阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在正确选项上划勾。

　　One of the United States' most pressing social problems is the breakdown of the two-parent family. Today, millions of American children grow up without fathers. Too often, these children lack the love and guidance they badly need and which they would ordinarily receive from two responsible parents. Traditionally, American parents have placed the needs of their children above their own. At present, however, nearly one half of all new marriages end in divorce, with often troubling results for the children involved. Worse, every year, thousands of teenage, unmarried Americans become mother outside the context of marriage altogether, with generally disastrous results for the mothers and children alike and for American society more generally. However, Chinese continue to value intact (完整的) marriages. This is not to say that Chinese marriages are all perfectthey certainly are not, judging from increasing rates of divorce and extramarital affairsbut the willingness of Chinese to set aside their own needs and stay together for the sake of the children is admirable and worthy of study.

　　Families, in whatever form they may take, are important to Americans. If one was to ask a group of Americans what is dearest to them, the majority would say “family”. And yet, so many Americans spend much more time at work-that is, beyond the formal forty-hour work week-than they do with their own families. Obviously, the American economy is one of the most powerful in the world, owing in large measure to “workaholism”. It seems to me that Chinese generally find a better balance between work and family needs than many Americans do. I don't see the number of workaholics in China that I do in the United States (or American organizations in China). Instead, average Chinese tend to head home right after work (in the office or field), have meals together, and spend time with their spouses and children. In addition, Chinese tend to make more time for grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins than many Americans; in many cases, multigenerational families live together. Of course, like many facts of Chinese society, this is all changing; increasing numbers of “New Chinese” are working longer hours and spending less time with their families than ever before. Still, while Americans do value their loved ones, I think we have something to learn from the Chinese about finding the proper balance between work and family.

1．The main point of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．family plays a very important role in American

B．there is something about family for Americans to learn from China

C．a proper balance between work and family needs to be found for Americans

D．the Chinese have a proper balance between work and play

2．According to the passage, the traditional American family value is ________.

[　　]

A．Americans love their families more than their jobs

B．Americans often set aside their children's needs

C．Americans have a strong work ethic (伦理)

D．American parents place the needs of their children above their own

3．It can be concluded from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．in the author's eyes, the breakdown of the two-parent family in China will be more serious than that in the U. S. in the future

B．today young Americans should sacrifice (牺牲) their material comforts in the interests of their children's future

C．Chinese marriage is said to be all perfect

D．at present, nearly one half of all new marriages end in divorce in China

4．What does the author think according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Children living in one-parent families badly need their parents' love and guidance.

B．Children with one-parent need their parents' financial support badly.

C．Chinese value intact marriage more than before.

D．Work is dearest to most Chinese.

第三部分 阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

English is fast becoming the language of science around the world, but what is its future among everyday speakers? One expert points out that the percentage(比率) of native English speakers is declining(降低) globally while the languages of other rapidly growing regions are being spoken by increasing numbers of people. But English will continue to remain widespread and important.

     However, British language scholar David Graddol says English will probably drop in dominance(主导) by the middle of this century to rank, after Chinese, about equally with Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu. “The number of people speaking English as a first language continues to rise, but it isn’t rising nearly as fast as the numbers of many other languages around the world, simply because the main population group has been largely in the less developed countries where languages other than English have been spoken,” he says.

     In a recent article in the journal Science, Mr. Graddol noted that three languages that are not near the top of the list of the most widely spoken now might be there soon. These are Bengali, Tamil, and Malay, spoken in south and Southeast Asia.

     David Crystal, the author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, says about 1.5 billion of the world’s six billion people speak it as a second tongue compared to the 400 million native speakers. But another expert on the English language says Mr. Graddol underestimates (低估) the future of its dominance. “Nobody quite knows what’s going to happen because no language has been in this position before. But all the evidence (证据) suggests that the English language snowball is rolling down a hill and is getting faster,” he said.

56. In David Graddol’s opinion, English will _______.

     A. remain widespread and important

     B. be more important than any other language

     C. lose its dominant position

     D. die away in the near future

57. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph implies that ______.

     A. snowballs will roll down faster than language balls

     B. the English language snowball is rolling down faster than any time in the past

     C. English language will soon drop in dominance

     D. more and more language users will choose English

58. How many experts does the passage mention who express their ideas about the future of English?

     A. 2.             B. 3.          C. 4.            D. 5.

59. What should be the best title for the passage?

     A. English Remaining the Dominant Position

     B. The Future of English? Who Knows?

     C. Opinions from Different Experts

     D. The English Language Snowball Rolling Down