题目内容
III．阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节 阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of different generations．Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．
That’s because we group people by age．We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes．Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons．Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of aging and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most．
Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said．
The young, in turn, save the old．Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded．People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure．
Grandparents are a special case．They give their grandchildren a feeling of security(安全) and continuity．As my husband put it, “My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．” Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting．
41．Now in an American family, people can find that _____．
A．children never live with their parents
B．not all working people live with their parents
C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren
D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents
42．What may be the reason why old people are left alone?
A．The old don’t like to live in a big family
B．The young can’t get enough money to support the old
C．Different generations have different lifestyles
D．The old are too weak to live with the young
43．The fact the reporter told us shows that _____．
A．old people in America lead a hard life
B．old people in America enjoy banana bread
C．she had no time to take care of her children
D．old people are easy to get along with
44．Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _____．
A．they had never seen a baby before
B．the baby was clever and beautiful
C．the baby brought them the image of life
D．the baby’s mother would take care of them
45．Why are some children quieter,calmer and more trusting?
A．Because they have relationships with their grandparents
B．Because their worried parents ask them to act like that
C．Because they have nothing to worry about
D．Because their teachers ask them to act like that
B
C
D
C
A
【解析】
The book, which received wide media coverage in China and now has a waiting list for its second print run, is certainly timely: it plays into a growing debate in China about what national universities should be teaching. The country needs a workforce with the skills and creativity to help move away from low-cost manufacturing and, in economic terms, move up the value chain. And some educators believe liberal-arts training is vital to help China deal with its increasingly complex new realities. Yet the well-known intellectual historian Xu Jilin believes that China’s rapid expansion of higher education has had a detrimental effect on curriculum as the country’s universities race to compete globally. “Education these days in like factory-farming chickens,” he says. “Universities all wan to get into international rakings—and most of these depend on research. They’re not interested in providing a unique education for our kids.”
The book, which received wide media coverage in
China and now has a waiting list for its second print run, is certainly timely:
it plays into a growing debate in China about what national universities should
be teaching. The country needs a workforce with the skills and creativity to
help move away from low-cost manufacturing and, in economic terms, move up the
value chain. And some educators believe liberal-arts training is vital to help
China deal with its increasingly complex new realities. Yet the well-known
intellectual historian Xu Jilin believes that China’s rapid expansion of higher
education has had a detrimental effect on curriculum as the country’s universities
race to compete globally. “Education these days in like factory-farming
chickens,” he says. “Universities all wan to get into international rakings—and
most of these depend on research. They’re not interested in providing a unique
education for our kids.”