Teens' lives hit by economy

Some teenagers are crossing their dream colleges off their lists.Others are thinking of skipping their senior trips or reducing prom(毕业舞会)costs.Many are finding their work hours cut while their expenses rise.

　　 So，who exactly is punishing them？Is it their parents，teachers or employers？No，it's the economy.

　　 If you are like most teenagers，you probably don't understand what“recession”，“negative economic growth”and“subprime mortgage crisis(次贷危机)”actually mean.And you probably don't spend your days watching the ups and downs of the stock market.

　　 It's safe to say that most teens don't know much about the economy except for one thing：it's bad.But just how exactly is the economy affecting teens?

“The single largest thing I have noticed is the recession's ability to affect my college choice，”said Heather Richars from Downey High School in California，US.

“With the economic situation the way it is，I have thought less about going to a private or out?of?state university，and more about public schools in California，mainly because of the price of tuition，”said Richars.“I had been a fan of attending a private school up until this year.”

　　 The economy cuts into other areas of teenagers' lives，too.

　　 Joey Camarda，a student at Modesto High School in California，who works at an ice cream store，said，“Probably due to the economy，I have been getting less hours at my job，and because of that，I am not getting enough money to help pay for college.”

　　 Tara Mooney，a senior at Beyer High School，has also begun to notice that money is tight.

“Things are getting expensive，”she said.“When it comes to applying for colleges and wanting to go on senior trips，I have to pick and choose instead of doing it all.”

1．The purpose of writing the passage is mainly to tell us ________.

A．the economic recession has had a big impact on teens' work，life and study

B．teenagers are now having difficulty in deciding which colleges to apply for

C．teenagers don't know much about the economic recession

D．teenagers are considering giving up their senior trips to save money

2．Because of the bad economic situation，Heather Richars will most probably ________.

A．go to a private university

B．attend an out?of?state college

C．attend a public college in California

D．find a good university as he planned

3．How has Joey Camarda found the recession affects him?

A．He has to find more part?time jobs.

B．He has to help his mother do more chores.

C．He has found that he had more time to study.

D．His plan to pay for college will be hard to realize.

4．What can we conclude from the passage?

A．Parents punish their teens by giving them less money.

B．Most teens understand what negative economic growth means.

C．Teenagers are finding it harder to do what they want than before.

D．Teenagers have realized the importance of managing their own money.

D

　　As the country's economy continues to steam ahead,once popular forms of entertainment,such as Karaoke(卡拉OK),card games and even boxing bars,appear to be losting their attractiveness.Stressed out white - collar wokers are camping out on rooftops,smashing(砸）up restaurants,pretending to be children and even visiting cemeteries in a effort to ease the pressure of modern life.

　　Consider the members of Shanghai's Cat Rain club.By day,this group of young women work executive (决策管理的) jobs,but by night they climb buildings so they can spend the night on the roof."You feel relaxed when you're sitting on the roof,looking up to the sky and chatting with friends," said Gong Ying,25.

　　The stress of work is not just limited to people in Shanghai.A recently opened restaurant in Beijing encourages customers(顾客) to smash plates --- as long as they are willing to pay to replace them.Some workers even wish to return to their childhoods.Recently,hundreds of people took part in a festival in which adults pretended to be children.It was an adultsonly event,and participants could read comics and eat sweets all day.

　　Scenic places such as parks and rivers can also help people relax and put things in perspective.But a cemetery?

　　Cemetery companies in Shanghai organized visits to local graveyards for stressed - out workers in March.The participants were taken to quiet spots in the cemetery where they could think about life and their futures."Pressure may bring us unhappiness,but it doesn't mean we can't find ways out,"says Chen Bin,a rooftop camping fan with still some other interests."Life should be imaginative."

　　68.Peopel are going to those new activities mainly for ______.

　　　A.recreation   B.new ideas   C.physical refreshment   D.psychological relaxation

　　69.The underlined phrase "put things in perspective"in the 4th paragraph possibly means______.

　　　A.have a good rest          B.get over negative feelings

　　　C.take physical exercise      D.judge things correctly

　　70.When Chen Bin says:"Life should be imaginative",she means______.

　　　A.life should be lived in imaginations

　　　B.the dead can be alive in our imagination

　　　C.people should create new ways of life

　　　D.we should view life positively

　　On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴)  for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.
　　 As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural （农村）medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis.  Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.
While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.
　　Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health.　To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.
　　The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).
　　 Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.
1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?
A. 100%               B. 50%                 C. 200%                      D. 150%
2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?
A. Bad management system.        
B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly
state-owned.
C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.
D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.
3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?
①. Large amount of government investment in economy.
②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.
③. Economic policies to push the rural economy
④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system
⑤. A better management system
A. ①②③ B. ②③④             C. ①②③④⑤          D. ②③
4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?
A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.
B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.
C. They don’t believe in the system.
D. They don’t think it necessary.
5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?
A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.
B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.
C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008. 
D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.

 　　On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴)  for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.

　　 As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural （农村）medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis.  Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.

While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.

　　Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health.　To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.

　　The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).

　　 Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.

1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?

         A. 100%                      B. 50%                        C. 200%                     D. 150%

2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?

         A. Bad management system.          

         B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly

state-owned.

         C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.

         D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.

3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?

         ①. Large amount of government investment in economy.

         ②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.

         ③. Economic policies to push the rural economy

④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system

⑤. A better management system

A. ①②③    B.  ②③④                   C. ①②③④⑤          D. ②③

4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?

         A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.

         B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.

         C. They don’t believe in the system.

         D. They don’t think it necessary.

5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?

         A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.

         B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.

         C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008. 

         D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.

D
　　As the country's economy continues to steam ahead,once popular forms of entertainment,such as Karaoke(卡拉OK),card games and even boxing bars,appear to be losting their attractiveness.Stressed out white - collar wokers are camping out on rooftops,smashing(砸）up restaurants,pretending to be children and even visiting cemeteries in a effort to ease the pressure of modern life.
　　Consider the members of Shanghai's Cat Rain club.By day,this group of young women work executive (决策管理的) jobs,but by night they climb buildings so they can spend the night on the roof."You feel relaxed when you're sitting on the roof,looking up to the sky and chatting with friends," said Gong Ying,25.
　　The stress of work is not just limited to people in Shanghai.A recently opened restaurant in Beijing encourages customers(顾客) to smash plates --- as long as they are willing to pay to replace them.Some workers even wish to return to their childhoods.Recently,hundreds of people took part in a festival in which adults pretended to be children.It was an adultsonly event,and participants could read comics and eat sweets all day.
　　Scenic places such as parks and rivers can also help people relax and put things in perspective.But a cemetery?
　　Cemetery companies in Shanghai organized visits to local graveyards for stressed - out workers in March.The participants were taken to quiet spots in the cemetery where they could think about life and their futures."Pressure may bring us unhappiness,but it doesn't mean we can't find ways out,"says Chen Bin,a rooftop camping fan with still some other interests."Life should be imaginative."
　　68.Peopel are going to those new activities mainly for ______.
　　　A.recreation   B.new ideas   C.physical refreshment   D.psychological relaxation
　　69.The underlined phrase "put things in perspective"in the 4th paragraph possibly means______.
　　　A.have a good rest          B.get over negative feelings
　　　C.take physical exercise      D.judge things correctly
　　70.When Chen Bin says:"Life should be imaginative",she means______.
　　　A.life should be lived in imaginations
　　　B.the dead can be alive in our imagination
　　　C.people should create new ways of life
　　　D.we should view life positively