In “Relax, We’ll Be Fine”, columnist David Brooks writes, “the fact is, despite all the problems, America’s future is extremly bright.”
Mr. Brooks acknowledges that “According to recent survey, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is not functional. A financial crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be sad.”
But, he writes:
“Demographers(人口学家) predict that over the next 40 years, the U.S. population will increase by an additional 100 million people, to 400 million over all. The population will be determined, hardworking and relatively young. In 2050, only a quarter will be over 60, compared with 31 percent in China and 41 percent in Japan.”
As the rising generation leads an economic recovery, it will also participate in a communal
(of community) one. We are living in a global age of social entrepreneurship(创业精神).
In sum, the U.S. is on the edge of a demographic, economic and social recovery, built on its historic strengths. The U.S. has always been good at destructive change. And it’s always been good at decentralized community-building, too. Surely a country with this much going for it is not going to wait around passively and let a rotten political culture drag it down.
51．In his article Relax, We’ll Be Fine, David Brooks intends to____________.
A．encourage Americans to be optimistic about their future
B．give Americans courage to face their financial crisis
C．persuade Americans to live happily and generously
D．inspire Americans to lead an economic recovery
52．There are all the reasons for Americans to be unhappy except____________
A．the function-failed political system B．the increasing population
C．the declining economy D．the wrong direction and financial crisis
53．Over the next 40 years, according to David Brooks, Americans will be____________
A．more optimistic and humorous B．more pessimistic and stronger
C．more energetic and promising D．more considerate and aggressive
54．In the author’s opinion, America____________.
A．has always benefited from wars B．has done well by its political system
C．has contributed a lot to human progress D．has contributed to world’s economy
55．We can learn from the passage that____________
A．American political system and culture are backward
B．Americans are not a nation to give in to difficulties
C．Americans are very destructive and aggressive
D．America has been in an economic and social recovery
A British shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named “the Coupon(优惠券) Queen” has spent just £350 on a luxury(奢侈) Christmas for her and her family-but got £2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers.
Ms Mumford is a so-called “extreme couponer” and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate £1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital.
“It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about breaking the bank. I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misconception that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes(香水), a high-end coffee machine.” she explained.
She said “What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That’s what really inspired me.”
She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offer tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page.
“I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year.”
How did Emma make the huge savings?
She compared prices through websites.
She hunted out bargains in real shops.
She used coupons and offers worth £2,500.
She collected more Christmas presents than needed.
What does “breaking the bank” in the third paragraph mean?
| A．Buying presents of low quality. |
| B．Spending more money than you have. |
| C．Breaking into the bank. |
| D．Taking out money from the bank. |
What really inspired Emma to help people save money?
| A．Her addiction to bargain-hunting. |
| B．The financial difficulties she shared with her ex-partner. |
| C．The poor situation people around her were going through. |
| D．Her experience of running an unsuccessful business. |
Which of the following can best describe Emma?
| A．Ambitious and creative. |
| B．Sensitive and determined. |
| C．Brave and lucky. |
| D．Careful and caring. |
A Hong Kong Disneyland park admission ticket is your passport to a full day of magical adventures. Learnthe ways to buyyour tickets now.
Three types of 1-Day ticket are available:
| Ticket Type |
Price |
| General Admission Ticket (aged 12-64) |
HK $499 |
| Child Ticket (aged 3-11) |
HK $355 |
| Senior Ticket (aged 65 or above) |
HK $100 |
Free admission for Child aged under 3.
Book Online Now
Purchase ticketsconveniently through our website, then pick up your tickets starting from 1 hour after you have purchased online.
Purchase Tickets Directly at Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express
You can purchase tickets at the Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express, conveniently located at the MTR Hong Kong Station. Open from 9:00am-8:00pm on Monday to Friday and from 9:00am-5:00pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.
Purchase 2 Park Tickets at one of the following locations and receive a FREE limited-edition Disney gift:
Avenue of Stars Kiosks
You can purchase tickets at Avenue of Stars Kiosks in Tsim Sha Tsui. Open daily from 9:00am-10:30pm.
AsiaWorld-Expo Box Office
You can purchase tickets at AsiaWorld-Expo Box Office. Open Mondays to Fridays from 10:00am-6:00pm.
Reserve Tickets for Hotel Guest
As a hotel Guest of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel or Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, Park tickets are reserved for
your purchase at front desk. Open daily from 9:00am - 8:00pm.
Buy at Hong Kong Disneyland Main Entrance
Guests can purchase tickets on the day of their visit at the Main Entrance Ticket Booths or Guest Relations Windows. Open daily from 30 minutes before Park opening until Park closes.In which place can you get a free gift for buying two tickets?
| A．Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express. |
| B．Hong Kong Disneyland Main Entrance. |
| C．AsiaWorld-Expo Box Office. |
| D．Disney’s Hollywood Hotel. |
For a young couple with a 2-year-old kid spending a day in the park, they have to pay at least______.
| A．HK $ 499 | B．HK $ 854 |
| C．HK $ 998 | D．HK $ 1353 |
To buy tickets at Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express on Sundays, you have to get there before _____.
| A．5:00 pm | B．6:00 pm | C．8:00 pm | D．10:30 pm |
Engineers should embrace（接受） the arts, Sir John O'Reilly, a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, argued in a lecture.
About 59% of engineering companies in the IET's 2014 survey feared skill shortages could threaten（威胁） business.
"There is nothing as creative as engineering," Sir John told the reporter. He says science, technology, engineering and mathematics - often known as "Stem" subjects, are vital for a modern knowledge economy. But there is a massive shortfall in the number of recruits（招聘） - with a recent study by the Royal Academy of Engineering saying the UK needs to increase by as much as 50% the number of Stem graduates it produces.
Delivering this year's Mountbatten Lecture at the Royal Institution, Sir John argued that engineers should recognise the role of the arts in their work - among other benefits; this could attract more people into the profession. The lecture, Full Steam Ahead for Growth, advocated a wider adoption -- Steam, or science, technology, engineering, arts and maths. Engineers should embrace the arts as being key to creativity and an important component of innovation（创新）, crucial to creating new products and boosting future competitiveness, he argued. "Engineering and technology is an increasingly diverse and creative field," said Sir John.
Some university engineering departments already cooperated with art schools to develop understanding, he told the reporter. In particular he mentioned Cranfield University's Centre for Creative Competitive Design and Imperial College's work with the Royal College of Art. The two sets of people could work well together and more emphasis on the creative side of engineering could improve the success of products, he said.
"Aesthetics(美学) is part of it," he told the reporter, adding that Apple's iPod was not the first digital media player, nor the only one that worked - but it came to dominate the market "because it was nice to have".
Sir John said he was not suggesting universities started requiring A-level art from engineering applicants - the key subjects for admission would continue to be maths and the sciences. But an emphasis on creative skills would help "broaden the pool and attract more people in".According to a recent study by the Royal Academy _______ .
| A．skill shortages could threaten business |
| B．engineering graduates are not as creative as expected |
| C．there are not enough arts graduates produced in the UK. |
| D．the UK needs more graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics |
According to the lecture Full Steam Ahead for Growth, _______ .
| A．engineers should cooperate with arts majors |
| B．Accepting the arts could attract more people into engineering |
| C．engineers should realize arts play the most important part in their work |
| D．engineering and technology is as diverse and creative as before |
By giving the example of Apple's iPod, Sir John intends to _______ .
| A．stress the importance of arts |
| B．stress the importance of marketing |
| C．stress the importance of communication |
| D．stress the importance of science and technology |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．More university students should study arts instead of engineering. |
| B．Engineering and technology is increasingly different and unrelated fields. |
| C．The IET's skills survey raised concerns about the number of recruits to engineering. |
| D．Students from some university engineering departments have already transferred to art schools |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Lack of creativity makes it difficult for the engineering major to find a satisfactory job. |
| B．The key subjects for engineering majors remain to be maths and the sciences rather than arts. |
| C．University engineering departments should cooperate with art schools to improve the success of products. |
| D．Engineering needs to emphasize its creative side to encourage more young people to choose it as a career. |
Cooking programs and classes for children seem to positively influence children's food preferences and behaviors, according to a recent review. And, although the review didn't look at long-term effects of such programs, the findings suggest that such programs might help children develop long-lasting healthy habits.
This research comes at a time when childhood obesity（肥胖） rates have been rising rapidly. More than one-third of adolescents in the United States were obese in 2012, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend has been caused, at least in part, by a significant decrease in the amount of meals that people consume at home since the 1980s, according to background information in the study.
Cooking education programs, such as Food Explorers, teach children about new healthy foods and how to prepare them. They also stress the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables every day. A volunteer parent explains a new food to the group, and the kids make something based on the lesson, such as fruit or vegetable salad. Depending on the program, kids may be sent home with information about healthy foods to bring to their parents, the review explained.
The study team reviewed eight other studies that tested different types of cooking education programs. Children in these classes were between 5 and 12 years old, according to the review. The goal of the study team was to learn more about developing an efficient program to encourage healthy food choices that last a lifetime. The study found that it is particularly important to expose kids to healthy foods on a number of occasions. This makes them feel comfortable with the new foods, which helps them build healthy habits.
The study stressed the importance of getting parents involved in（参与） their children's eating habits. Parents who are unable to enroll their kids in a cooking class can achieve similar benefits by having their kids help them while they prepare meals at home. Children are more comfortable at home, which makes them more receptive to new foods because they will make the connection to a positive experience. What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．Eating out frequently causes obesity. |
| B．Childhood obesity is totally caused by eating habit. |
| C．Childhood obesity rates have been rising rapidly since 2012 |
| D．Food consumption has decreased significantly since the 1980s. |
On cooking education programs, ________.
| A．children learn how to prepare foods from their parents |
| B．children will learn how to cook in the company of their parents |
| C．children may learn information unknown to their parents |
| D．children focus more on cooking skills than on information about healthy foods |
Which of the following is true according to the study?
| A．Parents should let their kids cook independently at home. |
| B．A greater willingness to try new foods helps building healthy habits. |
| C．Children who participate in cooking programs are less likely to become obese. |
| D．Children who take cooking courses are more likely to choose fruits and vegetables as adults. |
Which of the following categories does this passage belong to?
| A．Education Systems |
| B．Science and Technology |
| C．Parent-child Relationship |
| D．Public Health Research |
The purpose of the passage is _________.
| A．to inform the reader |
| B．to entertain the reader |
| C．to discuss with the reader |
| D．to warn the reader |
My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia, where my dad got a visa for his family and a job. I had just learned English, and from what little I could gather from my classmates, Santa Claus would come down one’s chimney（烟囱） and put toys in one’s stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country, I thought. After I looked up “stocking” in my Chinese-English dictionary, I knew what I had to do.
On that fateful night, after everyone went to bed, I took my longest, cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel(壁炉). Obviously, the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character.
I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace. To make a sob story short, I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told. I burst into tears, quickly took down the sock, and stuffed it in the back of a drawer. Santa was dead.
Every December since then, the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up, and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story. I had to make it as funny as possible, or else I would cry.
How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago, on Christmas Eve, an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door. He said, “I’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years.” He handed me a bulging red stocking, winked, and left. On top of the stocking was a card. It read: “For Becky—I may have missed you in the second grade, but you’ve always lived in my heart. Santa.”
Through tear-blurred eyes, I recognized the handwriting of Jill, a friend I had met just two months before. I later discovered that the older man was her father. Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it.
So now I believe that Santa is real. I don’t mean the twinkle-eyed character of children’s mythology(神话) or the creation of American holiday marketers. Those Santas annoy and sadden me. I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful people. This Santa does not return to the North Pole after a crazy delivery but lives each day purposefully, really listens to friends, and then plans deliberate acts of kindness. What does the underlined part “what I had to do” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Waiting for Santa Claus. |
| B．Putting a stocking on the mantel. |
| C．Asking for gifts from her parents. |
| D．Looking up “stocking” in the dictionary |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s parents ____.
| A．didn’t love their child at all |
| B．didn’t know the previous owners of the house |
| C．didn’t know much about Christmas tradition |
| D．didn’t have enough money to buy the author Christmas presents |
When the author told her friends about the story, she felt ______in her heart.
| A．proud | B．amusing | C．hate | D．regret |
By writing the passage, the author speaks highly of ________
| A．friendship | B．parenting |
| C．religion | D．culture |
The author of the passage is probably ________.
| A．a teenager |
| B．a primary school student |
| C．a middle-aged woman |
| D．a native American |
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