Four out of ten parents in the UK spend between ￡100 and ￡500 on their children’s birthday parties, according to a survey. Four in ten parents of children under 18, who were questioned in a survey, admitted that they felt pressured into organizing more expensive birthday parties for their children than they would like to.
How much parents spend on their children’s birthday parties is one of the most frequently discussed topics on parenting websites. Here is one comment on Mumsnet summing up the thoughts of many parents: “Where we live everyone hires places, entertainers and so on. I don’t want to compare with my rich neighbors, but I want my son to have what all his classmates have.”
The research was carried out on behalf of the children’s charity, Lumos, set up by the author JK Rowling. Just 13 percent of parents spent ￡50 or less in the past year on their children’s parties.
Many children’s clowns(小丑) or entertainers charge ￡150 or more for an hour, and parents often feel it necessary to book a special place. Even without these, the cost of plates, the cake and party bags can mount up. Party Pieces, a company set up by Carole and Michael Middleton, charge about ￡16 for a birthday cake for a party with 16 guests, ￡22 for table decorations and up to ￡48 for party bags.
Many children of famous people have increasingly expensive parties, often seen in famous magazines. Suri Cruise, the daughter of actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes, enjoyed a ￡100,000 birthday party according to a report.
Georgette Mulheir of Lumos, said,“Parents in the UK are under increasing pressure to spend more and more money on birthday parties for their children and their children’s friends.”
小題1:What’s the main idea of this passage?
A．Children’s birthday parties put their parents under financial pressure in the UK.
B．Many parents are willing to spend more on their children’s birthday parties.
C．Parents pay more and more attention to their children’s birthday parties.
D．Children in the UK hope for more and more expensive birthday parties.
小題2: What does the underlined part “mount up” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A．Increase.B．Change.C．Exist.D．Count.
小題3:By the example of the birthday party for Suri Cruise, the writer probably wants to show that________.
A．famous people love their children very much
B．children of famous people can get whatever they want
C．some children of famous people have really expensive birthday parties
D．holding expensive birthday parties is common nowadays
小題4:In which of the following sections would you most probably read this passage?
A．BusinessB．EducationC．ScienceD．Family

小題1:A
小題2:A
小題3:C
小題4:D

試題分析：現(xiàn)在很多父母為了給孩子慶祝生日舉辦昂貴的生日聚會，這已經(jīng)給英國的父母造成經(jīng)濟上的壓力。
小題1:主旨題：從文章第一段的句子：Four in ten parents of children under 18, who were questioned in a survey, admitted that they felt pressured into organizing more expensive birthday parties for their children than they would like to. 和最后一段的句子：“Parents in the UK are under increasing pressure to spend more and more money on birthday parties for their children and their children’s friends.”可知這篇文章講的是在英國孩子的生日聚會讓父母有了經(jīng)濟壓力，選A
小題2:猜詞題：根據(jù)第四段的句子：Party Pieces, a company set up by Carole and Michael Middleton, charge about ￡16 for a birthday cake for a party with 16 guests, ￡22 for table decorations and up to ￡48 for party bags.可知聚會上用的蛋糕，裝飾和包裹的價格都在增加，“mount up”的意思是“增加”，選A。
小題3:推理題：根據(jù)文章第五段的句子：Many children of famous people have increasingly expensive parties, often seen in famous magazines.可知作者通過Suri Cruise 的例子想說明一些名人的孩子有真正昂貴的生日聚會，選C。
小題4:文章出處題：因為這篇文章講的是在英國孩子的生日聚會讓父母有了經(jīng)濟壓力，是關于家庭方面話題的文章，所以選D。
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請認真閱讀下列短文，并根據(jù)所讀內(nèi)容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一個恰當?shù)膯卧~。(答案填在答題紙上)
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The servicemen decisively selected by an organization to (小題1:)_______ situations like fire.
(小題2:)      
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A．2.B．3.C．4.D．5.
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A．The birth parents may have indirect contact with the adoptive parents.
B．The biological parents may often go to see their birth child.
C．No information about the biological parents is given to the adoptive parents.
D．Generally speaking, the adoptive parents do not know the birth parents’ identities.
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A．a(chǎn) closed adoptionB．a(chǎn)n open adoption
C．a(chǎn) semi-open adoptionD．a(chǎn) semi-closed adoption
小題4:From the passage, we know adoption is _____.
A．where a child is brought up by the government
B．where a child is legally sent abroad by the birth parents
C．where a child is legally placed with adoptive parents
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