D
At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.
At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.
And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (综合症)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”
What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.
【小题1】The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.

D

At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.

At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.

And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (综合症)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”

What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.

1.The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.

A．young students will travel home for Christmas.

B．young people will travel in every direction.

C．it is a large movement of human beings

D．the traffic flows will be more contradictory

2.From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer _______.

A．went home every week to wash dirty clothes

B．understood his parents’ desire of seeing him

C．didn’t understand his parents’ feelings

D．went home to see his parents regularly

3.The underlined word “remedies” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.

A．reasons           B．excuses           C．habits            D．solutions

4.From the last paragraph we know that _______.

A．in modern society, children should leave home

B．Christmas is likely a time for family reunion

C．the significance of Christmas is celebration

D．Christmas is not a comfort for the non-religious

5.From the passage we can infer that by writing the article the writer is to _______.

A．persuade the young to show concern for their parents

B．ask the young to go home regularly

C．make the young understand their parents’ interest

D．enable the young to be more independent

A latest national survey has found that over half of China's netizens (网民) are suffering from various mental problems although some 62 percent of them claim at the same time that they are happy on the whole anyway.

This is the result of China's first White Paper on Netizens’ Health Conditions issued on Wednesday by 39.net, China's largest authoritative website on health sciences. It is the first most comprehensive health survey on netizens’ health situation ever conducted in China in ten years’ time. The white paper came out after two months of online and offline research that involved over 150 thousand netizens, covering topics and questions on health knowledge, mental situation, sense of health, and living habits.

According to the white paper, more than 70 percent of China's netizens say they are suffering from mental problems such as bad memory, anxiety, depression, and a lack of confidence. And a similar 72 percent of them also say they are often suffering from diseases like insomnia, dizziness, joint degeneration and achings. Meanwhile, another 53 percent of netizens believe that white collar employees who have bigger work pressures are more likely to catch mental problems.

The white paper adds, doing almost no sports and spending long time surfing online lead to the above mentioned health problems among netizens. Only 9 percent of netizens take up sports on weekends while over 40 percent stay home, surfing. And only 16 percent netizens can assure more than eight hours’ sleeping daily.

At present, China has a netizen population of 162 million, with a monthly consumption of 186 yuan, or about 25 dollars, on Internet surfing.

The national survey on netizens’ health situation ________.

A. was conducted on Wednesday      B. was carried out online and offline

C. is conducted every year      D. covered about half a million netizens

Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined part “white collar”?

A. White clothes.         B. Office workers.     

C. White offices.       D. White people.

All the following factors have been mentioned to cause the health problems among netizens EXCEPT ________.

A. shopping online         B. spending long time online

C. heavy work pressures         D. doing no sports

What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. China has a large netizen population.

B. The Internet has a negative influence on people.

C. Many netizens in China have mental problems.

D. How to surf the Internet safely and healthily.

A tourist comes out of the airport. There are a lot of taxis, but he asks every taxi-driver’s name, and takes the third taxi. It costs 5 from the airport to the hotel. “How much does it cost for the whole day?” the tourists asks. “100,” says the taxi-driver. This is very expensive, but the tourist accepts the price.

  The taxi-driver takes the tourist everywhere. He shows him all monuments and all the museums. In the evening they go back to the hotel. The tourist gives the taxi-driver 100 and says, “What about tomorrow?” The taxi-driver looks at the tourist. “ Tomorrow? It’s another 100 tomorrow.” But the tourist says, “That’s OK. If that’s the price. See you tomorrow.” The taxi-driver is very pleased. The day the taxi-driver takes the tourist everywhere again. And in the second evening they go back to the hotel. The tourist gives the taxi-driver another 100 and says, “I’m going home tomorrow.” He likes the tourist, above all, 100 a day is a good money. “So you are going home, where do you come from?” he asks.

  “I come from New York.”

  “New York!” says the taxi-driver, “I have a sister in New York. Her name is Susannah, Do you know her?”

  “Of course I know her. She gave me 200 for you.”

The tourist is _______.

an Englishman

a Frenchman.

a Swedish.

an American.

The tourist asks every taxi-driver his name because_______

A. he is afraid f being cheated

B. he knows one of the taxi-drivers

C. he knows of one of the taxi-drivers

D. there is a friend of his among the taxi-drivers.

Why is the taxi-driver very pleased with the tourist?

A. None but the tourist agrees to the price given without arguing with him

B. His sister knows the tourist.

C. His sister had brought so much money to him

D. He wants to be the guide of the tourist.

We can conclude that _______

A. he tourist will give the taxi-driver another 200

B. the tourist makes fun of the taxi-driver

C. the tourist will give the taxi-driver half of sum

D. the taxi-driver insists that the tourist should pay him another 200

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火红的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”

She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.

    She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas (睡衣).

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”

The writer describes the beautiful sunset to show Jennifer’s ______.

   A. love of the natural beauty               B. desire of getting back home         

C. intention of becoming independent        D. depression of being alone

What does the underlined phrase “This thought” most probably mean?

A. The idea of going back home.            

B. Her anxiety about her parents.

C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.

D. The feeling of getting back home safely.

Her father didn’t take care of the garden because ______.

   A. he was busy looking for her

B. he had to look after his wife

C. he was not strict with his job

D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden

What can we infer from this passage?

A. In fact Jennifer’s mother had been sick for several days.

B. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.

C. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.

D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.