Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own — their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.

Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable (可自由使用的) family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.

The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government’s poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.

What does the majority of the Americans have in terms of wealth?

A. Their income and savings.

B. Everything they own in their homes.

C. Actually, they have no wealth at all.

D. Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.

What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?

A. More than 25%.                                    B. Less than 25%.

C. More than 75%.                             D. Less than 20%.

Why is economic inequality still great in the US in spite of the economic growth?

A. Because the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.

B. Because the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.

C. Because income in the US is still concentrated in the hands of the richest 10% of American families.

D. Because some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.

What can we learn from comparison of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?

A. The poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.

B. The 1981 line didn’t leave much to the poor.

C. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.

D. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918 line.

From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government’s poverty line _______.

A. was of no good for the poor                   B. was not put into operation then

C. was officially approved                         D. was not helpful to the poor

Course Details

Crazy Creatures (3—5 year olds)

Class size: 6—10 students

Course summary: “Crazy Creatures” teaches children the English language through songs, arts and craft and games. Every lesson focuses on（集中于）a famous children’s story such as “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. The lesson introduces key vocabulary for the story and the children play games, sing songs, and do arts and craft activities based on the story.

Price: RMB 3,500/week,  RMB 6,500/2 weeks,  RMB 9,000/3weeks,  RMB 11,000/4weeks

Ancient Civilizations（文明）(8—12 year olds)

Class size: 6—16 students

Course summary: Children will learn about the culture, food, clothes and entertainment of people who lived in ancient civilizations, from Chinese, Greek, and Mayan / Aztec to Ancient Egypt. At the end of every week children will perform a short play wearing clothes they have made themselves. Throughout the course children will learn songs, read stories and write short stories and poems.

Price: RMB 4,500/week,  RMB 8,000/2 weeks,  RMB 11,500/3weeks,  RMB 14,000/4weeks

Literature（文学）Study (12—14 year olds)

Class size: 6—10 students

Course summary: Children will practice the skills required for the GCSE English Literature exam through analyzing（分析）a novel. The novel is “Holes” by Louis Sachar, a best-seller across the world. This course will develop children’s writing skills and their ability to answer questions.

Price: RMB 4,500/week,  RMB 8,000/2 weeks

Dates: June 28—July 2,  July 5—July 9,  July 12—July 16,  July 19—July 23, 

July 26—July 30,  August 2—August 6

Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday

Teaching: Classes are taught by experienced native English speaking teachers with a Chinese teaching assistant.

Application Dateline（申请日期）: Friday 18 June 2010

Payment Dateline: Payment to be made to Harrow International School Beijing by first day of the course.

●Snacks and lunch are provided at no cost

●A school nurse will be on site throughout the course.

●Free school bus service available

64. “Crazy Creatures” aims to improve children’s ______.

A. singing skills          B. social skills

C. English skills          D. computer skills

65. Students who take “Ancient Civilizations” ______.

A. can learn about Chinese culture

B. will watch a short play every day

C. will be taught how to write songs

D. need to pay 3,500 yuan a week

66. What do we learn about “Literature Study”?

A. It is suitable for students of all ages

B. It uses a novel as its textbook.

C. It will develop children’s art skills.

D. It will be taught by Louis Sachar.

67. Which of the following is TRUE about the courses?

A. They will be offered from June to July.

B. Students will learn seven days a week.

C. School fees should be paid before 18 June.

D. Students can have free lunch at school.

Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own — their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.
Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable (可自由使用的) family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.
The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government’s poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11, 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.
【小题1】What does the majority of the Americans have in terms of wealth?

A．Their income and savings.

B．Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.

C．Everything they own in their homes.

D．Actually, they have no wealth at all.

【小题2】What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?

A．Less than 25%.	B．More than 25%.
C．More than 75%.	D．Less than 20%.

【小题3】Why is economic inequality still great in the US in spite of the economic growth?

A．Because the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.

B．Because income in the US is still concentrated in the hands of the richest 10% of American families.

C．Because the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.

D．Because some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.

【小题4】What can we learn from comparison of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?

A．The poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.

B．The 1981 line didn’t leave much to the poor.

C．There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918 line.

D．There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.

【小题5】From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government’s poverty line _______.

A．was of no good for the poor	B．was officially approved
C．was not helpful to the poor	D．was not put into operation then

Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories, destroying (摧毁) fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged (破坏) that their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or broken roofs. One person was killed, several were badly hurt and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.

A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and lasted for over an hour.

“I was eating with my wife and children,” he said, “When we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him,

safe but very frightened.”

Mrs. Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she felt that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.

“There was no time to take anything,” she said, “A few minutes later, the roof came down.”

Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded (水淹的) area and the welfare department (福利机构) brought them food, clothes and shelter.

1.How many homes altogether (总共) were damaged in the storm?

A．Fourteen	B．Twenty-one
C．Twenty-nine	D．Thirty-six

2.Where was Mr. Tan when the storm first began?

A．He was in bed.	B．He was inside the house.
C．He was outside the house.	D．He was on the roof.

3. Mrs. Woo and her family didn’t get hurt because _________.

A．her husband knew there would be a storm

B．they were all outside the house when the storm became worse

C．she felt the house was moving

D．the welfare department helped her

4. The underlined word “shelter” in this passage means ______.

A．something to eat	B．something to wear
C．somewhere to study	D．somewhere to stay

5.Which of he following may be the best title for this passage?

A．A Terrible Storm	B．A Lucky Woman
C．Good Soldiers	D．Clever People

 

信息匹配（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

    首先， 请阅读下面几个网站的介绍：

A. www.moviefan.com

   If you are a super fan of movies, TV series and cartoons, please visit this website. You can watch them online. You can also download them from the Internet.

B. www.nba.com

   This is a website about Ameirican National Basketball Association, where you can find all the information about the NBA teams and the scores of basketball matches. If you are interested in basketball stars you can also find a lot of introduction about them.

C. www.utoronto.ca/writing/advise.html

   This online writing course provides a number of resources for intermediate ESL learners who want to improve their writing skills. The site provides varieties of topics, sample essays, and writing suggestions.

D. www.wiseshpper.com

   If you like shopping online, it is the best website for you. Here you can find anything you want, such as food, clothes, books and so on. We’re sure that you can enjoy the same shopping pleasure as in the shopping center!

E. www.rollingstone.com

   This is a music website and you can find a lot of latest songs. The most interesting thing about this website is that you can even record your song in the website and allow others to enjoy your voice! It’s wonderful, isn’t it?

F. www.book.com.cn

   Do you like reading? Do you want to write your own books? If yes, it is the very website for you. Here you can not only read others’ books but also write your own books. Besides, you can ask famous writers for advice on how to improve your writing skills.

 

  请阅读以下人物的信息，然后为他/她匹配感兴趣的网站。

1.Amy is taking ESL soon. But she is still not sure about her writing ability, so she is eager to look for a website with various writing materials.

2.Charles likes watching movies on the Internet at home instead of going out with his friends. He says he wants to be a director (导演) in the future.

3.Mary is a basketball fan. Now she is a member of School Basketball Club, where she meets many students who are talented in playing basketball. They often exchange information about the famous basketball stars.

4.Alice likes writing and she wants to be a writer like J.K. Rowling. She wants to find a website for people who like writing and reading.

5.Janet works in a big company and is well-paid. Though she likes shopping very much, she is very busy and can’t spare(抽出) any time for shopping.