The British aren’t having as many children as they used to , One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer year in which they can have them,  After years at university ,they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want, They might then get married, but it’s incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.

The above explains why young British people now don’t move out of their parents’ home until they are around 30 years old on average, It’s only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child , However , it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK, Both parents need to work just to pay for their child during the day, Paying for this childcare is always expensive, What’s more ,financial crisis and unemployment are making things even harder for families, With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?

So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family ? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children , For example ,there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to bay so much for child care.

The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills, If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have moue time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare, On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week ,which is the most in Europe, The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees’ work –life balance, Let’s hope they’re not too late to save the British family , Otherwise, the British will always be too tired ,and won’t have enough time and money, to have children.

61、Young British people live in their parents’ home until around 30 because        

A、They are allowed to get married at 30

B、they can’t allowed to get married at 30

C、they can’t afford  a house of their own until then

D、they enjoy family life with their parents

62、The British are now having fewer children than before for all the following reasons EXCEPT that        

A、they have fewer years to have children

B、they live much shorter lives than before

C、it is more expensive to bring up a child

D、people are losing their jobs because of the recent financial crisis

63、The underlined word “subsidies” in Paragraph 5 means        

A、food paid by the government

B、school buildings for poor students

C、free transportation

D、money from the government to benefit the public

64、It can be inferred from the text that        

A、with long work hours, it is hard for British parents to balance life and work

B、more and more families in Britain are breaking up because they are having fewer children

C、among Europeans, British people work hardest and earn the least

D、childcare takes up too much energy and time for the British

65、To make it cheaper to have children , the British government is         

A、bringing down prices

B、raising the salaries of parents

C、reducing family income tax

D、increasing subsidies for families and nursery schools

Why do parents deny their kids’ weight?

    Experts in childhood nutrition aren’t surprised by an investigation this summer that shows 50％of parents who have overweight children don’t realize their children Weigh too much．Many parents deny their children’s weight because they don’t want to have to change their own eating and exercise habits，says Keith Ayoob, a doctor who works with overweight children and their families in New York City．

    Parents frequently ask him whether their children have a thyroid(甲状腺) problem, but that’s rarely the case．“1t’s usually a dietary(有关饮食的) and lifestyle issue．It’s very difficult for parents to deal with their own food issues，”Ayoob says．An estimated 25 million children in the USA are overweight, which puts them at risk of developing diabetes(糖尿病), high blood Pressure and other health problems．A Consumer Reports magazine investigation released on July 25，2009 of 3．048 parents who have children aged 5 to 17 found that 91% say childhood obesity (肥胖) is a problem in the USA．

   Only 36％of the parents with heavy children say their family doctors have suggested their children lose weight；the other 64％say the doctors didn’t mention it．“Many parents simply don’t realize their children are overweight．”says Keith Ayoob．“The doctors never told them．Other kids in the class look like their children．and their kids seem pretty healthy．”he says．

    He has parents go to the calculator on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to figure out whether their children are too heavy．

1.Why do many parents fail to admit their children are overweight?

 A．Because they think it a shame to be overweight.

 B．Because they want to keep their own eating and exercise habits.

 C．Because they want to change their own eating and exercise habits．

 D．Because they want their children to have more nutrition．

2.What is the probable cause of childhood obesity?

 A．Thyroid problem．             B．High blood pressure．

 C．Dietary and lifestyle habit．      D．Diabetes．

3.It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that the family doctors’ advice     ．

A．has no influence on many parents

 B．has much influence on many parents

 C．has little influence on many parents

 D．is totally accepted by many parents

4.What advice does Keith Ayoob give to parents?

 A．He advises that parents should go and ask their family doctors in person．

 B．He advises that the children should have a medical examination regularly．

 C．He advises that school should force the children to eat less and exercise more．

 D．He advises parents to go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for the information．

 

We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book．Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down．While I watched, mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold．She walked quietly to the small room by the lift（电梯）and took out a wet mop（拖把）． She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up , Mum nodded and said , “Very dirty floors ．”

“Yes．I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered．She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”

Mum just pushed harder, each swipe of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall．I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book．

After a long time Mum came back．Her eyes were shining．She quickly put the mop back and took my hand．As we turned to go out of the door, Mum nodded politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you． ”

Outside, Mum told me, “Dagma is fine．No fever．”

“You see her, Mum?”

“Of course．I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow．Dad will stop worrying as well．It’s a fine hospital． But the floors! A mop is no good．You need a brush． ”

1．When she took a mop from the small room, what Mum really wanted to do was _________．

A． to clean the floor                                B． to make the nurse happy 

C． to see a patient（病人）                          D． to surprise the story –teller

2．When the nurse talked to Mum, she thought Mum was a ________．

A． nurse                B． visitor                C． patient               D． cleaner

3．After reading the story, what can we infer（推断）about the hospital?

A． It was a children’s hospital． 

B． It has strict rules about visiting hours．

C． The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard．  

D． A lot of patients come to this hospital every day．

4．Why did Mum go to see Dagma in the hospital?

A． To give her some messages about Dad．

B． To make sure her room was clean．

C． To check that she was still there．

D． To find out how she was．

5．Which of the following words best describes Mum?

A． clever                                                  B． hard –working

C． warm –hearted                                   D． strange

We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book．Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down．While I watched mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold．She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop ．She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floor．”

    “Yes．I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered．She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”

    Mum just pushed harder, each swipe of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall．I watched until she was out of sight, and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book．

    After a long time Mum came back．Her eyes were shining, She quickly put the mop back and took my hand．As we turned to go out of the door．Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you．”

    Outside, Mum told me, “Dagmar is fine．No fever．”

    “You saw her, Mum?”

    “Of course．I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow．Dad  will stop worrying as well．It’s a fine hospital．But such floors! A mop is no good．You need a brush．”

1．When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was ___．

     A．to clean the floor                         B．to please the nurse

     C．to see a patient                       D．to surprise the nurse

2．When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a ____．

     A．nurse              B．visitor           C．patient           D．cleaner

3．After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital?

       A．It is a children’s hospital．

       B．It has strict rules about visiting hours．

       C．The conditions there can’t be very good．

       D．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard．

4．From the text we know that Dagmar is most likely ___．

       A．the story teller’s sister                 B．Mum’s friend

       C．the story teller’s classmate             D．Dad’s boss

    We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up; Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.”

“Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”

Mum just pushed harder each sweep of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to write in the big book.

After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”

Outside, Mum told me: “Dagmar is fine. No fever.”

“You saw her, Mum?”

“Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It’s a fine hospital. But such floors!” A mop is no good. You need a brush.”

1. When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was _____.

   A. to clean the floor              B. to please the nurse

   C. to see a patient                 D. to surprise the story-teller

2. When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a _____.

   A. nurse        B. visitor            C. patient            D. cleaner

3. After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital?

   A. It is a children’s hospital.

   B. It has strict rules about visiting hours.

   C. The conditions there aren’t very good.

   D. The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard.

4. From the text we know that Dagmar is most likely _____.

   A. the story-teller’s sister          B. the story-teller’s classmate

   C. Mum’s friend               D. Dad’s boss

5. Which of the following words best describes Mum?

   A. strange               B. warm-hearted  ..             C. clever               D. hard-working