___ the help of computers , there are no ___ problems.

A.Under; so     B.Under; many               C. With ;such     D.With ;some 

The 1980s was called the “Me Decade” because for many this time was marked by a fascination with the self. The idea that each person has a self may seem natural to us, but this concept is actually quite new. The idea that each human life is unique developed between the 11th and 15th centuries in Europe. Before that time, individuals were considered in relation to a group, and even today, many eastern cultures place more emphasis on the importance of a collective self than on a unique and independent self.

  Both eastern and western cultures see the self as divided into an inner, private self and an outer, public self. But where they differ is in terms of which part is seen as the “real you.” Western culture tends to promote the idea of individuality—a self that is separated from other selves. In contrast, many eastern cultures focus on an inter-independent self that gets its diversity in large part from inter-relationship with others.

  For example, a Confucian(孔子) idea stresses the importance of “face”—other people’s views of the self and keeping up one’s desired status in their eyes. In the past, some Asian cultures developed clear rules about the specific clothes and even colors that people in certain social classes and occupations were allowed to display, and these live on today in Japanese style manuals. This style of dress is at odds with such western practices as “casual Fridays,” which encourage employees to dress informally and express their unique selves.

According to the passage , what does the author believe about the self?

 A. Many eastern cultures see the self connected with others.

 B. Those born in the 1980s are generally most self-centered than others.

   C. The concept that each person has a self may seem strange to eastern cultures

 D. Western cultures regard the self as an outer, public self while eastern cultures don’t.

What does the 2nd paragraph mainly talk about?

   A. How eastern and western cultures see the self.

   B. Eastern cultures contrast sharply with western cultures

   C. Both eastern and western cultures appreciate the importance of self

   D. Eastern cultures are as important as western cultures

A Japanese dress code is mentioned in the last paragraph to _________.

   A. explain the importance of “face”   B. say how traditional the Japanese are

   C. emphasize the importance of eastern cultures

 D. show how eastern cultures see the self in relation to others

The underlined phrase “at odds with” most probably means_______.

 A. in agreement with               B. in disagreement with

   C. in comparison with                D. in need of

Brazil has become one. of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint ef??forts to reduce birth rates, Brazil had better results without re??ally trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

Brazil’s population growth rate dropped from 2. 99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1. 93% a year between 198 land 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2. 7 chil??dren on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (肥皂剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in low??ering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest produc??ers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television net??work, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

Although they have never really tried to work in a mes??sage towards the problems of reproduction, they describe mid??dle and upper class values: not many children, women work??ing, says Martine. They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious (有意识的) of other patterns of behaviour and other values, which were put into a very attrac??tive package.

Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. " This led to an enormous change in consumption (消费) patterns and consumption was incom??patible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction," says Mar??tine.

9. According to the passage, Brazil has lowered its population growth ________.

A. by educating its citizens                B. by careful family planning

C. by developing TV programmes                     D. by chance

10. According to the passage, many Third World countries

A. haven’t given much attention to birth control

B. would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate

C. haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population

D. haven’t realized the importance of TV plays in family planning

11. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate be??cause ________.

A. they keep people sitting long hours watching TV

B. they have gradually changed people’s way of life

C. people are drawn to their attractive package

D. they popularize birth control measures

12. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?

A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.

B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.

C. Consumption goes with reproduction.

D. A country ‘s production is limited by its population growth.

A wife’s level of education positively influences both her own and her husband’s chances of having a long life, according to a new Swedish study.

In the study, researchers from the Swedish Institute for Social Research in Stockholm found that a woman’s level of education had a stronger connection to the likelihood of her husband dying over education. What’s more, they discovered that a husband’s social class, based on his occupation,  had a greater influence on his wife’s longevity（长寿）than her own class.

“Women traditionally take more responsibility for the home than men do, and, as a consequence, women’s levels of education might be more important for determining lifestyles－for example, in terms of food choices－than those of men,” say Srs. Robert Erikson and Jenny Torssander of the Swedish Institute for Social Research in Stockholm.

The results show that a husband’s level of education does not influence his longevity, but that men with partners who had quit studying after school were 25 per cent more likely to die early than men living with women hodling university degrees. In turn, those married to women with university degrees were 13 per cent more likely to die early than those whose wives had post-graduate qualifications.

According to the researchers, a woman with a good education may not marry a man who drinks and smokes too much or who drivers carelessly, and men with such habits may not prefer highly educated woman. Drs. Erikson and Torssander also suggest that better-educated woman may be more aware of what healthy eating and good health care consist of.

The findings suggest that education has a huge impact on how long and how well people live. It also reflects social factors, since educated individuals usually have better jobs, which allow them to afford healthier diets and lifestyles, as well as better health care.

68. In this passage the author intends to_______.

A. encourage women to get higher education

B. present the results of a study.

C. analyze the relationship between education and life

D. discuss why women usually live longer than men

69. A wife’s education has more effect on a family than a husband’s because______.

A. women make more sacrifices to their families than men do

B. most women have higher degrees than their husbands

C. most men marry women with higher degrees

D. women have a leading role in the home life of most families

70. A woman with higher education is likely to_____.

A. choose a husband with a higher degree than hers.

B. marry a man without many bad habits

C. earn more money than her husband

D. teach her children well

71. We learn from the passage that_______.

A. a man with a lot of education live longer than one with little.

B. a man’s longevity depends on not only his wife’s level of education but also his own.

C. educated wives tend to choose healthy lifestyles for their families.

D. highly-educated women don’t marry uneducated men.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ）中，选出最佳选项。

As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body.   

Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.

The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities, others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between "flight or fight" and in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Since we can't remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.

60．People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because _____.

       A．they regard working as their greatest enjoyment

       B．they believe that work is superior to relaxation

       C．they are traveling fast all the time

       D．they are becoming busier with their work than ever before

61．According to the author, the most important character for a good manager is his _____.

       A．strong will to hold out stress

       B．knowing the art of relaxation

       C．high sense of responsibility

       D．having control over performance

62．Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?

       A．We can find quite a few ways to avoid stress.

       B．Stress is always harmful to people's health

       C．It's easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.

       D．Different people can bear different amount of stress.

63．In the last sentence of the passage, "do so" refers to _____.

       A．"expose ourselves to stress"

       B．"find ways to deal with stress"

       C．"remove stress from our lives"

       D．"establish links between diseases and stress"