The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which customs, opportunity and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty－five and can be expected to live another thirty－five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience foods.

This important change in women's life－pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full－time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school－leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full－or－part－time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage: with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.

6. Which of the following is the topic of this passage?

A. The marriage of women: past and present.

B. Women and their jobs.

C. The social changes in the lives of women.

D. Women's role in family life.

7. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the amount of time the women spent taking care of children ________.

A. was shorter than in previous centuries

B. was longer than in previous centuries

C. was considered to be surprisingly long

D. accounted for a great part of their lives

8. One reason why the woman of today may take a job is that she ________.

A. is younger when her children are old enough to look after themselves

B. does not like children herself

C. need not worry about food for her children

D. can retire from family responsibilities when she reaches sixty

9. According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to ________.

A. stay at home after leaving school

B. marry men younger than themselves

C. start working again later in life

D. marry while still at school

10. What can be inferred from the last sentence?

A. The husband tends to share greater share of duties of family life.

B. In the past, the husband used to provide money for the family while the wife ran the home.

C. The wife does not have her own abilities and interests.

D. Both the husband and the wife should be satisfied with their family life.

The first day of university our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a  11  ,little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that  12 her entire being.
She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically  13  , “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant  14 . “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked.
She  15  replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…”
“No seriously,” I asked. I was  16   what may have motivated her to be taking on this  17  at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a   18   and now I’m getting one!” she told me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she  19  made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention bestowed upon her from the other   20  . She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow    21   because we stop playing.
There are only four  22  to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your  23 ,you die.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or  24  . The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in  25 . Have no regrets.”

The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world．But to those who are new to it all, sometimes it can be confusing．   
October is usually the busiest month in the college calendar．Universities have something called Freshers’ Week for their newcomers．It’s a great opportunity to make new friends，join lots of clubs and settle into university life．
However，having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind，you can feel nervous when meeting lots of strangers in big halls. Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?
Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot．So just take it all in slowly．Don’t rush into anything that you’ll regret for the next three years.
Here are some top tips from past students on how to survive Freshers’ week:
·Learn rules．Make sure you know British social etiquette (礼节)．Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends.
·Be kind．Sometimes cups of tea or even pieces of French fries can give you a good start in making friends.
·Be sociable．The more active you are, the more 1ikely you’ll meet new people than if you’re someone who is shy and never leaves his room.
·Bring a doorstop. Keep your door open when you’re in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you’re friendly.
So with a bit of clever planning and motivation，Freshers’ Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you’ll be passing on your experience to the next year’s recruits.
【小题1】. . Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage?   

A．tell the newcomers how to make a new start in universities

B．introduce something about higher education system of the UK

C．discuss something about the Freshers’ Week in the UK

D．advise the freshmen how to behave well in the beginning

The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities in the world. But to those who are new to it all, it can be something confusing.
October is usually the busiest month in the academic calendar (学习日程表). Universities have something called Freshers’ Week for their newcomers. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life.
However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind, meeting lots of strangers in big halls can be uneasy. Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?
Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you are worried about starting their university social life. So just take it all in slowly. Don’t rush into anything that you’ll regret for the next three years.
Here are some top tips from past students on how to survive Freshers’ Week:
·Make sure you know something about the British social customs. Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends.
·Sometimes cups of tea or even sweets can give you a head start in making friends.
·The more active you are, the more likely you’ll be to meet new people than if you’re someone who never leaves his rooms.
·Keep your door open when you’re in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you’re friendly.
So with a bit of clever planning, Freshers’ Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you’ll be passing on your wisdom to next year’s newcomers.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage?

The UK has a well-­respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world. But to those who are new to it all, sometimes it can be confusing.
October is usually the busiest month in the college calendar. Universities have something called Freshers’ Week for their newcomers. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life．
However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind, the prospect（前景）of meeting lots of strangers in big halls can be nerve-­wracking（令人头痛的）. Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?
Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot. So just take it all in slowly. Don’t rush into anything that you’ll regret for the next three years.
Here is some top advice from past students on how to survive Freshers’ Week：
●Learn rules. Make sure you know British social etiquette（礼节）. Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends.
●Be kind. Sometimes cups of tea or even slices of toast can give you a head start in making friends.
●Be sociable. The more active you are, the more likely you’ll be to meet new people than those who never leave their room.
●Bring a doorstop. Keep your door open when you’re in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you’re friendly.
So with a bit of clever planning and effort, Freshers’ Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you’ll be passing on your experience to next year’s new recruits．
【小题1】Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage？