The candidate who is longing for election to the highest office in the United States must be native-born American citizen who is at least 35 years old and who has lived in the United States for at least 14 years. The election course is complicated, and the road to the Oval Office is long.
Potential candidates must present papers stating their intention to seek their party’s recommendation; delegates(代表) then choose from among those running some months later at the national conferences. Before that, however, each state holds a primary election that determines how the state’s voters want the party’s delegates to vote. Methods of choosing the delegates vary from state to state. At the conferences, there are speeches and often heated discussions. It may take several rounds of voting before delegates can agree on a candidate. On the final day of the meeting, the presidential candidate announces his or her choice for vice president.
Election Day, by law, is the Tuesday that follows the first Monday in November. On this day, registered voters may cast their votes for president, vice president, and candidates for other federal state, and local offices. The popular vote, however, does not determine who will be president. The president is chosen by a vote of the Electoral College, a group of 538 citizens from the 50 states and the District of Columbia who are chosen to cast votes for the president and vice president.
The rules for choosing electors, as with the delegates, vary. Each state also decides whether its electoral votes must reflect the popular vote. The number of electors in each state is determined by the number of representatives and senators that a state sends to Congress and, therefore, may change every 10 years, depending on the results of the United States census (人口普查). The winner must get at least 270 of the electoral votes when the Electoral College meets in December of the election year. The election results are not official, however, until the following January, when Congress meets in a joint conference to count the electoral votes.
At the end of the road to the Oval Office is the swearing-in ceremony, at which the new or reelected president takes the oath of office on January 20. Which of the following is not a requirement for candidates for the presidency of the USA?
| A．Minimum age of thirty-five years old. |
| B．Native of the United States of America. |
| C．Bottom residency of fourteen years in the State |
| D．Previous experience in an elective office. |
According to the passage, we can conclude that _______.
A. ways to select the delegates of each state are very much the same in the USA.
B. the candidate who wins the popular vote will be the winner of the election
C. the change of a state’s population barely has effects on the presidential election.
D. the presidents of the United States are theoretically picked by the citizens directly.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Various Ways of Presidential Election in the USA |
| B．The Qualifications for Being the President of the USA |
| C．The Process of the Election for the President of the USA |
| D．The Rules for Choosing Presidential Candidates in the USA |
I was born and raised in Hong Kong．For the past six years, I've been living in the United States．I work as a salesgirl in a large department store．Right now I'm going through a difficult period of my life which is hard for me to talk about．
A few months ago, I went to Hong Kong for a visit．It was the first time I'd gone back there since coming to the United States．I was eager to see my parents, my brothers,
my sisters and my friends．
I really got a shock when I arrived．Hong Kong was not the same city as I left six years ago．Things had changed so much that I didn't recognize parts of it．My primary school was gone．The houses on the street where I used to live had been torn down and replaced by office buildings．
The shock from the physical changes in the city, however, was nothing compares to the confusion and hurt I soon began to feel in my parents' home．My family greeted warmly when I arrived．While my mother was busy preparing a special dinner in my honor, the rest of the family eagerly asked me questions about my life in the United States．I felt happy that day and for a couple of days after, but then I began to feel that something was wrong．I noticed that my family, especially my mother, would sometimes glance at me in a strange way when I was speaking．They gradually became less warm and friendly towards me, I became uncomfortable and confused as to why they were behaving that day．
I decided to talk to my mother．She asked me, "Have you forgotten your Chinese way?" I asked her what she meant．She asked, "You've forgotten the place of women in a Chinese home．You talk when you should remain silent．You speak on matters that of concern only to men．You speak openly of your inner feelings and desires．That's not the way of a Chinese woman．We keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves．I was born and raised in Hong Kong．Here raise means______．
| A．bring up | B．stay | C．become higher | D．live |
What shocked the author most during her visit in Hong Kong?
| A．The physical changes in Hong Kong． |
| B．Her primary school didn't exist any longer． |
| C．She couldn't recognize parts of Hong Kong． |
| D．The confusion and hurt she experienced in her parents' home． |
Why did the author's family become less warm and friendly towards her?
| A．She had forgotten her role as a woman． |
| B．She didn't follow the Chinese custom about how a woman should behave at home． |
| C．She spoke of her inner feelings and desires directly． |
| D．She talked about matters that were not concerned with women． |
The best title for this passage is _______．
| A．My Trip in Hong Kong | B．The Changes in Hong Kong |
| C．Caught Between Two Cultures | D．The Chinese Way |
Drunken driving sometimes called American's socially accepted form of murder has become a national epidemic（流行病）．Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years．A drunken driver is usually referred to as one with 0．10-blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wines or shots of whisky drunk within two hours．Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken killing has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially concerning young children, that public opinion is no longer tolerant．
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend （逆转潮流） in the 1960s to reduce it to 18．After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21．
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop "responsible attitudes" about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink．
Some states are punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks．A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was "obviously drunk" and later drove off the land, killing a nine-year-old boy．
As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years national prohibition （禁令） of alcohol that began in 1919, which President Hoover called the "noble experiment"．They forget that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption （腐败） and organized crime．As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution．It can be inferred from the passage that drunken driving has become a major problem in the United States because___．
| A．most Americans like drinking |
| B．heavy dinking is hard to avoid |
| C．Americans are not shocked by traffic accidents |
| D．many Americans are killed by traffic accidents |
Wha
t can be inferred from the fact of the traffic accidents in New Jersey?
| A．Drivers should not be allowed to drink． |
| B．Young drivers were usually bad． |
| C．The legal drinking age should be raised． |
| D．Some drivers didn't reach the legal drinking age． |
The underlined word "lenient" in the first paragraph means___．
| A．cruel | B．serious | C．determined | D．merciful |
Which of the following best shows the writer's opinion of drunken driving?
| A．It may cause organized crime． |
| B．The new laws can stop heavy drinking． |
| C．There should be no bars to serve drinks． |
| D．It is difficult to solve the problem． |
nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
A few years ago, some marketing and advertising experts were asked to name the best nickname for an American city. The winner was the nation's largest city, New York. The top nickname was The Big Apple.
You might wonder how New York got this nickname. In the early nineteen seventies, the city had many problems. The number of visitors was falling. So a campaign was launched to give the city a new image. The head of the New York Conventions and Visitors Bureau decided to call the city, The Big Apple.
There are several explanations for where this name came from. Language expert Barry Popik studied the question and wrote about it on his Web site. He says John Fitz Gerald, a writer for a New York newspaper, used the name The Big Apple to mean New York in the nineteen twenties. Mister Fitz Gerald wrote about horse races. He heard the name used by men who worked at a racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mister Fitz Gerald wrote: "The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York."
In horse racing, the expression meant "the big time," the place where large amounts of money could be won. The Big Apple became the name of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in nineteen thirty-four. It also was the name of a popular dance and a hit song in the nineteen thirties.
But it is not the only nickname for America's largest city. Barry Popik's web site lists almost one hundred nicknames that describe New York. The best known are The Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named it Twice. And, The City That Never Sleeps. You can hear about the city in the song, "New York, New York," by Frank Sinatra. Why do many American cities have nicknames?（回答词数不超过15个）
What did John Fitz Gerald write about for the New York newspaper?（回答词数不超过5个）
Besides “The Big Apple”, how many best known nicknames that describe New York are listed according to Barry Popik's web site?（回答词数不超过2个）
I don’t like my parents. They always tell me I should do this, and should not do that. It sometimes makes me angry,” said Liu Dan, a middle school student in Beijing. Do you have the same problem? Perhaps your parents had the same problem when they were your age long ago. Why does it seem that some parents are not so friendly in their children’s eyes?
One of the biggest things is when someone becomes a parent, he or she likes worrying things. They worry about everything about you from the time you were born. They do a lot for you, though something would make you angry, because they care about you and worry about you. They worry about your choice of friends, the food you eat, your work at school, how much sleep you get, etc. All these things are part of your life. They want you to grow up healthily and happily.
So how can you make things easier on yourself? It’s easier than you think. Just make sure your parents know what you’re doing. Get them to know your friends. Call them if you stay somewhere else later than usual. Say sorry to them when you make mistakes. Take responsibility for what you have done. Talk about your ideas with them. They may talk about theirs with you.
Most of all, try to think about why your parents do this or do that. They are still practicing being parents and need help you can give them. Someday, when you become a parent, they may be able to help you how to get on with your children.The writer of the passage doesn’t agree that _______.
| A．parents want you to grow up healthily |
| B．parents don’t want you to make some bad friends |
| C．parents worry about everything about you |
| D．parents want to control you |
Some of the children are angry with their parents in the passage because ________.
| A．the parents think they eat too much |
| B．the parents don’t like the friends that their children have made |
| C．the children don’t live with their parents |
| D．the children are limited by their parents |
“They are still practicing being parents.” means _______.
| A．parents are not always right | B．parents should practice more |
| C．parents have many mistakes | D．parents are always right |
The main idea in this passage is that _______.
| A．some of the parents in China don’t love their children |
| B．children and parents should understand more about each other |
| C．parents should worry too much about their children |
| D．children should bear everything their parents arranged |
Reduce, reuse, and recycle. This familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways. The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste — electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.
“A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of reuse — to bridge the digital divide,” said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.
One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it’s picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.
Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen “a green passport” to ship waste around the globe. “Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves,” Gutierrez said. But, he added, “A greater portion of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state.”
China, for example, has become a dumping place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial is finally beginning to take the lead. The passage mainly tells us that _______.
| A．developing countries are facing serious environmental problems |
| B．e-waste is sent to developing countries under the excuse of reuse |
| C．developing countries are making full use of e-waste |
| D．e-waste is a growing problem in developed countries |
What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
| A．A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries. |
| B．Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials. |
| C．The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries. |
| D．Old computers and TVs still work before they are sent abroad. |
The underlined word “unscrupulous” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.
| A．immoral | B．wrong | C．proud | D．unsafe |
From what Gutierrez said we can learn that ________.
| A．developing countries should be responsible for this problem |
| B．exporting countries should be mainly responsible for this problem |
| C．neither rich nor poor countries should be blamed for this problem |
| D．poor countries should be blamed for this problem |
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