(2011·山东)
Diana Jacobs thought her family had a workable plan to pay for college for her 21yearold twin sons: a combination of savings, income, scholarships, and a modest amount of borrowing. Then her husband lost his job, and the plan fell apart.
“I have two kids in college, and I want to say ‘come home,’ but at the same time I want to provide them with a good education,” says Jacobs.
The Jacobs family did work out a solution: They asked and received more aid from the schools, and each son increased his borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan (贷款) program. They will each graduate with $20,000 of debt, but at least they will be able to finish school.
With unemployment rising, financial aid administrators expect to hear more families like the Jacobs. More students are applying for aid, and more families expect to need student loans. College administrators are concerned that they will not have enough aid money to go around.
At the same time, tuition(学费)continues to rise. A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college tuition and fees increased 439% from 1982 to 2007, while average family income rose just 147%. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade.
“If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” says Patrick M. Callan, president of the center. “The middle class families have been financing it through debt. They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt.”
Financial aid administrators have been having a hard time as many companies decide that student loans are not profitable enough and have stopped making them. The good news, however, is that federal loans account for about three quarters of student borrowing, and the government says that money will flow uninterrupted.
【语篇解读】 本文介绍了今年学生贷款增多给家庭带来的压力和大学学费的不断增加的社会问题,提出政府对之做出的回应。
1. According to Paragraph 1, why did the plan of the Jacobs family fail?
A. The twins wasted too much money.
B. The father was out of work.
C. Their savings ran out.
D. The family fell apart.
解析 细节理解题。 由第一段最后一句Then her husband lost his job,and the plan fell apart.可知选B。
答案 B
2. How did the Jacobs manage to solve their problem?
A. They asked their kids to come home.
B. They borrowed $20,000 from the school.
C. They encouraged their twin sons to do parttime jobs.
D. They got help from the school and the federal government.
解析 推理判断题。第三段指出解决方案solution 是向学校索求更多的援助,每个儿子增加贷款到最大额度。如原文“They asked and received more aid from the schools, and each son increased his borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan (贷款) program.”,也即是选项B。
答案 D
3. Financial aid administrators believe that________.
A. more families will face the same problem as the Jacobses
B. the government will receive more letters of complaint
C. college tuition fees will double soon
D. America’s unemployment will fall
解析 细节推断题。由第四段“expect to hear more families like the Jacobs”可以得知财政援助的管理员们预期会看到更多像Jacobs一家的情况,同义句转换即选项A。而B、D原文没有提到,C 从第五段“Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade”,可知在过去10年里已经长了一倍还多,因此是错的。
答案 A
4.What can we learn about the middle class families from the text?
A. They blamed the government for the tuition increase.
B. Their income remained steady in the last decade.
C. They will try their best to send kids to college.
D. Their debts will be paid off within 25 years.
解析 推理判断题。从第六段最后一句话“They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt.”可知,无论需要什么他们都会送孩子去上大学,即使那意味着大笔的债务。
答案 C
5.According to the last paragraph, the government will________.
A. provide most students with scholarships
B. dismiss some financial aid administrators
C. stop the companies from making student loans
D. go on providing financial support for college students
解析 细节推断题。由最后一段可知许多公司做出决定说学生贷款利润不够多因此不再做贷款,而好消息是联邦政府承担着四分之三的学生贷款。因此推断是D,政府将继续承担对大学生的资金援助。
答案 D
Passage 1
(2011·江门市高三第一次调研)The British National Health Service (NHS) was set up in 1948 and was designed to provide equal basic health care, free of charge, for everybody in the country. Before this time health care had to be paid for by individuals.
Nowadays central government is directly responsible for the NHS although it is administered by local health authorities. About 83 percent of the cost of the health service is paid for by general taxation and the rest is met from the National Insurance contributions paid by those in work. There are charges for prescription and dental care but many people, such as children, pregnant women, pensioners, and those on Income Support, are exempt from payment.
Most people are registered with a local doctor (a GP, or General Practitioner) who is increasingly likely to be part of a health centre which serves the community.
As the population of Britain gets older, the hospital service now treats more patients than before, although patients spend less time in hospital. NHS hospitals—many of which were built in the nineteenth century—provide nearly half a million beds and have over 480, 000 medical staff. The NHS is the biggest employer in Europe although Britain actually spends less per person on health care than most of her European neighbours.
During the 1980s there was considerable restructuring of the Health Service with an increased emphasis on managerial efficiency and the privatization of some services (for example, cleaning). At the end of the 1980s the government introduced proposals for further reform of the NHS, including allowing some hospitals to be selfgoverning, and encouraging GPs to compete for patients. Patients would be able to choose and change their family doctor more easily and GPs would have more financial responsibility. The political questions continue of how much money should be provided to support the NHS and where it should come from.
【语篇解读】 国家保健中心由中央政府直接负责,但由地方当局管理。建立国家保健中心的最初目的是为农村居民提供免费的基本健康护理,尤其儿童、孕妇等可享受免费治疗。
1. We can know from the first paragraph that________.
A. the original aim of the NHS was to provide equal basic health care for everybody
B. people didn’t have to pay for health care since the NHS was set up
C. patients were charged for receiving health care before 1948
D. the NHS was an organization which gave free advice to villagers
解析 细节理解题。根据最后一自然段最后一句可知,建立国家保健中心的最初目的是为农村居民提供免费的基本健康护理,而不是针对所有的人,所以前两项错误。
答案 C
2. What do we know about the NHS?
A. It’s managed by the central government.
B. Its cost is mainly paid for by the National Insurance contributions.
C. It hires more people than any other unit in Europe.
D. Fewer patients go to its hospitals than before because they spend less on health care.
解析 细节理解题。根据第4自然段“The NHS is the biggest employer in Europe...”可知。从第二自然段第一句可以看出国家保健中心由中央政府直接负责,但由地方当局管理,所以A项错误。
答案 C
3. All the following statements about GPs are true except that they ________.
A. take care of the local people’s health
B. often take part in competitions to see who is the best
C. work under high pressure nowadays
D. have more responsibilities than before
解析 细节理解题。根据最后一自然段“and encouraging GPs to compete for patients”可知政府鼓励全科医生之间相互竞争,而不是让他们进行竞赛,看谁的医术高明。
答案 B
4. What does the underlined word “exempt” probably mean?
A. Suffering.
B. Different.
C. Prevented.
D. Free.
解析 猜测词义题。前面提到医生开药方及给病人治疗牙病需要收费,再结合but一词可推断儿童、孕妇等可享受免费治疗。
答案 D
5. The biggest problem for the NHS is________.
A. many hospitals are too old to be used
B. some services are in the charge of individuals
C. more and more patients go to GPs for treatment
D. there is not enough money for further reform
解析 细节理解题。根据最后一自然段最后一句可知。
答案 D
Passage 2
(2011·南通市第一次模拟)Being the boss might mean more money and challenging work but it can also cause damage to physical and mental wellbeing,according to a Canadian study.
For years studies have shown people in lowerstatus jobs generally have higher rates of heart disease and other illnesses and die earlier than those in higherstatus positions while job authority has shown no relationship with workers’ health.
But University of Toronto researchers,using data from 1,800 US workers,found the health of people in higher positions is affected by work as they are more likely to report conflicts with coworkers and say work disturbs their home life.
However,the positive aspects of having a power position at work,such as higher status,more pay and greater independence,seemed to cancel out the negative aspects when it came to people’s physical and psychological health.
These latest findings,reported in the journal Social Science & Medicine,suggest that the advantages and disadvantages authority positions basically cancel each other out,giving the general impression that job authority has no health effects.
For the study,the researchers surveyed participants about various aspects of their work,life and wellbeing.Job authority was judged based on whether a person managed other employees and had power over hiring,firing and pay.
Physical health complaints included problems like headaches,body aches,heartburn and tiredness.Psychological complaints included sleep problems,difficulty concentrating and feelings of sadness,worry and anxiety.
“This isn’t to suggest that having authority is ‘bad’—in fact,we show it has benefits...but it is important to identify the negative sides and deal with them.”researcher Scott Schieman said.
Schieman said conflicts with
coworkers or involvement of work into home life may destroy physical and mental wellbeing by creating stress.
“These are key stressors that can tax individuals’ ability to function effectively,”Schieman said.
【语篇解读】 公司老板和身处较高职位的人要正确处理高薪工作给自己带来的好处和弊端,如果不能正确处理,则会有损于自己的身体健康。
1.Work will have a negative effect on job authority’s health probably because________.
A.they are not fit for their work
B.they have power over hiring and pay
C.they are faced with severe competition
D.they don’t get on well with their coworkers
解析 细节理解题。由第三段“as they are more likely to report ...life”可知D项正确。
答案 D
2.Most people don’t see that bosses have health effects because ________.
A.their health problems are not serious enough to see
B.they have enough money to keep themselves healthy
C.their problems are quite different from those of workers
D.the advantages and disadvantages of their status work against each other
解析 细节理解题。根据第五段“the advantages and disadvantages authority positions basically cancel each other out,giving the general impression that job authority has no health effects”可知答案应选D。cancel out取消,抵消。
答案 D
3.From the passage we can infer that the study aims to________.
A.warn people not to be a boss for ever
B.remind the boss to deal with bad effects of their work
C.show that having authority is harmful to one’s health
D.prove that being a boss can benefit a lot
解析 作者意图题。根据全文内容可知,文章的写作目的就是提醒做老板和身居高职的人要正确处理工作给他们带来的消极影响。故选B。
答案 B
4.The best title for this passage might be________.
A.Lowerstatus can affect health
B.Authority can affect health
C.Positive aspects of a power position
D.Disadvantages of being a boss
解析 主旨大意题。根据全文内容不难看出B项最符合,即位高权重影响健康。
答案 B
Passage 3
(2011·哈尔滨质量检测)Faced with a tough job market,fresh graduates are dreaming of running their own businesses instead.
But a recent survey has showed that such desires lack the required support and remain just dreams.
The Shanghai Municipal Employment Promotion Center poll of 1,276 graduates in several universities and colleges in the city,released last Friday,showed 60 percent of interviewees considered the possibility of setting up a company or at least a small store.“But they just stop at the‘thinking’stage,”it stated.
Interviewees put the top reasons for not going it alone down to a shortage of money and a lack of business opportunity.
They also listed lack of business experiences and social networks,the need for advanced study and objections from family members as factors that stood in their way.
More than 90 percent of the interviewees said they would rather take up a job after graduating and then consider starting their own business two or three years down the road.
Guo Bing,a senior student in Shanghai International Studies University majoring in English,decided he wanted to be his own boss last year.
But he is looking for a job first.“If I fail to find a satisfying job,I would like to run a company in exhibition services,”Guo said.
The Shanghai native has some relatives working in a local printing plant.With their help,Guo hopes to produce exhibition brochures (资料手册) at a low price.He is also confident that his English language skills can help him do well in the industry.
Guo said that the shortage of graduate jobs is the main reason driving more university students to set up a business right after their graduation.
【语篇解读】 面对激烈的劳动市场,应届毕业生渴望拥有自己的事业。然而一项调查表明,由于种种原因,他们并不能如愿以偿。
1.Which factor contributes most to the interviewees’ “unrealized dreams”?
A.A lack of business experience.
B.A lack of social networks.
C.Objections from family members.
D.A lack of money.
解析 细节理解题。根据第四段“...for not going it alone down to a shortage of money”可知大多数受访者认为梦想不能实现是因为缺乏资金,故D项正确。
答案 D
2.What can help Guo Bing do well,if he runs a company in exhibition services?
A.His parents’ help.
B.His strong will.
C.His good command of English.
D.His interview experience.
解析 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段最后一句知C项正确。
答案 C
3.How many of the interviewees in the survey would like to find a job first after graduation?
A.Over 1,148.
B.Over 128.
C.Over 757. D.Over 510.
解析 细节理解题。结合第三段“...poll of 1,276 graduates...”和第六段“More than 90 percent of the interviewees said they would rather take up a job after graduating”可知A项正确。
答案 A
4.We definitely know from the passage that ________.
A.more than half of the interviewees have set up their own companies or stores
B.the fresh graduates want to set up their own business because of a tough job market
C.Guo Bing decided to be his own boss when he graduated from his university
D.Guo Bing is so independent that he can do well without others’ help
解析 细节理解题。根据第一段可知B项正确。A项与文章意思不符;由倒数第四段排除C项;根据倒数第二段排除D项。
答案 B
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