Across the globe, single-parent homes are on the rise. In the US, the 2000 census (人口普查 ) showed 24.8 million or nearly 24 percent of the nation's 105.5 million households, were traditional two-parent homes. By comparison, 9.8 million households or 9.8 million of all US households were headed by an adult raising a child alone. The 1990 census showed 26 percent of homes were led by a married mother and father, and 8 percent of homes were led by a singe parent.
Similar increases occurred in other countries. In the UK, lone-parent family homes increased from 3.3 percent in 1990 to 5.5 percent in 1999. Single parent households in Australia rose from 5.8 percent in 1990 to 7.6 percent in l999. Belgium saw the increase from 1. 8 percent to 2.7 during the same period of time. These countries tend to have greater acceptance of single parenting because there are fewer nearby family members to disapprove, Riche, a Census Bureau director, said.
Just as in the US, those changes raised new questions about how involved government should be in helping single-parent families. Some research suggests children raised in two-parent families are better off than those who depend on one.
"The position of one-parent families in any country is very much a gender (性别) issue－women's opportunities, especially working-class women on low income," said Sue Chen, coordinator (协调员) of the Single Action Parents Network in England.Not considering the exact number of the single-parent families, which country saw the fastest rise rate in 1999, compared with 1990?
| A．UK. | B．Australia. | C．America. | D．Belgium. |
What is the cause of the rise of single-parent families across the globe?
| A．The nearby family members have a favorable opinion. |
| B．A lone parent is well off enough to support his/her children. |
| C．A lot of problems have arisen in two-parent families. |
| D．We cannot get enough proving information from the text. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the increase of single-parent families according to the passage?
A. It will somewhat limit the growing population of younger generation.
B. Governments should take actions about the social problems brought about by it.
C. Single-parent families are not looked down upon in any country mentioned here.
My 16-year-old son，Anton，had gone to the local swimming hole．Most of the kids swim there，and there are plenty of rocks for them to use as safe harbors．so I had no fears for his safety．
Still，the firefighter's first words“You need to come up here to the Stillwater River”made me catch my breath，and his follow-up words gave me relief：“Your son is OK．”
When I got to the river,I immediately saw the firetruck，ambulance and Anton，wrapped with a towel about his shoulders，sitting quietly on a low platform of the fire engine.
I hurried over to him．“You OK?”I asked．”
“Yeah，”was all he said．But my eyes begged for an explanation，I didn’t get it from myson，however,who tends to play his cards close to his vest．
The story was this：A woman was being swept under water．Hearing the cries，Anton and his friend Tyler, without hesitation，swam out to her, and brought her safely to shore．
In an age in which the word“hero” is broadcast with abandon and seemingly applied to anyone who make it through the day,I realized the real thing in my son．The teens are stubborn and self-centred，but that didn’t mean they have no desire to do good．
Still shocked by my son’s daring，I drove him home．Along the way, I tried to dig out some more information from him-but he had precious little to say．The only words he said were，“What’s for supper?”
I spent some time alone that evening，thinking about the tragedy that might have been．The next morning，when Anton got up，I half expected him to tell me the story．But all he did was toast some bread，pull himself together, and head for the door to start a new day．Watching from the window, I was reminded that still water often runs deep．Why did the mother allow her son to swim there?
| A．He was an excellent swimmer． |
| B．The water of the river is shallow． |
| C． He was old enough to swim． |
| D．The rocks can be of help if there’s danger． |
The underlined part“who tends to play his cards close to his vest”probably means .
| A． Anton is a boy fond of swimming with other kids |
| B．Anton is unwilling to tell others what he thinks |
| C．Anton always has a desire to help others |
| D．Anton seldom changes his mind |
In the mother's eyes，what her son did was
| A．dangerous but interesting |
| B．unexpected and courageous |
| C．meaningful but difficult |
| D．awful and absurd |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．My Son， My Hero | B．Anton，A Silent Boy |
| C．A Good Deed | D．A Proud Mother |
If your preschoolers turn up their noses at carrots or celery, a small reward like a sticker (贴画) for taking even a taste may help get them to eat previously disliked foods, a UK study said.
Though it might seem obvious that a reward could encourage young children to eat their vegetables, the idea is actually controversial, researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That’s because some studies have shown that rewards can backfire and cause children to lose interest in foods they already liked, said Jane Wardle, a researcher at University College London who worked on the study. Verbal praise, such as “Brilliant! You’re a great vegetable taster”, did not work as well.
The study found that when parents gave their small children a sticker each time they took a “tiny taste” of a disliked vegetable, it gradually changed their attitudes. The children were also willing to eat more of the vegetables — either carrots, celery, cucumber, red pepper, cabbage or sugar snap peas — in laboratory taste tests, the study said.
Researchers randomly assigned (分派) 173 families to one of these groups. In one, parents used stickers to reward their children each time they took a tiny sample of a disliked vegetable. A second group of parents used verbal praise. The third group, where Parents used no special vegetable-promoting methods, served as a “control”.
Parents in the reward groups offered their children a taste of the “target” vegetable every day for 12 days. Soon after, children in the sticker group were giving higher ratings to the vegetables—and were willing to eat more in the research lab, going from an average of 5 grams at the start to about 10 grams after the 12-day experience. The turnaround(转机) also seemed to last, with preschoolers in the sticker group still willing to eat more of the once-disliked vegetable three months later.
Why didn’t the verbal praise work? Wardle said the parents’ words may have seemed “insincere” to their children.The purpose of writing the passage is .
| A．to show the procedure of an experiment on children’s diet |
| B．to introduce a practical method of making children eat vegetables |
| C．to explain why children hate to eat vegetables |
| D．to present a proper way of verbal praise to parents |
The underlined word “backfire” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
| A．shoot from behind the back |
| B．make a fire in the backyard |
| C．produce an unexpected result |
| D．achieve what was planned |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Most children are born to dislike carrots or celery. |
| B．Children in the sticker group will never lose interest in eating vegetables. |
| C．Oral praise works quite well in encouraging children to eat vegetables. |
| D．It remains a question whether rewarding is a good way to get children to eat vegetables. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Children like rewards, not verbal praise. |
| B．Parents should give up verbal praise. |
| C．Children are difficult to inspire. |
| D．Parents should praise their children in a sincere tone. |
Italy is one country where beauty is prized more than any other virtue. That is, except in the small town of Piobbico, the self-declared World Capital of Ugly People. The road sign at the edge of the town even warns visitors that they are entering the ugly zone. People who consider themselves ugly have been gathering in Piobbico since the 1960s. That’s when Ugly Club president Telesforo Lacobelli established a dating agency for women who believed they were too ugly to attract husbands. Lacobelli believes that he is ugly himself because he has a short nose in a country where long or large noses have always been considered beautiful.
People from around the world travel to Piobbico to tell their sad stories of ugliness. During the annual Festival of the Ugly, which occurs on the first Sunday of every September, hundreds of people gather in Piobbico’s town square to elect the president of the Ugly Club. Lacobelli wins the election every year. The Ugly Club has over 20, 000 members. They carry ID cards that grade their ugliness from bearable to extreme. A prize is awarded to Ugly Club members who qualify as extremely ugly.
The Ugly Club president insists that ugliness is a virtue. Since beautiful people get a lot of attention for their beauty alone, they have to work hard to prove their other virtues. Ugly people, on the other hand, are genuine and do not have to prove anything to anybody, according to Lacobelli.
Lacobelli is a spokesperson for ugly people everywhere. He believes that the uglier one is, the better life can be. Though the club enjoys making fun of beauty, especially beauty contests, Lacobelli has a serious side as well. He believes that too many people suffer from financial and emotional pressures because they don’t meet society’s standards of beauty. The fact that beautiful people are more successful in the workforce is a problem that Lacobelli has attempted to bring forward to the Italian public and government.Piobbico is rather special in that .
| A．it is a very small town |
| B．it is home to ugly people |
| C．it receives no visitors |
| D．it is the capital of Italy |
Why is Lacobelli elected the president of the Ugly Club every year?
| A．Because he is the ugliest person in the whole world. |
| B．Because his ugliness is always graded as bearable. |
| C．Because he is a spokesperson for ugly people everywhere. |
| D．Because he has won the members’ trust and admiration. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Ugly people are most respected in Italy. |
| B．The Festival of the Ugly is held every two years. |
| C．Ugly people are unfairly treated in society. |
| D．The uglier one is, the better life he or she lives. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Ugly Capital of the World |
| B．The Ugliest Person of the World |
| C．Festival of the Ugly |
| D．Beauty Contests Should be Banned |
Woman Uses Daughter's Key to "Steal" Car
Charlie Vansant, a college student of Athens, Ohio, who reported that his car was stolen, got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter's car and taken it — using her key.
Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when picking up her daughter's car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson spotted the Toyota Camry（丰田凯美瑞）and used her daughter's key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home — without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter's.
When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed, but when the police couldn't find a record of it, they took a theft report.
The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. Anderson said she was able to find Vansant's name on paperwork in the glove compartment and look up his phone number on the website for the university.
When Anderson told Charlie the car was in her driveway, "It sounded really suspicious at first, as she wanted to hold the thing for ransom (赎金) , ” said Vansant. He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. According to the police report, the case was closed "because of mistaken car identity", and Anderson wasn't charged.
Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the "thief". "Her key fit not only my lock, but my ignition（点火装置）as well — so high-five for Toyota, I guess." he said.What does the underlined word "towed" mean in paragraph 3?
| A．removed. | B．damaged. | C．stolen. | D．sold. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Mrs. Anderson's daughter discovered the car her mother drove was not hers. |
| B．Mrs. Anderson stole Charlie's car at the request of her daughter. |
| C．Charlie had thought he had to give Anderson money to get his car back. |
| D．Mrs. Anderson used her daughter's key to unlock Charlie's car and drive home. |
What does Charlie mean by "high-five for Toyota"?
| A．He is blaming Toyota for the poor quality of car keys. |
| B．He should thank Toyota for returning his car. |
| C．He wants to celebrate with Toyota for getting his car back. |
| D．He thinks highly of Toyota for producing large quantities of cars. |
What is likely to happen next according to the passage?
| A．Mrs. Anderson was charged with stealing a car. |
| B．Charlie blamed Mrs. Anderson for mistakenly taking his car. |
| C．Charlie would ask the Toyota Company to give him an explanation. |
| D．The Toyota Company would give Charlie a new car as compensation. |
Online Money Earning
You can earn money online without any investment or without anytime limit. There is no need to stop any other work. Here I tell you the complete method for online earning.
The Method
You can earn money through “Bux.to” by clicking on ads on “Bux. to” site. First you need to open an account at “Bux. to”. “Bux. to” is a new international and FREE English based service that allows advertisers to reach thousands of potential customers by displaying their ads on our “Surf Ads” page. An exact calculated percentage of all advertising income is paid to our members. “Bux. to” makes money through advertising.
How you make money
You view websites in 30 seconds through the “Surf Ads” page. Once the 30 seconds is up, you’ll either get a green tick sign or a red “x”. The green tick sign means you’ve earned $0.01 and the “x” means you have not earned money for the visit. You’ll get red x’s when you have more than one website from the “Surf Ads” page open. When this happens, you get no credit.
Earnings example
You click 10 ads per day = $0.10
20 referrals (转送) click 10 ads per day = $2.00
Your daily earnings = $2.10
Your weekly earnings = $14.70
How to get paid
At present, it only makes payments through “AlertPay”. AlertPay is the payment processing solution that we use to pay members. Your AlertPay address is the e-mail address you use to register with AlertPay. You can get a free AlertPay account at http:// alertpay. com.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To tell an interesting story. |
| B．To introduce a surprising way to earn money. |
| C．To solve a puzzling problem. |
| D．To present an exciting research. |
You can earn money by ________.
| A．chatting online |
| B．advertising some products |
| C．clicking on advertisement |
| D．choosing green ticks or x’s |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．You’ll earn $0.10 if you click 1 ad. |
| B．You’ll get many green ticks if you have many websites open. |
| C．Your AlertPay account is not for free. |
| D．You can get your payments through AlertPay. |
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