Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China’s suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research.
Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country’s Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world.
According to Jing’s calculation, China’s suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the “missing” suicides were added, China’s suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.
Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men.
As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people’s lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to social environment for the better, he concludes.
1.From Jing’s search, we can see ________.
A. China has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world
B. in the rest of the world suicide rate has been rising quickly in the last few years
C. different from Michael R. Philip’s idea, the trend of suicides in China is declining
D. the suicide rate among Chinese women is lower than that of men
2.The data in Para. 2 is mainly to prove that ________.
A. the result from Jing’s research is believable
B. Jing’s research is more complicated than Michael R. Phillip’s
C. Jing has made great efforts to make the research
D. China’s suicide rate was comparatively low all the time
3.Why has the suicide rate in China dropped steadily according to Jing Jun?
A. Because the life level of Chinese people has improved a lot.
B. Because China’s government has adopted measures to reduce the suicide rate.
C. Because the number of Chinese women who commit suicide has declined.
D. Because the world environment affects the suicide rate in China.
4.In Jing’s opinion, what should be done to reduce the suicide?
A. Pay more attention to rural women.
B. Continue to improve social environment.
C. Set up more mental health centers.
D. Make policies to prevent suicides.
5.We can infer that the text is _______.
A. a news report
B. a research report
C. a description of suicides
D. an introduction to a professor
A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty.
Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was, “No charge.” She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened.
As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage (抵押贷款) on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans.
It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no places to go back. Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to rent his house to me while he went to England on his one-year-paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months.
Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It’s almost worth losing your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance.
1.The garage employee’s attitude toward the author was that of ________.
A. unconcern B. sympathy
C. doubt D. tolerance
2.What do we know about James Kennedy?
A. He was a writer of an online magazine.
B. He was a poet at the University of Florida.
C. He learned about the author’s sufferings via e-mail.
D. He offered the author a new house free of charge.
3.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A. the author’s family was in financial difficulty
B. rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster
C. houses were difficult to find in the hurricane-stricken area
D. the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank
4. From Paragraph 4, we can know that the author’s new house ________.
A. was located in the University of Florida
B. was offered by a poet and the rent was expensive
C. was sponsored by James Kennedy with its 8-month rent
D. was well-equipped but the rent was low
5.The author learned from his experience that ________.
A. worldly possessions can be given up when necessary
B. generosity should be encouraged in some cases
C. people benefit from their sad stories
D. human beings are kind after all
If boy wizard Harry Potter uses his magic to capture (迷住) the hearts of millions of teenagers, high school students Gabriella and Troy have charmed American boys and girls with their stories of campus life.
They are the leading characters in High School Musical, a series of hugely successful films in the US. The sequel (续集), High School Musical 3, came out on October 24 and has topped the American box office for two straight weeks.
The show has everything attractive to teenagers — dancing, catchy music, puppy love and good looks. The story starts when high school basketball star Troy and brainy Gabriella — two teenagers who are worlds apart — meet during the winter break. At a karaoke contest they discover their love for singing and an interest in each other. When school starts, Troy finds out that Gabriella is the new girl at his school.
Eager to find the magic they had during karaoke, Troy and Gabriella decide to audition (试镜) for the school’s upcoming musical. This angers the school’s drama queen Sharpay. However, they overcome difficulties and become the leading actors.
But the story doesn’t end there. High School Musical 2 follows their adventures over summer vacation when Sharpay tires to break up Troy and Gabriella. In the latest sequel, high-school seniors are facing the possibilities of being separated from each other as they go off in different directions when graduating from high school.
Joined by the rest of their friends, Troy and Gabriella stage a musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about the future.
“The success of the High School Musical films shows Disney’s long-term efforts to attract youngsters for whom Mickey Mouse seems to babyish,” wrote New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff. “For the time being, the movie has made fictional high school students as recognizable as that 79-year-old mouse.”
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Boy wizard — Harry Potter.
B. High school students Gabriella and Troy.
C. A successful show — High School Musical.
D. Disney’s long-term efforts.
2.How many films are there in this series of films?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
3.What can you learn from the words “two teenagers who are worlds apart”?
A. They live far away from each other.
B. They used to know each other well.
C. They have a big difference between each other.
D. They study at different schools.
4.What happens in High School Musical 2, according to the passage?
A. Troy and Gabriella audition for a school musical.
B. Troy and Gabriella meet at a karaoke contest.
C. Troy and Gabriella graduate from high school.
D. Sharpay tries to break up Troy and Gabriella.
5.What does New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff mean?
A. High School Musical is possibly more attractive to youngsters.
B. The high school students don’t like Mickey Mouse.
C. Mickey Mouse is more attractive to youngsters.
D. Mickey Mouse is too old to be recognized by youngsters.
April 27 is Take Our Daughters to Work Day in Britain. Started at first in the United States and brought to Britain in 1994, Take Our Daughters to Work Day has become a special day for girls between 11 and 15. On that day thousands of girls take a day off school and go together with one of their parents to their work places. The purpose of this day is to broaden girls’ horizons and raise their self-confidence.
For many years people have thought that boys can do better than girls in society. But actually, “girls can be whatever they want to be just like boys, whether it is a pilot, a nurse or a chief executive,” says the chairman of Our Sons and Daughters Charitable Trust, an organization which supported the activity of the Day. “Now the girls have a close look at what their parents are doing and this may help them to be more self-confident when they are faced with a choice of work.”
Schools and many companies support the activity too. Palmers Green High School for Girls, in north London, has made the Day a necessary part of career education.
Zarina Bart, 15, from Palmers Green, went with her mother to her lawyer’s office on this year’s Take Our Daughters to Work Day. She found it interesting to see her mother at work. “It’s really strange seeing Mum at work — running around, getting serious and telling people what to do.” She has always liked this idea of going into law and thinks it likely that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps. Having a chance to see how her mother works has given her more self-confidence.
Experts believe that girls with higher self-confidence aim higher and are more likely to be successful in life. Parents have the most important effect on the confidence of teenage girls. If parents believe in their daughters and show examples both at work as well as at home for them, this will give a lot of help to girls. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.
1.What is the topic of this passage?
A. Raising daughters’ self-confidence.
B. Take Our Daughters to Work Day.
C. Equally between boys and girls.
D. Following mothers’ footsteps.
2.It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that ________.
A. women pilots are popular in Britain
B. girls are sure about their future jobs
C. people have wrongly believed that girls can do as well as boys
D. for many years boys have had a relatively wider choice of work
3.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is British in origin.
B. Palmers Green favors Take Our Daughters to Work Day.
C. On the Day children are taken to their parent’s work places.
D. Parents in Britain show good examples both at work and at home.
4.After her experience on Take Our Daughters to Work Day, Zarina felt ________.
A. confident about finding a job in the future
B. strange to watch her mother working in the office
C. sure about what to choose as her future career
D. interested in doing the same job as her mother
5.The author’s attitude towards the Day is ________.
A. favorable B. unclear
C. critical D. neutral
A man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight 1. he became angry when the child tried to decorate a box 2. (put) under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl 3. (bring) the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out 4. box was empty. He yelled at her, 5. (state) “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be _6._ inside?” The little girl looked up at him 7. tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her
8. (forgive). Only a short time later, an accident took the life 9. the child. For many years, her father kept that gold box by his bed and 10. he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
Long, long ago, in a dense forest there were thousands of tall and beautiful trees. They were happy, but____ of themselves. Among them there also a(an) ____ tree whose branches were badly twisted. All the trees made ______ of that ugly tree.
“How are you, hunchback?” the other ____ always shouted and their laughter made the ugly tree ____. The ugly tree thought, “I wish I were as ____ as the other trees. Why did God do this to me? Neither can I provide shade to the travelers. Nor can the ____ make their nests on me. Nobody needs me.”
One day, a woodcutter came to the____. He took a look at the trees and said, “These trees are lovely. I must ____ them.” As soon as he picked up his axe, the trees became ____. “Chop, Chop, Chop” went the woodcutter’s axe and one by one the trees started to fall.
“None of us is going to ____,” screamed one of the beautiful trees.
But when the woodcutter came near to the ugly tree. He had just raised his axe when suddenly he noticed how ____ the ugly tree was. “Hmm! This crooked tree seems to no ____ to me.”, he thought. Then he moved towards another beautiful tree. The ugly tree breathed a huge sigh of ____. He realized that by making him ugly, God had actually given him a boon. From that day on, the ugly tree never ____. He was happy with his crooked branches. He never forgot how he had escaped from the woodcutter’s axe, only because he was crooked and ugly.
1. A. proud B. short C. tired D. full
2. A. strong B. ugly C. thin D. straight
3. A. light B. fun C. sense D. use
4. A. directions B. persons C. trees D. animals
5. A. surprised B. angry C. sad D. moved
6. A. short B. long C. hard D. beautiful
7. A. fish B. pets C. hens D. birds
8. A. forest B. shop C. office D. hospital
9. A. cut B. put C. bring D. take
10. A. puzzled B. frightened C. amused D. satisfied
11. A. appear B. escape C. remove D. lie
12. A. soft B. flexible C. bent D. tall
13. A. doubt B. harm C. use D. way
14. A. desperation B. anger C. sorrow D. relief
15. A. complained B. grew C. spoke D. waited
