Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could    not work

B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?

A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D. taking care of the sick or weak people

Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A. Sympathetic.        B. Approving.         C. Optimistic.        D. Critical.

B

ON March 17 there will be an explosion of green across the World in celebration of St Patrick’s Day.The Irish traditionally wear green on this day, as the color is associated with Ireland.

But there are others, non-Irish,who use the occasion to make jokes about the Irish.They use the stereotype(成见)of the Irish as hot-tempered(脾气暴躁的)drinkers,who love to fight and will do anything to avoid a day's work.

However, today the Irish are more often admired for their musical talent and many other abilities.It’s no accident that many of today's most popular music groups,such as singer Enya and rock band U2,are Irish born and bred.Lonely Planet readers even ranked Ireland in 2007 as the friendliest country in the world.

So where did the negative Irish stereotype come from? From the 19th century when it was a bad time to be Irish.

Ireland then was poverty-stricken and starving.Many Irish moved to the United States to escape famine, but there they had to compete---occasionally with their fists for jobs and housing with other immigrant groups,such as the Italians.It was on the US’ streets that the Irish earned their reputation for street fighting.

The stereotype of the Irish as big drinkers may be unfair, but Ireland can boast(为……自豪) its fair share of famous drinks.It was the Irish after all who created one of the world’s best-loved beers,Guinness.

65.What is the story mainly about?

A.How the Irish earned their reputation.

B.The festival-St Patrick’s Day.

C.Jokes about the Irish people.

D.Famous Irish stereotype and the truth.

66.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A.St Palrick’s Day is celebrated nowhere else but Ireland.

B.Modern Irish show no interest in drinking alcohol.

C.Part of the stereotype about the Irish is that they are lazy.

D.Irish people usually get hot-tempered when laughed at.

67.Where did the negative Irish stereotype come from?

A.From their everyday behavior toward other people.

B.From the behavior of Irish immigrants to America in the 19th century.

C.From the historical record of 19th century Ireland.

D.From most people’s impression of Irish people

 

BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.

Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates(最新报道)on the rescuers’ progress.

The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened.“It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.

The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.

At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m.Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.

He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years.The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each.The company has not released the names of the miners.

The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect (remove) the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that.“ We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.High levels of carbon monoxide were discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided(减退), authorities said.

1.According to the passage, we can infer that ________.

         A.all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive

         B.communication with the trapped miners was cut off

         C.the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time

    D.the rescue started as soon as the accident happened

2.If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about _______ per hour.

 A.1,000 feet     B.2,400 feet           C.1,200feet         D.4,800feet

3.Where can the passage be seen?

         A.In a magazine.              B.In a newspaper.          

         C.In a science book..        D.On an advertisement.

4.Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?

 

 

 

     In 1605 some Englishmen planned to kill their king, James I, because they thought he was a bad man. They knew that on November 5th the king would go to the House of Lords to talk with his nobles.

The men rented a building next to the House of Lords. They dug through a wall and put many barrels of gunpowder in a cellar of the House of Lords. They chose a man called Guy Fawkes to set fires to the gunpowder but something went wrong with their plan. One of the men had a relative who was coming to the House of Lords to meet the King. He warned his relative to stay at home .The relative spoke to other nobles and soon the King heard about the danger. Soldiers searched the cellars and found the gunpowder on November 4th, Guy Fawkes was caught and killed.

Every year, on November 5th , English children remember Guy Fawkes . They collect old boxes, newspapers and rubbish so that they can make a big fire, which they call a bonfire. They put a pole in the middle of the fire and tie a “guy” to it . “The guy” is the figure of Guy Fawkes and is made of old clothes and paper . Sometimes they push their “guy” round the streets in a cart and ask for money so that they can buy fireworks.

In the evening they light the bonfire and let off many fireworks: crackers, rockets , bangers and many other kinds .November 5th is an exciting day for children in England. It is always a busy day for firemen and for hospitals. Sparks from the bonfires sometimes set fire to fences, trees or houses. Every year children are injured when fireworks exploded unexpectedly.

1.Some Englishmen planned to kill their king because _______.

   A. they thought highly of him                   B. they thought poorly of him

   C. they thought nothing of him                  D. they thought well of him

2.Something went wrong with their plan because one of the men _____ .

   A. told the King about                           B. told other nobles about it

   C. told his relative about it                          D. Guy Fawkes was killed

3.How do English children remember Guy Fawkes every year ?

   A. They make a bonfire                         B. They make a figure of Guy

   C. They left off fireworks.                         D. All above.

4.The phrase “let off many fireworks” in the passage means “_____”.

      A. allow the fireworks to leave                    B. cause the fireworks to explode

      C. keep the fireworks off the bonfire                       D. put the fireworks into the bonfire

5.November 5th is a busy day for firemen because ______.

      A. fireworks are in great need

      B. quite a few houses catch fire when fireworks explode

      C. many children are injured by the unexpected explosion of fireworks

      D. both B and C

 

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