Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.
1.The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.
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A．an increase in birthrates |
B．the industrial development |
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C．a decrease in death rates |
D．human beings’ cultural advances |
2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.
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A．it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work |
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B．the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation |
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C．old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations |
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D．death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life |
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?
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A．Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough. |
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B．Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement. |
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C．When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial. |
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D．With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever. |
4. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.
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A．prolonging the dying old people’s lives |
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B．reducing the problems caused by the retired people |
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C．making profits through caring for the sick or weak people |
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D．taking care of the sick or weak people |
5.Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?
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A．Sympathetic. |
B．Approving. |
C．Optimistic. |
D．Critical. |
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为16—25的相应位置上。 In order to know a foreign language thoroughly, four things are necessary. Firstly, we must understand the language when we hear 16. spoken. Secondly, we must be able to speak it ourselves correctly with confidence and without hesitation. 17. , we must be able to read the language, and fourthly, we must be able to write it. We must be able to make sentences that are grammatically correct.
There is no easy way to success 18. language learning. 19. good memory is a great help, but it is not enough only 20. (memorize) rules from a grammar book. It is not much use learning by heart long lists of words and 21. meanings, studying the dictionary and so on. We must learn by using the language. 22 . we are satisfied with only a few rules we have memorized, we are not really learning the language. “Learn through use” is a good piece of 23. (advise) for those 24. are studying a new language. Practice is important. We must practise speaking and 25. (write) the language whenever we can.
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Nowadays we live in a global village, and many difficulties will arise if we can’t express ourselves fluently in English.
In spite of my awareness of its importance,I seldom find chances to practice and improve my oral English.So,I am still very weak with regard to this respect.One reason is that my pronunciation and intonation aren’t good enough.The other is that I am so shy that I am always too nervous to find other exact words to express my ideas and feelings.As a result the best way for me to do is to remain silent when others are practicing and making great progress in their oral English every day.
Now I am attaching much more importance to oral English and I have made up my mind to seize every opportunity to parctice. I begin to participate activities,such as going to “English Corners”,talking in English with my classmates and with native speakers. “Nothing is difficult in the world if you really put your heart to it.”as the Chinese saying goes.If I can build up my confidence,if I am not afraid of losing face any more,if I really work hard on it,I am sure my oral English will be excellent someday
【写作内容】
1.以约30个词概括短文的要点；
2.然后一120个词写一篇英语短文谈谈广东高考英语口试对你口语练习造成的影响，并包括如下要点：
（1）你以前对英语口语的态度及原因；
（2）广东高考英语口试对你目前英语口语练习造成的某些影响；
（3）你的感想或期望。
【写作要求】
1.作文中可使用自己的亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子；标题自定。
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
[评分标准] 概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，语篇连贯。
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为16—25的相应位置上。
Ms. Mary was over eighty, but she still drove her old car like half her age. She loved driving very fast, and boasted of the fact 16. she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished 17. a driving mistake.
Then one day, she nearly lost her record. A police car followed her, and the policemen in it saw her pass a red light without 18. (stop).
When Ms. Mary came before the judge, he looked at her severely and said that she was too old to drive a car, and that the reason 19. she had not stopped at red light was most probably that her eyes had become weak 20 old age, so that she had simply not seen it.
When the judge had finished 21. he was saying, Ms. Mary opened the big handbag she was carrying and took out her sewing. Without saying a word, she 22. (choose) a needle with a very small eye, and threaded it at the first time.
When she had 23 (success) done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed both the needle and thread to the judge, saying, “Now it is your turn. I suppose you can drive a car well, and you have no doubts 24. your eyesight.”
The judge took the needle and tried to thread it. After half a dozen times, he had still not succeeded. The case against Ms. Mary 25. (dismiss), and her record remained unbroken.
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Earth Hour is an annual international event set up by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and held on the last Saturday of March. It asks families and factories to turn off their non-essential（不必要的） lights and electrical appliances(电器) for one hour to raise awareness(意识) of the need to take action on climate change. It was first held in Australia in 2007, and achieved worldwide participation（参加） in 2008.
Earth Hour 2008 was the biggest voluntary power down in history. More than 370 cities in 35 countries took part and celebrated Earth Hour in their local ways. Businesses, school groups, communities and individuals celebrated all over the world with candle-lit dinners, torch parties, and street celebrations. Symbolic(标志性的) buildings and landmarks went dark, including the Sydney Opera House, the Sears Tower, and the Coliseum in Rome.
The WWF is sending a message to the people around the world that Earth Hour is the perfect opportunity for individuals, governments, schools, businesses and communities from all over to unite in a common purpose, and in response to a global issue that affects us all.
【写作内容】
假设你是广东某中学学生会主席，在今年的Earth Hour来临前，请你写一封英文倡议书，号召你所在中学的学生们参加此活动，并把此倡议书发表到Earth Hour的官网上。内容要点包括：
以约30个词介绍Earth Hour活动；
然后以约120个词写一封倡议书号召同学们参加此活动，内容包括：
（1）目前地球环境和能源的状况；
（2）发起倡议并提供可行的做法。
【写作要求】
1．作文可以参照阅读材料的内容但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2．文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
【评分标准】
概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
请写一段英语短文介绍以下有关英国的基本情况。
【写作内容】
上述表格中的所有信息。
【写作要求】
只能用5个英文句子表达所有信息。
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国名 |
英国 |
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首都 |
伦敦 |
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人口 |
5,883万 |
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自然地理 |
２４.３万平方公里。位于欧洲西部的岛国。由英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士、北爱尔兰和其它一些小岛组成。隔北海、多佛尔海峡(the Dover Channel)、英吉利海峡(the English Channel)与欧洲大陆相望。终年温和湿润。多雨雾，秋冬尤甚。年平均降水量约１,０００毫米(millimetre)。 |
【评分标准】
句子结构准确；信息内容完整；篇章结构连贯。
参考词汇：海峡 channel; 温和的 mild; 平均的 average; 降水量 rainfall 大陆continent
