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.

The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.

A. an increase in birthrates                        B. the industrial development

C. a decrease in death rates                         D. human beings’ cultural advances

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.

请认真阅读下面短文,并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意:每空不超过1个单词。
Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, “Never give up.” These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion, the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.
One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail, we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.
Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted.
Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.
In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not, we will learn something, and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up, we have no chance of attaining our goals any more , but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.
Topic: Never Give Up

 
Possible meanings and the author’s opinions
? The words “ Never give up” can__【小题1】__ others or oneself and express one’s determination.
? A person who wants to ___【小题2】___ should have the quality. So we should never give up.
 
The ______【小题3】____
?If we give up too easily, maybe we will achieve ____【小题4】___, so when we fail in our first attempt at something new, we should not___【小题5】____ ourselves but try again.
?Always giving up means that we will not be able to ___【小题6】____ any progress.
? Never giving up will make us learn from the mistakes we’ve made before and learn the ___【小题7】____ so as not to make the same mistakes.
? To reach our goals and develop the confidence which can help us ___【小题8】____ourselves, we must not give up but challenge ourselves.
Conclusions
If you give up, you will have no__【小题9】____of reaching your goals. Never give up and you will attain your goals sooner or ___【小题10】____

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 (饥荒), 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 societies, people feel a moral obligation (责任) 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 (员工).

1.The author believes that the increased size of the human population results from _______.

A.an increase in birthrates                  B.the industrial development

C.a decrease in death rates                 D.childhood diseases

2.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 (传授) the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

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

3.The phrase “this need” in the last paragraph 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

4.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.Many nursing homes are sponsored by religious and nonprofit groups.

D.Older people have wealth or private insurance if they have a serious illness.

 

After the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at retaliatory(报复的) action against China for its “significantly undervalued” currency, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged the IMF to pressure China to adopt “more flexible, more market-directed exchange-rate management”. This is a coded message to China: You’re keeping on purpose your currency cheap, and the U.S. economy is paying the price. So cut it out --- or else. The normally dull IMF meeting became the latest battleground for the U.S. to be against a fast developing China.

    Our new conventional wisdom is that China’s policy leads to make trade deficits (逆差) greater and the loss of American jobs. Dozens of candidates have run ads attacking a competitor for allowing China to take advantage of us. In the election-year view, China grew 10% annually for the past decade while maintaining low inflation(通涨) only by taking advantage of its artificially low currency. The idea that the U.S. is not responsible for its own economy is a black-is-white view. It argues that China and its currency are causing the lion’s share of harm.

This is an argument born of fear. It covers a fact that the economies of China and the U.S. have become beneficial to each other. Those trillions in reserves that China accumulates: Where do they go? Back to the U.S. in the form of lending money to the federal government. Those made-in-China goods that account for the trade deficit: Whom do they benefit? China, yes, but also American consumers and companies. Without China, American companies could not have maintained their profitability in recent years. Take two brand names, Caterpillar and Nike. Both have their products made in China, but both also view China as a fast-growing market for their products.

George Soros warned recently that a currency war could put the world into disorder more damaging than anything caused by the financial crisis of the 1930s. He’s right. Whether we like it or not, we live in a global system. The zero-sum attitude toward China and its currency is a relic, the remaining of an earlier time when nations defined economic life.

China is far from perfect and seeks its own advantage, but holding it accountable for our domestic problems is beyond outdated. It reflects a dangerous refusal to deal with the world as it is. Retaliating against China over currency will not regain high-end jobs in the U.S., which needs more our own demand. It will not renew construction or retool the American labor force. It will not rebuild rotting bridges or create a next-generation energy network.

 

1.Which of the following argument can be supported by the writer?

A. China is the winner in the Sino-US trade.

B. China’s rapid development over the past ten years is based on its low inflation.

C. The world’s economy will benefit from China’s policy changes on its currency.

D. The US will get hurt if it tries hard on damaging China’s economy.

2.This passage is in a tone that is ____________.

A. in favor of China

B. in the shoes of US

C. blaming China’s low currency policy

D. helping IMF solve the world’s economic problem

3.The writer makes his point of view clear through the passage by using _____________.

A. reasonable analysis

B. leaders’ quotations

C. figure examples

D. moving stories

4.China’s currency policy ________.

A. will help increase the demand in the US

B. is unable to equip the American labor force with new working skills

C. could guide the world economy for the next decade

D. is to be controlled by the international currency groups

 

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网