In the past, American families tended to be ().
A.quite large.
B.quite small.
C.small.
D.medium-sized.
A.quite large.
B.quite small.
C.small.
D.medium-sized.
Living alone has become more acceptable in American society.In the past people sometimes think those who lived alone were a little strange.These days,however,several of the most popular TV shows tell the story of men and women who can't meet "the right person" and who plan to be single forever.Many such single people (especially women) feel that they are more free to pursue (追求) their careers (事业) than those who are married.In a way these people are married to their jobs.
1.About 23 million people over the age of 21 were not married in America by 1996.
A.T
B.F
2.Most of men usually get married at the age of 27 in America.
A.T
B.F
3.In the past,people thought it was impossible to live alone.
A.T
B.F
4.Some people in America wouldn't like to get married,because they can't meet "the right person".
A.T
B.F
5.More and more people in the U.S.choose not to marry.
A.T
B.F
For the past several decades, it seems there's been a general consensus on how to get ahead in America: Get a college education, find a reliable job, and buy your own home. But do Americans still believe in that path, and if they do, is it attainable? The most recent National Journal poll asked respondents about the American dream, what it takes to achieve their goals, and whether or not they felt a significant amount of control over their ability to be successful. Overwhelmingly, the results show that today, the idea of the American dream—and what it takes to achieve it—looks quite different than it did in the late 20th century. By and large, people felt that their actions and hard work—not outside forces—were the deciding factor in how their lives turned out. But respondents had decidedly mixed feelings about what actions make for a better life in the current economy. In the last seven years, Americans have grown more pessimistic about the power of education to lead to success. Even though they see going to college as a fairly achievable goal, a majority—52 percent—think that young people do not need a four-year college education in order to be successful. Miguel Maeda, 42, who has a master's degree and works in public health, was the first in his family to go to college, which has allowed him to achieve a sense of financial stability his parents and grandparents never did. While some, like Maeda, emphasized the value of the degree rather than the education itself, others still see college as a way to gain new perspectives and life experiences. Sixty-year-old Will Fendley, who had a successful career in the military and never earned a college degree, thinks "personal drive" is far more important than just going to college. To Fendley, a sense of drive and purpose, as well as an effective high-school education, and basic life skills, like balancing a checkbook, are the necessary ingredients for a successful life in America. 51.It used to be commonly acknowledged that to succeed in America, one had to have _____.
A.an advanced academic degree
B.an ambition to get ahead
C.a firm belief in their dream
D.a sense of drive and purpose
52.What is the finding of the latest National Journal poll concerning the American dream_____
A.More and more Americans are finding it hard to realize.
B.It remains alive among the majority of American people.
C.Americans' idea of it has changed over the past few decades.
D.An increasing number of young Americans are abandoning it.
53.What do Americans now think of the role of college education in achieving success_____
A.It still remains open to debate.
B.It has proved to be beyond doubt.
C.It is no longer as important as it used to be.
D.It is much better understood now than ever.
54.How do some people view college education these days_____
A.It promotes gender equality.
B.It needs to be strengthened.
C.It adds to cultural diversity.
D.It helps broaden their minds.
55.What is one factor essential to success in America, according to Will Fendley_____
A.A desire to learn and to adapt.
B.A strong sense of responsibility.
C.A willingness to commit oneself.
D.A clear aim and high motivation.
The most recent National Journal poll asked respondents about the American dream, what it takes to achieve their goals, and whether or not they felt a significant amount of control over their ability to be successful. Overwhelmingly, the results show that today, the idea of the American dream—and what it takes to achieve it—looks quite different than it did in the late 20th century.
By and large, people felt that their actions and hard work—not outside forces—were the deciding factor in how their lives turned out. But respondents had decidedly mixed feelings about what actions make for a better life in the current economy.
In the last seven years, Americans have grown more pessimistic about the power of education to lead to success. Even though they see going to college as a fairly achievable goal, a majority—52 percent—think that young people do not need a four-year college education in order to be successful.
Miguel Maeda, 42, who has a master's degree and works in public health, was the first in his family to go to college, which has allowed him to achieve a sense of financial stability his parents and grandparents never did.
While some, like Maeda, emphasized the value of the degree rather than the education itself, others still see college as a way to gain new perspectives and life experiences. Sixty-year-old Will Fendley, who had a successful career in the military and never earned a college degree, thinks "personal drive" is far more important than just going to college. To Fendley, a sense of drive and purpose, as well as an effective high-school education, and basic life skills, like balancing a checkbook, are the necessary ingredients for a successful life in America.
71.It used to be commonly acknowledged that to succeed in America, one had to have _____.
A.an advanced academic degree
B.an ambition to get ahead
C.a firm belief in their dream
D.a sense of drive and purpose
72.What is the finding of the latest National Journal poll concerning the American dream____
A.More and more Americans are finding it hard to realize.
B.It remains alive among the majority of American people.
C.Americans' idea of it has changed over the past few decades.
D.An increasing number of young Americans are abandoning it.
73.What do Americans now think of the role of college education in achieving success____
A.It still remains open to debate.
B.It has proved to be beyond doubt.
C.It is no longer as important as it used to be.
D.It is much better understood now than ever.
74.How do some people view college education these days____
A.It promotes gender equality.
B.It needs to be strengthened.
C.It adds to cultural diversity.
D.It helps broaden their minds.
75.What is one factor essential to success in America, according to Will Fendley____
A.A desire to learn and to adapt.
B.A strong sense of responsibility.
C.A willingness to commit oneself.
D.A clear aim and high motivation.
A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or shots of whisky drank within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American man image and judges were tolerant in most courts, but the drunken slaughter has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18.After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18 to 20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped is back to 21.
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop "responsible attitudes" about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.
Tough new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in fatalities. Some states are also penalizing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A tavern in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was "obviously intoxicated" and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.
As the fatalities continue to daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, what President Hoover called the "noble experiment". They forget that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.
Drunken driving has become a major problem in America because ______.
A.most Americans are heavy drinkers
B.Americans are now less shocked by road accident
C.accident attract too much publicity
D.drinking is a socially accepted habit in America
The episode recounted in the passage took place ______.
A.just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War
B.bofore Britain entered the Second World War
C.before the United States entered the Second World War
D.while the United States was in the Second World War
Many visitors finds the fast pace at which American people move very troubling. One's first impression is likely to be that everyone is in a rush. City people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going and are very impatient if they are delayed even for a short moment.
At first, this may seem unfriendly to you. People will push past you as they walk along the street. You will miss smiles, brief conversations with people as you shop or dine away from home. Do not think that because Americans are in such a hurry they are unfriendly. Often, life is much slower outside the big cities, as is true in other countries as well.
Americans who live in cities often think that everyone is equally in a hurry to get things done; just as city people do in Tokyo, Singapore or Paris, for example. But When they discover that you are a stranger, most Americans become quite kindly and will take great care to help you. If you need help and say, "I am a stranger here. Can you help me?' Most people will stop, smile at you, and help you find you way or answer your questions. Occasionally, you may find someone too busy or perhaps too rushed to give you help. If this happens, do not be discouraged (气馁); just ask someone else. Most Americans enjoy helping a stranger.
Many people who first visit the United States will find that().
A.America is a highly developed country
B.Americans are impatient and unfriendly people
C.the fast pace in American life often causes much trouble
D.American city people seem to be always in a rush
•For each question 15-20,mark one letter(A,B,C or D)on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose.
How to get to the top
Marketing used to be the route to the chief executive's chair,but the world has changed.Now,says Monika Hamori.professor of human resources at Instituto de Empresa in Madrid,it is finance chiefs who are most likely to get the top job,though experience in opera-tions-running parts of the companyis also essential.CFO Magazine found in 2005 that onefifth of chief ex-ecutives in America were former chief financiaI officers,almost double the share of a decade earlier.The importance of quarterly financial reporting,and closer scrutiny since the imposition of the Sarbanesoxley corporategovernance act,have put CFOs in the limelightand given them the chance to shine.
Another factor in reaching the top is whether you stay with the company you joined as a youngster.Ms.Hamori's research looked at companies in the S&P 500 and the FTSEurofirst 300.She finds that‘lifers’get to the top in 22 years in America and 24 years in Europe:‘Hoppers’who jump between four or more companies,by contrast,take at least 26 years on average to become chief executives.Insiders get promotions that reflect their potential,because their bosses have enough information to be reasonably confident about their ability.When executives switch from one company to another,however,they tend to move less far up the hierarchy,the researchers found.
The time taken to reach the top is falling.The average time from first job to chief executive fell from 28 years in 1980 to 24 in 2001.Successful executives are spending less time than they used to in each intermediate joban average of four yearsand they fill five posts on the way up.down from six.One reason for this acceleration is that company hierarchies are flatter than they used to be.Another important shift is the advent of female chief executives. 1n 2001 women accounted for 11%of bosses at leading American companies.ac-cording to the Hamori/Cappelli survey;in the early 1980s there were none.
America is usually regarded as the home of raw capitalism.with youthful managers hopping from firm to firm and pushing their way to the top.But the HamorL/Cappelli study and another by Booz & Company,a consultancy,show that Europe is a more dynamic and harsher environ-menl than America or Japan for chief executives.For a start,European chief executives are younger,with an average age of 54.compared with over 56 in America.The Hamor/Cappelli study shows that 26%of American bos-ses were lifers,compared with only 18%in Europe.
The Europeans also have a harder time once they get to the top.Booz & Company's annual survey of chiefexecutive succession shows that 17.6%of European bosses moved on last year.compared with 15%of Americans and 10%of Japanese.Chief executives.the survey found,last longer in America:the average tenure over the past decade was just over nine years.But in Europe the average tenure over the same period was less than seven years.
Moreover.a whopping 37%of changes at the top in Europe were more or less firings,according to Booz,compared with only 27%in America and 12%in Japan.Booz puts this down to the more recent tightening of corporate governance in Europe,Another Booz finding is common to both sides of the Atlantic:looking back over recent years,board disputes and power struggles lie behind a third of chiefexecutive firings.In short,shareholder activism is making its presence felt,putting pressure on bosses to perform.
What is true according to the first paragraph?
A.CFOs'hard work leads to their increasing chances of promotion.
B.CFOs usually have no experience in management.
C.Marketing directors no longer have the chance to get a top position.
D.Chief executives used to be promoted mainly from the marketing department.
Curiously, some twoandahalf years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term “downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of “have it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the pages of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life", and making the alternative move into “downshifting” brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12-hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on “quality time”.
In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle. is a-well-established trend. Downshifting — also known in America as “voluntary simplicity” — has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might betermed anti-consumerism. There are a number of bestselling downshifting self help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans usefultips on anything from recycling their clingfilm to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid'90s equivalent of dropping out.
For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the '80s, downshifting in the mid'90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life — growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one — as a personal recognition of your limitations.
第67题:Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
A Fulltime employment is a new international trend.
B The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job.
C “A lateral move" means stepping out of fulltime employment.
D The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family.
Davidson’s article is one of a number of pieces that have recently appeared making the point that the reason we have such stubbornly high unemployment and declining middle-class incomes today is largely because of the big drop in demand because of the Great Recession, but it is also because of the advances in both globalization and the information technology revolution, which are more rapidly than ever replacing labor with machine or foreign workers.
In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job, could earn an average lifestyle. But, today, average is officially over. Being average is just won’t earn you what it used to. It can’t when so many more employers have so much more access to so much more above average cheap foreign labor cheap robotics, cheap software, cheap automation and cheap genins. Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra – their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment.
Yes, new technology has been eating jobs forever, and always will. But there’s been an acceleration. As Davidson notes, “ In the 10 years ending in 2009, factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs – about 6 millions in total – disappeared.”
There will always be change – new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I.T. revolution , the beat jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average.
In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to buttress employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I. Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to post-high school education.
The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate
A.the impact of technological advances
B.the alleviation of jobs pressure
C.the shrinkages of textile mills
D.the decline of middle-class incomes
A.the United States America
B.the United States of America
C.the Unit State of America