"Hey, little boy, will you support me when I'm getting old?" Wang Wenshan, 35, asked his newborn baby as he picked him up at home.
The Chinese tradition of raising sons to support parents in their old age has been weakened by the rapidly growing economy and improving standard of living.As is the case with more and more developed countries, China faces an aging society.People are living longer and having fewer children.Therefore, many Chinese families are falling into a 4-2-1 family pattern: a couple raises one child and supports four elderly parents.But few realize that a problem is likely to happen ahead.
The aging of the population is a trend that now affects a growing number of countries.Not long ago, the Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a white paper on measures China is taking to help its elderly population.The paper said China s population entered the aging period at the end of the 20th century as the proportion rote) of people aged 60 and above accounted for over 10 percent of the entire population, By the end of 2005, China had nearly 144 million people over 60, accounting for 11 percent of the population, according to the white paper.
An expanding aged population inevitably means that many issues must be settled, as the problem concerns every aspect of society.It puts more pressure on each family, causing disturbing economic consequences and serious social problems.It also challenges the labor force supply and the pension system.
"I used to think that it's not an issue for me to provide, for the aged," said Wang, whose parents and parents-in-law all enjoy pensions and medical insurance.But last year Wang s father suffered a serious illness and afterward Wang began to feel the pressure on his shoulders.
After his father recovered, Wang opened bank accounts for each parent and deposited some money into the account every month to prepare for future uncertainties.In addition, he has to save money every month to provide for his son s future education."I m now breaking my back working to support my family: saving pensions for the parents, my son s education funds, and living costs."
Wang also bought some commercial old-age insurance for himself."We have to take precautions before it is too late, and many of my colleagues share the same view," he said.
1.Which of the following is not caused by an aging society?
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A.Social problem. |
B.The problem of the pension system. |
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C.More pressure on the family. |
D.Unemployment. |
2.From the passage, we can infer___.
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A.the aging people problem is one of the concerns for the Chinese government |
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B.China will encourage young couples to have more than one child |
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C.many people have realized the problem of aging society |
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D.children will not support their parents in an aging society |
3.Which of the following can be used to replace the underlined word inevitably?
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A.Surprisingly. |
B.Certainly. |
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C.Hopefully. |
D.Unluckily |
4.From the text we can see that .
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A.China is the only country to face an aging society |
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B.most of the developing countries face an aging society |
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C.countries with a large population face an aging society |
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D.more and more developed countries face an aging society |
When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication.Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has emerged: the mobile phone.
The modern mobile phone is a more complex version of the two-way radio.Traditional two-way radio was a very limited means of communication.As soon as the users moved out of range of each other's broadcast area, the signal was lost.In the 1940s, researchers began experimenting with the idea of using a number of radio masts (天线杆)located around to pick up signals from two-way radios.A caller would always be within range of one of the masts; when he or she moved too far away from one mast, the next mast would pick up the signal.(Scientists referred to each mast's reception area as being a separate "cell"; this is why in.many countries mobile phones are called "cell phones".)
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper.As soon as his invention was completed,, he tested it by calling another scientist to announce his success.Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public.They have changed the way we do a lot of things.One powerful feature is the Short Message Service (SMS) or text message.It's the perfect communication method for the busy modern lifestyle.Going to be late? Send a text message! The text message has changed the way we write in English.The language construction became less strict.Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you're sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing "Will B 15mm late-C U @ the bar.(I will be 15 minutes late to see you at the
bar.) Sorry!".
Over the last few years mobiles have become more and more advanced.We have seen the instruction of cameras, global positioning system and Internet access.
Alexander Graham Bell would be surprised if he could see how far the science of telephone has progressed in less than 150 years.If he were around today, he might say: "That’s gr8(great)! But I'm busy rite now(I am very busy right now).Will call U2nite(I will call you tonight.)."
1.The writing style of the passage is a (an)___.
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A.narrative |
B.description |
C.essay |
D.review |
2.The article is intended to__ _.
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A.warn people of the possible risks in using mobile phones |
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B.inform readers of the history and benefits of mobile phones |
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C.convince people of the uses of mobile phones |
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D.predict the applications of mobile phones |
3.What do you think of the writer according to the last paragraph.
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A.Humorous. |
B.Ironic. |
C.Kind. |
D.Worried. |
In China, __________ pressure to pass ________ exams gives students the impression that learning comes from textbooks.
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A./; / |
B.the; the |
C.the; / |
D./; the |
As we all know, surfing_____ Internet has now become _____popular means of obtaining information.
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A.the; the |
B./; the |
C.the; a |
D./; / |
Most students expect ____more review classes before the exams.
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A.it to be |
B.there to be |
C.that to be |
D.to be |
—My shirt is torn.
—______me a needle and thread, and I’ll fix it for you.
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A.If you bring |
B.If you had brought |
C.Bringing |
D.Bring |
— What made her so sad at that time? She kept crying all the time.
—_______ to the ball.
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A.Without being invited |
B.Not be invited |
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C.Be not invited |
D.Not having been invited |
To tell the truth, if it were not for the fact that you______ my daughter, I would not take such pains to serve you.
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A.were |
B.are |
C.had been |
D.have been |