Former Irish President Mary Robinson was just making a polite conversation with an Ethiopian (埃塞俄比亚的) teenager about her wedding day. The 16yearold had already been married for a year. “She looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, ‘I had to drop out of school’，” Robinson said in a telephone interview. “That conveyed to me the reality，” said Robinson, the first woman to serve as Ireland's president and former U．N. high commissioner for human fights. “Her life, as far as she is concerned, had more or less ended.”
Robinson said keeping girls in school was one of the most important things policymakers could do to address the coming challenges of an ever-increasing population, predicted by the United Nations to reach 7 billion soon. “European countries are concerned about aging populations as is Japan, but this is much less of an issue than the huge number of people which we are going to see over the next 40 years when the population goes from 7 billion to 9 billion，” she said. “Almost all of that increase will be in poor developing countries, so that we have a very big challenge.”
Family planning experts worry in particular about the future population explosion in subSaharan Africa. In May, the United Nations projected the world population would reach 9.3billion in 2050 and 10.1 billion by 2100. Much of that growth will come from Africa, where the population is growing at 2.3 percent a year—more than double Asia's 1 percent growth rate. If that rate stays consistent, which is not certain, Africa's population will reach 3.6 billion by 2100 from the present 1 billion.
Joel Cohen, a professor of population studies at Rockefeller University and Columbia University in New York, said universal secondary education offered a way to reduce population in high birthrate regions. In addition to providing information about birth control, a secondary education teaches women to reduce their own fertility (生育力), improve the health of their children and allows them to move from a mindset of having many children, in the hopes that some will survive to improving the quality of each child's life, Cohen wrote in the journal Nature.In the first paragraph, the author introduces his topic by ________.
| A．explaining the author's opinions |
| B．giving an example |
| C．describing the poor education system |
| D．coming straight to the topic |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Robinson is happy after talking to the Ethiopian girl. |
| B．Robinson is a successful expert in population studies. |
| C．Robinson is worried about population growth. |
| D．Robinson encourages female education. |
What is Joel Cohen's view about secondary education?
| A．It provides basic knowledge of health. |
| B．It improves the health of children. |
| C．It makes people pay more attention to education. |
| D．It can change people's parenting ideas. |
According to Robinson, what is one of the most important things policymakers can do to prevent the population from increasing rapidly?
| A．Keeping girls in school. |
| B．Letting girls go away from Africa. |
| C．Letting young girls remain single. |
| D．Keeping girls in families. |
In 1955, a man named Raymond Kroc together with two brothers named McDonald opened a popular restaurant in California which sold food that was easy to prepare and serve quickly. Hamburgers, French fries, and cold drinks were the main food there. Kroc opened similar eating places under the same name, “McDonald’s”, and they were an instant success. He later took over the company, and today it is one of the most famous and successful “fast-food” in America and around the world.
Why was his idea successful? Probably the most important reason was that his timing was right. In the 1950s, most married women stayed home to keep house and take care of their children. In the 1960s, many women returned to the workplace. This meant that they had less time or energy to prepare meals, so they spent more on “ TV dinners ” and fast-food restaurants. Single parents also have little time to spend in the kitchen. People living alone also depend on this type of food, since cooking for one is often more trouble than it is worth.
Fast-food is not part of the diet of all Americans. Another trend of the 1960s, sometimes called the back-to-nature movement influenced many people to avoid food that was packaged (包装) or processed(处理). This preference for natural food continued to this day.
From the success of Raymond Kroc’s fast-food business, we can say that social economic trends influence where and what we eat.The underlined sentence “Cooking for one is often more trouble than it is worth” means that ______.
| A．cooking for some people is worth more money |
| B．it is not worthwhile to take too much time to cook for one person |
| C．there are more problems when one person cooks |
| D．cooking for one person cost more money |
Para 3&4 seem to imply (暗示) that ________.
| A．many married women began to work in the 1960s |
| B．natural foods are still popular today |
| C．fast food is not part of the diet of all Americans |
| D．divorce (离婚) causes people to change their eating habits |
Which of the following is NOT the reason for McDonald’s success?
| A．people living alone tend to depend on fast food |
| B．single parents have little time to spend in the kitchen |
| C．many women returned to the workplace in the 1960s |
| D．Kroc chose the “Mc Donald” brothers as his partners |
The main purpose of the passage is to tell us________.
| A．Raymond Kroc is the most successful fast-food business owner in the world |
| B．social and economic changes affect eating habits |
| C．fast-food is easy to prepare and serve quickly |
| D．Americans eat either fast food or natural food |
On a cold evening I was waiting for a taxi in New York. About 5 minutes later, I was picked up by a driver, and he said how terrible some people were. I knew there was a part of me that wanted to be silent, but I had to listen out of kindness.
The man told me that he had just come from JFK Airport without a customer. During the taxi ride, what started as anger changed slowly and he mentioned that he had read an article which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more chance to give in his life. I was really starting to enjoy being with this man.
As we arrived at the place where I wanted to go, I paid my money by credit card. I pulled out an extra $20 and said, “Sir, since we’ve been talking about giving this whole time, I want to share that feeling with you. I’ve already paid my money, but here’s an extra little bit. You can tell the next passenger in this taxi that their ride is a gift from another.”
I thought I was pretty cool at this point, but he turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and said, “Sir, I have a better idea. You give that $20 to a homeless person around here and I will give the next passenger a free ride myself.
It was a great honor meeting that man and learning the lesson of how everyone gives and adds joy to another with their generosity.According to the text, when the author got in the taxi, the driver was.
| A．angry | B．nervous | C．worried | D．regretful |
The author gave the driver an extra $20 in order to _.
| A．help him to get out of trouble |
| B．know what he was really like |
| C．experience the joy of giving |
| D．learn how to get along with others. |
What can be inferred (推断) from the taxi driver’s words in Paragraph 4?
| A．A driver should be willing to help. |
| B．People should understand each other. |
| C．The driver was deeply moved. |
| D．One needs to keep an optimistic attitude (乐观态度). |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A cold evening in New York |
| B．A lesson learned from a taxi driver |
| C．A gift to a generous stranger |
| D．Always being a happy person |
Many of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in history books are great conquerors and generals and soldiers, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all.
We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year; but we know all about the killers and destroyers. People think a great deal of them, so much so that on all the highest pillars in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors.
It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized. Animals fight; so do savages; hence to be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage（野人） is good, but it is not to be civilized. Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently—this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done—is not being civilized. People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized people ought to be able to find some way of setting their disputes other than by seeing which side can kill off the greater number of the other side, and then saying that that side which has killed most has won. And not only has it won, but because it has won, it had been in the right. For that is what going to war means; it means saying that might（权利） is right.The author thinks that the conquerors and generals and soldiers ________.
| A．only appear glorious in history books |
| B．are greater than any other people |
| C．are not as great as described in history books |
| D．do not really help civilization forward |
As it is indicated in the passage, the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier is put on the highest pillars in the great cities of the world mainly because ________.
| A．people respect them very much |
| B．they fought bravely to protect their cities |
| C．people think they fought too brutally（野蛮地） |
| D．they conquered many cities and countries |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the countries that ruled over a large number of other countries ?
| A．Positive. | B．Critical. | C．Ironic. | D．Respectful. |
The author says that civilized people________.
| A．should not have any quarrels to settle |
| B．should not fight when there are no quarrels to settle |
| C．should settle their quarrels without fighting |
| D．should settle their quarrels by killing the other side |
An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂),but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices ── just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing” ── “soft-soaping” or “butter-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise ── telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love or hear it ? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who gets so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers（朝臣）.They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless power.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing” ?
| A．A boy tells his girlfriend how pretty she looks |
| B．An employee tells his boss how good he is at management |
| C．A knight(骑士)is said to be of limitless power by his followers |
| D．A teacher praised his students for their talent and wisdom. |
Which of the following statement about flattery is TRUE according to the author ?
| A．Too much flattery can carry us away |
| B．Flattery is too empty to do people any good |
| C．Flattery can get nothing but excessive(过度的)pride |
| D．Flattery is one of the ways to apple-polish people. |
King Canute of Denmark and England took his followers to the seashore because __________.
| A．he was sick of his normal |
| B．he disliked being overpraised any more |
| C．he wanted them to realize how wise he was |
| D．he wanted them to see how weak he was as a king |
The author thinks that flattery can do good to those who _________.
| A．are really excellent |
| B．lack confidence |
| C．are politicians or in high offices |
| D．think highly of themselves |
On October 23, 2011, David Pologruto, a high school physics teacher, was stabbed (刺) by his smart student Jason Haffizulla. Jason got straight A’s and was determined to study medicine at Harvard, yet this was his downfall. His physics teacher gave Jason a B, a mark Jason believed would undermine (损害) his entrance to Harvard. After receiving his B, Jason took a butcher knife to school and stabbed his physics teacher.
How can someone as smart as Jason do something so dumb? Studies show there is little or no correlation between IQ and emotional intelligence.
During my early university years, I regarded myself as an intelligent guy. I got good marks in mathematics, physics, and other subjects. I thought such skills would surely give me a bright future. After one year of study with decent marks, I began to see two major classes of students. The first category of students turned up to few lectures, partied every weekend, enjoyed a great social life, and did minimal work to pass courses. The second category of students were intelligent and hard workers who got good grades and were very focused on their studies. Surely would these intelligent and hard-working students find the great jobs before the other lazier class of students?
Not so. Students are often shocked upon graduation that their qualifications are not as important as they once thought. Graduates enter the workforce only to realize that co-workers hate them and less intelligent people are the ones receiving promotions.
Educational skills are useless in some industries when interpersonal skills are absent. You can have great ideas, theories, and solve complex problems, but if you cannot effectively communicate in a persuasive and exciting manner by relating to your fellow humans, you will face an uphill battle in whatever challenges you encounter. It’s not that people dislike you because of your intelligence; it’s that people dislike you because you’re rude and not understanding. The intelligent person with poor communication skills is insensitive or unaware of others’ emotions.Jason Haffizulla stabbed his physics teacher because .
| A．he was unfairly treated by his teacher |
| B．he was disappointed with his downfall |
| C．he was not smart enough at studies |
| D．he got a worse mark than usual |
We can infer from the third paragraph that the author in his early university years.
| A．didn’t think communication skills were as important as intelligence |
| B．didn’t work hard |
| C．belonged to the first category of students |
| D．could keep a balance between social life and studies |
Intelligent people are hated because .
| A．they can solve more complex problems |
| B．they can’t settle the challenges they meet |
| C．they are envied for their intelligence |
| D．they are not understanding enough |
The main purpose of the text is to tell us .
| A．the relationship between IQ and emotional intelligence |
| B．what kind of students can succeed in college |
| C．smart people may have poorer communication skills |
| D．intelligent students will meet more challenges at work |