1、Unit 17Laughter.阅读理解AMost Americans get what money they have from their work；that is ，they earn an income from wages or salaries.The richest Americans，however，get most of their money from what they owntheir stocks，bonds，real estate，and other forms of property，or wealth.Although there are few accurat
2、e statistics to go by，wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands.More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults.The p
3、lain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes，automobiles，and a small amount of savings.Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth.In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26 percent of all income，while the poorest 10 perce
4、nt received 17 percent，mainly from Social Security and other government payments.The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War .Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable(可自由使用的)family income(the money left after
5、 taxes and adjusted for inflation)over the last generation，the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same.By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor.In 1918,14 percent of t
6、he population was living below the federal governments poverty line，which at that time was an annual income of $9,287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children.In other words，about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessiti
7、es of food，clothes，and shelter.The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11,200 for a family of four.By this relative definition，about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.【语篇解读】 本文分析了美国财富的分配状况及其存在的问题。1What does the majority of the Amer
8、icans have in terms of wealth?ATheir income and savings.BEverything they own in their homes.CActually，they have no wealth at all.DTheir house，cars and small amounts of savings.答案D细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句“.most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes，automobiles，and a small amount of savings.”可
9、推知此题答案为D项。2What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?AMore than 25%. BLess than 25%.CMore than 75%. DLess than 20%.答案B细节推断题。根据文章第一段倒数第二句“. more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults.”可推知此题答案为B项。3Why is economic inequality still great in
10、 the US in spite of the economic growth?ABecause the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.BBecause the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.CBecause income in the US is still concentrated in the ha
11、nds of the richest 10% of American families.DBecause some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.答案A细节推断题。根据文章第二段第三句“The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II.”可推知此题答案为A项。4What can we learn from compariso
12、n of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?AThe poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.BThe 1981 line didnt leave much to the poor.CThere were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.DThere were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918
13、line.答案C细节理解题。文章最后一段是对1918年与1981年所统计的贫困户的数量进行比较。由此可知此题答案为C项。BParents are creating an “I want it now” generation by indulging childrens every demand at Christmas，say experts.Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish，claim the education analysts.Consumersavvy children are forcing their families int
14、o racking up huge debts and risk becoming spoilt and dissatisfied in the future.Behavioural consultant Chris Calland said，“Parents are desperate to make Christmas into a magical fairy tale for their kids.Theres nothing wrong with that as such.The problem arises when it means always giving into all o
15、ur childrens demandseven if they are beyond our price range or not ageappropriate.”Ms Calland，who runs “Santa Says No” style sessions with colleague Nicky Hutchinson，added，“Many of us go into so much debt providing the gifts our children want that we spend the rest of the year paying off the bills.Y
16、et so often the parcels weve carefully wrapped，once opened，are just pushed away because the very thing our little boy or girl was once so desperate for，they have now lost interest in.” Ms Calland and Ms Hutchinson have drawn up a list of guidelines to help parents manage their offsprings Christmas l
17、ists this year.They say that adults can actually improve their relationships with their children by resisting “pester (纠缠) power”Ms Calland said，“All too often we say yes because we want an easier life when the fact is that were only building up problems for the future.We are helping create a genera
18、tion of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others and the necessity of hard work.” “Children learn fastif we sometimes change our mind，they quickly realise it might be worth lying on the floor and screaming for it.Make sure you and your partner are working together on this.Be consistent.And tr
19、y not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends.”【语篇解读】本文是时文阅读。由于父母对孩子圣诞节的要求无限制地满足，产生了“I want it now”一代。5What is the main problem with the “I want it now” generation?AThey are quite selfcentered.BThey like to live in fairy tales.CThey waste a lot of money on gifts.DThey cant kee
20、p their interest in gifts.答案A细节理解题。从第一段最后一句中的“Youngsters are becoming increasingly selfish”以及倒数第二段中的“a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others”可知“ I want it now”一代很自私、以自我为中心。6What is probably the aim of “Santa Says No” style sessions?ATo advise on how to wrap gifts properly.BTo
21、 keep childrens interest in the gifts.CTo tell parents how to say no to childrens demands.DTo advise parents on what gifts to buy for children.答案C推理判断题。根据第四、五段内容可知，“Santa Says No” style sessions的目的是教父母如何对孩子的无限制的要求说不。7According to the passage，we can infer that Ms Calland intends to_.Aanalyze children
22、s behavior Bgive advice to parentsCintroduce a new generation Dgive her support to parents答案B推理判断题。综合分析Mr Calland的话可知，Ms Calland在本文中为父母提出了不要满足孩子的一切要求的建议。8Ms Calland would agree that parents should_.Abuy nothing for children at ChristmasBchoose gifts carefully for childrenClet children choose their o
23、wn giftsDavoid competing with others答案D细节理解题。从最后一段最后一句“And try not to get caught up in competition with other families or friends”可知答案为D。.根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。_9_Scientists have learnt that Mars seems to be the planet with the best conditions for life after Earth._10_The reason i
24、s that the air on Mars is mainly made up of carbon dioxide，nitrogen，and argon，all of which humans cannot breathe，and has only 0.13% oxygen，while the oxygen content of the air on Earth adds up to 21%._11_We now know there isnt enough oxygen on Mars for humans to breathe，but there are signs of water t
25、here.NASA scientists have found ice on Mars，and there is some water in the atmosphere，The Phoenix Mars Lander landed on the planet on May 25,2008，to find out if there was life there，and to explore the planets climate and geology._12_A physicist once said，“We agree that life can exist under different
26、 conditions.We now believe that there might have been some form of life on Mars billions of years ago，maybe deep underground._13_On the question of humans going to live on Mars well，first of all，we have to sort out some problems.And then. who knows？”AThe physicist is not sure whether people will liv
27、e on Mars one day.BWhether life can exist on Mars has been a question in the minds of space experts for a long time.CHumans cant breathe on Mars because there is too little air there.DAs far as we know，for life to exist，two essentials are neededair and water. EHowever，if people went to live on Mars
28、tomorrow，they wouldnt be able to breathe.FPersonally，I think that if we knew where to look，we would find life on Mars today.GThe information that it sends back will help us prepare for sending people to explore Mars in the future.答案9.B10.E11.D12.G13.F.短文改错假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中每句中最多有两
29、处错误。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号()，并在其下面写出该加的词。删除：把多余的词用斜线()划掉。修改：在错的词下划一横线(_)，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。注意：每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；Dear Brown，Last summer I take a parttime job in the International Camp for children.I have told one more worker will be needed in this year and I think you are fit for it.How about jo
30、in us？The camp is at the foot of a small hill closed to a river.It is such beautiful a place！We can hear birds singing happy all around.Everybody sleeps in tents，that is very exciting.We usually work only five hours a day，so we will have plenty of spare time visit the area and have fun.I am sure it
31、will be an unforgettable experience.If you have interests in it，reply to me soon.Yours，Mary答案Dear Brown，Last summer I a parttime job in the International Camp for children.I have told one more worker will be needed in this year and I think you are fit for it.How about us？The camp is at the foot of a
32、 small hill to a river.It is beautiful a place！We can hear birds singing all around.Everybody sleeps in tents， is very exciting.We usually work only five hours a day，so we will have plenty of spare time visit the area and have fun.I am sure it will be an unforgettable experience.If you have in it，reply to me soon.Yours，Mary
