E
The small number of newborn babies, which has been caused by high prices and the changing social situation of women, is one of the most serious problems in Asia. When people talk about it, you can hear a word invented in Japan. “DINKS”, which means Double Income No Kids(小孩).
In many major Asian cities like Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, the cost of a house is extremely high. A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about $300,000 (though prices have fallen). For a flat with one bedroom, one dining-room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, the couple will pay about $900 a month. What’s more, if they want to have a child, the child’s education is very expensive. For example, most kindergarten charges are at least $5.000 a year. In such a situation, it’s difficult to afford children.
The number of married women who want to continue working increases rapidly because they enjoy their jobs. However, if they want to have children, they immediately have serious problems. Though most companies allow women to leave their jobs for a short time to have a baby, they expect women with babies to give up their jobs. In short, if they want to bring up children properly, both parents have to work, but it is hard for mothers to work. Indeed, women who want to continue working have to choose between having children or keeping their jobs.
In a word, Asian governments must take steps to improve the present situation as soon as possible.
57．What is the main problem being discussed in the passage?
A．The small number of newborn babies.
B．The changing social situation of women.
C．The high prices of houses and education.
D．The necessary steps of Asian government.
58．According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A．It is easy for a couple to afford a child in Asia.
B．The prices of houses in Asia are quite low now.
C．Fewer and fewer married women want to have a job.
D．The word “DINKS” first appeared in an Asian country.
59．To buy a flat and send a child to kindergarten, how much will a couple pay each year?
A．$5,000 B．$5,900 C．$10800 D．$15800
60．The writer seems to believe that Asian governments should ________.
A．care for the growing needs of women for jobs.
B．allow one of the parents to go out to work
C．let women stay at home and have a baby
D．punish the companies that permit women to leave.
科目：高中英语 来源：浙江省绍兴市2010届高三下学期教学质量调测 题型：阅读理解
E
The black robin is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of different kinds, large and small; these seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has bee made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be supplied with the robin’s food—it eats only one kind of seed. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in new Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear form the earth in our time at least.
Is all this concern a waste of human effort? Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out? Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable?
In the earth’s long, long past, hundreds, of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success—and died out. In the long, long future, there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. This is nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection—“the survival of the fittest”—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most. You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw to put off our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. For nature, tough fair, is a hard-hearted mistress. She has no favorites.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do something about it.
57．The black robin is dying out mainly because__________.
A．people have been very careless about its survival
B．its only food supply is far from enough on Little Mangere
C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it
D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time
58．In Paragraph 3, the writer puts forward three questions to__________
A．make a comparison B．make an argument
C．introduce a topic D．present his own idea
59．As for selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be__________.
A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions
B．the number of wild life reserves that are available
C．the concern and generosity of the public
D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in
60．The writer’s attitude towards the protection of the black robins is__________.
A．active B．passive C．unconcerned D．Optimistic
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