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 miss the best time to be a mother. 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(t帖子) about how good it is to have an only child”.
She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same high spirits. 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 classmates.
Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience. 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(抚养).
She was placed on a high position by her doting(溺爱的) parents, whom she punished with an “impolite, willful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly hurt by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.
Writer and doctor 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.According to the passage, how many families in the U.K. have an only child?
| A．7.7million | B．3.7 million |
| C．3 million | D．1.1 million |
The passage is written with the purpose of ________.
| A．illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child |
| B．analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular |
| C．presenting us with different opinions about having an only child |
| D．guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Nearly half of families intend to have just one child. |
| B．All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child. |
| C．Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child. |
| D．People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family. |
From what Dr. Dorothy Rowe said, we know that ________.
| A．journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood |
| B．she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction |
| C．it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle |
| D．some children are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children. |
| B．Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child. |
| C．Economic development plays a determining role in the family size. |
| D．Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents. |
Eating foods high in trans-fats(fats present in artificial form in industrially-produced cakes and fast food...) and saturated (饱和的) fats increases the risk of depression, according to a Spanish study, confirming previous studies that linked “junk food” with the disease. Researchers also showed that some products, such as olive oil, can fight against the risk of mental illness.
Authors of the wide-reaching study, from the universities of Navarra and Las Palmas, followed and analyzed the diet and lifestyle of over l2,000 volunteers over six years. When the study began, none of the participants had been diagnosed with depression; by the end, 657 of them were new sufferers.
“Participants with an increased consumption of trans-fats presented up to a 48 percent increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats,” the head study author said. “The more trans-fats were consumed, the greater harmful effect they produced in the volunteers.”
The research team found, at the same time, that after assessing the effect of polyunsaturated fats made up of larger amounts of fish and vegetable oils and olive oil, these products are associated with a lower risk of suffering depression.
The report, published in the online journal PLOS ONE, noted the research was performed on a European population that enjoys a relatively low intake of trans-fats—making up only 0.4 percent of the total energy taken in by the volunteers. “Despite this, we observed an increase in the risk of suffering depression of nearly 50 percent,” said researcher Miguel Martinez. “On this basis we think it of great importance to take this effect into account in countries like the United States, where the percentage of energy derived from these fats is around 2.5 percent.”
The report pointed out that the current number of depression sufferers in the world is around l50 million people, and has increased in recent years. This rise is attributable, according to the authors, “to great changes in the sources of fats consumed in Western diets, where we have replaced certain types of beneficial fats in nuts, vegetable oils and fish with the saturated and trans-fats found in meats, butter and other products such as mass-produced cakes and fast food.”What's the best title of the text?
| A．Junk Food and Depression | B．Depression Prevention |
| C．Types of Fats and Depression | D．Depression Research |
Which of the following increases the risk of suffering depression?
| A．Fish. | B．Vegetable oil. | C．Olive oil. | D．Butter. |
The study tells us that .
| A．2.5% Americans suffer mental illness |
| B．l2,000 volunteers in Navarra took part |
| C．a minority of participants became new sufferers |
| D．l50 million Europeans enjoy a healthier lifestyle |
The underlined word “derived” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to .
| A．obtained | B．chosen | C．separated | D．preserved |
More and more Westerners are suffering depression because .
| A．they have less time for exercise |
| B．they eat more nuts, vegetable oils and fish |
| C．the sources of fats in their diets have changed |
| D．less meat, butter, and cakes are included in their diets |
Whenever anyone measures educational success, East Asian countries are always top scorers. But in a recent league table, a European country, Finland, was top of the class. South Korea was still in second place, though. Britain was at number 6.
In Korea the school day is long—typically 7 or 8 hours, followed by hours of private tutoring in the evenings. All this hothousing leaves Korean students so tired, they sometimes fall asleep in class next day. Worries about the effects of late night cramming(填鸭式) led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10 pm. Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world, often finishing just after lunch, with about one hour of homework a day. Private tuition is uncommon. The British and American school day is quite long in comparison, around 6 hours, and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self-study a night.
The Korean education system, like many in Asia, is intensely competitive, with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools, to help them get ahead. Finnish education is far less cut-throat. Classes are all mixed ability, and there are no league tables. British schools again occupy the middle ground, with quite high levels of competition for places at university, and schools and universities battling to come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction. Korea and Finland both do well, yet their education systems are so different.
However, there are some similarities in Korea and Finland. In those countries, teachers have high status in society, and education is very highly valued. Those attitudes can't change quickly. But it can be done. They might be the star pupils now, but until the l970s, Finland's educational system was poor. Their thoroughly different approach to schooling has taken them to the top in just a generation.The students spend the least time in school in .
| A．the UK | B．Finland | C．the USA | D．Korea |
According to the text, we think in Korea .
| A．students spend more time in studying |
| B．students are tired of studying in class |
| C．students leave their school early |
| D．students are always top scorers |
The underlined phrase “all this hothousing” in Paragragh 2 probably refers to .
| A．private evening tutoring | B．self-study at home |
| C．long-hour study | D．school study |
From Paragragh 3, we can know that .
| A．Finnish students are less stressed in study |
| B．there're also many cramming schools in Britain |
| C．students in Korea are the most competitive in Asia |
| D．British schools are less competitive than universities |
According to the author, the key to improving education is .
| A．the attitude | B．the schooling time |
| C．star pupils | D．new teaching approach |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity. But, it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. In her biography, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend, Sean, whom she met in secondary school, became the first person to encourage her and help build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Despite many setbacks Rowling persevered in her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first conceived the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my immense frustration(沮丧), I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four(delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother passed away after a ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression. Unemployed, she completed her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being rejected by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her commitment to writing that was fostered by the confidence of a friend !Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. | C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter .
| A．at the age of 6 | B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother's death | D．in her secondary school |
She felt frustrated on the train because .
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn't have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is .
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted | C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us .
| A．hardship makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement contributes to one's success |
Anyone who has ever lost keys or money will have wished for a simple but effective way to make sure it never happens again. A US company is trying to help.
Using a tiny microchip which is implanted into the arm, they have come up with a replacement for cash or credit cards that cannot be left at home or dropped on the bus.
The Verichip is about the size of a grain of rice and works using radio frequency identification technology. At a shop, a radio frequency “reader” would send a signal and the chip in your arm would respond with your unique identity number. That would give the “reader” your financial information, and money could be taken directly from your accounts and you wouldn't even have to reach for your wallet.
The company also hopes to include other information on the chip, such as medical records, building security codes(密码) and passwords, making life even easier.
But not everyone is happy with the developments. Critics say that a lot can go wrong with the chip. A clever thief could build a fake(假的) reader that would steal your information without you knowing. So your money could still be stolen. Privacy is a big issue too. Stores, or even the government, only need to track the chip to find out what you buy, how much you spend and where you go.
And if you wanted to get rid of your chip,you would need an operation to remove it.The Verichip is .
| A．the identity number | B．the security code |
| C．a tiny microchip | D．a radio reader |
Paragraph 3 is mainly about .
| A．how the Verichip works |
| B．the importance of the Verichip |
| C．the development of the Verichip |
| D．how money is taken from your accounts |
Which is true of the Verichip?
| A．Your information on it will always be safe. |
| B．Medical records have already been included. |
| C．You can easily reach for your wallet using it. |
| D．An operation has to be performed to remove it. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．All people are satisfied with the chip. |
| B．The Verichip company has financial problems. |
| C．The chip needs improving to be widely accepted. |
| D．Many people have the experience of losing keys or money. |
The author's purpose of writing the text is most likely to .
| A．warn | B．advertise | C．compare | D．introduce |
We’re surrounded by chemistry in everyday life. Sometimes it is easy to see, like when your science teacher does a big experiment in class. At other times, it can be pretty hard to see everyday chemistry at work, but nearly everything you touch or use has some element of chemistry in it.
Something as simple as toothpaste contains at least three chemicals, if not more. It is the mixture of them and its chemical reaction that keeps your teeth clean. Other things you use every day are created by chemistry, such as hair products, shampoo and soap. Adding detergent (洗涤剂) to water involves chemistry. Without chemistry, we would never have known that we need soap to get the oil out of clothes or skin. Chemistry not only helps us make products for use, but it also helps us understand the world around us. Chemistry helps us understand what the ozone layer (臭氧层) is and how it protects us. Chemistry also gives us sunscreen to protect us from the sun. Thanks to chemistry, we know bleach (漂白剂) can’t be mixed with vinegar(醋), because it can produce poisonous gas.Without chemistry, we wouldn’t have fireworks displays on important days.
Chemistry plays a big role in food preparation. Cooking food causes it to go through a chemical change. That is why cooked food often tastes different from raw food. Baking is a great example of chemistry. Too much or too little of any ingredient（成分，尤指烹饪） makes a difference to the result of baking, for example, the dough (面团) won’t rise or the cake will be flat.
Chemistry isn’t something that just lives in a lab; it’s something that you meet hundreds of times every day. Knowing how chemistry works will give you a greater understanding of the science behind some of the simplest-looking things.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 1?
| A．Chemistry is easy to see around us. |
| B．Sometimes chemistry is hard to see around us. |
| C．How a science teacher does a big experiment. |
| D．Few things in everyday life contain chemistry. |
The following actions are about chemistry EXCEPT _____.
| A．cleaning teeth with toothpaste |
| B．washing hair with hair products |
| C．using soap to get the oil out of clothes |
| D．washing your face with water |
The underlined word “poisonous” in Paragraph 3 means _____.
| A．harmful | B．healthy | C．fresh | D．pleasant |
Which one is TRUE according to Paragraph 4?
| A．One can’t find chemistry when cooking food. |
| B．Chemistry plays an important part in food mak-ing. |
| C．That dough rises is nothing to do with chemistry. |
| D．A flat cake is the result of too many ingredients. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Chemistry Around the House |
| B．Chemistry in Science |
| C．Chemistry for Dinner |
| D．Chemistry in everyday life |