C

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增)of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面)of this concern is that the prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to putting off marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy comes to life, the number of marriages also rises.

The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible(似是而非的). Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.

Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.

Also, a major part of women’s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

64．The word “portend” (Line 2, Para.1) is closest in meaning to“_____”.

A．defy       B．signal     C．suffer from   D．result from

65．It is said in the passage that when the economy slides_____.

    A．men would choose working women as their marriage partners

    B．more women would get married to seek financial security

    C．even working women would worry about their marriages

    D．more people would prefer to remain single for the time being

66．One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that_____.

A．they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom

B．they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands

C．they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations

D．they tend to suspect their husbands? loyalty to their marriage

67．Which of the following statements can best summarize the authors view in the passage?

A．The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country．

B．Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.

C．In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain

independent

D．The impact of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.

A gadget which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave. http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

Using the same technology as a dehumidifier（除湿器），the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water because it can always get it from an unlimited source—the air．http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

The company behind the machine says not only does it offer an alternative to bottled water inhttp://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

developed countries, but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage．http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

The machine works by drawing in wet air through a filter（过滤器）and over a cooling instrument which changes it into water droplets．It can produce up to 12 liters a day．The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the amount of water which is contained in the air increases. In keeping with its eco-development, the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three lights.     Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said, “The demand for water is off the chart. So people are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable.”

The machine, which is about 3 feet wide, is likely to cost ￡800 when it goes on sale here in the spring. Its maker, Canadian Firm Element Four, roughly calculates that a liter of water costs around 20 pence to produce.

Environmentalists state that half the world’s population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080. One in five is said to lack access to safe drinking.

The Water Mill is not effective in areas where the amount of water contained in the air is below about 30 percent, but in Britain that won’t be much of a problem.

What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Drinking water.  B．Invention.    C．Microwave.      D．Water Mill.

What do we learn about the machine?

A．It works in the same way as microwaves.

B．It is very expensive for families to afford.

C．It absorbs wet air and turns it into water.

D．It helps to make the water clean to drink. http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

What does the passage lead us to believe? http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

A．The cost of water will go up.  B．Bottled water will disappear soon.

C．The machine is energy saving. D．The machine will be popular worldwide.

What’s the best title for the passage? http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

A．A New Way to Solve Water Problem.  B．A Machine to Make Water out of Air.

C．A Dehumidifier to Produce Water.  D．An Absolutely New Invention

A man and his wife arrived in Boston by train．After getting off the train, they walked without an    36     into the outer office of Harvard’s president．So they were stopped by his secretary and kept    37    ．For hours, the secretary took no notice of them,  38  that the couple would finally become disappointed and    39   ．But they didn’t．The secretary finally decided to disturb the president, though  40  ．

       A few minutes later, the president walked towards the couple with a  41  face．The lady told him, “We had a son that  42  Harvard for one year．He loved Harvard．He was  43  here．But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed．My husband and I would like to  44  a memorial（纪念物）to him, somewhere on campus．”

The president wasn’t moved ．Instead, he was    45   ．“Madam,” he said, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who studied at Harvard and died．If we did, this place would look like a   46   ,” “Oh, no,” the lady  47  quickly．“We don’t want to put up a statue．We would like to give a  48  to Harvard．” The president rolled his eyes and  49  at the couple and then exclaimed, ” A building! Do you have any 50   how much a building costs? We have spent over ＄7,500,000 on the campus building at Harvard．” For a moment the lady was silent．The president was  51  , because he could get rid of them now．Then the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it costs to start a  52  ? Why don’t we just start our own?” Her husband nodded． 53  their offer was turned down．Mr．and Mrs．Stanford traveled to California where they founded Stanford University     54   after them, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer  55  about．

A．choice        B．decision  C．acquaintance     D．appointment

A．waiting       B．standing   C．sitting          D．talking

A．hoping       B．finding     C．realizing       D．imagining

A．go down           B．go out      C．go away        D．go around

A．hopelessly     B．carefully   C．unexpectedly    D．unwillingly

A．pleasant     B．funny       C．cold          D．sad

A．attended     B．visited      C．studied         D．served

A．clever        B．brave     C．proud           D．happy

A．set about       B．set up       C．set down       D．set off

A．satisfied      B．excited     C．shocked        D．ashamed

A．park         B．cemetery  C．garden         D．museum

A．explained    B．expressed  C．refused         D．admitted

A．building      B．yard       C．playground      D．square

A．laughed       B．shouted     C．glanced         D．called

A．suggestion   B．idea       C．thought         D．opinion

A．bored       B．astonished C．interested      D．pleased

A．department  B．university C．business        D．club

A．Once        B．While       C．Since         D．Though

A．named      B．looked     C．taken         D．followed

A．talked      B．knew     C．heard         D．cared

A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.

Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.

Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.

When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.

The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”

Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.

For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.

What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?

A. His success in helping his cousin learn math.

B. His discovery that many students found learning math difficult.

C. A suggestion made to him at a local high school.

D. His interest in Internet teaching.

Why does Khan never go on camera?

A. He’s too shy to show his face on camera.

B. It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos.

C. He wants to keep distance from the viewers.

D. He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere.

From the passage, we know that ________.

A. Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons

B. Khan plans to include more subjects in the future

C. Khan gives live math lessons every day for free

D. Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife

Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s lessons?

   A. Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher.

   B. The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood.

   C. She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching.

   D. She cannot concentrate when learning in class.

What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6^th paragraph?

   A. Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration.

   B. YouTube recommends short lessons for its site.

   C. Short lessons encourage students to return to the website.

   D. Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more.

B

TaIL Spin

Two dolphins race around in a big pool in the Ocean Park. The smaller dolphin Grace, shown off a few of her tricks, turning around and waving hello to the crowd. The most amazing thing about her, however, is that she’s even swimming at all. She doesn’t have a tail.

Grace lost her tail as a baby when she got caught up in a fish trap.

When the dolphin arrived at the Ocean Park in December 2005, she was fighting for her life. “Is she going to make it?” Her trainer, Abbey Stone, feared the worst. Grace did make it --- but her tail didn’t. She ended up losing her flukes and the lower part of her peduncle.

Over the past six years, she has learned to swim without her tail. Dolphins swim by moving their flukes and peduncle up and down. Grace taught herself to move another way---like a fish! She pushed herself forward through the water by moving her peduncles from side to side.

The movement put harmful pressure on Grace’s backbone. So a company offered to create a man-made tail for her. The tail had to be strong enough to stay on Grace as she swam but soft enough that it wouldn’t hurt her.

The first time Grace wore the artificial tail. She soon shook it off and let it sink in the bottom of the pool. Now, she is still learning to use the tail. Some days she wears it for an hour at a time, others not at all. “The tail isn’t

necessary for her to feel comfortable,” says Stone, “but it helps to keep that range of motion(动作) and build muscles(肌肉).”

Now, the dolphin is about to get an even happier ending. This month, Grace will star in Dolphin Tale, a film that focus on her rescue and recovery. Her progress has inspired more than just a new movie. Many people travel from near and far to meet her. Seeing Grace swim with her man-made tail gives people so much courage.

60. When Grace first arrived at the Ocean Park, her trainer worried about her ______.

A. physical build                                        B. potential ability

C. chance of survival                                 D. adaptation to the surroundings.

61. A man-made tail is created for Grace to ______.

A. let her recover faster                              B. make her comfortable

C. adjust her way of swimming                   D. help her perform better tricks

62. The story of Grace inspires people to ______.

A. stick to their dreams                              B. treat animals friendly

C. treasure what they have                         D. face difficulties bravely