Is it necessary for a young man to have an apartment as a prerequisite（先决条件） for marriage? Housing has become a major obstacle（障碍） for Chinese young men hoping to start a family. China may breed a new group of bachelors, men caught in the trap of unaffordable houses.
Since early 2009, the housing market has once again become a hot pot at boiling point. Even with allowance（津贴） and special government policies, home prices in China's first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are riding the crest（波峰）of a rising wave. According to the "2010 China Marital Status Report" released on Dec 15, 2010, about 70 percent of women interviewed said that housing, a stable income and some savings were the main requirements for marriage.
From the report, we can see that housing is given top priority（优先权） and that women see an apartment as essential(必不可少的) to show that the man is responsible and can provide for his family.
Personality and morals lay outside the top three matrimonial （婚姻的）requirements. Some women and their families hold the traditional position and take it for granted that the home issue should be the man's responsibility, which doesn’t agree with the contemporary independent spirit of women and gender equality. These marriage values reflect the fact that many women consider marriage another form of "social welfare".
Things may be different overseas. Social housing, provided by European authorities, offer the less wealthy people their own piece of real estate. Such housing is usually apartments in tall buildings with 10 or more floors on the outskirts of town, whose main advantage is the low rents.
For many Americans, houses don't pose an obstacle to getting married. They often buy a house after the wedding, because more and more people are reconsidering their real estate worship, and going back to a more rational(理性的) mode of consumption.
In Japan, renting is the custom for newly married young couples. Few young couples can afford to purchase property. Up to 67.1 percent of young couples choose to rent. Generally speaking, renters account for most people younger than 40 in Japan.
Young people should be free to enjoy being young, without the huge pressure of trying to buy property. Society should help create an environment for them to grow up. Don't let the poor bachelor group become a suffering layer（层） of our society.Which of the following is Not True according to the text?
| A．Home prices have been extremely high since early 2009. |
| B．In the modern society, women don’t want to be independent. |
| C．Chinese government has already done something to control home prices. |
| D．Lots of Chinese young men couldn’t get married because of their economic capability. |
What does the underlined word “outskirts” probably mean?
| A．urban areas | B．rural areas（乡下） |
| C．suburbs | D．downtown areas |
Why do many women take housing as one of the main requirements for marriage?
| A．Because they can’t afford a house. |
| B．Because they enjoy their social welfare. |
| C．Because their families want them to marry men with houses. |
| D．Because they think it’s a symbol of the men’s sense of responsibility. |
The author uses the examples of European countries, America and Japan to show that __________?
| A．new couples in those countries like to rent houses |
| B．the situation is different in some foreign countries |
| C．it’s better to live in those countries than live in China |
| D．their governments have done more than Chinese government |
The last paragraph is mainly about the author’s hope that __________?
| A．the society can develop rapidly |
| B．young people can lead a happy life |
| C．all the young people can afford houses |
| D．the poor bachelors can become rich and enjoy their life |
The elephant was lying heavily on its side, fast asleep. A few dogs started barking at it. The elephant woke up in a terrible anger: it chased the dogs into the village where they ran for safety. That didn't stop the elephant. It destroyed a dozen houses and injured several people. The villagers were scared and angry. Then someone suggested calling Parbati, the elephant princess.
Parbati Barua’s father was a hunter of tigers and an elephant tamer（驯兽者）. He taught Parbati to ride an elephant before she could even walk. He also taught her the dangerous art of the elephant round-up -- how to catch wild elephants.
Parbati hasn’t always lived in the jungle. After a happy childhood hunting with her father, she was sent to boarding school in the city. But Parbati never got used to being there and many years later she went back to her old life. “Life in the city is too dull. Catching elephants is an adventure and the excitement lasts for days after the chase,” she says.
But Parbati doesn’t catch elephants just for fun. “My work,” she says, “is to rescue man from the elephants, and to keep the elephants safe from man.” And this is exactly what Parbati has been doing for many years. Increasingly, the Indian elephant is angry: for many years, illegal hunters have attacked it and its home in the jungle has been reduced to small pieces of land. It is now fighting back. Whenever wild elephants enter a tea garden or a village, Parbati is called to guide the animals back to the jungle before they can kill.
The work of an elephant tamer also involves love and devotion. A good elephant tamer will spend hours a day singing love songs to a newly captured elephant. “Eventually they grow to love their tamers and never forget them. They are also more loyal than humans,” she said, as she climbed up one of her elephants and sat on the giant, happy animal. An elephant princess indeed!For Parbati, catching elephants is mainly to ______.
| A．get long lasting excitement |
| B．make the angry elephants tame |
| C．send them back to the jungle |
| D．keep both man and elephants safe |
Before Parbati studied in a boarding school, ______.
| A．she spent her time hunting with her father |
| B．she learned how to sing love songs |
| C．she had already been called an elephant princess |
| D．she was taught how to hunt tigers |
Indian elephants are getting increasingly angry and they revenge（报复）because ______.
| A．they are caught and sent for heavy work |
| B．illegal hunters capture them and kill them |
| C．they are attacked and their land gets limited |
| D．dogs often bark at them and chase them |
The passage starts with an elephant story in order to explain that in India ______.
| A．people easily fall victim（受害者）to elephants attacks |
| B．dogs are as powerful as elephants |
| C．elephant tamers are in short supply |
| D．the man-elephant relationship is getting worse |
Rome had the Forum (论坛). London has Speaker’s Corner. Now always-on-the-go New Yorkers have Liz and Bill.
Liz and Bill, two college graduates in their early 20s, have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street comers. And just talk. Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says, “ Talk to Me,” they attract conversationalists, who one evening included a mental patient, and men in business suits.
They don’t collect money. They don’t push religion (宗教). So what’s the point?
“To see what happens,” said Liz. “ We simply enjoy life with open talk.”
Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, they decided to walk from New York City to Washington, a 270-mile trip. They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return. “ It started as a crazy idea.” Liz said. “ We were so curious about all the 10 strangers walking by with their life stories. People will talk to us about anything: their job, their clothes, their childhood experiences, anything.” Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take. She had stopped by for the second time in two days, to let the two listeners know how it went. Marcia had led her husband to a serious disease. “That was very heavy on my mind.” Marcia said. “ To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good,” she explained.
To celebrate a year of talking, the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year. A few hundred people appeared, as well as some television cameramen and reporters. They may plan more parties or try to attract more people to join their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something the two say they’ll consider before making a decision.
| A．Telling stories to strangers. |
| B．Setting up street signs. |
| C．Talking with people |
| D．Organizing a speaker’s party. |
| A．They knew Liz and Bill very well. |
| B．They happened to meet the writer of the text. |
| C．They organized the get-together in the city park. |
| D．They are examples of those who talked to Liz and Bill. |
| A．Go in for publishing |
| B．Do more television programs. |
| C．Continue what they are doing |
| D．Spend more time reading books. |
| A．They have decided to wait a year or two. |
| B．They will think about it carefully |
| C．They agreed immediately |
| D．They find it hard to do that. |
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater. Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper |
| C．a textbook | D．a novel |
| A．swimming in the river | B．standing on the river bank |
| C．watching the crocodile | D．fishing in the water |
| A．Her eyes were badly poked. |
| B．She had eight wounds altogether. |
| C．One of her fingers also got hurt. |
| D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg. |
| A．brave | B．diligent | C．quick | D．humorous |
There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered species (物种) and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed below, you can write to the addresses given.
Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rain forests, the countryside, water and air pollution and energy.
Friends of the Earth International Secretariat
P.O. Box 19199
1000 G.D.
Amsterdam
The Netherlands Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rain forests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear power.
Greenpeace International
Keizergracht 176
1016 DW Amsterdam
The Netherlands BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world.
BirdLife International
Wellbrook Court
Girton Road
Cambridge CB3 0NA
England
WWF—World Wide Fund For Nature is the world’s largest private international organization for the conservation of nature and threatened species.
Information Officer
WWF International
Avenue du Mont-Blanc
1196 Gland
Switzerland
| A．call them | B．write them a letter |
| C．visit them | D．send them an e-mail |
| A．reduce pollution | B．defend rain forests |
| C．protect ocean animals | D．save endangered birds |
| A．Friends of the Earth | B．World Wide Fund For Nature |
| C．Greenpeace | D．BirdLife International |
| A．Environmental Protection Organizations |
| B．Global Traffic Problems |
| C．Endangered Animals |
| D．Natural Beauty |
After a busy day of work and play, the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time, the body recovers from the activities of the previous day. The rest that you get while sleeping makes it possible for your body to prepare itself for the next day.
There are four levels of sleep, each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep, your body relaxes little by little. Your heart beats more slowly, and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level, your body shifts back and forth from one level of sleep to the other.
Although your mind slows down, you will dream from time to time. Scientists who study sleep point out that when you are dreaming, your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (although your eyelids are closed). This stage of sleep is called REM, which stands for rapid eye movement.
If you have trouble falling asleep, some people suggest breathing very slowly and very deeply. Other people believe that drinking warm milk will make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion that counting sheep will put you to sleep.
| A．you move restlessly | B．you start dreaming |
| C．your mind stops working | D．your eyeballs move quickly |
| A．lazy | B．sleepy |
| C．relaxed | D．pleased |
| A．breathe slowly and deeply | B．drink cold drinks |
| C．get up and run | D．look for some sheep |
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