Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.
Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.Now in an American family, people can find that ________.
| A．children never live with their parents. |
| B．aged people are supported by their grandchildren. |
| C．not all working people live with their parents. |
| D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents. |
The reason why old people are left alone may be that ________.
| A．the old don’t like to live in a big family. |
| B．the young can’t get enough money to support the old. |
| C．the old are too weak to live with the young. |
| D．different generations have different lifestyles. |
The fact that the reporter told us shows that _______.
| A．old people are easy to get along with. |
| B．old people in America enjoy banana bread. |
| C．she had no time to take care of her children. |
| D．old people in America lead a hard life. |
By saying “Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure” the author means________.
| A．old people had never seen her baby before |
| B．the baby was clever and beautiful |
| C．the baby brought old people the image of life |
| D．the baby’s mother would take care of them |
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student. By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn. It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject. It does mean, however, that you must be wil1ing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things. Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier. Sometimes the subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here’s some advice for you: have a certain time each day 
and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions(中断); have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing, first find out the main parts and then recite the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.
Don’t try to spend a lot of time researching learning methods. There are many students who know many good learning methods but don’t study well. They forget that the most useful learning method is to study hard. The main goal of the article is______
| A．to prove that learning is not difficult |
| B．to make the readers be interested in study |
| C．to tell the importance of self teaching |
| D．to tell the students how to study well |
The first thing to remember in studying is that
A．you must like the subje ct |
| B．you must follow the teacher |
| C．you must enjoy learning |
| D．you must study hard |
We learn things because______
| A．our parents want us to learn |
| B．every student learns at school |
| C．we may use these things in the future |
| D．we like the subjects |
Which of the following is NOT the advice given in the article?
| A．To put a pen, paper and books beside you before study. |
| B．To study at any possible time and place. |
| C．To review and preview |
| D．To pay attention to the most important things. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The more learning methods we have, the better we will study. |
| B．Finding the best learning method is the most important in learning. |
| C．If you don’t work hard, though you have a good learning method, you can’t be good at study. |
| D．Once we have mastered a good learning method, we can improve our study greatly. |
A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
A. his wife B. his mother-in–law
C. his own mother D. no one
57. He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he was very rich B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
C. he was anxious to get it D. his business had been successfulHe told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
| A．exactly the same size as the black one |
| B．exactly the same quality as the black one |
| C．worth no more than $ 25,000 |
| D．exactly as big and nice as the black one |
Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
| A．to see the perfect pearl |
| B．to buy some beautiful pearls too |
| C．to get in touch with the rich man |
| D．to sell their own pearl at a high price |
The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
| A．he died suddenly. |
| B．He happened to be out |
| C．He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money. |
| D．He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time. |
Human needs seem endless. When a hungry man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat, when a manager gets a new sports car, a big house and pleasure boats dance into view.
The many needs of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of needs, another level appears.
The first and most basic level of needs involves food. Once this level is satisfied, the second level of needs, clothing and some sort of shelter, appears. By the end of World War Ⅱ, these needs were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a 
third level appeared. It included such items as automobiles and new houses.
By 1957 or 1958 this third level of needs was fairly well satisfied. Then, in the late 1950s, a fourth level of needs appeared; the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels involve physical satisfaction, that is, the need in comfort, safety, and transportation, this level stresses mental needs for recognition, achievement, and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services, many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips, the best medical and dental care, and recreation. Also included here are fancy goods and the latest styles in clothing.
On the fourth level, a lot of money is spent on services, while on the first th
ree levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of needs as their inc
ome increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?
A fifth level would probably involve needs that can be achieved best by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes to pay for government action against disease, ignorance, crime, and prejudice. After filling our stomachs, our clothes closets, our garages, ou
r teeth, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the hea
lth, safety, and leisure to enjoy more fully the good things on the first four levels.According to the passage, man will begin to think about such needs as housing and clothing only when .
| A．he has saved up enough money | B．he has grown dissatified with his simple shelter |
| C．he has satisfied his hunger | D．he has learned to build houses |
It can be inferred from the passage that by the end of World War Ⅱ, most Americans .
| A．were very rich | B．lived in poverty |
| C．had the good things on the first three levels | D．did not own automobiles |
Which of the following is NOT related to “physical satisfaction” ?
| A．A successful career. | B．A comfortable home. |
C．A good m eal. |
D．A family car. |
What is the main concern of man on the fourth level?
| A．The more goods the better. | B．The more mental satisfaction the better. |
| C．The more “luxury” items the better. | D．The more earnings the better. |
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. M
oney was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a pre
sent, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.
| A．wasting gold | B．wasting wrapping paper |
| C．putting the box under the Christmas tree | D．bringing the gi ft to her father |
What’s inside the box according to the little girl?
| A．nothing | B．air | C．kisses | D．gold wrapping paper |
Choose the best title for the passage.
| A．The kisses in the box. | B．A girl and his father |
| C．A love story | D．The box under the Christmas tree. |
Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touch
ed the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who got hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms a
round one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a“simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a“simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left
hand will tell you it’s hot!What makes people think about simple facts differently?
| A．The fact that simple facts differ from one another. |
| B．The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact. |
| C．The fact that people often disagree with one another. |
| D．The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts. |
Which of the following temperatures can the word“lukewarm”be applied to?
| A．Around 1℃ | B．Above 60℃ | C．Around 25℃ | D．Below 0℃ |
After reading the last paragraph, we may think of .
| A．Newton’s law | B．Gallileo’s theory of falling objects |
| C．Einstein’s theory of relativity | D．Marx’s On Capital |
The main idea of this passage is .
| A．people often judge something according to his own experience |
| B．people often agree about simple facts |
| C．it’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact |
| D．don’t care too much about simple facts |
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