A common concern we often hear with regard to single children is whether one child necessarily means a lonely child. Many single-child parents feel a dilemma associated with their decision lo have only one child. There are no other children in the family for the child to associate with, and this may lead to the child feeling lonely at times, especially during vacations.

    Another common argument against having just one child is that an only child may be more spoiled than one with brothers or sisters. Many people believe that a single child will not have learned to negotiate with others, and respect the give-and-take involved in many relationships. Some think this may leave the child less able to interact well with people his or her own age than one who has been raised with brothers or sisters.

   However, for some single-child parents, particularly those with busy careers, the pressures of giving time and energy to a second child can seem too great, resulting in them electing to have no more children. For other parents, the financial burden of having a second child may be the prime consideration. Still others believe that, _______________, the parents can give, and the child can receive, more quality time and attention. This often leads to increased self-respect which, combined with increased independence, can lead to the child being more confident.

76. What is the best title of the passage? ( Please answer within 10 words. )

  ____________________________________________________________________

77. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

Many single-child parents feel it hard to decide whether to have only one child.

  ______________________________________________________________________

  ______________________________________________________________________

78. Please fill in the blank in the third paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the     sentence. (Please answer within 10 words. )

  ____________________________________________________________________

79. Would you like to have a brother or sister in your family? Why? ( Please answer within 30    words. )

  ________________________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________________________

80. Translate the underlined sentence in the second paragraph into Chinese.

  ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Have you ever stood side by side with an elephant and touched its ear or its long nose? A marvelous opportunity is offered here for you to experience working with these giant animals. The daily highlight is the walk from the elephant orphanage down to the river to bathe the elephants. Imaging what an amazing fun it is to watch an entire herd splashing（溅湿） around and rolling in the river just feet in front of you!

This opportunity is available through a programme designed for visitors and volunteers to work in the world-famous government-run elephant orphanage in Pinnawela, Sri Lanka. The orphanage is regarded as one of the largest centers of its kind in the world, with one of the most successful captive breeding（人工饲养） programmes for Asian elephants.

Pinnawela Orphanage is situated in the hills of central Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sir Lanka Wildlife Department. The orphanage’s 24 acres （英亩）are a home for the many baby elephants found in the jungle without their mothers. In most of these cases the mothers had either died or been killed. Baby elephants cared for by the orphanage are released into the wild when they reach a certain age.

The volunteers’ working hours are quite short so there is plenty of time to sightsee and explore. The volunteer work consists mainly of the day-to-day aspects of running the orphanage, rather than more specialized research-based work.

The volunteers’ main duties are cleaning the elephant homes in the morning (hard, muddy work!) and bathing some of the smaller elephants. Some elephants are overly large or have not been tamed or trained to a satisfactory level. However there are still enough opportunities to have full hands-on contact safely.

While the mahouts are bathing the larger elephants, you will have a chance to relax by the river, chat with the mahouts and watch the elephants play and interact（互动）with humans and each other. It is an absolutely beautiful sight. Being around these serene animals in such a beautiful setting can have a very calming effect!

If you are interested in such an experience, contact us for more information.

59. How many main duties does the passage list for the volunteers?

A. Two.                    B. Three.                C. Four.                      D. Five.

60. The passage’s goal is to           .

A. describe the elephant orphanage in Pinnawela, Sri Lanka.

B. attract more tourists to come for sightseeing

C. get volunteers for Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

D. call on people to care for baby elephants

61. Mahouts are probably people who           .

A. train elephants                         B. bathe elephants

C. care for elephants                       D. drive elephants

62. The underlined word hands-on in the fifth paragraph probably means           .

A. doing something rather than talking about it

B. doing something by hand

C. letting others do it

D. a very close relationship

There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. Three basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
　　In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy commodities from other economic units or sell commodities to them. In a market, transactions may take place via barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and pizzas are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sailboat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy, goods and services are bought or sold for money.
　　An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each good and service should be produced, exchanged, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of administering such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each commodity produced by the various firms and allocated to different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
　　In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person’s place within the economic system is fixed by parentage, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. People belonging to a certain group or caste（阶级） may have an obligation to care for other persons, provide them with food and shelter, care for their health, and provide for their education. Clearly, in a system where every decision is made on the basis of tradition alone, progress may be difficult to achieve. An inactive society may result.
【小题1】What is the main purpose of the passage?

There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. Three basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.
　　In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy commodities from other economic units or sell commodities to them. In a market, transactions may take place via barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and pizzas are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sailboat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy, goods and services are bought or sold for money.
　　An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each good and service should be produced, exchanged, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of administering such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each commodity produced by the various firms and allocated to different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.
　　In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person’s place within the economic system is fixed by parentage, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. People belonging to a certain group or caste（阶级） may have an obligation to care for other persons, provide them with food and shelter, care for their health, and provide for their education. Clearly, in a system where every decision is made on the basis of tradition alone, progress may be difficult to achieve. An inactive society may result.
【小题1】What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To outline contrasting types of economic systems.

B．To explain the science of economics.

C．To argue for the superiority of one economic system.

D．To compare barter and money-exchange markets.