In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living. On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break up of the family occurs when the parents divorce. A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. Children blame themselves when their parents separate. They grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved back and forth between parents. Usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. These single parents must care for the children’s emotional and psychological needs while also supporting them financially. This is very demanding and leaves very little time for the parent’s own personal interests. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship. The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs indicate that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining. The rate of childbirth is rising. Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are. In the past, American families tended to be ____.
| A．quite small | B．medium sized | C．quite large | D．small |
To parents who take the responsibility for children’s expenses, the cost of living increases because ____.
| A．children attend school for more years | B．children are better dressed |
| C．children spend more money on entertainment | D．all of the above |
According to the author, the situations of American families in the future may ____.
| A．become worse | B．remain the same |
| C．get better | D．keep unchanged |
The title of the article might be ____.
| A．American Children | B．American Families |
| C．American Mother | D．American Parents |
Edmund Halley（哈雷）was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets（彗星）which other scientists had made. The orbit（轨道）of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not work it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.
However, Halley had a friend named Newton, who was a brilliant（有才华的） mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse（椭圆）.
Now Halley set to work. He worked out the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by other scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearances had been 75 to 76 years apart（相隔）.
This seemed very strange to Halley. T
he different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets, as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.
It was an amazing idea! Halley felt certain enough to make a prediction（预言）of what would happen in the future. He decided that this comet would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley’s prediction could be tested.
In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet has been called Halley’s comet, in his honor.Edmund Halley worked out the orbit of ____________.
| A．some different comets appearing several times |
| B．the same comet appearing at different times |
| C．three different comets appearing three times |
| D．several comets appearing at the same time |
Halley made his discovery ____________.
| A．by doing experiments |
| B．by means of his own careful observation |
| C．by studying the work of other scientists |
| D．by chance |
Halley
made a surprising, but correct prediction（预言）in the year ____________.
| A．1704 | B．1705 | C．1706 | D．1707 |
This passage in general is about ____________.
| A．Halley and other scientists | B．the orbit of a comet |
| C．Newton and Halley | D．Halley and his discovery |
According to the passage, which of the flowing is NOT true?
| A．Newton worked out the orbit of the comet. |
| B．Halley worked out the orbit of the comet first. |
| C．Newton gave Halley some help. |
| D．Halley died before 1758. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Jay Chou（周杰伦）is a well-known name both in Taiwan and mainland. He is now one of Asia’s hottest pop stars. His catchy tunes have main-streamed（主流）rap and R&B in the Mando-pop world. In the past his teacher thought he was dumb（木讷）. Talent spotters（观察者）thought he was ugly. But his success proves that the music still matters more than looks and image. His musical talent（才能）is recognized by fans, fellow-singers and producers. Now, a singing contest was held in Taiwan
Chou appeared at the contest with band “Nan Quan Mama”, which was discovered by Chou. Their first album the Summer of Nan Quan Mama, composed and produced by Chou was a great success.
Chou started his career at a singing contest, attracting the attention of record producers. But the successful singer does not believe in luck. He says it’s his passion for music and hard work that are keys to his success. He said, “I didn’t know how to sing at the beginning, so I lost the first time. But I was so determined that I never stopped trying. My advice to these young singers is never to give up, and always believe in yourself. ”
Chou’s confidence has strengthened his music. He is a great source of inspiration to youngsters who share his determination to become a superstar. The best title for this passage can be ____________.
| A．From an ugly dumb to a superstar |
| B．Jay Chou’s way to success |
| C．Jay Chou and his band |
| D．Jay Chou’s life |
The underlined part “matters more” most probably means ____________.
| A．better | B．more different |
| C．more difficult | D．more important |
Which of the following is NOT true about Jay Chou?
| A．Jay Chou is confident towards music. |
| B．He is a determined man. |
| C．He succeeded the first time he appeared on the stage. |
| D．Though not good-looking, he has a gift for music. |
____________ make Jay Chou a success according to the passage.
| A．His luck and talent for music |
| B．His talent for music and look |
| C．His looks and luck |
| D．His passion for music and hard work |
Jay Chou’s musical talent is recognized by the following except ____________.
| A．his teachers | B．fellow-singers |
| C．producers | D．fans |
You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts. The person on tbe other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to. Are you still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communieating with negative people can wash out your happiness. It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time.
Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer. They only feel glad when they make others feel bad. No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect.
When you communicate with positive people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted. When the knife of a negative person is put in you, you have the heavy feeling that, all in all, brings you down.
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people. This could be a co-worker, or a relative. In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person, but this is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that.
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized. The negative words of others at the start of the day can be attached to you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness. Life is too short to feel negative. Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible.The purpose of Paragraph 1 is to .
| A．make a comparison | B．introduce a topic |
| C．offer an instructive story | D．tell a true story |
How can negative people have effect on us?
| A．By influencing our emotion. |
| B．By telling us the nature of life. |
| C．By changing our way of thinking |
| D．By comparing their attitude to life with ours. |
Some negative people base their happiness on —.
| A．their pity for other people | B．their respect for others |
| C．building up a positive attitude | D．making other people unhappy |
According to the passage, to reduce negative people’s influence on us, we are advised.
| A．to change negative people’s attitude to life |
| B．to show our dissatisfaction to negative people |
| C．to make negative people feel as hamed of themselves |
| D．to communicate with negative people as little as possible |
BUKHANNON, West Virginia~~Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two—mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.
Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates on the rescuers' progress.
The miners were trapped at about .6:30 and many families weren't informed of the accident until about 10 a.m.~~more than three hours after it happened. "It's very upsetting, but you've got to be patient, I guess," said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.
The trapped miners were about 260 fee underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine's entrance, said Roger Nicholson, a lawyer from International Coal Group.
At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.
He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with al>out one hour of breathable oxygen each. The company has not released the names of the miners.
The teams test the air abou
t every 500 feet, and have to disconnect the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. "We don't want to be electrifying anything if it's in an atmospfiere with hurnahle gases," Kips said.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide (一氧化物) were discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have weakened since then, authorities said.According to the passage, we ran infer that .
I. communication with the trapped miners was cut off
J. the rescue started as soon as the accident happened
K. the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time
L. all the miners who were trapped underground were still aliveIf the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig abo
ut______per hour.
| A．1,000 feet | B．1,200 feet | C．2,400 feet | D．4,800 feet |
Where ran the passage he seen?
| A．Iii a magazine. | B．In a science hook. | C．On an advertisement. | D．In a newspaper. |
You know Australia is a big country, but you may not know how easy it is to get around. The untouched beaches that go for miles and deserts that touch the horizon are just there, waiting to be reached and explored. The following are the different ways you can explore our vast country.
Getting around Australia
Air
Flying is the best way to cover large distances in a short time. You can spend more time on the Australia's can't-miss landscapes and relaxing lifestyle. Moreover, competition among airlines makes great flying fees available for you.
Drive
Australia has a vast network of well-maintained roads and some of the most beautiful touring routes in the world. You have no difficulty finding car rental companies at major airports, central city locations, suburbs and attractions.
Bus
Bus travel in Australia is comfortable, easy and economical. Buses generally have air conditioning, reading lights, adjustable seats and videos. Services are frequent, affordable and efficient.
Rail
Train travel is the cheapest and gives you an insight into Australia's size and variety, all from the comfort of your carriage. Scheduled services are a great way to get quickly between our cities and regional centers.
Ferry(轮渡）
The Spirit of Tasmania runs a passenger and vehicle ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania nightly. Extra sen ices are running during summer rush hours. Sea-link ferries connect South Australia and Kangaroo Island several times a day. Ferries connect suburbs in our capital cities.
Walk
With easy-on-the-feet pedestrian.(行人)streets, walking is a great way to get around our cities.
Besides all the above, you can also experience some of the longest: tracks and trails in the world in central Australia——impressive journeys of a thousand kilometers or more that can take several weeks to complete.The underlined word "untouched" in Paragraph 1 means .
| A．secure | B．special | C．natural | D．artificial |
Which of the following is true about travelling in Australia?
| A．You can easily rent a car to explore its beautiful touring routes. |
| B．More travellers make the flying fees among airlines higher than before. |
| C．Taking a bus tour is the most comfortable, economical and efficient way. |
| D．Train services can offer you more comfort than any other means of transport, |
Ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania usually runs •
| A．several times a day | B．only at night hours |
| C．between different cities | D．only during rush hours |
From the passage, we know that.
| A．travelling in central Australia is time-consuming |
| B．central Australia has the world's shortest railway line |
| C．pedestrian walking is a great way to travel between cities |
| D．you have no choice but to walk over 1,000 kilometers in central Australia |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号