Abby Subark is a mother of two from Boston. “For my kids, I’m nervous. I don’t know if they’ll be able to achieve their American dream.” She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich.

It is the case that somebody who is in the upper third of income, poor scores, in the bottom on tests when they are in eighth grade, is more likely to go to college and finish college than a poor kid with the top scores. That’s what the working persons’  children are up against.

The Economic Policy Institute finds it would take a poor couple with 2 children 9 or 10 generations to achieve middle class status. That’s about 200 years. The hallmark (特征) of American opportunity has always been the ability to do better than your parents. But compared with similar developed countries, the United States ranks fifth out of six for so-called intergenerational mobility (变动).

If you look at the mechanisms (机制) for upward mobility that were so readily available 50 years ago, they are becoming out of reach, like plentiful factory jobs with good wages and affordable education and health care.

White families are twice as likely as blacks to be upwardly mobile. For most people in America today, where you end up depends on where you start.

If you started in the middle-income class, about 40 to 45 percent of what you are making right now is due to the fact that your parents were in the middle-income class. The rest is up to you.

But for the millions of people who find themselves below the poverty line and the millions more who are the working poor, their starting point for the American dream leaves them painfully far away from the middle class.

The main idea of the passage is _______.

A. How the middle class comes about in the U.S.

B. It’s hard to realize the American dream for the poor.

C. Wealth and social status depend on family background.

D. Upward mobility in America is never easy.

Which of the statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. People used to have job opportunities and welfare for upward mobility.

B. A great many poor people can hardly realize their American dream.

C. You can make all your dreams come true in America if born rich.

D. Rich kids are more likely to go to college than poor kids.

The underlined sentence “where you end up depends on where you start” most probably means _______.

A. Your starting point cannot determine your destination.

B. Only a high goal can ensure success.

C. One’s birth has nothing to do with his fate.

D. One’s family lays solid foundation for his future achievements.

Why is Abby Subark nervous?

A. Her kids don’t want to compare with other rich kids in achievements.

B. Her kids don’t want to achieve success at all.

C. Her kids can achieve success through hard work and education.

D. Her kids can’t reach their goal without a rich family.

What can we infer after reading the passage?　

A. Poverty causes people much pain.

B. People below the poverty line can never be in the middle class.

C. Lower starting point makes it hard for people to realize their dream.

D. Poor people’s starting point is too low.

　　The world is not only hungry, it is also thirsty for water. This may seemstrange to you, since nearly 75％of the earth's surface is covered with water. But about 97％ of this huge amount is seawater, or salt water. Man can only drink and use the other 3％--the fresh water that comes from rivers, lakes, underground, and other sources. And we cannot even use all of that, because some of it is in the form of icebergs and glaciers. Even worse, some of it has been polluted.

　　However, as things stand today, this small amount of fresh water, which is constantly being replaced by rainfall is still enough for us. But our need for water is increasing rapidly almost everyday. Only if we take steps to deal with this problem now can we avoid a severe worldwide water shortage later on. A limited water supply would have a bad effect on agriculture and industry. Let me give you just one small example of how necessary water is to industry. Did you know that to produce a single ton of steel, it takes about 91000 litres of water?

　　We all have to learn how to stop wasting our precious water. One of the first steps we should take is to develop ways of reusing it. Experiments have already been done in this field, but only on small scale. The systems that have been worked out are similar to those used in spacecraft.

(1) “The world...is also thirsty for water.” this means that ________.

[　　]

A．the world has not enough fresh water to meet our future needs

B．people all over the world are thirsty for water now

C．we are now facing a serious problem of world-wide water shortage

D．we cannot make use of all the fresh water on earth

(2) According to the passage, only about ________ of the earth's surface is covered with fresh water that can be used.

[　　]

(3) We may face a severe worldwide water shortage in the future because ________.

[　　]

A．the small amount of fresh water is constantly being replaced by rainfall

B．some of it has been polluted

C．some of it is in the form of icebergs and glaciers

D．our need for fresh water is increasing rapidly

(4) According to the passage, one of the first problems is ________.

[　　]

A．to deal with water problem now

B．to have lectures on the water subject

C．to develop ways of reusing water

D．to work out systems that resemble those used in spacecraft

(5) This passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
　　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
　　Chinese cigarette packs will have skulls(骷髅),blackened teeth or diseased lungs printed on them in the latest effort to deal with smoking,but one expert said the images may actually attract younger people to take up the habit.
　　The images would have to take up at least 30 percent of the pack's surface area under rrules that would come into force from January 2009.It was part of a plan that would also see tobacco advertising banned in China by 2011.Similar images are already printed on packs in countries including Singapore,Thailand and Canada.
　　Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers,with a growing market of more than 300 million making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concern.China has banned smoking on public transport,but it is still allwed in many public places such as restaurants,and it is not uncommon to see people smoking in hospitals.
　　The average age people take up smoking in some parts of the country had hallen to as low as just over 10.And the new measures could make the problem worse,according to Zhao Cuiping,a youth expert."In analysis over the past decade(十年) on what young people like,they far prefer skulls and other scary images to cats or dogs,"she said.
　　Chinese cigarettes are also among the cheapest in the world and a packet can cost as little as eight US. cents.
　　The country needs to take effective measures to cut down smoking or the habit could end up killing 2.2 million Chinese a year by 2020,the World Health Organization said in May.
　　56.The new designs will be adopted on cigarette packs ______.
　　　A.to attract young people     B.increase tobacco sales
　　　C.as trade mardks           D.as health warnings
　　57.We can infer from the article that nobody is allowed to smoke while _____ in China now.
　　　A.staying in a hospital B.taking a bus ride C.eating outsede D.walking in the street
　　58.Zhao Cuiping seemed to think that teenagers would ______.
　　　A.enjoy the new cigarette packs
　　　B.dislike the new measures
　　　C.be the last to give up their smoking habit
　　　D.prefer to have pet animals on the packs
　　59.All the paragraphs support the idea that China's smoking problem is serious except ____.
　　　A.Paragraph 1 B.Paragraphs 1 and 2 C.Paragraphs 1and 5 D.Paragraphs 2,5 and 6