Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     In Japan, developers are suffering from an economic decline. As banks are unwilling to lend, design firms are hoping to get through the decline. Since it depends heavily on foreign investment, speculative（投机性的）housing has been particularly affected. As a result, developers are breaking down and projects are dying.
     Other areas have slowed but not completely stopped. Sometimes a break is good, since it gives design firms a chance to take another look at their designs and make them better. After a six-month pause, some firms are moving forward on new projects.
     Large developers who rely less on foreign money and have a wide range of projects are doing better than those who focus just on housing. However, location is the most important factor. Large developments in the central areas of Tokyo, capital of Japan, are continuing at a steady speed.
     But outside that highly desirable location, things are getting worse as land becomes cheaper. According to a recent report, 52 office buildings in the middle of Tokyo will finish this year, an improvement over the 44 that were completed the year before but much less than the 92 planned for the next year.
     In smaller cities, bank loans and new projects have almost stopped. Developers in the city of Nagoya, Toyota's hometown, are facing a double trouble. They have to cut budget for existing projects because tax revenues from car sales - the city's main source of income - have been greatly reduced. These days, few designers are relying on public projects - a sharp contrast to the 1990s, when public projects sustained many firms after Japan's economy broke down.
     Another difference between the two depressions is the current drop in international business. Instead of looking to the foreign market, Japanese designers are searching for jobs at home. By moving into new business areas such as internal design and urban design, many firms have been able to maintain a strong position. To some degree, the current depression is a chance for design firms to expand their abilities and their customer base.

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     When it comes to using technology in education, people tend to think that more is better. Over the past ten years, universities around the world have invested heavily in the wired classroom, adding everything from external computer connections to DVD players. But there is little evidence that these devices improve learning - and, critics argue, they might hinder it, making both students and teachers passive. What if classrooms were restored to the pre-Internet days of tables and chalk？
     The Idea: Take technology out of the classroom. José Bowen, dean of the School of Arts at a university, has done just that. He wants his staff to “teach naked,” meaning without the aid of any machines. “Just because you have a PowerPoint presentation doesn’t mean you have a good lecture,” he argues. Classroom time should be reserved for the discussion with the professor and aimed at teaching students to think critically and raise new questions. Besides, in the bad economic climate at most universities, avoiding new technology is a sound way to save money.
     The Evidence: Bowen, who teaches music, delivers content via podcasts（播客）, which students must listen to on their own. He then tests them on the material before every class to make sure they’ve done the work, and uses class time for discussions and research related to the recorded lessons. He has been teaching the same material for 25 years, but since he took up the new approach, his students have been more engaged and scored better on exams.
     College students asked by researchers to list what motivates them have often stressed class organization and teacher enthusiasm, and above all, active student participation as major elements of a good lecture. In a recent survey, 59 percent of students said half their lectures were boring - particularly those involving PowerPoint application.
     The Conclusion: Technology has a place in education, but it should be used independently by students outside the classroom. That gives them more time to absorb lectures via video, and frees teachers to spend class time coaching students in how to apply the material rather than simply absorb it.

阅读选择：阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出一个最佳选项。

     A federal judge sentenced Bruce Jones to 12 years in federal prison for fraud. Over a 10-year period, Jones had managed to swindle almost ＄10 million from thousands of gullible (易上当的) people throughout the state. 

     He advertised his fantastic ideas on TV. "For some reason," Jones said, "TV seems to break the ice. Even though you are a total stranger to the viewer, once he sees you on TV in his home, he feels like he knows you. You enter his living room and become a trusted friend."
     Jones had an imagination that wouldn't quit. One time he showed viewers an "official government" earthquake report which "proved" that the western half of California would collapse into the sea within three years. For $100, he said, Jones would insure your house and property for full value. Thousands of people who saw that TV ad sent him a hundred dollars each.
     In another TV ad, Jones claimed that he had negotiated with the federal and state governments for exclusive air rights. He told viewers that, for only $100, they could own the first 10 miles above all their property. You would be able to charge any commercial plane that flew over your property $100 per crossing. You would also be able to charge government rockets, satellites, space shuttles, and space stations $100 for breaking your air rights every time.
     Another time, Jones claimed to have invented a product that gets rid of calories. He showed the viewers a spray can of "NoCal." He said that by simply spraying NoCal on your food, a chemical interaction would cause all the calories in the food to simply evaporate within about 10 seconds. The NoCal was only $10 a can. As usual, Jones received thousands of checks in the mail.
     The judge told Jones that he should be ashamed of himself. Jones responded that he was very ashamed of himself, and that when he got out of prison, he hoped to become a TV consultant to help people avoid getting deceived. He told the judge that he was already developing an instructional CD that, for merely $100, would save people thousands of dollars in deceits. The judge nodded, and then changed Jones' sentence from 10 years to 12 years.

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     No one in my family could believe Allegra had any disability, much less one as severe as hers. To them a disability was physical, something you could see. They knew her as a happy, normal child. That's how it is with a learning disability—you don't see obvious physical symptoms.
     But as she grew out of preschool, she would pretend to read—I knew she was pretending because the book was upside down. She withdrew into her own world where she could fantasize about being a ballet dancer, a Broadway actress or a figure skater. In the real world, ballet classes and music lessons led only to confusion, frustration and, ultimately, disappointment.
     As for school, there was no way she could be included in a mainstream classroom. I went through every special school in New York, only to be told over and over: "She doesn't belong here." The last blow came a few months after the diagnosis, when I was at a pay phone on 72nd Street, waiting for an answer from the very last school on my list. Finally a cold voice came on—I can still hear it—and said: "I’m sorry, but we feel this isn't the place for her." I hung up and stared at the phone in tears.
     I had lived my life as the daughter of Henry Ford Ⅱ, and for the first time in my life I faced a problem that neither money nor position could solve. I nearly gave up, but I knew I couldn't. Without me, my daughter stood no chance of making it.

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     The question of whether dogs have a sense of humour is often fiercely argued. My own opinion is that some have and some haven’t. Dachshunds have, but not St Bernards or Great Danes. Apparently a dog has to be small to be fond of joke. You never find a Great Dane trying to be a comedian.
     But it is fatal to let any dog know that he is funny, for he immediately loses his head and starts overdoing it. As an example of this I would point to Rudolph, a dachshund I once owned, whose slogan was ”Anything for a Laugh”. Dachshunds are always the worst offenders in this respect because of their peculiar shape. It is only natural that when a dog finds that his mere appearance makes the viewing public laugh, he should imagine nature intended him to be a comedian.
     I had a cottage at the time outside an English village, not far from a farm where they kept ducks, and one day the farmer called on me to say his ducks were disappearing and suspicion had fallen on my Rudolph. Why? I asked, and he said because mine was the only dog in the neighbourhood except his own Towser and Towser had been so carefully trained that he would not touch a duck even if you brought it to him with orange sauce over it.
     I was very annoyed. I said he only had to gaze into Rudolph’s truthful brown eyes to see how baseless were his suspicions. Had he not, I asked, heard of foxes? How much more likely that a fox was the Bad Guy in the story. He was beginning to look doubtful and seemed about to make an apology, when Rudolph, who had been listening with interest and at a certain point had left the room, came trotting（小跑） in with a duck in his mouth.
     Yes, dachshunds overplay their sense of humour, and I suppose other dogs have their faults, but they seem unimportant compared with their virtues.

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     More than 20 Chinese and American experts discovered that young people of both countries are facing the same problems of economic and social pressures and lack of confidence.
     An American expert of the Campus Outreach Opportunity League of Minnesota University said that under economic pressure American young people have to work hard and most students have to take part-time work in order to make some money for themselves. "Young people today," he said, "are viewed as indifferent, self-centred, and concerned only with making -money and getting ahead." In these circumstances, he said, young people lack confidence, which was not the case in the 1960s when young Americans thought themselves capable of doing anything.
     In spite of the different conditions in China, an official of the higher education section of the All-China Youth Federation said Chinese young people are also facing economic pressure and are worried about inflation and corruption. Trading has appeared in many Chinese universities as students with something to sell try to make money on campus. Moreover, college students have begun to doubt whether what they are learning in class will help them find work, as many businesses totally ignore students of pure theory. So people describe students as "a lost generation tired of study", regardless of the causes in society that are shaking their confidence.
     In order to resolve these problems, the Chinese and American experts agreed that youth organizations should call on the society to create favourable conditions for the healthy growth of young people, as well as to encourage them to meet the urgent needs of society and to challenge the assumption that young people are indifferent and uncaring.
     The American expert said that since last year he has sent letters of "challenge to youth" to many young people, urging them to commit themselves to addressing such needs as feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, educating the illiterate, consoling the lonely and sick, serving the elderly, and preserving the environment. The letter says: "Through services, we touch the lives of others and enrich our own."

阅读选择
阅读下面短文,请从短文后所给各题的4个选项( A、B、C、D)中选出1个最佳选项。

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     A recent study shows that sixteen out of every 100 American couples have violent confrontations of one sort or another during the course of a year. In six of these cases there is severe kicking, biting, punching or hitting with objects. Almost four of every 100 wives are seriously beaten by their husbands. Three of every 100 children are kicked or punched by their parents. More than a third of all brothers and sisters severely attack each other.
     As expected, the incidence of violence is highest among the urban poor (many of them minorities), blue-collar workers, people under 30 or without religious beliefs, families with a husband who is jobless and those with four to six children. But the study also showed that violence occurs among wealthy families as well. Indeed, the wife of a university president once quietly called Straus, one of the sociologists who conducted the study, to ask what she could do about her husband, who often beat her. Straus suggested seeking assistance from marriage advisors.
     Straus and his colleagues found out that there are various root causes that give rise to such behavior. "The reasons are mixed—psychological, sociological, situational, " says Straus. "The husband, for example, may feel under particular stress because he has been out of work too long. Violence may also be an echo of the past, "Straus explains. "When Mummy gives her two-year-old a slap(巴掌)for putting something dirty in his mouth, he is learning from infancy that those who love you hit you. "Another reason may be the worsening economic situations. "If we have a real economic decline, it's going to get worse, "says Gelles, one of Straus' colleagues.
     These sociologists have no easy answer to violence in the American family. While they welcome such move as the opening of shelters for beaten wives and the establishment of a National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect, they believe that there must be more basic attack on violence, including the reduction of “macho"（大男子主义的） themes on the television, the outlawing of physical punishment in schools and perhaps even the elimination of death sentences. As Straus explains, "Violence is an acceptable solution to problems in American society. And that is how it is used in families."

阅读选择：阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出一个最佳选项。

     I heard the noise first. A car, obviously out of control, was running straight toward me and my four-year-old son as we stood on the sidewalk waiting to cross the street. There was no time to do anything; it all happened in a second.
     The vision of that big black car hitting the sidewalk a few feet from us will never be erased from my memory. I don't know how close the car came to us, because I turned away at the last second, but it was close. People stopped their cars and asked if we were okay.
     "It didn't hit us," I remember saying. Then I bent down and hugged my son. "Mom, that car nearly hit us," Scott said brightly, still holding the construction-paper cat he’d made at school. He has no idea what a ton of metal going 50 m.p.h. can do to 39 pounds of a little boy. Much of his world view comes from cartoons, especially Spider-Man, who he believes can fly down to help anyone out of danger. I found myself walking to the car. A woman of about 60 sat inside, still holding the steering wheel. "Are you all right?" I asked her. Translation: Did you just have a heart attack? Why did you just try to kill me and my little boy?
     "Someone cut me off, "she started. Interrupting her, I said we'd both better say our prayers that night. I didn't begin to get angry until later.
     The woman who nearly killed us was in a hurry. Very likely she was speeding to make the next traffic light at the crossroads .The driver she said cut her off was probably in a hurry, too, trying to turn into traffic.
     Nor am I blameless. We had stopped on the sidewalk because I wanted to shave two minutes off my busy day by running across the street rather than walking the half block to the light at the crossroads. Instead, I nearly shaved off two lives.
     Just a week before, I had returned from a trip to Japan, flying almost 60,000 miles in six different planes. That makes six takeoffs and landings, 12 opportunities to be the top story on the nightly news. To think I'd survived 16,000 miles of air flight, only to be almost killed three blocks from home.
     Today I resolve to slow down and think about the spring, the flowers and our children — our innocents, our contracts with the future.

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     Lately it has become fashionable in America to question whether it is really worth it to go to college. According to a new survey released by the Pew Research Center, only 40 percent of Americans felt that colleges provided a good value for the cost. At the same time, 86 percent of college graduates still felt the investment was a good one for them.

     There are a number of reasons for the widespread dissatisfaction with college. First, there are plenty of problems with higher education—poor quality and out-of-control costs are two of the biggest.Second, it is true that college is not for everyone. There are plenty of rewarding and important careers that do not require college. And due to the slow economy, there may in fact be more graduates than the current job market needs. Besides, anti-college sentiment is nothing new· Today, Microsoft’s Bill Gates or Apple’s Steve Jobs—both college dropouts-is often held up as evidence of why all that time sitting in class is better spent elsewhere.

     However, getting a college education is still a good idea. College graduates earn more, and are more likely to have a job in the first place. According to the statistics last year, the average weekly earnings for someone with some college but no degree were $712, compared to $1,038 for a college graduate. That is almost $17,000 over the course of a year and there is an even bigger divide for those with less education. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was 9.2 percent for those with only some college and more than 10 percent for those with just a middle school degree, but it was 5.4 percent for college graduates. The economic gaps between college completers and those with less education are getting larger·    

     Although most Americans surveyed by Pew feel doubtful about the value of a college degree, an overwhelming majority of parents Pew surveyed still expect their children to go to college. “It can be inferred that the increased doubt has not significantly influenced decision making, ’’Pew’s Taylor says.“Despite the concern about rising costs and other problems, college remains a universal desire in this country.”

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     Many of today's most trusted sales techniques were invented over a century ago by a young merchant named Eaton in Toronto. When he was young, Eaton worked briefly with his brothers in small-town stores. In 1869, he set up his own shop in downtown Toronto. He had many competitors, but he was also ambitious and had a plan for success. He offered a unique style of trade, but as was expected, all the other shopkeepers laughed at him, believing he would eventually fail. However, Eaton was not a man to be easily defeated; he came up with a brand new notion of business--"Goods satisfactory, or money refunded. He sold all his goods at fixed prices and only for cash. 

     With a sharp sense of what the public wanted, he went out of the way to meet their needs. His business grew rapidly. He set up new branches and started mail order service that allowed people to buy from a list of his goods.
     Eaton’s List-advertisements of his day--was the first of its kind. It was distributed and read all over the country. It was the only way to access good-quality goods at reasonable prices for people living far away from big cities. It became part of their life. They even called it The Wishing Book. The secret of the list's success was that Eaton gained the respect of his customers; they trusted him for good prices and quality goods. Probably because he remembered his miserable early days in Ireland, Eaton thought much of the welfare of his employees: better working conditions, shorter weekday hours than his competitors and Saturday afternoons off in the summer. In all this, he was a leader.

阅读选择：阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出一个最佳选项。

     Many people think New York is a noisy city. In fact, scientists who study noise say that the average noise level in New York is 72.5 decibels. This is a little louder than normal conversation, which is 65 decibels. The noise level is the result of so many people and cars in the same area.
     Now even the insides of taxis are noisy. When you get into a taxi, you hear the voice of a well-known singer, sports reporter, or Broadway actress giving instructions. That's right. The voice of a famous person tells you what to do. One popular singer gives this message: "Cats have nine lives, but you have only one, so fasten your seat belt!" Other, voices say things such as "Don't forget to collect all your belongings."（People often leave hats, umbrellas, and bags in taxis.）
     There is a good reason for the messages. There are more than 12,000 cabs in New York, and every year taxis get into more than 15,000 accidents. In an accident, people who don't wear seat belts hit the partition, the glass wall separating the driver and passengers in the taxi. They can hurt their foreheads or break their noses or chins. Every year, about 11,000 people are injured in this way.
     Many people are annoyed by the voices. Cabdrivers in particular dislike the messages. "I play the messages 12 hours a day. I hear the same voices 60 times a day. It makes me crazy," says Amir, a 45-year-old cabdriver. "But if I don't play the messages, I get fined $100." A lot of passengers complain too. “It's too much noise,” says a passenger. "I asked the driver to turn off the message, but he said he can't."
     Other people think the voices are a great idea. One taxi driver says, "People like to hear the famous voices, and they put on their seat belts more often." And passengers from out of town really like the idea. "Most of the time, taxi drivers are in a bad mood," says Melanie Benton, who visits New York often on business, "It's nice to hear a cheerful voice when you get into a cab."

阅读选择：阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出一个最佳选项。

     Many people think New York is a noisy city. In fact, scientists who study noise say that the average noise level in New York is 72.5 decibels. This is a little louder than normal conversation, which is 65 decibels. The noise level is the result of so many people and cars in the same area.
     Now even the insides of taxis are noisy. When you get into a taxi, you hear the voice of a well-known singer, sports reporter, or Broadway actress giving instructions. That's right. The voice of a famous person tells you what to do. One popular singer gives this message: "Cats have nine lives, but you have only one, so fasten your seat belt!" Other, voices say things such as "Don't forget to collect all your belongings."（People often leave hats, umbrellas, and bags in taxis.）
     There is a good reason for the messages. There are more than 12,000 cabs in New York, and every year taxis get into more than 15,000 accidents. In an accident, people who don't wear seat belts hit the partition, the glass wall separating the driver and passengers in the taxi. They can hurt their foreheads or break their noses or chins. Every year, about 11,000 people are injured in this way.
     Many people are annoyed by the voices. Cabdrivers in particular dislike the messages. "I play the messages 12 hours a day. I hear the same voices 60 times a day. It makes me crazy," says Amir, a 45-year-old cabdriver. "But if I don't play the messages, I get fined $100." A lot of passengers complain too. “It's too much noise,” says a passenger. "I asked the driver to turn off the message, but he said he can't."
     Other people think the voices are a great idea. One taxi driver says, "People like to hear the famous voices, and they put on their seat belts more often." And passengers from out of town really like the idea. "Most of the time, taxi drivers are in a bad mood," says Melanie Benton, who visits New York often on business, "It's nice to hear a cheerful voice when you get into a cab."

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     When it comes to using technology in education, people tend to think that more is better. Over the past ten years, universities around the world have invested heavily in the wired classroom, adding everything from external computer connections to DVD players. But there is little evidence that these devices improve learning - and, critics argue, they might hinder it, making both students and teachers passive. What if classrooms were restored to the pre-Internet days of tables and chalk？
     The Idea: Take technology out of the classroom. José Bowen, dean of the School of Arts at a university, has done just that. He wants his staff to “teach naked,” meaning without the aid of any machines. “Just because you have a PowerPoint presentation doesn’t mean you have a good lecture,” he argues. Classroom time should be reserved for the discussion with the professor and aimed at teaching students to think critically and raise new questions. Besides, in the bad economic climate at most universities, avoiding new technology is a sound way to save money.
     The Evidence: Bowen, who teaches music, delivers content via podcasts（播客）, which students must listen to on their own. He then tests them on the material before every class to make sure they’ve done the work, and uses class time for discussions and research related to the recorded lessons. He has been teaching the same material for 25 years, but since he took up the new approach, his students have been more engaged and scored better on exams.
     College students asked by researchers to list what motivates them have often stressed class organization and teacher enthusiasm, and above all, active student participation as major elements of a good lecture. In a recent survey, 59 percent of students said half their lectures were boring - particularly those involving PowerPoint application.
     The Conclusion: Technology has a place in education, but it should be used independently by students outside the classroom. That gives them more time to absorb lectures via video, and frees teachers to spend class time coaching students in how to apply the material rather than simply absorb it.

阅读选择：阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出一个最佳选项。

     With technological advances, the first half of the twentieth century saw a movement of workers away from agricultural to industrial production. The second half saw a movement from industrial production to services. So far, technological advances have not reduced our need for service workers. But what would happen if advances in artificial intelligence (AI) should greatly increase the productivity of service workers, as suggested by the following scene?
     Andrea calls the doctor's office with a medical concern. The doctor's automated telephone system, in a friendly and personal voice, asks her a series of questions. Based on Andrea's answers and in consultation with her insurer's claim system, the doctor's system directs her to a neighborhood lab for tests. At the lab, another automated system performs the prescribed tests, makes a diagnosis, and provides the appropriate medication, all while in contact with Andrea's insurer. As the service is completed, the insurer pays the cost of the service. Andrea signs for any co-payment, to be paid automatically from her bank account. Heading home, Andrea was happily spared from long waits and a hurried contact with the doctor.
     To anticipate the realization of such a scene and its timing, we should watch the industries with the most potential for early application of AI. These would be where services are already provided at a distance (airline reservations were an early example). Once widespread in these industries, AI will have built the necessary level of trust and acceptance to move into more and more service industries.
     The critical issue now is that such changes could lead to considerable reduction in service jobs at a time when people will want to (or need to) work longer. Services in the first half of the twenty-first century might thus resemble manufacturing in the second half of the twentieth century, with considerable unemployment and significant incentives（诱因） for early retirement. If we are to minimize the panic, we need first to see it coming.

阅读选择：阅读下面短文，请从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出一个最佳选项。

     It took me a long time to understand the difference between a present and a gift.
     I grew up in a household where presents marked special occasions. There was always a present for each of us under the tree at Christmas or at our place at the table on our birthdays. Additionally, Dad always gave Mom something each Valentine’s Day and anniversary（周年纪念日）——a card, a box of chocolate or some other token. He loved to shop, in search of a sweater in her color, a skirt for Christmas or any other flattering expansion of her wardrobe. I came to see these presents as a desirable family tradition and the expression of a husband’s devotion.
     So when I married a man who did not give presents regularly, I wrestled with my deep-rooted expectations. Gary did not wholly eschew（逃避）gift-giving. Sometimes he would return from sea armed with a brown paper bag inside of which was something he had found that reminded him of me——a meat cleaver on our first Christmas, a paring knife on our fifth. Once, he brought home a shoulder pad for the telephone receiver. But mostly, he ignored holidays.
     I tried to lead him by example. I knitted him sweaters, socks and gloves for Christmas; made him shirts, and bought books for his birthdays. He appreciated the caring these gifts represented, but refused to act likewise.
     When Gary left for the local auction one Saturday, which happened to be my birthday, I asked him to find me piece of jewelry as a birthday gift. He came home with a road scraper and eagerly showed me how to use it, not knowing that I was not grateful. When a snow storm hit later that year and he was at sea, I used the road scraper to plow out both our drive and our neighbor's, thinking, as I drove along, how useless earrings would have been.
     Gary had wisely chosen not the thing that I wanted, but the thing that he knew I would need. It was then that I finally realized that he had been giving me gifts all along. I finally began to understand the difference between a present and a gift. A present is a thing. But a gift is broader and often immaterial. It is a small act of kindness, the willingness to bend to another's needs, the sacrifice of time and effort. Love is a gift, an offering from the heart better than a present.

Reading Comprehension 
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。
     Americans are a very energetic and mobile people, always on the run, rushing from one appointment to another, from a PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) meeting to a social planning committee. They have very little time to spend preparing elaborate (精致的,复杂的) everyday meals to be eaten at leisure. In many homes it is rare for the whole family to sit down at supper together. Clubs and committees force them to grab a quick meal rather than a sit-down supper.
     When they do have the chance to eat at home, often the working housewife prefers to prepare meals that can be quickly heated and consumed. It is no wonder, therefore, that America has become a shelter for fast food consumption.
     This great transformation occurred after World War II when many women began to work full time and spend less time at home with their families. Women, however, wanted to function well in the capacity of homemaker, as well as that of career woman but time became a precious commodity (商品) which had to be carefully used.

     Therefore, it was necessary to make her life easier at home in the preparation of the family dinner. Simultaneously with women entering the job market there was also a shifting of the focus of home entertainment from the radio to the television. Television became the latest fashion in the 1950s and no one wanted to miss his or her favorite programs. And then, the place for supper shifted from the dining room to the living room.
     As the customs changed, so did the culture. The immediate solution for this was the invention of the TV dinner. These were frozen meals which were divided into portions of meat and vegetables. They could easily be put into an oven (锅) and prepared within minutes. The tin trays (托盘) in which they were served were conveniently carried into the living room and dinner was consumed in front of a TV set. Cleaning up afterwards was no problem. The tin trays were easily thrown into the garbage.
     From fast dinners at home the next step was quick eating while on the road. Love for TV was combined with the fascination for the automobile. It is not odd that with the development of the superhighways America saw the beginning of fast food chains. McDonald's paved the way with its variety of burgers and cold drinks soon to be followed by all kinds of other foods. Today dozens of fast-food chain stores can be found along highways, in modern shopping malls and scattered throughout neighborhoods in America. Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Roy Roger's, Burger King and Wendy's are just a few of the fast-food chains which are now part of American culture. They offer chicken, donuts, tacos and pizza, all quickly produced in great quantities for the masses. These establishments have given shape to the modern lifestyles and diet of the American people.

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     A centuries-old tradition, illustrated in a modern children's book, links the sweetness of honey with the joy of learning to read.

     "The grandpa held a jar of honey so that all the family could see. He then dipped a spoon into it and put some honey on the cover of a small book.

     The little girl had just turned five.

     'Stand up, little one,’ he asked the girl softly. 'I did this for your mother, your uncles, your older brother, and now you!'

     Then, he handed the book to her. 'Taste!'

     She touched the honey with her finger and put it into her mouth.

     'What's that taste?' the grandma asked.

     The little girl answered, 'Sweet!'

     Then all of the family said in a single voice, 'Yes, and so is knowledge, but knowledge is from the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to go after it through the pages of a book!’

     The little girl knew that the promise to read was at last hers. Soon she was going to learn to read."

     This is the beginning of a profoundly moving children's book entitled Thank You, Mr. Falker. In this book, Patricia Polacco writes of her own passion to read, inspired by the honey on the book. It wasn't until fifth grade that she met her beloved teacher who provided the help that she needed to finally unlock the magic of the written word.

     Reading this book, we are in fact acquainted with some enduring traditions of child education that stress the importance of verbal capacity at a very early age.

     The child learning to read is admitted into a collective memory by way of books. And with the printed words that are active with meaning, the child becomes acquainted with a common past which he or she renews, to a greater or lesser degree, in every reading. Much as the author of the book Thank You, Mr. Falker puts it, "Almost as if it were magic, or as if light poured into her brain, the words and sentences started to take shape on the page as they never had before... And she understood the whole thing... Then she went into the living room and found the book on a shelf, the very book that her grandpa had shown her so many years ago. She spooned honey on the cover and tasted the sweetness... Then she held the book, honey and all, close to her chest. She could feel tears roll down her cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness—she was happy, so very happy." 

Reading Comprehension
从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

     A centuries-old tradition, illustrated in a modern children's book, links the sweetness of honey with the joy of learning to read.

     "The grandpa held a jar of honey so that all the family could see. He then dipped a spoon into it and put some honey on the cover of a small book.

     The little girl had just turned five.

     'Stand up, little one,’ he asked the girl softly. 'I did this for your mother, your uncles, your older brother, and now you!'

     Then, he handed the book to her. 'Taste!'

     She touched the honey with her finger and put it into her mouth.

     'What's that taste?' the grandma asked.

     The little girl answered, 'Sweet!'

     Then all of the family said in a single voice, 'Yes, and so is knowledge, but knowledge is from the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to go after it through the pages of a book!’

     The little girl knew that the promise to read was at last hers. Soon she was going to learn to read."

     This is the beginning of a profoundly moving children's book entitled Thank You, Mr. Falker. In this book, Patricia Polacco writes of her own passion to read, inspired by the honey on the book. It wasn't until fifth grade that she met her beloved teacher who provided the help that she needed to finally unlock the magic of the written word.

     Reading this book, we are in fact acquainted with some enduring traditions of child education that stress the importance of verbal capacity at a very early age.

     The child learning to read is admitted into a collective memory by way of books. And with the printed words that are active with meaning, the child becomes acquainted with a common past which he or she renews, to a greater or lesser degree, in every reading. Much as the author of the book Thank You, Mr. Falker puts it, "Almost as if it were magic, or as if light poured into her brain, the words and sentences started to take shape on the page as they never had before... And she understood the whole thing... Then she went into the living room and found the book on a shelf, the very book that her grandpa had shown her so many years ago. She spooned honey on the cover and tasted the sweetness... Then she held the book, honey and all, close to her chest. She could feel tears roll down her cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness—she was happy, so very happy."