Many people would interpret “The American dream” as “living like an American”—a two-story house with a white picket fence; a family with two cars; and two children.

However, the economic situation is now affecting the American way of life for 4.4 million people living in the US, according to new census (人口普查) data. “It’s going to have a long-term impact and to say it’s going to end is optimistic, ” says Cheryl Russell, former editor-in- chief of American Demographics magazine. “I’m more pessimistic that this is the new normal.”

So what is the new normal?

*Marrying later. The average age of the first marriage has increased to 28.7 for men and 26.7 for women, up from 27.5 and 25.9 respectively in 2006. At the same time, fewer people are getting married. If the marriage rate had stayed the same as in 2006, there would have been about 4 million more married people in 2010.

 *Fewer babies. There were 200,000 fewer births among women aged 20 to 34 in 2010 compared with two years before. This was despite the fact that the number of women of childbearing age had gone up by more than 1 million. “The recession(衰退) is the likely cause ,” says Kenneth Johnson, demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institue, “Economic fertility (生育能力)” because women delay …in uncertain times.

*Breaking up is harder. The number of divorces has been falling for 25 years as people wait longer or choose to live together before they get married. There were about 65,000 fewer divorces in 2010 than in 2008, a 7 percent decrease.

*Crowd living. Unemployment is forcing more people to live together. The number of households where people lived with “other relatives” climbed from 6.7 percent in 2006 to 7.2 percent in 2010.

*Going public. Private school enrollment decreased from 13.6 percent in 2006 to 12.8 percent in 2010.

*Fewer cars. The percent age of households without a car rose to 9.1 percent against 8.8 percent in 2006. The percent-age of households with two or more cars fell from 58 percent to 57.1 percent.

*Driving solo. When people are not working, they don’t carpool. The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in employment dropped greatly in all but one of the 50 largest metropolitan (大城市的) areas. That has helped push the share of people driving to work alone from 76 percent in 2006 to 76.6 percent in 2010. Ride-sharing is down a full percentage point, to 9.7 percent.

61. What is the article mainly about?

A. The interpretation of “the American dream”.

B. The significance of the current economic crisis.       

C. Changes to the American lifestyle.

D. The traditional American way of life.

62. What might Cheryl Russell agree with according to the article?

A. A traditional lifestyle is much better and healthier.

B. The new study based on the members’ financial reports.

C. The spirit of American dream will inspire Americans to get through the economic recession.

D. American lifestyles are being reshaped and will continue to change

63. What are the characteristics of the future American lifestyle?

a. Delayed marriage.

b. A lower divorce rate

c. Increased car ownership.

d. An increase in private school enrollment.

e. Having children later

A. abe           B. ace          C. bde          D. bce  

64. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The typical US family is expected to have three-story house with a big yard and two children.

B. The US birth rate rose slightly in 2010 compared with two years before.

C. A growing number of people are forced to share their homes with other relatives in the US.

D. US students prefer to go to private schools rather than pubic schools.

65. Why do more and more Americans drive solo to work in recent years, according to the passage ?

A. Because they don’t like carpool.           

B. Because more and more people are out of work.         

C. Because the share of people driving to work alone is increasing.      

D. Because the proportion of people aged 16-64 in unemployment dropped greatly.

第三部分：阅读理解：（共20小题，每小题2分，满分34分）

Vocabulary learning is a continuing process. It continues all your life. When you are young, you learn something day in and day out. You should keep squeezing every moment of the day into a new and different learning situation. You continually ask questions and drive yourself to learn more. The more you learn, the more vocabulary you will know. No matter what your age is, you must continue to learn. Words are “Symbols” for ideas. These ideas make knowledge and knowledge is gained largely through words. The following are some suggestions which may help you increase your vocabulary.

•Read books from fields other than your major.

•Read books which interest you and concentrate while you read.

•The more you read, the more words you will come in contact with.

•Use new vocabulary in your everyday communication (writing, speaking).

•Become familiar with the vocabulary in your text books.

•Become familiar with the dictionary. Understand the pronunciation rules as well as the multiple（众多的）meanings of words.

•Try to learn 5 words a day. If you know these words, use them in your communications. Without using these new words, it is a waste of your time.

56、The main idea of the passage is       .

A、how to remember vocabulary     B、how to learn vocabulary

C、how to use vocabulary           D、how to teach vocabulary

57、The underlined word “squeezing” probably means “       ”.

A、压出     B、付出      C、浪费      D、挤出

58、Which of the following statement is NOT suggested in the passage as a way of vocabulary learning?

A、Use the new words you have learned when you write and speak.

B、Use your dictionary and be familiar with it.   

C、Concentrate only on the books on your major.

D、The more you read, the more words you will get.

59、From the passage we know       .

A、most of your knowledge is gained through words.

B、dictionary is the most important way of vocabulary learning.

C、if you learn a new word, just keep it in your mind.

D、you should spend most of your spare time on vocabulary learning.

第三部分：阅读理解：（共20小题，每小题2分，满分34分）

Vocabulary learning is a continuing process. It continues all your life. When you are young, you learn something day in and day out. You should keep squeezing every moment of the day into a new and different learning situation. You continually ask questions and drive yourself to learn more. The more you learn, the more vocabulary you will know. No matter what your age is, you must continue to learn. Words are “Symbols” for ideas. These ideas make knowledge and knowledge is gained largely through words. The following are some suggestions which may help you increase your vocabulary.

??Read books from fields other than your major.

??Read books which interest you and concentrate while you read.

??The more you read, the more words you will come in contact with.

??Use new vocabulary in your everyday communication (writing, speaking).

??Become familiar with the vocabulary in your text books.

??Become familiar with the dictionary. Understand the pronunciation rules as well as the multiple（众多的）meanings of words.

??Try to learn 5 words a day. If you know these words, use them in your communications. Without using these new words, it is a waste of your time.

56、The main idea of the passage is       .

A、how to remember vocabulary     B、how to learn vocabulary

C、how to use vocabulary           D、how to teach vocabulary

57、The underlined word “squeezing” probably means “       ”.

A、压出     B、付出      C、浪费      D、挤出

58、Which of the following statement is NOT suggested in the passage as a way of vocabulary learning?

A、Use the new words you have learned when you write and speak.

B、Use your dictionary and be familiar with it.   

C、Concentrate only on the books on your major.

D、The more you read, the more words you will get.

59、From the passage we know       .

A、most of your knowledge is gained through words.

B、dictionary is the most important way of vocabulary learning.

C、if you learn a new word, just keep it in your mind.

D、you should spend most of your spare time on vocabulary learning.

Around the World by Wheelchair

Rick Hansen was always an active kid and loved to fish. 里克·汉森是一个十分活跃又喜欢钓鱼的孩子。When returning in a truck one day from a fishing trip, he had an accident and suffered injuries to his spine (脊柱). 一天在他钓完鱼坐卡车回家的路上，一次意外的事故中使他的脊椎受了伤。This 15-year-old young man awoke to find that he had lost the use of his legs.这个年轻人醒来时发现他的双腿已经不听使唤了。 However, he didn’t give up. Many months later he began to compete in wheelchair sports. At the age of 27, he decided to wheel around the world 好几个月之后他开始参加轮椅运动的比赛。  to raise awareness and money for spinal cord research. 很快他就开始为脊髓研究工作而奔走效力。他决定通过自己坐轮椅周游世界这一途径来为脊髓损伤的研究工作来筹募资金并引起世人的关注。His tour took him through 34 countries around the world between 1985 and 1987. 在1985年到1987年间，他的旅程遍及世界上的34个国家。In this Man of Motion World Tour, he wheeled 24,901.55 miles, which is equal to the distance around the earth.

Bad weather and difficult, rocky roads often provided challenges for Rick, but he continued to push himself to complete the trip. 恶劣的天气以及艰难坎坷的道路经常成为里克所面临的挑战，但是他一直强迫自己坚持完成了这次旅行。He was determined to succeed. 他一定会成功的。Even mountains did not stop Rick Hansen. 就算是崇山峻岭也无法阻止里克·汉森。He wheeled himself up the Rocky Mountains and several other major mountains in the world. 他坐着轮椅登上了落基山脉和世界上几座其他的主要山岭。He even wheeled himself along the Great Wall of China!

“Never Give Up On Your Dreams” was his motto and he hasn’t given up yet. “不要放弃你的梦想” 是他的座右铭，而且他从来没有放弃过。He completed his world tour raising $24 million. 他完成了他的环游世界的行程并从加拿大的资助者那里筹集了两千四百万美元的资金。He continues to work to increase knowledge of spinal cord injury. 他继续着他的工作以不断积累关于脊髓损伤方面的知识。He is a true Canadian hero who shows what determination can achieve.

54. What happened to Rick after the accident?

A. He lost the ability of living.               B. He had to spend his life in hospital.   

C. He couldn’t walk any more.             D. He couldn’t do sports any more.

55. When did Rick begin his tour around the world?

A. At the age of 15.                                          B. Soon after the accident.

C. A year after the accident.                        D. At the age of 27.

56. Why did Rick take his tour around the world in his wheelchair?

A. To gather money for the spinal cord research. B. To learn about the people of other countries.

C. To travel to different countries for fun.           D. To take photos of beautiful mountains.

57. From the passage we can see Rick is a(n) ________ person.

A. unhappy         B. determined       C. careful           D. quiet