Divorce is bad for environment US researchers raised a new theory on Monday: divorce is bad for the environment． The global trend toward higher divorce rates has created more households with fewer Pe 题目和参考答案——青夏教育精英家教网—

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Divorce is bad for environment

US researchers raised a new theory on Monday: divorce is bad for the environment．

The global trend toward higher divorce rates has created more households with fewer People，scientists at Michigan State University reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences．

More households means more houses，fuel and water are Heeded for them，the researchers wrote．“Globally，the number of households is increasing much faster than the number of people，”said co-author “Jack” Liu in a telephone interview．“Even in regions with declining population, we see substantial increase in the number of households．Divorce is the main reason for reducing the number of people in a household,” he said．

The average divorced person’s household is about 40 to 50 percent smaller than the average married person’s household, Liu said．But whether there are three or six people in a house ,the amount of fuel needed to heat them is about the same．In the United States, divorced households used 74 billion kilowatt—hours of electricity and 2．850 trillion liters of water in 2005, half of which could have been saved if households had stayed the same size as when they were married．

In the United States and 11 other countries between 1998 and 2002, if divorced households had combined to have the same average household size as married households, there could have been 7．4 million fewer households．

The number of divorced households in those countries ranged from 40,000 in Costa Rica to almost 16 million in the United States around 2000．The number of rooms per person in divorced households was 33 percent to 95 percent greater than in married households．

“If you really want to get divorced, maybe you can remarry with somebody else, or live together with somebody else you like”, Liu said．

1．In America when the number of households is , the number of people in a house is ．

A．increasing, decreasing B．decreasing, increasing

C．increasing, increasing D．decreasing, decreasing

2．What does the word “substantial” in the third paragraph mean?

A．Great B．Little C．Sudden D．Timely

3．How much electricity would have been saved without so many people getting divorced in America in 2005?

A．7．4 million kilowatt-hours B．16 million kilowatt-hours

C．37 billion kilowatt-hours D．about 30 billion kilowatt-hours

4．The last paragraph is the writer’s for people．

A．advice B．encouragement C．demand D．order

AACA

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According to the United States government, people are classified as homeless if they have no place to stay and no expectation of finding a place for the next thirty days. Although technically accurate, that is an impersonal assessment of an enormous and very human problem.

The homeless population represents all of us Americans. It includes men and women, the elderly, children, and infants. Its members are from all ethnic groups. What they have in common is poverty.

Currently in the U.S., thirty-nine million people live in poverty. When money is really tight, paying the rent or buying food often becomes a choice. Government assistance in the form of food stamps does help but, as one homeless man explains, you can’t pay the rent with food stamps.

With no money for rent, the streets and homeless shelters become the alternative.

Although men make up the largest group within the homeless population, homeless women with children are rapidly joining them. In fact, one quarter of the homeless people in the U.S. are teenagers and young children.

People may become homeless for numerous reasons. However, there are certain factors that many of these individuals have in common. They include a lack of adequate education and job skills. A majority of the teenagers and adults have not completed high school.

The abuse of alcohol and drugs is also a common factor. One third of the adult homeless population abuses alcohol, while one quarter of the same group uses drugs.

Some members of this population suffer mental health problems. Within the past several years many institutions for the mentally ill have been closed and their patients sent “home”. Unfortunately, a number of those people have no home to go to and they are unable to adequately look after themselves.

Job loss in today’s economy has also become a real factor in the loss of people’s homes. The breakup of families through abandonment and divorce is also contributing factors, particularly when there are children involved. The parent who is left to care for the kids with inadequate income may be forced to depend on the homeless shelters to put a roof over their heads.

The writer thinks that the U.S. government’s definition for the homeless shows _________.

A. an insincere attitude toward the homeless

B. an unbearable attitude toward the homeless

C. an uncivilized attitude toward the homeless

D. an unsympathetic attitude toward the homeless

The U.S. government helps the homeless by _________.

A. giving them homeless allowance B. giving them food stamps

C. finding jobs for them D. finding residence (a place to live) for them

People become homeless for all the following reasons EXCEPT _________.

A. the lack of adequate education

B. the abuse of alcohol and drugs

C. the closure of institutions for the mentally ill

D. the poor performance of economy

The breakup of families is likely to lead to homelessness because a parent with kids may _________.

A. lose his or her job in today’s economy

B. be unable to look after the kids

C. not have enough income

D. find residence at a homeless shelter

Soaring divorce rates around the globe are taking a toll on the environment, American researchers suggested in a study released on a Monday.

Michigan State University researcher Jianguo “Jack” Liu and his assistant Eunice Yu said the increasing number of divorces leads to more households with fewer people and greater consumption of water and energy. They said housing units require space, construction materials and fuel to heat and cool, regardless of the number of inhabitants.

For example, in the United States in 2005, divorced households consumed an extra 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water. An additional 38 million extra rooms required heating and lighting that same year due to divorced households.

That costs $6.9 billion in extra utility costs per year, Liu said, plus an added $ 3.6 billion for water, in addition to other costs such as land use.

“A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household,” Liu said. He said that in cohabitating(同居) household, people will watch the same television, share the air conditioning and heat and use the same refrigerator. All things use energy at a regularly stable rate, regardless of the number of users.

Liu said he was not condemning divorce, “Some people really need to get divorced.” He said cohabitation—whether by a family or friends—was simply a more environmentally friendly option. Additonally, the researchers noted that trends other than divorce are also changing family living structures, such as the end of multiple generations of a family sharing a home and people remaining single longer.

“People’s first reaction to this research is surprise, and then it seems simple.” Liu said in a press release. “But a lot of things become simple after research is done. Our challenges were to connect the dots and quantify(量化) their relationships. People have been talking about how to protect the environment and fight against climate change, but divorce is a factor that people don’t notice and it needs to be considered”.

He said the increasing energy demands caused by divorce should be considered by governments when they are creating environmental policies.

The research was published in this week’s online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

1.This passage is mainly meant to _______ .

A. inform the readers of the increasing rates of divorce in America

B. emphasize the importance of protecting the environment

C. appeal to married people to maintain their marriage longer

D. tell people the impact divorce has on the environment

2. According to the passage, what’s the attitude of Mr. Liu towards divorce?

A. Critical . B. Indifferent. C. Objective. D. Negative.

3.We are told that ______ .

A. divorced households will use fewer resources than married households

B. married households are more willing to protect the environment

C. divorced households contribute more to rapid economic development

D. divorce is rarely considered when people think about protecting the environment.

4.The underlined phrase “taking a toll on” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____ .

A. taking efforts to improve B. having a bad effect on

C. preventing the pollution of D. benefiting from

5. How is the passage organized?

A. Main idea →Comparison → Supporting details

B. Comparison→Argument→Explanation

C. Main idea→Supporting details→Conclusion

D. Example → Explanation → Conclusion

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分,满分40分）

Big things were happening in my life the summer I turned 13. In the middle of that summer, my parents shook my entire world and turned it upside down when they told me they were getting a divorce. I couldn't believe that our family was going to break up. Though I always knew my parents weren't very happy and they often fought, I still wanted my family to stay the same.

My life changed completely after the divorce.My mother and I moved into a small apartment across town,while my father and brother,Bill, stayed in our house.I now became a visitor whenever I went to see my dad and Bill on the weekends. And immediately I had my soon-to-be stepfather,Dan,whom I showed no interest in.I was clearly depressed, especially after Dan and my mother married and I realized that there was no way that things could change back to the way they had been.

Even though I resisted all Dan's attempts to get to know me and wasn't very nice to him, he never gave up on me. Gradually, I began to trust him. I realized that we actually had some things in common, especially when it came to movies and TV shows. We spent a lot of time together hanging out watching TV. That gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other.

Better still, Dan showed an interest in me that I had never experienced from my own father. Dan was always around when I needed advice on school or friends. Once I began to warm up to Dan, the three of us began spending a lot of time together. We often went out to eat and took short trips. Eventually, I discovered that I finally had the happy family that I had always wanted.

I now realize my parents were right about getting the divorce. Their breakup was the best thing to happen for all of us. My father also found happiness－ he remarried and had another child, my half-sister, Michelle. 　　　

At 13, I learned an important truth－change is not always the worst thing that can happen. Sometimes, it is just what we need the most.

61.According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?

A.Their parents didn't love each other any longer. B.The writer didn't want his parents to divorce.

C.Their parents' divorce hurt the writer much. D.The writer was in low spirits all the time.

62.The writer and Dan have the same interests EXCEPT______.

A.seeing movies B.surfing the internet C.having talks D.watching TV

63.What does the author think of his stepfather?

A.Trustful. B.Interesting. C.Helpful. D.Boring.

64.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A.Divorce Is Not Always the Worst. B.A Devoted Stepfather.

C.There Is a Change in My Life. D.A True Story.

The homeless population represents all of us Americans. It includes men and women, the elderly, children, and infants. Its members are from all ethnic groups. What they have in common is poverty.

With no money for rent, the streets and homeless shelters become the alternative.

The abuse of alcohol and drugs is also a common factor. One third of the adult homeless population abuses alcohol, while one quarter of the same group uses drugs.

1.The writer thinks that the U.S. government’s definition for the homeless shows _________.

A. an insincere attitude toward the homeless

B. an unbearable attitude toward the homeless

C. an uncivilized attitude toward the homeless

D. an unsympathetic attitude toward the homeless

2.The U.S. government helps the homeless by _________.

A. giving them homeless allowance B. giving them food stamps

C. finding jobs for them D. finding residence (a place to live) for them

3.People become homeless for all the following reasons EXCEPT _________.

A. the lack of adequate education

B. the abuse of alcohol and drugs

C. the closure of institutions for the mentally ill

D. the poor performance of economy

4.The breakup of families is likely to lead to homelessness because a parent with kids may _________.

A. lose his or her job in today’s economy

B. be unable to look after the kids

C. not have enough income

D. find residence at a homeless shelter

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast increase of women in the workforce may portend（预示）an increase in divorce. The opposite of this concern is that the outlook of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. The earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner.

The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The effect of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its effect on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally reasonable. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.

Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.

A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Meanwhile, an attractive woman who finds her value in work may play an important role in a stable marriage. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

1. If women find fulfillment through work outside the home, _________.

A. they are more likely to control their marriage partners

B. their husbands are expected to do more housework

C. their marriage ties can be strengthened

D. they tend to put their career before marriage

2.One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that ________.

A. they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom

B. they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands

C. they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations

D. they tend to suspect their husbands loyalty to their marriage

3. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

4.Which of the following statements can best summarize the author’s view in the passage?

A. The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic social position of women.

B. Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.

C. In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain independent.

D. The effect of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.

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