More surprising, perhaps, than the current difficulties of traditional marriage is the fact that marriage itself is alive and thriving（旺盛的）. As Skolnich notes, Americans are a marrying people: relative to Europeans, more of us marry and we marry at a younger age. Moreover, after a decline（衰退）in the early 1970s, the rate of marriage in the United States is now increasing. Even the divorce（离婚）rate needs to be taken in this pro-marriage context: some 80 percent of divorced individuals remarry. Thus, marriage remains by far the preferred way of life for the vast majority of the people in our society.

　　What has changed more than marriage is the nuclear family. Twenty-five years ago, the typical American family consisted of the husband, the wife, and two or three children. Now, there are many marriages in which couples have decided not to have any children, and there are many marriages where at least some of the children are from the wife’s previous marriage, or the husband’s, or both. Sometimes these children spend all of their time with one parent from the former marriage; sometimes they are shared between the two former spouses（配偶）．

　　Thus, one can find every type of family arrangement. There are marriages without children; marriages with children from only the present marriages; marriages with“full-time”children from both the present and former marriages; marriages with“full-time”children from the present marriage and“part-time”children from former marriages. There are stepfathers, stepmothers, half-brothers and half-sisters. It is not all that unusual for a child to have four parents and eight grandparents! These are enormous changes from the traditional nuclear family. But even so, even in the midst of all this, there remains one constant: most Americans spend most of their adult lives married.

By calling Americans a marrying people the writer means that ________.

　　A. Americans are more traditional than Europeans

　　B. Americans expect more out of marriage than Europeans

　　C. there are more married couples in the USA than in Europe

　　D. more of Americans, as compared with Europeans, prefer marriage and they accept it at a younger age

Divorced Americans ________ .

　　A. prefer the way they live                   B. will most likely remarry

　　C. have lost interest in marriage               D. are the majority of people in the society

Which of the following can be presented as the picture of today’s American families？

　　A. Different types of family arrangements have become socially acceptable.

　　B. A typical American family consists of only a husband and a wife.

　　C. Americans prefer to have more kids than before.

　　D. There are no nuclear families any more.

Though great changes have taken place in the structure of American families, ________ .

　　A. the majority of Americans still have faith in marriage

　　B. the functions of marriage remain unchanged

　　C. most Americans prefer a second marriage

D. most Americans prefer to be single

If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

    Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.

    The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登记）card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.

    The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

    With so many loopholes （漏洞） in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”.  But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

1. The underlined words in this passage means to “______”.

　　A. be ready to help others         B. make good use of one’s friends

　　C. be a little ahead of others       D. gain something at other’s expense

2. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.

　　B. In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.

　　C. The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of their working hours.

　　D. The workers are always honest with their working hours.

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.

　　A. the Finnish society is of very high moral （道德） level

　　B. there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland

　　C. in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything

　　D. everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves

4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage ?

　　A. Life in Finland       B. A Society with “Foolish” People

　　C. What a Life          D. Honest accounts of the Finns

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

　　 It is a new term in today's tourism industry．But in an age of growing environmental awareness, it is not too difficult for us to imagine and understand this new form of holiday．

　　Ecotourism, which is considered as a kind of responsible tourism, is typically defined（定义）as travel to places where special and unusual plants, animals and cultural heritages （遗产） are the main ttractions．  Therefore, programs concerning the protection of some natural and cultural spots also form'a part of ecotourism．　　Ecotourism is developing at great speed．According to a recent report by the World Tourism Organization, ecotourism in recent years has enjoyed an annual growth of about 5% worldwide．   They include bird watching, hiking, diving, photography and taking part in various kinds of local cultural events．　　  However, it looks like some smaller towns and country areas may well become the new destinations for people to visit tomorrow because they are rich in ecological, cultural and historical resources （资源）．

　　Ecotourism has been gaining increasing recognition and popularity mainly for the relaxing, natural and vivid experience it offers to tourists．People are attracted to nature  and long to be close to it．However, a conflict between nature and human beings is unavoidable． 

　　A．The definition of ecotourism is beyond words．

　　B．It takes ecology and culture into consideration．

　　C．You may not be very familiar with "ecotourism"．

　　D．More than 80 activities have been listed for ecotourism．

　　E．People can have great fun enjoying nature through ecotourism．

　　F．Big cities are still the major places that attract tourists in our society today．

　　G．How to protect natural resources while taking advantage of them is of great importance．

America is growing older. Fifty - eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. To day, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect（影响）American society in many ways—education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society—one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior（行为） is suitable（合适）at various , ages.

　　A person s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29 - year - old university president or a 35 - year -old grandmother, or a 70 year - old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

　　Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother— or my father— was at my age. ”No one says“Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

　　67．It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America ________ .

　　A. has made people feel younger

　　B. has changed people’s social position

　　C. has changed people’s understanding of age

　　D. has slowed down the country’s social development

　　68．The underlined word “one” refers to ________ .

　　A. a society　　　　　　　　　　　B. America

　　C. a place　　　　　　　　　　　　D. population

　　69．“Act your age” means people should ________ .

　　A. be active when they are old

　　B. do the right thing at the right age

　　C. show respect for their parents young or old

　　D. take more physical exercise suitable to their age

　　70．If a 25 - year - old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it ________ .

　　A. normal　　　　　　　　　　　　B. wonderful

C. unbelievable　　　　　　　　　　D. unreasonable