D

Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today? Many people wrongly believe that when people reach old age, their families place them in nursing homes. They are left there in the hands of strangers for the rest of their lives. Their grown-up children visit them only occasionally, but more often, they do not have any regular visitors. Actually this is not true. In fact, family members provide over 80 percent of the care that elderly people need.

Prof. Samuel Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches 40 years of age, they have more parents than children. This statistic (统计) shows the change in life-styles and responsibilities of aging Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents some time after their own children have grown up. Moreover, because people today live longer after an illness than people did years ago, family members must provide long-term care. These facts also mean that after care-givers provide for their elderly parents, who will eventually die, they will be old and may require care too. When they do, their spouses (配偶, 指夫或妻) will probably take care of them.

Because Americans are living longer than ever, more psychologists and social workers have begun to study care-giving to improve care of the elderly. They have found that all caregivers share a common characteristic: all caregivers believe that they are the best person for the job, for different reasons. One caregiver said that she had always been close to her mother. Another was the oldest child. In other words, they all felt that they could do the job better than anyone else. Social workers interviewed caregivers to find out why they took on the responsibility of caring for an elderly, dependent relative. They discovered three basic reasons. Many caregivers believed that they had the responsibility to help their relatives. Some stated that helping others made them feel more useful. Others hoped that by helping someone now, they would deserve care when they became old and dependent.

（   ）68. It can be inferred that a middle-aged couple in the US _______.

A. spend more time with their children than with their parents

B. depend on their children’s assistance in caring for the elderly

C. don’t pay more attention to their children than to their parents

D. spend more time taking care of their parents than before

（   ）69. The most common characteristic of caregivers is ______.

A. they all have professional qualifications in care-giving

B. they all believe themselves to be the best caregiver

C. they are the eldest child in the family

D. they are close to their parents

（   ）70. Which of the following is NOT a basic reason for care-giving?

A. Respect from other members of the family.

B. Prepayment for the care they will get in old age.

C. A feeling of being needed and helpful.

D. A strong sense of duty to the elderly.

（   ）71. What is the main idea of this passage?

           A. Most old people in the US are living a happy life.

           B. Most old people in the US live longer today after an illness than people did years ago.

           C. Most elderly people in the US are taken care of by their families, who often find the experience satisfying.

           D. Most elderly people in the US prefer living with their families to living nursing houses.

A mum saved her daughter’s life with her newly learned first aid skills. Sonya Hall, 33, of Denny Avenue, Lancaster, had only just attended one first aid class the day before when she found herself needing to use the skills on her three year old daughter Tilly.
Sonya, who also has son Emmen, six, attended the first aid course at Lune Park Children’s Centre in Lancaster. Then she was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare when Tilly went blue in the face and stopped breathing. But thanks to her newly acquired skills, Sonya saved Tilly’s life.
Sonya said: “Tilly was playing with her brother and they were fighting over a toy. Emmen won the fight. Tilly fell backwards and her head was hit. She was face down and shaking and at first I thought she was upset. But then I saw she was blue in the face and had stopped breathing. I reacted without thinking and immediately started using the first aid skills I had learned the day before which were so fresh in my mind. I began doing mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions (胸外按压). It probably took about a minute before Tilly started breathing again, but to me it felt like a lifetime.”
After getting Tilly breathing again, Sonya called an ambulance and the doctors came. Since then, Tilly has been diagnosed (诊断) with Reflex Anoxic Seizure (反射缺氧发作). Sonya said: “The seizure can happen when there’s any unexpected pain, fear or fright. It is just so lucky that the day before it happened, I had been practising first aid.”
The Empowering Parents First Aid course is run by Lancashire Adult Learning. Sonya said: “I am just so glad I did the course and learnt the first aid skills. I always feared I would not know what to do in a crisis situation, but luckily I had the knowledge and skills to deal with it.” 

1. 1.

   What happened to Tilly?

   1. A.
      She was knocked down by her brother.
   2. B.
      She fell on the floor and hit her head.
   3. C.
      She was hit by a toy on the head and felt upset.
   4. D.
      She was hit by her brother and stopped breathing.
2. 2.

   When Sonya found Tilly’s shaking, she thought her daughter must ______.

   1. A.
      be crying
   2. B.
      be very angry
   3. C.
      pretend to be hurt
   4. D.
      recognize her failure
3. 3.

   When Sonya goes to the first aid class next time, she will feel ______.

   1. A.
      enjoyable
   2. B.
      excited
   3. C.
      grateful
   4. D.
      confident
4. 4.

   What would be the best title for the text?  

   1. A.
      The importance of first aid
   2. B.
      How to practise first aid
   3. C.
      Mum saves girl with first aid
   4. D.
      Mums should attend first aid courses

A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.

In history books, objective (客观的) information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its abuse of power over people.

In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art had been almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that described people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand the Bible stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast (对比), one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are not holy.

Which of the following statements has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. General history only focuses on politics.

B. Art history shows us nothing but the political values.

C. General history concerns only religious beliefs, emotions and psychology.

D. Art history gives us an insight (洞察力) into the essential qualities of a time and a place.

Art is subjective in that __________. 

A. it can easily arouse people’s anger about their government

B. it only reflects people’s anger or sadness about social problems.

C. a personal and emotional view of history is presented through it.

D. artists were or are religious, who reflect only the religious aspect of the society.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? 

A. Francisco Goya expressed his religious belief in his painting.

B. In history books political views of people are entirely presented.

C. For centuries in Europe, painters had only painted on walls of churches.

D. In the Middle East, you can hardly find animal or human figures on church walls.

What’s the main topic of the passage?   

A. The development of art history.   

B. What we can learn from art.

C. The influence of artists on art history.

D. The difference between general history and art history.

C

By far the most common difficulty in studying is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study. Many students muddle (胡乱对付) along, doing a bit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.

    Few students work to a set timetable. They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to change it frequently, since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be.

No doubt some students are more willing to accept a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable, and dislike being tied down to a fixed program of work. Many able students state that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic, they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation (动机)to work.. Most people over 25 years of age have become used to routine, and the majority of real productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work. The “tough-minded” school doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally, under the influence of inspiration.

Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”. In fact, freedom from control and discipline（纪律）leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”. Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality (准时), and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society, we have to meet its demands.

The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is ______.

    A．changing from one subject to another

    B．the failure to keep to a set timetable of work

    C．the unwillingness to follow a systematic plan

    D．working on a subject only when one feels like it

Which of the following is true?

    A．Many students are not interested in using self-controlled timetable.

    B．Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable.

    C．Most people of over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable.

    D．Tough-minded people agree that good job is done naturally

The underlined part “as the fit takes them” in paragraph 4 probably means ______.

    A．when they have the energy   

    B．when they are in the mood

    C．when they feel fit      

    D．when they find conditions are suitable

A suitable title for the passage might be ______.

    A．Attitudes to Study   B．A study Plan

    C．The Difficulties in Studying D．Study and Self-discipline

  What time is it? Most people are pretty accurate in their answer. And if you don’t know for sure, it’s very likely that you can find out. There may be a watch on your wrist; there may be a clock on the wall, desk, or computer screen; or maybe you’re riding in a car that has a clock in the dashboard(仪表板).

   Even if you don’t have a timepiece of some sort nearby, your body keeps its own beat. Humans have an internal clock that regulates(调节) the beating of our heart, the pace of our breathing, the discharge(排出) of chemicals within our bloodstream, and many other bodily functions.

  Time is something from which we can’t escape. Even if we ignore it, it’s still going by, ticking away, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. So the main issue in using your time well is, “Who’s in charge?” We can allow time to slip by and let it be our enemy. Or we can take control of it and make it our ally. 

   By taking control of how you spend your time, you’ll increase your chances of becoming a more successful student. Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at managing the time you devote to your studies, the more time you will have to spend on your outside interests.

   The aim of time management is not to schedule every moment so we become slaves of a timetable that governs every waking moment of the day. Instead, the aim is to permit us to make informed choices as to how we use our time. Rather than letting the day go by, largely without our awareness, what we are going to discuss next can make us better able to control time for our own purposes.

The underlined word “ally” in Para.3 most likely means somebody or something that is ___.

A. your supporter and helps you          B. under your control and obeys you

C. under your influence and follows you   D. your slave and serves you

The author intends to tell you that time __________.

A. could be managed by the internal clock of human bodies

B. should be well managed for our own interest

C. should be saved for outside interests

D. could be regulated by a timepiece such as a clock or a watch

In the next part, the author would most probably discuss with you _________.

A. how to make up for lost time      B. how to have a good time

C. how to make good use of time     D. how to keep up with the times