C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(="say" that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

C

At dawn on Friday, May 19, 1780, farmers in New England stopped to wonder at the pink color of the sun. By noon the sky had darkened to midnight blackness, causing Americans, still in the painful struggle of a prolonged war of independence, to light candles and tremble at thoughts of the Last Judgment. As the birds quieted and no storm accompanied the darkness, men and women crowded into churches, where one minister commented that “The people were very attentive.” John Greenleaf Whittier later wrote that “Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp . . .”

A recent study of researchers, led by Richard Guyette from the University of Missouri’s Tree Ring Laboratory, has shown that vast forest fires in the Algonquin Highlands of southern Ontario and elsewhere in Canada brought this event upon New England. The scientists have discovered “fire scars” on the rings for that year, left when the heat of a wildfire has killed a part of a tree’s cambium (形成层). Evidence collected also points to a drought that year. An easterly wind and low barometric pressure (低气压) helped force smoke into the upper atmosphere. “The record fits pretty close,” says Guyette. “We had the right fuel, the drought. The conditions were all there.”

Lacking the ability to communicate quickly over long distances, Americans in 1780 remained in the dark about the event, which had disappeared by the next day. Over the next several months, the papers carried heated debates about what brought the darkness. Some were the voices of angry prediction, such as one Massachusetts farmer who wrote, “Oh! Backsliding New-England, attend now to the things which belong to your peace before they are forever hid from your eyes.” Others gave different answers. One stated that a “flaming star” had passed between the earth and the sun. Ash, argued another commentator. The debate, carried on throughout New England, where there were no scientific journals or academies yet, reflected an unfolding culture of scientific enquiry already sweeping the Western world, a revolution nearly as influential as the war for independence from the English.

New Englanders would not soon forget that dark day; it lived on in folklore, poems, and sermons for generations.

66. New Englanders crowded into churches because they were frightened by_____.

   A. the pink color of the sun        B. the darkened sky at daytime

   C. the Last Judgment on Friday     D. the American War of Independence

67. What can we infer about the event in New England on May 19, 1780?

   A. Prayers remained silent and attentive.     B. Night birds no longer came out to sing.

   C. People’s ears became sharper than usual.  D. Midday meals were served by candlelight.

68. According to the researchers, the origin of the event was_________.

   A. an east wind    B. a severe drought   C. some burning fuel   D. low barometric pressure

69. What can we know about the debates after the dark day?

   A. They focused on causes of the event.

   B. They swept throughout the Western world.

   C. They were organized by scientific institutions.

   D. They improved Americans’ ability to communicate.

70. What can be the best title for the text?

   A. New England’s dark day.       B. Voices of angry prediction.

   C. There is no smoke without fire.  D. Tree rings and scientific discovery.

C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(=say that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

  A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

  B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

  C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

  D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

  A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

  B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

  C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

  D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

  A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

  B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

  C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

  D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

  A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

  B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

  C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

  D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

                               A  

For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.

As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.

However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.

That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer. Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs.

This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking”, and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.

In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. British pubs now offer something for everyone. A lot of pubs used to be “Working Men's Clubs”, meaning that women could not usually enter. Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems. Perhaps things are changing for the better after all.

56. The passage mainly tells us something about ______.

A. the past and present of British pubs           

B. the decline of British pubs

C. the long history of British pubs        

D. the importance of British pubs

57. Which may not be the cause of the decline of British pubs?

A. The credit crunch.                           B. The present closing time.

C. The ban of smoking.                              D. Having no spare money.

58. We can infer from the passage that ______.      

A. British people used to like drinking slowly

B. closing the pubs early will reduce social problems

C. binge drinking means drinking less beer

D. British government aims to discourage people from binge drinking

59. We can see from the last paragraph that the author _______.

  A. is against the admission of too many women to the pubs

  B. holds an optimistic attitude towards the British pubs

  C. thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems

  D. thinks that British pubs should offer everything you need

A

For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority— rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.

The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the risk of insulin resistance（胰岛素抵抗），a condition eventually leading to diabetes（糖尿病）. Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal（胎儿）development. In pregnant women, this condition means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby.

The question is: could a mother’s exercise put her developing baby’s food supply at risk? Past studies looking at the effect of exercise on birth weight have been inconclusive, and none have really investigated the influence of exercise on the mother’s sensitivity to insulin. So the University of Auckland’s Dr. Paul Hoffman and his team decided to study 84 first-time mothers, who were of normal weight on average, and track any effects aerobic exercise(有氧运动) might have on their insulin sensitivity and, ultimately, on their babies’ birth weight. Researchers asked some women to exercise on a stationary bicycle for at least 40 minutes per session, up to five times each week, starting in the 20th week of pregnancy; the other women were not specifically asked to exercise. When the two groups and their babies were compared, the team found that women who bicycled regularly gave birth to babies who were on average 150g lighter than those born to the non-exercising mothers. In both groups, however, the babies were of healthy weight, and there was no difference in the mothers’ weights.

Generally speaking, babies on the lower end of the normal weight range are considered healthier and less prone to developing diabetes and obesity than heavier ones, so this was an encouraging result. Even more reassuring was that regular exercise did not seem to affect the flow of nutrients to the growing babies in the womb.

41. According to the new study, a pregnant woman’s regular exercise may _______.

  A. bring benefits to a baby’s growth

  B. lower the risk of insulin resistance

  C. put her baby’s food supply at risk

  D. help her keep slim and healthy

42. What does the underlined word “detriment” mean in the second paragraph?

  A. Something that brings good.

  B. Something that brings damage.

  C. Something that brings obstacles.

  D. Something that brings development.

43. What is the purpose of the experiment carried out by Dr. Paul Hoffman?

  A. To investigate the influence of exercise on pregnant women.

  B. To find out what aerobic exercise can benefit a baby’s growth.

  C. To make sure of the effects exercise may have on babies’ birth weight

  D. To compare the differences between mothers who exercise and who don’t

44. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

  A. Lighter babies are generally believed to be healthier than heavier ones.

  B. Non­－exercising mothers will definitely give birth to heavier babies.

  C. No studies have looked at the effect of exercise on birth weight before.

  D. Some women studied were asked to exercise regularly while some don’t.

45. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

  A. All mothers should take aerobic exercise.

  B. Moms who exercise give birth to lighter babies。

  C. Exercise reduces the risk of insulin resistance.

  D. Heavier babies are more likely to develop diabetes.