Stay-at-home kids are named “generation nini” in Spain. They are those adults who still live at home and are neither working nor studying. But the problem is not limited to Spain. It is a worldwide problem.
In Italy, they are known as “bamboccioni” or big babies. There nearly 60 percent of 18-34-year-old adults still live in their parents’ home, up from almost 50 percent since 1983. Once kept there by the love for their mama’s home-cooked food, the economic crisis（经济危机）has seen a rise in adults left unable to hold down a steady job or afford a home of their own. Last year, an Italian government minister admitted that his mother washed his clothes and made the bed for him until he was 30. He demanded a law forcing young Italians to leave their parents’ home at 18 to stop them becoming hopelessly dependent on their parents.
In the UK, the government has made the term NEETS---not in employment, education or training for these children. In England alone the percent of NEETS aged 19-24 surged to 18.8 percent of the age group-in the last quarter of 2010, up 1.4 percent on the same period a year before. The number of British men in their 20s living with their parents has risen from 59 percent to 80 percent in the past 15 years, while the number of women has risen from 41percent to 50 percent. The average age of the first-time house buyers is now 38.
In the US, the problem is known as the “full nest syndrome（综合症）”. Adults there are left struggling to support adult children who have stayed at home with student debts and facing few job opportunities in a weak economy. A recent study showed almost a third of American adults aged 34 and under are living with their parents
1.“Big babies” mentioned in Paragraph 2 refers to those adults who ______.
A. are poorly educated B. are not as smart as others
C. lose their job in the bad economy D. depend on their parents for a living
2.The Italian government minister thinks that ______.
A. parents should make their children feel hopeless
B. young people should live on their own after18
C. parents should never make the bed for their children
D. it is OK for adult children to live with their parents
3.The underlined word “surged” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by ______.
A. jumped B. reduced
C. recovered D. moved
4.What does the last paragraph tell us? ______
A. Some American adult children are causing trouble for their parents
B. American parents are happy to live with their children
C. America has the most adult children compared with other countries
D. It is a tradition for adult children to live with their parents in America
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And a person who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. With only ten dollars in his pocket, he decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day early, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商人) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker (经纪人) and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation ended, the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered surprisingly, ‘‘You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
1.Why couldn’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
A. Because he was lazy. B. Because he didn’t pass the test.
C. Because he didn’t have an e-mail. D. Because he didn’t have a computer.
2.The underlined word “capital” can be replaced by
A. tomato B. money
C. time D. operation
3.What can we learn about the man?
A. He is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.
B. He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket.
C. He didn’t give up though he failed the interview.
D. He didn’t want to accept the job at Microsoft.
4.Which proverb can best describe the story?
A. Misfortune may be an actual blessing. B. Where there is a will, there is a way.
C. Accidents will happen. D. No pains, no gains.
A 9-year-old boy n Indiana stopped a would-be carjacker(劫车贼)on Christmas Day from running away with his father’s truck.
Kevin Cooksey was inside the One Stop Express gas station in Kokomo buying medicine for his wife when a man jumped into the driver’s seat of his truck. Cooksey had left the engine running and the door unlocked.
“When I saw my truck door open, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to tell my wife?’” Cooksey said.
His son, Larry, was sitting in the back seat. “As soon as he opened the door, I got frightened,” said Larry. “So I pulled out the gun and pointed it to his head.”
This was enough to make the carjacker think twice and he jumped out of the truck to try another car. Parked beside Cooksey’s truck was Kyle Sparling’s black Trailblazer. He too had left the engine running as he went into the store. The man got in Sparling’s SUV and took off.
“I didn’t know what to think, I just kind of ran outside and watched him,” said Sparling.
As the man sped off, Cooksey told Sparling to get into his truck and the two men began to run after him. The icy winter conditions made the driving difficult, but the pair followed at a safe distance as the carjacker drove in a “Z” way. After a few miles, the carjacker knocked into the sign of a local business, American Tool and Party Rental. Cooksey and Sparling called police to the place.
The police put 32-year-old Ollie Dunn into prison. Sparling’s car was damaged in the wheel, and the windscreen got cracked after the sign fell on it. “I was just glad he didn’t knock into anybody,” Sparling said. “That was my biggest fear, I think.”
1.How did Larry stop the carjacker?
A. He hit him with a gun B. He begged him to stop
C. He cried for others’ help D. He frightened him away with a gun
2.Why could the carjacker easily drive away the SUV?
A. The carjacker broke into it
B. It was parked in the wrong place
C. Nobody was in but the engine was on
D. The driver went to buy medicine for his wife
3.What ended the carjacker’s escape?
A. The police stopped him
B. His driving ability was very poor
C. The SUV got damaged in an accident
D. Cookesey and Sparling caught up with him
4.What does the underlined word “That” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Spraling’s car was stolen B. Sparling’s car was damaged
C. The carjacker might run away D. The carjacker might hurt somebody
If you move to a new school, you’ll have to worry whether or not you’ll make friends. Here are some simple suggestions which help you make new friends a lot easier.
Try speaking to the people next to you in class. As they’re close by, it makes sense to communicate with them first.
Have courage to speak to everyone in your class. You will probably stay with that class through your years at the new school, so it helps if you get on with them.
If you don’t have many friends in your class, try and make new friends in your subject lessons. You can also talk with them at lunchtime and after school.
Join a lunchtime or after-school club. You’ll get to meet kids of all years that way.
Ask your teacher to pair you with another pupil.
Use your celebrity status! Since you’re the new person, you’ll have gained celebrity status, which you can use for a couple of weeks. Talk to people, remember to smile and always be open and friendly. Listen carefully to what others have to say so as to make them feel important.
As you grow older, it’s natural to make new friends and sometimes that means you grow apart from your old friends. So try and make time for all your friends. Why not introduce your different sets of friends so you can all go to the cinema or bowling together?
But what if a friendship group is pushing you out? If this is happening to you, try and ask someone you’re friendly with what is happening. If the whole group is leaving you out, try to find new people to spend time with at lunchtime.
1.According to the passage, moving to a new school is _______.
A. interesting B. exciting
C. worrying D. boring
2.According to the author, what should we do when we move to a new school?
A. Sit close to friendly classmates.
B. Try to study well to gain others’ trust.
C. Try our best to help our new classmates.
D. Take possible chances to communicate with others.
3.To make our classmates feel that they are important to us, we should ______.
A. listen to them carefully B. be friendly and open to them
C. smile while talking with them D. make use of our celebrity status
假定你是李华,准备参加电视台举办的才艺大赛,请你用英语写一封电子邮件向大赛负责人Mr. Black咨询。要点如下:
1.大赛地点及时间;
2.活动内容安排
3.个人才艺。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I have heard that you are planning to study in abroad. What qualities do students need to be admitted foreign universities? Now I would like to offer some advices. First of all, having the good knowledge of English is of great importance. Good language skills allow you to communicate with native speakers and understanding the courses that they are learning. Second, you should have the ability to adapt to the environment what is totally different from where you come from. What is more, your interest is highly valued although interest is the best teacher. Last but not least, applicants who were willing to take on socially responsibility are especially respected and popular.
