High childcare costs are putting British mothers off going out to work. It really is that simple. Eurostat figures show that 66 per cent of mothers in the UK work, less than France (72 per cent), Denmark (86 per cent), the Netherlands (78 per cent) or Germany (69 per cent). This not only damages Britain’s economic prosperity—it limits women’s careers and squeezes family incomes. It would be fine if this is the choice parents want to make, but it isn’t. Half of those surveyed want to go to work and the expense of childcare is one of the key reasons they couldn’t.
Despite claims made by Labour (工党) about childcare, a forthcoming (即将到来的) report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) confirms the true legacy of their time in government. They left behind a childcare system with high costs to parents, variable quality and patchy (不均匀的) coverage, despite soaring government spending. British parents now face the highest childcare bills in the world after Switzerland.
In the Eighties and Nineties under Mrs Thatcher and John Major, the picture was very different. Mothers in England were more likely to go out to work than their Dutch or German counterparts. But the position has reversed, despite a huge rise in public spending.
So why does the British Government spend more on childcare than France or Germany, even though the costs given to parents are sky-high? As always, under the previous government, money was frittered away (浪费) without adequate focus on improving quality. Instead of clear and transparent funding, four separate funding streams were created, skewing (偏离) the market and confusing parents and providers alike. The majority of the money was given away in cash benefits; so much of it did not get through to the front line.
The IPPR report points out that continental systems, in countries such as Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands, manage to deliver better value for money. What all of these systems have in common is a focus on quality, with greater flexibility and autonomy given to local providers. They also see a much higher proportion of government money getting to the front line.
【小题1】Which of the following doesn’t belong to the disadvantages caused by the mothers prevented from going to work?
| A．Damaging Britain’s economic development. |
| B．Causing damage to women’s careers. |
| C．Decreasing the family incomes. |
| D．Causing childcare costs to go up. |
| A．was highly praised by British people |
| B．made British people face the highest childcare bills |
| C．left behind a childcare system full of problems |
| D．managed to decrease the government spending |
| A．in the Eighties and Nineties, mothers in the UK were likely to work |
| B．there is a prejudice against mothers in the UK employment market |
| C．most of the mothers surveyed in the UK don’t want to work |
| D．the percentage of mothers who work in the UK is the lowest in the world |
【小题1】D
【小题2】C
【小题3】B
解析试题分析：本文介绍了由于高昂的儿童保育成本，许多英国妇女不得不放弃工作在家带孩子，这不仅影响经济发展，也不利于女性职业发展和家庭增收。造成这种现象的原因在于政府资金没有得到合理利用，造成浪费。
【小题1】细节题，根据第一段中“This not only damages Britain’s economic prosperity—it limits women’s careers and squeezes family incomes. ”这不仅损害了英国的经济繁荣--它限制了女性的职业生涯和挤压了家庭收入。A、B、C项均有提到，只有D项没有提到。故选D。
【小题2】细节题，根据第二段中“They left behind a childcare system with high costs to parents, variable quality and patchy (不均匀的) coverage, despite soaring government spending.”尽管政府开支加大了，可他们留下了一个对父母来说是高额抚养成本，具有不未定性和不完整性的儿童保育系统。可知这套系统问题很多。故选C。
【小题3】推理题，根据第三段中“Mothers in England were more likely to go out to work than their Dutch or German counterparts.”英格兰的妈妈比他们荷兰、德国同行更有可能外出工作。此句中是“England”，而不是“UK”，故A项错误；根据第三段中“But the position has reversed, despite a huge rise in public spending.
e”景观公共支出大幅上升，但这个职位已经发生转变，由此可知给女性的就业机会减少了，故B正确；根据第一段中“Half of those surveyed want to go to work ”一半的受访者想去工作，可知C项错误；根据第一段中“Eurostat figures show that 66 per cent of mothers in the UK work, less than France (72 per cent), Denmark (86 per cent), the Netherlands (78 per cent) or Germany (69 per cent)”可知这些数据是欧盟在其成员国中统计出来的，不是全世界范围内统计出来的，因此D错误。故选B。
考点：考查日常生活类短文
津桥教育计算小状元系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.
He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.
He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets —nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.
While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.
Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.
Ben said, “Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?”
Tom turned suddenly and said, “Why, it’s you, Ben! I wasn’t noticing.”
“Say —I’m going swimming. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn’t you? Of course you would.”
Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said “What do you call work?”
“Why, isn’t that work?” Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered carelessly.
“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to say that you like it?” The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,
“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind.
“No —no —it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough.”
“No —is that so? Oh come, now —let me just try. Only just a little.” “Ben, I’d like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly … ”
“Oh, I’ll be careful. Now let me try. Say —I’ll give you the core of my apple.”
“Well, here —No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afraid …”
“I’ll give you all of it.”
Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat —and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures.
And he had not worked. He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company －and the fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.
He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get.
【小题1】Why did Tom take all his bits of toys out of his pockets?
| A．Because he is tired and wanted to play with his toys. |
| B．Because he wanted to throw his toys away. |
| C．Because he wanted to give his toys to his friends. |
| D．Because he wanted to know if he could buy help with his toys. |
| A．Tom wanted to do the whitewashing by himself |
| B．Tom planned to make Ben give up his apple first |
| C．Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing |
| D．Tom was afraid Ben would do the whitewashing better. |
| A．His warm heart and kindness to friends. |
| B．His curiosity about Tom’s brushing job. |
| C．Tom’s threat. |
| D．Aunt Polly’s idea. |
| A．The Happy Whitewasher |
| B．Tom And His Fellows |
| C．Whitewashing A Fence |
| D．How To Make The Things Difficult To Get |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
With more and more cars on the road, traffic jams are inevitable. Traffic jams can lead to increased accidents as there are more cars, with more people trying to get to their destination, all the while getting worse. Although it’s impossible to avoid traffic jams altogether, there are some tips you can follow to reduce the amount of time on the road.
Check for traffic jams before you leave. You can listen to the radio for traffic news, or check on the Internet to get up-to-minute information on traffic. If the route you want to take is heavy with traffic, you can choose another.
Look for a different route all the time. Most traffic jams happen on busy roads. Using country roads could see you avoiding a lot of traffic. Although the distance you may have to travel is further, it can work out quicker.
Set your car radio to receive traffic bulletins. Many new car stereo systems (汽车音响系 统) are equipped with a radio system by which you can hear the traffic channel. This way you can get the latest traffic information and change your journey if necessary.
__________ Most traffic jams usually occur during rush hour, so try to avoid this time period if possible. Some jobs offer flexible working hours so that you can travel to work outside of rush hour. Some jobs even allow you to work at home so as to avoid moving altogether. Ask your manager to see what you can do if traffic is a problem for you.
Use public transport alternatives where available. The easiest way to avoid traffic jams is to take buses or the underground instead of driving your own car. Not only will you avoid traffic jams but you will most likely be saving money as the cost of motoring rises.
【小题1】The underlined word “inevitable” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.
| A．hard to accept | B．impossible to avoid |
| C．getting less serious | D．seen everywhere |
| A．explain why there are traffic jams |
| B．tell us how to save time on the road |
| C．tell us what we can do on the road |
| D．tell us the negative effects of traffic jams |
| A．surfing the Internet |
| B．listening to the radio for traffic news |
| C．listening to the traffic channel |
| D．turning to other drivers for information |
| A．Choose a job that has flexible working hours |
| B．Make friends with your manager |
| C．Try traveling at different time |
| D．Work from home |
| A．it is cheaper and can avoid traffic jams |
| B．it is useful to us |
| C．it is environmentally-friendly |
| D．it is completely free from traffic jams |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Dear Alcohol,
You’ve been around forever. I can remember all the pain you’ve caused for me.
Do you remember the night you almost took my father’s life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He’s addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn’t the only one hurt by you that night.
Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. “I’m so embarrassed,” they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit (呕吐). “I’m sorry,” they said when I called taxies for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. “This won’t happen again,” they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.
Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it’s all your fault.
I wish you’d walk out of my life forever. I don’t want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you’ve caused. Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.
Sincerely,Anonymous
【小题1】What is author’s purpose in writing to alcohol?
| A．To introduce Mr. Alcohol to the readers |
| B．To describe the harm alcohol did to his family. |
| C．To show how much alcohol can hurt people. |
| D．To show the great fun that alcohol can bring to people’s life. |
| A．It made him crash into two other cars and took his life. |
| B．It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped. |
| C．It made him kill two other people when driving. |
| D．It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself. |
| A．were familiar with | B．were interested in |
| C．were disappointed with | D．were satisfied with |
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Humorous. |
| A．Making something more noticeable than usual. |
| B．Representing something in the form of a person. |
| C．Describing something by listing its harmfulness. |
| D．Comparing one thing with another to make his point clear. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don’t have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a “winter wonderland”. That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song.
But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It’s cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn’t surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it’s warm and pretty—like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song “California Dreaming”.
During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. They sing about life and hope and possibilities.
In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in “Sometimes in Winter”.
In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called “Winter”. She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child.
Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it.
【小题1】When is snow beautiful?
| A．When people drive in it. |
| B．When people don’t have to take it away. |
| C．When it has snowed heavily. |
| D．When people sing in the snow. |
| A．beautiful and happy |
| B．happy and warm |
| C．lovely and hopeful |
| D．cold and sad |
| A．Winter Wonderland. |
| B．California Dreaming. |
| C．A Hazy Shade of Winter. |
| D．Sometimes in Winter. |
| A．Songs about winter. |
| B．Different ideas about winter. |
| C．Winter in different areas. |
| D．Winter is cold but happy. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special position. My parents were complementary instructors：Mom taught me the words, and Dad taught me to obey them. But the stranger... He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies(喜剧).
If I wanted to know anything about politics，history or science，he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
I now know that my early concepts about relationship were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom blamed...and NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended(融合) right in but is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's room today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?
We just call him...“TV”.
He has a younger sister now. We call her “Computer”.
【小题1】The stranger can do all the following things EXCEPT that he can ________.
| A．tell us some funny stories |
| B．reject our proposals(提议) |
| C．influence the children's character |
| D．predict the future |
| A．concentrated | B．puzzled | C．fascinated | D．astonished |
| A．The computer is more advanced and has gained greater popularity. |
| B．Old as he is，we like the stranger best. |
| C．The TV set is out of fashion and often breaks down. |
| D．We decide to throw the TV set away immediately. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A good friend of mine lives about one hour away. I called her last week and found out that she wasn’t doing well at work, which would make the following year a little more difficult. After hanging up the phone, I decided to offer to help her, but I couldn’t think of what to do. However, opportunities come themselves when you’re not even looking for.
A few days later, some friends and I happened to be eating desserts at a restaurant in her city. As we were looking at the menu, I turned to my friends and asked them if they wanted to join in a game. After explaining the idea, they decided to take 15 minutes to make someone’s day. We ordered an extra dessert, wrote a note, added a smile card and were off. However, there was one problem: I had no idea where she was.
Therefore, it was time to rely on the network. I called up a friend and got him to call her to see what she was doing and found out that she was at work.
We drove to her work place and one of my friends became the delivery(投递)person.He went in to look for my friend, found her, didn’t really answer her questions and walked out, saying he’s simply a delivery person.
He ran out quickly and I bent down as we drove by to make sure she didn’t follow him out. Afterwards, all of us had this huge smile on our faces. We felt as if we had just planned a surprise party or something.
A simple opportunity turned into a moment that many of us can now share.
【小题1】Why is the following year a little more difficult for the author’s friend?
| A．Because she lives too far away from work. |
| B．Because she was out of work. |
| C．Because she didn’t do well at work. |
| D．Because she failed a test. |
| A．satisfied | B．busy | C．sad | D．happy |
| A．asking her friend herself by phone |
| B．asking another friend to call her |
| C．asking what she was doing directly |
| D．asking her friend herself on the Internet |
| A．refused the offer | B．knew the entire thing |
| C．asked some questions | D．followed the delivery person out |
| A．joyful | B．thankful | C．pitiful | D．fearful |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Why play games? Because they are fun, and a 1ot more besides. Following the rules…planning your next move...acting as a team member…these are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.
Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating (合作) .
Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which sharpens the hand-eye coordination（协调）needed in hunting.
Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.
Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it—some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation(基金会) to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.
Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.
【小题1】Through playing hide-and-seek, children are expected to learn to ________.
| A．be a team leader | B．predict possible danger | C．act as a grown-up | D．obey the basic rules |
| A．describe life in an exciting way |
| B．turn real-life experiences into a play |
| C．change people’s views of sporting event s |
| D．make learning life skills more interesting |
| A．It proves the exceptional skills of the winners. |
| B．It inspires people’s deep love for the country. |
| C．It helps the country out of natural disasters. |
| D．It earns the winners fame and fortune. |
| A．give poor kids a chance for a better life |
| B．bring fun to poor kids |
| C．provide soccer balls for children |
| D．appeal to soccer players to help poor kids |
| A．Sports can get all athletes together. |
| B．Games benefit people all their lives. |
| C．People are advised to play games for fun. |
| D．Sports increase a country’s competitiveness. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
There are many things people do with their spare time.Have you ever thought about tuning(调音)your own piano for fun and profit？Are you a piano teacher or player who really does not want the expense of hiring a piano tuner and feels that you could do it yourself with a little training？Well，this is your lucky day.All you need are the right tools，a piano and patience.
So，why would I want to tune my piano？There are many reasons for tuning your own piano.
·It is a very pleasant thing to do.
·You can make up to $80 each time tuning other people's pianos.
·There are millions of pianos in the world and thousands of new ones are being sold every day.There are not enough piano tuners available to tune them all.
·You can provide a valuable service for friends，family and others.
·You can teach yourself very cheaply and then develop it into a parttime or fulltime business.
You may have thought that only a trained expert could do this，someone who had devoted years of study and developed a sense of perfect pitch(音高)．In the past，tuning a piano was as much an art form as it was a technology exercise，but now the balance is swaying(摇动) more towards the technology and the final result is as good or even better than tuning by ear.
A few simple tools and a laptop computer with tuning software are all that are required.The real secret is the tuning software，which makes the whole process extremely easy.It means you do not have to train your ears but just look at the laptop screen to know when the piano string is in tune.
I have put together an ebook in my website with all the information you need to get started tuning your own piano, where to get the free software and where to buy the tools.
I hope I have inspired you to think about piano tuning and actually give it a go.You will find it a very rewarding and pleasant activity even if it remains just a hobby.
【小题1】The writer asks two questions in the first paragraph to ________.
| A．show his doubt on the topic |
| B．ask readers to answer the questions clearly |
| C．encourage readers to make comments on the topic |
| D．attract readers to more information on this topic |
| A．To offer help to piano tuners. |
| B．To save money and earn money as well. |
| C．Because it can help you make a piano yourself. |
| D．Because it can help you learn how to play the piano. |
| A．Advanced technology. |
| B．More effective training. |
| C．More chances of practicing. |
| D．Traditional tuning methods. |
| A．get them for free from the piano sellers |
| B．buy them from the writer's online shops |
| C．make them yourself according to the passage |
| D．surf the writer's website for the information |
| A．one must be active to play the piano |
| B．piano tuning will be popular in the future |
| C．it's valuable to take piano tuning as a hobby |
| D．it's difficult to tune pianos without professional training |
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