They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories(配饰)．Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies．A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favouring the same high street looks worn by those half their age．
Professor Julia Twigg, a social policy expert, said, “Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s．In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter．It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years — now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to．Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly．”
Professor Twigg analysed family expenditure(支出) data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same — at 5 or 6 percent of spending — the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply．
The professor said, “Clothes are now 70 percent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East．In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from, but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere．Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them．”
Fashion designer Angela Barnard, who runs her own fashion business in London, said older women were much more affected celebrity(名流) style than in previous years．
She said, “When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties, they want to follow them．Older women are much more aware of celebrities ．There’s also the boom in TV programmes showing people how they can change their look, and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties．When I started my business a few years ago, my older customers tended to be very rich, but now they are what I would call ordinary women．My own mother is 61 and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago．”
1.Professor Twigg found that, compared with the 1960s, _________．
A．the price of clothes has generally fallen by 70%
B．the spending on clothes has increased by 5% or 6%
C．people spend 30% less than they did on clothes
D．the amount of clothes bought has risen by 5% or 6%
2.What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion？
A．They are often ignored by fashion designers．
B．They are now more easily influenced by stars．
C．They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion．
D．They are more interested in clothes because of their old age．
3.It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because _________．
A．they get tired of things more quickly B．TV shows teach them how to change their look
C．they are in much better shape now D．clothes are much cheaper than before
4.Which is the best possible title of the passage?
A．Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans B．The More Fashionable, the Less Expensive
C．Unexpected Changes in Fashion D．Boom of the British Fashion Industry
For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner．Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict．In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it．From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness．And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely．Both feel trapped．
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap．The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things．Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends．Second, blaming．The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong．Third, needing to be right．It doesn’t matter what the topic is — politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg — the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority — someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect．Unfortunately, as long as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress．
1.Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
A．both can continue for generations． B．Both are about where to draw the line．
C．Neither has any clear winner． D．Neither can be put to an end．
2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
A．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict．
B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict．
C．The teens accuse their parents of misleading them．
D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents．
3.Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________．
A．give orders to the other B．know more than the other
C．gain respect from the other D．get the other to behave properly
4.What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A．causes for the parent–teen conflicts
B．Examples of the parent–teen war．
C．Solutions for the parent–teen problems
D．Future of the parent–teen relationship
It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night．The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently．
My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him．I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same．I’m so glad I did．
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea．As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance．
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby．We couldn’t believe it —there aren’t any whales along the coast here．The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive．
The little baby whale — actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move．The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves．” She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said．At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently．With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water．Then it swam up right beside its mum．They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction．We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel．Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe — and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes．Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance．
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half．That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day, Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea．
1.The author says “I’m so glad I did．” (in Para．2) because __________．
A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing
B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea
C．he experienced the rescue of the whales
D．he spent the weekend with his family
2.The harbour survived the storm owing to__________．
A．the shape of the harbour B．the arms of the bay
C．the still water in the channel D．the long coast line
3.The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________．
A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long
B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough
C．she had no other whales around to tutu to for help
D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction
4.What is the theme of the story?
A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness．
B．Fishing provides excitement for children．
C．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals．
D．It’s vital to protect the environment．
The passengers on the bus watched with sympathy as Susan made her way carefully up the steps．She paid the driver and then, using her hands to 36 the seats, settled in one of them．
It had been a year since Susan became blind．As the result of an accident she was suddenly thrown into a world of 37 ．Susan’s husband Mark watched her 38 into hopelessness and he was 39 to use every possible means to help his wife．
Finally, Susan felt ready to 40 to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but she was now too 41 to get around the city by herself．Mark 42 to ride the bus with Susan each morning and evening 43 she could manage it by herself．
For two weeks, Mark 44 Susan to and from work each day．He taught her how to rely on her other 45 , specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new 46 ．
At last, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip 47 ．Monday morning arrived．Before she left, she hugged her husband 48 , her eyes filled with tears of gratitude（感激）．She said good-bye and, for the first time, they went their 49 ways．Each day went perfectly, and a wild excitement 50 Susan．She was doing it!
On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work 51 ．As she was getting off the bus, the driver said, “Miss, I sure 52 you．” Curious, Susan asked the driver 53 ．
“You know, every morning for the 54 week, a fine-looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you until you enter your office building safely,” the bus driver said．
Tears of happiness poured down Susan’s cheeks．She was so lucky for he had given her a gift more powerful than 55 , That is the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness．
1.A．touch B．grab C．count D．feel
2.A．weakness B．sickness C．darkness D．sadness
3.A．run B．sink C．jump D．step
4.A．inspired B．determined C．honored D．pleased
5.A．return B．adjust C．contribute D．stick
6.A．tired B．astonished C．depressed D．frightened
7.A．volunteered B．attempted C．continued D．struggled
8.A．when B．as C．until D．after
9.A．drove B．directed C．accompanied D．sent
10.A．feeling B．organs C．skills D．senses
11.A．position B．environment C．status D．role
12.A．on her own B．in person C．to her benefit D．on foot
13.A．politely B．calmly C．briefly D．tightly
14.A．opposite B．separate C．fixed D．lonely
15.A．took charge of B．took place of C．took advantage of D．took hold of
16.A．as usual B．as a rule C．as well D．as a consequence
17.A．respect B．envy C．know D．support
18.A．what B．how C．why D．who
19.A．past B．same C．first D．next
20.A．courage B．will C．sight D．wisdom
I just wonder ________ that makes him so excited．
A．why it does B．what he does C．how it is D．what it is
A new college is being built in ________ I can remember was an old factory 20 years ago．
A．which B．where C．that D．what
