While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy is ruining their life plans, I couldn"t help but think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children who grow up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment –my husband and I probably won"t be able to buy a house until we"re in our forties, and we two are burdened by student loans. But why should it be different? Being young people in America, shouldn"t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won"t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can"t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought what planet she is living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury, not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old man in the story is disappointed that he can"t afford to get a Ph. D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it"s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people"s expectations grow up when their wealth appears to be increasing. Their parents probably see their home values rise along with their investments. "So we have people who have grown up in an environment where people have great expectations of what living well means," says Kobliner.
This recession will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems much better for our mental health to focus on being grateful—for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day—than on longing for some kind of luxurious life.
小题1:What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?| A．They expect everything to be easy for them. | | B．They complain that the economy is ruining their life plans. | | C．They are unwilling to face all of the challenges. | | D．They are burdened by student loans. |
小题2:Which of the following is NOT one of the complaints of the 20-somethings?
A. They can"t have children for at least a decade for they can"t afford to buy a house.
B. They have only a one-bedroom apartment to live in.
C. They can"t buy a house until 40 and are burdened by student loans.
D. They despair of not being able to afford to get a Ph. D. in literature.
小题3:What"s Kobliner"s attitude towards the 20-somethings with high expectations ?| A．Unbearable. | B．Opposing. | C．Doubtful. | D．Understanding. |
小题4:What is the best title for this passage?| A．Young people afford to continue their education | | B．Young people can"t afford to buy a house | | C．Young people"s high expectations lead to despair | | D．The 20-somethings" high expectations |
|
小题1:B
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:C |
试题分析：文章大意：文章主要讲述的是年轻人过高的期望的原因和产生的后果。
小题1:B细节理解题。根据第一段的While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled 可知答案。故B正确。
小题2:B细节理解题。根据第二段的Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband可知B项错误。故B正确。
小题3:D推理判断题。根据第五段Beth Kobliner, author of Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be increasing, Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner可知，Beth Kobliner认为这些年轻人过高的期望是有环境因素的，因此抱有理解的态度。故D正确。
小题4:C主旨大意题。文章主要讲述的是年轻人过高的期望的原因和产生的后果，故C项标题符合题意。故C正确。 |
核心考点
试题【While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy is ruin】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
Rented Boyfriends
Taobao. com, China"s largest online marketplace, is never short of bizarre offers.
And here is the latest one: boyfriends for rent.
A rented boyfriend can do the following: accompanying the girl to visit friends and families, go shopping, having meals and even getting a kiss out of courtesy. The charge is by the hour.
The services become hot with the approach of the Spring Festival, the most important festival for family reunions.
In China, parents especially worry about unmarried daughters.
Single women will have to face the same old question at the family dinner table: have you got a boyfriend?
And for those who haven"t found their Mr. Rights, renting a boyfriend emerges as a solution.
So, which men are willing to offer that service?
“I offer such a service only because I"m bored and know fewer female friends at work," said Ding Hui, 27, a salesman in the plastic industry in Shanghai, with a monthly salary of more than 10,000 yuan.
He rented himself twice last year: during the Spring Festival and National Day. His customers were two 28-year-old women.
He charged 3,000 yuan each, and the customer had to cover his round-trip tickets, accommodations and bought him clothes to make him look smart.
More than 260 rent-a-boyfriend services can be found on the taobao.com, with the number climbing.
An anonymous female netizen, who claimed to have rented a boyfriend, said on the website, "My parents are very satisfied, so my pressure is greatly reduced."
Another comment read, "It"s good that I"ve achieved the wish of my parents."
小题1:On which site can women rent boyfriends? (within 4 words )
小题2:How does a rented boyfriend get paid? (within 3 words)
小题3:What question may single women have to face at the family dinner table? (within 5 words)
小题4:What did Ding Hui’s customer have to pay besides his service?(within 18 words )
小题5:For what reasons do single women rent boyfriends? ( within 15 words)
|
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑
Long long ago, a child was ready to be born. So one day he God, “They tell me you are sending me to tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so and helpless?”
God replied, “Among the many , I chose one for you. She will be for you and will take care of you.”
But the child wasn’t he really wanted to go. “But tell me, here in Heaven, I don’t do but sing and smile, that’s for me to be happy.”
“Your angel will sing for you and will also for you every day. And you will your angel’s love and be happy.”
“And am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me.” The child continued, “if I don’t know the that men talk?”
God patted him on the head and said, “your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet you will ever hear, and with much and care, your angel will teach you how to .”
“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”
“Your angel will place your together and will teach you how to pray.”
“I’ve heard that on earth there are bad men, who will me?”
“Your angel will defend you even if it means her life!”
And then God the child on the shoulder and said, “Your angel’s name is not to remember. You will simply call her Mommy.”
| 小题1: | | A．asked | B．answered | C．taught | D．told |
|
| 小题2: | | A．heaven | B．hell | C．earth | D．space |
|
| 小题3: | | A．big | B．small | C．strong | D．stupid |
|
| 小题4: | | A．nurses | B．doctors | C．teachers | D．angels |
|
| 小题5: | | A．hiding | B．waiting | C．heading | D．voting |
|
| 小题6: | | A．sure | B．urgent | C．conscious | D．impressive |
|
| 小题7: | | A．anything | B．something | C．everything | D．nothing |
|
| 小题8: | | A．much | B．little | C．few | D．enough |
|
| 小题9: | | A．clear | B．dive | C．smile | D．react |
|
| 小题10: | | A．damage | B．feel | C．govern | D．resign |
|
| 小题11: | | A．when | B．why | C．how | D．whether |
|
| 小题12: | | A．language | B．meaning | C．topic | D．politics |
|
| 小题13: | | A．poems | B．stories | C．arguments | D．words |
|
| 小题14: | | A．strength | B．patience | C．warning | D．thinking |
|
| 小题15: | | A．sing | B．dance | C．speak | D．paint |
|
| 小题16: | | A．hands | B．feet | C．arms | D．legs |
|
| 小题17: | | A．replace | B．convert | C．educate | D．protect |
|
| 小题18: | | A．burying | B．risking | C．experiencing | D．attacking |
|
| 小题19: | | A．hit | B．ruined | C．touched | D．cleaned |
|
| 小题20: | | A．hard | B．easy | C．strange | D．convenient |
|
|
On the night of November 14, 1978,a six-year-old Korean boy was flying to the United States. All he knew was that he was on a plane heading for somewhere. The plane landed at Kennedy International Airport, where he was greeted by a family. This young boy was me.
I have grown up in a town where there were few Asians, so I stuck out in the crowd. I made friends quickly and they treated me just like anyone else. You may ask if anyone made fun of my appearance. Well, of course, I met that" kind of person. I just shrugged it off.
As an adopted child, I have something that others don"t have. I have had the benefit of two families. I"m lucky to have got a chance to start a new life. But we must try never to forget our past. Someday I will go back to Korea to find out what kind of culture I left behind.
There is only one thing that I regret about being adopted. When I argue with my parents and they realize they are losing the argument, they sometimes wonder what I would be doing if I were back in Korea. I don"t understand this because I thought the purpose of adopting someone was to give them a better chance of growing up in a family. Some day when I am older, I want to adopt a girl and raise her the way my parents have raised me, but I would do it better, for I know what went well and what did not.
小题1:We learn that when the writer was on the way to his new family,______.| A．he was with his own parents | | B．he was very happy and excited | | C．he was about ten years old then | | D．he didn"t know he was going to be adopted |
小题2:If someone sticks out in the crowd, it means that he/she_______.| A．is very good-looking | | B．is very kind-hearted | | C．is easily noticed by others | | D．is disliked by others |
小题3:When the writer was made fun of by others, he _______.| A．was deeply hurt | | B．wanted to go back to Korea | | C．didn’t care about it that much | | D．tried to make friends with them |
小题4:What can we learn from Paragraph 3?| A．The writer wants to forget his past. | | B．The writer isn"t sad about being adopted. | | C．The writer isn"t interested in Korean culture. | | D．The writer aren"t know anything about Korea. |
小题5:What does the writer want to do when he is older?
A Go back to live with his parents in Korea.
B. Tell his parents what they have done wrong.
C. Find out how to raise children in a better way.
D. Adopt a girl and raise her in a good way. |
Mark Twain said that “habit is habit, and not to be flung(扔) out the window by anyone, but coaxed (劝诱)downstairs a step at a time.” The chances of successfully changing negative behavior when you make gradual changes that give you time to negative patterns for positive ones.
On any given day, countless numbers of us get out of bed and to begin to change a given behavior “today.” Whether it be exercising more, drinking less, managing time or some other change in a negative behavior, we start out with high . In a short time, however, a vast majority of people fail and are soon doing it was they thought they shouldn"t be doing.
After considerable research, some researchers believe that behavior changes usually do not if they start with the change itself. , they believe that we must a series of “stages” to adequately prepare ourselves for that change. Once you have analyzed all the factors that what you do, you must decide which behavior-change technique will work best for you.
According to the psychologist Albert Ellis, most problems and related behaviors arise from irrational (不理性的) statements that people make to when events in their lives are different from what they would like them to be. For example, suppose alter doing on an exam, you say to yourself, “I can"t believe I failed that easy exam, I’m so stupid.” By changing this irrational “catastrophic” self-talk into rational, statements about what is really going on, you can increase the that positive behaviors will occur.
Positive self-talk might be as follows: “I really didn’t study enough for the exam. I just need to prepare for the next .”
Such self-talk will help you to recover quickly from and take positive steps to correct the situation. Some other technique like purposefully or stopping negative thoughts and refusing to dwell on(沉湎于) negative images can also spare you wasted energy, time and emotional resources and move on to positive changes.
| 小题1: | | A．decline | B．remain | C．disappear | D．improve |
|
| 小题2: | | A．substitute | B．cancel | C．find | D．ignore |
|
| 小题3: | | A．refuse | B．determine | C．hesitate | D．advocate |
|
| 小题4: | | A．more | B．better | C．worse | D．less |
|
| 小题5: | | A．values | B．requirements | C．expectations | D．levels |
|
| 小题6: | | A．whichever | B．however | C．wherever | D．whatever |
|
| 小题7: | | A．succeed | B．fail | C．exist | D．fade |
|
| 小题8: | | A．Nevertheless | B．Otherwise | C．Instead | D．Moreover |
|
| 小题9: | | A．look through | B．break through | C．go through | D．pull through |
|
| 小题10: | | A．initial | B．temporary | C．instant | D．eventual |
|
| 小题11: | | A．involve | B．influence | C．explain | D．adjust |
|
| 小题12: | | A．emotional | B．physical | C．technical | D．professional |
|
| 小题13: | | A．all | B．others | C．someone | D．themselves |
|
| 小题14: | | A．poorly | B．carefully | C．completely | D．slowly |
|
| 小题15: | | A．positive | B．ridiculous | C．negative | D．explicit |
|
| 小题16: | | A．danger | B．awareness | C．amount | D．probability |
|
| 小题17: | | A．written | B．phrased | C．listed | D．captioned |
|
| 小题18: | | A．research | B．test | C．talk | D．problem |
|
| 小题19: | | A．tiredness | B．habits | C．disappointment | D．burdens |
|
| 小题20: | | A．recalling | B．starting | C．blocking | D．holding |
|
|
Run freely ——A lesson about Courage
One afternoon,many years ago，I went to pick up my mother from work.I got there a little early so I_______ the car by the roadside and waited for her.
As I looked _______ the car window,there was a small park where I saw a little boy,around one and a half to two years old, _______freely on the grass as his mother watched from a short_______.The boy had a big smile on his face_______ he had just been set free from a ______.The boy would then fall to the grass,get up,and without_______ or without looking back at his mother,run as fast as he could,again ,still with a ______ on his face,as if nothing had happened.
Kids,when they fall down,they don’t consider their falling down as a failure,but _______, they treat it as a learning experience.They feel compelled to try and try again until they_______.
Not only was I impressed by the boy’s courage, but I was _____ touched by the manner in which he ran.With each attempt,he looked so_______,so natural, without signs of fear,nervousness,or of being disappointed.His only _____ was to run freely and to do it effectively as he could.He was just being a ______,just being himself.He was not looking for_____ or worrying about whether ________ was watching.He wasn’t concerned about being judged.He didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that maybe someone would see him ______and that it would be ______ if he did fall.No,all that______ to him was to accomplish the task of activity at hand to the best of his ability, feeling the experience of running fully and freely.
I learned a lot from that observation and ______, and have successfully brought that lesson with me in life.
| 小题1: | | A．left | B．started | C．stopped | D．drove |
|
| 小题2: | | A．outside | B．down | C．toward | D．over |
|
| 小题3: | | A．playing | B．smiling | C．rolling | D．running |
|
| 小题4: | | A．sight | B．length | C．time | D．distance |
|
| 小题5: | | A．evenif | B．solongas | C．asthough | D．nowthat |
|
| 小题6: | | A．prison | B．house | C．park | D．castle |
|
| 小题7: | | A．attention | B．hesitation | C．question | D．application |
|
| 小题8: | | A．puzzle | B．smile | C．pleasure | D．surprise |
|
| 小题9: | | A．therefore | B．instead | C．still | D．anyhow |
|
| 小题10: | | A．stop | B．win | C．achieve | D．succeed |
|
| 小题11: | | A．luckily | B．apparently | C．actually | D．equally |
|
| 小题12: | | A．confident | B．joyful | C．quiet | D．proud |
|
| 小题13: | | A．worry | B．talent | C．concern | D．conclusion |
|
| 小题14: | | A．student | B．child | C．player | D．winner |
|
| 小题15: | | A．chance | B．fortune | C．approval | D．trouble |
|
| 小题16: | | A．someone | B．noone | C．everyone | D．one |
|
| 小题18: | | A．embarrassing | B．disappointing | C．frightening | D．exciting |
|
| 小题19: | | A．happened | B．cared | C．mattered | D．related |
|
| 小题20: | | A．experiment | B．experience | C．expressing | D．expectation |
|
|
