Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs. The latest government report shows that their share of non-farm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September, 2009.
The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year’s financial crash. On the one hand more women have entered the labor market over the years, and on the other hand the economic recession (衰退) has hit men harder than women. In October the unemployment rate for men was almost 11% compared to 8% for women.
Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts. For example, manufacturing (制造业) and building lost more jobs last month. But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth. Both of those industries employ high percentages of women.
Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned. Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn. And a recent study from the University of California, Davis, reveals that women hold fifty-one percent of well-paid management and professional jobs. Yet the study also shows that men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at most companies. The results have remained largely unchanged for five years.
Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their families. Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women. She found that they all value their independence and many enjoy having the power of control, though not all want it. But they even feel more pressure and worry. That is partly because of cultural expectations that working women should still take care of the children. Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened.
【小题1】Which of the following is a reason why women have a larger share of jobs?

Ⅲ阅读  (共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分)
第一节：阅读理解：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The relations between man and wife are changing. A majority of working women remain in full charge of their home; they come back at night to the cleaning, washing, and cooking that constitute their second career. But more and more husbands are sharing the burden and willingly taking on chores that their fathers would rejected as unmanly, and as too mysteriously difficult anyway. In such cases, man and wife become equal partners, both working outside, both pushing the vacuum cleaner. Actually, the number of husbands who do help that way is much smaller than the number of those who accept the idea in theory. And when the equal partnership is a fact, it doesn’t always work well. The marriage can be destroyed when the wife is more successful in her profession than her husband in his, particularly when she earns more than he does. Sociologists see in this situation one of the main reasons for the increase in the divorce rate—another reason being the husband’s refusal to help with the housework or the care of the children. A third reason could be the growing awareness of the professional woman that she doesn’t have to remain married if she is too unhappy.
61. What is the housework like in the traditional husband’s eyes?
A. It’s a mysterious job.
B. It’s a little difficult
C. It’s women’s job.
D. It’s only men’s job.
62. The underlined sentence means________________.
A. When man and wife share the housework, man can’t do it well.
B. When man and wife share the housework, women can’t do it well.
C. when man and wife become equal at home, it doesn’t mean a good marriage.
D. when man and wife are equal partners, marriage doesn’t necessarily go well.
63. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT______________.
A. more husbands act in helping housework than those agreeing it without action.
B. more and more husbands are helping their wives to do housework.
C. most of the working women take charge of their house.
D. it is possible for the marriage to fail if women earn more money than husbands.
64. What may be the reason for the divorce according to the sociologist?
A. The wife refuses to look after the child.
B. The wife is more successful than her husband.
C. The wife is aware of her unhappiness in marriage.
D. Both A and B.
65. The best title of the passage is most likely to be___________.
A. Equal Partnership Means Nothing in Modern Family.
B. The Changing Relations between Man and Wife.
C. Reasons for Increasing Divorce.
D. The Relations between Husband and Wife.

The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!
Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).
While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.
For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤) , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.
? People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.
Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them. ?
【小题1】Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

Many boys love reading about the legends of old pirates (海盗) and dreaming of their own wild adventures. But modern pirates are not a thing of the past. Last month Somali pirates did their boldest hijacking (劫持) to date. They seized the Saudi supertanker (超大型油轮) Sirius Star carrying crude oil worth about $100 million. They demanded $15 million to free the ship and its crew.
The pirates have kept hitting the headlines this year: 92 attacks have been attempted, with 36 successful hijackings and 268 crew members taken hostage (人质). The Chinese fishing ship Tianyu 8, with 17 Chinese and 8 foreigners on board, has been in their hands since November 14.
Of course piracy (海盗行为) is nothing new. Even since there has been water and ships there have been pirates. The earliest documented history of pirates dates back to the 13^th century in the Mediterranean Sea. Even the famous Roman emperor Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates.
Piracy reached its peak in the mid-1700s. It was during this time in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa that men like “Blackbeard the Pirate” made this profession attractive. But with the creation of stronger national Navies piracy became less popular around the world.
In the mid-20^th century, most pirates were petty (小规模的) thieves. They used hooks to sneak (偷偷摸摸) on board ships at anchor, and grabbed all that they could find. These pirates were more likely to flee than fight if faced by the crew.
However, nowadays piracy has become a multi-million-dollar business at tracting many in poor countries. Pirates are treated like heroes among local fishermen.
They use satellite phones and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Once they spot their target, they swarm the ship with fast boats and shoot it by firing AK-47s or even rocket-propelled grenades (火箭榴弹炮). Then they hold the ship and its crews for money.
“The world should take forceful actions together to fight piracy,” said leaders at the Asian and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.
“However, putting in anti-piracy army can only be half of the solution. We have to protect the fair chance of Somali fishermen to get a good living and keep them from the lure of easy money,” said Peter Lehr, a lecturer in terrorism studies.
【小题1】 When did piracy reach its peak?

The conflict(争执) over what or how much homework should be comes partly from the fact that people can't seem to agree on the purpose of homework.
What teachers think?
Some teachers think that homework is necessary to reinforce(巩固)what is learned in school. And so they ask their students to memorize what was discussed in class through homework..
Some teachers think the point of homework is to cover material that the class didn't have time to get to, so their homework is to let students learn additional things.
Other teachers like homework simply because they want students to form work habits and still others believe homework is necessary because it is the best way for parents to learn what their children do in school.
Parents' ideas.
But many parents seem to have different ideas.
Elissa Cohen,who has twins at Lafayette Elementary School, doesn't like the fact that third-grade students in DC elementary schools are asked to write about 25 book summaries a year. “They do the same thing over and over without really getting into alternate(交替) ways of thinking about books and thinking about reading and writing. ”
Experts' opinions.
Some education reformers (改革者), such as Howard Gardner, a Harvard University, professor well-known for his theory on multiple intelligence(智力), think that Cohen is on the right track. But it is often hard to persuade overworked teachers to give much thought to homework tasks.
60. How many opinions do the teachers have on "homework"?
A. 3.            B. 4.          C. 5          D.6
61. According to the experts' opinions,
A. teachers should give necessary work to the students
B. teachers should not work too hard or too long
C. teachers should let the students repeat what they didn't have time to get in class
D. what Cohen's thinking about is correct
62. What's the problem with Elissa Cohen's twins in writing about their book report?
A. They find homework really hard.
B. They simply copy one repeatedly.
C. They aren't given much thinking about what they read.
D. They get different ways of thinking about their work.

If women are mercilessly exploited(剥削) year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion,they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe(衣柜) packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way,waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened or shortened;neck-lines are lowered or raised,and so on.No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth,comfort and durability(耐用).They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion,the conclusions to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes,one wonders,reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability?That is for you to decide.
【小题1】Designers and big stores always make money        .

How old is “old”?  The answer has changed over the years. Two hundred years ago，you were old at 35.At the beginning of the 20 th century，the average life span（平均寿命）was 45. In 1950，70-year-olds were really old.Today，a healthy 70-year-old is still thought young.
So，how old is old? The answer is one you’ve heard many times，from all kinds of people.“You are as old（or young）as you feel.”Your age simply tells you how many years you have lived.Your body tells you how well you’ve lived.
“Nobody grows old by living a number of years.” wrote a writer.“People grow old when they don’t have their ideals.”
People shouldn’t have the wrong ideas about aging.Sometimes，older minds can be as bright as young minds.Alice Brophy once said，“It makes me unhappy when people say，‘You look young for your age。’ What does that mean?
You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80. ”
53.The meaning of the underlined word “aging” is “        ”
A．growing old      B. staying young    C. keeping healthy      D. feeling unhappy
54.Which question is NOT answered in the passage?
A. Can older people be as bright as young people?
B. What tells you how well you’ve lived?
C. How old is “old”?                     
D. what is the average life span today?
55.The passage is mainly about __________ .
A. the average life span                     B. aging
C. the 20th century                         D. older people and young people

PDAs are very useful．They are like small computers．You can put a lot of information into them． For example．you can put in telephone numbers and e-mail addresses．Many people use PDAs to remember important dates．Some of these super machines can even send and receive e-mails．
PDAs are small and convenient．A few years ago，they were expensive．Now，they are cheap．Many people use them at work and at school．People can carry PDAs in their shirt pockets．
But，it’s important to be careful．These little machines are easy to lose．People put so much important information into their PDAs．It’s really terrible to lose them．
50．What is the main idea of the article?
A．PDAs are like small computers．        B．PDAs are cheap．
C．You can do many things with a PDA．   D．Too many people use PDAs
51．What do we learn about PDAs?
A．They are not very expensive now．          B．Students do not like to use them．
C．All of them can send and receive e-mails．   D．They are very large．
52．What kind of person would not use a PDA?
A．A  business person．    B．Someone who hates computers．
C．A  student．            D．A  person with a busy schedule．

New York Times---( DINITIA SMITH )Tomorrow is the 433d anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. A recent survey shows that more people are watching him, reading him and studying him than ever before.
Consider the recent yearly conference of the Shakespeare Association of America in Washington, where more than 600 people who study or admire Shakespeare from 18 countries took in topics like ‘‘Whither Attribution Studies,’’ ‘‘Unpopular Shakespeare’’ and ‘‘Sex Me Here,’’ a talk on breast-feeding and Lady Macbeth.
‘‘The national media is saying that fewer students’ taking Shakespeare,’’ Barbara Mowat, the editor of The Shakespeare Quarterly, observed in a speech at the conference. ‘‘But Shakespeare is thriving.’’ The association’s membership has increased by a third since 1990.
The Shakespeare business is so good these days that W. W. Norton is introducing a huge new collections of the plays into the already crowded field just in time for tomorrow’s birthday anniversary. Priced at $44.95, ‘‘The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition’’ runs for 3,420 pages, offering introductions, illustrations and notes and three versions(版本) of ‘‘King Lear.’’
Today, movies and videos have made the plays even more accessible. Last year, ‘‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’’ was No. 1 at the box office when it opened, and it grossed nearly $50 million. In New York in January, crowds lined up in the freezing cold to see Kenneth Branagh’s four-hour ‘‘Hamlet.’’ The students select a scene and then have a violent discussion about it.’’ Influenced by films, professors are increasingly teaching students by having them perform the plays.
【小题1】Why people from 18 countries came to Washington this year?

There are many thoughts on the origins of civilization. One of the major factors involved was the increase in population. The development of techniques, primarily irrigation and flood control, which permitted agriculture in special areas such as the flood plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, made possible the support of large population. Once populations reach a certain number, the older pattern of social organization breaks down and new ones develop. Specifically the older system, whereby each individual participated in food production and maintained a similar standard of living and whereby kinship(家属关系) served as the basic method of social organization, was replaced by the occupational division of labor, political and religious hierarchies(等级制度), public works such as road and public building construction, class systems, codes of law, markets, new forms of warfare, and urban centres. Allied with these important sociological traits are material traits, such as monumental architecture and the development of science and, in many cases, metallurgy(冶金学) and writing systems.
The earliest civilization, Sumer, developed in the Middle East. This was the Bronze Age of the Old World, during which people first developed the art of metallurgy, civilization also arose in other parts of the Old World, first in Egypt, China, and India, and later in Europe and Africa. At this time, civilization also developed independently in the New World, in the Mexican area and in Peru and its adjacent(邻近的) areas.
In the Old World the Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, which saw the rise and fall of great empires and the shift of power from the Middle East to Greece and Rome and then to Western Europe. In the 1700s the Industrial Age began, leading directly to the modern civilization of today.
46. The author of this passage __________________________________.
A. gives a comparison between ancient civilization and modern civilization
B. suggests that population increase is most important in the development of civilization
C. tries to explain how civilization developed in human history
D. explore the relation between agriculture and industry
47. According to the first paragraph, the increase in population __________________.
A. resulted in the development of agricultural technology
B. resulted from the breakdown of old social organization
C. caused the occupational division of labor
D. was impossible without the development of agriculture
48. The word “traits” in Paragraph One most likely means ____________________.
A. main appearances                        B. great achievements
C. distinguishing features                      D. outstanding successes
49. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The Bronze Age is one of the earliest civilizations.
B. The Industrial Age started in the Middle East.
C. The Bronze Age developed into the Iron Age.
D. The use of metal instruments started from the Bronze Age.
50. Which of the following is NOT included in the expression “the Old World” used in the passage?
A. American continent.                         B. Both Western and Eastern Europe.
C. African continent.                                   D. Asian countries.