B
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”
One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.
She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.
In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.
She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.
Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.
However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.The writer wrote the passage to________.
| A．illustrate the strength and weakness of having an only child |
| B．analyze the reasons why having an only child becomes popular |
| C．guide people to look at the same issue from different perspectives |
| D．present us with different opinions about having an only child |
Why are families getting smaller according to the passage?
| A．Women are less fertile. |
| B．Women give priority to career. |
| C．It is positive to have an only child. |
| D．There are not many job positions for children. |
The sentence “Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience.”should be placed at the beginning of paragraph______.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
What does the underlined sentence we all interpret events in our own individual way in Paragraph 6 mean ?
| A．Some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions |
| B．We should consider the needs of individuals. |
| C．Journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood. |
| D．It’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle. |
Sitting by her Pinocchio lamp, she smiled at me as her tiny hands’ shadow danced on the bedroom wall．"A rabbit!" she laughed with all the delight of a four-year old．Her blue eyes shone with pride as she showed me the animated image she had created．"Daddy, will you show me how to make a tiger?" she asked．"Sure," I said, "and then we’ll read a story and tell your angels goodnight．"To my youngest daughter, that meant her bedtime prayer．
Today my daughter is seven, and I no longer get to read the story．She reads it to me, complete with expressive accents for the story characters．
To say I’m proud of our relationship would be an understatement．We have shared days of joy as well as tragedy．Our time together has strengthened the relationship of love and special "life stuff" that is all our own．
I am richer for having planted the spirit of trust in this gentle little person; we have grown together spiritually, learning much from each other．The special times we spend together, like nights by a Pinocchio lamp, create memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives．
So it is with all of our relationships．The trust factor is vital for relationships to develop．Think of one of your fondest memories, and you will no doubt find a remarkable relationship at its center--one with a spiritual quality that shines outward from the heart．
Time together, caring acts, and unconditional love build trust．I suggest that we each spend plenty of time with our personal "Pinoechio lamps"--those special ways that we choose to strengthen our relationships．
Relationships take time to develop and maintain．It is not always easy, but the results are priceless．"Nights by a Pinoechio lamp", wherever those might be for you, will create enduring relationships of golden "life stuff", spiritual gifts that no one can take away．The underlined words in the third paragraph refer to all EXCEPT ______．
| A．hands’ shadow dancing on the wall |
| B．reading bed stories |
| C．sharing each other’s tragedy |
| D．praying to the angels for goodnight |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．The author thinks the relationship with his daughter is so simple that he can’t describe with plenty of words． |
| B．If you take time to attempt to build relationship, you will find it easy to get the satisfactory results． |
| C．Plant the spirit of trust into others and you will create valuable memories for each other． |
| D．It’s not worth spending time developing relationship if you meet the failure at last． |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To recall his fondest memories． |
| B．To stress the importance of trust in building relationships． |
| C．To explain how to create valuable memories． |
| D．To tell the readers how to educate children． |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．Life Stuff Of Your Own |
| B．Nights by a Pinocchio Lamp |
| C．Unconditional gifts---Love |
| D．A spiritual quality shining outward from the heart |
Few of us make money by losing sleep．But three graduate students at Brown University in Providence built a company around sleep deprivation （睡眠不足）．
Jason Donahue, Ben Rubin and Eric Shashoua were working late nights in Brown’s business and engineering schools．They began thinking about ways to sleep better．They discovered they weren’t alone in burning the midnight oil．Around 20% of Americans get less than six hours of rest a night．
The friends imagined a smart alarm clock that could track how much time people spend in the most restorative （有回复作用的） stages of the sleep cycle: REM （rapid eye movement） and deep sleep．What would it cost to design such a thing? Five years of research, 20 employees, $14 million and a whole lot of doubting from investors and scientists．
Their company, Zeo, based in Newton, Mass, launched its product in June, 2009．The Zeo device uses a headband with tiny sensors （传感器） that scan your brain for signs of four sleep states- REM, light, deep and waking sleep．The smart alarm clock displays a graph of your sleep pattern and wakes you as you’re not in REM sleep （which is when you’re least groggy）．In the morning you can upload the data to the company’s Web site, and so track your sleep over time．Most of the feedback comes in the form of Zeo’s ZQ score showing how well you’ve slept．
"Zeo allows people to unlock this black box of sleep," says Dave Dickinson, a health-care CEO．
Whether any of this actually improves sleep is up to the consumer, who will also need to make lifestyle changes like cutting out alcohol before bedtime or caffeine after 3 pm．
For now the company is selling Zeo online only．Dickinson also plans to spread it to countries such as Australia, where sleep deprivation approaches US levels．Who will support Zeo?
| A．People full of imagination． | B．People suffering sleeping problems． |
| C．People having access to the Internet． | D．People having bad lifestyles． |
Why did the three graduate students imagine a smart alarm clock?
| A．To wake them up on time in the morning． |
| B．To earn enough money for their study． |
| C．To improve the quality of people’s sleep． |
| D．To enjoy their life while working at night． |
To design the Zeo device, the three graduate students ____．
| A．spent much time and money | B．were widely supported by scientists |
| C．worked by themselves all the time | D．attracted many investors |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Zeo has a direct effect on users’ lifestyles． |
| B．It needs more personal efforts to make Zeo function better． |
| C．A large quantity of Zeo devices have been sold in Australia． |
| D．Consumers can go to the Zeo company to purchase Zeo in person． |
For many people, the name Baskin-Robbins is linked to sweet memories of eating ice cream．Irvine Robbins, who helped create this famous company, died in May at the age of ninety．His life’s work of making fun and exciting ice cream flavors changed the way Americans enjoy this food．
Irvine Robbins opened his first ice cream store in 1945 in California．At the time, there were no stores that sold only ice cream．His sister’s husband, Burton Baskin, also opened his own ice cream stores．
In 1948 they combined their six stores into one business．Baskin and Robbins realized that they were too busy to operate each store well．So, they decided to sell part of each operation to the manager of that store．This permitted the company to grow quickly．
By 1953, they renamed their company Baskin-Robbins．They advertised that they sold 31 kinds of ice cream to show the many choices buyers had．There was one flavor for every day of the month．
Robbins and Baskin sold "Lunar Cheesecake" the day after astronauts landed on the moon in 1969．Other flavors included "ChaChaCha", for cherry chocolate chip, and Robbins’ personal favorite "Jamoca Almond Fudge"．They said: "We sell fun, not just ice cream．"
By 1967, there were 500 Baskin-Robbins stores in the United States．The business partners sold their company that year．Today, there are more than 5,800 Baskin-Robbins stores around the world．What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The managers of Baskin-Robbins． | B．The start of Baskin-Robbins． |
| C．The production of Baskin Robbins． | D．The great success of Baskin-Robbins． |
From the text we learn that _____．
| A．Baskin-Robbins was the only shop selling ice cream in 1945 |
| B．Baskin-Robbins was famous for their special ice cream flavors |
| C．Baskin-Robbins grew quickly because they combined their other stores together |
| D．there had been more than 5,800 Baskin-Robbins stores around the world by 1967 |
What was probably the main reason for Baskin-Robbins’ success?
| A．They sold not only ice cream, but fun． |
| B．They renamed their company． |
| C．They put all their hearts into the business． |
| D．They sold "Lunar Cheesecake"． |
It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that
| A．Jamoca Almond Fudge is Baskins’ favorite |
| B．Cherry chocolate chip sells best |
| C．Robbins and Baskin were good at inventing new ice creams |
| D．Lunar cheesecake was invented for the astronauts |
Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it’s best to sleep on a problem．They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive each day．
The lead researcher Bob Stickgold at the Harvard Medical School said, “Sleep helps us draw rules from our experiences．It’s like knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it’s hard to explain．”
The US research team studied how well students remembered connections between words and symbols, reports New Scientist．They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the words and having the test, and if they had not slept．They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night’s sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day．They also found it easier to remember themes that the words had in common．But they forgot around one in four more themes if they had been awake．
Prof．John Groeger, of Survey University’s Sleep Research Centre, said, “People have been trying for years to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative （促使康复的）value．”
“We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the brain deals with them all．”The phrase “to sleep on a problem” in Paragraph 1 most likely means “________”．
| A．to pay full attention to a problem |
| B．to wait until the next day for a decision |
| C．to sleep to forget a problem |
| D．to have difficulty in sleeping |
In the study by the US research team, students were asked to ________．
| A．put together words of similar meanings |
| B．remember words and their meanings |
| C．show their knowledge of words |
| D．make up lists of related words |
Which of the following may be easier to remember?
| A．Themes learned right before the test． |
| B．Rules from personal experiences． |
| C．Words learned before a good sleep． |
| D．Ideas stored together in the brain． |
What may be the importance of the research?
| A．It shows that sleep may help us manage information． |
| B．It helps find out the common themes of words． |
| C．It tells us that more sleep can improve health． |
| D．It proves the value of old-fashioned advice． |
Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub．But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes（失礼）for the newcomers．
A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs - starting with the difficulty of getting a drink．Most pubs have no waiters - you have to go to the bar to buy drinks．A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own．This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose．
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability（社交）in a society known for its reserve．Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served．The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior．“If you haven’t been to a pub, you haven’t been to Britain．” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists’ Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers’ rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”．
The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat．For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks．Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order．The underlined word “sample” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
| A．taste | B．experience |
| C．test | D．record |
The culture of pub in Britain is so developed to ________．
| A．encourage people to communicate with each other |
| B．encourage more people to consume drinks |
| C．attract more tourists to the pubs |
| D．form its own character of culture |
If you don’t follow the local rules in a pub, ________．
| A．you won’t buy good local drinks |
| B．you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff |
| C．you may fail to feel the local culture |
| D．you might get into a dangerous place |
What may be the best title for the passage?
| A．Self-service Pubs in Britain |
| B．British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places |
| C．Local Pub Culture in Britain |
| D．Manners in British Local Pubs |