New research shows that the cost of raising a child in China is nearly seven times its GDP per capita (头数), far more than in the United States and Japan.
GDP, or gross domestic product, is the measure of the total value of goods and services in a country. GDP per capita is a measure resulting from GDP divided by the size of a nation’s total population.
The high cost of child-raising is one more difficulty Chinese policymakers face as they try to deal with quickly decreasing birth rates.
Experts warn China’s aging population will put pressure on its health and social security systems. A decrease in workers could also severely limit growth for the world’s second largest economy in the coming years.
New policies permit families to have as many as three children But China’s birth rate dropped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people in 2021. That is the lowest since the National Bureau of Statistics began recording the information in 1949.
The high costs of raising a child have caused officials in China to place restrictions (限制规定) on the private tutoring industry. Some areas have been giving couples money for having a second or third child.
The average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 in China in 2019 was 485,000 yuan for a first child. That is 6.9 times China’s GDP per capita that year. That information comes from a recent report from the YuWa Population Research Institute in Beijing.
China ranks second highest among the 13 countries included in the study. The country is behind only South Korea, which has the lowest birth rate in the world. The United States number, based on 2015 data, is at 4.11 times GDP per capita. Japan stands at 4.26, based on data from 2010.
Child raising costs are even higher in China’s major cities, reaching more than 1 million yuan in Shanghai and 969,000 yuan in Beijing. Birth rates in the two cities are even lower than the national average.
YuWa warned the decreasing birth rate would “profoundly (深刻地) affect” China’s economic growth potential, its ability to create and its welfare (福利) problems.
The study found that China would need to spend at least 5 percent of its yearly GDP to provide reasons for couples to have more children. That would include education funding (基金), special housing loan (贷款) rates and tax breaks. Other considerations include equal time for mothers and fathers to be away from their jobs and the building of more childcare centers.
1. Why do officials in China place restrictions on the private tutoring industry?| A．Because of the high cost of childcare. |
| B．Because there are too many extra-curricular tutoring classes. |
| C．Because the tutoring industry does not help students improve their grades. |
| D．Because many families want to give their children more leisure time. |
| A．China has the lowest birth rate in the world. |
| B．The cost of childcare in Beijing is higher than that in Shanghai. |
| C．The reduction of workers won’t limit China’s growth in the future. |
| D．The birth rate in 2021 has been the lowest since 1949. |
| A．About 3,346,500 yuan. | B．Around 70,300 yuan. |
| C．Less than 50,300 yuan. | D．More than 80,000 yuan. |
| A．The measures that can reduce education costs. |
| B．The conclusion of the research by YuWa Population Research Institute. |
| C．The ways to increase the birth rate. |
| D．The impact of the decline of the birth rates. |
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【推荐1】The world’s population reached five billion on the day I was born. That was in Indonesia back in 1987, and my parents was shocked that there were so many people on the planet.
The human population has never been bigger, but in some ways the planet seems to begetting unbelievably smaller. In the past, travellers from Europe to Indonesia spent months at sea. Now you just have to sit on a plane for a few hours. When you arrived in another country a hundred years ago, you saw unfamiliar styles of clothing and buildings and discovered a completely different culture. In many places today, clothing and new buildings are very similar, and people enjoy the same things.
Even the languages that we use are becoming more global. There are around seven thousand languages in use today.
| A．But the number is decreasing fast. |
| B．Although we are on different continents, we are starting to live the same lives. |
| C．The planet might be a lot more peaceful if that were the case. |
| D．However, since then the population has continued to increase at an alarming rate. |
| E．A number as big as seven billion is hard to imagine. |
| F．With only one language left, there will be no culture difference in the world. |
There are many older people in the world and there will be many more. A little-known fact is that over 60 percent of the older people live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020 there will be 1 billion, with over 700 million living in developing countries.
It is a surprising fact that the population aging is particularly rapid in developing countries. For example, it took France 115 years for the rate of older people to double from 7 percent to 14 percent. It is estimated to take China a mere 27 years to achieve this same increase.
What are the implications of these increased numbers of older folk? One of the biggest worries for governments is that the longer people live, the more likelihood there is for diseases and for disability. Attention is being paid to the need to keep people as healthy as possible, including during old age, to lessen the financial burden on the state.
Another significant problem is the need for the younger generations to understand and value the older people in their society. In some African countries, certainly in Asia, older people are respected and regarded as the ones with special knowledge. Yet traditions are fading away daily, which does not make sure the continued high regard of older people. As society changes, attitudes will change.
Much needs to be done to get rid of age discrimination in employment. Life-long learning programs need to be provided to enable older people to be active members in a country’s development.
Social security policies need to be established to provide adequate income protection for older people. Both public and private schemes are vital in order to build a suitable safety net. The achieve equality in such matters will take considerable time and effort. One thing is sure: there is no time to be lost.
1. The rate of older people________.
| A．is bigger in developed countries than in developing countries |
| B．is one-seventh of the population in developing countries |
| C．will increase much faster in China than in France |
| D．will be sixty percent in developing countries by 2020 |
| A．The diseases and disability of older people. | B．The longer life and good health of people. |
| C．The loss of taxes on older people. | D．The increasing respect for older people. |
| A．be treated differently in different cultures | B．enjoy a similar lifestyle |
| C．be ignored as society changes | D．be valued by the younger generations |
| A．Getting rid of age discrimination in employment. |
| B．Supplying life-long learning programs to older people. |
| C．Making sure adequate income protection for older people. |
| D．Providing free health care for sick older people. |
| A．governments have spent lots of time in solving the aging problem |
| B．population aging is a hard problem, but it needs to be solved urgently |
| C．people are too busy to solve the population aging problem |
| D．much time and effort will be lost in solving the aging problem |
【推荐3】Many economists argue that Canada could have developed economically with little facilitation of the settlers. But in my opinion the settlers were vital in the country’s development of economy.
Settlers in Canadian history provided labour force that was apparently lacking in the country. Due to the thriving timber (木材) industry that led to the arrival of foreigners, the local population could barely satisfy the international demand for the demand. Emery and Kenneth claimed that the settlers who came to Canada as mere loggers had an impact in the development of the economy. Indeed, the settlers helped the production of more volumes of timber leading to increase in incomes for the government.
Settlers created considerable storage facilities for fishing. It is through these preservation technologies that the country was able to exploit its rich fish industry and increase its exports. Fishing technology improved greatly with many technologies of deep sea fishing. The technologies that came with the settlers increased the trading potential of the country, which in turn increase the incomes for government.
The success of settlers who ventured in agriculture ended into increased urge by locals and the government to invest in agriculture. In Ontario, settlers began planting such plants as corn, vegetables and reared dairy cattle. In the Prairies, the settlers also invested in grain growing with wheat being the most profitable crop.
Canadian settlers also led to changes in social and economic policies of the land. Due to increased immigration, land became a debatable issue where many people did not access land in a fair manner. The Canadian authorities came up with a wise land policy. Settlers could buy large amount of land cheaply and later resell the lands at a proper profit. This increased the ability of the country to increase its agricultural profits by having a superior land system.
1. Which contribution of the settlers in Canada is not covered in the passage?| A．Timber industry | B．Fishing industry. |
| C．Agriculture. | D．Tourism. |
| A．To give evidence of the lack of local population in history. |
| B．To tell readers that the settlers were only common loggers. |
| C．To prove what an important role settlers played in Canadian economy. |
| D．To state that the thriving timber industry led to the arrival of foreigners. |
| A．Canadian government urged settlers’ more invest in agriculture. |
| B．Settlers’ success made the people and the government angry. |
| C．Canadian government got inspiration from settler’s success in agriculture. |
| D．To succeed in agricultural venture, settler had to cooperate with government. |
| A．the reform of land policies |
| B．the increase of immigration |
| C．increasing amount of land |
| D．their creation of a superior land system |
【推荐1】Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Perhaps they were busy talking, texting or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new “species” of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name — phubbers (低头族).
Recently, a cartoon made by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities (身份) are buried in their phones. A doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes selfie (自拍照) in front of a car accident site, and a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events eventually destroys the world.
Although the ending sounds overstated (夸大), the damage phubbing can bring is real. Your health is the first to bear the effect and result of it. “Continuously stretching (伸展) your head to check your cell phone could damage your neck,” Guangming Daily quoted doctors as saying. “The neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching.” Also, staring at cell phones for long periods of time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.
But that’s not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. At reunions with family or friends, many people stick to their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.
It can also cost you your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed (抢劫) of their cell phones in broad daylight.
1. The author gives the example of a cartoon in Paragraph 2 ________.| A．to inform people of the bad effects of phubbing. |
| B．to advertise the cartoon made by students. |
| C．to show the world will finally be destroyed by phubbers. |
| D．to warn doctors against using cell phones while treating patients. |
| A．Hide. | B．Use. | C．Pay all attention to. | D．Cover. |
| A．his social skills could be affected |
| B．his neck and eyesight will be gradually harmed |
| C．he might get separated from his friends and family |
| D．he will cause the destruction of the world |
| A．supportive | B．negative | C．positive | D．objective |
【推荐2】Which’s more important: Your employee or your customer? A popular business expression is, “The customer is always right.” But you should never say “always”.
The owners of a restaurant in Alaska won international praise after protecting their autistic (自闭的) employee.
When the employee delivered the wrong food to a customer’s house, that customer reacted violently and unkindly. Even after the employee corrected the mistake, the customer continued to shout. And that same customer was even rude to the restaurant owners’ daughter. So the owners “fired” the customer.
Restaurant owners P.J. and Spiro Gialopsos have added the customer to the restaurant’s “Do Not Deliver” list. That customer is now persona non grata, Latin for “an unwelcome person”.
P.J. Gialopsos wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page, “You would think the majority of the population would have learned or at least heard about autism.”
Gialopsos said, “The employee has worked at the Little Italy Restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska, for two years. He was very upset about the angry customer.”
Gialopsos describes the employee as a seriously gifted university student who is curious about the world. She adds that the employee also has “an amazing personality, great sense of humor and a strong work ethic.”
“This employee is also one who will not have to deal with that rude customer anymore,” added Gialopsos.
Reached at home by reporters, Gialopsos says she is happy about the positive comments she and her husband are receiving. By Tuesday afternoon, her Facebook posting about the incident received more than 30,000 “Likes” and hundreds of positive comments. Comments and e-mails came from Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Namibia and the United Arab Emirates.
Gialopsos said she spent a couple of emotional days crying over the posts on the Facebook page. She adds that many parents from around the country who have children with autism wrote to her about the incident. “Their stories broke my heart,” she said. Another comment on Facebook that she found “striking” is a woman who thanked them for hiring someone who is “differently-abled”.
1. Why did the owners of the restaurant receive praise?| A．They would always put their customers first. |
| B．They had a “Do Not Deliver” list in their restaurant. |
| C．They fired a customer for hurting their autistic worker. |
| D．They promised to deliver food to their customers’ house. |
| A．The employee acted unkindly. |
| B．He didn’t get the food he ordered. |
| C．The owners’ daughter was very impolite. |
| D．He was considered as an unwelcome person. |
| A．Because she was moved by others’ comments. |
| B．Because children with autism were thankful to her. |
| C．Because nobody understood what she had done. |
| D．Because stories on the Facebook page hurt her feelings. |
| A．A restaurant guide. | B．A news report. | C．A research paper. | D．A personal diary. |
【推荐3】To have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see rare Black Sea dolphins(海豚),people in the landlocked Russian town of Kaluga don't have to leave their city.In the parking lot of a large shopping mall is a white aquarium(水族馆):the Moscow Traveling Dolphinarium.
Russia's dozen or so traveling aquariums are seen as a way to bring native wild animals to people who might never see the ocean.Owners and operators of wildlife tourism attractions say their animals live longer than wild animals,and the animals under their care are with them for life.They’re family.
Alla Azovtseva,a longtime dolphin trainer in Russia,shakes her head.
“I don't see any sense in this work.My conscience bites me.I look at my animals and want to cry,”says Azovtseva.She has spent 20 years training dolphins to do tricks.But along the way she’s grown heartsick from the forcing highly intelligent, social creatures to live a lonely life in small tanks.“Dolphins have evolved to swim great distances and live in complex social groups-conditions that can't be reproduced in a pool,”she says.
“I would compare the dolphin situation with making a physicist sweep the street,”she says.“When they’re not engaged in performance or training,they just hang in the water facing down.It's the deepest depression.”
What people don't know about aquarium shows in Russia,Azovtseva says,is that the animals often die soon after being put in captivity(囚养),especially those in traveling shows.And Azovtseva,making clear she’s referring to the industry at large in Russia,says she knows many aquariums quietly and illegally replace their animals with new ones.
It's illegal to catch Black Sea dolphins in the wild for entertainment purposes,but aquarium owners who want to increase their dolphin numbers quickly and cheaply buy dolphins caught there.Because these dolphins are acquired illegally,they're missing the microchips that captive dolphins in Russia are usually tagged with as a form of required identification.
Some aquariums get around that,Azovtseva says,by cutting out dead dolphins’microchips and putting them into replacement dolphins.
1. What can be inferred about the town of Kaluga?| A．It is a seaside town. |
| B．It is a long way from the ocean. |
| C．It is full of traveling aquariums. |
| D．It is well known for dolphins. |
| A．Dolphins in aquariums are actually treated badly. |
| B．Her work as a dolphin trainer is really boring. |
| C．Dolphins are more intelligent than people think. |
| D．People know little about how dolphins live. |
| A．To show the dolphins are used legally. |
| B．To show the dolphins can be replaced. |
| C．To prove the dolphins are still alive. |
| D．To prove the dolphins are from the Black Sea. |
| A．To give an account of how an aquarium works. |
| B．To draw people's attention to dolphin society. |
| C．To uncover the dark truth behind aquarium shows. |
| D．To report the dolphin situation in the world. |
【推荐1】At least 12 other murders since 1997 have been linked to an addiction to violent video games. This year, the parents of a 14-year-old murder victim in the UK blamed the killer’s addiction to the game Manhunt, causing a government review of legislation（立法）to protect children.
But is there any scientific evidence that mere games can make children and young adults more aggressive, or possibly have the desire to murder？ There is no doubt children are being exposed to more games violence than ever: around a quarter of all games released in the US contain some violence. And the violence is becoming more obvious as increases in computing power make the games look ever more realistic.
Psychologists think there may be many reasons why violent games are more harmful to children than violent movies. Firstly, players are actively involved in violence, and may begin to use weapons as second nature. Secondly, violent games provide repetitive aggressive experiences that are rewarded by more killing.
Many studies have shown that people who play violent games regularly are more likely to show high levels of aggression. For instance, in 2000, Craig Anderson of Iowa State University in Ames and his colleague Karen Dill found that people who played violent games were more likely to admit to aggressive behaviour, including attacks or robberies.
Earlier this year, Krahe and her colleague Ingrid Miller reported a study of 13 to 14-year-old children. More than half had played games recommended only for over-18s. The more violent the games they played, the more they considered physical aggression to be acceptable. Other authors in the same edition report that children who play violent games more likely to argue with teachers and fight with others.
Experimental studies have also pointed out a possible link. In one, Anderson and Dill asked a group of students to play a violent game, Wolfenstein 3D, while another group played the non-violent Myst. Those who played the violent game were faster to react to aggressive words flashed on screen and appeared more aggressive.
The issue is controversial, however. Jeffrey Goldstein, a psychologist at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and a consultant to some video games publishers, agrees that there is good evidence that children, who are exposed to violent media, including video games, are more aggressive. But he warns it might not be a simple case of cause and effect: aggressive kids might be most attracted to violent games.
1. What will be probably discussed in the paragraph following the passage?| A．Further research on the harm of violent games. |
| B．The results of more experimental studies. |
| C．Ways to protect children from violent games. |
| D．Further research on the advantage of violent games. |
| A．violent movies are not so attractive to children |
| B．the viewers can’t take part in violent movies |
| C．violent movies are not popular with children |
| D．children can win awards in violent games |
| A．There are at least 12 murders in 1997 linking with violent games. |
| B．Children who play computer games often quarrel with their teachers and parents. |
| C．The more violent games kids play, the more aggressive behaviors they are involved in. |
| D．The number of violence is increasing as a result of violent video games. |
| A．Games and Murder | B．Should Computer Games Become Lifelike？ |
| C．How to Play Violent Games | D．Violent Games or Non-violent Games？ |
【推荐2】Running on the beach is completely different from running on the pavement, a track or trails with soft surfaces.
For starters, sand can be a challenge because it has an uneven(不平的) surface and constantly moves under your feet. As you push off, you’re going to lose some of your push as the sand moves, so you’re not going to be able to push yourself forward as you would on a track or pavement! But this unevenness has an upside: it gives your body an extra workout, forcing you to exercise the muscles that don’t get as much use as runs on firm surfaces.
You also might feel painful afterward because beaches tend to slope(倾斜) downward, toward the water. If you’re going for a long run on the beach, you might notice that one side of your body including your ankle, leg or knee might feel more painful because you’re putting more pressure on it due to the slope.
Some beach runners tend to run barefoot. However, if you’re not used to barefoot running, start slowly and run short distances at first. That’s because running barefoot uses different muscles than running with shoes does, and it’s important to strengthen these muscles and adapt your feet.
Despite these challenges, running on sand can be a smart choice for athletes because running on it can decrease the bad influence on your body during high-intensity workouts. This could potentially lead to less muscle damage and less pain. Women had less myoglobin (肌红蛋白), which can cause muscle pain, in their blood after running on the sand than they did after running on grass. This suggests running on softer ground surfaces, such as sand, may reduce muscle damage.
1. Why do the starters feel hard while running on sand?| A．Because the surface is even. | B．Because the beach is near water. |
| C．Because the runners lack muscles. | D．Because the surface of the sand is soft. |
| A．A positive aspect. | B．A wide roadside. |
| C．An extra workout. | D．A bad influence. |
| A．Starting quickly. | B．Not running too long. |
| C．Using the same muscles. | D．Increasing their paces. |
| A．By listing data. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparison. | D．By offering facts. |
【推荐3】For decades, different variations of home workouts are regarded as the solution to busy lifestyles. In 1982, there was actress Jane Fonda’s popular VHS aerobic (有氧的) routines, the fitness expert Billy Blanks’ Tae Bo workouts in the 1990s, backbreaking P90X training that took off and more casual Nintendo Wii Fit routines of the same age.
More recently, design and advancements in technology have offered expanded and personalized training options, while reducing the large footprint of most home gyms. In 2018, former ballet dancer Brynn Putnam released Mirror, a fitness system that allows users to follow along with virtual personal trainers in classes including yoga (瑜伽).
That same year, entrepreneur Aly Orady launched Tonal, an AI-powered wall-mounted screen that focuses more on strength training. It features an exercise bench and resistance system that uses electromagnetism (电磁) to imitate weight machines. This month, entrepreneur Trent Ward and designer Yves Behar are uncovering their design for a mirror fitness system, Forme. Forme is reflective like Putnam’s design, uses machine learning to improve workouts like Tonal, and offers attachments including ankle belts, rope handles and a heart rate monitor. When not in use, the two arms that form the resistance system fold behind it and the display screen disappears, turning Forme into a simple full-length mirror.
Interest in home exercise has particularly spiked in recent weeks around the world as physical gyms have temporarily closed. Home workout apps have seen a significant increase in downloads, and trendy brands like Peloton have rolled out free virtual workouts for everyone stuck indoors. One French athlete who was kept away from others chose to run an entire marathon on his 23-foot balcony.
But beyond the new restrictions affecting daily workout routines, Ward and Behar are tapping into the same concerns that have made every home workout appealing: the ability to save time and sweat in the privacy of one’s home. In an age of personal metrics (衡量标准)—where one can measure their heart rate and sleep cycles with smart watches and train for marathons with AI smart sneakers — Ward and Behar want to improve exercise through machine learning. Forme evaluates performance and adjusts weights accordingly.
1. How many kinds of workouts are mentioned in paragraph1?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．They both can be used as a mirror. |
| B．They can test more accurate heart rates. |
| C．They’re designed for strength training. |
| D．They provide more attachments than Tonal. |
| A．Troubled. | B．Heightened. | C．Exchanged. | D．Disappeared |
| A．What are the advantages of smart watches. |
| B．What benefits its users get from Forme. |
| C．What the personal metrics are about. |
| D．What are the features of AI smart sneakers. |
