Ayesha and Latisha Jones need to take a break in their own homework to help their dad, because at the age of 52, John Jones is just now learning to read.
“I was so uncomfortable and so ashamed,” he said. For many years, unable to read a menu or a bus schedule, Jones was just one of the estimated 65,000 adults in Buffalo, New York who cannot read above a 5th-grade level.
And a new study shows the problem is getting worse in many states. California, New York and Florida have all shown surprising increases in illiteracy（文盲）rates. The situation has improved in a few states, like Mississippi, Rhode Island and Kentucky. But worldwide, the United States doesn’t perform well.
Fourteen countries rank higher in reading ability than the United States, including Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, South Korea, UK, Japan, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, Austria, France and Norway.
Back in Buffalo, a program called Read to Succeed targets the problem early, teaching preschoolers shapes, colors and letters.
“We have a lot of poverty and that means a lot of children don’t have the skills, but they have the potential（潛質(zhì)）,” said Helene Kramer of Read to Succeed. The theory is : you’re never too young or too old to learn.
Working with Buffalo’s literacy volunteers has given Jones a fresh start. “They gave me a chance to open a door that I could never open before,” he said. “I could never open it before, because I couldn’t read.” It’s not easy, but Jones says seeing his daughters read inspires him to try.
64. In America, which of the following states has seen an improvement in the situation of illiteracy?
A. New York.   B. Mississippi.   C. Florida.   D. California
65. Helene Kramer would probably think that _______.
A. kids should not learn to read too early
B. old people aren’t able to learn to read
C .poverty contributes to poor reading ability
D. most poor kids have difficulty reading
66. What can we know about John Jones?
A. He is very tired of learning to read.
B. He is thankful for the chance to learn to read.
C. It is easy for him to learn to read.
D. His children don’t like to help him.
67. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. Canadians perform better in reading than Americans
B. American children’s ability to solve problems is quite bad
C. the illiteracy rates in New York have dropped
D. Norway ranks the lowest in reading ability
68. What might be the best title for the passage?
A. America ranks higher in reading ability.
B. volunteers help a man live a new life.
C. Reading offers more chances to children.
D. Find inspiration to fight illiteracy.

Ayesha and Latisha Jones need to take a break in their own homework to help their dad, because at the age of 52, John Jones is just now learning to read.

“I was so uncomfortable and so ashamed,” he said. For many years, unable to read a menu or a bus schedule, Jones was just one of the estimated 65,000 adults in Buffalo, New York who cannot read above a 5th-grade level.

And a new study shows the problem is getting worse in many states. California, New York and Florida have all shown surprising increases in illiteracy（文盲）rates. The situation has improved in a few states, like Mississippi, Rhode Island and Kentucky. But worldwide, the United States doesn’t perform well.

Fourteen countries rank higher in reading ability than the United States, including Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, South Korea, UK, Japan, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, Austria, France and Norway.

Back in Buffalo, a program called Read to Succeed targets the problem early, teaching preschoolers shapes, colors and letters.

“We have a lot of poverty and that means a lot of children don’t have the skills, but they have the potential（潛質(zhì)）,” said Helene Kramer of Read to Succeed. The theory is : you’re never too young or too old to learn.

Working with Buffalo’s literacy volunteers has given Jones a fresh start. “They gave me a chance to open a door that I could never open before,” he said. “I could never open it before, because I couldn’t read.” It’s not easy, but Jones says seeing his daughters read inspires him to try.

64. In America, which of the following states has seen an improvement in the situation of illiteracy?

A. New York.   B. Mississippi.   C. Florida.   D. California

65. Helene Kramer would probably think that _______.

A. kids should not learn to read too early

B. old people aren’t able to learn to read

C .poverty contributes to poor reading ability

D. most poor kids have difficulty reading

66. What can we know about John Jones?

A. He is very tired of learning to read.

B. He is thankful for the chance to learn to read.

C. It is easy for him to learn to read.

D. His children don’t like to help him.

67. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A. Canadians perform better in reading than Americans

B. American children’s ability to solve problems is quite bad

C. the illiteracy rates in New York have dropped

D. Norway ranks the lowest in reading ability

68. What might be the best title for the passage?

A. America ranks higher in reading ability.

B. volunteers help a man live a new life.

C. Reading offers more chances to children.

D. Find inspiration to fight illiteracy.

Ayesha and Latisha Jones need to take a break in their own homework to help their dad, because at the age of 52, John Jones is just now learning to read.

“I was so uncomfortable and so ashamed,” he said. For many years, unable to read a menu or a bus schedule, Jones was just one of the estimated 65,000 adults in Buffalo, New York who cannot read above a 5th-grade level.

And a new study shows the problem is getting worse in many states. California, New York and Florida have all shown surprising increases in illiteracy（文盲）rates. The situation has improved in a few states, like Mississippi, Rhode Island and Kentucky. But worldwide, the United States doesn’t perform well.

Fourteen countries rank higher in reading ability than the United States, including Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, South Korea, UK, Japan, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, Austria, France and Norway.

Back in Buffalo, a program called Read to Succeed targets the problem early, teaching preschoolers shapes, colors and letters.

“We have a lot of poverty and that means a lot of children don’t have the skills, but they have the potential（潛質(zhì)）,” said Helene Kramer of Read to Succeed. The theory is : you’re never too young or too old to learn.

Working with Buffalo’s literacy volunteers has given Jones a fresh start. “They gave me a chance to open a door that I could never open before,” he said. “I could never open it before, because I couldn’t read.” It’s not easy, but Jones says seeing his daughters read inspires him to try.

64. In America, which of the following states has seen an improvement in the situation of illiteracy?

   A. New York.   B. Mississippi.   C. Florida.   D. California

65. Helene Kramer would probably think that _______.

   A. kids should not learn to read too early

   B. old people aren’t able to learn to read

C .poverty contributes to poor reading ability

D. most poor kids have difficulty reading

66. What can we know about John Jones?

A. He is very tired of learning to read.

B. He is thankful for the chance to learn to read.

C. It is easy for him to learn to read.

D. His children don’t like to help him.

67. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

   A. Canadians perform better in reading than Americans

   B. American children’s ability to solve problems is quite bad

   C. the illiteracy rates in New York have dropped

   D. Norway ranks the lowest in reading ability

68. What might be the best title for the passage?

   A. America ranks higher in reading ability.

   B. volunteers help a man live a new life.

   C. Reading offers more chances to children.

   D. Find inspiration to fight illiteracy.

If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare(車費(fèi)) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登記） card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.
With so many loopholes （漏洞） in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
【小題1】The underlined words in this passage means to “______”。

D
If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare(車費(fèi)) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登記） card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.
With so many loopholes （漏洞）in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
68． The underlined words in this passage means to “______”。
A. be ready to help others         B. make good use of one’s friends
C. be a little ahead of others     D. gain something at other’s loss
69． Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.
B. In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.
C. The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of their working hours.
D. The workers are always honest with their working hours.
70． We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. the Finnish society is of very high moral level
B. there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland
C. in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything
D. everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves
71． Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Life in Finland     B. A Society with “Foolish” People
C.What a Life         D. Honest accounts of the Finns