According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”
One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.
She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.
Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience. In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.
She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.
Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.
However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.The passage is written with the purpose of ________.
| A．illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child |
| B．analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular |
| C．presenting us with different opinions about having an only child |
| D．guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Nearly half of families intend to have just one child. |
| B．All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child. |
| C．Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child. |
| D．People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family. |
From what Dr. Dorothy Rowe said, we know that ________.
| A．journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood |
| B．she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction |
| C．it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle |
| D．some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children. |
| B．Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child. |
| C．Economic development plays a determining role in the family size. |
| D．Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents. |
Location: Worlds of Fun is located off Highway 435 in Kansas City, Missouri.
History: Worlds of Fun was opened on May 26, 1973, at a cost of 25 million dollars. Loosely themed around the Jules Verne book, Around the World in Eighty Days, the park was founded by Hunt Midwest Company. In 1982, Hunt Midwest bought a nearby waterpark, Oceans of Fun. In 2013, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun were combined to a one-ticket admission, providing all guests with access to(进入) 235 acres of amusement and water rides.
Hours: Worlds of Fun is open from April through Halloween.
Tickets: Buy and print online. Always try to buy your tickets in advance, to save time when you get to the park.
Reservations: World of Fun sells “ Fast Lane” cards that save rides’ time by allowing them to avoid the majority of wait for most of rides and attractions including Mamba, Plowler, and Patriot. Ride as many times as you want all day long.
Strategy(策略): Most visitors tend to(趋向于) begin in the day with Prowler, the hottest attraction in the park. Use that tendency to your advantage and head to the Patriot first. After that, try the Dragons. Then work your way back to the Prowler. After riding the Prowler, there is only one roller coaster, Mamba. Hit it next. If the park is not very crowded, you can ride Boomerang on the way to Mamba. After riding Mamba, head back for a ride on the Wolf. By then you will have tried most of the popular rides and attractions in the shortest possible time.
News: In 2014, Worlds of Fun is adding Steel Hawk, a ride that will take guests up 301 feet in the air and spin them at a 45-degree angle for a 60-second flight. Wait to have a try.When did Hunt Midwest’s two parks start to share one ticket?
| A．In 1973 | B．In 1982 |
| C．In 2014 | D．In 2013 |
With a “Fast Lane” card, visitors can ________.
| A．save some money |
| B．avoid lining up for long |
| C．buy tickets online |
| D．enjoy all the rides for free. |
What is talked about in the part of Strategy?
| A．The most popular tour season. |
| B．The highest ride in the park. |
| C．The best visiting route. |
| D．The hottest attractions in the park. |
Growing mushrooms(蘑菇) is probably the easiest thing you can do if you are new to mushroom growing. Mushroom growing is becoming more and more common as restaurants are creating more dishes that include mushrooms.
Mushroom growing is easy. To start with you need to have a growing space where you are going to grow these mushrooms. It does not have to be too big enough for you to grow as many mushrooms as you need. When you have found the space that is perfect for you, you can start to research what kind of mushrooms you want to grow. There are hundreds of kinds to choose from but not all mushrooms are edible, which is an important fact you need to remember before you start. Don’t grow mushrooms you can’t use or sell.
When you figure out what kind of mushrooms you want to grow, you can make some preparations. Sometimes you need to hire some workers to help you if you have a large mushroom farm, or if you are trying to start a professional mushroom growing business. Trying to start a business by yourself can be stressful. If you don’t have time to take care of everything yourself, to hire a worker is the best bet.
After you have started the mushroom growing, you should regularly check and make sure that your mushrooms are growing properly and that they are not being attacked by any pesticides(杀虫剂) or any other animals that are potentially dangerous for them. That is the worst situation of mushroom growing. Protect your mushroom farm well with a fence or a gate so that only you and your workers can get in an out.
Mushroom growing is not difficult and is a really easy way to get started in the field of farming. You will possibly supply some of the great chefs(厨师) of the world with high-quality mushrooms that will be enjoyed by thousands of people around the world. Many people are beginning to plant mushrooms probably because _______.
| A．they are too common |
| B．they look very beautiful |
| C．there are more restaurants |
| D．they are in great need |
The underlined word “edible” (in paragraph 2) probably means “________”.
| A．easy to find | B．expensive to buy |
| C．suitable to eat | D．difficult to grow |
Which of the following is the right order of planting mushrooms?
a. Choose the suitable mushrooms.
b. Protect your mushrooms well.
c. Find some people to help you.
d. Start to grow mushrooms.
e. Find a place to plant mushrooms.
| A．b, d, a, e, c | B．e, a, c, d, b |
| C．e, c, a, b, d | D．d, c, b, a, e |
What is the main topic of the passage?
| A．It is easy to grow mushrooms. |
| B．You should hire other people to help you. |
| C．Growing mushrooms is not easy. |
| D．Tips for mushroom growing |
American parents generally can choose any name they want for their children. They may choose a name because it honors a family member. Or they may choose a name just because they like it.
A website called Baby Center lists some unusual names given to American babies born last year. Some were named for characters in old stories, such as Hero, Thor and Ulysses. Other people named their babies after kinds of food, like actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She named her daughter Apple. Other people named their babies Banana, Pumpkin and Cookie.
Still some babies were named for places. These included Brazil, India and Rome. Some parents used names of famous people from history such as Newton and Hannibal. Other parents named their babies after flowers or the weather. These babies were named Buttercup, Iris, Sunshine and Thunder.
Recording artists and movie actors influence some parents’ choices of names. Babies were named Beyonce, Charlize, Reda, Pierce, Shajira and Whitney. Movie actors themselves often give their babies unusual names. For example, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt named their baby daughter Shiloh. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes named their little girl Suri.
Some American parents do not want unusual names. They want their baby’s name to honor their religious faith. Such names include Abraham for boys or Sarah for girls. And many people give their babies the same name as a family member or good friend.
The United States Social Security Administration once published a list of the most popular names for American girls and boys born. Many of the top ten boys, names are from the Jewish and Christian Bibles.How did American parents usually name their children?
| A．In a way they please. | B．In a scientific way. |
| C．In a careless way. | D．In a common way |
From the second paragraph, we can infer that _______.
| A．Ulysses is a main person in an old story book. |
| B．the meaning of Gwyneth Paltrow is a kind of fruit |
| C．American parents expect their children to be a hero. |
| D．a girl was named Apple because she liked eating apples. |
What can we know from American children’s name?
| A．American children’s names express American history. |
| B．A foreign place may become a name of an American child. |
| C．American parents’ favorite names are those of famous actors. |
| D．American parents expect their children to be different from others. |
If a girl is named Sarah, the name reflects her parents’ _______.
| A．love | B．career | C．expectation | D．religion |
Neumann was the oldest of 3 children of a banker, and his speed of learning new ideas and of solving problems stood out early. At 17, his father tried to persuade him not to become a mathematician because he may lead a poor life being a mathematician, and so Neumann agreed to study chemistry as well. In 1926, at 23, he received a degree in chemical engineering and a Ph. D. in mathematics. From then on, mathematic provided well enough for him, and he never had to turn to chemistry.
In 1930, Neumann visited Princeton University for a year and then became a professor there. His first book was published in 1932. In 1933, the Institute for Advanced Study was formed, and he became one of the 6 full-time people in the School of Mathematics (Einstein was one of the others).
World War II hugely changed Neumann’s areas of interest. Until 1940 he had been a great pure (纯粹的) mathematician. During and after the war, he became one of the best mathematicians who put mathematics theories into practice. During the last part of the war he became interested in computing machines and made several contributions. After the war, Neumann continued his work with computers, and was generally very active in government service. He received many awards, was president of American Mathematical Society and was a member of the Atomic Energy Commission. He died in 1957 of cancer.
Neumann really was a legend(传奇) in his own time, and there are a number of stories about him. His driving ability is a part of this legend. He reported one accident this way: “I was driving down the road. The trees on the right were passing me in an orderly fashion at 60 miles per hour. Suddenly one of them stepped in my path.”According to the text, Neumann’s father believed that __________.
| A．a mathematician needed a good memory |
| B．a mathematician couldn’t earn a lot of money |
| C．Neumann has a gift for solving problems at a high speed |
| D．Neumann had the ability to learn two subjects at the same time |
How did World War II affect Neumann?
| A．He lost interest in chemistry. |
| B．He realized the importance of engineering. |
| C．He began to research how to put mathematics into practice. |
| D．He left college and served at the government department. |
Which of the following is true of Neumann?
| A．He had three children. |
| B．He died from an accident. |
| C．He received many awards in his life. |
| D．He and Einstein were classmates in Princeton University. |
From the last paragraph, we can infer Neumann was ________.
| A．humorous | B．calm | C．intelligent | D．brave |
In a movie, a woman reads a storybook to her friend’s daughter. As they approach the last page, she reads, “… and Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after.” She closes the book and looks at the young girl, adding, “ You know, things don’t always happen like this in real life, I just think you should know that now.”
We were all raised on fairy tales with glass slippers, brave princes and magic! It didn’t take too long to realize that stories like that aren’t necessarily true. In real life, you learn that glass slippers are really uncomfortable, no prince is perfect and magic doesn’t always work.
So what do you do when the way you planned things is not the way they turned out?
Know that parts of your fairy tale have already been written, and sadly, there’s not much you can do about those first few chapters. You didn’t get the best start. Your trust was unexpectedly betrayed (背叛). You didn’t get the job. Whatever falls and failures happened in your past, there’s still more to the story.
Your life has a lot of contributors (投稿者), and you are the editor-in-chief. You take what’s there and create the masterpiece (杰作). All the good pages and the bad can come together to make a beautiful adventure.
When you find yourself wishing your life was more like the fairy tales, remember that in some ways it already is. There will be dragons, bad witches, great romances, winding roads and friends to help you along the way. Live your life carefully and positively as if you are writing a long story. Whether it’s a comedy, tragedy or a little of both, the pen is in your hand. How it ends is all up to you.According to the first paragraph, we know the woman is __________.
| A．wise | B．cruel | C．brave | D．patient |
Why does the author raise the question in Paragraph 3?
| A．To compare different ideas |
| B．To express the doubts of life. |
| C．To introduce points for discussion. |
| D．To describe the conditions in real life |
Which of the following may NOT often appear in fairy tales?
| A．Glass slippers | B．Winding roads |
| C．Sad endings | D．Bad witches. |
What is the message expressed in the passage?
| A．Be positive about life |
| B．Write your own stories. |
| C．Parents should tell fairy tales to their kids |
| D．There are many problems in school education |
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