A growing number of consumers, especially young people , are a
dopting more Western habits when it comes to spending money—by favoring credit cards over savings.
A survey of 11,500 people in 18 cities by The Nielson Company found the credit card market had witnessed a major change in recent years.
“Today’s consumer is clearly not interested in saving for a rainy day, as may have been the case in the past,” Bega Ng, director of financial services research with the company said. “Consumers have been adopting Western habits and attitudes in almost every way—including saving and spending habits. Consumers in their 20s spend tomorrow’s cash to fund today’s needs.”
The report found consumers aged 18 to 24 were the most eager credit card users.
Although the report did not give the amounts credit card users in each of the 18 cities spent, it mentioned the example of Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, where consumers put an average of 50 percent of their monthly incomes into their credit card accounts to indulge(沉湎于) in cashless shopping.
Included in the survey for the first time, Xiamen is reported to have a fast growing penetration rate(渗透率) for credit cards, with four out of ten consumers now owning at least one card. With more than half of cardholders in Xiamen owning two or more cards, it is catching up with key “tier one” cities, the report said. The report did not make known the figures in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Last year, the same Nielson survey showed Shanghai had the biggest population of credit card holders, with citizens owning 1.8 credit cards on average. Half of them use credit cards at least once a week, the survey said.
Yunfei, 30, from Beijing, said she spent at least 2,000 yuan a month by credit cards, most of which went on daily necessities and dining out.
【小题1】Which of the following best shows the young urbanites’ idea of consumption?
| A.Using credit cards in every way. |
| B.Spending tomorrow’s cash for today’s needs. |
| C.Owning more cards for cashless shopping. |
| D.Saving money for future use. |
| A.Forty percent of the consumers own at least one card. |
| B.Credit card users use up most of their monthly income. |
| C.The number of credit card users is larger than that in Guangzhou. |
| D.Over half of the consumers use two or more cards. |
| A.Xiamen. | B.Beijing. | C.Shanghai. | D.Guangzhou. |
| A.Most credit card users are young people aged 18 to 24. |
| B.Western habits have a big influence on the Chinese people. |
| C.The number of credit card users is growing rapidly in Chinese cities. |
| D.Chinese consumers are no more interested in saving money. |
The following table shows some results of a survey (调查)in which 800 Japanese school pupils were asked to give their impressions(印象)of their classroom teachers. The pupils’ impressions were found to differ depending on whether the teacher was new (with less than three years’ experience), middle-standing(ten to twenty years), or veteran(有经验的)(twenty to thirty years). The numbers in the table show the percentage of the pupils who answered “very satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” for each question item (项目)
| Question Items | New | Middle-standing | Veteran |
| 1.Shows sense of humor in class 2.Explains clearly 3.Teaches in a relaxed(放松的)manner. 4. Writes neatly on the blackboard 5. Lets pupils ask questions in class 6. Makes checks in notebooks 7. Speaks loudly and clearly 8. Treats pupils equally 9. Cares about pupils opinions 10. Spends time with pupils between classes | 42 33 30 9 18 22 45 43 25 | 56 58 46 43 30 30 85 58 43 10 | 70 68 65 56 47 43 54 42 17 6 |
【小题1】In contrast(对比)to the new teachers, the middle-standing and veteran teachers seem to have made a remarkable(显著的)improvement in their ability to _______.
| A.be fair to any pupil | B.evaluate pupils’ progress |
| C.present materials clearly | D.understand and play with pupils |
| A.relaxed in class than the veterans |
| B.interested in pupils’ ideas than the veterans |
| C.neat in appearance than the veterans |
| D.skilful at explaining than the veterans |
- In the new teachers’ classes, pupils seem to ask questions more freely.
- Pupils seem to be quite satisfied with the amount(量)of time their teachers spend with them between classes.
- The evaluation of the middle-standing teachers is lower than that of the veterans in seven items.
- Though veterans do not play games with pupils during breaks, their teaching is rated highly.
Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook from scratch? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can't you be bothered to do?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults are so lazy they'd catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain's largest health charity.The results were astonishing.
About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up.
More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus.Worryingly, of the 654 respondents with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them.
This led the report to conclude that it's no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classified as obese (very fat) before they start school.
Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: "People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and evidently their pets too.
"If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most rudimentary of tasks."
And Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the most inactive city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
The results cause serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.
【小题1】What causes children in the UK to be obese?
| A.Eating ready meal | B.Watching TV |
| C.Doing Internet shopping | D.Being lazy |
| A.British people are too lazy to do anything. |
| B.Internet shopping will do harm to your health. |
| C.Many people would not run to catch a bus in Britain. |
| D.People should be more active and take regular exercise to keep fit. |
| A.One sixth of British people use remote control when watching TV. |
| B.People will benefit not only themselves but their families by getting fit. |
| C.Fatness can cause diseases such as heart disease and cancer. |
| D.More people get obesity-related illnesses now than 40 years ago. |
| A.basic | B.serious | C.vital | D.hard |
| A.Glasgow | B.Birmingham | C.Nuffield | D.Southampton |
"A survey was conducted in Shanghai where interviewees were asked if they wanted to be a factory worker.One percent of all people interviewed said “YES," Wang Hongjun, a technician, said, raising his voice for dramatic effect."But I can tell you, only a small part of that 1 percent are telling the truth."
I've met colorful people like Wang all over
China.They are cynical(玩世不恭的) yet warmhearted, plain spoken but smart.And many of them are confined(局限于)to work in factories.
Wang is a top technician but also represents manual fact
ory workers, who are China's most important natural resource.Their energy is powering China's economic boom, and their muscle is turning the wheel of the world's factory.
But does their unskilled labor give their life meaning? At school, did they tell their friends: "When I grow up I want to work in a factory making socks?" Did you?
Factory work has always been a stepping-stone from farm life to the city and a modern life.It's been happening for centuries, but today, with our space-age technology, it's outdated.Earning 1,200 yuan ($169) per month working in a factory is better than that on a farm, but as Wang points out, it's not a dream career.There should be better ways to earn your rice.
Many modern factories no longer have production line workers.Robots do the assembly(装配).People just do the monitoring.In this age of technology, in which China is n
ow working smarter and not just harder, why are people still standing in production lines?
But life is cheap in China.So why not continue to exploit the low-cost labor situation and keep the economy growing fast, some entrepreneurs may ask.
【小题1】How many people surveyed really like to be factory workers?
| A.One percent |
| B.Only a |
| C.Only a small part of that one percent |
| D.The writer didn’t mention it. |
| A.cynical | B.unimportant |
| C.warmhearted | D.plain spoken |
| A.difficult to get along with |
| B.humorous but serious |
| C.cynical but warmhearted, plain spoken but smart |
| D.full of energy but doesn't want to work hard |
| A.Factory workers make contributions to China's economic boom. |
| B.Working in a factory is better than that on a farm. |
| C.Factory workers are satisfied with their living conditions. |
| D.Some entrepreneurs exploited the low-cost labor situation. |
| A.a lot of figures | B.many examples |
| C.some dialogue | D.the result of a survey |
Modern zoos are different from those built fifty years ago. Those zoos were places where people could go to see animals from many parts of the world. The animals lived in cages with iron bars. Although the zoo keepers took good care of them, many of the animals did not feel comfortable, and they often felt ill.
In modern zoos, people can see animals in more natural conditions. The animals are given more freedom
in nature. Even the appearance of zoos has changed. Trees and grass grow in cages, and water flows through the places the animal live in. there are few bars; instead, there is often a deep ditch, filled with water, which surrounds a space where several sorts of animals live toge
ther as they world naturally. In an American zoo, the visitor can walk through a huge special cage that is filled with trees,
some small animals and many birds, and large enough for birds
to live naturally. In a
zoo in New York, with the us of special night, people can observe certain animals that are active only at night, when most zoos are closed. Some zoos have special places for visitors to watch animals that live in the desert or under water.
Modern zoos not only show animals to visitors, but also keep and save rare animals. For this reason, fifty years from now, the grandchildren of today’s visitors will still be able to enjoy watching these animals
【小题1】It seems that ______ is something most important for animals.
A eating good food B. living in cages
C. living with other animals D. living in natural co
nditions
【小题2】In modern zoos __________.
| A.different kinds of animals are kept separately. |
| B.Animals are no longer taken good care of. |
| C.Animals have more freedom |
| D.visitors can walk where they live |
| A.the animals, the zoos keepers | B.the visitors, not the animals |
| C.neither visitors nor animals | D.both visitors and the animals |
| A.walk through huge special cages to watch all sots of animals |
| B.see animals which live in special conditions |
| C.during the day observe animals that are active at night. |
| D.Watch all rare animals that may ot be seen in the future |
| A.zoos are now places where animals can live naturally |
| B.zoos are places where people can see animals from all over the world |
| C.there should be old and modern zoos alike |
| D.rare animals may soon die out |
A classic series of experiments to determine the effects of overpopulation on communities of rats was conducted by a psychologist,John Calhoun.In each experiment,an equal number of male and female adult rats were placed in an enclosure(场地).The rat populations were allowed to increase.Calhoun knew from experience approximately how many rats could live in the enclosures without experiencing stress due to overcrowding.He allowed the population to increase to approximately
twice this number Then he fixed the population by removing the children that were not dependent on their mothers.At the end of the experiments,Calhoun was able to conclude that overcrowding causes a breakdown in the normal social relationships among rats,a kind of social disease.The rats in the experiments did not follow the same patterns of behavior as rats would in a community without overcrowding.
The females in the rat population were the most seriously affected by the high population density(密度).For example,mothers sometimes deserted their children,and,without their mothers’care,the children died.The experiments showed that in overpopulated communities,mother rats do not behave normally.Their behavior may be considered diseased and pathological(病理学的).
T
he leading males in the rat population were the least affected by over population.Each of these strong males claimed an area of the enclosure as his own.Therefore,these individuals did not experience the overcrowding in the same way as the other rats did..However leading males did behave pathologically at times.
Their antisocial(反社会)behavior consisted of attacks on weaker male,female,and immature rats.This unusual behavior showed tha
t even though the leading males had enough living space,they too were affected by the general overcrowding.
Non-leading males in the experimental rat communities also exhibited unusual social behavior.Some withdrew(缩回) completely ,avoiding contact with other rats.Other non-leading males were too active,chasing other rats and fighting each other.
The behavior of the rat population has similarity in human behavior.People in densely(密) populated areas exhibit unusual behavior similar to that of the rats in Calhoun’s experiments.In large urban areas,such as New York City,London,and Cairo,there are deserted children.There are cruel,powerful individuals,both men and women.There are also people who withdraw and people who become too active.Is the major cause of these disorders(混乱)overpopulation?
Calhoun’s experiments suggest that it might be.In any case,social scientists and city planners have been influenced by the results of this series of experiments.
【小题1】Which of the following inferences(推断)can NOT be made from the first paragraph?
| A.Overpopulation causes pathological behavior in rat populations. |
| B.Calhoun had experimented with rats before. |
| C.Calhoun’s experiment is still considered important today |
| D.Stress does not occur in rat communities unless there is overcrowding. |
| A.people who would like to keep to themselves |
| B.people who abandon their children |
| C.too active people |
| D.cruel,powerful people |
| A.although rats are affected by overcrowding,people are not |
| B.overcrowding may be an important cause of social pathology |
| C.the social behavior of rats is seriously affected by overcrowding |
| D.Calhoun's experiments have influenced many people |
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.
【小题1】The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.
| A.an increase in birthrates | B.the industrial development |
| C.a decrease in death rates | D.human beings’ cultural advances |
| A.it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work |
| B.the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation |
| C.old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations |
| D.death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life |
| A.Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough. |
| B.Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement. |
| C.When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial. |
| D.With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever. |
| A.prolonging the dying old people’s lives |
| B.reducing the problems caused by the retired people |
| C.making profits through caring for the sick or weak people |
| D.taking care of the sick or weak people |
| A.Sympathetic. | B.Approving. | C.Optimistic. | D.Critical. |
阅读文章后,从第50至54题所给A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳答案。
We all hate speed cameras,don’t we?They’re not there to slow drivers down and lower the road accidents;they just make money for the government.They trick us,cost us cold hard cash,disturb us from driving properly and are unfair.
Well,here’s a surprising thing:what if there were facts that the boring cameras actually saved lives?It’s a conclusion difficult to ignore when you look at what’s happening in France,a country with a historically poor record of road safety.
There were 16,617 road deaths in 1972 i
n France for example,but that dropped to 8412 by 1995 following rules suc
h as compulsory(强迫的)seat belt wearing in 1990 and a lowering of the blood alcohol limit to 0.05 in 1995.
Last year, the road deaths dropped below 5,000 for the first time,or 4.9 percent less than2004.Comparing road deaths to populating in 2005,that’s about 817 per million people compared with Australia’s 806.
And guess what?Last year the number of speed cameras on French roads reached 1,000 and the government plans to double that within the next three years.
Okey, you know the arguments on the increased traffic safety and cameras. for-inco me, but in seems in France there’s been a major cultural change brought on by radars and other laws. A theer-hour, wine-soaked lunch with a quick rush back to the office is no longer on.
Traveling on the highways,it is rare to see anyone breaking the 130km/h speed limit when one few traveled below it. The speed cameras are clearly signed so drivers know when they are coming There’s even all official web site listing fixed and mobile camera locations and it is updated regularly
Maybe it is because of such transparency by governme
nt,rather than the secrecy too often used by authorities in many other countries that more French can enjoy their life thanks to speed cameras
【小题1】We can learn from the first paragraph that .
| A.s |
| B.speed cameras help HS drive properly |
| C.most people think speed cameras are good for slowing drivers down |
| D.most people think speed cameras are used to make money for the government |
| A.blood alcohol limit lowering | B.speed limit obeying |
| C.camera location updating | D.seat belt wearing |
| A.honesty | B.openness | C.innocence | D.strictness |
| A.lunch time last long with drunk people rushing back to office |
| B.people drive at a speed of less than 130 km/h |
| C.drivers drive according to the traffic lights |
| D.police conduct traffic in streets |
A.The argument on speed cameras
B The drivers in France hating speed cameras
C.France does successfully in controlling road accidents
D.France takes many measures in controlling road accidents