Census Bureau (人口普查局) data released Thursday show that 48 of the 50 most populous (人口稠密的) U.S. cities have grown since 2010, compared with only 40 of the top 50 in the first two years after the 2000 Census. Of the top 100, 93 have grown since 2010, compared with just 72 a decade ago.
Many of the biggest, such as New York, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Dallas, are outpacing the nation’s 1.7% growth rate since 2010.
“Urban America is recovering faster than more remote places,” said Robert Lang, a professor of urban affairs.
Only two big cities - Detroit and Cleveland - lost population between 2010 and 2012.
The urban recovery is led by mid-sized cities including Austin and Fort Worth and Charlotte. Austin grew 6.6% in two years, becoming the USA’s 11th-largest city. In 2000, it was No. 17.
Other trends:
• New York City grew 2%, adding about 161,500 people since 2010. By far it is the USA’s most populous city.
• The population of New Orleans continues to grow. In 2005 a terrible natural disaster happened to the city, causing the population to decrease. Now it has a population of three hundred and sixty-nine thousand. The number has grown by 7.4% since 2010.
• Government budget crunches (紧缩) have put state capitals in difficulty. Half are behind the growth rate of their regions.
Perhaps the biggest exception to the capital crunch is Austin. It has grown more than 26% since 2000. Population expert William Frey says Austin enjoys a number of qualities that make it attractive. It’s a high-tech city with a state university. And it’s in Texas, an attractive place for newcomers. “In some ways it’s a model of what other cities would like to become,” he says.
Frey notes that Charlotte, which grew 5.4% since 2010 has grown into a high-tech and financial center whose industries do business not just with those in other U.S. cities but with the rest of the world.The statistics in Paragraph 1 suggest that _____.
| A．there were fewer cities in the USA a decade ago |
| B．remote areas in the USA have more people now |
| C．the population in the USA has grown since 2010 |
| D．many big cities in the USA face population problems |
William Frey thinks Austin’s growth _____.
| A．is due to its education |
| B．is the steadiest in the USA |
| C．attracts well-educated people |
| D．deserves the attention of other cities |
According to the text, Charlotte _____.
| A．is a political center |
| B．has grown slowly since 2010 |
| C．is the USA’s 11th-largest city |
| D．does business at home and abroad |
I'll be the first to admit that I am a technophobe(对技术有恐惧感的人）.Who would have guessed that a website would help repay a 20-year-old loan?
I'1l always remember my last day at school. My best friend, Jenny, had organized a party in the Sixth
Form Common Room;
Jenny asked me to go to the supermarket with her to buy all the snacks. "I'm really looking forward to this party, Stingy," she said. Everyone called me Stingy instead of Debbie because they thought I didn't like to spend money. Actually, it was true.
"There's lots of money in the kitty(零星凑起的一笔钱）. Let's go crazy!" Going crazy meant buying enough snacks to feed an army. It came to ￡ 19.90,which was a lot of money in 1982.
Jenny gave me a guilty( 内疚的) look. "I've left-the kitty money in the common room. Can you pay and I'll give you back the money?"
"Sure," I replied, trying to look relaxed. ' Neither a lender or a borrower be' was my motto but I didn't want to look stingy(小气). I gave ￡20 to the impatient shop assistant.
Well, the Party was a great success. So great that I completely forgot about my loan until I was flying to America the next day. I was going to live with my uncle's family until I started university.
I tried to get in touch with Jenny but her family had moved. My ￡20 was lost. Until...
I'd heard about a website called Friends Reunited which helped people contact old school friends. My husband helped me log on and find my school. There she was,Jenny Frost.
I'm now married with a beautiful daughter called Debbie. Does anyone know how to get in touch with Debbie 'Stingy' Jones? I still owe her ￡20!
We met two months later and the ￡20 was returned, plus interest(利息)of course. After all, I'm a bank manager now, so loans are my business.Why did Jenny spend a lot of money on the snacks?
| A．Debbie had money. | B．There was money she could use. |
| C．She wanted Debbie to stop being stingy. | D．She wanted to be crazy. |
How did Debbie get her money at last?
| A．Her husband found Jenny. | B．Jenny had a website on the Internet. |
| C．Debbie met Jenny. | D．Debbie put a message on the Friends Reunited website. |
We know from the passage that Jenny .
| A．liked parties at school and felt guilty about borrowing money |
| B．had fun at school but soon forgot about her school friends |
| C．forgot her best friend at school until she saw the Friends Reunited website |
| D．was forgetful about the money |
Visiting U.S. President George W. Bush said in Beijing Friday that both China and the United States should encourage bilateral (双边的) contacts and exchanges to promote mutual understanding.
“It’s important for our political leaders to come to China,”said Bush, who gave a speech Friday morning at Qinghua University, one of the most prestigious universities in China.
His working visit to China and discussions with Oinghua students “help promote” Sino-U.S. (中美) relations, Bush said in response to a student’s question about what he would do to promote Sino-U.S. relations.
“Many people in my country are very interested in China,” he said, adding that these Americans have learned more about China’s culture and the Chinese people.
He said that he would keep encouraging such contacts and exchanges between the two countries.
Bush said that he would describe back home what he has seen here and that China as a great nation not only has a “great history” but also an “unbelievably exciting future.”
The president said that the 2008 Olympic Games would make a significant opportunity for the rest of the world to understand China, which enables more people to come to China and feel the modernization taking place, and many more people will see it on the television.
Bush arrived in Beijing Thursday for a two-day working visit to China. What the word “prestigious” in the second paragraph probably means?
| A．great | B．famous | C．honorable | D．modest |
Which of the sentence is NOT true?
| A．Bush think bilateral contacts and mutual understanding will promote Sino-U.S. relations. |
| B．Many Americans are interested in China. |
| C．Bush and the students of Qinghua discussed something about how to make China richer and stronger. |
| D．The 2008’s Olympic Games is a great change for China been known by the world. |
Many Americans are interested in China because _______.
| A．they want to come here to take part in the 2008 Olympic Games |
| B．they have learned something of China and they want to learn more |
| C．China has been taking place great change |
| D．China has a“great history”and“unbelievably exciting future” |
The narrator(叙述者) of the passage was most probably _____.
| A．a reporter | B．a psychologist | C．a politician | D．a sociologist |
There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation(通货膨胀率)is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before, instead of after the trip. The story may or may not be true. But inflation was up so fast that by the end of 1923, they were 50 billion percent higher— a rise of almost 2500% a month.
There was so much paper money, and it had so little value that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman tells the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500, 000 mark notes(马克). She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed(抢劫)her. He didn’t take her money; however, he threw it away and took the basket instead.
At first workers demanded to be paid every day. But as the situation became worse, they had to be paid twice a day. but they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers refused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.
New policies (政策) ended the inflation in 1923 when the government introduced a new money. But about half of the German people lost everything in those three and a half years. According to the passage, in Germany the prices in 1920 were _______.
| A．the lowest in history | B．the highest in history |
| C．higher than those in 1923 | D．lower than those in 1923 |
The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought_______.
| A．the basket was what he needed most |
| B．the money was of no value |
| C．the basket was more valuable than the money |
| D．he couldn’t” t buy a piece of meat with the money |
The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they believed that_______.
| A．the potato was valuable | B．the money might lose its value |
| C．the potato was too expensive | D．the money could not buy potatoes |
Which of the following best shows the inflation in Germany between 1920 and 1923?
More than 6000 children were expelled(开除)from US schools last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.
The department gave a report on the expulsions (开除)as saying handguns accounted for 58 percent of the 6093 expulsions in 2005—2006, against 7 percent for rifles(步枪)or shotguns and 35 percent for other types of firearms.
“the report is a dear sign that our nation’s public schools are cracking down” on students who bring guns to school, ” Education Secretary Richard Riey said in a statement. “We need to be tough-minded about keeping guns out of our schools and do everything to keep our children safe.”
In March 2006, a 1l-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14-year-old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Daducab, Kentucky.
“Most of the expulsions, 56 percent were from high schools, which have students from about age 13, 34 percent were from junior high schools and 9 percent were from elementary schools”, the report said. From the first paragraph we can infer that in the US schools______.
| A．students enjoy shooting | B．students are eager to be soldiers |
| C．safety is a problem | D．students can make guns |
The report from the US Department of Education shows that______.
| A．the number of the expulsions is not large | B．the number of the expulsions is wrong |
| C．there are soldiers hiding among the students | D．guns are out of control in US schools |
The main idea of paragraph four shows us______.
| A．some examples of shootings in US school | B．the Americans’ feeling |
| C．some famous schools | D．that some teachers were killed by students |
How many students were shot dead in 2006 in US schools?
| A．10 | B．9 | C．12 | D．22 |
From this passage we know that______.
| A．every American cannot have guns | B．only soldiers and police can have guns |
| C．every American citizen can own guns | D．teachers have no money to buy guns |
For many years, no one could communicate with people who had been born without learning. These deaf people were not able to use a spoken language.
But, beginning in the 1700s, the deaf were taught a special language. Using this language, they could share thoughts and ideas with others. The language they used was a language without sound. It was a sign language.
How did this sign language work? The deaf were taught to make certain movements with their hands, faces and bodies. These movements stood for things and ideas. A man might move his finger across his lips. This meant, “You are not telling the truth.” He might tap his chin (下巴, 下颚)with three fingers. This meant “my uncle”.
The deaf were also taught to use a finger alphabet（字母表）. They used their fingers to make letters of the alphabet. In this way, they spelled out words. Some deaf people could spell out words at a speed of 130 words per minute.
Sign language and finger spelling are not used as much as they once could. Today, the deaf are taught to understand others by watching their lips. They are also taught how to speak.The passage is mainly about ___ .
| A．how the deaf communicate with others |
| B．teaching the deaf to speak with their mouths |
| C．learning how to spell words with one’s hands |
| D．how sign languages came into being |
From the passage we can infer that ___.
| A．there is still no way to communicate with the deaf |
| B．the deaf must have special teachers to teach them |
| C．in order to make a living, deaf people must make signs |
| D．it is not very difficult for the deaf to learn sign language |
How did sign languages help the deaf?
| A．It helped them learn to read |
| B．The deaf could understand sign languages even if they had not learned them |
| C．It helped them to communicate with other people |
| D．It helped them speak with their mouths |
Which of the following sentences do you think is right according to the passage?
| A．Deaf people draw signs | B．Deaf people read with their fingers |
| C．Many deaf people now can speak | D．Deaf people can hear what others say now |
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