Members of the working class have blue-collar jobs. They are construction workers, truck drivers, mechanics, steel workers, electricians, and the like. What makes this class differ from the lower class is, first, longer periods of employment -- and therefore, more fixed incomes —and, second, employment in skilled or semiskilled (半熟练的 ) occupations, not unskilled ones. Although unemployment hits all levels of the American economy, including those of skilled and semi-skilled workers, it is most common at the bottom of the class structure and increasingly less common at each level upward. They consider themselves to be respectable and hard working and they look down upon members of the "lower" class, whom they often consider to be lazy, dishonest, and too ready to exploit public assistance.
Most people in the working class have at least high school education. Many have some experience of college ( especially community college), though few are college graduates. Unionization has helped the working class, but a rapidly changing economy and frequent periods of high unemployment make it difficult for most of its members to be able to increase their savings greatly. Purchasing a house for people in this class is extremely difficult, although a certain percentage may receive houses from their parents. (Home-owning rises with social class. )
A greater number of the members of the working class take relatively little satisfaction in their jobs, because much of their work is ordinary and boring. As a result, many seek their main satisfaction in recreational ( 娱乐的) activities. Many members of this class would like to earn enough money to leave their jobs and start their own businesses, though few make it. Many place their expectations on their children, hoping that they at least will rise in the ladder of success, American style.
1.Which of the following is true about the working class.?
A. They are often employed as skilled and semi-skilled workers.
B. They are often offered jobs with high incomes.
C. They are often considered lazy and dishonest.
D. They are often exploited by the public.
2.The underlined word “hit” (paragraph 1 ) roughly means .
A. strike with a blow B. have bad effects on C. break up D. beat
3.Most people in the working class .
A. have difficulty increasing their savings greatly
B. have at least some experience of college
C. receive houses from their parents
D. buy houses by themselves
4.Many members from the working class are not satisfied with their jobs because .
A. they could not rise in the ladder of success B. they are not interested in their jobs
C. they could not earn much money D. they are not their own bosses
He's an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” -- without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron ( 围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.. ”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old, way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
1.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler.'?
A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.
B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.
C. He was proud of his skills.
D. He was a native Parisian.
2.The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” ( paragraph 7 ) implies that
A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him
B. it was difficult to communicate with this man
C. the man was very strange
D. the man was too old
3.According to the author, many people work just to .
A. realize their abilities B. gain happiness C. make money D. gain respect
4.This story wants to tell us that .
A. craftsmen make a lot of money B. whatever you do, do it well
C. craftsmen need self-respect D. people are born equal
Scientific experiments can sometimes go wrong and when they do the results may range from the disastrous to the troubling. One such experiment took place in South America about fifty years ago. Whether its final consequences will cause serious damage or nothing more than a small trouble still remains to be seen.
The story began in 1956 when an American scientist working in Brazil decided to solve the problem of increasing the productivity of that country's bees. He imported a very active type of African bee from Tanzania and mated (交配) it with the more easy-going native variety to produce a new kind of bees. The new bees worked harder and produced twice as much honey. It seemed that Professor Kerr, for that was the scientist's name, had a total success on his hands.
Then things began to go wrong. For some reason as yet unseen, but perhaps as a result of something in their environment, the new bees began to develop extremely attacking personalities. They became bad-tempered and easy to be angry, attacked the native bees and drove them from their living places.
But worse was to follow. Having taken over the countryside, the new bees, with their dangerous stings (叮) , began to attack its neighbors -- cats, dogs, horses, chickens and finally man himself. A long period of terror began that has so far killed a great number of animals and about 150 human beings.
This would have been bad enough if the bees had stayed in Brazil. But now they are on the move, heading northwards in countless millions towards Central and North America, and moving at the alarming speed of 200 miles a year. The countries that lie in their path are naturally worried because it looks as if nothing can be done to stop them.
1.The results of the South American experiment .
A. have caused a serious trouble B. have proved to be wrong
C. are not yet certain D. are not important
2.The experiment mentioned in this passage was designed to .
A. increase the amount of honey in Brazil B. make Brazilian bees more easy-going
C. increase the number of bees in Brazil D. make African bees less active
3.Which of the following may be the cause of the new bees' attacking personalities?
A. Their production of honey. B. Their hard work.
C. Their living environment. D. Their bad temper.
4.The last paragraph implies that .
A. the bees have been driven to Central and North America
B. the bees may bring about trouble in more countries
C. the bees must be stopped from moving north
D. the bees prefer to live in Brazil
The survey about childhood in the Third World shows that the struggle for survival is long and hard. But in the rich world, children can 1from a different kind of poverty — of the spirit. 2, one Western country alone now sees 14, 000 attempted suicides ( 自杀 ) every year by children under 15, and one child 3five needs psychiatric (心理) advice.
There are many good things about 4in the Third World. Take the close and constant relation between children and their parents, relatives and neighbours for example. In the West, the very nature of work puts distance between 5and children. But in most Third World villages mother and father do not go miles away each day to work in offices. 6, the child sees mother and father, relations and neighbours working 7and often shares in that work.
A child 8in this way learns his or her role through joining in the community's 9：helping to dig or build, look after animals or babies -- rather than 10playing with water and sand in kindergarten, keeping pets 11playing with dolls.
These children may grow up with a less oppressive sense of space and time than the 12children. Their sense of days and time has a lot to do with the change of seasons and positions of the sun or the moon in the sky. Children in the rich world, 13, are provided with a watch as one of the 14signs of growing up, so that they can 15along with their parents about being late for school times, meal times, bed times, the times of TV shows …
Third World children do not usually 16to stay indoors, still less in highrise apartments (公寓) . Instead of dangerous roads, "keep off the grass" signs and "don't speak to strangers", there is often a sense of 17to study and play. Parents can see their children outside rather than observe them 18from ten floors up.
19, twelve million children under five still die every year through hunger and disease. But childhood in the Third World is not all 20
1.A. come B. learn C. suffer D. survive
2.A. As usual B. For instance C. In fact D. In other words
3.A. by B. in C. to D. under
4.A. childhood B. poverty C. spirit D. survival
5.A. adults B. fathers C. neighbours D. relatives
6.A. Anyhow B. However C. Instead D. Still
7.A. away B. alone C. along D. nearby
8.A. growing up B. living through C. playing D. working
9.A. activity B. life C. study D. work
10.A. by B. from C. through D. with
11.A. and B. but C. or D. so
12.A. Eastern B. good C. poor D. Western
13.A. at any moment B. at the same time C. on the other hand D. on the whole
14.A. easiest B. earliest C. happiest D. quickest
15.A. care B. fear C. hurry D. worry
16.A. dare B. expect C. have D. require
17.A. control B. danger C. disappointment D. freedom
18.A. anxiously B. eagerly C. impatiently D. proudly
19.A. Above all B. In the end C. Of course D. What's more
20.A. bad B. good C. rich D. poor
-- Excuse me, Sir, is the swimming pool open all day?
-- Only from 6:00 pal to 10:00 pm.
A. That's right. B. Yes, of course
C. Sorry, I am not sure D. Sorry, I'm afraid not
You have been sitting on my hat and now it is badly out of .
A. date B. shape C. order D. balance
