As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding. Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
41．What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A．They expect everything to be easy for them.
B．They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C．They are reluctant to face all of the challenges.
D．They are burdened by student loans.
42．The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A．baby production B．pleasant
C．baby comfort D．essential
43．Which of the following is not one of the complaints of the 20-somethings?
A．They can’t have children for at least a decade to buy a house.
B．They have only one-bedroom apartment to live in.
C．They can’t buy a house until 40 because of student loans.
D．They despair at not being able to afford a Ph.D. in literature.
44．What’s the author’s attitude towards the 20-somthings with high expectation in Paragraph 5?
A．Intolerant.
B．Negative.
C．Unbelieving.
D．Understanding.
45．What is the best title for this passage?
A．How Young People Afford to Continue Their Study
B．Why Young People Can’t Afford to Buy a House
C．When Young People’s High Hopes Create Despair
D．What the 20-somethings’ High Expectations Are
Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr. Briggs?
| A．He was a student. | B．He was an official. |
| C．He was a worker. | D．He was a businessman. |
As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs .
| A．visited people to ask them to work with him |
| B．called on people to make them join the company |
| C．saw old people in order to help them |
| D．visited many people so as to offer insurance |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years. |
| B．Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work. |
| C．The number of the very old people who died every year is small. |
| D．A great number of very old people die every year. |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up（挂断电话） hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly go into a panic (恐慌) and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up（排成长龙） behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meanwhile, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!According to the author’s opinion, ____.
| A．troubles always come in groups |
| B．accidents may happen anytime |
| C．a small matter may cause great trouble |
| D．anyone may have trouble any day |
When the telephone rings,____.
| A．you should never go to answer it in a hurry |
| B．your trouble is sure to come |
| C．you’d better just let it ring all the way |
| D．you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before answering it |
What did the police do after the accident?
| A．They helped the driver clean up the road. |
| B．They tried to stop the people from arguing. |
| C．They helped the drivers to go on with their journey. |
| D．They would find out who should be responsible |
It has long been thought that first-born children are more successful than their younger brothers and sisters and often have qualities of being more organised and responsible as well as being eager to be in charge.
But a new study has shown that the elder child's achievements can help improve their younger siblings(兄弟姐妹) exam results by helping them to raise their game. For the first time ever, researchers from the University of Essex examined how the success of first born children in school affected their younger brothers and sisters by studying primary school test results.
And the data showed that having an older brother or sister improved a child’s learning with the equal effect of spending an extra £670 on the younger sibling's schooling. One of the study’s authors Birgitta Rabe explained, the older sibling’s achievement may have a direct effect on the younger sibling’s school grades if the older sibling teaches the younger sibling or helps with homework; the younger sibling imitates(模仿) the older sibling, for example in their work style, or tries to be different, for example to avoid competition; the older sibling passes on important information about educational choices or school and teachers to the younger sibling.
The effect is even more noticeable in less well-off families showing poorer children benefit more from a successful older sibling. “We find that the effect is larger for siblings in families relying on free school meals, living in poverty and speaking a language other than English at home. This means that children who live in poverty benefit more from a successful older sibling than children who live in well-off families.”
The study is mainly based on the children’s ________.
| A．exam results | B．work style |
| C．family background | D．educational choices |
According to the study, ________ tend to benefit more from a successful older sibling.
| A．the children who live in rich families |
| B．the children who live in poor families |
| C．the children whose parents are successful |
| D．the children whose mother language is English |
What can we conclude from the study?
| A．Younger siblings are more successful than first borns. |
| B．First-born children are as successful as their younger siblings. |
| C．First-born children are more successful than their younger siblings. |
| D．The success of first borns has positive effects on their younger siblings. |
The passage is likely to appear in ________.
| A．a newspaper advertisement |
| B．a high school textbook |
| C．a science magazine |
| D．a news report |
Goedeker's loves to see happy customers, so every year we host a drawing competition in January and July, and one lucky person receives an iPad Mini. Goedeker’s customers can enter the competition through many ways, such as sending product or customer reviews.
When I spoke to July’s drawing winner, I couldn’t believe the encouraging story behind her efforts. Sari Bailey entered the drawing competition in hopes of winning the iPad Mini for her blind granddaughter, Aubrey. Aubrey, soon-to-be 4 years old, was born with a rare condition called Septo-Optic Dysplasia. The condition, also known as De Morsier’s Syndrome, happens when the optic(视觉的) nerves do not develop fully before the baby is born. Aubrey once had an iPad Mini, given to her by the Gia Foundation, which provides an iPad Mini to the blind once a year. However, it was stolen, and her family did not know how they could replace it. The iPad was extremely important to Aubrey’s development, as she uses it for intensive therapy(强化治疗). Each week, Aubrey works through an hour of physical and speech therapy.
While Aubrey may struggle with her sight, she loves music and plays the piano and sings fairly well for a three-year-old! As one can imagine, the iPad plays a huge role in this. She also finished her first year of school in May.
Sari says, "We are very happy for her progress. We like to have as many tools for learning as possible available to Aubrey, thus, my desire for the winning of the iPad Mini! She is a very special little girl and I love her dearly."
Here at Goedeker’s, we wish Aubrey the very best, and we hope she loves the new iPad Mini!Why did Sari take part in the drawing competition?
| A．To win an iPad Mini for her granddaughter. |
| B．To make customers at Goedeker’s happy. |
| C．To encourage her granddaughter to draw. |
| D．To prove her drawing talent to her family. |
How long has Aubrey been suffering from her illness?
| A．More than 1 year. | B．Around 2 years. |
| C．Less than 3 years. | D．Almost 4 years. |
The iPad Mini is special to Aubrey because________.
| A．it’s a prize received by her grandmother |
| B．it’s a tool for the treatment of her illness |
| C．it’s something her family can’t afford |
| D．it teaches her to sing and play the piano |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Yearly Competition at Goedker’s. |
| B．The Brave Girl Fighting Rare Disease |
| C．iPad Mini Winner Shares the Love |
| D．The New iPad Mini from Grandmother |
For lots of people in Britain, the 31st of December, or New Year’s Eve as we call it, is the biggest party of the year. It’s a time to get together with friends or family and welcome in the coming year. New Year’s Eve parties can take place at a number of different places. Some people hold a house party; others attend street parties, while some just go to their local for a few drinks with their mates. Big cities, like London, have large and wonderful fireworks shows.
There’s one thing that all New Year’s Eve parties have in common: the countdown(倒计时) to midnight. When the clock strikes(敲)twelve, people give a loud cheer, and give each other a kiss. They then link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang Syne, by a Scottish poet called Robert Burns. Not many people can remember all the words of the song, but the tune(旋律) is well known, so lots of people just hum along. The parties then continue into the early hours of the morning with lots of dancing and drinking. Other people might spend the day visiting relatives or friends they haven’t managed to catch up with for a while. Whatever happens, New Year’s Day tends to be very relaxed.
In Britain, it’s popular to make a promise to yourself about something you are going to do, or want to stop doing, in the New Year. This is called a New Year’s resolution. Typical resolutions include giving up smoking and joining a gym to get fit. However, the promise is often broken quite quickly and people are back into their bad habits within weeks or days.
New Year’s Day is the last bank holiday of the festive season, which means most people have to go to work the next day: bright and fresh and ready for the new year ahead!New Year’s Eve parties in Britain ________.
| A．end at midnight |
| B．can only be held indoors |
| C．only take place in big cities |
| D．include countdown to midnight |
The underlined word “hum” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.
| A．dancing to the music |
| B．singing with your mouth closed |
| C．learning to sin |
| D．keeping silent |
What does the author think of the New Year’s resolution?
| A．It can help people keep fit. |
| B．It’s a promise to your family. |
| C．It’s often hard to keep. |
| D．It’s a joke played on New Year’s Day. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．New Year parties in Britain. |
| B．New Year countdown in Britain. |
| C．New Year’s resolution in Britain. |
| D．New Year celebration in Britain. |
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