As we all know “ The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” and “  26  every successful man there is a woman.” Both these   27  mean the same things. Men rule the  28__ , but their wives rule them.

Chinese people and other foreigners often say,  29_ of the American women like making their husbands and sons successful, but some of them want   30__ for themselves. They want good  31  . When they work they want to  32__ better paid. They want to be as  33__ as men.

In the 1960s, the American women’s liberation   34  was started by women who don’t want to   35  behind successful men. They want to stand beside them, with the same  36__ for success. They don’t want to be told that certain jobs or   37__ are closed to them. They refused to work side by side with men who do the  38  work for higher pay.

In America, a liberation woman must be   39  of being a woman and have confidence in herself. If somebody says to her, “ You have come a long   40  , baby”, she will   41  and answer, “Not nearly as  42  as I am going to go, baby.”

On the other hand , this movement is quite  43  and many American women do not agree.  44__  it has already made some important  45__ in women’s lives.

My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:

In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
【小题1】It can be learned from the article that ________.

My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:

In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them

1. 1.

   It can be learned from the article that ________

   1. A.
      the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world
   2. B.
      a judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal
   3. C.
      the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich
   4. D.
      In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery
2. 2.

   The function of the graph is to ________

   1. A.
      show chances that those things take place are fewer
   2. B.
      support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets
   3. C.
      indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot
   4. D.
      say shark attack death will seldom happen this year
3. 3.

   Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?

   1. A.
      If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily
   2. B.
      Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets
   3. C.
      The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country
   4. D.
      Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich
4. 4.

   The underlined phrase “at play” in the 7^th paragraph most probably means ________

   1. A.
      effective
   2. B.
      ridiculous
   3. C.
      contradictory
   4. D.
      astonishing
5. 5.

   What do you think is the best title?

   1. A.
      The Popular Mega Millions Jackpot
   2. B.
      Lottery is Merely a Trick
   3. C.
      Mega Million is Like a Shark Attack
   4. D.
      Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon

As we all know “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” and “  1 every successful man there is a woman.” Both these   2  mean the same things. Men rule the   3 , but their wives rule them.

Chinese people and other foreigners often say,   4   of the American women like making their husbands and sons successful, but some of them want   5  for themselves. They want good   6 . When they work they want to   7  better paid. They want to be as   8  as men.

In 1960s, the American women’s liberation  9  was started by women who don’t want to 10  behind successful men. They want to stand beside them, with the same 11 for success. They don’t want to be told that certain jobs or 12 are closed to them. They refused to work side by side with men who do the 13 work for higher pay.

In America, a liberation woman must be 14 of being a woman and have confidence in herself. If somebody says to her, “You have come a long 15  , baby”, she will 16 and answer, “Not nearly as 17 as I am going to go, baby ”.

On the other hand, this movement is quite 18, and many American women do not agree. 19 it has already made some important 20 in women’s lives.

1．A．Before                  B．Behind.              C． Near                  D．Beside

2．A．writings               B．words               C．letters               D．sayings

3．A．family                  B．society              C．earth                  D．world

4．A．most                    B．Few                  C．All                      D．None

5．A．anything              B．something          C．nothing             D．everything

6．A．jobs                     B．clothes              C．food                    D．houses

7．A．be                        B．have                  C．make                   D．receive

8．A．good                    B．wonderful          C．successful          D．much

9．A．activity               B．movement          C．affairs                  D．incident

10．A．stand                  B．co-operate         C．work                   D．help

11．A．work                  B．job                    C．position               D．chance

12．A．offices               B．schools             C．shops                  D．places

13．A．better                 B．same                 C．less                     D．important

14．A．tired                   B．afraid                C．fond                    D．proud

15．A．place                  B．walk                  C．way                    D．journey

16．A．cry                    B．smile                 C．laugh                   D．sob

17．A．long                   B．far                    C．soon                   D．much

18．A．new                   B．good                 C．important            D．pleasing

19．A．So                     B．And               C．But                     D．Or

20．A．progress            B．improvement      C．decisions            D．changes