British society is considered to be divided into three main groups of classes－the upper class，the middle class．and the lower or working class．This is known as the class system and it is important to know something about it if you mean to understand British people and society．Most British people grow up with a deep knowledge and understanding of the class system even if they are not very conscious（意識到的）of it．As a result，more people know which class they belong to and are able to tell which class other people come from by the way they speak，the kind of clothes they wear，their interests and hobbies or even the type of food they eat．
Social class is not only about behavior and attitudes．For example，although many upper class people are rich and may own a lot of land，having a lot of money does not necessarily make a person one member of the upper class．It is also important to come from a particular kind of family，have friends who are considered suitable，have been to a certain type of private school and speak with the right kind of accent．There are people who are poor but who do not think of themselves as working class because their family background，education，political opinions，etc．are basically different from those of most working－class people．Many people do not like the class system but it is impossible to pretend that these differences do not exist or that British people do not sometimes form opinions in this way．
小題1:The idea of the class system in Britain __________．

A．exists only in the mind of foreigners	B．is deeply rooted in the British people
C．is now under attack	D．is regarded as a long custom

小題2:If an Englishman has a lot of money，__________．  

A．he belongs to the middle class

B．he must be a member of the upper class

C．he is not likely to be from the upper class

D．he may buy an upper class title with money

小題3:What does the second paragraph mainly discuss?

A．Many rich people do not belong to the upper class．

B．Today many British people do not like the class system．

C．Many poor people do not consider themselves a lower class．

D．An Englishman’S social class is determined by many factors．

小題4:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．An Unequal Society	B．Social Class in Britain
C．British People and Society	D．Information about Britain

Students who work during term time to support themselves at university are far more likely to graduate with a poor degree, according to a government-funded study published yesterday.
Undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or upper second-class degree than other students, harming their career chances. Students from the poorest backgrounds were most likely to take jobs during term because they could not depend on help from their parents.
The report, commissioned (委托) by the Department for Education and Skills, also found a clear relation between fear of debt and employment in non-graduate jobs. Students from poorer backgrounds are known to he more unwilling to be in debt than those from middle class families.
The study of 8,600 people who graduated in 1999 was made by Peter Elias, of Warwick University, and Kate Purcell, from Bristol Business School. They found that twice as many first-class degrees were awarded to students who did not work during term compared with those who did. Between 35 and 38 percent who worked during term achieved a lower second, compared with about 28 percent of those who did not.
Professor Elias said that the increase in school fees next year to ￡3,000 would have to be monitored (監(jiān)控) carefully for its effect on poorer students. "Higher education is going to be a harder struggle for those who do not come with all the advantages," he said.
He suggested that universities could get in touch with employers to provide work experience on good salaries to choose students during holidays, so that they did not have to work during term.
小題1:What's the main idea of the passage?

A．Students at university like to take part-time jobs to support themselves,

B．Term-time jobs at university lead to poorer examination results.

C．The school fees are becoming higher and higher at university.

D．Students at university have much difficulty getting first-class degrees.

小題2:Why did lots of students take term-jobs at university?

A．No one would lend them money to continue their study.

B．They wanted to improve themselves by taking part-time jobs,

C．Their families were poor and couldn't afford the high expense.

D．They thought earning money was more important than studying.

小題3:Students who took term-jobs at university ____.

A．had no possibility to study better than those who didn't

B．couldn't graduate from school normally in the future

C．might have trouble in finding a job in the future

D．were more independent than those who didn't in the future

小題4:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Poor students can't take part-time jobs all the time at university.

B．Employers have the duty to help poor students solve the money problem.

C．First class degrees couldn't be given to the students whose families were poor.

D．High school fees are one of the important reasons why students have to take term-jobs.

The Coalition for the Homeless is an organization that seeks to address the needs of the homeless population in the United States．It is a network of offices, some of which provide food and houses for the homeless population．and some of which fight for the passing of laws that would give every American the right to a place to call home．According to the Coalition’s studies, of over two hundred million people living in the United States, up to three million are homeless—and the number is still growing since the late 1970s, fast rising house prices, large cuts in government supported housing programs, and economic recession have made it impossible for many Americans to meet housing costs．Sadly, this has resulted in a number of persons being forced to leave their homes and or unable to find new affordable homes．According to another research．families with children appear to be the fastest-growing part of the homeless population, making up 39% of it．The old idea of a homeless person, that of the single man who gets drunk all the time, is no longer true．A much larger part of the population now finds itself homeless．Even worse, once a person becomes homeless, he often finds it impossible to find a job, since most employers require anyone who wants a job from them to provide a home address on a job application
小題1:The word “address” in the first line probably means         ．

A．talk about

B．deal with

C．fight for

D．write to

小題2:How many people are homeless in the U．S．according to the Coalition studies?

A．39% of the population．	B．200 million people．
C．About 3 million people．	D．About one-fifth of the population．

小題3:Homeless people often have difficulty finding a job because________．

A．they have no home addresses

B．they mostly have a drinking problem

C．they aren't supported by government programs

D．they often don't have enough work experience

小題4:What is the main cause of the rising number of the homeless in the U．S．?

A．The passing of new housing laws．	B．The fast growth of family size．
C．The slow construction of houses．	D．The ever-rising price of housing．

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series  of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
小題1:Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbours

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don’t want others to know they are rich

D．want to be happy

小題2:It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.

A．live outside New York City	B．live in New York City
C．live in apartments	D．have many neighbours

小題3:The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.

A．a person who lives near another	B．people living in an area
C．an area near the place referred to	D．an area in another town or city

小題4: Arthur Momand used the name ‘Jones’ in his series of short stories because’ Jones’ is ________.

A．an important name	B．a popular name in the United States
C．his neighbour’s name	D．not a good name

小題5:According to the writer, it is       to keep up with the Joneses.

A．correct

B．interesting

C．impossible

D．good

Everyone knows about straight-A students．We see them frequently in TV situation comedies and in movies like Revenge（報復）of the Nerds．They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull laborers, their noses always stuck in a book．They are not good at social communication and look clumsy while doing sports．
How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres?
Roman is on the tennis team at Fairmont Senior High School．She also sings in the choral group, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society．For two years she has maintained A’s in every subject．Melendres, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at Valley High School in Albuquerque．He played soccer and basketball well, exhibited at the science fair, and meanwhile worked as a reporter on a local television station．Being a speech giver at the graduation ceremony, he achieved straight A’s in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A’s in two college-level courses．
How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren’t the only answer．“Top grades don’t always go to the brightest students, ” declares Herbert Walberg, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies on super-achieving students．“Knowing how to make the most of your innate（天生的）abilities counts for more．Much more．”
In fact, Walberg says, students with high IQ sometimes don’t do as well as classmates with lower IQ．For them, learning comes too easily and they never find out how to get down．
Hard work isn’t the whole story, either．“It’s not how long you sit there with the books open, ” said one of the many-A students we interviewed．“It’s what you do while you’re sitting．” Indeed, some of these students actually put in fewer hours of homework time than their lower-scoring classmates．
The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can readily learn．
小題1:The underlined word “nerds” can probably be    ．

A．dull bookworms lacking sports and social skills

B．successful top students popular with their peers

C．students with certain learning difficulties

D．born leaders crazy about social activities

小題2:What can we conclude from the first paragraph?

A．Most TV programs and films are about straight-A students．

B．People have unfavorable impression on straight-A students．

C．Everyone knows about straight-A students from TV or films．

D．Straight-A students are well admired by people in the society．

小題3:What will be talked about after the last paragraph?

A．The interviews with more students．

B．The role IQ plays in learning well．

C．The techniques to be better learners．

D．The achievements top students make．

小題4: What can we infer from the passage?

A．IQ is more important than hard work in study．

B．The brightest students can never get low grades．

C．Top students certainly achieve all-around developments．

D．Students with average IQ can become super-achievers

Fun is, in fact, a word heard far more frequently in families today than in the past, when "duty’’ and "responsibility" were often the words used.
Parents today are more youthful in appearance and attitudes. Their clothes and hair-styles are more casual, helping to bridge the divide. Those who are athletically inclined also enjoy Rollerblading, snowboarding, and rock-climbing with their children.
For the past three years, Kathy and Phil Dalby have spent at least one evening a week at a climbing gym with their three children. "It’s great to be able to work together," Mrs Dalby says. "We discuss various climbs and where the hard parts are. Sometimes that leads to other Conversations. We’re definitely closer."
A popular movement of parent effectiveness training in the 1970s has helped to reshape generational roles. The philosophy encourages children to describe their feelings about various situations. As a result, says Robert Billingham, a family-studies professor at Indiana University, "Parents and children began talking to each other in ways they had not before."
On the plus side, he adds, these conversations made parents realize that children may have important thoughts or feelings that adults need to be aware of.
But Professor Billingham also sees a downside: Many parents started making decisions based on what their child wanted. "The power shifted to children. Parents said, ’I have to focus on making my child happy’, as opposed to ’I have to act as a parent most appropriately’."
Other changes are occurring as the ranks of working mothers grow.  Time-short parents encourage children’s independence, making them more responsible for themselves. "They’ll say, ’We trust you to make the right decisions’ (whether they’re ready to assume the responsibility or not) ,"says Billingham.
The self-esteem movement of the past quarter-century has also affected the family dynamics (原動力). Some parents worry that if they tell their child no, it will hurt the child’s self-esteem.
小題1:What’s the trend in parent-child relationship mentioned in the passage?

A．Parents are chasing after fashion and ignoring the feelings of their children.

B．More parents and children are sharing the same enthusiasm for a certain sport.

C．Parents are taking more responsibility and setting more limits for their children.

D．The generation gap is narrowing and parents are respecting their children’s thoughts more.

小題2:Which of the following has NOT contributed to the change in the parent-child relationship?

A．Younger parents.	B．Parent effectiveness training.
C．More working mothers.	D．The self-esteem movement.

小題3: What’s Billingham’s attitude towards parents who make children more responsible for themselves?

A．He supports them.	B．He admires them.
C．He disagrees with them.	D．He thinks they’re unreasonable.

小題4:What will probably be discussed following the last paragraph?

A．The effect of more working mothers on children’ s education.

B．The benefits of the new relationship between parents and children.

C．The importance of self-esteem and ways to develop children’s self-esteem.

D．The risks of setting no rules and some suggestions on how to have a balanced attitude.

小題5:What’s the best title for the text?

A．Parents and Children as Friends.	B．Parents and Professors as Debaters.
C．Growing Mutual Understanding.	D．Disappearing Responsibility.

Until recently, women in advertisements wore one of three things — an apron, an attractive dress or a frown. Although that is now changing, many women still feel angry about offending advertisements. “This ad degrades women.” they protested（抗議）.Why does this sort of advertising exist? How can advertisers and ad agencies still produce, sometimes, after months of research, advertising that offends the consumer?
The ASA, the body which deals with complaints about print media, is carrying out research into how women feel about the way they are pictured in advertisements. Its conclusions are likely to be what the advertising industry already knows: although women are often annoyed by the ads, few feel strong enough to complain.
Women are not the only victims of poor and boring stereotypes（老套）— in many TV commercials men are seen either as useless, childish fools who are unable to perform the simplest household tasks, or as inconsiderate fellows, always on the lookout for an escape to the pub. But it is women who seem to suffer more from the industry’s inability to put people into an authentic present-day situation. Yet according to Emma Bennett, director of a London advertising agency, women are not aggressive or extremely angry about those stereotypes and sexist （歧視婦女）advertising. “They just find it annoying or tiresome.”
She says that it is not advertising’s use of the housewife role that bothers women, but the way in which it is handled. “The most important thing is the advertisement’s tone of voice. Women hate being insincerely praised or given desperately down-to-earth common-sense advice.”
In the end, the responsibility for good advertising must be shared between the advertiser, the advertising agency and the consumer. Advertising does not set trends but it reflects them. It is up to the consumer to tell advertisers where they fail, and the process of change will remain slow until people on the receiving end take the business seriously and make their –feelings known.
小題1:Despite recent changes in attitudes, some advertisements still fail to        .

A．change women’s opinions of themselves

B．show any understanding of consumers’ feelings

C．persuade the public to buy certain products

D．meet the needs of the advertising industry

小題2:According to the writer, the commonest fault of present-day advertising is to         .

A．condemn the role of the housewife	B．ignore protests about advertisements
C．present a misleading image of women	D．picture the activities of men wrongly

小題3:Emma Bennett suggests that advertisement ought to        .

A．give further emphasis to practical advice

B．change their style rather than their content

C．use male images instead of female ones

D．sing higher praise for women than before

小題4:We can learn from the passage that advertising industry should         .

A．take its job more eagerly	B．do more pioneering work
C．take notice of the public opinion	D．concentrate on the products advertised

Blogs allow readers to post comments. There were millions of blogs out there, so I   36  expected anyone to read mine,   37  respond. But almost immediately they did. Twelve messages were   38  after my first entry. I went to the library five times that day—each time there were more.
The next morning I couldn’t wait to get up and hurry to the library.   39  I told my story. It gave structure and a purpose to my day.
For so long I’d been unable to   40  in the real world, afraid of rejection or pity or scorn(輕蔑).   41  here it was safe. This   42  with people on the other side of the screen, many on the other side of the world, was   43  me back to life again.
One particularly cold Tuesday I opened my   44  to see, among emails from bloggers   45  how I was surviving the snow, one saying: “New York Times Journalist Trying to Contact You.” Ian Urbina had discovered my blog   46  when researching an article on people living in their   47  in the U.S. exchanged emails and later he called me up. I hadn’t spoken to   48  for months but, as rain streamed down the glass   49 , the words came. I had been living in the car for almost nine months.
The article   50  on the front page. I didn’t know until I opened my computer. There were emails from people around the world. For almost a year on one had known I   51  existed but now here were hundreds wishing me well. They said they were   52  for me.
Now every time I pressed “Check Mail”, there were more messages. I watched the numbers of the visitors counter on my blog   53  by the hundreds. These were people at their computers all over the world. I felt as of I was viewing a miracle unfold(展開).
Over the next week, in libraries and in the car   54  under lamp posts at night, I wrote my papers. I had notepaper spread   55  the dashboard(儀表盤). And every morning in the quiet of the lane, I wrote for my life.

小題1:	A．nearly B．eagerly C．patiently D．hardly

小題2:	A．rather than B．more than C．let alone D．other than

小題3:	A．read B．printed C．left D．taken

小題4:	A．The other day B．Day and night C．All day long D．Another day

小題5:	A．give out B．reach out C．make out D．hand out

小題6:	A．But B．And C．Or D．Then

小題7:	A．problem B．work C．appointment D．connection

小題8:	A．paying B．giving C．binging D．writing

小題9:	A．website B．mailbox C．blog D．newspaper

小題10:

A．concerned about B．bored with C．careless of D．disappointed at

小題11:

A．by mistake B．in time C．by chance D．at last

小題12:

A．homes B．offices C．cars D．libraries

小題13:

A．everybody B．anyone C．another D．other

小題14:

A．inwards B．inside C．outwards D．outside

小題15:

A．carried B．published C．appeared D．contributed

小題16:

A．already B．even C．almost D．only

小題17:

A．praying B．fighting C．voting D．looking

小題18:

A．ending B．increasing C．dropping D．expanding

小題19:

A．repaired B．washed C．crashed D．parked

小題20:

A．through B．beyond C．across D．above

When did you last visit a shopping mall? In many places, the answer would be “l(fā)ast weekend”. Some people go even more often. Why? For one thing, malls offer goods and services that people need all in one place : food, clothing, things for their houses, entertainment，and even medical services. So, are mallsone of the highlights of modern civilization? Environmental activists would say “No!” They would go even further and say that consumer behavior is causing a huge environmental disaster. They cause consumers of ignorance of the side effect of their shopping—urban sprawl (城市雜亂無序拓展的地區(qū)）.
Social scientists agree that patterns of development have changed the landscape a great deal in the last half century. Prior to 1950，most people lived in towns or cities and either walked to work or took public transportation. Only very wealthy people had automobiles. Farmers lived in rural areas or isolated villages and came into town only when they needed things they couldn’t produce themselves. If you gazed at the landscape you would see towns surrounded by countryside. Then a massive change occurred.
Automobiles became affordable and people were quick to adopt them. Now ambitious workers could live in the suburbs, the areas just outside cities, which started to grow rapidly. As long as there was lots of cheap land in the suburbs, no one paid much attention to the usage of that land. Malls, fast food restaurants, cinemas, and car dealerships spread out in large, flat buildings. These one - storey buildings and their parking lot took up a great deal of space. Well - meaning farmers thought they were better off selling their land than growing crops. In ignorance, no one realized that once the land was built up in urban sprawl, the good farming land would be ruined forever. There was no way to preserve it.
Only in recent years have people come to mourn the old way of life as they have developed insight into the problems of unconditional growth. Now people realize that urban sprawl has come with serious environmental problems. The negative aspects of sprawl include air and water pollution, loss of agricultural land, traffic jams, and the death of businesses in the old town centers. Many scholars think the time has come to analyze the problems better so we can develop appropriate policies to control further sprawl. Some think the best way to do is to educate citizens about their priceless environment.
小題1:What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A．Urban sprawl	B．Weekend fun
C．New automobiles	D．Isolated villages

小題2:Who do activists blame for environmental problems?

A．Endangered animals.	B．Unthinking shoppers.
C．Shopping mall owners.	D．Ambitious farmers.

小題3:What does the underlined word “They” refer to in the first paragraph?.

A．Activists

B．Malls.

C．Farmers.

D．Scientists.

小題4:What is the scholars’ attitude toward urban sprawl?

A．Respectful.

B．Pessimistic.

C．Disapproving.

D．Doubtful.

When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.
“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.
“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (惱人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.
“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”
If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!
小題1:Who was Jim?

A．The child of the Tyners’.	B．The writer’s relative.
C．The president of a school board.	D．An official of a school.

小題2: What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?

A．The learning difficulty.	B．The physical problems.
C．The psychological problems.	D．The communication difficulty.

小題3:According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE？

A．He was always sad about his school marks.

B．His parents always scolded him about his bad school marks.

C．His study needed more attention from his parents and teachers.

D．He was killed in a car accident.

小題4:The purpose of Polly’s letter is to                .

A．memorize her son

B．teach parents to appreciate their children

C．teach children how to be good boys

D．give some advice on how to deal with children’s problems