In many homes, divorce is caused by the “battle between the sexes.” To understand the problem, one must remember that the modern American woman is freed. During childhood and adolescence(青少年期), the American girl is given freedom and education which is equal to a boy's. After completing school, she is able to get a job and support herself. She doesn't have to marry for financial security. She considers herself an independent, self-sufficient person. She wants a husband whom she can respect, but she doesn't want to be dominated(控制) by him. She wants a democratic household in which she has a voice in making decisions. When a husband and wife are able to share decisionmaking, their marriage is probably closer, stronger, and more satisfying. Otherwise, the couple is likely to wind up in the divorce court.

When a couple gets divorced, the court usually requires the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money. If the couple has children, they usually remain with the mother, and the father is expected to pay for their support.

Although divorce is quite common in the United States, 80 percent of those who get divorced remarry. The remarriages allow thousands of people, especially children, to enjoy family life again, but at the same time many troubles have arisen. A well-known American joke tells of a wife calling to her second husband, “Quick, John! Come here and help me! Your children are beating up our chidlren!”

What causes most of the divorce cases in the U.S.A.?

A.Financial trouble in the family.

B.Women's liberation movement.

C.Different attitudes towards children's education.

D.Lack of democratic atmosphere in the household.

What do you know of modern American women, according to the passage?

A.They are overbearing and hardworking.

B.They are more independent than ever.

C.They do not have much say in the household.

D.They respect their husbands, but do not rely on them.

What kind of marriage can be successful?

A.Both the man and woman are financially secure.

B.Husband and wife share housework.

C.Both the man and woman are well-educated.

D.Decisions are made by the man and woman together.

What happens when a couple is divorced, according to the passage?

A.The children become homeless.

B.The man is still responsible for the welfare of his children.

C.Life becomes difficult for the woman and her children.

D.The man, rather than the woman, remarries soon.

D

When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on." Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.

The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.

Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says." I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease."

But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up ---again---and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.

Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be."

1.We can know that before 1995 Mary ___________.

A．had two books published

B．received many career awards

C．knew how to use a computer

D．supported the JDRF by writing

2.Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her _________.

A．living with diabetes

B．successful show business

C．service for an organization

D．remembrance of her mother

3.When Mary received the life-changing news, she __________ .

A．lost control of herself                    B．began a balanced diet

C．meant to get a treatment                  D．behaved in an adult way

4.What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．Mary feels pity for herself.

B．Mary has recovered from her disease.

C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible.

D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor.

As a solo artist, Brightman has sold 26 million albums and two million DVDs in 34 countries. Her styles put opera, pop and jazz together. She is popular in the States but not here (Britain) - the image of her and her second husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber ( he much older, she his muse) seems for ever

The 47 - year - old 'singer talks about the new album Symphony that came out of a "very dark time", including her decision to give up trying to have children. "People have suggested I could adapt," says. "But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I'm not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich. "

Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a properly developer who later committed suicide), she says : "I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5 I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume." She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.

Brightman led the saucy dance troupe (辣妹三人舞) Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Stewart. “I was probably in love but i can't remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22, It didn't really work out." In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.

Brightman says she felt hostility (敌意) from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I've done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live. I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don't miss it, although 1 miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it."

72. The first paragraph tells us that ________.

A. Brightman is very popular around the world except in America

B. Brightman's musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz

C. the British people don't like her for her style of music

D. Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber  

73. Brightman decided to give up having children because ________.

A. she could adopt one

B. her life and career were unbelievably rich without children

C. she felt it normal not to have children   

D. she was too busy

74. The following statements are true EXCEPT _________.

A. Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5

B. Brightman disliked life on the campus

C. Brightman was very gifted when she was young

D. The saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous

75. What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman's words.'?

A. Brightman has to accept the fact that she is not liked in Britain '

B. Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country

C. The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland

D. Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain

The majority of astronauts from America have been men. At the start of the space programme there was strong resistance from some people against having women in space. However, some women were very keen to become astronauts and in the end they were successful. In 1978, NASA began the first training programme for women astronauts.

Judy Resnick and Christa McAuliffe were both astronauts and they were both women, but in many other ways they were very different. Both of them were on Flight STS-5L-L. Judy Resnick was born in 1949 and studied engineering at university and went on to obtain a PhD in 1977. She was a member of the first group of women selected for astronaut training in 1978, and in 1984, she became the second woman in space. During that flight, she helped to launch three new satellites and she carried out a programme of research. She was, in many ways, a professional astronaut whose whole life was devoted to space travel.

Christa McAuliffe was born in 1948 and she was an astronaut almost by accident. In 1984, NASA decided to find a teacher who could accompany astronauts into space. They hoped that she would be able to communicate with students from space and encourage every one of them to be interested in space travel. Christa was a secondary teacher in history and social studies. She was a gifted teacher and she was selected from over 11,000 applicants to go on flight STS-51-L. She was also a very good communicator and she immediately established a very good relationship with the news media(radio, television and newspapers）. It was partly because of this that there was a great deal of interest and excitement about the flight. Thousands of students in schools and universities all around the country were looking forward to communicating with Christa in space. Millions of people were watching her flight with great interest. It is partly because of the excitement over McAuliffe's place in the flight that the disaster in 1986 had such an effect on people.

We can learn from the first two paragraphs that ___________.

A. Judy was against the idea of having women in space at first

B. Judy was the first woman selected for astronaut training

C. Judy helped to launch three new satellites at the age of 35

D. Judy carried out a programme during her second space travel

Christa McAuliffe was chosen for training because _______.

A. she was popular with the news media

B. she expected to give history lessons in space

C. she was an excellent teacher and communicator

D. she made the students in space very excited

The reason why there was great interest in Flight STS-51-L is that ________.

A. both Christa and Judy got PhD degrees in the same year

B. a young secondary school teacher was on the flight

C. students were going to learn more about space travel

D. it was the first time for women to travel in space

What would be the best title for the passage?

 A. Two Astronauts         B. Flight STS-51-L

C. Travelling in Space       D. The Training Programme

In the fall of 1985．I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere．Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell．
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college an the age of 65．She was the first in our family to reach that goal．But one year after I started college, she developed cancer．I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her．It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait．
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children．In 1999, we adopted our first son．To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional．A year later came our second adopted boy．Then followed son No．3．In 2003, I gave birth to another boy．
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo．Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time．But I never gave up on the dream either．I had only one choice: to find a way．That meant talking as few as one class each semester．
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys．They often wanted me to stay home with them．There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives．
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina．It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！
I am not special, just single-minded．It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal．Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day．It’s a process．Remember: little steps add up to big dreams．
【小题1】When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be         .