Until late in the 20th century most Americans spent time with people of different generations. Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.

That's because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sport activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior citizen homes. Why?

We live far away from the old for many reasons. Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of becoming old and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s got hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most.

Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family into a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter made banana bread for the neighbors and had her children send it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. "My children have never been lonely, "the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home (an organization where old people are cared for) when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded. People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give their grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it "My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end." Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents. "My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down," one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting.

59．Now in an American family, people can find that___________.

A．children never live with their parents                                   

B．not all working people live with their parents

C．old people are supported by their grandchildren     

D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

60．Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _______.

A．they had never seen a baby before  

B．the baby was clever and beautiful                   

C．the baby brought them the image of life 

D．the baby's mother would take care of them            

61．Why are some children quieter, calmer and more trusting ?

A．Because they have relationships with their grandparents.              

B．Because their worried parents ask them to act like that.

C . Because they have nothing to worry about.                                 

D．Because their teachers ask them to act like that.

62．Which of the following can show the fact that the old often save the young?

A．The old can become friends of the children and the children may not feel lonely.

B．The old get excited when they see a baby.

C．The old can cure the young when they are sick.

D．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

When I was in primary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I can't   16  what it was about, but I have never forgotten the   17  I learned that day.

I was   18  that I was right and he was wrong — and he was sure that I was wrong and he was right. The  19 decided to teach us a very important lesson. She  20 both of us up to the   21  of the class and   22  him on one side of her desk and me on   23 . In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could   24  see that it was black. She asked the boy what   25  the object was. "White," he answered.

I couldn't believe he said the object was white,  26 it was obviously black! Another  27  started between my classmate and me, this   28   about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed   29  , and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I   30  answer, "White." It was an object with two   31  colored sides, and from his side it was white.   32  from my side was it black.

My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must   33  in the other person's shoes and look at the   34  through their eyes in order to   35  understand their view.

1.                A．think           B．suppose        C．remind   D．remember

2.                A．lesson          B．lecture         C．class D．text

3.                A．told           B．wished         C．convinced D．allowed

4.                A．officer         B．teacher         C．doctor   D．parent

5.                A．told           B．came           C．brought  D．woke

6.                A．back           B．front           C．middle   D．side

7.                A．planted         B．placed          C．had  D．fixed

8.                A．the other       B．another         C．other D．others

9.                A．happily         B．fortunately      C．clearly   D．nearly

10.               A．width          B．shape          C．color D．size

11.               A．when          B．unless          C．until  D．if

12.               A．fight           B．argument       C．conversation   D．game

13.               A．time           B．year           C．month    D．day

14.               A．places         B．seats           C．attitudes   D．glasses

15.               A．needed to      B．was able to      C．hoped to  D．had to

16.               A．similarly        B．differently      C．beautifully D．surprisingly

17.               A．Still            B．Since          C．Only  D．Also

18.               A．seat           B．stand          C．lie   D．put

19.               A．situation        B．movement      C．condition  D．behaviour

20.               A．unexpectedly    B．suddenly       C．quietly    D．truly

In Daniel Gilbert's 2006 book "Stumbling(跌撞) on Happiness," the Harvard professor of psychology looks at several studies and concludes that marital(婚姻的) satisfaction decreases after the birth of the first child and increases only when the last child has left home. He also declares that parents are happier grocery shopping and even sleeping than spending time with their kids.

The most recent comprehensive study on the emotional state of those with kids shows us that the term "bundle of joy" may not be the most accurate way to describe our kids. "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers," says Florida State University's Robin Simon, a sociology professor.

Simon received plenty of hate mail in response to her research，which isn't surprising. Her findings shake the very foundation of what we've been raised to believe is true. In a recent NEWSWEEK Poll, 50 percent of Americans said that adding new children to the family tends to increase happiness levels. But which parent is willing to admit that the greatest gift life has to offer has in fact made his or her life less enjoyable?

Is it possible that American parents have always been this disillusioned(有幻觉的)? In pre-industrial America, parents certainly loved their children, but their kids also served a purpose—to work the farm, contribute to the household. Today, we have kids more for emotional reasons, but an increasingly complicated work and social environment has made finding satisfaction far more difficult. Raising children has not only become more complicated, it has become more expensive as well. The National Marriage Project's 2006 report says that parents have significantly lower marital satisfaction than nonparents because they experienced more single and child-free years than previous generations.

As for those of us with kids, all the news isn't bad. Parents still report feeling a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives than those who've never had kids. And there are other rewarding aspects of parenting that are impossible to quantify.

1..

 What’s the main idea of the book Stumbling on Happiness?

A. Parents are happier shopping than looking after their children.

B. Once they have children, the couples can never be as happy as before.

C. Compared with their childless peers, parents are leading a sad life.

D. The adding of children at home brings down marital satisfaction.

2..

. What can we infer from Para.3?

A. The Newsweek Poll shows that people think Prof. Simon’s finding is right.

B. Many people can’t accept the fact that they are not happy with their children.

C. It isn’t surprising that Professor Simon’s controversial research made her famous.

D. Simon’s findings are based on the belief passed down from generation to generation.

3..

 What can we learn about American’s families in the past?

A. People had very good parents-children relationship in the family.

 B. Having children could be partly out of some practical purposes.

C. Parents loved their children but they still asked them to work a lot.

D. Children had to work very hard to make their parents love them.

4..

 What’s the author’s opinion about having children?

A. The author doesn’t think having children is a good thing to the family.

B. The author feels children make the life of a family happy.

C. The author thinks parenting can still be rewarding in a certain way.

D. The author believes that parents sacrifice a lot for having children.

Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams, Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity（默默无闻） or neglect．

         Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．

         Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball．They meet and falHn love with each other．But when Mary has to．rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked（邪恶的） stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．

         The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modem day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．

         "The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．"The focus is firmly on following your dream．"

1.The first paragraph is mainly to _____．

         A．build interest and lead us to Mary's secret dream

         B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years

         C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage

         D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is

2.In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who      .

         A．is brave in expressing her iove[来源:学&科&网]

         B．is attended badly by the stepmother

         C．has a dream of meeting a prince

         D．is embarrassed by the pop singer

3.What can we infer from the passage?

         A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary's class．

         B．Mary's mother influences her a lot m singing．

         C．Not many people have a dream to be realized．

         D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary．

4.The passage is mainly _____．

         A．an introduction to a film 

         B．a review about a film

         C．an essay about dreams        

       D．an advertisement of Cinderella

5.According to the passage．Another Cinderella Story _____．

         A．follows Cinderella with nothing new[来源:学_科_网]

         B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors

         C．encourages young people to follow their dreams

         D．focuses more on materialism than other films

Bored by the Chinese courses he was majoring in, Zuo Cheng, 18, couldn't imagine having to drag himself into class day after day, week after week, for four years．

The Beijing Language and Culture University student decided that enough was enough．

61  

"It may seem like I've wasted a year and have to start college all over again, but now that I've settled on a field I'll be able to concentrate．" Zuo said．

Zuo is not alone．

At the China Three．Gorges University in Yicljang in Hubei Province 53 out of 59 students in the Physics Department took transfer exams last semester．  62  

"   63   Many students picked colleges before majors, only to discover their mistakes a few weeks after arrival on the campus．" said Jiang Xin, 20, who was able to switch to electrical engineering and automation from physics．He said that physics graduates had few other options besides going into teaching,     64  

A new survey, of 2,500 students nationwide starting in September this year, suggests that as much as 35 percent of students are disappointed by their courses．

However, Shao Yangfang, who works at the admission office of University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, advised students to consider both short-term and long-term goals．

"After graduation do you want to find yourself in a job very specially related to your college major? Or, would you like to possess the knowledge and skills that will enable you to work in many areas?    65    Above all, your choice of major should be based on your own interest, abilities and personality．" Shao said．

E．Many college students don't care about their future career．

F．When we were at high schools very few of us understood how a major relates to a career．

G．When we were at high schools, we already knew what are hot majors and what are unexpected ones．