The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which customs, opportunity and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty－five and can be expected to live another thirty－five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience foods.

This important change in women's life－pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full－time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school－leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full－or－part－time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage: with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.

6. Which of the following is the topic of this passage?

A. The marriage of women: past and present.

B. Women and their jobs.

C. The social changes in the lives of women.

D. Women's role in family life.

7. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the amount of time the women spent taking care of children ________.

A. was shorter than in previous centuries

B. was longer than in previous centuries

C. was considered to be surprisingly long

D. accounted for a great part of their lives

8. One reason why the woman of today may take a job is that she ________.

A. is younger when her children are old enough to look after themselves

B. does not like children herself

C. need not worry about food for her children

D. can retire from family responsibilities when she reaches sixty

9. According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to ________.

A. stay at home after leaving school

B. marry men younger than themselves

C. start working again later in life

D. marry while still at school

10. What can be inferred from the last sentence?

A. The husband tends to share greater share of duties of family life.

B. In the past, the husband used to provide money for the family while the wife ran the home.

C. The wife does not have her own abilities and interests.

D. Both the husband and the wife should be satisfied with their family life.

Children love playing games. That is a well-known fact. Kids learn how to play games at a very early age, and once they find a game they love, they can play for hours and hours. In fact, games for kids are so popular that there is an entire industry dedicated(献身) to designing and selling them. There seems to be a fun game for kids for every occasion. Christmas and birthday are often celebrated with the family tradition of gifting a new game.
In recent years, however, Internet games and gaming system seem to have taken kids’ world by storm. Online games for kids have quickly become a very popular way to pass the time with small children and teens alike. Online games are a great way to have fun, and they can be quite educational as well. Many online games created for specific age groups encourage grade-appropriate development and educational skills.
Hundreds of websites offer fun and educational games to kids. Many of these sites are created by big names, such as National Geographic, which we can trust. They offer free games that parents know are proper for children. Parents are encouraged to go online and research online games proper for their children’s age before allowing their kids to play these games. Parents want to look for parental controls such as the ability to set or monitor their children’s playtime.
With so many options to choose from, parents and children will find it easy to find fun games and activities on the Internet. And nowadays, being able to use a computer is a very important skill for children to learn, so playing on the computer is definitely both educational and fun. Children are sure to learn new skills about any subject with the right, trusted website.
【小题1】The industry of games for kids is fast growing probably because ________.

Children love playing games. That is a well-known fact. Kids learn how to play games at a very early age, and once they find a game they love, they can play for hours and hours. In fact, games for kids are so popular that there is an entire industry dedicated(献身) to designing and selling them. There seems to be a fun game for kids for every occasion. Christmas and birthday are often celebrated with the family tradition of gifting a new game.

In recent years, however, Internet games and gaming system seem to have taken kids’ world by storm. Online games for kids have quickly become a very popular way to pass the time with small children and teens alike. Online games are a great way to have fun, and they can be quite educational as well. Many online games created for specific age groups encourage grade-appropriate development and educational skills.

Hundreds of websites offer fun and educational games to kids. Many of these sites are created by big names, such as National Geographic, which we can trust. They offer free games that parents know are proper for children. Parents are encouraged to go online and research online games proper for their children’s age before allowing their kids to play these games. Parents want to look for parental controls such as the ability to set or monitor their children’s playtime.

With so many options to choose from, parents and children will find it easy to find fun games and activities on the Internet. And nowadays, being able to use a computer is a very important skill for children to learn, so playing on the computer is definitely both educational and fun. Children are sure to learn new skills about any subject with the right, trusted website.

1.The industry of games for kids is fast growing probably because ________.

A．the workers are good at designing

B．children are mostly crazy about games

C．people would like to celebrate birthdays

D．kids don’t like to do their homework

2.Which of the following is TRUE of National Geographic Games?

A．The news is updated every day.

B．There is a large amount of information.

C．It can help parents to control kids’ playtime.

D．The games on it are good for kids’ mental and physical health.

3.What’s the author’s attitude to children’s playing computer games?

A．Supportive.        B．Worried.          C．Negative.          D．Doubtful.

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Traditional games and modern games

B．Computer games harmful to the youth

C．Games for kids changing a lot ever since

D．Internet games with fun and education

    The town of Pressure and the town of Pleasure were neighbors but had  1  in common. Residents built walls to   2   influence from  3   town. .

       In Pressure, everyone struggled to be the very best. When women   4    birth, they would compete to have the baby with the   5    cry. There was violent competition in every aspect of life Because   6   was the index（指数） of success, people were always   7   making money, with no time for relaxation.

         8  ，over in Pleasure, the motto was “As long as you like it, do it. ” People   9  without pressure and could do   10    they liked. Children played computer games day and night. At school, teachers didn’t care   11   the students showed up or not. Workers might     sit around the office   12   sipping coffee and doing nothing.   13    the lack of regulations, nobody worried about losing their jobs. No one had slightest thought of moving   14  , either for themselves or for the town. The computer they used were   15    models from Pressure.

       Some of the young were addicted to   16    because of the emptiness of their lives. Then, people in the two towns began asking themselves, “What is life   17  ?” But, just be-  fore life in the two towns completely failed, there came a saint-Mr. Reason. He went from door to door,  18   with people and giving advice. People in Pressure learnt to be content with what they had, while people in Pleasure began to make plans. They    19    walls between them and built a road to connect the two. The town people   20  to realize the truth — There is no space between Pressure and Pleasure if people don’t go to extremes.

1．A．anything                B．nothing                C．everything          D．something

2．A．keep out                B．look out               C．work out             D．give out

3．A．another                 B．any                     C．other                   D．the other

4．A．gave                     B．took                    C．offered                D．brought

5．A．loud                      B．louder                 C．loudest                D．loudly

6．A．health                   B．healthy                C．wealth                D．wealthy

7．A．busy                     B．lazy                     C．easy                    D．hard

8．A．Meanwhile            B．At that time          C．At one time          D．Once in a while

9．A．got up                  B．grew up              C．set up                 D．brought up

10．A．nothing               B．something            C．anything              D．everything

11．A．what                   B．who                    C．where                 D．whether

12．A．all way                B．all night               C．all way long         D．all day long

13．A．Thanks to            B．Because               C．As a result           D．According to

14．A．backward            B．forward               C．upward               D．downward

15．A．new                    B．old                      C．right                   D．advanced

16．A．work                  B．money                 C．drugs                  D．books

17．A．for                      B．at                       C．in                       D．to

19．A．pulled down         B．put down             C．went down          D．wrote down

20．A．went                   B．returned              C．happened             D．came

The town of Pressure and the town Pleasure were neighbor but had   1   in common. Residents built walls to   2  influence from the   3   town.

In Pressure, everyone struggled to be the very best. When women   4   birth, they would compete to have the baby with the   5   cry. There was violent competition in every aspect of life. Because   6   was the index(指数) of success, people were always   7   making money, with no time for relaxation.

  8  , over in Pleasure, the motto was “As long as you like it, do it.” People   9   without pressure and could do   10   they liked. Children played computer games day and night. At school, teachers didn’t care   11   students showed up or not. Workers might sit around the office   12   sipping coffee and doing nothing.   13   the lack of regulations, nobody worried about losing their jobs. No one had the slightest thought of moving   14  , either for themselves or for the town. The computers they used were   15   models from Pressure.

Some of the young were addicted to   16   because of the emptiness of their lives. Then, people in the two towns began asking themselves, “What is life   17  ?” But, just before life in the two towns completely failed. There came a saint－Mr. Reason. He went from door to door, 18

with people and giving advice. People in Pressure learnt to be content with what they had, while people in Pleasure began to make plans. They   19   walls between them and built a road to connect the two. The town people   20   to realize the truth－There is no space between Pressure and Pleasure if people don’t go to extremes.

1．A．anything                B．nothing              C．everything             D．something

2．A．keep out                B．look out             C．work out              D．give out

4．A．gave                      B．took                  C．offered                 D．brought

5．A．loud                      B．louder                C．loudest                 D．loudly

6．A．health                    B．healthy               C．wealth                  D．wealthy

7．A．busy                     B．lazy                   C．easy                     D．hard

8．A．Meanwhile             B．At that time        C．At one time           D．Once in a while

9．A．got up                   B．grew up             C．set up                   D．brought up

10．A．nothing                B．something          C．anything               D．everything

11．A．what                    B．who                  C．where                   D．whether

12．A．all way                B．all night              C．all way long          D．all day long

13．A．Thanks to            B．Because            C．Owe to                 D．According to

14．A．backward            B．forward             C．upward                 D．downward

15．A．new                    B．old                    C．right                     D．advanced

16．A．work                   B．money               C．drugs                   D．books

17．A．for                      B．at                      C．in                         D．to

18．A．talked                  B．to talk                C．talks                     D．talking

19．A．pulled down         B．put down           C．went down           D．wrote down

20．A．went                 B．returned                     C．happened           D．came