America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society in many　ways — edu??cation, medicine, and business. Quietly, the aging of America has made us a very different society — one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.

A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/ her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop work??ing isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother or my father was at my age.” No one says “Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

It can be learned from the text that the aging of the popula??tion in America ________.

A. has made people feel younger

       B. has changed people’s social position

C. has changed people’s understanding of age

D. has slowed down the country’s social development

The underlined word “one” refers to ________.

A. a society           B. America          C. a place           D. population

“Act your age” means people should ________.

A. be active when they are old

B. do the right thing at the right age

C. show respect to their parents young or old

D. take more physical exercises suitable to their age

f a’ 25-year-old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it _________.

A. normal      B. wonderful         C. unbelievable     D. unreasonable

Reading Comprehension

Section B

Directions：Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

　　Are organically grown foods the best food choices？The advantages claimed for such foods over conventionally (传统地) grown and marketed food products are now being debated. Supporters of organic foods—a term whose meaning varies greatly—frequently announce that such products are safer and more nutritious than others.

　　The growing interest of consumers in the safety and nutritional quality of the typical North American diet is a welcome development. However, much of this interest has been sparked by sweeping claims that the food supply is unsafe or inadequate in meeting nutritional needs.  Although most of these claims are not supported by scientific evidence, the flood of written material advancing such claims makes it difficult for the general public to separate fact from fiction. As a result, claims that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized.

　　Almost daily the public is besieged by claims for “no-aging” diets, new vitamins and other wonder foods. There are numerous unproved reports that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones, that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains and the like.

　　One thing that most organically grown food products seem to have in common is that they cost more than conventionally grown foods. But in many cases consumers are misled if they believe organic foods can maintain health and provide better nutritional quality than conventionally grown foods. So there is real cause for concern if consumers，particularly those with limited incomes, distrust the regular food supply and buy only expensive organic foods instead.

1.The “welcome development” mentioned in paragraph 2 is an increase in ______.

　　A. attention to food safety and nutrition among north Americans

　　B. the nutritional quality of the typical North American diet

　　C. the amount of healthy food grown in North America

　　D. the number of consumers in North America

2. The author implies that there is cause for concern if consumers buy organic foods instead of conventionally grown foods because ______.

　　A. organic foods can be more expensive but are often not better than conventionally grown foods

　　B. many organic foods are actually less nutritious than similar conventionally grown foods

　　C. conventionally grown foods are more readily available than organic foods

　　D. too many farmers will stop using conventional methods to grow food crops

3.What is the author’s attitude toward the claims made by advocates of health foods？

　　A. Enthusiastic.  B. Favorable.  C. Neutral.  D. Distrustful.

 

Health food is a general term applied to all kinds of food that is considered more healthy than the types of food sold in supermarkets.For example，whole grains，dried beans，and corn oil are health foods.A narrower classification of health food is natural food.This term is used to distinguish between types of the same food.Raw honey is a natural sweetener，while refined(提炼的)sugar is not.The most exact term of all and the narrowest classification within health food is organic food，used to describe food that has been grown on a particular kind of farm.Fruits and vegetables that are grown in gardens，that are treated only with organic fertilizers，that are not sprayed with poisonous insecticides(杀虫剂)，and that are not refined after harvest，are organic food.

In choosing the type of food you eat，then you have basically two choices：inorganic，processed(加工)food or organic，unprocessed food.A wise decision should include study of the reason why processed food contains chemicals，some of which are proved to be poisonous and that vitamin content is greatly reduced in processed food.

Bread is typically used by health food supporters as an example of a processed food. First, the seeds from which the grain is grown are treated with a chemical which is extremely harmful. Later, the grain is sprayed with a number of very deadly insecticides. After the grain has been made into flour, it is made white with another chemical which is also poisonous. Next, a dough conditioner is added along with a softener. The conditioner and softener are poisons，and in fact, the softener has sickened and killed experimental animals.

A very poisonous antifungal compound is added to keep the bread from getting moldy(发霉的)．

Other food from the supermarket would show a similar pattern of processing and preserving. You see, we buy our food on the basis of smell, color, and texture, instead of vitamin content, and manufacturers give us what we want, even if it is poisonous. The alternative? Eat health foods，preferably the organic variety.

1．What is the passage mainly about?

A．Health food. 　　　　　　　 B．The processing of bread.

C．Processed food. 　　　　　　D．Poisons.

2．What do all of the additives in bread have in common?

A．They are all used to keep the bread from getting moldy.

B．They are all poisonous.

C．They are all organic.

D．They have all killed laboratory animals.

3．What happens to food when it is processed?

A．The basic content remains the same.

B．Vitamin is not available after processing.

C．The vitamin content increases a bit.

D．The vitamin content is greatly reduced.

4．We normally buy food on the basis of________.

A. organic variety 　　　　　　　B. beauty

C. refined contents 　　　　　　　D. smell, color and texture

 

Window

　 Bill and John, both seriously ill, lived in the same room at Marie Hospital. John lived next to the only window of the room and was allowed to 21 in his bed and watch for an hour every day. But Bill had to spend all his time 22 on his back.

　 They became friends soon and talked for hours every day. They spoke of their families, their children, their hobbies, and their 23 in the American army. Each day John would sit up and 24 to his roommate Bill what he could see outside the window.

　 Through John's description, Bill's world was 25 　and brightened by all the activities and colors of the outside world. The window overlooked a beautiful park with a lovely 26, John told Bill. Ducks played on the water 27 children sailed their model boats. And a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As John described all these 28 , Bill would close his eyes and 29 　the picturesque scene. Bill was recovering 30 .However, John became weak day by day.

　 Late one night, Bill was lying in bed 31 　the ceiling when John began to cough seriously. Then doctors and nurses rushed to the room. Thirty minutes later, John 32 coughing. Now, there was only silence-- 33 silence.

　 The following morning, Bill was moved to the bed next to the window at his request. Slowly and 34, he supported himself up on one elbow to take the first look. But to his 35 , he could see nothing but a 36 　wall.

Only at that moment did he begin to realize that the pursuit of happiness was a matter of 37. It was a positive attitude we chose to express. It was not a gift that got 38 　to our doorstep each morning, nor did it come through the window. It was an inward journey. Whether a man is happy or not depends on his own thoughts 39 anything outward.

　 So Bill began to describe the 40 　world to his new roommate that he saw through the only window of the room.

21. A. stand up　　 　B. sit up　　　　　 　C. set up　　 　　　　 D. stay up

22. A. lying　　　 　 B. depending　　　 C. going　　　　　 　 D. relying

23. A. service　　　 　B. advice　　　　　 C. appearance　　 　　D. violence

24. A. explain　　 　 B. complain　　　 　 C. describe　　　　 　 D. introduce

25. A. affected　　 　B. broadened　　 　　C. damaged　　　　 　D. expanded

26. A. tower　　　 　 B. lake　　　　　 　　C. statue　　　　　 　D. hill

27. A. while　　　 　 B. though　　　　 　C. unless　　　　 　 D. until

28. A. in addition 　　B. in general　　　 　 C. in brief　　　　 　　D. in detail

29. A. see　　　　　 B. remember　　　 　 C. imagine　　　　 　D. recognize

30. A. up to now　 　 B. little by little　　　 C. sooner or later　 　　D. one by one

31. A. thinking about 　B. staring at　　　 　 C. holding up　　 　　 D. fixing on

32. A. stopped　　 　 B. continued　　　　 C. avoided　　　　　 D. survived

33. A. deadly　　　 　B. dead　　　　　 　C. breathless　　 　 D. aimless

34. A. regretfully　 　　B. fortunately　　 　 C. particularly　　 　D. hopefully

35. A. surprise　　　 　B. delight　　　　 　C. relief　　　　　 D. anger

36. A. simple　　　 　B. blank　　　　　 　C. colored　　　　 D. painted

37. A. consideration 　B. expression　　　 C. choice　　　 　　D. practice

38. A. delivered　　　 B. decorated　　　　 C. devoted　　　　　 D. determined

39. A. more than　　 　B. better than　 　　C. other than　　 　　D. rather than

40. A. friendly　　　 　B. yearly　　　　 C. lively　　　　　　 D. likely