Raymond Schneider politely elbowed his way through crowds of customers as he made for the candy bins at Dylan's Candy Bar in Manhattan．Since he was laid off in December, Mr．Schneider, a 33-year-old designer, says he has become a “gummy junkie,” buying a lot of sweets every time he shops for groceries．
“Sugar is comforting,” he said．“There's nothing more stressful than growing financial insecurity everywhere．”
The recession (经济衰退) seems to have a sweet tooth．As unemployment has risen, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming growing amounts of candy, say candy makers, store owners and industry experts．
Theories vary on exactly why．For many, sugar lifts spirits dragged low by the economy．For others, candy also provides a reminder of better times．And not insignificantly, it is relatively cheap．
At Candyality, a store in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, business has jumped by nearly 80 percent compared with this time last year, and the owner, Terese McDonald, said she was struggling to keep up with the demand for Bit-O-Honeys, Swedish Fish and Sour Balls．
“They put candy in their actual budget,” she said．
Many big candy makers are also reporting rising sales and surprising profits．
“Candy companies are relatively recession-proof,” said Peter Liebhold, chairman of the Smithsonian Institution's work and industry division．“During the Great Depression, candy companies stayed in business．”
(1)
Raymond Schneider was set as an example to show ________．
[ ]
A．
many Americans were laid off in the recession
B．
lots of Americans like candies
C．
many Americans in the recession like sweets which are comforting
D．
Americans are suffering much in the recession．
(2)
What does the underlined sentence “The recession seems to have a sweet tooth” mean?
[ ]
A．
Candy consuming rises while people are suffering bad effects of the recession．
B．
The recession doesn't have any bad effect on Americans．
C．
Americans are optimistic even though they are out of employment．
D．
Candy companies stayed in business during the Great Depression．
(3)
Which is NOT the reason why people in the recession like sugar?
Some houses are designed to be smart．Others have smart designs．An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institutes of Architects．
Located on the shore of Sullivan's Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cubeshaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane Hugo 10 years ago．In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36, 000 homes in the state．
Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina's shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement(强制执行)of building laws wasn't strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house．In Huff's opinion, all new shoreline houses should meet stricter, better-enforced building laws．The new beach house on Sullivan's Island should be able to stand a Category(级)3 hurricane with the strongest winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour．
At first sight, the house on Sullivan's Island looks anything but hurricane-proof(防风)．Its redwood shell makes it look like “a large party lantern” at night．But looks can be cheating．The house's wooden frame is extra strengthened with long steel bars．To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it2.7 meters off the ground on a wooden structure set deep in the sand．The structure might appear unsafe, but it is strong enough to support the weight of the house．It can also lift the house above storm waves．The structure allows the waves to run under the house instead of running into it．“These waves come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff．
Huff designed the wooden structure to be partially hidden under the house's ground-to-roof shell(外壳)．“The shell covers the structure so that the house doesn't look like it's standing with its pant legs pulled up，”said Huff．“In the event of a storm, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house,” the architect explained．
(1)
After the Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina's shoreline are required ________．
[ ]
A．
to be easily reinforced
B．
to look smarter in design
C．
to meet stricter building rules
D．
to be designed in the shape of cubes
(2)
The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________．
[ ]
A．
it is strengthened by steel bars
B．
it is made of redwood
C．
it is in the shape of a shell
D．
it is built with wood and concrete
(3)
Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground in a wooden structure in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
stand strong winds of about 200 km/hr
B．
build a strong structure deep in the sand
C．
break huge waves into smaller ones
D．
prevent water from rushing into the house
(4)
The main function of the shell is ________．
[ ]
A．
to strengthen the structure of the house
B．
to give the house a better look
C．
to protect the wooden frame of the house
D．
to slow down the speed of the strong waves
(5)
It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________．
[ ]
A．
fancy-looking
B．
waterproof
C．
easily breakable
D．
extremely strong
阅读理解
Although new laws have been passed in some American states to cut down on distracted(分心的)driving, many accidents and deaths were still related with it, especially using cell phones while driving．Recently the Obama administration is considering disabling cell phones in cars．aiming to cut down cell-phone-related road deaths．
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the nation's anti-distracted-driving supporter, said in an interview on November 18 that federal officials are looking at technology to disable cell phones inside cars．
“I think it will be done, ”LaHood said。“I think the technology is there and I think you're going to see the technology become adaptable in automobiles to disable these cell phones．We need to do a lot more if we were going to save lives．”
Also on Thursday, the transportation government started a new “Faces of Distracted Driving” video campaign that features people who have been killed or lost their loved ones because of inattentive drivers．The video features heartbreaking stories of children killed in crashes because of phoning or text messaging, and new videos are expected to be added every few weeks．
A driver is four times more likely to crash while using a mobile phone．More than 5,500 people were killed last year by distracted drivers, and another 500, 000 were injured．LaHood has said it is never safe to talk on a cell phone while driving, hands-free or not．because it can really cause distraction．
Incidentally．a 1ot of people seem to agree with this viewpoint－a new research shows nearly two-thirds of Americans support a national ban on the use of cell phones while driving, even if the driver is using a hands-free device(装置)．But the research didn't ask how people feel about government-issued mobile phone scramblers or other disabling devices。
(1)
The Obama administration is considering disabling cell phones in cars because ________．
[ ]
A．
there is no national laws to prevent the use of cell phones in cars
B．
most drivers take no notice of American laws
C．
using phones while driving has caused many accidents
D．
cell phone technology needs to be developed
(2)
We can learn from the text that Ray LaHood ________．
[ ]
A．
is in charge of the invention of the technology
B．
thinks it's easy and practical to invent the technology
C．
thinks it's unnecessary to use cell phone while driving
D．
is strongly for the use of the technology in cars
(3)
The“Faces of Distracted Driving”video campaign aims to ________．
[ ]
A．
find out the real drivers who caused the accidents
B．
make the public aware of the terrible results of distracted driving
C．
call on drivers to buy the new device which disables cell phones in cars
D．
show that most of the victims in car crashes are children
(4)
In the last paragraph, the“mobile phone scramblers”are probably ________．
[ ]
A．
a kind of disabling devices
B．
a kind of hands-free devices
C．
a new kind of cell phones
D．
new devices to help text messaging
(5)
We can itfer from the text that ________．
[ ]
A．
most people realize the harmfulness of distracted driving
B．
most people would like to choose hands-free devices while driving
C．
the disabling devices in cars will be widely used if it is free
D．
the writer is not sure whether disabling devices will be accepted by the drivers
阳光课堂课时优化作业系列答案
Houston at Washington (7 p. m. EST). Michael Jordan and the Wizards face Yao Ming and the Rockets.