The United States economy has dipped into economic recession (经济衰退). This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation’s poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery (苦难).

An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness.

An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband’s $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet.

Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what’s more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn’t pay enough attention to this social problem. 

People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem.

39．The passage is mainly about __________ in the US.

A. ways of solving economic problems

B. homeless people being taken good care of

C. different reasons for economic recession

D. economic recession leading to social problems

40．In the passage the author supported his view by __________.

A. presenting specific figures                B. giving examples

C. explaining in details                      D. discussing different opinions

41． One main result that economic recession has led to is __________

A. an increase of living costs             B. more and more deaths

C. an increase of homeless people       D. less centers for poor people

42．How many reasons why people become homeless are listed in the passage?

A. 2.        B. 3.               C. 4.              D. 5.

Abuse can be defined as “to treat wrongfully or harmfully”. There are different categories of abuse that have been recognized and within our case study there appear to be two distinct forms of abuse, family abuse and child abuse. These can be subdivided into terms of physical abuse and psychological abuse. Physical abuse is the intentional physical injury or harm or deliberately not preventing harm occurring. The minimum physical signs seen in our study of James are bruises but they might feel more painful to his heart than the more serious invisible injuries. Emotional abuse is the continual failure to meet basic emotional needs. Emotional development is prevented and well-being harmed. The emotional signs in our case study can be seen in James by his actions of being withdrawn and non-communicative. The behavioural sign to abuse taking place to James is his aggressive behaviour.
The short term effect of physical abuse on James is physical pain. In the long term, injuries that often happen can result in secondary illness and complications, permanent scars or even disabilities. His emotional effects in the short term are a fear of people, withdrawal, and poor relationship with others. The long term emotional effects could be low self-respect, depression, inability to form relationships.
Abuse can arise for many reasons and there are a number of theoretical views which may be useful in clarifying why the abuse has taken place. The female view believes that sex and family roles give approval to a culture of abuse. Considering the historical and fixed ideas, men have power and control. In James’ case he lives in a re-constructed family with the father being rude and a heavy drinker. From a psychological angle, alcohol misuse can bring mental health problems which may increase aggression in the person and so James is more at risk from abuse by his stepfather. The relationship between the mother and James involves a dependency of James on his mother. With other problems in James’ mother’s life, this leads to increasing stress and the inability of his mother to cope with and manage a family with four children borne by two mothers. The attachment theory states that significant separations of a child from the carer in the early years can have an effect on their emotional development and can lead to psychological and social difficulties in later life. The loss of both his father and his half sister’s father with whom he lives may have contributed to his behaviour.
Abusive behaviour can sometimes be the result of mental health problems, brain damage or being abused themselves. By becoming the abuser they believe they are taking control; some even believe that they are not doing anything wrong and cannot stop themselves. When working with individuals who have abused, it is important to be aware that they may go on to abuse again and there is a need to protect the community from the abuser.
【小题1】Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “bruises” in Paragraph 1?

Abuse can be defined as “to treat wrongfully or harmfully”. There are different categories of abuse that have been recognized and within our case study there appear to be two distinct forms of abuse, family abuse and child abuse. These can be subdivided into terms of physical abuse and psychological abuse. Physical abuse is the intentional physical injury or harm or deliberately not preventing harm occurring. The minimum physical signs seen in our study of James are bruises but they might feel more painful to his heart than the more serious invisible injuries. Emotional abuse is the continual failure to meet basic emotional needs. Emotional development is prevented and well-being harmed. The emotional signs in our case study can be seen in James by his actions of being withdrawn and non-communicative. The behavioural sign to abuse taking place to James is his aggressive behaviour.
The short term effect of physical abuse on James is physical pain. In the long term, injuries that often happen can result in secondary illness and complications, permanent scars or even disabilities. His emotional effects in the short term are a fear of people, withdrawal, and poor relationship with others. The long term emotional effects could be low self-respect, depression, inability to form relationships.
Abuse can arise for many reasons and there are a number of theoretical views which may be useful in clarifying why the abuse has taken place. The female view believes that sex and family roles give approval to a culture of abuse. Considering the historical and fixed ideas, men have power and control. In James’ case he lives in a re-constructed family with the father being rude and a heavy drinker. From a psychological angle, alcohol misuse can bring mental health problems which may increase aggression in the person and so James is more at risk from abuse by his stepfather. The relationship between the mother and James involves a dependency of James on his mother. With other problems in James’ mother’s life, this leads to increasing stress and the inability of his mother to cope with and manage a family with four children borne by two mothers. The attachment theory states that significant separations of a child from the carer in the early years can have an effect on their emotional development and can lead to psychological and social difficulties in later life. The loss of both his father and his half sister’s father with whom he lives may have contributed to his behaviour.
Abusive behaviour can sometimes be the result of mental health problems, brain damage or being abused themselves. By becoming the abuser they believe they are taking control; some even believe that they are not doing anything wrong and cannot stop themselves. When working with individuals who have abused, it is important to be aware that they may go on to abuse again and there is a need to protect the community from the abuser.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “bruises” in Paragraph 1?

   1. A.
      Slight injury
   2. B.
      Deep Cut
   3. C.
      Body disability
   4. D.
      Inner wound
2. 2.

   According to the writer’s case study, which of the following cases can be defined as abuse?

   1. A.
      A father scolds his son because he doesn’t pass the exam in school.
   2. B.
      A car knocks down a woman but the driver doesn’t take her to hospital.
   3. C.
      A father never talks to his daughter and shows no interest in what she does.
   4. D.
      A husband is angry with his wife when she stays out late into the night.
3. 3.

   From the passage we can infer that ______________.

   1. A.
      James’ step father doesn’t show any concern for his mother
   2. B.
      James’ mother gave birth to a girl in the re-constructed family
   3. C.
      James’ stepfather is rude to all the children in the family
   4. D.
      James’ mother loves her husband more than her own son
4. 4.

   Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

   1. A.
      Categories of Abuse
   2. B.
      How to Prevent Abuse
   3. C.
      Abuse and Its Causes
   4. D.
      Effects Caused by Abuse