Human wants seem endless. When a starving man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat; when a manager gets a new sports car, he dreams of country clubs and pleasure boats dance into view.

The many wants of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of wants, another level appears.

The first and most basic level of wants is food. Once this want is satisfied, a second level of wants appears: clothing and some sort of shelter. By the end of World War II these wants were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a third level appeared. It included such items as cars and new houses.

By 1957 or 1958 this third level of wants was fairly well satisfied. Then in the late 1950s a fourth level of wants appeared: the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels mean physical satisfaction—the feeding, comfort, safety and transportation of the human body—this level means mental needs for recognition, achievement and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips, the best medical care and entertainment. Also included here are fancy foods and the latest styles in clothing.

On the fourth level, a greater percentage of consumers spending goes to services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of wants as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?

A fifth level probably would be wants that can be achieved by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes and crime. After filling our stomachs, our garages, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the health and safety to enjoy more fully the good things on the first three levels.

59. According to the passage, man will begin to think about such needs as housing and clothing only when _______

A. he has saved up enough money

B. he has grown dissatisfied with his simple shelter

C. he has satisfied his hunger

D. he has learned to build houses

60. It can be inferred from the passage that by the end of World War II most Americans ______

A. were very rich

B. were very poor

C. Had the good things on the first three levels

D. didn’t own cars

61. Which of the following is NOT related to “physical satisfaction”?

A. A successful career            B. A comfortable house

C. A good service           D. A family car

62. The author thinks that a fifth level______

A. would be a little better than the fourth level

B. may be a lot more desirable than the first four

C. can be the last and most satisfying level

D. will come true if the government takes actions

For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is. The laws of physics or the proper way to break an egg —the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

55. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A. Both can continue for generations.     B. Both are about where to draw the line

C. Neither has any clear winner          D. Neither can be put to an end

56. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

B. The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict

C. The teens cause their parents to mislead them

D. The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents

57. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________.

A. give orders to the other           B. know more than the other

C. gain respect from the other        D. get the other to behave properly

58. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. Causes for the parent –teen conflicts     B. Examples of the parent –teen war.

C. Solutions for the parent –teen problems   D. Future of the parent-teen relationship

Two men, Alan and Henry, both seriously ill, shared a hospital room. Alan was allowed to sit up in his bed and his bed was next to the room’s only window. Henry had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours, of their wives, families, their homes and their jobs. And every afternoon when Alan, in the bed next to the window, could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm among flowers. Trees and skyline could be seen in the distance. As he described all this, Henry, on the other side of the room, would close his eyes and imagine the scene.

One warm afternoon Alan described a parade (游行) passing by. Although Henry could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never got to see anything? It doesn’t seem fair. Henry felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sight, his envy grew and soon let him down. He began to find himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window—and that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling. Alan began to cough. He was choking. Henry watched in the dim room as the struggling man tried hard to reach for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence—deathly silence.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, Henry asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he struggled to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He looked out, but faced a black wall.

51. Judging from the passage, the meaning of the underlined word “alien” is ______.

A. disappointing             B. sudden             C. new                 D. strange

52. What finally happened to Alan?

A. He was moved to another room.              B. He died.

C. He switched his bed with Henry.              D. He was very sick.

53. Henry, who had his bed switched, had expected _____.

A. to see the black wall                               B. to feel the joy of seeing the outside world

C. to feel the joy of breathing fresh air           D. to see more than Alan

54. Which of the following words could be used to describe Alan?

A. Kind-hearted and imaginative                   B. Well-informed and humorous

C. Talkative and funny                                 D. Cold-hearted and indifferent

Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in jail after 31 thirty-year-old Keith Smith over the head 32 his walking stick.McKay's wife, Laurence told us that while McKay is usually a 33  person, he had been 34 to this act of violence by getting wet just once too often.

Smith lives above the McKays and it appears that not only is he a keen gardener, he is also a 35 collector. Unfortunately for him, the water he sent over his balcony every day ended up on the McKay's, or too often, on the McKays 36 .

“For the last fortnight, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we have hardly dared to go to our37 ,” said Laurence.She added that it wasn't so much the water falling onto their balcony from Smith watering his plant 38  bothered them, it was more the way he cleaned his fish tanks.“We'd be 39 there happily reading our newspapers, when 40 so much water would come from above that we'd be as wet as if we'd 41 with our clothes on! Neither could we get rid of the 42 of fish!”

And on Saturday evening it was just too 43. “It was James's birthday,” explained Laurence, “and I'd made him a birthday cake.The candles were a great sight as you can imagine, but James didn't get to blow them out.” 44 , Smith emptied one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet 45.Rarely had Laurence seen McKay move so fast.“I couldn't 46 him.He was up there in a flash.It was the fastest I'd seen him move since 1964.”

       Smith is not going to take things further with the police.He has also promised to change his 47 from now on.And what of James McKay? 48 he left the police station, a large crowd of supporters sang him, “Happy Birthday”.“49 the most exciting birthday 50 !” said the cheerful old man.“The best since my adolescence I'd say!”                    

31.

A.hitting

B.tapping

C.pushing

D.touching

32.

A.by

B.with

C.through   

D.via

33.

A.quiet

B.sensitive

C.peaceful

D.stubborn

34.

A.accustomed

B.taken

C.driven

D.attracted

35.

A.seed

B.fish

C.plant

D.newspaper

36.

A.himself

B.itself

C.herself

D.themselves

37.

A.bathroom

B.balcony

C.bedroom

D.kitchen

38.

A.which

B.what

C.that

D.whether

39.

A.sitting

B.exercising

C.sleeping

D.eating

40.

A.regularly

B.unconsciously

C.precisely

D.suddenly

41.

A.swum

B.watered

C.showered

D.drowned

42.

A.taste

B.sense

C.feeling

D.smell

43.

A.little

B.soon

C.late

D.much

44.

A.Instead

B.Besides

C.Otherwise

D.Consequently

45.

A.over 

B.across

C.through

D.down

46.

A.stop

B.blame

C.ignore

D.stand

47.

A.views

B.attitude

C.mind

D.ways

48.

A.While

B.Since

C.Until

D.As

49.

A.Sincerely

B.Impossibly

C.Previously

D.Definitely

50.

A.before

B.already

C.ever

D.since

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