The rumors had been spreading for months but it still came as a shock when the hospital would be closing. It had served this poor neighborhood for nearly 100 years but it would close because of the health care crisis.
The day after the announcement co-workers found out that pretzels(椒盐饼干) had been eliminated. Soft pretzels are the lifeblood of this city. So losing access to soft pretzels is no small matter.
I said, “I only have $6. I’m not sure how many pretzels I need. You see, I work at a hospital and it’s closing and they stopped selling pretzels.” The man’s smile disappeared. “What hospital?” “Oh, Northeastern Hospital.”
The guy looked deeply shocked. “I used to sell medical supplies and that was one of my hospitals.” Then he turned around and grabbed a box of 25 pretzels and slid them across the counter.
I was surprised by his generosity and started to reach for my wallet, “Oh I can pay. Please let me …” The guy smiled, “Just tell them Joe Sullivan said to do something nice for someone else.”
And so that day everyone in medical records was treated to a soft pretzel. Word spread fast as people came asking, “Is it really true?” It was as if I’d carried in a box of gold. It mattered to them that a stranger cared.
【小题1】The underlined word “eliminated” in Paragraph 2 means _____.

C
At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(="say" that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.
What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.
Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.
63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?
A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.
B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.
C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.
D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.
64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.
A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US
B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students
C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment
D. persuading the students not to be nurses
65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.
A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US
B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem
C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today
D. call on women not to be nurses
66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.
B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.
C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.
D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

Four Insurance Policies You Can' t Do Without
A single gap in insurance coverage could wipe out the money that yon' ve earned for many years through your hard work.That' s why it' s important to give yourself a yearly insurance checkup, whether you buy your policies through an agent or from one of the growing number of insurance companies.
Health.Before selecting a policy from your employer or deciding among Medicare options, review your current health,predictable medical needs, and family status.This review should help you avoid a plan that fails to cover a necessary treatment or paying for services that you know you'll never use.
Disability. Your chances of becoming disabled before you retire are far greater than your chances of dying. So every working person needs some kind of disability coverage. If you are working for an employer who offers less than that, you can buy an individual policy to promote your coverage.
Homeowners or renters. Make sure you have replacement-cost coverage that would pay the current costs of rebuilding your home and replacing your personal possessions. A policy that would only pay for the decrease in value of these items isn' t good enough, because you could end up recovering just a small part of their costs. Don' t forget flood and/or earthquake insurance if you live in a locate that has a possible tendency to these types of disasters.
Life. Empty nesters and retirees may. no longer need life insurance at all. But if you have dependents who would suffer financially if you died, it' s still a must.
65. To have your insurance checkup every year is mainly because _______.
A. the gap in insurance coverage could cost you a large sum
B. the gap in insurance coverage could bring you benefits
C. some insurance agencies cover few of your policies
D. too many insurance companies prefer to sell coverage
66. _______ can be ignored while deciding among Medicare choices.
A. Your necessary treatment.                   B. Your personal health at present.
C. Your social status.                           D. Your predictable medical needs.
67. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Workers needn' t buy personal disability coverage if their bosses offer that
B. Insurance companies can secure the full value of private possessions
C. Earthquake insurance can cover replacement-cost caused by the disaster
D. Divorced or retired people may need life insurance for their dependents
68. We can infer that demand for insurance_______.
A. varies due to individual needs of coverage
B. stays the same whether you are working or not
C. increases when we move to a new place
D. decreases if we have a large family to support

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a passage from the Bible about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “do you know something I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that medical checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me？Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?” It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”
【小题1】From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage __________.

A．he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B．he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband

C．he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D．he is beginning to regret what he did to his wife before

It’s 2035. You have a job, a family and you’re about 40 old. Welcome to your future life.
Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror, “Turn red,” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronics are rearranged in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe that you are 40. You look much younger. With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You’re not even middle-aged.
As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal into a bowl, you hear: “To lose weight, you shouldn’t eat that,” from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible foods appear on the counter as kitchen checks its food supplies.
“Ready for your trip to space. You ask your son and daughter.” In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space — and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for day trips or longer vacation. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, your add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel.” Thanks to medical advices, vaccination shots are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines. With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.
It’s time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office. Autopilot,” you command. Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video films rather than read it.
【小题1】What changes the color of your shirt?