Apairofgiantpandasfromsouthwes-优题课

Steve Wayne, 16, who worked this summer as a lifeguard and swim teacher in Idaho Falls, was thrilled to see an extra $ 20 in his paycheck when the federal minimum wage increased in July.
“When you’re getting paid minimum wage, anything helps,” Wayne said.
Wayne is one of several hundred thousand American teenagers who earn the minimum wage. The last of three recent increases took the minimum from $5.15 an hour in 2007 to $7.25.
US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis says the minimum-wage increase will pump an extra $ 5.5 billion into the economy over the next year, which is helpful at a time when the economy is hurting.
“You’re giving people who spend money a raise,” said Kai Filion of the Economic Policy Institute. “Those people will go out and spend that money, and it will circulate through the economy.”
But other economists say raising the wage actually hurts the very people it’s designed to help. A higher hourly minimum, they say, could force businesses to cut workers’ hours, or even lay people off.
“What matters for people earning minimum wage is how much money they take home in total,” explained Rajeev of Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center. “Their hourly rate may go up, but their number of hours may come down, so it’s not an overall increase.”
Business owners also say that raising the minimum wage exerts (施加) upward pressure on other wages. “If the minimum wage is $ 7 and I have to pay $ 8 or $ 9 to hire a dishwasher, then the cooks are going to say they want more,” said Cleveland restaurant owner Rick. “How much can I charge for that hamburger?”
Another argument is that it makes it more expensive for businesses to hire new workers. For many businesses already struggling to make ends meet in these tough times, it will be simply too expensive to keep them or to hire new people.
51. Steve Wayne was excited that ______.
A. his hard work had paid off
B. he had received a big wage increase
C. he has more money due to an increase in minimum wage
D. the wages of American teenage workers have been increased
52. According to the text, the US federal government has increased minimum wage with the aim of ______.
A. decreasing unemployment B. promoting economic recovery
C. increasing American teenagers’ wage D. narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor
53. What matters most to people in need of help is ______.
A. a higher hourly minimum B. more working hours
C. a minimum-wage increase D. an increase in total income
54. Some are against the increase in minimum wage because they say ______.
A. only very few workers will be helped
B. they have to cut down working hours
C. many business owners can’t afford to employ new workers
D. minimum wage workers will expect more pay rises in the future

Just how far does the euro（欧元） have to fall before Europe actually becomes reasonable?
Anyone traveling to the old continent from the U.S. in recent years has learned the hard way how expensive it is. The situation has improved in the last couple of months, thanks to the Greek financial crisis. But it still has a way to go.
Alarm about Greece—and other financially unstable countries in Europe—has dragged down the euro sharply. In November, before the crisis struck, you needed about $1.49 to buy one euro. Today you need only about $1.36. That's a 9% cut.
What does that mean for you, the would-be traveler? It's a big sale.
As recently as November, when the euro was flying high, the OECD estimated that countries like France, Italy and Germany were about a third more expensive than the U.S. Not all European countries were quite as expensive for the American visitor: Greece only cost about 17% more than the US, while the Czech Republic (which is not part of the eurozone) was actually about 15% cheaper than back home.
Fast-forward two months, and the situation looks somewhat better.
At current exchange rates, places like France will still cost you about 23% more than the U.S., but cheaper countries such as Spain and Greece are now only about 6% more expensive. The Czech Republic's a fifth cheaper than the U.S.
European prices will only break even（持平）with the U.S. if the euro falls to about $1.10, says the OECD. But is it going to get there?
Greece's financial crisis may or may not be over. Members of a labor union just occupied part of the finance ministry to protest against the planned austerity（紧缩） measures. No, it doesn't inspire confidence!
Julian Jessop, chief international economist at the Capital Economics consultancy in London, sees the euro falling to $1.25 by year-end. “We still think the euro should be a lot lower,” he says. “We think the outlook for the European economy is a lot worse than for the U.S. And Greece is only a symptom of a wider problem: Does the eurozone make sense as a currency union?” If he's right, you may want to wait to change your money or book a trip.
72. In the passage the writer offers some suggestions to the travellers from _________.
A. USA B. Europe C. Greece D. China
73. The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to _________.
A. the planned austerity measures B. Greece’s financial crisis
C. the protest from a labor union D. the decline of the euro in value
74.Julian Jessop has a negative attitude toward the euro because he thinks _________.
A. Greece’s financial crisis may not be over
B. the euro will drop to $ 1.25 by the end of the year
C. the European economy is a lot worse than the US’
D. the other European countries have a similar problem like Greece
75.The purpose of the author writing the passage is to tell the readers that _________.
A. the euro shall be further reasonably lowered
B. travelers to Europe will save less in the future
C. the economic situation in Europe is worsening
D. the Greek financial crisis influences the whole Europe

The idea for a science experiment can come from an unusual place. After watching a YouTube video of a dancing bird named Snowball, a scientist in California decided to study the ability of animals to keep the beat.
Bird lovers have long claimed that their pets have rhythm, and there are many videos of dancing birds online. Until now, scientists have suspected that humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music.
Thanks to Snowball, that scientific opinion is changing. Snowball is a cockatoo, a kind of parrot, and his favorite song is "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys. When he hears the song, he moves his feet and rocks his body with the tempo, or pace of the music, as though he is the only bird member of the boy band.
Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist, or a scientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. He works at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego. After seeing Snowball's dance online, Patel visited the cockatoo at the bird rescue facility he's called home for two years. The scientist played "Everybody" for Snowball and also played versions of the song that were sped up or slowed down. Sometimes, Snowball danced too fast or too slowly. Often, when there was a change in tempo, Snowball adjusted his dancing to match the rhythm. In other experiments, scientists have observed the same abilities in preschool children.
Patel isn't the only scientist who has studied Snowball's moves. Adena Schachner, who studies psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to know more about the dancing bird. Schachner's team played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight human volunteers. The scientists observed that the birds and the humans kept time to the music with about the same accuracy.
Schachner and her team watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to music. Not all the animals could dance, however. From watching the videos, the scientists observed that only animals that imitate sounds, including 14 parrot species and Asian elephants, accurately moved in time to music.
68.The underlined words “that scientific opinion” in the third paragraph refer to the theory that _____.
A. birds like Snowball have the ability to keep the beat
B. humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music
C. the brain and the nervous system contribute to some mental abilities
D. bird pets can have their special rhythm under human’s instruction
69. From the fourth paragraph we may know that _________.
A. Patel is the only scientist who has studied Snowball’s moves.
B. Snowball is able to adjust his dancing to match the rhythm.
C. Snowball cannot dance to the versions of the song Everybody.
D. it is the brain and the nervous system that control the mental abilities.
70.The idea of studying animals’ ability to keep the beat comes from _________.
A. bird lovers’ discovery B. humans musical sense
C. the same abilities in children D. videos of dancing birds
71.According to the scientists, Snowball’s ability to dance to music is probably related to the fact that _________.
A. it is the only bird member of the Backstreet Boys band
B. it has the ability to imitate sounds
C. it is a kind of dancing parrot
D. it has the same abilities as preschool children

Disposing （处理）of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site. Residents or trash haulers （垃圾拖运者） would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods. Long distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent. Awareness of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people cannot longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.
64. The most suitable title for this passage would be _________.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
65. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways except for ________.
A. burying it B. recycling it C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
66. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
A. Farm areas will continue accepting waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.
67. The main purpose of writing this article is to _________.
A. draw people's attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste

This tour takes you back in history to a moment that “will live in infamy （声名狼藉）. ” Explore the historic artifacts at the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center commemorating（纪念） the attack on Pearl Harbor, then travel around beautiful Oahu on a Circle Island guided bus tour.
The Arizona Memorial Visitor Center is Hawaii’s number one visitor attraction. View the film of the attack on Pearl Harbor and browse the historic artifacts on display. Then ride the Navy launch across Pearl Harbor to visit the Arizona Memorial. Then, board a tour bus for a scenic trip around the island of Oahu. Get your cameras ready for the beautiful view over Windward Oahu at Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. Visit Byodo－In Temple, which is set against a picturesque mountain backdrop.
You’ll also see the famous North Shore surfing beaches of Sunset, Banzai Pipeline, and Waimea Bay and drive through rustic Haleiwa Town. Visit Dole Plantation and discover the history of Hawaii’s pineapple industry before enjoying a no host lunch at the Polynesian Cultural Center (lunch is not included in the listed-price).
Inclusions:
Scenic bus tour of Oahu island
Film viewing at Arizona Memorial Visitor Center. Pearl Harbor
Visit of Byodo－In Temple and Dole Plantation
Available:
Mon. —Fri.
Hours of operation:
7 AM to 5 PM
Note:
Strict security measures forbid purses, handbags, fanny packs, backpacks, camera bags, diaper bags, luggage and／or other items. Visitors may bring a camera and cam-recorder. A storage facility, operated by a private vendor, is available for visitors coming to the USS Arizona Memorial, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum.
60. What is the purpose of the passage above?
A. To introduce the beautiful scene in Oahu. B. To tell the writer attractions in Hawaii.
C. To attract more tourists. D. To describe a wonderful tour in Oahu.
61. Which of the following is the right order of the tour?
A. The Arizona Memorial, Byodo-In Temple, Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, Polynesian Cultural Center
B. Pearl Habor, Dole Plantation, Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, Sunset Beach
C. Pearl Habor, North Shore, Byodo-In Temple, Dole Plantation
D. The Arizona Memorial, Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, Dole Plantation, Polynesian Cultural Center
62. A tourist will see everything below at Pearl Harbor except _________.
A. the Arizona Memorial B. some historic artifacts C. a film D. Windward Oahu
63. Which of the persons below will not be allowed to enter the attractions in Pearl Harbor?
A. Alice, a student from LA, comes with her parents, with a Sony digital camera in her hand.
B. Geogre Zhang, from Shanghai, leaves his backpack in a locker outside the entrance.
C. Billy, from Italy, with small bag in hand and inside the bag is a cam-recorder.
D. Hose, from Spain, who has left his luggage in the hotel.