At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they’re bad. Yet the agreement among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants’ impact on the economy and the reality?
There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the stress that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities. There’s some truth to all these explanations, but they aren’t quite sufficient.
To get a better understanding of what’s going on, consider the way immigration’s impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants’ low-cost labor are businesses and employers —meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, these producers’ savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration has reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9%. 
Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words, was the financial burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another finding: that their opposition appeared to soften when that financial burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants’ access to certain benefits.
The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected — say, low-skilled workers, or California residents — the impact isn’t all that dramatic. “The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions,” says Daniel Tichenor, a professor at the University of Oregon. “But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one.” Too bad most people don’t realize it. 
【小题1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

B

It was 1961 and I was in the fifth grade. My marks in school were miserable and, the thing was, I didn’t know enough to really care. My older bother and I lived with Mom in a dingy multi-family house in Detroit. We watched TV every night. The background noise of our lives was gunfire and horses’ hoofs from “Wagon Train” or “Cheyenne”, and laughter from “I Love Lucy”, or “Mister Ed”. After supper, we’d sprawl on Mon’s bed and stare for hours at the tube.

But one day Mom changed our world forever. She turned off the TV. Our mother had only been able to get through third grade. But, she was much brighter and smarter than we boys know at the time. She had noticed something in the suburban houses she cleaned books. So she came home one day, snapped off the TV, sat us down and explained that her sons were going to make something of themselves. “You boys are going to read two books every week,” she said. “And you’re going to write a report on what you read.”

We moaned and complained about how unfair it was. Besides, we didn’t have any books in the house other than Mom’s Bible. But she explained that we would go where the books were: “I’ll drive you to the library.”

So pretty soon there were these two peevish boys sitting in her white 1959 Oldsmobile on their way to Detroit Public Library. I wandered reluctantly among the children’s books. I loved animals, so when I saw some books that seemed to be about animals, I started leafing through them.

The first book I read clear through was Chip the Dam Builder. It was about beavers. For the first time in my life I was lost in another world. No television program had ever taken me so far away from my surroundings as did this verbal visit to a cold stream in a forest and these animals building a home.

It didn’t dawn on me at the time, but the experience was quite different from watching TV. There were images forming in my mind instead of before my eyes. And I could return to them again and again with the flip of a page.

Soon I began to look forward to visiting this hushed sanctuary form my other world. I moved from animals to plants, and then to rocks. Between the covers of all those books were whole worlds, and I was free to go anywhere in them. Along the way a funny thing happened: I started to know things. Teachers started to notice it too. I got to the point where I couldn’t wait to get home to my books.

Now my older brother is an engineer and I am chief of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Sometimes I still can’t believe my life’s journey, from a failing and indifferent student in a Detroit public school to this position, which takes me all over the world to teach and perform critical surgery.

But I know when the journey began the day Mom snapped off the TV set and put us in her Oldsmobile for that drive to the library.

46. We can learn form the beginning of the passage that ___________.

A. the author and his brother had done well in school

B. the author had been very concerned about his school work

C. the author had spent much time watching TV after school

D. the author had realized how important schooling was

47. Which of the following is not true about the author’s family?

A. He came from a middle-class family.

B. He came from a single-parent family.

C. His mother worked as a cleaner.

D. His mother had received little education.

48. The mother was ____________ to make her two sons switch to reading books.

A. hesitant               B. unprepared        C. reluctant                   D. determined

49. How did the two boys feel about going to the library at first?

A. They were afraid                                    B. They were reluctant.

C. They were impatient.                               D. They were eager to go.

50. The author began to love books for the following reasons EXCEPT that ___________.

A. he began to see something in his mind

B. he could visualize what he read in his mind

C. he could go back to read the books again

D. he realized that books offered him new experience

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空只填一个单词。

Bored at school now?  How do you think it will look in the future? Last week, about 600 teenagers in the U.S. imagined a future changed by technology in which their lessons are taught by robots and they learn about celebrities (名人)and alien(外星人)languages.

According to a survey published last week by the U.S. ,Internet service provider American Online(AOL), only one in 100 thinks that in the future they will walk from home to school; the rest believe they will use jet packs, and hover boards(滑板) as everyday transport.

All the participants(参与者)of the survey are teenagers born into the Internet age. The study is to show how the first cyber (网络的)generation dream about a future life created by advanced technology.

Most believe there will still be schools to go to, but that technology will play an increasingly important role in learning. The 600 teens surveyed think there will still be teachers, but 37 percent imagine them to be robots. Some 24 percent believe that teachers will still be human but they will have inter-changeable microchips so that one person can teach all subjects.

More than one in two believe hover boarding will be popular, while one-third say that wearing rocket boots will be their favorite activity. Another third think jet packs will be popular. Nearly 30 percent think playing football and bike-riding will remain popular.

When it comes to the curriculum(课程), they think future generations will be learning about robot building(63 percent), alien languages(47 percent) celebrities(26 percent) and R’n’B music(22 percent).

Children will wear virtual(虚拟的)reality helmets(头盔) to bring lessons to life, say 40 percent, while over 20 percent believe they will not need lessons because microchips implanted(植入)in their head will send relevant information into the brain. Matt Whyman, adviser to the chief medical officer on youth issues of AOL, said: “ The kids seem very aware of the liberation qualities of technology.”

Title ( 1 )_________school

C
For a girl who's interested in fashion, what would be the dream job for success? Being a model? Probably no—?that's for a pencil thin who doesn't eat．One answer is, fashion stylist （时装造型师）．
As more brands open stores in China to enlarge their reach, the increase in outdoor advertising might light a stylist spark in a girl' s heart．Fashion magazine offices are crowded with applicants, and fashionable brand HR managers get thousands of resumes （简历） of people looking for a stylist position．
"It looked too high before, but now I find it more approachable," said Xue Rui, 22, a Fudan University Chinese literature grad who works as an assistant stylist at Hermes in Shanghai．"There is no certain rule in dressing up models, and you can try every way with your own taste to make them pretty and attractive．"
The attractiveness of this line of work is not only in the elegant clothes．And it's not like it used to be．Now it's a well-paid and promising career．
"A stylist at a fashion magazine can have some special rights．You have a chance to contact （联系） famous persons and dress them up in a style you like," said Cheng Hong, chief editor of the Chinese version of L' officiel Hommes magazine．" You need to cooperate with top photographers and select places around the world to take photos in．You might also be invited to fashion shows of top brands and can select some of the favorite clothes．"
Girls can find it hard to ignore this field and it is opening up to normal girls, not only style or fashion design majors．A fashion designer knows how to make a dress pretty, but a stylist knows how to make a person beautiful, from head to toe．
There exist some problems, no matter how great you may think it is, it' s unbelievably hard work．You need to build good relations with various people, say stars, photographers, PR managers, other media, and even airlines．You need to take care of clothes in the workplace and pay for even a tiny spot you get on them．The worst thing is that you might work extremely hard for a week on some serious photos, but if the chief's not satisfied, you do them all over again．
So, remember, girls, you've been warned．
64．What does the underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably mean?
A．Being a model is thin girls' business．
B．A good model eats nothing but fruits．
C．To be a model, she must look like a pencil．
D．To be a model, she can not eat nutritious food．
65．As a stylist at a fashion magazine, you need to do the following things EXCEPT      .
A．make contact with famous persons     B．dress yourself up in a special style
C．co-work with top photographers      D．select the favorite clothes
66．We can infer from the passage that ______．
A．working as a stylist was not so appealing as it is today
B．a successful stylist must have a diploma in fashion design
C．fashion designers do more tough jobs than fashion stylists
D．skills for stylists are not so important as relationships with others
67．Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A．Designing for Magazines            B．Styling for Success
C．Being an Attractive Designer         D．Arguing against Fashion Stylists

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Imagine landing in a foreign country where you cannot speak the language, understand the culture and don’t know anybody. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend who could help you out?

John Smith, an English explorer who landed in America in 1607, found the best friend ever. She was a Native American named Pocahontas (1595-1617). And she did more than teach Smith the language: she saved his life, twice.

Smith was captured by members of Pocahontas’s tribe (部落) and was going to be killed. But for some reason, the Chief’s daughter, Pocahontas, felt sorry for Smith (who was probably the first white man she had ever seen) and threw her body over his to protect him. Smith returned safely to the small village he was living in.

During the winter the English settlers did not know how to get food from nature. Pocahontas often brought food for Smith and his friends.

A year later Pocahontas’s father tried to kill Smith again because the Native Americans were very scared the English would try to take over their land. Pocahontas warned him and he was able to escape.

Later she became a Christian and eventually married an Englishman named John Rolfe.

She spent the last year of her life in London.

Pocahontas has become an American legend (传奇). Her life story has been re-created in many books and films, including Disney’s 1995 film, Pocahontas.

One of the reasons she is so popular is that many Europeans look at Pocahontas as an excellent example of how a minority can adjust into the majority. Pocahontas is also respected because of her selfless love. She proved that people can be kind and loving even to people of a different race or culture. John Smith was very different from Pocahontas but she could see he was a good man and that was all that mattered. No race or country owns goodness, love and loyalty.

1.What difficulties might early European settlers meet in America EXCEPT ______?

A. the fierce conflict with Native Americans

B. bad-tempered natives who enjoyed killing

C. unfamiliarity with a foreign land

D. lack of food in winter

2.Pocahontas saved John Smith twice because ______.

A. he was the first white man she had ever seen in her life

B. she wanted to become a Christian and marry an Englishman

C. she believed in general kindness even to people of a different race

D. she was on the settlers’ side and against her cruel father

3.Which is NOT an element to make Pocahontas a legend?

A. Her tribal background and her marriage to a white settler.

B. Her selfless help to people regarded as enemy of her tribe.

C. Her complicated life story different from common people’s.

D. The recreation of her life story in the 1995 Disney film.

4.According to the text, Europeans think Pocahontas _____.

A. was brave to break away from her own tribe

B. set a good example for other natives to accept the white settlers

C. was a selfless Christian who can love her enemy

D. was open to a more advanced culture

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The battles between early settlers and Native Americans resulted from their               fighting for land.

B. The Europeans think the early settlers should have learned to adjust to the local cultures.

C. The creation of America is based on the settlers’ victory over the Native  Americans.

D. People from different cultures can never really get along well with each other.

B

Chinese students aren’t the only ones who have a sleep loss problem. In Australia, teenagers are also missing out on, on average, one hour’s sleep every night during the school week.

Organized activities and homework push bedtimes later, the first large-scale Australian study of children’s sleeping habits has revealed (显示). Their sleep deprivation (剥夺) is enough to cause “serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory”, and governments should consider later or flexible school start times, said the study’s leader, Tim Olds.

 His survey, of more than 4,000 children aged 9 to 18, found those who slept least did not watch more television but spent their time socializing (相处) with family or friends or listening to music.

“Almost all children get up at 7 or 7:15 — they have to get to school on time,” said Olds. He favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sports and activities would still consume the latter end of the day.

Olds’research also establishes lack of sleep as a cause of weight gain in children, and a possible source of future problems with depression, anxiety and increased susceptibility (易感性) to illness.

It was already known that overweight children sleep less, but Professor Olds found sleep duration (时长) was strongly linked to weight across the full range of body sizes. The thinnest children sleep 20 minutes more than the obese. This showed being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times stimulate (刺激) appetite and make kids hungry.

The US National Sleep Foundation says teenagers aged 13 to 18 need eight to nine hours’ sleep a night. Younger school-aged kids need 9 to 11 hours.

On that basis, Professor Olds said, half of Australian children are under-sleeping on weekdays and a quarter on weekends.

6. The Australian students surveyed don’t sleep enough because they spend more time on the following EXCEPT _____.

A. organized activities and homework

B. communication with friends and family

C. watching television programs

D. enjoying music 

7. What effects does lack of sleep directly have on the students according to the survey?

A. They become overweight but begin to eat less than before.

B. They feel more depressed and anxious about their school work.

C. They are more likely to be affected with illness in the future.

D. They pay less attention in class and their memory declines.

8. Which of the following suggestions did Mr. Olds raise?

A. The students should go to bed earlier to have longer sleeping time.

B. The students should participate less in organized activities.

C. The school should put off the start time in the morning.

D. The school should finish earlier in the afternoon.

9. What does "obese" in the sixth paragraph mean?

A. average      B. fat     C. sleepless   D. overeating

10. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Australian students usually take part in activities in the afternoon.

B. More students are short of sleep on weekends than on weekdays.

C. Being overweight has an effect on the length of the sleeping time.

D. The survey suggests that teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep a night.

C

By day he is just a normal cat but when the lights go out, he glows (发光) in the dark.

Scientists have genetically modified (更改) a cat as part of an experiment that could lead to treatments for diseases.

Named Mr. Green Genes, he looks like a six-month-old cat but, under ultraviolet (紫外线的) light, his eyes, gums (牙龈) and tongue glow green. That is the result of a genetic experiment at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans, US.

Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent (荧光的) cat in the US and probably the world, said Betsy Dresser, the center's director.

The researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into a cat's genetic sequence (次序).

If so, it would be the first step in a process that could lead to the development of ways to treat diseases via gene therapy (治疗).

The gene, which was added to Mr. Green Genes' DNA, has no effect on his health, Ms Dresser said.

Cats are ideal for this project because their genetic makeup is similar to that of humans, said Dr Martha Gomez, a scientist at the center.

To show that the gene went where it was supposed to go, the researchers settled on one that would glow.

The gene "is just a marker"，said Leslie Lyons, an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis. Lyons is familiar with the center's work.

 "The glowing part is the fun part," she said.

 Glowing creatures made international news earlier this month when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who had discovered the gene through their work with jellyfish (水母).

11.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. A Glowing Cat                  B. Mr. Green Genes

C. One Cat’s Life                  D. An experiment on cats

12. What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Fortunately, scientists have found ways to treat diseases via gene therapy.

B. Scientists think cats’ genetic makeup is the same as that of human beings.

C. Three scientists who had discovered the gene were given Nobel Prize in  Physics.

D. Scientists have managed to introduce a gene into a cat’s genetic sequence.               

13. What does “settled on” most probably mean in Paragraph 9?

A. chose         B. killed        C. took          D. raised

14. From the passage we can see that ____.

A. Mr. Green Genes was made by researchers to treat diseases

B. the cat named Mr. Green Genes can glow when it is dark

C. Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent cat in the world

D. Mr. Green Genes is a cat of seven months old up to now

15. Which of the following is WRONG according to the text?

A. The gene added to Mr. Green Genes’ DNA doesn’t affect its health at all.

B. The scientists came up with the idea of the glowing genes totally for fun.

C. Earlier this month glowing creatures became news all through the world.

D. Scientists had discovered the gene from the jellyfish they worked with.