In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living. On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break up of the family occurs when the parents divorce. A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. Children blame themselves when their parents separate. They grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved back and forth between parents. Usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. These single parents must care for the children’s emotional and psychological needs while also supporting them financially. This is very demanding and leaves very little time for the parent’s own personal interests. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship. The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs indicate that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining. The rate of childbirth is rising. Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are.

In the past, American families tended to be ____.

A. quite small     B. medium sized      C. quite large      D. small

To parents who take the responsibility for children’s expenses, the cost of living increases because ____.

A. children attend school for more years           B. children are better dressed

C. children spend more money on entertainment   D. all of the above

According to the author, the situations of American families in the future may ____.

A. become worse                 B. remain the same

C. get better                     D. keep unchanged

The title of the article might be ____.

  A. American Children            B. American Families

  C. American Mother              D. American Parents

Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.
With the rapper(说唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.
His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌词) and funny dance movies.
Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首尔). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.
He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.
“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.
【小题1】What is the first paragraph mainly about?

Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.

With the rapper(说唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.

His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌词) and funny dance movies.

Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首尔). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.

He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.

“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.

1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The success of “Gangnam Style”.

B．The origin of “Gangnam Style”.

C．The result of the Music Award.

D．The childhood of PSY.

2.According to the text, PSY              .

A．is already in his forties now

B．made his first album in 2003

C．danced only in his “Gangnam Style”

D．has developed his special comedic style

3.Which of the following about Gangnam is TRUE?

A．It is the capital of South Korea.

B．It is rich and better developed.

C．Seoul University lies in it.

D．It covers about 90 square miles.

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．“Gangnarn Style” isn’t popular in English-speaking countries.

B．PSY will be given another big prize for music in the future.

C．iTunes is the No.1 music company on the internet.

D．“Gangnam Style” has won the most worldwide popularity.

In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living. On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break up of the family occurs when the parents divorce. A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. Children blame themselves when their parents separate. They grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved back and forth between parents. Usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. These single parents must care for the children’s emotional and psychological needs while also supporting them financially. This is very demanding and leaves very little time for the parent’s own personal interests. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship. The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs indicate that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining. The rate of childbirth is rising. Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are.

1.In the past, American families tended to be ____.

A. quite small     B. medium sized      C. quite large      D. small

2.To parents who take the responsibility for children’s expenses, the cost of living increases because ____.

A. children attend school for more years           B. children are better dressed

C. children spend more money on entertainment   D. all of the above

3.According to the author, the situations of American families in the future may ____.

A. become worse                 B. remain the same

C. get better                     D. keep unchanged

4.The title of the article might be ____.

  A. American Children            B. American Families

  C. American Mother              D. American Parents

For the past two decades. New York has been an inspiration to other American cities. Yes, New York had a lot of crime, but somehow it also still had neigh neighborhoods, and a central area for walking. Lately, though, as far as the pedestrian （行人） issues go. New York is acting more like the rest of America, and the rest of America is acting more like the once-inspiring New York.  

As a New Yorker who has spent two years researching roads and transportation across the United States, 1 am saddened lo see our city falling behind places like downtown Albuquerque, where one-way streets have become more pedestrian-friendly two-way streets, and car lanes are replaced by bike lanes, with bike racks everywhere. Then there is Grand Rapids, Midi. , which has a walk-able downtown with purposely limited parking and is home to a new bus square. In Indianapolis, an urban walking and biking road will soon link inner-city neighborhoods something New York certainly hasn't tried.  

We have lost our golden pedestrian touch in New York mostly because we still think about traffic as though it were 1950, and we needed Robert Moses to plow a few giant freeways through town to get the cars moving again. But the fact is that more roads equal more traffic. New Yorkers always find good reasons to drive. Public transportation is dirty, time-consuming, unsafe. Walking takes too long. The children will be late for school. But choosing the car is no longer safe ― for your children who already don’t get enough exercise, for anyone’s lungs or for the future of New York as a livable place. We’ve already lost a lot of New York to traffic. If New Yorkers don’t get out of their cars soon, the city’s future residents won’t have a reason to.  

72．According to ihe passage, New York _____.  

A．used to be a good example for other cities to follow in road design  

B．is still an inspiration to other American cities in city design  

C．used to have a lot of crimes and the city was too crowded with cars  

D．is learning from the rest of America to improve its transportation  

73．It can be inferred from the passage that______.  

A．New York has built a road for walking and biking  

B．in Albuuuerque, the streets have become one-way streets  

C．the city of New York is now terribly crowded with cars  

D．parking is not allowed in the center of Grand Rapids, Mich.  

74．The cause of the present traffic situation in New York is that ______.  

A．New Yorkers prefer driving to walking or taking buses  

B．taking buses lakes a long lime and is not safe and clean  

C．the more roads there are, the more traffic there will be  

D．the city of New York is too big for people to walk  

75．The author of the passage suggests that ______.  

A．more freeways be built to get the cars moving again  

B．New York should have more spaces for pedestrians  

C．children in New- York schools should walk to schools  

D．New Yorkers should replace their cars with bicycles