think like that, for from all the millions of people in Chicago, I could not possibly know his friend. But, instead, I just smiled and said that Chicago was a very big city. He was quiet for a few minutes, and then he began to tell me all about his friend.
He told me that his friend was an excellent tennis player and that he even had his own tennis court (网球场). He added that he knew a lot of people with swimming pools, but that he only knew two people in the country who had their own tennis courts. And his friend in Chicago was one of them. I told him that I knew several people like that, for example, my brother and my next-door neighbor. I told him that my brother was a doctor and he lived in California. Then he asked where my brother lived in California. When I said Sacramento, he said that last year his friend spent the summer in Sacramento and lived next door to a doctor. The doctor had a tennis court. I said that my next-door went to Sacramento last summer and lived in the house next to my brother’s. For a moment, we looked at each other, but we did not say anything.
“Would your friend’s name happen to be Roland Kirkwood?” I asked finally. He laughed and said, “Would your brother’s name happen to be Dr. Ray Hunter?” It was my turn to laugh. Which of the following is true?
| A．The story happened in Chicago. |
| B．The writer’s brother lived in Sacramento. |
| C．Both the writer and the stranger lived in Chicago. |
| D．Both the writer and his brother lived in California. |
The writer said that Chicago was a very big city. That means _____________.
| A．it was possible for him to happen to know the stranger’s friend |
| B．he didn’t want to look for the stranger’s friend |
| C．he didn’t know the stranger’s friend |
| D．it was impossible to find the stranger’s friend |
How many persons does the story involve (涉及)?
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
Which is the best title of the story?
| A．On a bus | B．Two tennis players |
| C．One in a million | D．Chicago is a large city |
I don’t often lose things and I’m always careful with money, so I was quite surprised when I reached for my wallet and it wasn’t there. At first, I thought it was possible that I could have left it at home. Then I remembered taking it out to pay the taxi, so I knew I had it with me just before I walked into the restaurant. I wondered if it was possible that it could have dropped out of my pocket while I was eating dinner. I turned and walked back to the table where I had been sitting. Unluckily, there were several people sitting at the table at that time, so I had the waiter go over to the table to see if my wallet was on the floor. While the waiter was looking for it, the head of the restaurant came up to me and asked me if anything was wrong. I told him what had happened. He asked me to report the missing wallet to the police. I told him I didn’t want to do so; I was in a hurry because I had to reach my waiting room before two o’clock, where some people were waiting to see me. I also told him that my biggest worry at the moment was how I was going to pay for the meal. He told me not to worry about that. He asked me to write down my name and address, and he said he would send me a bill (帐单). When the writer couldn’t find his wallet, his first thought was that________
| A．it had been given to the taxi-driver |
| B．he had dropped it in the taxi |
| C．he had lost his wallet again |
| D．it might be left at home |
The writer thought he must have the wallet with him because___________.
| A．he had paid the taxi-driver |
| B．he had paid the bill of the meal |
| C．the waiter had seen it on the table |
| D．the waiter was looking for it on the floor |
Why do you think the writer turned and walked back to the table?
| A．He would phone the police about the missing of his wallet. |
| B．He wondered if he had dropped his wallet while eating. |
| C．The head of the restaurant wanted to know what was wrong. |
| D．Several people were sitting at the table at that time. |
The writer of the story is probably a _________.
| A．doctor | B．cook | C．school teacher | D．newspaper reporter |
When Tom finished his studies at the university (大学), he began to look around for a job. He did not know what he would like to do, but one of his uncles had worked for the government for thirty years, and he advised Tom to try to get a job of the same kind, so he went for an exam one day. He was successful, and his first job was in a large government office in London.
When Tom had been working there for a few weeks, his uncle came to visit the family one Saturday evening. He was pleased that his nephew (侄子) had got a job working for the government, and he asked him a lot of questions about it.
One of the questions he asked was, “How many people work in your department (部门), Tom?”
The young man thought for a few moments and then answered, “About half of them, Uncle Jim.”When he graduated (毕业) from university, Tom was not ________.
| A．interested in getting any information from the government |
| B．looking for a good-paying job with excellent hours |
| C．good at making decisions |
| D．very good at science |
What did Tom think of his uncle’s advice?
| A．He did not like it. | B．He thought it was good |
| C．He refused to take it. | D．He was unable to follow it. |
The uncle wanted to find out ________.
| A．what his nephew was doing |
| B．how his nephew was getting on with his job |
| C．whether his nephew could understand him or not |
| D．what his nephew had expected |
In fact Tom’s answer means that __________.
| A．the people working in the government office were in many groups and they worked in turn |
| B．most of the government workers were not working hard |
| C．only half of the government workers went to work on time |
| D．the government office had more people than needed |
The people below are looking for someplace to enjoy some entertainments in Beijing. After the description of these people, there is information about places A — F. Decide which place would be the most suitable for the person mentioned in1---5and write down the correct letter ( A — F ) on your answer sheet. One place is not suitable for all.
_____Stephen studies art in Beijing University. He shows great interest in paintings and he is especially interested in those oil paintings that reflect the variety of life.
____ Mark has just come to China and he is very interested in Chinese culture. He has been waiting for a long time to have a chance to see a wonderful Chinese acrobatic (杂技的) performance in China.
____ Oscar is a student from Yangzhou University, visiting his friends who share the same interest in music. They are planning to find someplace to enjoy rock and roll and pop songs.
___ Charles works in Philips Company, Shanghai Branch. He is going to Beijing on business in middle September. He will be free in the evening, so he wants to go to someplace to enjoy some music performed by foreign bands.
____ Carol studies Chinese in Beijing. She is free recently during the day time, so she would like to find someplace where she can attend some kind of activity so that she can learn some details about Chinese modern literature.
| A．Capital Theatre: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills (寒战) will run down your spine (脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge. Time: 7:30 p.m., September 13 — 19. |
| B．Huangshicheng Gallery: A group ink pain ting exhibition is running. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display. Time:9 a.m.— 5 p.m. until September 10. |
| C．The Wangfung Art Gallery: A joint show of oil paintings by 10 young and middle-aged artists will be hosted by the gallery. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wonderous variety of life in unique styles. Time: 9 :30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m., daily. |
| D．Anyuan Museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an indepth study of the development of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949. |
Time: 9 a.m. — 4 p.m., daily.
E. The Olympic Center: "The Fashionow Night of Chinese Rock" is set to bring back fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals.
Time: September 16.
F. Grand Theater of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities: La Petite Band, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium, will perform as part of activities across the world to commemorate (纪念) the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.
Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11 — 14.
There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect.
That’s difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy’s Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. “Many people will think if you have a suit and you’re a Santa,” said Tom Valent, the school’s current dean. “It’s more than that.”
The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer(驯鹿). What’s harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again.
After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. “You’re the real Santa,” Valent said. “Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You’ve got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you’re tired, you’ve got to remember: This one’s forever, so do a good job.”According to the passage, good Santas should be the ones that ______.
| A．can offer the children some gifts |
| B．help adults look after their children |
| C．have ability to make children happy |
| D．should be perfect in the mind of children |
The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to ______.
| A．train the pet reindeer for the Santas |
| B．earned money from its students |
| C．train perfect Santas for the world |
| D．show the world’s concern to the poor |
According to Weir’s performance, we can conclude that ______.
| A．Weir was short of experience |
| B．Weir was not fit for the job as a Santa |
| C．Weir did very badly in the game |
| D．Weir was not a good student in school |