54.　 Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ________.

A. are highly motivated in the education of music

B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

C. encourage people to compete with each other

D. promise talented children high positions(B)

53.　 Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ________.

A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West

B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country(A)

52. The following factors may account for the phenomenon except _____.

　 A. that living prices have risen a lot.

　 B. that it’s difficult to land a job.

　 C. that education has already cost them a lot

　 D. that parents can help them more

D

Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

51. What does the underlined word “dire” probably mean?

　 A. promising.　　 B. inconvenient.　 C. very bad.　　 D. hopeful

50. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

　 A. Male children seem to more independent than females.

　 B. Eighty percent of university graduates were able to live independently two decades ago.

　 C. The grown-up children choose to live with their parents only to save money.

　 D. More and more children are moving out at university age.

49. What is the main idea of the passage?

　 A. The economic crisis has shown its effect on the young generation.

　 B. More young professionals are returning home to live.

　 C. British parents are suffering more loads from their grown-up children.

　 D. Britain is suffering more than any other country in Europe.

48. What does the writer mean by the last sentence of the passage?

　 A. She is ready to turn to God for help.

　 B. She will be kind to all children.

　 C. She won’t insult herself as well as others.

　 D. She is willing to be a child of God.

C

The rise of the so-called “boomerang generation” is revealed in official figures showing that almost one in five graduates in their late 20s now live with their parents.

By contrast, only one in eight university graduates had failed to fly the nest by the same age 20 years ago. It also found that grown-up sons are twice as likely as their sisters to still be living with their parents in their late 20s. With nearly a quarter of men approaching 30 still living at home, the findings are bound to lead to claims of a “generation of mummy’s boys”.

Young professionals in their late 20s or early 30s have been nicknamed the “boomerang generation” because of the trend toward returning to the family home having initially left to study. Recent research has suggested that young people in Britain are twice as likely to choose to live with their parents in their late 20s than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe.

Rising property prices, mounting student debts and the effects of recession on the job market have forced a wave of young people to move back into the family home at an age when they would normally be moving out. But commentators warned that the phenomenon may have more to do with young people facing “dire” prospects than simply a desire to save money.

While the proportion of those of university or college age moving out from the family home has continued to rise in the last 20 years, among those in their mid and late 20s the trend has been reversed. Overall 1.7 million people aged from 22 to 29 now share a roof with their parents, including more than 760,000 in their late 20s. In 1988, 22.7 per cent of men aged 25 to 29 were still living with their parents but last year the proportion was 24.5 per cent.

47. We can infer that the underlined word “slob” might be _____.

　 A. something untidy　　　　 B. someone dangerous

　 C. something dirty　　　　　 D. someone lazy

46. What does the writer intends to tell us through the second and third paragraphs?

　 A. She has low self-esteem over some small things.

　 B. She often makes serious mistakes in daily life.

　 C. She is a third-grade teacher.

　 D. She cares too much about her appearance.

45. What does Annabel mean by the first sentence of the passage?

　 A. The writer is a good athlete.　　　 B. The writer scolds herself too much.

　 C. She is encouraging the writer. 　　 　D. A gold medal is not a big deal.