The United States is already one year into a depression That was the news this w
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The United States is already one year into a depression That was the news this week from the Na-tional Bureau of Economic Research. The downturn is the longest since a depression that began in 1981and lasted sixteen months.
Economists generally wait for production to shrink for six months in a row before they declare a re-cession. But the bureau, a private group, uses a wider set of information to measure the economy. Thenews only confirmed what many people already knew: that the world"s largest economy is weak and maynot recover soon.
Worsening conclitions have led to a big drop in spending, especially on costly products like new cars. Even Japanese automaker Toyota saw its sales fall thirty - four percent in the United States in November from a year ago.
The heads of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors retumed to Congress this week to again ask for federal aid. Congressional leaders denounced(指责) them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry. This time, the chiefs drove to Washington in fuel- saving hybrid vehicles. And their companies presented detailed restructuring plans. The reguest for aid has risen from twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines.
G.M. wants almost half of that, and says it needs four billion dollars this month. It warned that without support it cannot continue to operate.
Ford is in a better position, But the sharing of suppliers means it could be affected if G.M. or
Chrysler fails. Ford is asking for a nine billion dollar credit line in case it needs it.
Chrysler is the smallest and most trouble of America"s Big Three. It says it needs a seven billion dollar loan by the end of the month.
Two days of congressional hearings began Thursday in the Senate Banking Committee. The chairman, Democrat Chris Dodd, said he would support helping the automakers for the good of the economy.
But the committee"s top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(贿政援助）．
A main root of the world financial crisis is the weak housing market in the United States. The Trea-sury Department has been under pressure to help troubled homeowners. Now comes news that the depart-ment is developing a plan aimed at reducing interest rates on mortgage loans(汽车贷款) for some buyers of homes. That could be good for homeowners trying to sell.
小题1:From the first two paragraphs, we know .| A．the United States is expected to recover soon | | B．the depression has lasted more than 16 months | | C．the depression is much more severe than expected | | D．the depression will last no more than 6 months |
小题2:Why were the automakers refused for federal aid two weeks ago?| A．Because the government had no extra money to help. | | B．Because they didn"t have a ciear plan to save their industry. | | C．Because they had wasted too much on costly new cars. | | D．Because they had enough money to save their industry. |
小题3:Which of the following is asking for the largest federal aide| A．G.M. | B．Toyota. | C．Chrysler. | D．Ford. |
小题4:From the passage we may know Richard Shelby tile automakers" request for federal aid?| A．was for | B．was against | C．didn"t care about | D．took no notice of |
小题5:Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?| A．The hearings on Thursday agreed on a federal aid to the automakers. | | B．The main cause of the crisis is weak housing market in the U.S.. | | C．The government is taking measures to save t he housing market. | | D．The Treasury Department had to help the troubled homeowners. |
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答案
小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:B
小题5:A |
解析
本文是关于美国经济复苏无力，大公司寻求政府救助的文章。
小题1:主旨大意题。由1,2段可知美国经济复苏无力，情况比预料的还要严重。
小题2:细节题。根据文章第四段Congressional leaders denounced(指责) them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry.
小题3:细节题。第四段中The reguest for aid has risen from twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines.这些企业要求的贷款大约是340亿美元。第五段G.M. wants almost half of that。第六段Ford is in a better position, Chrysler is the smallest and most trouble of America"s Big Three. B项丰田公司是日本的。所以选择A。
小题4:细节题。根据倒数第二段But the committee"s top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(贿政援助）．
小题5:细节题。文章倒数2,3段清楚显示并非完全同意，有人反对。 |
举一反三
There is no better way to enjoy Scottish traditions than going fishing and tasting a little bit of whisky(威士忌)at a quiet place like the Inverlochy Castle. When Queen Victoria visited the castle in 1873, she wrote in her diary, “I never saw a lovelier spot ,” And she didn’t even go fishing.
Scotland is not easily defined. In certain moments, this quiet land of lakes and grasses and mountains changes before your very eyes. When evening gently sweeps the hillside into orange light, the rivers, teeming with fish, can turn into streams of gold . As you settle down with just a fishing pole and a basket on the bank of River Orchy, near the Inverlochy Castle , any frustration(烦恼) will float away as gently as the circling water. It’s just you and purple, pink, white flowers, seeking a perfect harmony. If you are a new comer to fishing, learning the basics from a fishing guide may leave you with a lifetime’s fun. For many, fishing is more than a sport; it is an art.
Scotland offers interesting place where you can rest after a long day’s fishing. Set against a wild mountain and hidden behind woodland, the beautiful Inverlochy Castle Hotel below the Nevis is a perfect place to see the beauty of Scotland’s mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest of all British mountains, and reaching its 1343-metre top is a challenge. But it’s not just what goes up matters; what comes down is unique. More than 900 metres high, on the mountain’s north face, lies an all-important source of pure water. Its name comes from the Gaelic language “usquebaugh” or “water of life”; and it is the single most important ingredient(原料) in Scotland’s best known drink: whisky.
小题1:The story of Queen Victoria is to show that _____.| A．the queen is rich in tour experience | | B．the Castle is a good place to go in Scotland | | C．tasting whisky is better than going fishing | | D．1873 is a special year for the queen |
小题2:How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?| A．By giving descriptions. | B．By following time order. | | C．By analyzing causes. | D．By making comparisons. |
小题3:What is Ben Nevis special for?| A．The Inverlochy Castle Hotel . | | B．The beauty of its surroundings. | | C．The water from the mountain. | | D．The challenge up to its top. |
小题4:What is the main purpose of the passage?| A．To introduce Scottish traditions to tourists. | | B．To show the attractions of Scotland to readers. | | C．To explore geographical characteristics of Scotland. | | D．To describe the pleasures of life in Scotland. |
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In his 1930 essay “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren ”, John Keynes, a famous economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs ,which are independent of what others have , and relative needs ,which make us feel superior to our fellows. He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable (无止境的) , this is not true of absolute needs.
Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.
Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demands for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.
There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demand for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sport car on the market Priced at over $120,000, it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2004, the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling and acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however, they must pay almost four times the price.
By placing the desire to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.
小题1:According to the passage, John Keynes believed that_______.| A．desire is the root of both absolute and relative needs | | B．absolute needs come from our sense of superiority | | C．relative needs alone lead to insatiable demands | | D．absolute needs are stronger than relative needs |
小题2:What do we know about the couple in Paragraph 3?| A．They want to show their superiority. | | B．They find specialty important to meals. | | C．Their demands for food are not easily satisfied. | | D．Their choice of dinner is |
小题3:What does the underlined word “escalation” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?| A．Understanding. | B．Increase | C．Difference | D．Study |
小题4:The author of the passage argues that ______.| A．absolute needs have no limits | | B．demands for quality are not insatiable | | C．human desires influence ideas of quality | | D．relative needs decide most of our spending |
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Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
小题1:What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?| A．Love. | B．Politeness. | C．Joy. | D．Thankfulness. |
小题2:The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can ___ .| A．show friendliness to strangers | | B．be used to hide true feelings | | C．be used in the wrong places | | D．show personal habits |
小题3:What should we do before attempting to “read” people?| A．Learn about their relations with others. | | B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. | | C．Find out about their past experience. | | D．Figure out what they will do next. |
小题4:What would be the best title for the test?| A．Cultural Differences | B．Smiles and Relationship | | C．Facial Expressiveness | D．Habits and Emotions |
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Among various programs, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style(风格). But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”. The contents on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people’s lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality(质量) of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show’s main viewers are middleclass Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life’s tough problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show’s exploitation.
小题1:Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are ______.| A．more interesting. | B．very popular. | | C．more detailed. | D．more formal. |
小题2:Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows ______.| A．remain interested in them. | | B．are ready to face up to them. | | C．remain cold to them. | | D．are willing to get away from them. |
小题3:Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?| A．A new type of robot. | B．Nation hatred(憎恨). | | C．Family income planning. | D．Street accident. |
小题4:We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ______.| A．have become the only ones of its kind. | | B．exploit the weaknesses in human nature. | | C．appear at different times of the day. | | D．attract different people. |
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URBANA, ILL. (AP)--Mike dropped out of college to support his pregnant(***的) girlfriend and now works as a manager of a trucking company, Lynn graduated with honors from Harvard University and was hired as a lawyer with a top law firm in a major city. What do these two people have in common? Ten years ago they were both high school valedictorians (致告别辞者).
A University of Illinois study follows the lives of 81 valedictorians and salutatorians (致词的学生代表) who graduated a decade ago from public and private high schools in the state.
Tales of Success and Failure
The study found tales of success and failure. The research on 46 women and 35 men found that some were doctors and scientists, one was a drug addict, another was a waitress with emotional problems.
"There is a popular idea about people who do well in school doing well in life," said Terry Denny, professor of education. Denny conducted the study with Karen Arnold, a former graduate student of Denny" s who is now a professor at Boston College. Denny and Arnold contacted the 81 students before graduation, and then followed up with interviews nearly every other year. They also sent them questionnaires in the mail.
Varied Careers
One-third of the students are lawyers, or have a doctorate. Nineteen are in business and 15 are engineers or computer scientists. Others include a farmer, a stock broker, and an aerobics instructor.
Arnold says many of the students have only average positions in the work world and that "most are not headed for greatness in their careers." Denny, however, says that it is too early to make such predictions. "Who expects someone to be on the Supreme Court at the age of 28 or to be the discoverer of an important scientific invention right after college?" he said. "These students are just getting started in life. They are just beginning to find out what life is all about."
小题1:What can we conclude from Paragraph 1?| A．Mike got married before he went to college. | | B．Lynn was honored by a law firm in the city. | | C．Mike was not so lucky as Lynn after graduating from college. | | D．Mike and Lynn both graduated first in their high school class. |
小题2:According to the article Denny is probably older than Arnold because .| A．Denny was her professor | | B．Arnold did well at school. | | C．Denny interviewed some students | | D．Arnold helped Denny in the research |
小题3:What is probably the best title for the article?| A．Successful Careers for College Graduates | | B．Success in Education Predicts Success in Later Life | | C．High School Honors Not Always Key to Life Success | | D．A study on Successful Jobs and College Graduates |
小题4:Who probably wrote this article?| A．College graduates | B．Reporters | | C．Professors and researchers | D．Teachers |
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