SheldonCooperisascientificgeni-优题课

Americans think that travel is good for you, some even think it can help one of the country’s worst problems — crime. Crime worries a lot of people. Every year, the number of crimes goes up and up. And many criminals(罪犯) are young. They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all.
There are many young criminals in prison. But prison doesn’t change them. Six or seven in ten will go back to crime when they come out of prison. One man, Bob Burton, thought of a new idea. In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road. They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger. This helped them to grow into men. So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest”. He takes young criminals on a long, long journey with horses and wagons, 3 000 miles through seven states. They are on the road for more than a year.
The young people on Vision Quest all have had problems. Most of them have already spent time in prison. This is their last chance. It’s hard work on the road. The day starts before the sun comes up. The boys and girls have to feed the horses. Some of them have never loved anyone before. But they can love their horses. That love can help them to a new life.
Not all the young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them. Three or four in ten will one day be in prison again. Bob Burton is right. Travel can be good for you. Even today, Americans still say, “Go west, young man.”
1. In paragraph 4 “leave crime behind them” means _______.
A. no longer do a crime B. leave people who do a crime
C. don’t do all the crime D. leave criminals behind
2. From the passage we may infer that _______.
A. getting up before the sun rises can help people out of crime
B. loving can help young people to a new life
C. traveling can help all criminals out of prison
D. being brave and strong can do with crime
3. On “Vision Quest” _______.
A. young people have bad problems
B. young people grow tall very fast
C. young people often help their friends in time of danger
D. all of the above
4. Americans still say, “Go west, young man”, because _______.
A. if they go west they can have a travel
B. in the west there is a prison
C. there they have to live a hard life to grow into men
D. the prison doesn’t change them

Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale(小规模地), faces practically every company trying to develop new products and create new jobs. There can be little hope of raising the money needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance(资金), they are generally unwilling to provide money, for long-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share(股份) in the business in exchange for a share in future interests. This they do by issuing(发行) stocks(股票) and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so they can put into circulation(流通) the savings of single persons and institutions, both at home and abroad.
When the saver(储蓄者) needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. Instead he sells his shares through a stockbroker(证券经纪人) to some other saver who is seeking to invest his money.
Many of the services needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the government or by local organizations. Without hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones and railways, this country could not work. All these require continuous spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than it is raised through taxes alone. The government, local organizations and nationalized industries therefore frequently need to borrow money to finance(给…提供资金) major capital spending, and they, too, come to the Stock Exchange.
There is hardly a man or woman in this country whose standard of living does not depend on the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another his new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange exists to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.
1. The money which enables these companies to go ahead with their projects is _______.
A. exchanged for part ownership in the Stock Exchange
B. raised by the selling of shares in the companies
C. repaid to its original owners as soon as possible
D. invested in different companies in the Stock Exchange
2. All the basic services on which we depend are _______.
A. unable to provide for the needs of the population
B. financed wholly by rates and taxes
C. in constant need of financial support
D. run by the government or local organizations
3. The Stock Exchange makes it possible for the government, local organizations and nationalized industries _______.
A. to make certain everybody saves money
B. to borrow as much money as they wish
C. to make certain everybody lends money to them
D. to raise money to finance new development
4. The underlined word invest probably means _______.
A. give more money with B. provide less money with
C. borrow less money with D. make more money with

Work is a very important part of life in the United States. When the early Protestant immigrants(新教徒移民) came to this country, they brought the idea that work was the way to God and heaven. This attitude, the Protestant Work Ethic(道德规范), still influences America today. Work is not only important for economic benefits, the salary, but also for social and psychological needs, the feeling of doing something for the good of the society. Americans spend most of their lives working, being productive. For most Americans, their work defines(给…下定义) them: they are what they do. What happens then, when a person can no longer work? Almost all Americans stop working at age sixty-five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire; but leaving one’s job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Many retirees do not know how to use their time or they feel lost without their jobs. Retirements can also bring financial problems. Many people rely on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. Each employer also gives a certain percentage to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty-five, have to have savings in the bank or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation(通货膨胀) is forcing prices higher each year; Social Security checks alone cannot cover these growing expenses. The government offers some assistance(补助), Medicare(health care)and welfare(general assistance), but many senior citizens have to change their life styles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel and other necessities.
Of course, many senior citizens are happy with retirement. They have time to spend with their families or enjoy their hobbies. Some continue to work part time, others do volunteer(志愿) work. Some, like those in the Retired Business Executives Association, even help young, people to get started in new business. Many retired citizens also belong to “Golden Age” groups. These organizations plan trips and social events. There are many chances for retirees.
American society is only beginning to be concerned about the special physical and emotional needs of its senior citizens. The government is taking steps to ease the problem of limited income. They are building new housing, offering discounts(折扣) in stores and museums and on buses, and providing other services such as free courses, food service, and help with housework. Retired citizens are a rapidly growing percentage of the population. This part of the population is very important and we must meet their needs. After all, every citizen will be a senior citizen some day.
1. The author believes that work first became important to Americans because of _______.
A. religion B. economy C. psychology D. family
2. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. money and check B. senior and junior
C. work and retirement D. Protestants and Americans
3. When Americans stop work, it’s difficult for them to _______.
A. get Social Security checks B. feel productive
C. enjoy themselves D. be religious
4. The author mentions _______ examples of the government' steps to ease the problem of limited income.
A. two B. four C. five D. three

The U.S. Department of Labor statistics(统计) show that there is an oversupply of college trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree.
On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen. These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white —collar workers make a better living than blue collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.
The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating(灌输) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life. Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments(入学) go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.
One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up.
1. It’s implied but not stated in the passage that _______.
A. many other countries are facing the same problem
B. white-collar workers in the US used to make more money than blue-collar workers
C. fewer students will prefer to go to college in the future
D. the law of supply and demand has a strong effect on American higher education
2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why college enrollments go up every year？
A. Many people believe that the only way to success is a college education.
B. Many parents want their children to go to college.
C. High school teachers urge their students to go to college.
D. Every young man and woman wants to go to college.
3. By saying that “many people go to college who do not belong there”, the author means that _______.
A. many people who are not fit for college education go to college
B. many people who do not have enough money go to college
C. many people who go to college drop out within the first year
D. many people who go to college have their hopes destroyed
4. We can infer from the passage that the author believes that _______.
A. every young man and woman should go to college
B. college education is a bad thing
C. people with a college education should receive higher pay
D. fewer people should go to college while more should be trained for skilled jobs

Many immigrants(移民) to the United States find the decision to seek better lives for their families in America can have an unexpected and tragic consequence(后果). Deep differences with their children develop over language and culture.
“Many immigrants arrive here without much education. Their kids soon gain language skills and also street marts(耍时髦) on how to live in America, leaving the parents at a disadvantage,” Ileana , Roses, pastor of a Methodist church group operating in Virginia, said.
“Not only that but they find they cannot relate to children who quickly absorb American culture,” she said.
According to the US Census Bureau(人口调查局), the number of foreign born or first generation Americans reached 55 million last year, a record one in five of the total population.
A government survey of 922 immigrants in 2000 found that nearly 40 percent of those who had been in the United States for more than 15 years would still like to take English classes if they had the time.
Two thirds of low income households depended on their children for translation.
Psychologists(心理学家) and sociologists say parents can lose their position of authority(权威) in a family as a result and the effects of that can be far-reaching.
Children exposed to American pop culture that glorifies(颂扬) youth and sexuality(性感) often rebel when their parents try to impose the conservative values they brought with them.
“Americanization erodes(侵蚀) all important aspects of parenting,” said Richard Weissbourd, who teaches education at Harvard University.
“I feel a part of me is dying with my children. They don’t listen to my music. I have to play it on Sunday morning when they are not around,” said an immigrant.
1. What troubles the immigrant parents most is ___________.
A. that they can’t understand the English language
B. that they lose their position of authority in their families
C. that their children have lost sense of their own national values
D. how they can master the English language as soon as possible
2. From the passage we can infer that the population of the states at present is about____.
A. 275 million B. 220 million C. 255 million D. smaller than 250 million
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. All the immigrants had expected the troubles they would meet before they went to the US.
B. Two thirds of immigrant families are low income households.
C. American culture shows a spirit against conservative social and cultural values.
D. American pop culture puts the immigrant families at a disadvantage.
4. Which of the following is probably the title of the report?
A. The Result of the US Census
B. The Differences Between Parents and Children in the US
C. The Troubles of the American Immigrants
D. Role Reversal(颠倒) Troubles Many Parents and Children