In the past, American families tended to be ().

A.quite large.

B.quite small.

C.small.

D.medium-sized.

In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family is becoming smaller. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living.

Generally children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents are usually responsible for all the expenses. And families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break-up of the family appears when the parents' divorce.

A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Children grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved between their parents. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship.

The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs show that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining(降低). Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are.

21. In the past, American families tended to be().

A. quite small

B. medium sized

C. quite large

22. To parents who take the responsibility for children's expenses, the cost of living increases because().

A. children attend school for more years

B. children are better dressed and spend more money on entertainment

C. all of the above

23. Children whose parents divorced always feel unsettled because().

A. they are moved between their parents

B. they are forced to develop brother or sister relationship

C. they have little money to spend

24. According to the author, the situations of American families in the future may().

A. get better

B. remain the same

C. become worse

25. The title of the article might be() .

A. American Children

B. American Families

C. American Parents

In the past, American families (16) to be quite large. Parents (17) five or more were common. Over the years, the (18 )of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the (19) of living (20) the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them (21) dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better (22) and have more money to spend on (23). The parents usually take the responsibility 24 all the expense. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers 25 away from home.

16.A. tended

B. wanted

C. seemed

D. extended

17.A. breeding

B. raising

C. feeding

D. bringing

18.A. amount

B. number

C. size

D. scale

19.A. level

B. standard

C. wage

D. cost

20.A. On

B. By

C. At

D. From

21.A. finally

B. financially

C. fashionably

D. faintly

22.A. worn

B. wearing

C. dressing

D. dressed

23.A. luxury

B. activity

C. playing

D. entertainment

24.A. at

B. to

C. on

D. for

25.A. are

B. run

C. work

D. separate

American Dreams

There is a common response to America among foreign writers:the US is a land of extremes where the best of things qre just as easily found as the worst.This is a cliche(陈词滥调).

In the land of black and white,people should not be too surprised to find some of the biggest gaps between the rich and the poor in the world.But the American Dream offers a way out to everyone.(46) No class system or govemment stands in the way.

Sadly,this old argument is no longer true.Over the past few decades there has been a fundamental shift in the structure of the American economy.

The gap between the rich and the poor has widened and widened.(47)

Over the past 25 years the median US family income has gone up 18 per cent.For the top 1 per cent,however,it has gone up 200 per cent.Twenty-five years ago the top fifth of Americans had an average income 6.7 times that of the bottom fifth.(48)

Inequalities have grown worse in different regions.In California,incomes for lower class families have fallen by 4 per cent since 1969.(49) This has led to an economy hugely in favor of a small group of very rich Americans.The wealthiest 1 per cent of households now control a third of the national wealth.There are now 37 million Americans living in poverty.At 12.7 per cent of the population,it is the highest percentage in the developed world.

Yet the tax burden on America’s rich is falling,not growing.(50) There was an economic theory holding that the rich spending more would benefit everyone as a whole.But clearly that theory has not worked in reality.

A.Nobody is poor in the US.

B.The top 0.01 per cent of households has seen its tax bite fall by a full 25 percentage points since 1980.

C.For upper class families they have risen 41 per cent.

D.Now it is 9.8 times.

E.As it does so,the possibility to cross that gap gets smaller and smaller.

F.All one has to do is to work hard and climb the ladder towards the top.

B.Women may do more housework willingly for they don’t want to give up their responsibility as a homemaker or may because they think it is a compensation.

C.Based on the study made by the American researchers, many men of the two-earner families are still responsible for a substantially smaller share of household duties.

D.The high-earning women often did less housework then those who earn lower wages because they are lack of time and energy to balance the work and life.

Text 3

During the past generation， the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip， a bad diagnosis. or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.

In just one generation， millions of mothers have gone to work， transforming basic family economics. Scholars， policymakers， and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes， but few have looked at the side effect family risk has risen as well. Today's families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback- a back-up earner （usually Mom） who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This “added-worker effect” could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today， a disruption to family fortunes can not longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.

During the same period， families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers， airline employees， and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates， stock market fluctuation， and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year. President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model， with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families， the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen-and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers， with much higher deductibles and a large new does of investment risk for families‘ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family， as the odds of having a weak elderly parent- and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance have jumped eightfold in just one generation.

From the middle-class family perspective， much of this， understandably， looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility， and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun， and the political fallout may not be far behind.

[421 words]

31. Today's double-income families are at greater financial risk in that

[A] the safety net they used to enjoy has disappeared.

[B] their chances of being laid off have greatly increased.

[C] they are more vulnerable to changes in family economics.

[D] they are deprived of unemployment or disability insurance.

Labor Market Decline The decline of the labor market is easy to misinterpret (interpret). There are many reasons for that. During the 1970s, large numbers of women and young adults _____（41）(bear) during the baby boom entered into the work force. That _____（42）(result) in too many workers for the jobs available and depressed wages. The decline also has something to do with the explosive _____（43）(grow) in world trade since 1960. As _____（44）(manufacture) technologies have become more mobile, production jobs have _____（45）(move) from the U.S. to countries where wages are low. In _____（46）(add), technology itself has helped to cause the shifts in the job market. For example, _____（47）(few)American workers are needed to make steel today than in the past, because new _____（48）(machine) have made many of their tasks _____（49）(necessary). Finally, the high rate of _____（50）(employment)caused by these factors has tended to drive wages down further. _____.

_____.

_____.

_____.

_____.

_____.

_____.

_____.

_____.

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请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

根据下列文章，回答31～35题。

During the past generation， the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip， a bad diagnosis. or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.

In just one generation， millions of mothers have gone to work， transforming basic family economics. Scholars， policymakers， and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes， but few have looked at the side effect family risk has risen as well. Today's families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback- a back-up earner （usually Mom） who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This “added-worker effect” could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today， a disruption to family fortunes can not longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.

During the same period， families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers， airline employees， and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates， stock market fluctuation， and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year. President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model， with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families， the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen-and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers， with much higher deductibles and a large new does of investment risk for families‘ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family， as the odds of having a weak elderly parent- and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance have jumped eightfold in just one generation.

From the middle-class family perspective， much of this， understandably， looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility， and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun， and the political fallout may not be far behind.

第 31 题 Today's double-income families are at greater financial risk in that

A．the safety net they used to enjoy has disappeared.

B．their chances of being laid off have greatly increased.

C．they are more vulnerable to changes in family economics.

D．they are deprived of unemployment or disability insurance.

The Amish are often _ 33_by other Americans to be relics of the past who live a simple，inflexible life dedicated to inconvenient out-dated customs. They are seen as abandoning both modern

34_and the American dream of success and progress. But most people have no quarrel with the Amish for doing things the old-fashioned way. Their conscientious objection was tolerated in wartime，for after all，they are good farmers who __ 35_the virtues of work and thrift.

A) accessing F) perceived K) survived

B) conveniences G) practice L) terminals

C) destined H) process M) undergone

D)expanding I)progress N) universal

E) industrialized J) respective O) vanished