Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.

　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.

　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.

　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?

　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.

　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”

1.According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

　　A. It is always difficult to find a job.

　　B. Everyone can find a job in good times.

　　C. Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

　　D. It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

2. What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

　　A. They have found the reason for unemployment.

　　B. They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

　　C. They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

　　D. They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

　　B. The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

　　C. Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

　　D. It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

4. According to Pissarides, _________ is effrctive in dealing with unemployment.

　　A. spending large sums of money on training

　　B. teaching some knowledge of economics

　　C. providing work experience

　　D. keeping people unemployed for some time

　A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world people may not have enough water by the year 2025. A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three hundred and thirty-five million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.

　　PAI researchers Robert Engel says by the year 2025,about three thousand million people lack water. At least 18 more countries are, expected to have serious water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on the earth stays the same.

　　Mr. Engel says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will increase.

　　The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problem. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr. Engel says there are problems all over the world be cause of diseases such as cholera（霍乱）that is carried in water.

　　Lack of water also results in more international conflict（冲突）. Countries may have to fight for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability to improve their economics. This is because new in dustries often need large amounts of water when they are beginning.

　　The Population Action International study gives several solutions（解决方法）to the problem, One way, it says. is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third is to use less water for agriculture.

　　The report also says long-term solution to the water problem must in clued controls on population growth.

　　1．According to the report, how many countries will lack water by the year 2025?

　　　　A. 18.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B. 28.

　　　　C. 46.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　D. At least 46.

　　2．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

　　　　A. The amount of the water on earth will always stay the same.

　　　　B. The report gives three solutions to the water problem.

　　　　C. Most of the countries that lack water belong to the developing countries.

　　　　D. There's only one long-term solution to solve the water problem.

　　3．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

　　　　A. The polluted water may carry diseases.

　　　　B. Some countries may fight with each other for water.

　　　　C. The developed countries don't lack water now.

　　　　D. Industries need a lot of water.

　　4．What is the main idea of this passage?

　　　　A. Water shortage is quite serious in the world nowadays.

　　　　B. PAI did a lot of study about water shortage.

　　　　C. Controlling pollution is the best way to solve the problem of water shortage.

　　　　D. Water shortage will be a serious problem facing us in the near future.

Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.

　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.

　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.

　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?

　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.

　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”

According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

　　A. It is always difficult to find a job.

　　B. Everyone can find a job in good times.

　　C. Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

　　D. It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

　　A. They have found the reason for unemployment.

　　B. They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

　　C. They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

　　D. They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

　　B. The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

　　C. Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

　　D. It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

According to Pissarides, _________ is effective in dealing with unemployment.

　　A. spending large sums of money on training

　　B. teaching some knowledge of economics

　　C. providing work experience

　　D. keeping people unemployed for some time

　 Qiao is a sixth grader at Yuhui Primary School.He is only 12 years old but has been smoking for three years.Liu,15，is a Junior 2 student at Chicheng No.2 Middle School.He began smoking four years ago.“Smoking is part of my life，” Liu said.Qiao and Liu are not those boys’ real names.But their problem，smoking，is a very real problem.In many countries，smoking is becoming a bigger problem for young people.Most smokers start in their teens (years of a person’s age from 13 to 19) or earlier.

　 A study of 8,000 Beijing students last May told us that smoking is a problem for many Chinese kids.More than 21% of middle school students and 6% of primary school pupils said they smoked.

　 “If young people start smoking early，they will probably get addicted to nicotine.And it will be very hard to give up later on，” said a professor.

　 Every year，about four million people die because of smoking.And if people keep smoking，that number will go up to about 10 million a year by 2030，the World Health Organization (WHO) says.So we have to learn and tell others about the dangers of smoking.

1.The sentence “Smoking is part of my life.” probably means “　　　 ”.

　 A.I don’t smoke very often.

　 B.Smoking is very important to me.

　 C.I don’t smoke at all.

　 D.I’m going to give up smoking.

2.What will probably happen if a person starts smoking early?

　 A.He will surely die early.

　 B.He cannot stop smoking.

　 C.It will be difficult for him to give up smoking.　

　 D.He will become lazy soon.

3.The study in the passage shows that　　　　 .

　 A.smoking is a serious problem among Chinese students

　 B.there are more and more smokers in China

　 C.some student smokers have already been seriously addicted

　 D.most of smokers are young students

4.The main idea of this passage is that　　　　 .

　 A.smoking is becoming a bigger problem for young people

　 B.many people die because of smoking every year

　 C.WHO asks young people to give up smoking

　 D.nicotine makes people addicted

5.As middle school students，what should we do from now on?

　 A.We should start smoking after middle school.

　 B.We should ask others to smoke outside.

　 C.We should laugh at smokers.

　 D.We should say no to smoking.