In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some sociologists suggest that one little-noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner.
Before the appearance of television sets, the American dinner was a big event for the family. In many homes, dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three stages. In the preparation stage, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating stage, family members shared the day’s experiences and more than food was eaten. In this stage families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family unit was strengthened. In the cleaning-up stage, children or Father again gave their hands, so that their importance to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been removed by a product-the television set.
By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long. The speed-up of the once-leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners-meals designed to be eaten from the beginning to the end of a half-hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.
1.
The underlined word in the second paragraph can be replaced by
|
A．big |
B．important |
C．combined |
D．separate |
2.
In the past, Americans tended to .
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A．spend more time eating their food at dinner table |
B．eat more food than they have today |
|
C．spend more time talking about their day’s experiences at dinner table |
|
|
D．talk so much that they forgot to eat |
3.
The shortening of the dinner time in America is related to .
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A．The TV programs |
B．the pace of modern life |
|
C．the wide use of electrical equipment |
D．the popularity of fast food |
4.
. The best title for this passage might be
|
A．Talk at Dinner Table |
B．TV Dinner |
C．Pace of Modern Life |
D．Problems Caused by TV |
John Blanchard was studying the crowd making their way through the station. He was looking for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose.
When reading a book in a Florida library a year before, John became interested not in the contents of the book, but in the notes penciled in the margin(（空白处）. The handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and beautiful mind. He discovered the former owner’s name in the front of the book: Miss Hollis Maynell.
He located her address and wrote a letter introducing himself. The next day he was shipped overseas to serve in the army. During the next year,they grew to know each other through the mail and their friendship developed. John requested a photograph, but she refused, saying if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what
she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return home, their first meeting was suggested-7:00 p.m. at the Grand Central Station in New York.
She wrote, “You’ll recognize me by the red rose I wear on my coat.” So now John was in the station to meet the girl with a rose.
As a pretty and slim girl in green came over, John noticed her blue eyes like flowers in spring. He walked directly towards her, entirely forgetting she was not wearing a rose. As John came closer to her, he saw another woman with a red rose stood nearby. Well past 40, this woman had graying hair done under a worn hat. Seeing the girl in green walk quickly away, John felt as if he were split(劈开) in two. He desired to follow that girl, but longed for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and supported him.
The woman looked gentle and sensible. John went to her, saying, “I’m Captain John Blanchard. You must be Miss Maynell. I am glad to meet you here. May I take you to dinner?”
She replied with a smile, “I don’t know what this is about. But the lady in green who just went by, begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if you asked me out to dinner, I’d tell you she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!”
1.
John was eager to know the former owner of the book because .
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A．he was very interested in the contents of the book |
|
B．he was impressed by the notes written by the owner |
|
C．the book offered him practical and valuable advice |
|
D．there was address of the former owner in the book |
2.
What happened to John after getting in touch with Miss Hollis Maynell?
|
A．He began to serve the army abroad. |
B．He was seriously wounded in the war |
|
C．He went on a business tour in Europe |
D．He asked Miss Maynell for a photo |
3.
What do we know about the woman with a rose?
|
A．She was Miss Maynell’s close companion |
|
B．She was a conductor working in the station |
|
C．She knew nothing about John’s appointment |
|
D．She was paid to carry out a love test on John |
4.
Which would be the best title of the text?
|
A．The Meeting in the Station |
B．The Girl with a Rose |
|
C．A Soldier and a Girl |
D．A Meeting of the Heart |
FU Yuan has been left at home with his grandparents since he was one month old. His mom and dad left to work in Fujian Province. For the past eight years, Fu has only seen his parents three times although they send home 500 yuan every two or three months.
Fu Xiaoyu, 16, has had to live alone since her grandmother passed away three years ago. Her parents do not want to renounce their jobs at a clothing factory in Guangdong Province. Nor can they afford the cost of sending her to a school in the city where they work.
These are just two of the 29 kids that 16-year-olds Huang Ruoqing and Zhang Linna at Beijing No 4 High School talked with this summer in Guixiang Village in Sichuan Province.
What Huang and Zhang learned from their three-day visit shocked them. They wrote down all the kids’ stories in a moving 40-page essay filled with statistical charts.(统计表)
In the poor village with a population of 2,118 people, 582 adults have left to find work, leaving 156 children without parents. Among these so-called left-behind kids, 88 percent of them live with their grandparents, five percent live with uncles or aunts and seven percent have to live on their own.
To Huang and Zhang’s surprise, 80 percent of the children said they love going to school. Even
though, some children have to walk along the hilly roads for two hours to get there.
However, for this village’s students studying is not their first task. Housework, such as helping feed pigs or buffalos(水牛) and taking care of old grandparents, younger sisters or brothers, takes up a considerable amount of their time.
Despite having to work hard at home, over 65 percent of the young interviewees would prefer their parents’ stay away working rather than returning to live with them.
“These kids are understanding and considerate and know how important money is for their families. Their little wishes like having dinner with their parents inspire us never to take what we have had for granted,” Zhang said.
1.
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
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A．Fu Xiaoyu’s parents can’t earn enough money to send her to school. |
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B．Huang Ruoqing and Zhang Linna talked with 29 children this summer during their research. |
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C．Some left-behind kids live with uncles, aunts, or grandparents and others live by themselves. |
|
D．More than half of the left-behind kids prefer their parents’ staying away working. |
2.
It is implied but not directly stated that
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A．Fu Yuan’s parents send him 500 yuan every 2 or 3 months |
|
B．Huang Ruoqing and Zhang Linna wrote an essay according to the left-behind kids’ stories |
|
C．Many left-behind kids love studying and going to school in spite of many hardships |
|
D．The time that the left-behind kids spend on housework is more than that on study |
3.
What’s the exact meaning of the underlined word “renounce”in the second paragraph?
|
A．Keep |
B．continue |
C．give up |
D．get |
4.
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
|
A．Kids Are Left Alone |
B．The True Story of Home Alone |
|
C．Kids Miss Parents |
D．Parents and Kids |
Dorothy Brown was very happy as she sat in the theatre listening to the music. Today her little daughter Lauren was giving her 36 concert. She had been waiting for this 37 for years and years. “Now it is here at last,” she thought. “How beautiful her 38 is.
The song made her 39 to the days when she was Lauren’s 40 . As a young 41 , Dorothy wanted to be a concert singer. She studied 42 in France, Italy and in the United States, “You can become a fine 43 in the future, ” her teachers told her. “But you must be 44 to study hard and work for many years. There will be 45 time for anything but music in your life.” Dorothy was 46 at that time and she was 47 that music was all she wanted or needed to 48 her life. For almost a year Dorothy 49 of nothing else. Then she 50 David, a young engineer travelling in Europe. They soon fell in 51 .
David asked her to be his 52 . Dorothy also wanted to marry David. But she loved 53 , too. She didn’t know what to do. David was against her being a singer. He said, “If you want to be a singer, you must forget about getting married. You can’t 54 do both.” Thus her days were gone and would never return. Now Lauren became a singer instead of her, which was her 55 .
1.
|
A．sorry |
B．successful |
C．first |
D．wonderful |
2.
|
A．dance |
B．moment |
C．show |
D．party |
3.
|
A．voice |
B．face |
C．dress |
D．life |
4.
|
A．think of |
B．bring back |
C．go back |
D．come back |
5.
|
A．age |
B．friend |
C．mother |
D．teacher |
6.
|
A．musician |
B．pop star |
C．lady |
D．girl |
7.
|
A．French |
B．music |
C．piano |
D．dance |
8.
|
A．actress |
B．student |
C．singer |
D．dancer |
9.
|
A．prepared |
B．learning |
C．driven |
D．waiting |
10.
|
A．some |
B．any |
C．no |
D．enough |
11.
|
A．eight |
B．eighteen |
C．eighty |
D．eighty-eight |
12.
|
A．lucky |
B．sure |
C．afraid |
D．fond |
13.
|
A．fill |
B．live |
C．lead |
D．take |
14.
|
A．heard |
B．knew |
C．talked |
D．thought |
15.
|
A．saw off |
B．learned from |
C．heard of |
D．met with |
16.
|
A．love |
B．feeling |
C．music |
D．touch |
17.
|
A．assistant |
B．teacher |
C．wife |
D．student |
18.
|
A．him |
B．engineering |
C．herself |
D．music |
19.
|
A．certainly |
B．possibly |
C．only |
D．mainly |
20.
|
A．thought |
B．hope |
C．purpose |
D．will |
John asked me to visit his uncle’s farm with him.
|
A．how would I like |
B．if or not would I like |
|
C．whether I would like |
D．which I would like |
The accident to the man who to be a foreigner, so it was hard to deal with.
|
A．occurs; happened |
B．happened ;occurred |
|
C．came about; occurred |
D．occurred ;happened |
