1 . In the early years of America, the average mother had eight to ten children. Living conditions were hard. Many children died at an early age. Families needed a lot of help on the farm. So it was good to have many children.
But over the years birth rate(比率) fell. Families began to have fewer and fewer children. By 1900, the average woman had only three or four children. In 1936, during the Great Depression, the average American mother gave birth to only two children.
Things changed after World War Two. Suddenly, it seemed like every family started having babies. Parents were hopeful about the future. People felt the need for a family and security after the long, difficult years of the war. From 1950 to 1960, the number of children between the ages of five and 14 increased by more than ten million.
Many of the new parents moved to homes in the new suburbs. Usually a developer would buy land, then clear it, level it and build houses on it. Young families would buy the houses with money that they borrowed from local banks.
Life there was different. Families moving in found that their new friends were happy to help them get started. When little Bobby outgrew his clothes, his mother gave them to little Billy across the street. People felt safe enough to leave their doors unlocked.
Parents did everything they could to make life good for their children. Between 1950 and 1960, the number of boys playing on baseball teams increased from less than one million to almost six million. The number of Girl Scouts(童子军) increased by two million.
Bicycle sales doubled. And it wasn’t just two-wheeled transportation that experienced an increase after the war.
1. How did the birth rate change in America according to the passage?| A．It first fell and then rose. | B．It first rose and then fell. |
| C．It rose slowly all the time. | D．It remained the same. |
| A．A person who works in the local banks. |
| B．A person who moves from cities to the suburbs. |
| C．A person who designs and creates new products. |
| D．A person who builds and sells houses to make money. |
| A．Stressful. | B．Simple. | C．Easy. | D．Harmonious. |
| A．The increase in car production and sales. |
| B．The improvement in children’s education. |
| C．The changes in American population. |
| D．The flow of the suburban population. |
2 . When we see a person in trouble our immediate reaction is to lend a hand. But what if we se an animal in trouble, does the same rule apply?
This question was raised after a group of penguins were saved from an icy gully (峡谷) in Antarctica. It was filmed for the BBC wildlife series Dynasties. After seeing that a group of penguins had fallen into a gully and been trapped with their young the film crew were so concerned about their safety that they built a slope (斜坡) so that a few of the penguins could save themselves.
The case has taken the international media by storm. Viewers watching this film let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad. I understand not taking action directly involved, but a helping hand isn't bothering, right?" viewer Kathryn Shaw said on her Facebook.
However, others think human interference (干涉) is unnatural. "You can't have sunshine throughout your life. To have done anything else would only make matters worse," said the show's creator David Attenborough, according to The Times.
In this case, however, Mike Gunton, the executive producer of the series, said that this was a one-off situation. "There were no animals going to suffer by interfering. You weren't touching the animals and it was just felt by doing this. They had the chance not to have to keep slipping down the slope," he told the BBC.
Such cases are familiar to Paul Nicklen, wildlife photographer for National Geographic. He told Metro, "If it's ever a predator (捕食者) situation，no matter how gut-wrenching，you stay out of the way. Even when you're watching a male polar bear eat a baby bear."
"There's no rule book in those situations. You can only respond to the facts that are right there in front of you," Will Lawson, the show's director, told Daily Mail.
1. What has caused to a heated media discussion?| A．People's various comments on penguins. |
| B．The ways of helping the trapped penguins . |
| C．Some penguins' sufferings in a gully. |
| D．Ways of filming the series Dynasties. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Sad. |
| C．Annoyed. | D．Thrilled. |
| A．Shooting an eagle catching a snake. |
| B．Preventing a polar bear eating a baby bear. |
| C．Watching a lion attacking a deer. |
| D．Distracting a crocodile biting an antelope. |
| A．The Necessity of Lending a Hand to Animals in Trouble. |
| B．Suggestions on How to Save Animals in Trouble. |
| C．Effects of Human Interference on Animals in Trouble. |
| D．Opinions on Whether to Help Animals in Trouble. |
3 . When there’s not a willing ear to complain to, there’s always a willing page.
A study divided participants who were bothered by a past psychological hurt into two groups. One group was asked to write twice a week for a month about their deepest emotions about the hurt. Another group was asked to go further besides the above.
What happened?
| A．They can gain control over the illness |
| B．Going the extra mile works for some reason |
| C．Releasing depression in a diary is classic advice |
| D．They were supposed to write analysis about their negative change |
| E．They were told to write about how to understand it and deal with it |
| F．By contrast, the second group reported something called positive growth |
| G．The group simply releasing emotions reported more physical symptoms of illness |
4 . New technologies are typically thought of as improving productivity, however, which is not always the case. When technology is multipurpose, such as cellphones, it can be both distracting and destructive.
The influence of banning phones for these students is equal to an additional hour a week in school, or to increasing the school year by five days. Banning cellphones caused a significant growth in student achievement in classrooms, with student test scores improving by 6.41 percent points. This made them 2 percentage points more likely to pass the required exams at the end of high school.
Low-achieving students benefited most from the ban, with test scores increasing by 14.23 percent points. Likewise, the ban greatly benefitted special-education-needs students and those qualified for free school meals, improving exam scores 10 and 12 percent points respectively.
However, strict cellphone policies had little effect on both high-achieving students and 14-year-olds, suggesting that high achievers are less distracted by mobile phones and younger teens own and use phones less often.
This means allowing phones into schools would be the most damaging to low-achieving and low-income students — those qualified for free school meals, worsening any existing learning inequalities.
However, these findings do not ignore the possibility that mobile phones could be a useful learning tool in school if their use is properly structured.
1. What makes students more likely to pass the required exams?| A．More time in study. | B．More tests for students. |
| C．A ban on cellphone selling. | D．Cleverness of students. |
| A．Special educators for students. | B．Free school meal providers. |
| C．Low-income students. | D．High-achieving students. |
| A．Because they use phones less often. |
| B．Because they have already mastered the course. |
| C．Because they have set higher goals for themselves. |
| D．Because they get less distraction from cellphones. |
| A．Approving. | B．Critical. | C．Anxious. | D．Objective. |
5 . Researchers from the University of Western Australia recently studied 3,000 middle and high school students. Among them were 618 teenagers with one parent who lived away from home for long periods of time because of work. The researchers wanted to know how the work of these “fly-in, fly-out" parents might influence the health of their children.
A higher percentage of teenagers who experienced the long work absence of a parent had emotional or behavioral problems compared with those whose parents worked more traditional hours. This supports earlier research finding high percentages of emotional problems in teenagers who often returned to an empty house after school or whose parents were seldom at dinner.
Findings also suggest that parents don’t have to be home all the time to be present in their children’s lives, but it helps to be home at certain times. And the best parental presence for a teenager may sometimes be like a potted plant.
Many parents of teenagers have known this to be true and find ways to be present without trying to start a conversation. One friend of mine quietly does housework each evening in the sitting room where her teenagers watch TV.
They enjoy one another’s company without the need to talk. Another friend usually accepts his daughter's invitation to work or read nearby while she sits and does her homework. Perhaps, that, at least for some families, is the best way for a teenager and their parents to stay close.
In fact, many years of research suggest that children use their parents as a safe base from which to explore the world. Studies tell us that young children quietly follow their parents’ movements from room to room, even while carrying on with their own activities. Perhaps our teens, like babies, feel most at ease when their parents are still around. They don’t want to stay away from parents who allow them freedom.
A new school year is at hand, so as parents we could offer our teenagers a “potted flower" as a gift, whose quiet and steady presence will give them a great day.
1. What did the study find about the 618 teens?| A．They had more dinners with their parents. |
| B．They were more prepared to help themselves. |
| C．They were more likely to have trouble with their feelings. |
| D．They showed more dislike for traditional working hours. |
| A．She doubts them. | B．She supports them. |
| C．She is worried about them. | D．She cares little about them. |
| A．They prefer parents’ quiet company. | B．They want more freedom from parents. |
| C．They pay attention to parents' behavior. | D．They show more interest in new activities. |
| A．Teens want potted plant parents | B．Your kids still need conversation |
| C．Quiet families raise healthier teenagers | D．Parents know little about today's teenagers |
6 . You may not realize it, but when you stare at your partner's eyes, there's a good chance that you’re looking at a modified reflection of yourself. Researchers have found that people choose partners who tend to be of similar size, shape, and race as themselves ... and they may even have facial features in common.
Take Lot Geels from Amsterdam and her American husband, Brock Mosovsky, for example. “We have similar blonde hair and blue eyes,” says Lot. “Neither of us is very tall. We're both built athletically and we’re both mainly of European origin.
Even if you don't look like your partner, you likely share nonphysical characteristics, according to a growing field of research, like education level, socioeconomic status, religion, personality features, and even core values.
Lot and Brock fall into this type as well. “We both have PhDs and work in research,” she says. “We both live an active lifestyle, mainly rock climbing and skiing. Our world views are pretty simi-lar, and we're both hard-working, social and friendly people.”
Researchers have been studying the phenomenon of people with similarities pairing up—known as positive assortative coupling—for decades. If you’re sure that “opposites attract”, you may be surprised by research findings, which prove that like attracts like. However, if you believe that “likes attract”, you probably understand why people surprisingly seek life partners who remind them, on some comforting level, of themselves.
“There's an element of predictability when you date somebody of a similar background,” says Ty Tashiro, the author of The Science of Happily Ever After. “They’re less threatening, less scary. They'll be more of a familiar person from the start. Familiarity is something we find attractive.”
1. What can we infer about Lot and Brock?| A．They have the same hair and eyes. | B．They both come from wealthy families. |
| C．They are attracted by each other’s similarities. | D．They both have the same cultural background. |
| A．Of the preferred type. | B．Of the different type. |
| C．Of the similar type. | D．Of the original type. |
| A．They are comfortable to stay with. | B．They are more threatening and scarier. |
| C．They can develop the same hobbies and interests. | D．They have the same status and back ground. |
| A．Love me, love my dog. | B．Birds of a feather flock together. |
| C．A good wife makes a good husband. | D．Absence makes the heart grow fonder. |
7 . It’s a dream come true for many fans to get a close view of their favorite stars and take pictures with them.
At Hong Kong International Airport on Dec 15, three young Chinese people boarded a Korean Aircraft.
The three people – two from the Chinese mainland and one from Hong Kong – were fans of Wanna One, a Korean pop band, who were on the same flight. However, immediately after taking pictures with their idols (偶像), the fans asked to get a repayment and got off the plane.
According to the flight regulations, all passengers need to get off and go through security checks once again even if only one passenger gets off the plane before takeoff.
Cases of crazy fans buying flight tickets just to follow and get a close view of their idols are common nowadays, reported CGTN. A series of rules were issued in July in order to stop crazy fans from disturbing public security at the airport.
“
| A．To make up for the loss, a sizable amount of money went to 357 passengers. |
| B．As a result, all the remaining 360 passengers had to get off the plane. |
| C．This is in case any dangerous things have been left on the flight. |
| D．It’s not unusual for fans and stars to share the same flight. |
| E．Some fans will do anything they can to realize the dream. |
| F．It was to fly from Hong Kong to the capital Seoul. |
| G．There’s nothing wrong with going after idols. |
8 . Transportation and communication networks bring people together. Yet sometimes people themselves create barriers (障碍) to transportation and communication. In some countries, laws stop people from moving freely from place to place. Over the centuries, many groups of people have been denied the freedom to travel because of their race, religion, or nationality. In the Middle Ages, for example, Jews were often forbidden to move about freely within certain cities. South Africa’s government used to require black Africans to carry passes when they travel within the country. Some governments require all citizens to carry identification papers and to report to government officials when they move.
Countries set up customs posts at their borders. Foreign travellers must go through a customs inspection before they are allowed to travel in the country. Usually travelers have to carry special papers such as passports and visas (签证). Some countries even limit the number of visitors to their country each year. Others allow tourists to visit only certain areas of the country, or they may require that travellers be with an official guide at all times during their stay.
Many of those barriers to travel also act as barriers to communication. When two governments have conflicts with each other on important matters, they usually do not want their citizens to exchange news or ideas freely. Countries often try to keep military or industrial information secret.
Today, people have the ability to travel, to communicate, and to transport goods more quickly and easily than ever before. Natural barriers that were difficult or dangerous to cross a hundred years ago can now be crossed easily. The barriers that people themselves make are not so easy to overcome. But in spite of all the different kinds of barriers, people continue to enjoy travel and the exchange of goods and ideas.
1. The examples in Paragraph 1 are used to tell the readers that ________.| A．transportation and communication networks bring people together |
| B．it’s important to prevent people from transporting and communicating |
| C．people made it difficult for themselves to transport and communicate |
| D．natural barriers mainly influenced transportation and communication |
| A．By listing several facts. | B．By listing several figures. |
| C．By following the order of time. | D．By following the order of importance. |
| A．People today have the ability to travel without any of the barriers. |
| B．The governments can’t reach agreement each other on big issues. |
| C．Citizens of some countries aren’t good at exchanging news or ideas. |
| D．Countries require their citizens to keep all the information secret. |
| A．people can not remove the obstacles made by nature and themselves |
| B．man-made barriers are sometimes harder to overcome than natural ones |
| C．with so many barriers, people can’t travel and exchange goods and ideas |
| D．natural barriers have always been difficult and dangerous to cross for us |
9 . Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn't mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or another, you'll have to stand up and say—problems, I don't want you in my life.
But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.
Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help.
Write your problems.
Don't lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don't lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family…you should still have faith.
Your problems aren't the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there are another one million people whose problems are huger than yours.
Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.
| A．Of course, we've been fighting troubles ever since we were born. |
| B．When we have a problem, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it？ |
| C．Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don't want a real person to talk with. |
| D．But the truth is that when you talk about it, you're setting free the negative energies that have been gathering within you. |
| E．We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack. |
| F．Tell yourself：when they can deal with them, why can't I？ |
| G．With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose. |
10 . Naomi Cooke was walking with a friend and their dogs through her local park in Burnside, on Tuesday when she heard someone shout to watch out. Cooke turned and hardly had time to react before a flying disc hit her in the face with a "big bang”, leaving her right cheek swollen almost to the size of a golfball.
Two men playing disc golf at the course in Jellie Park were about 20 metres from the pair when one of them threw the disc hard, aiming for a nearby goal.
After being hit Cooke immediately went to the emergency department, where two CT scans on her face and cheek found she had escaped any broken bones. "I'm lucky it didn't hit my eye because I think I would have lost it." Cooke said.
Cooke often walks her dog at the park and said it was always busy with people playing disc golf, but it was not until after Tuesday that she became concerned about public safety there.
There were no signs about the disc golf course in the park, she said, and the area is shared with children and people walking their dogs.
“If it had hit one of the kids in the head, it could have killed them.” Cooke did not think she was the only person who had been hit before, and said there would be others who share her concerns.
Cooke planned to go to the council, saying it needed to realise how dangerous it was for the space to be shared by everyone and to provide disc golfers with a space where they can play safely. "There should be rules about how it's done, making it safe for everyone.”
1. What happened to Cooke on Tuesday?| A．She was struck by a golf ball. | B．She was hit by a flying disc. |
| C．She was beaten by two men. | D．She was frightened by a mad dog. |
| A．Cooke and her friend. | B．Cooke and her dog. |
| C．The two disc golfers. | D．The two CT scans. |
| A．Acceptable. | B．Shocked. | C．Angry. | D．Worried. |
| A．To get the two men in trouble. | B．To call for a ban on disc golf. |
| C．To ask for personal protection. | D．To call for safer places for disc golf. |
