The loss of a job can have a very serious impact on the individual. The immediate effect, of course, is a sharp drop in income. Unemployment benefits(失業(yè)津貼)typically offer less than half the individual’s previous earnings, and many people are not even entitled to these benefits━for example, the self-employed, recent graduates who have not held a steady job in the previous year, and people who have been unemployed for a long period. The economic pressure on the jobless is very severe, particularly for those who have young children or long-term commitments for expenses for houses and education.

But the effects of unemployment are not merely financial; they are also social and psychological. As one out-of-work teacher puts it: “It’s difficult when you strip away(去掉)all the things that supposedly hold you together in terms of an identity. Your work, your money, whatever is power to you, whatever is responsibility, whatever means freedom and choice.” I had to ask myself, “Who am I now?  What will I do now?” All too often, long-term unemployment may thrust the individual into boredom, despair, ill-temper, and perhaps, conflict with other family members. Even those who keep their jobs are affected by rates of unemployment, for they begin to fear for own future. Lacking the confidence that workers have in times of full employment, they negotiate less aggressively for improvements in pay or working conditions, for they and the employers know that if they do not like the job as it is, others will gladly take it. Unemployment is always accompanied, in fact, by underemployment━the situation in which people are working either for extremely low wages or at jobs below their level of skill.

 

68．It can be inferred from the passage that unemployment benefits are given to ______.

A．people who are self-employed but now unemployed

B．recent graduates who have not held a steady job in the previous year

C．people who have been unemployed for a long period

D．people who have been unemployed for a short period

69．According to the passage, ______                         .

A．the loss of a job can have little impact on the individual

B．unemployment benefits are normally about the same as a person’s previous earnings

C．unemployment benefits are normally less than half of a person’s previous earnings

D．the economic pressure on the jobless is typically not very severe

70．By “underemployment”(Line 12, Para. 2), the writer means the situation in which ______.

A．people are unemployed or low skills are required

B．some people are unemployed and poorly paid 

C．people are working for less than eight hours a day

D．people are working for low wages or at jobs below their level of skill

71．The best title for the passage would be ______            .

A．The Financial Effect of Unemployment         B．The Social Effect of Unemployment

C．The Psychological Effect of Unemployment  D．The Effects of Unemployment

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：江西省重點(diǎn)中學(xué)盟校2012屆高三第二次聯(lián)考英語(yǔ)試題 題型：050

閱讀理解，閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

　　What would you think if someone proposed knocking down St Paul's Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It'd be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation(毀滅)of the natural world, we aren't so easily shocked．But we should be…or we'll be in a lot of trouble!

　　Nature is shrinking by the day．Ancient forests are destroyed．Wetlands are becoming dry．Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress．This is bad in itself, but it's devastating for biodiversity．

　　Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things which are all interconnected．The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life．The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis(光合作用)by green plants．Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich．And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and seas．In fact, all life on earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity．More than 90 percent of calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species．And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals．Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things．

　　The loss of biodiversity could be devastating．“It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans, ” said Harvard University biologist Edward O．Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”．He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible(不可挽回的)．”

　　But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague(含糊的)．People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines．The Guardian newspaper is trying to help．It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity．This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reverse the decrease in the sea life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes in Australia, among many other things．

　　There is a lot to do．And we’ d better act quickly if we don't want to end up with a planet that can't sustain life!

(1)

The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park．

[　　]

A．

unreasonable

B．

necessary

C．

difficult

D．

reasonable

(2)

The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day．” means that ________．

[　　]

A．

nature is badly polluted by humans

B．

species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day

C．

rainforests are being cut down every day

D．

nature is full of mysteries

(3)

Edward O．Wilson thinks that ________．

[　　]

A．

it doesn't matter to reduce biodiversity

B．

people have done enough to preserve biodiversity

C．

the situation of biodiversity is very serious

D．

biodiversity loss has become irreversible

(4)

When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________．

[　　]

A．

people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected

B．

people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered

C．

people don't realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life

D．

people hunt sea creatures for food

(5)

From the passage we can infer that ________．

[　　]

A．

plenty of marine reserves have been set up in the UK

B．

fishing sharks is illegal in Japan

C．

tiny organisms are harmful to the fish in the river

D．

killing dingoes in Australia is very common

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2012-2013學(xué)年廣東省執(zhí)信中學(xué)高二上學(xué)期期末考試英語(yǔ)試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毀滅) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”
But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.
There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!
【小題1】The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.

A．unreasonableB．necessaryC．difficultD．reasonable
【小題2】The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day.” means that ________.
A．nature is badly polluted by humans
B．species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day
C．rainforests are being cut down every day
D．nature is full of mysteries
【小題3】Edward O. Wilson thinks that ________.
A．it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity
B．people have done enough to preserve biodiversity
C．the situation of biodiversity is very serious
D．biodiversity loss has become irreversible
【小題4】When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________.
A．people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected
B．people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered
C．people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life
D．people hunt sea creatures for food
【小題5】What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 5 refer to?
A．The UK government.B．The concept of biodiversity.
C．The action to deal with the problem.D．The Guardian newspaper.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2014屆廣東省高二上學(xué)期期末考試英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毀滅) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.

Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.

The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”

But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.

There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!

1.The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.

A．unreasonable      B．necessary         C．difficult           D．reasonable

2.The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day.” means that ________.

A．nature is badly polluted by humans

B．species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day

C．rainforests are being cut down every day

D．nature is full of mysteries

3.Edward O. Wilson thinks that ________.

A．it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity

B．people have done enough to preserve biodiversity

C．the situation of biodiversity is very serious

D．biodiversity loss has become irreversible

4.When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________.

A．people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected

B．people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered

C．people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life

D．people hunt sea creatures for food

5.What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The UK government.                     B．The concept of biodiversity.

C．The action to deal with the problem.         D．The Guardian newspaper.

 

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

When Ben delivered milk to my home one morning before Christmas，he wasn’t his usual sunny self. He told me a customer had left without paying the bill，$79，nor leaving her new address. So it meant that he had to cover the loss.

 “She was a pretty woman，”he said，w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*m “with six children and another on the way. She was always saying. ‘I’m going to pay you soon when my husband gets a second job.’ I believed her，but she left. Isn’t it annoying?”

  “Give her the milk. Make it a Christmas present to the kids who need it.” I said.

  The holidays came and went. On a sunny January morning two weeks later，Ben was rushing to deliver milk when he saw a woman running down the street，waving money. He recognized her immediately--the woman who didn’t pay her bill.

   “I’m so sorry.” she said. “I really have been meaning to pay you.”

   She explained that her husband had come home one night and announced he' d found cheaper apartment. He' d also got a new job. With all that happened, she' d forgotten to leave the new address. “But I've been saving,” she said. “Here's $20 toward the bill.

   “That' s all right,” Ben replied. “It's been paid.”

   “Paid!” she exclaimed (驚叫). “What do you mean? Who paid it?”

    “I did,” Ben said, “It went to the children as a Christmas present!”

56. Ben was upset one morning because _______.

   A. a customer left without paying the bill

   B. he lost $ 79 on the way of the delivery

   C. he had to buy a present for the children

   D. he was going to lose his job

57. The author helped Ben by offering him _______.

A. a Christmas present                B. the debtor' s new address

   C. some money to cover the loss   D. a suggestion to cheer him up

58. We can probably infer from the passage that the woman _______.

  A. cheated to raise her children   B. moved to escape paying back the debts

  C. was a person with honesty     D. wanted to give her children a Christmas gift

59. What is the best title of the passage?

A. An Unhappy Christmas       B. An Unusual Present

C. A Poor Couple's Life          D. A Helpful Customer

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

When Ben delivered milk to my home one morning before Christmas，he wasn’t his usual sunny self. He told me a customer had left without paying the bill，$79，nor leaving her new address. So it meant that he had to cover the loss.

“She was a pretty woman，”he said，w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*m“with six children and another on the way. She was always saying. ‘I’m going to pay you soon when my husband gets a second job.’ I believed her，but she left. Isn’t it annoying?”

“Give her the milk. Make it a Christmas present to the kids who need it.” I said.

The holidays came and went. On a sunny January morning two weeks later，Ben was rushing to deliver milk when he saw a woman running down the street，waving money. He recognized her immediately--the woman who didn’t pay her bill.

　 “I’m so sorry.” she said. “I really have been meaning to pay you.”

　 She explained that her husband had come home one night and announced he' d found cheaper apartment. He' d also got a new job. With all that happened, she' d forgotten to leave the new address. “But I've been saving,” she said. “Here's $20 toward the bill.

　 “That' s all right,” Ben replied. “It's been paid.”

　 “Paid!” she exclaimed (驚叫). “What do you mean? Who paid it?”

　 “I did,” Ben said, “It went to the children as a Christmas present!”

56. Ben was upset one morning because _______.

　 A. a customer left without paying the bill

　 B. he lost $ 79 on the way of the delivery

　 C. he had to buy a present for the children

　 D. he was going to lose his job

57. The author helped Ben by offering him _______.

A. a Christmas present　　　　　　　 B. the debtor' s new address

　 C. some money to cover the loss　 D. a suggestion to cheer him up

58. We can probably infer from the passage that the woman _______.

　 A. cheated to raise her children　 B. moved to escape paying back the debts

　 C. was a person with honesty　　 D. wanted to give her children a Christmas gift

59. What is the best title of the passage?

A. An Unhappy Christmas　　　 B. An Unusual Present

C. A Poor Couple's Life　　　　 D. A Helpful Customer

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