What makes Americans spend nearly half their food dollars on meals away from home? The answers lie in the way Americans live today. During the first few decades of the twentieth century, canned and other convenience foods freed the family cook from full-time duty at the kitchen range. Then, in the 1940s, work in the wartime defense plants took more women out of the home than ever before, setting the pattern of the working wife and mother. Today about half of the country’s married women are employed outside the home. But, unless family members pitch in with food preparation, women are not fully liberated from that housework. Instead, many have become, in a sense, prisoners of the completely cooked convenience meals. It’s easier to pick up a bucket of fried chicken on the way home from work or take the family out for pizzas or burgers than to start opening cans or heating up frozen dinners after a long , hard day. Also, the rising divorce rate means that there are more single working parents with children to feed. And many young adults and elderly people, as well as unmarried and divorced mature people, live alone rather than as part of a family unit and don’t want to bother cooking for one.

Fast food is appealing because it is fast, it doesn’t require any dressing up, it offers a “fun” break in the daily outline, and the outlay of money seems small. It can be eaten in the car--- sometimes picked up at a drive-in window without even getting out---or on the run. Even if it is brought home to eat, there will never be any dirty dishes to wash because of the handy disposable (一次性的) wrappings. Children, especially, love fast food because it’s finger food, no struggling with knives and forks, no annoying instructions from adults about table manner.

Americans enjoy fast food mainly because __________.

   A. it can be eaten in the car

   B. it is much more tasty than home-made food

   C. one only uses his fingers while eating it

   D. it is time-saving and convenient

It can be inferred that children __________.

   A. want to have more freedom at table

   B. never wash dishes after each meal

   C. are good at using forks and knives while eating

   D. take eating time as a fun break

Many Americans are eating out and not cooking at home partially because __________.

   A. they want to make a change after eating the same food for years at home

   B. the food made outside home tastes better than food cooked at home

   C. many of them live alone and don’t like taking trouble to cook

   D. American women refuse to cook at home due to women’s liberation movement

According to the text, a drive-in window is a __________.

   A. car window from which you can see the driver

   B. window in the restaurant from which you get your takeout in the car

   C. place where you check the mechanic condition of your car

   D. place where you return the used plates after eating

Allan goes everywhere with Birgitta Anderson, a 54-year-old secretary. He moves around her office at work and goes shopping with her. ‘Most people don't seem to mind Allan,’ says Birgitta, who thinks he is wonderful. 'He's my fourth child,' she says. She may think of him and treat him that way, buying his food, paying his health bills and his taxes, but in fact Allan is a dog. Birgitta and Allan live in Sweden, a country where everyone is expected to lead an orderly life according to rules laid down by the government, which also provides （提供）a high level of care for its people. This level of care costs money. People in Sweden pay taxes on everything, so aren't surprised to find that owning a dog means yet more taxes. Some people are paying as much as 500 Swedish kronor in taxes a year for the right to keep their dog, money that is spent by the government on dog hospitals and sometimes medical treatment for a dog that falls ill. However, most such treatment is expensive, so owners often decide to pay health and even life insurance （保险）for their dog. In Sweden dog owners must pay for any damage （损坏）their dog does. A Swedish Kennel Club official explains what this means: if your dog runs out on the road and gets hit by a passing car you, as the owner, have to pay for any damage done to the car, even if your dog has been killed in the accident.

1. Birgitta pays taxes for Allan because          .

A. he is her dog  B. he is her child  C. he follows her everywhere  D. he often falls ill

2.The money paid as dog taxes is used to            .

A. keep a high level of care for the people  B. pay for damage done by dogs

C. provide medical care for dogs         D. buy insurance for dog owners

3. If a dog causes a car accident and gets killed, who should pay for the damage done to the car?

A. The owner of the car.                B. The owner of the dog.

C. The insurance company（公司）.        D. The government.

4.From the text it can be inferred that in Sweden          .

A. dogs are welcome in public places      B. keeping dogs means asking for trouble

C. many car accidents are caused by dogs  D. people care much about dogs

第三节：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2.5分，满分50分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案
A couple of years ago, I received a $ 600 insurance dividend (保险股息).Sitting at the kitchen table, my wife and I discussed what we might do with the money. I realized now that the refrigerator overheard our talk. The very next day it went wrong. The repairman told us we needed a new unit. Cost:$600. Not long after that, we got a refund（赔偿金）from the shop, enough to pay for a trip to Mexico. “I’ve something to tell you,” I said to my wife in a low voice. “How about the living-room?” she suggested. I remembered the color TV set was there. “No, not there. Let’s go out.” I showed her the check as we stood on the driveway. We held each other excitedly and hardly noticed the rain. My car was parked within5 meters. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. As I started for the airport the next day, the car began making strange sounds. Changing the engine cost about $ 1, 000.
Then I looked through our financial records. I discovered that during the last ten years we spent all our “found money” repairing a hot water heater, a television and a stove.
I never mention money in front of our mechanical equipment. But if this article is published and I am paid for, the word processor（文字信息处理机）is going to go for sure. It’ll know.
1. What went wrong first as the writer’s?
A. The refrigerator          B. The stove
C. The TV set              D. The engine of the car
2. What has been repaired and still remains all right?
A. The car                 B. The color TV set
C. The stove               D. The hot water heater
3. Which statement is wrong according to the passage?
A.There are many pieces of modern equipment in the writer’s home
B.The writer often discusses with his wife on how to spend their money.
C.The writer has gone into a lot of trouble to repair his things
D.The writer’s refrigerator can overhear him

B

China is going green．In order to reduce air pollution and oil shortages, carmakers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market．Toyota’s hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week．Let’s have a look at the new car．

Any vehicle is a hybrid run on a rechargeable battery and gas．Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gas engines．The gasoline engine provides 99 percent of the power when the car is going at a steady speed. A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when it needs to speed up．

Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine．The first thing you notice is that it is quieter than a traditional car．At this point, the car’s gas engine is at rest．The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24km/h．If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gas being used, and no waste gas given off．

The computer decides when to use the gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two．If you go over 24km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are telling the computer how fast you want to go．

The electric motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries．And when driving at a high speed, the gas engine not only powers the car but also recharges the batteries．When you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator (发电机) to produce electricity to recharge the batteries．As a result, the car’s batteries will last for around 200,000 miles．

66．The underlined sentence probably means ________.

A．there will be more and more green land in China  

B．China’s new cars are combinations of different green models

C．China is still young and lacking in experience

D．the environment is getting better in China

67. What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?

A. They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gas.

B. They have smaller engines than traditional gas ones.

C. They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hill.

D. They are much quieter than traditional cars.

68. We can know from the story that ________.

A. the gas engine recharges the batteries as well as powering the car

B. using the brake suggests that the gas engine should work

C. the car’s batteries will last for around 200,000 miles without being recharged

D. the batteries can be recharged at any time you want

69. The author writes the passage mainly to________.

A. announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for the Chinese market

B. let people know how to save their gas when driving a car

C. teach people how to drive a hybrid car

D. introduce a new kind of “green” car

70．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．The hybrid car is environmentally friendly．

B．The hybrid car is unable to get itself recharged．

C．The hybrid car has been made in mass．

D．The hybrid car can decide what power to use

C

JeawGilles was a millionaire．But Tuesday night，he was sleeping in his car．

Jean-Gilles was the owner of the Peace of Mind Hotel in Jacrnel，Haiti, a three-story，30-room building in a quiet tropical valley on Haiti’s southern coast，25 miles from the noises of the capital，Port-au-Prince. Jean-Gilles and his wife，Marie，lived in an apartment on the property，close enough to watch carefully over the guest rooms，conference rooms and restaurant，close enough that they know the first name of every guest．

After the 7．0-earthquake hit at 4：57 pm on Jan．12，2010，they slept in their aging Isuzu，parked in the hotel driveway．

Jean-Gilles figured a second was the difference between life and death when the earthquake struck．He was working in a ground-floor conference room and first heard，then felt the quake．He asked his electrician．Rob-elTle St．Louis, who was working nearby，what was happening．

“Get out．Now．Get out．Now．”St．Louis said．

Jean-Gilles cleared the falling structure by a mere second，he estimated．His wife，who was working in the couple’s apartment on the second floor，wasn’t able to get clear．People nearby heard her screams after the shaking stopped and removed the building blocks around her by hand．She was shaken and scratched, but walked away from the ruins．

“I am alive．God is good．”she repeated over and over on Saturday．

The Peacc of Mind Hotel was a dream which had come true for Jean-Gilles,57,and Marie,59. Born in Port–au-Prince, they moved to the United States shortly after meeting 34 years ago. Together, they owned a beauty supply store in Jersey City, New Jersey, and invested in real estate. In 2003, they cashed out their US investments, returned to Haiti and began building the peace of Mind Hotel, looking to make a future for themselves and the people of their homeland.

59. Which of the following statements about Jean-Gilles is TRUE?

A. He lived far from the Peace of Mind Hotel.    B. He helped St. Louis to manage a hotel.

C. He was born in Haiti in 1976.                        D. He once owned a store in the US.

60. According to the passage, the peace of Mind Hotel_________.

A. offered guests different services                            B. was located in the capital city of Haiti

C. was a building with 30 guest rooms                D. was owned by Marie and St. Louis

61. When the earthquake hit, Marie was_________.

A. sleeping in the car                                        B. working in the conference room

C. working on the second floor                         D. cooking in the restaurant

62. It can be inferred from the passage that      .

A. Haiti is the 51st state of the US

B. the earthquake happened quickly and unexpectedly

C. nobody in the hotel died in the earthquake

D. Marie was not sad about losing her property in the earthquake