Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as $ 172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income $ 30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analysing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate and 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at £ 48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”, with psychologist (心理学家) a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of .mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their, children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing (投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.
1.How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?
A.£ 30,000. B.£ 142,000.
C.£ 172,000. D.£ 202,000.
2.The biggest challenge for most mothers is from .
A.emotional demand B.low pay for work
C.heavy workload D.lack of training
3.What is stressed in the last paragraph?
A.Mothers’ importance shows in family all year long.
B.The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile.
C.Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated.
D.Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return.
4.What can we conclude from the study?
A.Mothers，working hours should be largely reduced.
B.Mothers should balance their time for work and rest.
C.Mothers’ labour is of a higher value than it is realised.
D.Mothers should be freed from housework for social life.
It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.
In recent years, many writers have begun to speak of the ‘decline of class ’ and ‘classless society ’ in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.
But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging study of pubic opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in a particular class; 73 percent agreeed that class was still a vital part of British society.; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an imprtant part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.
One unchanging aspect of a British person’s class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during the 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice. Most people said this accent sounds ‘educated ’ and ‘soft ’. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional(地区的) city accents. These accents were seen as ‘common ’ and ‘ugly ’. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.
In recent years, however, young upper midder-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song ‘ Common People ’ puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may ‘ want to live like common people ’ they can never appreciate the reality of a working class life.
1.A recent study of pubic opinion shows that in modern Britain_________.
A.it is time to end class distinction
B.most people belong to middle class
C.it is easy to recognize a person’s class
D.people regard themselves socially different
2.The word stratification in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to_________.
A.variety B.division
C.authority D.qualification
3.The study in the US showed that BBC English was regarded as _________.
A.regional B.educated
C.prejudiced D.unattractive
4.British attitudes towards accent_________.
A.have a long tradition
B.are based on regional status
C.are shared by the Americans
D.have changed in recent years
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.The middle class is expanding.
B.A person’s accent reflects his class.
C.Class is a key part of British society.
D.Each class has unique characteristics.
When I was nine years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn’t very fun about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn’t catch anything. I usually got pretty upset and kept asking him why. He always answered, ”Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish.” I remember being even more upset then because, “I’m not a fish!” I didn’t know how to think like a fish. Besides, I reasoned, how could what I think influence what a fish does?
As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really meant. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the monthly meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water temperature. That is why fish prefer shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don’t have any eyelids(眼皮) and the sun hurts their eyes…The more I understood fish, the more I became effective at finding and catching them.
When I grew up and entered the business world, I remember hearing my first boss say, “We all need to think like salespeople.” But it didn’t completely make sense. My dad never once said, “If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman.” What he said was, “You need to think like a fish.” Years later, with great efforts to promote long-term services to people much older and richer than me, I gradually learned what we all need is to think more like customers. It is not an easy job. I will show you how in the following chapters.
1.Why was the author upset in fishing trips when he was nine？
A.He could not catch a fish
B.His father was not patient with him
C.His father did not teach him fishing
D.He could not influence a fish as his father did
2.What did the author’s father really mean?
A.To read about fish
B.To learn fishing by oneself
C.To understand what fish think
D.To study fishing in many ways
3.According to the author, fish are most likely to be found .
A.in deep water on sunny days
B.in deep water on cloudy days
C.in shallow water under sunlight
D.in shallow water under waterside trees
4.After entering the business world，the author found .
A.it easy to think like a customer
B.his father’s fishing advice inspiring
C.his first boss’s sales ideas reasonable
D.it difficult to sell services to poor people
5.This passage most likely comes from .
A.a fishing guide
B.a popular sales book
C.a novel on childhood
D.a millionaire’s biography
D
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies , one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’ s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again. But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1.What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Countries where their people need help.
B.Powerful states with higher civilization.
C.Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.
D.Governments ruled with absolute power.
2.People believing in freedom are those who________ .
A.regard their life as their own business
B.seek gains as their primary object
C.behave within the laws and value systems
D.treat others with kindness and pity
3.What change in attitude took place in Athens?
A.The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.
B.The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.
C.The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.
D.The Athenians looked on the government as a business.
4.What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.Athens would continue to be free.
B.Athens would cease to have freedom.
C.Freedom would come from responsibility.
D.Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.
5.Why does the author refer to Aristotle and Madison?
A.The author is hopeful about freedom.
B.The author is cautious about self-government.
C.The author is skeptical of Greek civilization.
D.The author is proud of man’s capacity.
6.What is the author’s understanding of freedom?
A.Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.
B.Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.
C.Freedom should have priority over responsibility.
D.Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.
E
Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation(诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character,and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.
Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?
To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines（学科）. Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention.So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.
On the whole,Brooks’ story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’ attempt to translate his tale into science.
1.The author mentions the functions of science at the beginning of the passage to__________.
A.illustrate where science can be applied
B.demonstrate the value of Brooks’ new book
C.remind the reader of the importance of science
D.explain why many writers use science in their works
2.According to the author, which of the following could be a strength of the book?
A.Its strong basis.
B.Its convincing points.
C.Its clear writing.
D.Its memorable characters.
3.What is the author’s general attitude towards the book?
A.Contradictory.
B.Supportive.
C.Cautious.
D.Critical.
4.What is the author likely to write about after the last paragraph?
A.Problems with the book.
B.Brooks’s life experience.
C.Death of the characters.
D.Brooks’s translation skills.
C
Hilversum is a medium-sized city between the major cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht in the Gooi area of North Holland, the Netherlands. Unlike most of the Netherlands, Hilversum is actually in a hilly area with the soil mostly consisting of sand. Once called the Garden of Amsterdam, it still attracts travelers to come over to cycle and walk through the surrounding forests. They visit it for a relaxing day off from the urban madness. For Dutch people, Hilversum is all about textile (纺织) and media industries, and modern architecture.
In history, Hilversum was largely an agricultural area. Daily life was marked by farming, sheep raising and wool production. A railway link to Amsterdam in 1874 attracted rich traders from Amsterdam to Hilversum. They build themselves large villas (别墅) in the wooded surroundings of the town. One of the families moving in was the Brenninkmeijers, currently the wealthiest family of the Netherlands. They moved in after big success in the textile industry and aided a substantial textile industry in Hilversum. But the textile boom lasted only several decades. The last factory closed in the 1960s.
The change to a media economy started in 1920, when the Nederlandse Seintoestedllen Fabriek (NSF) established a radio factory in Hiversum. Most radio stations called in the large villas in the leafy areas of the town. Television gave another push to the local economy. Hilversum became the media capital of the Netherlands, and Dutch televison stars moved into the leafy neighborhoods surrounding the town.
In the early 1900s, modern architcts W.M. Dudok and J. Duiker placed hundreds of remarkable buildings in Hilversum. These modern architectural masterpieces (杰作) are so many that Hilversum almost feels like an open air museum. Dudok alone shaped most 20th century Hilversum and approximately 75 buildings in 1928-1931. It has wide international fame and is included in many architecture textbooks. The building has a remarkable shape and looks like a combination of “blocks”. Actually, one may start his journey of modern architecture by walking or biking the W.M. Dudok Architectural Route in Hilversum.
1.Hilversum is different from most of the Netherlands in that ______.
A.it has a large population
B.it is cut off from big cities
C.it has many beautiful gardens
D.it is in a hilly area with sandy soil
2.What was the greatest contribution of the Brenninkmeijers to Hilversum?
A.Building a railway link to Amsterdam
B.Helping its textile industry to develop
C.Constructing large villas for the poor
D.Assisting its agricultural industry
3.The beginning of the media industry in Hilversum was marked by the establishment of ______.
A.a radio factory
B.the medial capital
C.a radio station
D.a TV station
4.What is known about W.M. Dudok’s Hilversum Town Hall?
A.It consists of approximately 75 buildings
B.It looks like an open air museum in the city
C.It is a classic example in architecture textbooks
D.It has shaped most of 20th century Hilvesum.
