In the eighteenth century one of the first modern economists, Adam Smith, thought that “ the whole annual produce of the land and labour of every country” provided revenue to “three different orders of people: those who live by rent, those who live by wages, and those who live by profit”. Each successive stage of the industrial revolution, however, made the social structure more complicated.
Many intermediate groups grew up during the nineteenth century between the upper middle class and the working class. There were small-scale industrialists as well as large ones, small shopkeepers and tradesmen, officials and salaried employees, skilled and unskilled workers, and professional men such as doctors and teachers. Farmers and peasants continued in all countries as independent groups.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the possession of wealth inevitably affected a person’s social position. Intelligent industrialists with initiative made fortunes by their wits which lifted them into an economic group far higher than that of their working-class parents. But they lacked social training of the upper class, who despised them as the “new rich.”
They often sent their sons and daughters to special schools to acquire social training. Here their children, mixed with the children of the upper classes, were accepted by them, and very often found marriage partners from among them. In the same way, a thrifty, hardworking labourer, though not clever himself, might save for his son enough to pay for an extended secondary school education in the hope that he would move in a “white-collar” occupation, carrying with it a higher salary and a move up in the social scale.
In the twentieth century the increased taxation of higher incomes, the growth of the social services, and the wider development of educational opportunity have considerably altered the social outlook. The upper classes no longer are the sole, or even the main possessors of wealth, power and education, though inherited social position still carries considerable prestige.
1.What criterion did Adam Smith seem to go by in his classification of social groups?
A. The amount of wealth B. The amount of money
C. The social status D. The way of getting money
2.If you compare the first and second paragraph, what groups of people did Adam Smith leave out in his classification?
A. Officials and employees. B. Peasants and farmers.
C. Doctors and teachers. D. Tradesmen and landlords.
3.Who were the ‘new rich’ during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
A. They were still the upper class people.
B. They were owners of large factories.
C. They were intelligent industrialists.
D. They were skilled workers who made their fortune.
4.According to the passage, what did those people do who intended to make their children move up in the social ladder?
A. They saved a lot of money for their children to receive higher education.
B. They tried to find marriage partners from the children of the upper class.
C. They made greater fortunes by their wits.
D. They worked even harder to acquire social training.
5. In the twentieth century class differences have been partly smoothed out by ____.
A. increased income and decreased taxation
B. taxation, social services and educational opportunities
C. education, the increase of income and industrial development
D. the decrease of the upper class population
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift--＄7,000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially,” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in others, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than ＄3 million--they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They liked comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything.” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden. “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy, a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents, should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors -- that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.
1.According to the text, the Fusses_________.
A. were employed by a truck company
B. were in financial difficulty
C. worked in a school cafeteria
D. lost their home
2.Which of the following is true of the Hatches?
A. They had their children during the Great Depression.
B. They left the family farm to live in an old house.
C. They gave away their possessions to their neighbors.
D. They helped their neighbors to find jobs
3.Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?
A. They decided to open a store.
B. They wanted to save money.
C. They couldn’t afford expensive things.
D. They wanted to buy gifts for local kids.
4.According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were ________.
A. understanding B. optimistic C. childlike D. curious
5.What can we learn from the text?
A. The community of Alto was poor.
B. The summer camp was attractive to the parents.
C. Sandy Van Weelden got a legacy from the Hatches
D. The Hatches would like the neighbors to follow their example.
More and more Italians are leaving their country because they can not get a job. One in every three Italians say they are willing to go abroad, sometimes even to other continents to get work. Currently, about 300,000 young Italians may be living abroad.
Although emigration has always been a choice for Italians, especially for those who left the country at the beginning of the twentieth century, more young Italians think leaving their home country is the only way to escape economic difficulty. These young Italians, however, are not poor farmers or laborers but bright university graduates and other talented young people.
Many of them want to go to richer places, like northern Europe, but they are also prepared to go elsewhere. Most of them describe a feeling of unhappiness and frustration. They are not sure which direction their country is heading and feel no longer proud of being Italians.
Many leave because they think that getting a good job is possible in other countries where all doors are open to you if you are young and dynamic. However, in Italy everything is boring and old-fashioned. Italy’s economic system is largely based on family structures and the elderly who don’t want to give up power. Corruption(腐败) is also a big problem that simply won’t go away.
The Italian government is aware of the problem and says it must create new opportunities for its younger generation. But even if it starts working on a new style economy right away it may take years before things in Italy really change. The government has already passed laws which will make it easier for doctors, lawyers and other academics to start a career in Italy.
Many economic experts claim that Italy is doing a lot for its older generation but very little for its youth. For example, it spends little on housing, childcare but a lot on pensions.
1.Some people are leaving Italy mainly because they _____ .
A. want to get a jobB. want to travel abroad
C. prefer working abroadD. no longer love their country
2.The Italian government _____ .
A. is blind to the problem of emigration
B. encourages young Italians to go abroad
C. has taken some measures to change the situation
D. promise to offer more jobs to young Italians soon
3.Many economic experts think that the Italian government should _____ .
A. do more for its youth
B. try to improve its economy
C. stop its youth from going abroad
D. solve the problem as soon as possible
4.What problem is Italy facing?
A. Most of its laborers are old.
B. There aren’t any truly talented youngsters.
C. The government officials’ attitude is old-fashioned.
D. People with power are doing illegal and dishonest things.
5.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. Italian emigration history
B. More care for old Italians
C. Young Italians are leaving Italy
D. The influence of economic difficulty
Not too long ago, our teacher, being a “tree-hugger”(as the kids call her), had us write an essay on an environmental issue. I was eager to start, but something made me stop.
“What is an environmental issue?” one kid asked. “What if we don’t care about the environment?” another complained. “It’s not like it affects me.”
These comments astounded me. I have always cared about the environment and assumed that others did too. From the surprised look on my teacher’s face, I could tell she felt the same way.
In no time, I finished my essay. In my essay I wrote about logging(伐木), which is an important industry, but if we continue to cut down trees without replacing, it will damage the environment.
There are so many things that we can do to save our world. Recycling, of course, is always a good thing, but not everyone has a recycling plant nearby (I don’t). There are other ways to help the environment. Plant a tree. Don’t waste water.
I can’t stand it when a person’s excuse for not caring is “Nothing is going to happen in my lifetime, so why should I care?” Sure, the chances of something terrible happening are slim, but I want people to realize that if we don’t deal with it, someone will have to eventually. Do you want that to be your children? Or your children’s children?
When my teacher told me to read my essay to my class, I was a little embarrassed because I didn’t want everyone to call me “tree-hugger”. I realize now that if being a tree-hugger means you care about the environment, I’m a tree-hugger 100 percent. I just wish more people were.
1.Why do the students call their teacher “tree-hugger”?
A. She likes hugging trees.
B. She knows a lot about trees.
C. She grew up in the countryside.
D. She cares a lot about the environment.
2.At the beginning, the author stopped writing _____ .
A. to ask some questions
B. because of other kids’ comments
C. to listen to the teacher’s instructions
D. because he had no idea about the topic
3.The underlined word “astounded” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “_____” .
A. helped B. changed C. shocked D. interested
4.Paragraph 5 is mainly about _____ .
A. what we can recycle
B. how we can save the earth
C. why we should protect the earth
D. what damage we are doing to the earth
5.We can infer from the passage that _____ .
A. the students don’t like the teacher
B. the teacher liked the author’s essay
C. the author is ashamed of being a tree-hugger
D. the author should have written a better essay
阅读下面两篇短文，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卷标号为16-25的相应位置上。
A policeman pulled over a florist’s van yesterday and arrested the driver, Karl Rover, for smoking and transporting illegal things. The police got __1.__ (sceptic) when Karl remained stopped even after the light had turned green.
One officer asked Karl __2.__ he was heading. Smiling widely, Karl said he was making a delivery. The officer told Karl to turn off the radio, which was blasting(轰鸣) out rock music. “Duke, this is __3.__ Grateful Dead,” said Karl.
A moment later, Karl’s cell phone rang. Karl said, “Hey, dude. What’s up?” The officer took the phone __4.__ Karl.
“Did you get the cash for the weed?” asked the voice on the other end.
“Yes,” the officer replied, __5.__(pretend) that he was Karl.
“How much did you get?”
“$1,000.”
“$1,000! $1,000! __6.__ is the matter with you?” That’s $50,000 worth of grass, you idiot! I’m going to kill you!”
The officer laughed when the other person __7.__(hang) up. He went around to the back of the van and opened the doors. __8.__ there were lots of flowers in the back, there were also many plastic bags, __9.__(tight) packed with illegal things.
The officer brought out his handcuffs. Karl’s smile disappeared. “Hey, at least let __10.__ have one more hit!”
Sports are by nature competitive. But recently, the over-competitive nature youth sports seem to have taken on has led to cause for ____.
Those who are strongly against competition point out that in a competition, only one wins while the rest ____. They argue that competition leads children to define themselves by the outcome, tying their self-esteem(自尊心) up with their ability to ____ others. They further argue that competition causes anxiety, affects learning and causes children to view others as____ to their success. Competition restricts participation and ___ success. A “win-at-all-costs” mentality can cause children to pay little attention to honesty and fair play.
On the opposite side of the debate are those who view competition as a ____ part of American society. They argue that placing kids in a competitive situation such as sports helps prepare them for a(n) ____ life in our society that is full of competition. ____ is a normal part of human nature and part of everyday life. Other arguments ____ competitive sports are that they provide challenges, help kids develop skills, and teach them how to get along with others.
The third side of this debate says that a little competition can’t be that ____, as long as competition does not get out of hand and take on a “win-at-all-costs” mentality. They claim that competition in itself is not bad and it can serve as a ____ of social comparison, necessary for adolescents to see how ____ they are. Their advice is to introduce competition ____ while focusing more on mastery and cooperation during childhood. The gradual shift toward competition will allow children to build skills, participate fully, and focus on ____ rather than winning.
It is important that you consider all of the possible ____ of competition before you put your child in a competitive situation.
1.A. alarm B. concern C. optimism D. accident
2.A. follow B. stop C. fail D. return
3.A. beat B. change C. study D. control
4.A. tickets B. barriers C. roads D. invitations
5.A. refuses B. limits C. imagines D. stresses
6.A. healthy B. popular C. hard D. missing
7.A. political B. early C. adult D. daily
8.A. Disagreement B. Motivation C. Difficulty D. Competition
9.A. doubting B. attacking C. supporting D. ignoring
10.A. necessary B. bad C. interesting D. boring
11.A. sample B. product C. subject D. means
12.A. unique B. young C. normal D. skillful
13.A. gradually B. eventually C. widely D. forcefully
14.A. observing B. teaching C. playing D. growing
15.A. benefits B. outcomes C. responsibilities D. methods
