Divorces in Japan have more than doubled, according to health ministry statistics. One in three Japanese marriages now ends in divorce.

Atsuko Okano was in one of those failed marriages. Three years ago, she found herself alone in her 30s, with children to raise and a future full of question marks and social shame. But she also saw an opening, and became an advisor helping people like herself.

“My husband was cheating on me,” she recalled. ‘I did everything to bring him back to me but it didn’t work, so I dumped him.” Such frankness is a major characteristic of Japan’s recently divorced.

Divorced people – particularly woman – have long been looked down upon in Japan, where self-sacrifice and family stability are regarded as ideals. In the past, bored housewives remained bored. The security of the family unit was the most important thing. Now, young Japanese are increasingly choosing satisfaction in life over the demands of tradition, and more woman are financially independent. As a result, Japanese divorce rates are flying. Experts attribute this to the erosion of a long-standing double standard that granted divorced men respectability, but branded(gave somebody a bad name) divorced women as damaged goods.

Over the past decade, growing numbers of highly educated and successful professional women have challenged that assumption(something taken for granted) by turning their backs on unhappy marriages and paying no attention to the taboo(禁忌)of divorce. The majority of divorce behavior now is started by women.

1.This passage mainly talks about the fact that nowadays Japanese women _________.

A.are granted respectability after they get divorced

B.are becoming brave enough to challenge the taboo of divorce

C.still consider the security of the family unit to be very important

D.are becoming more financially independent

2.It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that Atsuko Okano __________.

A.had some children to raise

B.was very confident with her future

C.was not greatly respected by Japanese society

D.might have found a job to help divorced people

3.The underlined word “dumped” in paragraph 3 probably means _________.

A.looked down upon

B.had a quarrel with

C.hated

D.divorced

4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the reason for rising rate of Japanese divorces?

A.Self-sacrifice and family stability are not much appreciated in Japan as before.

B.More women can support themselves financially.

C.Divorced men and women can quickly find their new partners

D.Young Japanese care more about satisfaction in life than their elders did.

 

Peter Rabbit is a character in various children’s stories written by Beatrix Potter(1866-1943). Peter Rabbit made his first appearance in 1902 in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Peter doesn’t obey his mother’s orders and goes away.  Mr.McGregor spots him and runs after him. Peter manages to escape, but not before losing his jacket and shoes, which Mr.McGregor uses to dress a scarecrow(稻草人). Peter returns home tired and ill.

In the Tale of Benjamin Bunny, first published in 1904, Peter’s cousin Benjamin Bunny brings him back to Mr.McGregor’s garden and they get back the clothes Peter lost in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. But after they gather onions to give to Peter’s mother, they are caught by Mr.McGregor’s cat. Benjamin’s father arrives and rescues them, but also blames Peter and Benjamin for going into the garden. In this tale, Peter displays fear about returning to the garden.

In the The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, first published in 1909, Peter has a small role and appears only briefly. He is grown up and his sister Flopsy is now married to Benjamin Bunny. The two are the parents of six little Flopsy-Bunnies. Peter and his mother keep a nursery garden and the bunnies come by asking him for spare cabbage.

In the Tale of Mr. Tod, first published in 1912, Benjamin and Flopsy’s children are taken away by Tommy Brock. Peter helps Benjamin run after Brock, who hides out in the house of the fox Mr. Tod. Mr. Tod finds Brock sleeping in his bed and as the two get into a fight, Peter rescues the children.

Peter makes cameo appearances(客串出场) in two other tales. In The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, first published in 1905, Peter and Benjamin are customers of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, a hedgehog(刺猬) washerwoman. In The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, first published in 1909, Peter and other characters from Potter’s previous stories make cameo appearances.

1. In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter     .

A.is caught by Mr. McGregor’s cat

B.gathers onions to give to his mother

C.runs into a scarecrow when escaping

D.loses his clothes in Mr. McGregor’s garden

2.In paragraph 4, the underlined part “the two” refers to      .

A.Benjamin and Brock

B.Peter and Benjamin

C.Mr. Tod and Brock

D.Peter and Mr. Tod

3.What do we know about Benjamin Bunny?

A.He’s a father of six children

B.He keeps a nursery garden with Peter

C.His mother passes away when he’s little

D.He saves Peter in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies

4.According to the passage, Peter Rabbit      .

A.hates Benjamin Bunny’s father a lot

B.appears briefly in The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle

C.was worked into a story in the early 19th century

D.plays a leading role in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies

5.The author wrote the passage to      .

A.introduce the character Peter Rabbit in Potter’s stories

B.describe the various characters in Potter’s books

C.show the influence of the Peter Rabbit series on children

D.discuss Potter’s changes in her writing styles

 

Every childwants to have pocket money(零花钱). Why do their parents just give them some money?   51 

The amount of money that parents give to their children differs from family to family.   52   Some children get weekly pocket money. Others get monthly pocket money.

First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving. Then parents should make the children understand what they expect their children to buy with the money. At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time.    53 

In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home. Some experts(专家) think it not wise to pay the children for doing that.    54  

Pocket money can give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with the money. They can spend it by giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want.    55 Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing for children.

A Some children are not good at managing their pocket money.

B As helping at home is a normal part of family life.

C Learning how to get money is very important for every child.

D By doing so, these children will learn that spending must be done with a budget(预算).

E Timing is another consideration.

F They can save it for future use.

G One main purpose is to let kids learn how to manage their own money.

 

第二节:完形填空 (共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36—55各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑

As the drought(干旱) continued to seem to be endless, a small community of mid-west farmers were wondering what to do next. The rain was important not only to keep their crops     36    , but to support the townspeople's way of     37    . Since the problem needed immediate    38    , the local church felt it was time to call a prayer meeting to ask for    39   .

In what seemed an unclear remembrance(纪念) of a Native American   40    , the people began to arrive. After they were all    41    , the pastor(牧师)on his arrival watched as the townspeople continued to arrive. He slowly    42     his way to the front to officially    43    the meeting.

Everyone was taking the opportunity to     44    with close friends. When the pastor     45     the front, his thoughts were on quieting those     46     and starting the meeting.

47    he began to ask for quiet, his eyes    48     through the crowd and he took     49     of an eleven year-old girl sitting in the front row.

Her face was shining     50     excitement and she     51     sat in her place. Next to her, was a bright red umbrella,    52     for use. The beauty and innocence(纯真) of the girl made the pastor smile as he     53     the faith she had. No one     54     at the meeting had brought a/an     55    .

They had all come to pray for rain, but she had come expecting God to answer with the needed rain.       

36.A. wealthy     B. healthy          C. powerful      D. necessary

37.A. work        B. entertainment     C. stay          D. life

38.A. attention          B. solution         C. fiction        D. conservation

39.A. rain          B. help           C. money             D. advice

41.A. covered     B. crowded        C. occupied      D. seated

42.A. found       B. struggled       C. felt           D. made

43.A. end              B. close          C. begin        D. hold

44.A. talk              B. tell            C. say           D. drink

45.A. arrived     B. reached         C. got           D. hurried

46.A. possible     B. patient              C. pure          D. present

47.A. As         B. Until          C. Though        D. Unless

48.A. got         B. went          C. looked             D. saw

49.A. hold         B. sight          C. notice        D. glance

50.A. for         B. with           C. by            D. at

51.A. quietly     B. calmly              C. anxiously     D. worriedly

52.A. eager        B. ready         C. curious         D. awful

53.A. recognized    B. promised       C. realized        D. allowed

54.A. even         B. else            C. still          D. also

55.A. apron       B. raincoat         C. record        D. umbrella

 

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