According to a recent survey on money and relationships, 36% of people are keeping a bank account from their partner. While this financial unfaithfulness may appear as distrust in a relationship, in truth it may just be a form of financial protection. With almost half of all marriages ending in divorce, men and women are realizing they need to be financially savvy, regardless of whether they are in a relationship.

    The financial hardship on individuals after a divorce can be extremely difficult, even more so when children are involved. The lack of permanency in relationships, job and family life may be the cause of a growing trend to keep a secret bank account hidden from a partner, in other words, an "escape fund".

    Margaret's story is far from unique. She is a representative of a growing number of women in long-term relationships who are becoming protective of their own earnings. Every month on pay day, she banks hundreds of dollars into a savings account she keeps from her husband. She has been doing this throughout their six-year marriage and has built a nest egg worth an incredible $100,000. Margaret says if her husband found about her secret savings he'd be hurt and would take this as a sign that she wasn't sure of the marriage. "He'd think it was my escape fund so that financially I could afford to get out of the relationship if it went wrong. I know you should approach marriage as being forever and I hope ours is, but you can never be sure."

    Like many of her fellow secret savers, Margaret was hurt in a former relationship and has since been very guarded about her own money.

    Coming clean to your partner about being a secret saver may not be all that bad. Taken Colleen for example, who had been saving secretly for a few years before she confessed to her partner. "I decided to open a savings account and start building a nest egg of my own. I wanted to prove to myself that I could put money in the bank and leave it there for a rainy day."

    56. The trend to keep a secret bank account is growing because _______.

    A. "escape fund" helps one through rainy days   B. days are getting harder and harder

    C. women are money sensitive               D. financial conflicts often occur

    57. The word "savvy" (Line4, Para1) probably means ________.

    A. suspicious            B. secure          C. wise            D. simple

    58. Which inference can we make about Margaret？

    A. She is a unique woman.                  B. She was once divorced.

    C. She is going to retire.                    D. She has many children.

    59. The author mentions Colleen's example to show __________.

    A. any couple can avoid marriage conflicts  B. privacy within marriage should be respected

    C. everyone can save a fortune with a happy marriage

    D. financial disclosure is not necessarily bad

    60. Which of the following is the best summary of this passage?

    A. Secret Savers                           B. Love Is What It's Worth

    C. Banking Honesty                       D. Once Bitten, Twice Shy

   In order to host the Olympics, a city must submit a proposal(提交提案) to the IOC. After all proposals have been submitted, the IOC votes. If no city with the fewest votes is eliminated(淘汰), the voting continues, until a majority winner is determined. Typically the Games are awarded several years in advance, allowing the winning city time to prepare for the Games.

In selecting the site of the Olympic Games, the IOC considers a number of factors, and chiefly among them is which organizing committee seems most likely to stage the Games effectively. The IOC also considers which parts of the world have not yet hosted the Games. For instance, Tokyo, the host of the 1964 Summer Games, and Beijing, that of the 2008 Games, were chosen in part to popularize the Olympic movement in Asia. Because of growing importance television worldwide, the IOC in recent years has also taken into account the host city’s time zone. Whenever the Games take place in the USA or Canada, for example, American television networks are willing to pay specially higher amounts for television rights because they can broadcast popular events live in the best viewing hours.

Once the Games have been awarded, it is the duty of the local organizing committee----not the IOC or the NOC of the host city’s country to provide them with money. This is often done with a part of the Olympic television revenues(收入), and corporate sponsorships(社团赞助), tickets sales, and other smaller revenue sources. In many cases there is also direct government support. Although many cities have achieved amounts of money by hosting the Games, the Olympics can be financially risky. When the financial gains from the Games were less than expected, the city was left with large debts.

66. _______will be determined to host the Olympic Games by the IOC.

A. A city that submits a proposal              B. One that hasn’t hosted the Games

C. A city that has perfect time zone            D. A majority winner in voting

67. If the Games take place in Canada, American television networks___.

A. are willing to pay much higher amounts for television rights

B. will be forbidden to broadcast live sporting events

C. can’t broadcast popular events live in the best viewing hours

D. will not pay for the Canadian television networks

68. According to the last paragraph, which following statement is true?

A. The host city must be left with large debts  B. The city may achieve a lot of money

A. There is no financial risk in hosting the Olympic Games

B. It is impossible that the host city couldn’t make money

69. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A. Applying for host for Olympics         B. Winner or loser

C. How to host Olympic Games              D. The Olympic Games

Until the 1980s, the American homeless population was made up of mainly older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient（变化无常的）and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems, both legal and educational, for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.

Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis, But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.

One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not counted as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.

Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions（规定）of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.

67. What can be implied from the first paragraph?

A. Before the 1980s, the homeless population mainly consists of children.

B. Urban schools are seriously short of academic facilities.

C. Many homeless children gather in inner cities.

D. Homeless children are deprived of the opportunity to receive free education.

68. The National Coalition for the Homeless believes that the number of homeless children is ___.

A. 350,000       B. 440,000       　C. 3,000,000   　　D. 220,000

69. The reason why one part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate might be that ___.

A. the homeless children are usually making a living by themselves.

B. the homeless population is growing very fast.

C. some homeless children are abandoned by their families.

D. the homeless children usually don’t attend school regularly.

70. The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ____________.

A. all homeless people are allowed to receive a good education.

B. there is an increasing number of homeless children in America.

C. it is necessary for homeless children to be counted as children.

D. the educational problems of homeless children are being recognized.

 “Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness,” wrote Samuel Johnson, a famous British writer and lexicographer（词典编写者）of the eighteenth century.

Today, amid the large amount of worldly temptations and material sources of modem-day enjoyment, people from all walks of life are still searching for the key to happiness. The question “How can we be happy?” seems to worry everyone. Indeed, in this day and age of scientific advancement and heavenly comforts, people still do not seem able to find a definite answer to the age-old problem of finding happiness. Happiness seems to be a very difficult thing. Solon’s dictum “Count no man happy until he is dead” seems to present both the poor and the rich with a continual threat causing them no end of anxiety.

In Oxford, England, a noted psychology professor, Dr Michael Argyle, has succeeded in his quest for happiness. Over the past eight years, he has been researching the mysterious antithesis（对立面）of depression, and has found convincing clues which he has embodied in his books.

"The Psychology of Happiness”, and “The Social Psychology of Everyday Life”.

Dr Argyle explains that happiness comprises three essential elements ― first, positive emotions like joy; second, the absence of negative emotions like anxiety, and lastly, the non-emotional element which means a general, more profound satisfaction with life.

“The bigger source of happiness is a happy marriage,” Dr Argyle explains. “Job satisfaction.” he continues, “is another essential ingredient of happiness.” Do you feel you are doing a useful job? Do you feel you are achieving, or stand a chance of achieving your ambitions?

If you honestly have positive answers to these questions, then eventually, you will be happy; if not, then you can still be happy by reducing your ambitions and lowering your expectations in order to achieve happiness. The fact is, the higher your ambitions and dreams are, the more difficult it will be for you to achieve your goals and therefore it will be harder to achieve satisfaction and happiness.

Dr Argyle offers other avenues people can take to find real happiness. Music, games or sports, a drink with a friend, a simple gathering at tea, lunch or dinner with loved ones, or simply thinking of nice things, call give a person happiness, if only for a few hours. Surprisingly, television programs, especially soap operas offers nothing but a bit of pleasurable moments. Often, television viewers are so carried away emotionally that they feel depressed or emotionally tired. Non-soap programmers, on the other hand, bore many viewers or sometimes deepen their misery. Dr Argyle further explains that wealth and worldly success do contribute to happiness. But in the ultimate analysis, Dr Argyle says, it is the person's temperament（性情）that makes him happy or unhappy. "There are in our midst people who are naturally happy, and there are the sad ones.”

Happiness is indeed mysterious. As one wise man put it, “Few are those who have never had the chance to achieve happiness, but fewer those who have never taken that chance.”

51. The writer quotes Solon’s dictum in paragraph 2 to prove that ________.

A. happiness is everyone's business            B. the dead are happier than the living

C. man is generally hard.                     D. happiness is not easy to find

52. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an ingredient of happiness?

A. Happy marriage.                         B. Entertainment.

C. High ambitions.                          D. Wealth and power.

53. The writer believes that television programs_______.

A. do more harm than good                 B. offer only limited enjoyment

C. should be avoided altogether by viewers     D. are a genuine source of enjoyment

54. Dr argyle believes that ________.

A. the temperament of a person is largely affected by his working

B. there are people who are by nature happy or unhappy

C. there are people who blame others for their low self-esteem

D. most people often feel depressed because they worry about them.

55. In the last paragraph, the writer implies that ________.

A. happiness is false                           B. people may not know it but they are, in fact, happy

C. people should not bother seeking happiness

D. most people have been happy at least once in their life

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition.  Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity.  Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people. 

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills.  For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs.  In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten. 

However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude.  In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition.  Among the most vocal are the youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressure from their parents or society.  Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail.  They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success.  By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.  ” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot.  Such a loss would be a measure of their worth.  Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves.  Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others.  Both are afraid of not being valued.  Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve can we discover a new meaning in competition. 

51. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A.  Competition helps to set self-respect. 

B.  Opinions about competition are different among people. 

C.  Competition is harmful to personal quality development. 

D.  Failures are necessary experiences in competition

52.  Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

A.  It pushes society forward                    B.  It builds up a sense of duty. 

B.  It improves personal abilities             D.  It encourages individual efforts

53.  The underline phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ____________. 

A.  those who try their best to win

B.  those who value competition most highly

C.  those who are against competition most strongly

D.  those who rely on others most for success

54.  What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

A.  One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others. 

B.  One’s success in competition needs great efforts. 

C.  One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills. 

D.  One’s success is based on how hard he has tried. 

55.  Which point of view may the author agree to?

A.  Every effort should be paid back. 

B.  Competition should be encouraged. 

C.  Winning should be a life-and-death matter. 

D.  Fear of failure should be removed on competition.