Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.

In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words, they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards（回报）to work.  Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.

Longer hours do of course increase the GDP(国内产生产总值). So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.

It is not clear which of the two situations is better.  As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the different trends(趋势) in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance (平衡)？

1. From the text we know that the author_________.

   A. believes that longer working hours is better

   B. prefers shorter working hours to longer ones

   C. says nothing certain about which pattern is better

   D. thinks neither of the patterns is good

2. Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?

   A. Spain.        B. France.   C. Germany.            D. America.

3. In the last paragraph, the underlined word “which” refers to ________.

   A. family life   B. situations   C. other values    D. trends

4. What message can we get from the text?

   A. The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America.

   B. Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US.

   C. People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer.

   D. Americans are happier than Europeans.

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the text？

  A. Americans and Europeans    B. Staying at Home

  C. Work and Productivity      D. Work and Happiness

Getting plenty of exercise is very important. I enjoy swimming very much. Last summer I went to the____1_____every day. I plan to go there ____2_____summer too, but I may not be able to. I have a new ___3_____and sometimes I have to work until ___4_____at night. Although I now work more hours than I used to, yet I do receive a larger salary. I didn’t receive much pay on my___5_____job. I like my new job,_____6___ had I known that it would take__7____ so much of my free time, I would not have taken it. I prefer__8______to making more money. I have heard that riding a bike is good exercise. Maybe I will be able to___9_____ enough money to buy a bike. My neighbor, Mrs. Wilson, has a bicycle that I could _10________ but I would rather own my own bike. If I used____11_____ . I would worry about _12_______ it. Since I make more money now, I think that I can afford to buy my own. Getting a bike is really a good idea, because while I’m riding to and from, I will be getting 13________at the same time. It’s easier to get to the seaside___14____ a bike, too. I might be able to go swimming everyday after all. This new job is great! I’m very__15_____. This will be a summer full of exercise.

1. A. playground       B. shore       C. seaside       D. sea

2. A. last             B. next        C. this          D. that

3. A. office           B. job         C. love          D. interest

4. A. far              B. deep       C. late           D. lately

5. A. favorite         B. new        C. past           D. old

6. A. if               B. and        C. or             D. but

7. A. up               B. down       C. away           D. back

8. A. riding           B. swimming    C. playing       D. working

9. A. keep             B. save        C. take          D. cost

10. A. ride            B. lend        C. borrow       D. renew

11. A. others          B. his         C. her          D. hers

12. A. destroying      B. dirtying     C. harming     D. missing

13. A. enjoyment      B. rest          C. exercise     D. money

14. A. by             B. with         C. in            D. on

15. A. moved          B. excited       C. interested    D. disappointed

请根据以下情景说明,使用5个规范的英语句子描述全部所给的信息内容.

[情景说明] 湖北省最近规定，允许中小学学生上课时间上厕所。对此,同学们有不同的看法.

[写作要求]1.短文必须包括以上表格中的全部内容,可以适当增加细节,使内容连贯;

2.使用5个句子介绍全部所给的内容其中至少3个句子必须为复合句.

参考词汇: 课间休息：break time    集中（注意力）：concentrate

题目: Is it OK to permit students to go to the toilet during class ?

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Turning on the TV, a wonderful scene comes to your eyes—a group of men, tall, strong and handsome, and women, young, beautiful and attractive, too. Together they eat in the finest restaurants, traveling everywhere around the world by luxurious planes and pleasure ships. They are models.

  Do you envy them? What sort of life are models leading? Is it a wonderful life for a young lady or a young man?

A few models are well-known actors or actresses who can make a lot of money only by showing themselves off in commercials. But the majority of them are just curious to see what it is like. They’d like to be models just because they are attracted by what they imagine—models earn a lot of money and lead a glorious life. This is true for those who are very successful. However, most models find it difficult to get work. Very few can earn enough to live on, and for all models their expenses are high. Their agents claim about 20% of the earnings, and no model will get very far without a clever agent. Besides, they have to buy good clothing. They also have to pay to travel to interviews and reach the places where the work is to be done.

  Interviews for a model job are known as cattle-markets in the modeling world, and not without a good reason. A top model can choose his or her work, demand and receive high fees and has his or her expenses paid. But for most models, the situation is quite different. And agent or employer inspects each model much as a farmer inspects cattle at a market. Intelligence, qualifications and personal characteristics count for little against good looks and tight figures. For all except the very few lucky ones, the life of a model is a continual search for work, trying to sell himself or herself in the face of fierce competition and, sometimes, not particularly moral standards on the part of some employers.

  Immigration officials at airport look suspiciously at a girl whose passport shows her occupation as “Model”, and these are men and women of considerable experience of the world. It comes no surprise to find that some models prefer to put “Secretary” or “Businessman” as their jobs in their passports.

  Modeling is a changeable world with great rewards for a tiny minority but not for the majority.

1. For models, their good looks and tight figures are ____, compared with their intelligence and qualifications.

   A. more important                        B. less needed    

C. less essential                        D. more looked down upon

2. Which of the following can lead you to believe according to the passage?

   A. A model’s traveling expenses are usually paid by his employer.

   B. To be a model, good looks are the most important qualification.

   C. Most models have a fairly easy way of life with high pay.

   D. A model can hardly be successful without a good agent.

3. Models often put “Secretary” or “Businessman” instead of “Model” in their passports because ____.

   A. they want to avoid being stopped to sign their names by fans

   B. a person with the occupation of a model is easily attacked by black societies

   C. models are sometimes looked down upon

   D. secretaries and businessmen are free of custom duty

4. What may be the author’s attitude towards modeling?

   A. It is a worthwhile life for a young lady or a young man.

   B. He is in favour of young people to try modeling.

   C. Before being crazy about a model job, young people should be aware of the difficulties.

   D. It is a field in which everyone has a great chance to succeed.

5. The underlined word “suspiciously” can most probably be replaced by ____.

   A. doubtfully        B. excitedly        C. proudly         D. sadly

So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3 000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don'ts of speed-reading．

When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously (极大的)．

How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．

The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don't say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．

The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal (水平的) surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It's hard to read a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understand of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand, Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush , start our slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase you speed．

The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals(间歇)．Read using different techniques, but make sure you understand what you're reading．

1．Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

     A．Now there is limited information than ever before．

     B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information．

     C．Now people can read what they like．

     D．The less you read, the more time you will spend．

2．What is the subject discussed in the text?

     A．What speed-reading is． 

     B．Why we need speed-reading．

     C．Now it is much information time．

     D．People should practice speed-reading in different kinds of ways．

3．Which of the following shows the right way for the speed-reading from the text?

     a．Ask for some techniques．

     b．Look at many words and recognize them．

     c．Practice more．

      A．c, a, b          B．c, b, a       C．b, a, c       D．a, c, b

4．The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that _________．

     A．a person should devote his attention to it while reading

     B．your feelings will be hurt while reading

     C．a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

     D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

5．To speed up your reading, you should_________．

      A．sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes

      B．say every word out loud and sound it out

      C．know it is necessary to read quickly

      D．underline some important words while you say them