In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a drop in our skyhigh divorce rate. But this won’t necessarily represent an increase in happy marriages. In the long run, the Depression weakened American families, and the current crisis will probably do the same.

　　We tend to think of the Depression as a time when families pulled together to survive huge job losses. By 1932, when nearly one-quarter of the workforce was unemployed, the divorce rate had declined by around 25% from 1929. But this doesn’t mean people were suddenly happier with their marriages. Rather, with incomes decreasing and insecure jobs, unhappy couples often couldn’t afford to divorce. They feared neither spouse could manage alone.

　　Today, given the job losses of the past year, fewer unhappy couples will risk starting separate households. Furthermore, the housing market meltdown will make it more difficult for them to finance their separations by selling their homes.

　　After financial disasters family members also tend to do whatever they can to help each other and their communities. A 1940 book “The Unemployed Man and His Family”, described a family in which the husband initially reacted to losing his job “with tireless search for work.” He was always active, looking for odd jobs to do.

　　The problem is that such an impulse is hard to sustain. Across the country, many similar families were unable to maintain the initial boost in morale(士气). For some, the hardships of life without steady work eventually overwhelmed their attempts to keep their families together. The divorce rate rose again during the rest of the decade as the recovery took hold.

　　Millions of American families may now be in the initial stage of their responses to the current crisis, working together and supporting one another through the early months of unemployment.

　　Today’s economic crisis could well generate a similar number of couples whose relationships have been irreparably(无法弥补地)ruined. So it’s only when the economy is healthy again that we’ll begin to see just how many broken families have been created.

1.In the initial stage, the current economic crisis is likely to __________.

A. tear many troubled families apart

B. bring about a drop in the divorce rate

C. contribute to enduring family ties

D. cause a lot of conflicts in the family

2.In the Great Depression many unhappy couples chose to stick together because_______.

A. starting a new family would be hard

B. they expected things would turn better

C. they wanted to better protect their kids

D. living separately would be too costly

3.In addition to job losses. What stands in the way of unhappy couples getting a divorce?

A. Mounting family debts

B. A sense of insecurity

C. Falling housing prices

D. Difficulty in getting a loan

4.What will the current economic crisis eventually do to some married couples?

A. It will irreparably damage their relationship

B. It will undermine their mutual understanding

C. It will help strengthen their emotional bonds

D. It will force them to pull their efforts together

5.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. The economic recovery will see a higher divorce rate

B. Few couples can stand the test of economic hardships

C. A stable family is the best protection against poverty.

D. Money is the foundation of many a happy marriage

D
Work is a very important part of life in the United States. Americans spend most of their lives working. For most Americans, their work defines them. They are what they do. What happens, then, when a person can no longer work?
Most Americans stop working at the age of sixty-five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire, but leaving one’s job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Retirement can also bring financial problems. Many people depend on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty-five have to have savings in the ban or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation is forcing prices higher each year. Social Security checks alone can not cover these growing expenses. The government offers some assistance, but many senior citizens have to change their life styles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel and other necessities.
Of course, many senior citizens are happy with their retirement. They have time to spend with their families or to enjoy their hobbies. Some continue to work part time, others do volunteer work. Some, like those in the Retired Business Executive Association, even help old people to get started in new businesses. Many retired citizens also belong to “Golden Age” groups. These organizations plan trips and social events there are many other opportunities for retirees.
68．Which of the following could be the title of the passage?
A．“Golden Age” groups       　     B．The American Opinion of Work
C．The Importance of Work in America     D．The Problems in Retirement in America
69．Which of the following is NOT true about the retirees?
A．Some retirees feel happy as they can have more time to enjoy themselves.
B．Some retirees have to be careful with their money because of the rising prices.
C．Some retirees like to work without being paid.
D．Some retirees find work in new businesses.
70．It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A．the Americans show their value through their work
B．the American government pays little attention to the life of the retirees
C．the retirees’ former employers offer some assistance to the retirees
D．the Americans can not find much time to travel before their retirement
71．What does the paragraph following the passage most likely discuss?
A．An explanation of why the retirees feel lost.
B．The difficult situation the retirees have.
C．A different opinion of the physical and emotional needs of the retirees.
D．A description of other activities the retirees can have.

  A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension (理解), will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principle (原则) apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook—but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage (百分比) gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned (有关的) with.

  The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you night skim (浏览) through a newspaper at perhaps 650-700, while with difficult textbooks you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

  Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, U.S.A., for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy’s War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim (自称) that after twelve half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.　　　　

1．According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you　　   .

A. only in your reading of physics textbook

B. improve your understanding of an economics textbook

C. not only in your language study but also in other subjects

D. choose the suitable material to read

2．Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. Those beyond (超越) one’s reading comprehension.

B. Those concerned with common knowledge.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 

C. Those without the demand for specialized knowledge.

D. Those with the length of about five hundred words

3．The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is　　   .

A. about three hundred words per minute

B. about two hundred and forty-five words per minute

C. about sixty words per minute

D. about five hundred words per minute

4．According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

A. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

B. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

C. You can increase your reading speed by four times.

D. You can double your reading speed.

5．Where do you think the passage is taken from?

A. The introduction to a book on fast reading.

B. A local newspaper for young people.

C. A school newspaper run by students.

D. The introduction to an English textbook.