Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a
newborn child. Last spring one of the two, Australia, gave up the bad distinction by setting up paid family
leave starting in 2011. I wasn't surprised when this didn't make the news here in the United States-we're
now the only wealthy country without such a policy.
     The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993.
It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks' unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family
medical problem. Despite the modesty of the benefit, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups
fought it bitterly, describing it as "government-run personnel management" and a "dangerous precedent (先
例)". In fact, every step of the way, as (usually) Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family
balance measures into the law, business groups have been strongly opposed.
     As Yale law professor Anne Alstott, argues, justifying parental support depends on defining (定義) the
family as a social good that, in some sense, society must pay for. Parents are burdened in many ways in
their lives: there is "no exit" when it comes to children. Society expects-and needs-parents to provide their
children with continuity of care. And society expects-and needs-parents to persist in their roles for 18 years,
or longer if needed.
     While most parents do this out of love, there are public punishments for not providing care. What parents
do, in other words, is of deep concern to the state, for the obvious reason that caring for children is not only
morally urgent but important to the future of society. To classify parenting as a personal choice for which
there is no collective responsibility is not merely to ignore the social benefits of good parenting; really, it is to
steal those benefits because they accrue (累積) to the whole of society as today's children become tomorrow's
citizens. In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental investments in children, investments of time and
money, is equal to 20%～30% of GDP. If these investments bring huge social benefits-as they clearly do-the
benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer.

1. What do we learn about paid family leave from Paragraph 1?

A. It came as a surprise when Australia adopted the policy.
B. Setting up this policy made Australia less influential.
C. It has now become a hot topic in the United States.
D. No such policy is applied in the United States.

2. What makes it hard to take work-family balance measures in the States?

A. The incompetence of the Democrats.
B. The opposition from business circles.
C. The lack of a precedent in American history.
D. The existing Family and Medical Leave Act.

3. What is Professor Anne Alstott's argument for parental support?

A. Children need continuous care.
B. Good parenting benefits society.
C. The cost of raising children has been growing.
D. The U. S. should keep up with other developed countries.

4. Why is the author against classifying parenting as a personal choice?

A. Parenting is regarded as a moral duty.
B. Parenting relies largely on social support.
C. Parenting produces huge moral benefits.
D. Parenting is basically a social

                                                         Why Cats Scratch Things
     It has long been assumed that when cats scratch objects with their front paws (爪子) that they are
sharpening their paws. 1_____ Research on cat behavior suggests that the major reason for this behavior is
communication. By scratching up the bark of a tree (or the leg of your favorite chair) the cat is letting other
cats or people know where she is and what she is up to.
     Cats tend to pick a small number of noticeable objects in their environments to scratch such as trees, fence
posts repeatedly. 2_____ The scratched surface leaves a highly visible mark that can be easily seen by other
cats. In addition, cats have special glands (腺) in their paves so that when they make scratching movements
they leave scent (氣味) that the cats can smell. The fact that cats leave scent marks by making scratching
movements may be the reason that cats will continue to try to scratch objects even after they have been
declawed. 3_____ 
     We don't know exactly what cats are communicating with their scratching. Both males and females do it.
It is done inside and outside the home and even by cats living with no other cats around. 4_____ Cats don't
scratch up your furniture to bother you or just to be destructive, but for specific reasons, one of which is
communicating. Cats also scratch to extend their bodies, during play, and possibly as a greeting or to relieve
dissatisfaction when prevented from doing other things they want to do. 
     5_____ It is easier to prevent problem scratching rather than trying to change your cat's preference for
the arm of your sofa after it has become a built up habit. Thus, the goal is to establish acceptable scratching
habits by getting your cat to prefer a scratching post rather than the arm of your sofa.

A. It turns out that this is only a secondary reason.
B. This is why the tree next door looks so scratched up.
C. Cats use other parts of their bodies to communicate as well.
D. Small pieces of bark have accumulated on the ground underneath.
E. Scratching can result in considerable damage, owner dissatisfaction.
F. Declawed cats may still be leaving scent marks on objects they scratch.
G. It could be a defensive warning or just a marker that announces its existence.

     A new power plant in Nakoso, Japan, might someday change everything for coal plants. Since the new
power plant fired up in September, the designer, Mitsubishi, is expecting to prove it's possible to burn coal
without polluting. This technology is known as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). Proving IGCC
works should motivate Mitsubishi's US partner, NRG Energy, to jump other hurdles to building new clean
plants.
     The project promises to solve the problem of the ages for power plants: how to produce cheap, clean,
reliable electricity. No existing technology can do all three perfectly.
     The problem is IGCC isn't there yet. It costs about 20 percent more than traditional plants. And even
though it's easier to collect the resulting carbon dioxide from an IGCC plant than a traditional plant, there's
no proven way to get rid of the greenhouse gas. One plan is to drill a shaft (通道) to pump the carbon dioxide
underground, into saltwater formations. But there's no guarantee it will remain underground forever.
     NRG administrators think solving the IGCC riddles is worth the trouble because they expect the US will
soon limit the amount of carbon dioxide that power generators may give out.
     "With the additional cost of IGCC, to just voluntarily build something that's 20 percent more expensive,
that's commercial suicide," NRG chief administrator, David Crane said.
     NRG administrators expect the cost to decline after six or seven plants are built. But other industry experts
think it will take about a dozen plants for the price to be competitive with traditional coal plants.
     Takaya Watanabe, a vice general manager of Mitsubishi, admits that the cost challenges are difficult. "It's
good for a company to say we want to be green, but unless someone is willing to pay, it's a dream. It won't
keep our family eating rice," he said.

1. What is expected of the new technology?

A. To make electricity without polluting the air.
B. To produce energy without burning coal.
C. To keep the use of electricity cheaper.
D. To pump carbon dioxide more easily.

2. What's the biggest problem the companies are faced with?

A. How to pump greenhouse gases.
B. How to deal with the high cost.
C. How to get along with other partners.
D. How to improve the new technology.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. New technologies are unacceptable to people.
B. It's unlikely to build more new power plants.
C. The companies are run on a tight budget.
D. Going green is easier said than done.

     People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behavior are formed. It is not easy to
explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
     Social scientists are of course extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why
we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behavior. There are no clear answers yet, but two
distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very
different from each other, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The
controversy is often conveniently referred to as "nature and nurture".
     Those who support the"nature" side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are
largely determined by biological factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities,
characteristics and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory states that our behavior
is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts (本能).
     Proponents of the "nurture" theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claim that our environment is
more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist, B. F.
Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The
behaviorists' view of the human being is quite mechanistic. They state that, like machines, humans respond to
environmental stimuli (刺激) as the basis of their behavior.
     Socially and politically, the consequences of these two theories are far-reaching. In the US, for example,
blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligence tests. This leads some "nature" proponents to
conclude that blacks are genetically lower in status than whites. Behaviorists, on the contrary, say that the
differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other
environ mental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses
that whites do.
     Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our
behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes and that the controversy will continue for a long time
is certain.

1. This passage is mainly concerned with _____.

A. relation between personality and behavior
B. relation between behavior and environment
C. different accounts of patterns of human behavior
D. different theories of the formation of human behavior

2. The underlined word "proponents" in Paragraph 2 means _____.

A. creators
B. advisors
C. advocates
D. judges

3. In Paragraph 5, the author mainly writes about _____.

A. the considerable influence of the two theories
B. differences between the blacks and whites
C. racial discrimination in the United States
D. different responds to intelligence tests

4. What's the author's purpose in writing the passage?

A. To call our attention to the changes of human behavior.
B. To urge scientists to do more research in social science.
C. To give us a detailed explanation of human behavior.
D. To present an argument in the field of social science.

     New media has been growing fast and influencing people's lives in ways few things have done before
In 2010, China's new media industry witnessed explosive development. But with "new" comes uncertainties
and challenges. The following are brief reviews on the development of China's new media and outlooks on
its future.
     Micro-blogging (微博)
     Short and convenient, micro-blogs also experienced "a big bang" in China last year, with the number of
micro-bloggers at China's popular portal (門戶網(wǎng)站) sina.com.cn almost doubling in less than six months.
Afterwards, the other three major web portals, including sohu.com.qq. corn and 163. corn, each set up their
own micro-blogging services. With more government officials and entities (實(shí)體) registering, China's micro-
blogging services are expected to play a more important role in connecting the public and the governments in
2011.
     Search Engines
     Baidu's position in the search engine market would face fierce challenges from sohu.com, Microsoft's Bing
and goso.cn from the People's Daily. Xinhua is also preparing to start its search engine together with China
Mobile, a leading company in mobile networks. Goso and Xinhua both have the advantage of providing content,
while Bing has a big edge in technology and funds. They are expected to pose threats (威脅) to Baidu in 2011. 
     Internet of Things
     IoT refers to a network of real-world objects linked by the Internet and interacting through on-line services.
China set up its first IoT research center in Shanghai in March 2010. Within the same week, Premier Wen
Jiabao stated in the annual government report that it would "accelerate the research and development, as well
as application of the Internet of Things."
     However, some experts say China's IoT is still in an early stage, and it'll take a long time for it to let the
public enjoy its full functions.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A. Some major media in China.
B. China's new media and its future.
C. The development of China's on-line services.
D. China's early-stage IoT and its major functions.

2. How many web portals are mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A. Two.
B. Three.
C. Four.
D. Five.

3. Which of the following will be Xinhua's partner to start a search engine?

A. Baidu.
B. Sohu.com.
C. Goso.cn.
D. China Mobile.

4. What does the underlined part "a big bang" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. A deafening sound.
B. An explosive development
C. A terrible damage.
D. A demanding challenge.

     Some people learn a second language easily. Other people have trouble learning a new language. How can
you help yourself learn a new language, such as English? There are several ways to make learning English a
little easier and more interesting.
     The first step is to feel positive about learning English. If you believe that you can learn, you will learn. Be
patient. You do not have to understand everything all at once. It is natural to make mistakes when you learn
something new. We can learn from our mistakes. In other words, do not worry about taking risks.
     The second step is to practice your English. For example, write a journal, or diary, every day. You will get
used to writing in English, and you will feel comfortable expressing your ideas in English. After several weeks,
you will see that your writing is improving. In addition, you must speak English every day. You can practice
with your classmates outside class. You will all make mistakes, but gradually you will become comfortable
communicating in English.
     The third step is to keep a record of your language learning. You can write this in your journal. After each
class, think about what you did. Did you answer a question correctly? Did you understand something the
teacher explained? Perhaps the lesson was difficult, but you tried to understand it. Write these accomplishments
(成就) in your journal.
     You must be positive about learning English and believe that you can do it. It is important to practice every
day and make a record of your achievements. You will enjoy learning English, and you will feel more
confidence in yourself.

1. To feel positive about learning English means _____.

A. if you are patient, you will learn
B. you can understand everything all at once
C. if you make mistakes, you can learn from your mistakes
D. if you believe you can learn, you will learn

2. When you learn English, you do not need to _____.

A. be patient
B. make mistakes
C. express your ideas in English
D. understand everything all at once

3. What is not helpful for you to enjoy learning English?

A. To communicate in English.
B. To worry about taking risks.
C. To think about what has been done after each class.
D. To make a record of the achievements.

4. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. It is very important to learn a second language.
B. Some people learn a second language easily. Other people do not.
C. There are ways to help you learn a second language more easily.
D. Don't worry about taking risks when learning a second language.

                                                     Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp
     Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit-and that can
be a very annoying thing. 1_____ Read on for some techniques worth trying.
     1. 2_____
     People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance
of Alzheimer's disease (早老性癡呆癥), according to a recent study. 
     3_____
     Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence
that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In
other words, keep your brain looking forward.
     2. Go for a walk.
     Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and
physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that
are good for your brain. 4_____
     3. Learn something new.
     Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation
(刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when
you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. 5_____ Or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.
B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.
C. It should be something like learning gardening.
D. So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.
E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.
F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.
G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

     Question: My ninth-grade art teacher doesn't give any grade above 94% because, she says, "There's
always room for improvement." In previous years, I earned a 99% and a 100%. The 94% I received this
term does not reflect the hard work that I put into this course. Because of her "improvement" theory, I
got a lower grade than I deserve Is her grading philosophy morally correct?
     Answer: Your teacher's grading system may be unwise, but it is not morally wrong. A teacher deserves
wide latitude in selecting the method of grading that best promotes learning in her classroom; that is, after
all, the prime function of grades. It is she who has the training and experience to make this decision.
     You can criticize her methodology. A 100 need not imply that there is no possibility of improvement,
only that a student successfully completed the course work A ninth grader could get a well-earned 100 in
English class but still has a way to go before he writes as well as Jane Austen. What's more, grades are not
only an educational device but are also part of a screening system to help assign (分配) kids to their next
class or program. By capping her grades at 94 while most other teachers grade on a scale that tops out at
100, your teacher could risk making a student lose a chance of getting a scholarship or getting into a top
college.
     What it is wrong to condemn her for is overlooking your hard work. Your hard work is worthy of
encouragement, but effort does not equal accomplishment. If scholars suddenly discovered that Rembrandt
had dashed off The Night Watch in an afternoon, it would still be The Night Watch.
     I could spend months sweating over my own "paintings", but I'd produce something you wouldn't want
to hang in your living room or your garage.
     One feature of a good grading system is that those measured by it generally regard it as fair and reasonable-
not the case here. Strong feeling of anger is seldom an aid to education And so your next step should be to
discuss your concerns with your teacher or the principal.

1. When writing the question, the ninth-grader was _____.

A. annoyed
B. worried
C. excited
D. delighted

2. The underlined word "latitude" in Paragraph 2 probably means _____. 

A. difference
B. knowledge
C. freedom
D. experience

3. Rembrandt's painting is mentioned to show that _____.

A. there's difference between effort and achievement
B. The Night Watch was completed in half a day
C. everybody's hard work should be encouraged
D. one is to blame for doing the work in a hurry

4. What is the author's attitude towards the grading system of the ninth-grader's teacher?

A. Supportive.
B. Confused.
C. Unconcerned.
D. Unfavorable.

                                                                The Child Ego State
     The Child ego state is a set of behaviors, thoughts and feelings which are replayed from our own childhood. 
     Perhaps the boss calls us into his or her office, we may immediately get a churning in our stomach and
wonder what we have done wrong. If this were explored we might remember the time the head teacher called
us in to tell us off. Of course, not everything in the Child ego state is negative. We might go into someone's
house and smell a lovely smell and remember our grandmother's house when we were little, and all the same
warm feelings we had at six years of age may come flooding back.
     The Child ego states are constantly being updated. For example, we may meet someone who gives us the
permission we needed as a child, and did not get, to be fun and joyous. We may well use that person in our
imagination when we are stressed to resist our old ways of thinking that we must work longer and longer hours
to keep up with everything. We might ask ourselves "I wonder what X would say now." Then on heating the
new permissions to relax and take some time out, do just that and then return to the work renewed and ready
for the challenge. Afterwards, rather than blaming ourselves for what we did or did not do, what tends to
happen is that we automatically start to give ourselves new permissions and take care of ourselves.
     Alternatively, we might have had an extremely unpleasant experience yesterday which goes into the Child
ego state as an antique memory that stands in the way of our growth Positive experiences will also go into the
Child ego state as antique memories. The positive experiences can then be drawn on to remind us that positive
things do happen.
     The process of analyzing personality in terms of ego states is called structural analysis. It is important to
remember that ego states do not have an existence of their own. They are concepts to enable understanding.
Therefore it is important to say "I want some fun" rather than "My Child wants some fun." We may be in our
Child ego state when we say this, but saying "I" reminds us to take responsibility for our actions.

1. The writer uses two examples in Paragraph 2 in order to _____.

A. prove the Child ego state is negative
B. explain why We become nervous
C. support the idea in Paragraph 1
D. introduce the point of Paragraph 3

2. By asking "I wonder what X would say now", we intend to _____.

A. blame ourselves
B. avoid stress
C. keep up with everything
D. accept challenges

3. According to the passage, the Child ego state _____.

A. exists in one's childhood
B. shows one's wisdom
C. limits one's thoughts
D. influences one's actions

4. The underlined word "this" in the last paragraph refers to _____.

A. "I want some fun"
B. "My Child wants some fun"
C. the Child ego state
D. structural analysis

     Fujitsu, a Japanese technology company, has created a system capable of simultaneously (同時(shí)地)
charging multiple portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and laptop computers
without the need for cable connections.
     Electric cars users may also eventually be able to charge their vehicles wirelessly using the same
technology, said the company, which developed a sample system at Osaka Prefecture University. Claiming
to be the world's first of its kind, the technology works on the basis of the transmission of electricity using
magnetic fields between the charger and the electronic device.
     The system enables wireless charging at distances of up to several meters. With the final aim of installing
public "charging spots" on the streets in order to enable easy charging around the clock, scientists at Fujitsu
Labs are planning to commercially sell products incorporating the new wireless charging system as early as
2012 but have not yet decided how much they would cost.
     "This technology paves the way to integrating compact wireless charging functions into mobile phones
and enabling multiple portable devices to be charged simultaneously without any restrictions on their position
relating to the charger," the company said in a statement.
     Mobile phone users in Japan can currently charge their batteries using the disposable portable plug-in
battery-operated device, available at most train stations and convenience stores. However, phone companies
warn long time use of it can damage the phones.
     The company added, "We are also looking at applying the results of this work to fields other than portable 
electronics, including power transmission between circuit boards (電路板) or computer chips, and providing
mobile charging systems for electric cars."

1. This passage is most probably taken from _____.

A. an instructive brochure
B. readers' feedback
C. a news report
D. a brief introduction

2. Which of the following can best describe the striking feature of this system?

A. It enables wireless charging at distances of up to several miles
B. It enables you to charge your device very easily beside the clock
C. It is wireless and makes multiple charging at the same time
D. It can be bought at any formal supermarkets in the city

3. The underlined word "it" in paragraph 5 refers to _____.

A. the device
B. the system
C. the phone
D. the battery

4. The best title for the text would be _____.

A. Fujitsu, a famous Japanese company
B. power transmission between circuit boards
C. new wireless charging system developed
D. mobile phones damaged by charging