C
If you could take a large snapshot (照片) of everyone in the United States today, it would contain six million more females than males. In this country, women outlive men by about seven years. Throughout the modern world, cultures are different, diets are different, ways of life and causes of death are different, but one thing is the same--- women outlive men.
It starts before birth. At conception, male fetuses(胎儿) outnumber female by about 110 to 100; at birth, the rate has already fallen to about 105 boys to every 100 girls. By the age of 30, there are only enough men left to match the number of women. Then women start taking a lead. Beyond the age of 80, there are nearly twice as many women as men.
“If you look at the top ten or twelve causes of death,” said Deborah Wingard, a disease expert at the University of California at San Diego, “every single one kills more men.” She listed out one sad fate after another – heart disease, lung cancer and so on. Each kills men at roughly twice the rate of that it does women.
More than a century ago American men surpassed and outlived the women. But in the 20th century, women began living longer, primarily because pregnancy（怀孕) and giving birth to children had become less dangerous. The gap grew steadily. In 1946, for the first time ever in the United States, females outnumbered males.
Parts of the reasons are self-made. Men smoke more, drink more and take more life-threatening chances than women. Men are murdered (usually by other men) three times as often as women are. They commit suicide at a higher rate and have more than twice as many fatal car accidents as women do. Men are likely to be involved in alcohol-related deaths.
But behavior doesn’t explain away the longevity gap.
Today, some scientists studying the gender gap believe that the data point to one conclusion: Mother Nature may be partial(偏袒) to women.
Every living thing is assembled according to instructions on its chromosomes (染色体), and humans have 23 pairs of them. But in males, one of these is a weak non-matching pair, expressed by “xy”. The agreement pair in females is “xx”, and its genetic “backup” power is sometimes listed as a clue to woman’s superior restoring force. If the male’s single “x” chromosome isn’t perfect, it is possible for a serious genetic disorder to appear. Some blood diseases, for instance, are diseases caused by a shortcoming in a single gene on the “x” chromosome. They are far more common in males than females.
What may the underlined word “outlive” in Paragraph1 mean?
| A．Become stronger than. |
| B．Live longer than. |
| C．Be wiser than. |
| D．Be born more earlier than. |
What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．Female fetuses are more than male. |
| B．The female are surpassing the male with age increasing. |
| C．By the age of 30, the female are more than the male. |
| D．Over 90, men are more than women in the United States. |
How many exact diseases are mentioned as examples killing twice men than women?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Ten. | D．Five. |
The best title for this passage is _____
| A．Why women live longer than men |
| B．Women are different from men |
| C．American men once lived longer than the women |
| D．Men smoke and drank more than women |
Hiring a selfdrive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday. There are so many places of interest to visit, and if you enjoy seeing more than just the city center there’s no better way to explore than by car.
| Hire Charges |
| What’s included a)Unlimited mileage(英里数) |
| b)Expenses on oil, maintenance(保养) and repairs, which will be repaid on production of invoices(发票) |
| What’s not included |
| a)Personal accident insurance. |
| b)Garaging, petrol, parking and traffic fines. |
Condition of Hire
The shortest rental period at these specially low prices is three days. For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative at the hotel.
Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car. But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance, please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.
The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range, but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.
Upon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company’s Conditions of Hire.
If you decide to hire a car, just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us. A booking fee of ￡12 as part of the car hire cost is required.
Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before date of hire), a cancellation charge of ￡12 will be made.
5.From the advertisement we can see a car hirer will pay.
A.insurance against damage to the car
B.insurance against injury to the driver
C.the cost of maintenance of the car
D.the cost of repairs to the car
6.Which of the following is NOT true judging from the advertisement?
A.Such an advertisement most likely appears in a newspaper.
B.You are required to fill in a form before you hire a car.
C.You are pretty certain to hire a particular car if you’d like to.
D.You have to pay a booking fee when you hire a car from the company.
7.If car hirers change their minds after paying the whole cost of hiring, the ￡12 booking fee is .
A.partly returned
B.doubly paid
C.not returned at all
D.returned within two weeks.
In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastestgrowing U. S. minority. As their children began moving up through the nation schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U. S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English. They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively. And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.
Most AsianAmerican students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember when Chinese,Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.
8.While making tremendous achievements at college, AsianAmerican students .
A.feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English
B.are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian character
C.still worry about unfair treatment in society
D.generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents
9.What are the major factors that determine the success of Asian Americans?
A.A solid foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture.
B.Hard work and intelligence.
C.Parents’ help and a limited knowledge of English.
D.Asian culture and the American educational systerm.
10.Few Asian American students major in human sciences mainly because .
A.their English is not good enough
B.they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgment in these areas
C.there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures
D.they know little about American culture and society
11.Why do “both explanations” (Para. 3) worry Asian Americans?
A.They are afraid that they will again be isloated from American society in general.
B.People will think that Asian students rely on their parents for success.
C.Asian Americans will be a threat to other minorities.
D.American academic achievements have taken on too strong an Asian character.
How to eat healthfully can be espeically complex for working women who often have neither the desire nor the time to cook for themselves (or for anyone else). Registered dietitian(营养专家)Barhara Morrissey suggests that a few simple rules can help.
“Go for nutrientdense foods,”she suggests, “foods that contain a multiple of nutrients. For example, select whole wheat bread as a breakfast food, rather than coffee cake. Or drink orange juice rather than orange drink, which contains only a small percentage of real juice-the rest is largely colored sugar water. You just can’t compare the value of these foods, the nutrientdense ones are so superior, ”she emphasizes.
Morrissey believes that variety is not only the spice of life—it’s the foundation of a healthful diet. Diets which are based on one or two foods are not only virtually impossible to keep up the strength, they can be very harmful, she says, because nutrients aren’t supplied in sufficient amounts or balance.
According to Morrissey, trying to find a diet that can cure your illnesses, or make you superwoman is a fruitless search. As women, many of us are too concerned with staying thin, she says, and we believe that vitamins are some kind of magic cure to replace food.
“We need carbohydrates, protein and fat—they are like the wood in the fireplace. The vitamins and minerals are like the match, the spark, for the fuel,”she explains. “We need them all, but in a very different proportions. And if the fuel isn’t there, the spark is useless.”
12.From the paragraph we know that working women .
think cooking is especially complicated
do not share the same views with registered dietitians
are busy and not interested in cooking
D. are likely to eat healthfully
13.Orange juice is different from orange drink in that .
A.it contains only a small percentage of real juice
B.it is natural, nutritious and prepared from real oranges
C.it is largely orangecolored sugar water
D.it produces nothing but calories
14.In Paragraph 4, “a fruitless search”means .
A.an effort with no results
B.a search for a diet without fruits
C.a research on fruitless diet
D.a diet serving as medicine
15.Many women take it for granted, according to passage that .
A.a balanced diet can result in being fat
B.staying thin and healthy are both possible
C.lack of variety in diets leads to staying thin
D.vitamins are some kind of subsitutions for food
16.By “if the fuel isn’t there, the spark is useless”,the author means .
A.carbohydrates, protein and fat are enough to support a human life
B.vitamins and minerals are virtually of no valuew.
C.carbohydrates, protein and fat are as important as vitamins and minerals
D.without carbohydrates, protein and fat, vitamins and minerals are of no use
On September 22, 1986, Jay Brunkella, a police-officer in the Rogers Park district in Chicago, was shot during a drug arrest and died. Shortly af terwards, fellow officer Ken Knapcik, a 20-year veteran (老警官) of the force, returned home after work to find a note from his 15-year-old daughter on the dining table.
Dad-This poem came directly from my heart. I love you so much! It scares and amazes me that you go out every day and risk everything to provide us with all that we have. I wrote this to express how much I love you and how much lost I’d be without you-Laura. P.S.: Hey, let’s be careful out there.
Titled “The Ultimate Cop”, Laura’s poem was dedicated “To all the cops in the world who have daughters who love them with all their hearts. And especially to my dad.” It was about a police-officer’s daughter who sees on the night time news that her father has been shot. Part of poem: “Daddy, my Daddy, can you hear me cry? Oh, God, I need my Daddy, please don’t let him die.”
Ken Knapcik stood alone as he read the poem. “It took me several minutes,”he said.“I’d get through part of it and have to stop before I could go on. I was weeping. She had never told me she was scared.” He took the poem to work the next day and showed it to his fellow officers. “I’ve never seen so many grown men cry. Some couldn’t finish it.”
Knapcik keeps Laura’s poem in the pocket of his police jacket. He takes it with him every time he leaves the house for a new shift. “I don’t want to be out there without it.” he said, “I’ll probably carry it with me forever.”
1.Laura wrote the poem ______.
A.in memory of her father who was shot in the drug arrest
B.to show her great sorrow in losing her father
C.to show her respect to all the cops who lost their lives
D.to tell officer Ken Knapcik how much she loved him
2.All the officers cried because ______
A.Jay Brunkella was shot and died
B.they were greatly touched by the poem
C.the poem was so sad that they couldn’t hold back their tears
D.they thought of their dangerous life
3.Knapcik keeps Laura’s poem in his pocket ______.
A.to treasure her daughter’s love and to value his own life B.to keep it from missing
C.because he can’t go out without it D.to mourn over the death of officer Jay Brunkella
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.Poem for a cop B.An offier’s death
C.Daughter’s love D.Love my job, love my daughter
In some urban centers, workaholism is so common that people do not consider it unusual:
They accept the lifestyle as normal. Government workers in Washington D.C, for example, frequently work sixty to seventy hours a week. They don’t do this because they have to; they do it because they want to.
Workaholism can be a serious problem. Because true workaholics would rather work than do anything else, they probably don’t know how to relax.
Is workaholism always dangerous? Perhaps not. There are, certainly, people who work well under stress. Some studies show that many workaholies have great energy and interest in life. Their work is so pleasurable that they are actually very happy. For most workaholics, work and entertainment keep them busy and creative.
Why do workaholics enjoy their jobs so much? There are several advantages to work. Of course, it provides people with paychecks, and this is important. But it offers more than financial security. It provides people with selfconfidence; they have a feeling of satisfaction when they’re produced a challenging piece of work and are able to say,“I made that.” Psychologists claim that work gives people an identity through participation in work, they get a sense of self and individualism. In addition, most jobs provide people with a socially acceptable way to meet others. Perhaps some people are compulsive about their work, but their addiction seems to be a safe-even an advantageous-one.
9.The passage indicates that workaholics .
A.just know work but nothing else
B.are willing to work hard for long hours without pay
C.find their work provide them more satisfaction and selfconfidence than how much they are paid
D.has the work with more responsibility than others
10.One of the reasons that some people are not willing to quit their jobs even in their eighties and nineties is that
A.they are in the need of financial security
B.they would rather work than be disturbed by domestic affairs
C.they long for a sense of identity and being accomplished
D.they may have health problems from sheer boredom
11.This passage is mainly about .
A.workaholics are usually successful people, but their lives are in a mess
B.workaholism can lead to serious problems but it can also create a joyful life
C.people who are absorbed in their work may enjoy movies, sports and other kinds of entertainment
D.those who work even under difficult conditions may be very happy
12.It can be inferred from the passage that .
A.in the eyes of all the common people workaholics are peculiar
B.to workaholics, work is the sole source of happiness
C.a piece of challenging work may provide the workaholics a sense of satisfaction
D.workaholics are as addicted to their job as other people are to drugs or alcohol