Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own — their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.
Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable (可自由使用的) family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.
The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government’s poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.
1. What does the majority of the Americans have in terms of wealth?
A. Their income and savings.
B. Everything they own in their homes.
C. Actually, they have no wealth at all.
D. Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.
2. What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?
A. More than 25%. B. Less than 25%.
C. More than 75%. D. Less than 20%.
3. Why is economic inequality still great in the US in spite of the economic growth?
A. Because the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.
B. Because the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.
C. Because income in the US is still concentrated in the hands of the richest 10% of American families.
D. Because some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.
4. What can we learn from comparison of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?
A. The poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.
B. The 1981 line didn’t leave much to the poor.
C. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.
D. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918 line.
5. From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government’s poverty line _______.
A. was of no good for the poor B. was not put into operation then
C. was officially approved D. was not helpful to the poor
Howling is a behavior commonly observed among a wolf nark. An animals, wolves work together to hunt and rely on howling was an important means of communication each other. There are different explants of a wolf’s howl and it appears that there may be more to discover. One theory is that wolves howl to bend better together. It’s almost as if howling together helps the pack stay together. Perhaps something similar to people feeling a sense of involvement with each other when singing a song together . But this theory may be wrong, explains Fred H. Harington, a professor who studies wolf behavior. Indeed, there have been tines when wolves have been seen one moment howling in a exhorts, and the next, quarreling anions each other. It appears that usually the lowest-tanking menthes of the pack may actually be “punished” for
Joining in the churs at times. So is howling a way to strcagthen a social boad or just a way to reconfirm status among its members? ——Why do welves howl for sure?
What is cleat, however, is that howling is often used among packmates to locate each other. Hunting grounds are distant and it happens that woloves may separate from one another at times. When this happens, howling appcars to be an ercellent means of gathering.
Howling, interestingly, is a contagious behaviour. When one wolf starts to howl, very likely others will follow. This is often seen to occat in the morning, as if wolves were doing some sotr of “roll rall”where wolves all howl togeter to howl, very likely others will follow. This is often seen to occar in the morning, as if wolves were doing w some sotr of “roll call”where wolves all howl together to repotr their pteence..What the por similarity between wolves’ how humaes ting in chorus?
| A．The act of calling each other. |
| B．the sense of accomplishment. |
| C．The act of hunting for something. |
| D．The sense of belonging to a group. |
.Why does Harrington think the“secial boad”theory may be wrong?
| A．Wolves separate from each other after howling. |
| B．Wolves tend to protect their hunting grounds. |
| C．Wolves sometimes have quarrels after howling together. |
| D．Wolves of low rank are encouraged to join in the chorus. |
Reseatchers are sure that wolves often howl to______.
| A．show their ranks |
| B．find their companion |
| C．report the missing ones |
| D．express their lonelingess |
“Howling… is a contagious behaviour”(in the last paragraph)means_ ______.
| A．howling is a signal for hunting |
| B．howling is a way of communication |
| C．howling aften occurs in the morning |
| D．howling spreads from one to another |
Honesty, my mum always used to tell me, is the best policy. Of course, this didin’t include her when she told me that if I didn’t eat all my vegetables Father Christmas would find out and wouldn’t give me any presents.
But when it comes to medicine, I had assumed it was important to always be honest with my patients. After all, the doctor patient relationship is based on trust, and therefore honesty is essential, Or so I thought.
I had just started working in geriatrics(老年病科). Mr. McMahon was brought in when his baby was faound very swollen. I took a medical history from his daughter would accompanied him in the ambulance. She’d been his main carer for years. I stood looking at him as she gave a detailed history. “Has he lost any weight recently?” I asked, “Well, it’s funny you should mention that, but yes.” She said slowly. There was silence for a few moments. “Why? What are you worried about?” she asked, I hesitated. She was obviously very involved in his care and it was only fair that I told her the truth. “Well, we need to prove it’s not cancer.” I said and talked briefly about some of the tests I was going to order.
Half an hour later, a nurse called me: “Mr. McMahon’s daughter broke down－she said you told her he had cancer.” My heart sank. By the time I arrived at the ward, my consultant was already there, explaining that we still had to run lots of tests and that it was by no means confirmed that he had cancer. I stood silently at the end of the bed. My consultant was obviously angry with me and as we left Mr. McMahon, she turned to me. “Why on carch did you do that?” she asked to disbelief. I looked at her andbit my hp. “She asked me what I was worried about and I told her.” I said, hanging my head. “And give her more to worry about?” replied my consultant. “You don’t say the word ‘cancer’ until it’s confirmed. Even if you suspect it, think very carefully before you tell people.”
As it turned out, it wasn’t cancer. But I did learn that when somecone is stressed and worried about their loved one they’re sometimes selective in what they hear－and as a doctor it’s important to be mindful of this. In being truthful, I’d made the situation worse..The purpose of the first two paragraphs is to show that the author .
| A．misunderstood the doctor-patient relationship | |
| B．was anxious to receive Christmas gifts | |
| C．regarded honesty as the best policy | D．had an unhealthy eating habit |
The author’s consultant was angry with him because .
| A．he told the daughter what he suspected. |
| B．he delayed running the necessary tests. |
| C．he failed to confirm the parent’s disease. |
| D．he forgot what the consultant had advised. |
The author hung his head (the underlined part in Para.4) because he was feeling
| A．guilty | B．hurt | C．disappointed | D．helpless |
.What lesson has the author learnt from his experience?
| A．Learning form parents is necessary. |
| B．Jumping to a conclusion is dangerous. |
| C．Telling the truth may not always be the best solution. |
| D．Selecting pleasant words may not be the perfect policy. |
In business, there is a speed difference: It's the difference between how important a firms leaders say speed is to their competitive (竞争的) strategy（策略）and how fast the company actually moves. The difference is important regardless of industry and company size .Companies fearful of losing their competitive advantage spend much time and money looking for ways to pick up the speed.
In our study of 343 businesses, the companies that choose to go, go, go to try to gain an edge ended up with lower sales and operating incomes than those that paused at key moments to make sure they were on the right track, What’s more, the firms that “slowed down to speed up “improved their top and bottom lines, averaging 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating incomes over a three-year period.
How did they disobey the laws of business physics, taking more time than competitors yet performing better? They thought differently about what “slower” and “faster” mean. Firms sometimes fail to understand the difference between operation speed (moving quickly )and strategic speed (reducing the time it takes to deliver value ).Simply increasing the speed of production, for example ,may be one way to try to reduce the speed difference .But that often leads to reduced value over time, in the form of lower-quality products and services.
In our study, higher-performing companies with strategic speed always made changes when necessary. They became more open to ideas and discussion. They encouraged new ways of thinking. And they allowed time to look back and learn. By contrast (相比而言), performance suffered at firms that moved fast all the time, paid too much attention to improving efficiency, stuck to tested methods, didn’t develop team spirit among their employees, and had little time thinking about changes.
Strategic speed serves as a kind of leadership. Teams that regularly take time to get things right , rather than plough ahead full bore , are more successful in meeting their business goals . That kind of strategy must come from the top. What does the underlined part “gain an edge ”in Paragraph 2 mean ?
| A．Increase the speed. |
| B．Get an advantage. |
| C．Reach the limit. |
| D．Set a goal. |
. The underlined part “the laws of business physics” in Paragraph 3 means ___________.
| A．spending more time and performing worse. |
| B．spending more time and performing better |
| C．spending less time and performing worse |
| D．spending less time and performing better |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．how fast a firm moves depends on how big it is. |
| B．how competitive a firm is depends on what it produces. |
| C．Firms guided by strategic speed take time to make necessary changes. |
| D．Firms guided by operational speed take time to develop necessary team spirit. |
. Which could be the best title for the text?
| A．Improve quality? Serve better. |
| B．Deliver value? Plough ahead. |
| C．Reduce time? Move faster. |
| D．Need speed? Slow down. |
"Experience may possibly be the best teacher, but it is not a particularly good teacher." You might think that Winston Churhill or perhaps Mark Twain spoke those words, but they actually come from James March, a professor at Stanford University and a pioneer in the field of organization decision making. For years March( possibly be wisest philosopher of management) has studied how humans think and act, and he continues to do so in his new book The Ambiguities of Experience.
He begins by reminding us of just how firmly we have been sticking to the idea of experiential learning :"Experience is respected；experience is sought；experience is explained."The problem is that learning from experience involves（涉及）serious complications（复杂化），ones that are part of the nature of experience itself and which March discusses in the body of this book.
In one interesting part of book，for example，he turns a double eye toward the use of stories as the most effective way of experiential learning. He says"The more accurately（精确的）reality is presented，the less understandable the story，and the more understandable the story, the less realistic it is."
Besides being a broadly knowledgeable researcher. March is also a poet, and his gift shines though in the depth of views he offers and the simple language he uses. Though the book is short, it is demanding；Don't pick it up looking for quick, easy lessons. Rather, be ready to think deeply about learning from experience in work and life.
| 1． |
According to the text, James March is.
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| 2． |
According to James March, experience.
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| 3． |
What can we learn from Paragraph 3?
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| 4． |
What's the purpose of this text?
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The pound new Library of Birmingham（LoB）will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization（数字化）of everyday life.
Set to open in 2013, the £188m LoB is already beginning to tale shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment.
As digital media（媒介）is important to its idea. the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at the new technologies.
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says it is about giving people the right tools for learning,“The aim is to mix the physical with the digital. Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways. It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively.”
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public.
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual（虚拟的）LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists. Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoB to understand the building and how it will work before it even opens.
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects. Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls “enlarge reality” project. It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of the LoB which is in the early stages of development is an online library of figures of the city being built by a digital content company in Cahoots, in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material.
Gambles says: “Technology will enable us to make the library’s content and services open to citizens as sever before.”
The underline part “its idea” in Paragraph 3 refers to the idea of____
| A．the equipment | B． the project |
| C．the digital media | D． the physical library |
While visiting the Virtual LoB, the public can_____
| A．get a general idea of the LoB |
| B．meet many world-famous experts |
| C．learn how to put up a library building |
| D．understand how the specialists work on the project |
Which of the following is true of the LoB when it opens?
| a. It offers better learning tools b. It reaches users in different ways c. It provides users with smart phone d. It allows users to enrich its material e. It gives non-stop physical and digital services |
A. a, b, d B. a, c, e C. b, c, d D. b, d, e
This text is most probably taken from .
| A．a put book | B．a library guide |
| C．a handbook | D．a newspaper report |
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