In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers. Young men ,or “stewards” helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers’ luggage(行李)but they did not provide food and drinks. But then in 1930,a woman called Ellen Church invented the “stewardess”.
Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn’t want to work on a farm or marry a farmer —she wanted a more adventurous(冒险的)life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot’s license.
Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport. She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man’s world. Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot .But she had another idea. Most people were frightened of flying because. flying was still an unreliable(不可靠的) way to travel. There were often delays(延误),many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. agreed.
The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses.
At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early “stewardesses” had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and earned ＄1 an hour.
In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, “stewardesses” have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past.
【小题1】The last sentence of the first paragraph suggests that _________.

1Choose the best answer (根据文章内容，选择最恰当的答案)

Traditionally, the President is the highest-pad public employee. A salary of $ 400,000, along with other benefits, is paid to the President annually. But President Obama’s income for 2008 was far more than that, according to the White House.

The White House recently published the tax returns (纳税申报单)of Obama and Vice –president Joe Biden. Tax returns are reports of tax that a person has to pay. They often include income information used to calculate the tax. In the US, people whose incomes are over a certain amount have to file tax returns(纳税申报)every year. The tax returns of government officials are open to the public. This transparency helps to prevent corruption(腐败)。

From Obama’s tax returns , we can see that the President and first lady President’s two books Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope(《无畏的梦想》). The two books, published in 1995 and 2006,are very popular and have been on the bestseller(畅销书)list for a long time.

The Obama’s income is down from 2007,when they made ＄4.2 million. However, that is still far more than former US President George Bush earned, who reported a total of ＄719,274 for his final year. The Obamas’ income also greatly exceeded(超出)that of Biden, who reported a family income of ＄2269,256.That’s about a tenth of what the Obamas earned. As Vice-president, Biden earns a salary of ＄220,000.US families earn an average income of about ＄50,000.

The Obama’s tax returns also show that together, the President and his wife paid about ＄933,000 in taxes. They gave $172,050 —nearly 6.5 percent of their earnings —to different charity groups. In the US, if a person gives his money to churches and non-profit(非盈利)organizations, the law reduces his or her taxes. This is one reason why rich people in the US like to give money to charity.

1._______had the highest income in 2008.

A. Obama           B. Biden           C. Bush         D. George

2.How much did Obama and his wife earn in 2008?

A. $400,000         B. $2,660,000       C. $4,200,000    D. $719,274

3.In the US, which people have to file tax returns?

A. Everybody                     

B. Wealthy people   

C. Government officials   

D. People whose incomes are over a certain amount.

4.The Obamas have given_______ percent of their earnings to charity.

A. 10              B. 6.5              C. 9.7          D. 4.3

5.Why should the tax returns of government officials be open to the public?.

A. Because it can help to prevent corruption

B. Because it can make government officials well-known to the public.

C. Because it can help government officials to get more money.

D. Because the government wants them to pay more taxes to the public.

6.According to the law, if a rich man gives his money to charity,_______.

A. he will be praised by the people     

B. he will pay fewer taxes        

C. he will be free of taxes        

D. he will get some extra money from the government.

It was Mother’s Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn’t go back home. When he walked by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. “I’ll send Mum some roses (玫瑰).”

While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. “How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?” he asked. The shop assistant told him that roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations(康乃馨). She told him they were a lot cheaper than roses.

“No, I have to have red roses,” he said, “My mum was badly ill last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses, as the rose is her favorite.”

After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the shop assistant said, “Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two.” Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the shop assistant to send them to his mother.

As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, “Mum, oh, Mum, why didn’t I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her.”

Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.

1.The shop assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because _____.

A. there were not enough roses in the shop

B. carnations were much nicer than roses

C. roses were more expensive than carnations

D. carnations were special flowers for Mother’s Day

2.John spent _______ in the flower shop that day.

A. $5                  B. $25                     C. $ 45                 D. $ 55

3.The young man cried at the cemetery because he _______.

A. had spent all his money on the roses

B. wasn’t able to tell his mother he loved her himself

C. felt sorry to ask John to pay for his flowers

D. hadn’t got enough money for his sick mother

4.At last John decided to take the roses home himself because he wanted to _______.

A. tell his mother he loved her

B. ask his mother for more money

C. tell his mother the young man’s story

D. ask his mother if she liked roses

5.The writer wrote this passage to tell us “_______”.

A. Buy roses for your mother when she is ill

B. Let your mother know how much you love her

C. Work hard to get more money for your mother

D. Send your mother flowers on Mother’s Day