Across the globe, single-parent homes are on the rise. In the US, the 2000 census (人口普查 ) showed 24.8 million or nearly 24 percent of the nation's 105.5 million households, were traditional two-parent homes. By comparison, 9.8 million households or 9.8 million of all US households were headed by an adult raising a child alone. The 1990 census showed 26 percent of homes were led by a married mother and father, and 8 percent of homes were led by a singe parent.
Similar increases occurred in other countries. In the UK, lone-parent family homes increased from 3.3 percent in 1990 to 5.5 percent in 1999. Single parent households in Australia rose from 5.8 percent in 1990 to 7.6 percent in l999. Belgium saw the increase from 1. 8 percent to 2.7 during the same period of time. These countries tend to have greater acceptance of single parenting because there are fewer nearby family members to disapprove, Riche, a Census Bureau director, said.
Just as in the US, those changes raised new questions about how involved government should be in helping single-parent families. Some research suggests children raised in two-parent families are better off than those who depend on one.
"The position of one-parent families in any country is very much a gender (性别) issue－women's opportunities, especially working-class women on low income," said Sue Chen, coordinator (协调员) of the Single Action Parents Network in England.Not considering the exact number of the single-parent families, which country saw the fastest rise rate in 1999, compared with 1990?
| A．UK. | B．Australia. | C．America. | D．Belgium. |
What is the cause of the rise of single-parent families across the globe?
| A．The nearby family members have a favorable opinion. |
| B．A lone parent is well off enough to support his/her children. |
| C．A lot of problems have arisen in two-parent families. |
| D．We cannot get enough proving information from the text. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the increase of single-parent families according to the passage?
A. It will somewhat limit the growing population of younger generation.
B. Governments should take actions about the social problems brought about by it.
C. Single-parent families are not looked down upon in any country mentioned here.
Several years ago, I had a huge falling out with one of my best friends. So huge, in fact, that now I can’t even remember what happened.
In the past nine years, I’ve seen her twice, and each time we’ve been polite but distant. And that troubles me because we were once that close to each other. I’d like nothing more than to go back nine years, and continue our friendship. But how? How do you reconnect with friends you’ve lost throughout the years?
Linking to your past
The desire to reconnect with lost friend isn’t unusual. Why? Because friends link us to the past. “Friends from years ago are custodians(监护人) of our past,” says Sandy Sheehy, author of Connecting” The Enduring Power of Female Friendship.
Although you can’t share information about your past with friends you’ve met recently, you don’t have a shared history with them. So you wind up only telling them about your past, rather than sharing it with them.
But many people never try to reconnect. Women especially have trouble taking the first step. Shyness or fear that the other person doesn’t want to reconnect often stops many women. And that shouldn’t be. Your friends probably want to be in touch with you as much as you want to be in touch with them.
Searching for friends
Fortunately, finding lost friends isn’t as difficult as it once was, thanks to tools like the Internet. Our experts offer these suggestions for locating contact information:
Search Internet sites designed to locate people like classmates.com and switchboard.com.
Contact your high school or college alumni（校友）office to request current address information.
Surf online yellow pages. Check current phone records from your friend’s hometown.
Network with other friends who might have known your friend.
Get in touch with any of her relatives(亲戚), if you know where they live. If you know where she works, find the company’s web site and search the directory of personnel.What ‘s the subject discussed in the passage?
| A．How to make new friends. | B．How to rediscover friendships. |
| C．How to develop healthy friendships | D．How to keep in touch with friends. |
The underlined sentence “Friends from years ago are custodians of our past” means _____.
| A．many years ago old friends kept something for us |
| B．in the past old friends took care of us |
| C．old friends are part of our life history |
| D．old friends know what wrong things we did in the past |
What makes us unwilling to reconnect old friends?
| A．Lack of money | B．Shortage of time |
C．Regret  and shame |
D．Fear and shyness |
How can we make contact with the lost friends?
| A．By asking other friends of the information on your lost friends. |
| B．By searching your friends’ telephone number in the net. |
| C．By asking the local post office about your friends’ new address. |
| D．By putting an ad in your friends’ local town. |
Save the Animals
Animals are natural resources(资源) that people have wasted all through our history.
Ani
mals have been killed for their fur and feathers(羽毛), for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than just beautiful or interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鹰), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid(禁止) the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.Animals are important to us mainly because __________.
| A．they give us a source of food | B．they are beautiful and lovely |
| C．they keep the balance of nature | D．they give us a lot of pleasure |
What has happened to the animals on the earth?
A．About 170 kinds of animals have disappeared  forever. |
| B．Thousands of kinds of animals are gone forever. |
| C．A few kinds of animals have died out. |
| D．All kinds of animals are in danger. |
Why do people kill animals?
| A．They kill animals for something they need. |
| B．They kill animals to raise some money. |
| C．Animals destroy their natural resources. |
| D．Animals create many problems. |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．People care much about animals because they need them. |
| B．Killing all rats and mice may cause some new problems. |
| C．Once a certain kind of animal is gone forever, there will never be any more. |
| D．People must not kill any animal or plant. |
What can we conclude from the fact that quite a few countries have passed laws protecting animals in danger?
| A．Animals in danger will be kept away from people. |
| B．Animals in danger will not be killed any more. |
| C．The number of some animals in danger will increase. |
| D．Every person will know the importance of protecting wild animals. |
About 809 primary school pupils from Southwest China’s quake-hit Sichuan Province arrived in eastern Shandong Province on a special train to attend classes there. The pupils, all from Leigu Township, Beichuan County, a badly-hit area in Sichuan, will study for about two months in schools in Shandong’s capital city of Jinan.
They have been arranged to study in four schools in Jinan and enjoy free schooling, food and accommodation. Each pupil would be given a monthly subsidy of 30 yuan. “To let them come to Jinan is not only for study, but also for recovery from the quake trauma (精神创伤).” said Zou Shiping, Jinan’s vice mayor. In Mingzhu Primary School in Jinan, a wall of pictures became a special way for the local pupils
to welcome their friends from the quake zone. Dormitories were also specially decorated for them.
“This is the best meal that I have had for a long time.” a student from Wenchuan said after her first breakfast in the new place. Huang Zujie, Jinan Education Bureau’s deputy director, said, “We will let the children feel just as they are in their hometown.” Huang said the schools had invited chefs of Sichuan cuisine to let the pupils taste their familiar hometown meals. A second group of about 500 middle school students from Sichuan will soon come to Jinan for classes.Where did those 809 primary school pupils arrive?
| A．Hebei Province. | B．Qing Dao. | C．Jinan | D．Beichuan County. |
Which statement below is RIGHT?
A. Students come to Jinan for study.
B. Students come to Jinan for recovery from the quake trauma.
C. Students come to Jinan for a visit.
D. Both A and B.Which statement is NOT true according to the short passage?
| A．The pupils needn’t pay for food and they will eat Shandong meals. |
| B．A second group of 500 middle school students from Sichuan will soon come to Jinan for classes. |
| C．Pupils from Leigu Township were arranged to study in four schools in Jinan. |
| D．Each pupil would be given a monthly subsidy of 30 yuan. |
How many students from Sichuan Province will come to Jinan for classes altogether?
A. About 1,309. About 809. C. About 500. D. About 2,000.
We are living in a wonderful age, which has become wonderful largely through the scientific discoveries and inventions. There are always new discoveries and new knowledge ahead in every field. For example, much is yet to be discovered in electricity. Weather forecasting is an important area today. Science is doing much in the control of diseases.
Science is a never-ending road for us to go along. Every field gives changes to the person who wants to make science his life work.
Science is also a method of thinking, which can teach us how t
o solve problems and help us to arrive at the truth. The men and women who will be the scientists of tomorrow are in our colleges, factories and farms today. We are all potential scientists. The main idea of this passage is _____.
| A．all scientists begin to study when they are very young |
| B．science teaches us how to work better |
| C．science is a never-ending road for people to go along |
| D．weather forecasting is important |
Discoveries and inventions are the results of the study and use of _____.
| A．electricity | B．science | C．weather | D．the truth |
There are always discoveries _____ for people to make.
| A．in electricity | B．in weather forecasting |
| C．in every field | D．in thinking |
Science teaches us how to work by ______ method.
| A．important | B．scientific | C．old | D．new |
The underlined word "potential" means _____.
| A．worth | B．probable | C．learned | D．lazy |
As we all know, robots are playing an important role in our daily life at present. Now South Korean schoolchildren see robot teachers in the classroom at an elementary school in Seoul. Robot teachers – who never get angry or make sarcastic (讽刺) re
marks--- have been a hit with pupils during a pilot project in some South Korean schools, a government report said Thursday.
Elementary school children responded favourably to the robotic teachers, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said, citing a survey by educational researchers.
English-teaching robots were sent to three provincial schools for eight weeks starting in late December.
And programmable electronic devices looking like robots, which teach math, science and art, were used in 10 Seoul schools for five weeks from November.
The researchers found that the English-teaching robots helped raise interest in the language and boosted the con
fidence of students.
“Tele-presence (远程呈现)” robots are controlled remotely by an English teacher and are equipped with a microphone and video camera. Autonomous units use voice-recognition software to interact with children .
The government has expressed interest in robots to give rural school children more learning opportunities.
“The machines spurr
ed creativity and had a positive influence on the attitude of students,” a ministry official told Yonhap news agency.
Officials in charge of the project are working to improve the quality of robot teaching and iron out glitches （小故障）before any decision to expand (扩大) their use.What’s the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show South Korean schoolchildren don’t like their teachers |
| B．To prove robot teachers are better than real teachers. |
| C．To tell us the government will forbid using robot teachers in the future. |
| D．To show us a piece of news about robot teachers. |
According to the passage, the schoolchildren’s attitude to the robot teacher is _____ .
| A．bored | B．interested | C．negative | D．disappointed |
The underlined word “spurred” can be replaced by “______”.
| A．encouraged | B．prevented | C．damaged | D．cut |