(D) Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child．Last spring one of the two，Australia，gave up the bad distinction by setting up paid family leave starting in 2011．I wasn’t surprised when this didn’t make the news here in the United States—we’re now the only wealthy country without such a policy．
The United States does have one explicit family policy，the Family and Medical Leave Act，passed in 1993．It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks’ unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem．Despite the modesty of the benefit，the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly，describing it as “government-run personnel management” and a “dangerous precedent（先例）．” In fact，every step of the way，as (usually) Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law，business groups have been strongly opposed．
As Yale law professor Anne Alstott argues，justifying parental support depends on defining（定义）the family as a social good that，in some sense，society must pay for．Parents are burdened in many ways in their lives: there is “no exit” when it comes to children．Society expects—and needs—parents to provide their children with continuity of care．And society expects—and needs—parents to persist in their roles for 18 years，or longer if needed．
What do we learn about paid family leave according to Paragraph 1？
| A．It came as a surprise when Australia adopted the policy． |
| B．Setting up this policy made Australia less influential． |
| C．It has now become a hot topic in the United States． |
| D．No such policy is applied in the United States． |
What makes it hard to take work-family balance measures in the States？
| A．The incompetence of the Democrats． |
| B．The opposition from business circles． |
| C．The lack of a precedent in American history． |
| D．The existing Family and Medical Leave Act． |
What is Professor Anne Alstott’s argument for parental support？
| A．Children need continuous care． |
| B．Good parenting benefits society． |
| C．The cost of raising children has been growing． |
| D．The U．S．should keep up with other developed countries． |
Why is the author against classifying parenting as a personal choice？
| A．Parenting is regarded as a moral duty． |
| B．Parenting relies largely on social support． |
| C．Parenting produces huge moral benefits． |
| D．Parenting is basically a social responsibility． |
Believe it or not, there is always something nice to do on weekends. If you take some time to think about your weekends and plan them carefully, they may become more exciting, refreshing and as a result more rewarding.
Throughout weekends, you can join in endless activities. You may attend a weekend course to increase your knowledge, for example, listen to a lecture on ancient Egypt. You may also try various activities, such as short countryside trip, or you may want to go skiing on a cold winter weekend.
You may invite your best friend to a picnic, tell each other jokes and enjoy each other’s company or you may invite more friends to your weekend party and have one another give a talent show.
You can help out in a local library or nursing home and do some voluntary (义务的) jobs.
You can go to a sports ground or amusement centre to play various ball games and others. You may do weekend shopping alone or with somebody. Whatever you do, I hope you have a good weekend.The passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．why to plan weekends well |
| B．how to have a nice weekend |
| C．when to attend weekend activities |
| D．where to have a picnic with friends |
The author suggests doing all the activities EXCEPT ______.
| A．going skiing | B．doing some shopping |
| C．holding a party | D．going over lessons |
According to the passage one can go to ______ as a volunteer.
| A．a nursing home | B．a sports ground |
| C．a big company | D．a shopping centre |
It was a rather hot day. Everybody seemed to be looking for some kind of relief, so an ice cream store was a natural place to stop at.
A little girl, holding her money firmly, entered the store. Before she could say a word, the store clerk sharply told her to get outside and read the sign on the door, and stay out until she put on the shoes. She left slowly, and a big man followed her out of the store.
The man watched as she stood in front of the store and read the sign. “No Bare (赤裸) Feet”.
Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she turned and walked away. Just then the big man called to her. After sitting down on the roadside, he took off his size-12 shoes, set them in front of the girl and saying, “Here, you won’t be able to walk in these, but if you slide (拖) along, you can get your ice cream.”
Then he lifted the little girl up and set her feet into the shoes. “Take your time,” he said, “I get tired of moving them around, and it’s good to just sit here and eat my ice cream.”
The shining eyes of the little girl could not be missed as she ordered her ice cream.
He was a big man, all right. Big body, big shoes, but most of all, he had a big heart.The little girl wasn’t allowed to enter the store because ______.
| A．she was dirty | B．she had no money |
| C．the store was closed | D．she had no shoes on |
What happened to the little girl in the end?
| A．The big man bought an ice cream for her. |
| B．The store clerk took an ice cream out to her. |
| C．She got her ice cream with the big man’s shoes. |
| D．She left the store without getting her ice cream. |
From the story we can conclude （得出结论）that the big man is ______.
| A．kind | B．funny | C．honest | D．hard-working |
Henry Ford was the first person to build cars which were cheap，strong and fast．He was able to se11 millions of models because he could produce them in large numbers at a time；that is，he made a great many cars of exactly the same kind．Ford’s father hoped that his son would become a farmer，but the young man did not like the idea and he went to Detroit（底特律）where he worked as a mechanic（机械师）．By the age of 29，in 1892，he had built his first car．However，the car made in this way，the famous “Model T” did not appear until 1908-five years after Ford bad started his great motor car factory．This car showed to be well-known that it remained unchanged for twenty year．Since Ford’s time，this way of producing cars in large numbers has become common in industry and has reduced the price of many goods which would otherwise be very expensive．Henry Ford was the man to built _____ cars．
| A．cheap and strong | B．cheap and long |
| C．fast and expensive | D．strong and slow |
Ford was able to sell millions of cars，because_____．
| A．he made many great cars |
| B．his cars are many |
| C．he made lots of cars of the same kind |
| D．his cars are well known in the world |
The young man became a mechanic，_______．
| A．which was his father’s will（意愿） |
| B．which was against his father’s will |
| C．which was against his own will |
| D．which was the will of both |
The “Model T” was very famous_____．
| A．before 1908 | B．between 1982 and 1908 |
| C．before 1892 | D．after 1908 |
You're rushing to get out of the door for a meeting, but you just can't seem to find your car keys. Or you've got tickets booked for a Caribbean cruise(坐船旅行) , but your passport disappeared. Or maybe you've just come back from a grocery store tour and realized…Hey, did I leave my baby in the checkout line?
Ok, you've probably never gone to the extremes of our last example (we hope), but most of us experience slip - ups like these on a daily basis. No matter how smart you may be, it doesn't mean your brain won't turn to Swiss cheese every so often, and no amount of e-mail reminders can help you remember where you left your TV remote or lucky penny.
But now, there is a new pair of eyeglasses that can help to find all those little things you know must be around somewhere : Let's call it Vision 2.0.
The new glasses, which are being developed in a Japanese lab under the code name Smart Goggles,are similar to a Google search engine for your eyes. The high - tech glasses come with a camera that records everything you see on a daily basis, and boast built - in object recognition software that allows them to keep track of whatever comes across their field of vision. If you've got a collection of art sculptures that the camera can't recognize immediately, no problem : Just say the name of each item, and the glasses will memorize them right away.
The Smart Goggles' superb tracking abilities mean that whenever you're looking for your keys, your overdue library book, or yes, even your baby, all you have to do is to say the word and the Goggles' camera will show you the last time your desired object appeared on screen, telling exactly where you'll be able to find it.
Though the glasses are still too big for general use, the research team in Japan believes that they'll be able to make the modem glasses smaller to the size of normal glasses in the near future, making them the perfect new accessory for yourself or any other absent - minded Professor you know.
With these intelligent designs, you'll never lose anything again. Except maybe your glasses.The best title for the passage should be _______.
| A．A Habit of Forgetting Small Things |
| B．Usage of New High - Tech Glasses |
| C．How to Find Little Things Easily |
| D．Glasses Will Help Find Your Things |
Which of the following is a slip - up according to the passage?
| A．You can't find your watch before going to work. |
| B．You can't work out a math problem in given time. |
| C．You don't know how to deal with a naughty boy. |
| D．You don't know how to get to a hospital. |
Which of the following statement is true about Smart Goggles?
| A．They're a search engine used on the Internet. |
| B．They're a camera with recognition software. |
| C．They're software used in computers. |
| D．They're sunglasses protecting our eyes. |
Where are the new glasses being developed?
| A．In China. | B．In America. | C．In Japan. | D．In France. |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began eaming $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days.He got married and moved with his wife to a verywealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it " Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. " Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they______.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbors |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don't want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to be happy |
It can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to_______.
| A．live outside New York City | B．live in New York city |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbors |
According to the writer, it is ________ to keep up with the Joneses.
| A．correct | B．interesting | C． impossible | D． good |
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