Being a mother is apparently not like it was in the good old days.

　　Today’s parents yearn for the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found. Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to handle work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children.

The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did – just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day. And 64 per cent said this was because they felt they ‘had’ to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the ‘perfect mother’, the report found.

Other findings showed social networking and parenting websites, as well as technology such as Skype, were important in providing help and support among female communities. Kate Fox, a member of the Social Issues Research Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gamble, said: ‘With increasing pressure on mothers to work a “double shift” — to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner — support networks are more important than ever.

It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leading industrialised nations found that working mothers in Britain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a ‘primary activity’. Mothers who stay at home, on the other hand, manage twice as much time – more than two and a half hours – looking after their offspring, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

　　Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their offspring in the hands of nurseries or childminders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk.

　　The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare still falls on them - even if their husband is not in work. A father who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child - 18 minutes less than a mother who goes out to work. Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children.

1.What does the underlined phrase “yearn for” probably means ___________.

A. hate            B. forget          C. miss        D. control

2.Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Today’s mothers have less time left for their children and themselves.

B. The working mothers can hardly strike the balance between work and family.

C. Most of the mothers can not control their husbands nowadays.

D. Modern fathers do not spend enough time with their children.

3.From Para. 4, we can infer that ___________.

   A. Skype is a very famous expert in studying social issues

   B. working mothers can seek help on line

   C. working mothers’ double shift is to be a wife and a mother

   D. Kate Fox has opened a website offering help to working mothers

4. What critics say means that _____________.

   A. it is wise for working mothers to put their kids in nurseries or childminders

   B. children do not like nurseries or childminders at all

   C. nurseries or childminders are dangerous places for children

   D. too much time in nurseries or childminders is bad for kids’ mental and physical health

Alexis was hot and tired. With rage (愤怒) in her voice she shouted,“Pull me up! I give up. I hate this. This is stupid!” It was at that moment when Jason, the adviser on the trip, looked at me and said,“Ed, I'm going to go down and talk with her.”I then shouted down to Alexis,“ Hold on! You can do this. We know you can!”

Jason grasped another rope, put this climbing harness (系带) on and began to move down the cliff. Within moments Jason was beside Alexis. She had her cheek directly against the face of the rock with her feet barely resting on a small piece of the cliff that jetted (急突) outward. Jason said to Alexis,“I know that you have been on this cliff now for what seems like a long time. Your feet and fingers are cramping (痉挛) up and your forearms feel as though they are on fire. But, Alexis, you are strong. Look how far up you are already. You have taken one of the more difficult parts up the cliff. Alexis, look at the path you have taken.”At that moment, Alexis moved her cheek away from the rock face and looked down. The bright white chalk she used in her hands to give her a better hold, showed the path where her tired hands had moved her upward on the cliff. Jason was right. Alexis had taken the hardest way up the cliff. Jason then looked straight into Alexis' eyes and in a calm voice he said,“You are not alone out here. There are people who care about you, who want to help you and see you succeed. We are going to do this together. Are you ready?” Slowly she nodded and took a deep breath.?

Jason went down the cliff because _______.

A. Alexis took a wrong path

B. Alexis was trapped in rocks ?

C. Alexis didn't believe in herself

D. Alexis' forearms were badly hurt ?

We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. Alexis was finally pulled up by Ed?

B. Alexis regretted having taken the wrong path up the cliff

C. Alexis was immediately sent to hospital after she was pulled up ?

D. Alexis successfully rock-climbed

The underlined word “hot” in the story means_______.

A. disappointed　  B. angry?

C. uncomfortable  D. running a high body temperature?

Alexis would probably become _______.

A. more strong?minded       B. easier to give up ?

C. poorer in health D. less interested in rock climbing ??

C
Tokyo is one of those places that you can love and hate at the same time.
　　In Tokyo there are always too many people in the places where I want to be. Of course there are too many cars. The Japanese drive very fast, but in Tokyo they often spend a long time in traffic jams(拥挤).Tokyo is not different from London, Paris and New York in that. It is different when one wants to walk.
　　At certain times of the day there are a lot of people on foot in London’s Oxford Street. But the streets near the Ginza in Tokyo always have a lot of people on foot, and sometimes it is really difficult to walk. People are very polite; there are just too many of them.
　　The worst time to be in the street is at 11:30 at night. That is when the night-clubs are closing and everybody wants to go home. There are 35 000 night-clubs in Tokyo, and you do not often see one that is empty.
　　During the day, most people travel to and from work by train. Tokyo people buy six million train tickets every day. At most stations, trains arrive every two or three minutes but at certain hours there do not seem to be enough trains. Although they are usually crowded, Japanese trains are very good. They always leave and arrive on time. On a London train you would see everybody reading a newspaper. In Tokyo trains everybody in a seat seems to be asleep, whether his journey is long or short.
　　In Tokyo, I stood outside the station for five minutes. Three fire-engines(消防车) race past on the way to one of the many fires that Tokyo has every day .Tokyo has so many surprises that none of them can really surprise me now.
48.Tokyo is different from London in that___________.
A. it has a larger population                 
B. there are more traffic jams
C. it is more difficult to go somewhere on foot 　
D. night clubs are sometimes empty
49.Japanese trains _____________.
A. often leave and arrive on time         
B. are often crowded
C. are the main means(手段，方法) people use to travel to and from work  
D. all of the above
50.Where can you find everybody reading a newspaper? _____________.
A. At most London train stations               B. At most Tokyo train stations
C. On a Tokyo train                                          D. On a London train
51.Fires break out _______ in Tokyo according to the writer.
A. quite frequently (频繁)                       B. only several times a day　
C. not very often　                                          D. very seldom
52.Which of the following is NOT true about Tokyo? ___________.
A. The streets become more crowded at 11:30 at night 
B. There are more trains than cars
C. Fire-engines are very busy in the city             
D. Tokyo people are polite

My husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of ___36___, but the commercial aspects (方面) of it. Knowing he felt this ____37__, I decided one year to__38__the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so on. I reached for something __39_just for Mike. The idea came in an unusual way.
　　 Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was____40__at the junior level at the school he attended and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match___41____a team sponsored（资助） by a church.
　　 These youngsters from the church, dressed in shoes so____42___that shoestrings(鞋带) seemed to be the only thing holding them together,___43_____our son’s team were in their beautiful new wrestling shoes.
　　 As the match began, I was___44___to see that the other team was wrestling without a helmet(头盔) designed to___45____a wrestler’s head. They clearly could not____46___ them. Well, our son’s team ended up defeating them and took every weight class. But as the other team ____47__up from the mat(垫子), they walked around with a sense of pride that couldn’t admit___48____.
　　 Mike, seated beside me, shook his head___49___, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential(潜力), but___50___like this could take the heart right out of them.” Mike loved__51____and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball. That’s when the __52____for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and ___53____some wrestling helmets and shoes and sent them to the church.
　　 On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his____54___from me. His smile was the____55___ thing about Christmas that year.

C

Tokyo is one of those places that you can love and hate at the same time.

　　In Tokyo there are always too many people in the places where I want to be. Of course there are too many cars. The Japanese drive very fast, but in Tokyo they often spend a long time in traffic jams(拥挤).Tokyo is not different from London, Paris and New York in that. It is different when one wants to walk.

　　At certain times of the day there are a lot of people on foot in London’s Oxford Street. But the streets near the Ginza in Tokyo always have a lot of people on foot, and sometimes it is really difficult to walk. People are very polite; there are just too many of them.

　　The worst time to be in the street is at 11:30 at night. That is when the night-clubs are closing and everybody wants to go home. There are 35 000 night-clubs in Tokyo, and you do not often see one that is empty.

　　During the day, most people travel to and from work by train. Tokyo people buy six million train tickets every day. At most stations, trains arrive every two or three minutes but at certain hours there do not seem to be enough trains. Although they are usually crowded, Japanese trains are very good. They always leave and arrive on time. On a London train you would see everybody reading a newspaper. In Tokyo trains everybody in a seat seems to be asleep, whether his journey is long or short.

　　In Tokyo, I stood outside the station for five minutes. Three fire-engines(消防车) race past on the way to one of the many fires that Tokyo has every day .Tokyo has so many surprises that none of them can really surprise me now.

48.Tokyo is different from London in that___________.

A. it has a larger population                 

B. there are more traffic jams

C. it is more difficult to go somewhere on foot 　

D. night clubs are sometimes empty

49.Japanese trains _____________.

A. often leave and arrive on time         

B. are often crowded

C. are the main means(手段，方法) people use to travel to and from work  

D. all of the above

50.Where can you find everybody reading a newspaper? _____________.

A. At most London train stations               B. At most Tokyo train stations

C. On a Tokyo train                                          D. On a London train

51.Fires break out _______ in Tokyo according to the writer.

A. quite frequently (频繁)                       B. only several times a day　

C. not very often　                                          D. very seldom

52.Which of the following is NOT true about Tokyo? ___________.

A. The streets become more crowded at 11:30 at night 

B. There are more trains than cars

C. Fire-engines are very busy in the city             

D. Tokyo people are polite