题目内容

The United States estimates that about one out of every 10 people on the planet today is at least 60 years old. By 2050, it’s projected to be one out of 5. This means that not only will there be more old people, but there will be relatively fewer young people to support them.

Professor Richard Lee of the University of California at Berkeley says this aging of the world has a great effect on economics. “Population aging increases the concentration of population in the older ages and therefore it is costly,” he said.

Aging populations consume (消耗) more and produce less. With more people living longer, it could get expensive. But Mr. Lee says with continuing increases in worker productivity and smart planning, it can be manageable.

Societies have different methods for caring for the elderly, but each carries a cost. Generally, there are three types of support. Seniors can live off the wealth they gained when they were younger. They can rely on their family to take care of them, or they can rely on the government.

In industrialized nations, governments created publicly-funded (公共资助的) support systems. These worked relatively well until recent years, when aging population growth in places like the United States and Western Europe began to gradually weaken the systems finances. These nations now face some tough choices. Mr. Lee says the elderly in some of these countries must either receive less money, retire later or increase taxes to make the system continuable.

Most developing nations haven’t built this type of government-funded support, but have instead relied on families to care for their elderly. These nations also generally have a much younger population, which means their situation is not as urgent as more developed nations. But Mr. Lee says that doesn’t mean they can ignore the issue. “Third World countries should give very careful thought to this process, to population aging and how it may affect their economies — now, before population aging even becomes an issue,” he explained.

1.“Aging” in this text means .

A. there are more young people than old people

B. an increasing number of old people are dying

C. more and more young people are growing old

D. the percentage of old people in the world is increasing

2.What is Professor Richard Lee’s attitude towards population aging?

A. Indifferent. B. Optimistic.

C. Negative. D. Worried.

3.The publicly-funded support systems in industrialized nations.

A. are facing the risk of failing

B. have failed to provide support for the old

C. will be replaced by other support systems

D. have greatly affected the nations’ economies

4.We can infer from the text that developing nations.

A. should prepare for population aging

B. don’t see population aging as an issue

C. are facing urgent situations of population aging

D. have better ways to deal with population aging

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Dad had a green comb. He bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would hand me his _________ and say, “Good girl, help Daddy clean it, OK?”

I was ________ to do it. At age five, this dull task brought me such ________. I would excitedly turn the tap ________ and brush the comb carefully. Satisfied that I’d done a good job, I would happily return the comb to Dad. He would ________ affectionately at me and place the comb on his wallet.

Two years later, Dad started his own ________ , which wasn’t doing so well. That was when things started to ________. Dad didn’t come home as early and as much as he used to. Mum and I became ________ with him for placing our family in trouble. With________ , an uncomfortable silence grew between us.

After my graduation, Dad’s business was getting back on track. On my 28th birthday, Dad came home ________ . As usually I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said ,“Hey, would you help me ________ my comb?” I looked at him a while, then ________ the comb and headed to the sink.

It hit me then: why, as a child, ________Dad clean his comb was such a pleasure. That routine(习惯) meant Dad was home early to ________ the evening with Mum and me. It ________ a happy and loving family.

I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He smiled at me and________ placed his comb on his wallet. But this time , I noticed something ________. Dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, ________ his smile was still as ________ as before, the smile of a father who just wanted a good ________ for his family.

1.A. bag B. wallet C. comb D. brush

2.A. annoyed B. relieved C. ashamed D. pleased

3.A. joy B. sadness C. courage D. pain

4.A. out B. over C. on D. in

5.A. stare B. laugh C. shout D. smile

6.A. family B. task C. business D. journey

7.A. progress B. improve C. change D. form

8.A .satisfied B. delighted C. strict D. mad

9.A. patience B. time C. speed D. ease

10.A. early B. occasionally C. frequently D. rarely

11.A. sharply B. repair C. clean D. keep

12.A. dropped B. handed C. took D. threw

13.A. watching B. letting C. hearing D. helping

14.A. find B. lose C. waste D. spend

15.A. meant B. broke C. affected D. supported

16.A. carefully B. hurriedly C. casually D. firmly

17.A. exciting B. different C. interesting D. urgent

18.A. for B. or C. so D. yet

19.A. convincing B. cautious C. heartwarming D. innocent

20.A. origin B. reputation C. life D. education

My dearest son and daughter,

The story of New Jersey high school student Rachel Canning suing (起诉) her parents for child support and high school education inspired me to write you a little letter. Let me just put this out there: the only way I expect to see you in a court is as a lawyer or a judge.

There are two things about this case that seem to be disaster.

First, it’s natural for parents and children to argue. I can guarantee that we will disagree. One or both of you will, at some point, scream at the top of your lungs the various ways you hate me. And I won’t always like you, either. But I will always love you and do everything I can to keep your best interests as my focus, even when I’m so angry. We are family. That means we are as much a part of one another as the flesh, blood and bones in our body. And we all should think about it very deeply instead of breaking that bond.

Second, I’ll be honest, no matter how far apart we are on your life choices, your father and I will most certainly pay everything we can for your higher education. But that doesn’t mean you deserve it. To be clear, that is a privilege we happily extend (给予) to you—not a right you are born with. And you will have to work hard to earn that privilege. Growing up is hard work.

If I do my job properly as your mother—and you do yours as my children—you would sooner get a job or two, and find a way to make your dreams come true than go to trial over what you think you have the right to.

Love always,

Mom

1.The mother writes this letter because she wants her children to ______.

A. be prepared for education

B. learn a lesson from the case

C. take up the legal profession

D. remember Rachel Canning

2.When in disagreement, the mother expects her children not to ______.

A. guarantee anything

B. scream out their anger

C. break the family bond

D. forget their best interests

3.The mother thinks of parents’ paying for their children’s higher education as ______.

A. a way in which children realize their dreams

B. a test of whether parents love their children

C. a privilege that children should earn

D. a right that parents are born with

Looking up at the ceiling, Na He Jeon pours porridge into her mouth. She carefully dips the bowl forward, dropping the porridge directly down her throat, careful not to touch the 15 ulcers(溃疡) in her mouth. But it was the week before midterms, so she still had to study. Jeon was 1st out of 330 students on her exams that year. “Thank god I did,” she says. “If I hadn’t done well I would have been regarded as a failure.” By the end of the week, 14-year-old Jeon weighed only 83.6 pounds.

Like Jeon, there are countless numbers of first generation Asian-Americans who make great efforts to go beyond at everything. Yet the children themselves cannot all be put to blame for their efforts. Typically, it is the parents who are designing a life which they see as perfect for their children. One such occurrence is when I was at my hotel in Beijing. It was roughly around 8:00 p.m. when I decided to take a dip in the pool after dinner. I jumped into the pool that was already spotted with a few Chinese children and I hadn’t realized what was going on until I took notice of the parents calling out orders and instructing their children. I saw various children all under the age of 10 taking laps across the pool trying various styles. If a child’s foot was too bent, her parent would demand that she straighten it. If a child was kicking too slowly, his parent would order that he go faster. I couldn’t help but pity the children whose parents were taking the opportunity to give a swimming lesson, rather than just let them enjoy their time during the holiday.

Either because of their parents or their own desire, first-generation Asian-Americans put forth their 110% in order to be accepted into one of the best American colleges. Asian-American students want to see A’s, 100%’s, and perfect scores. According to Jeon, Asians complain that students with a 4.0 GPA and 2400 SAT simply cannot be rejected from top schools. To their disappointment, however, they often are.

The ethic(伦理) of this aggressive work also exhibits itself via sports and other after-class activities. What sets Asian-Americans apart, however, is that they fight to be excellent in whatever it is that they do. Be it playing the piano or performing in math competitions, Asian-Americans look to be in first place. Although it may cause unnecessary stress, such a driven work ethic is a commendable quality. Often blamed for lacking in creativity, Asian-Americans can actually make up for the absence of imagination with their determination. The average American can dream creative dreams, but that only matters if he or she can make it happen in reality. Asian-Americans, instead, can gather creative ideas to produce something concrete.

Yet with such a drive to succeed, Asian-Americans have somehow twisted their definition of success. Rather than looking at personal achievement, they refer to numbers, statistics and scores to rate their success. It seems as if desire and the sense of free will are nonexistent in certain Asian-American students as they mercilessly drive themselves to an inevitable burnout. Their desire to be the most-talented is an impossible dream. In a fruitless attempt, they try to be the best in a world already full of winners.

1.It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that _________________.

A. Na He Jeon had to give up the midterm test because of her illness.

B. Na He Jeon complained about the heavy study pressure from parents.

C. Na He Jeon was struggling hard to achieve academic success.

D. Na He Jeon was worrying about negative comments from classmates.

2.The writer mentions the scene of the swimming children in paragraph 2 to _____________.

A. stress parents’ decisive role in driving children to be winners

B. show parents special skill at instructing children in everything

C. emphasize children’s painstaking efforts to satisfy their parents

D. describe children’s determination to face the fierce competition

3.The word “commendable” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______________.

A. complex B. admirable

C. natural D. fundamental

4.According to Asian-Americans, success lies in __________________.

A. realizing imaginative and creative ideas

B. achieving individual accomplishment

C. winning scholarships to top schools

D. rising to the top in scores at everything

5.The writer’s purpose of writing this article is to ___________________.

A. express sympathy for Asian-American children

B. advocate academic competition among students

C. stress that personal success means more than high scores

D. analyze the problems in school education

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