Poor old George has ______ the world since his business failed.

owth but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to【61】birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

Brazil' s population growth【62】has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960【63】1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this【64】may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗电视连续剧)and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect,【65】in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil' s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based【66】wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

"Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values--not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working," says Martine "They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and【67】people conscious of other patterns of behavior. and other【68】, which were put into a very attractive pack- age. "Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to【69】the poor to become consumers. "This led to an enormous change in consumption patterns and【70】was incompatible'(不相容的)with un- limited reproduction," says Martine.

(41)

A．increase

B．reduce

C．extend

D．improve

___mainly at adults 20 to 49 years old, AIDS robs these societies【C2】______some of their most productive citizens. Ignorance and fear of the disease can disrupt families and communities and may even【C3】______political relations between nations.

Because AIDS is a worldwide epidemic(传染病，流行病), nothing【C4】______than a worldwide effort can control and perhaps some day wipe the disease. Governments must【C5】______by fully informing their citizens【C6】______the epidemic and, most important, by telling people【C7】______actions they can take to prevent infection(感染). Public health agencies must also insure that blood transfusions(输血)and【C8】______are safe. Those already infected should receive【C9】______attention so they do not spread the virus to others.

【C10】______, the U. S. government has committed more than two billion dollars to fight【C11】______AIDS in 1989 - including more than 600 million dollars for research. The screening of blood【C12】______has already ensured the safety of blood supplies in the U. S. , and American military personnel are required to take【C13】______blood tests. Public health groups have carried【C14】______AIDS education programs aimed particularly at homosexuals,【C15】______addicts, and others whose behavior. makes them highly susceptible(易受影响的)【C16】______the virus. U. S. government agencies are also【C17】______public health authorities throughout the developing world in their efforts to【C18】______the spread of the AIDS virus and to treat those afflicted with the disease.【C19】______the rapid spread of the disease and the number of people now infected, the battle against AIDS will be difficult to win. But it's a battle the world cannot【C20】______to lose.

【C1】

A．striking

B．sticking

C．stirring

D．stinging

保护区) that is now Oklahoma. Like most Native American children then, he liked to fish, hunt, swim, and play games outdoors. he was healthy and strong, but he had very little formal education. In 1950, Jim Thorpe was named the greatest American football player. He was also an Olympic gold medal winner. But Thorpe had many tragedies in his life.

Jim had a twin brother who died when he was nine years old. By the time he was 16, his mother and father were also dead. Jim then went to a special school in Pennsylvania for Native American children. There, he learned to read and write and also began to play sports. Jim was poor, so he left school for two years to earn some money. During this time, he played on a baseball team. The team paid him only $ 15 a week. Soon he returned to school to complete his education. Jim was a star athlete (运动员) in several sports, including baseball, running, and football. He won many awards for his athletic ability, mainly for football. In many games, he scored all or most of the points for his team.

In 1912，when Jim Thorpe was 24 years old, he became part of the U.S. Olympic team. He competed in two very difficult events: the pentathlon and the decathlon. Both require great ability and strength. The pentathlon has five track and field events，including the long jump and the 1,500-meter race. The decathlon has ten track and field events，with running, jumping ,and throwing contests.

People thought it was impossible for an athlete to compete in both the pentathlon and the decathlon. So everyone was surprised when Thorpe won gold medals in both events. When the King of Sweden presented Thorpe with his two gold medals, he said, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe was a simple and honest man. He just answered, “Thanks, King.”

(1)、From the passage we learn that Jim Thorpe was born in ().

A、India

B、Pennsylvania

C、Oklahoma

D、Sweden

(2)、According to the passage, most American Indian children loved all the following EXCEPT

A、fishing

B、hunting

C、swimming

D、singing

(3)、Jim Thorpe started to play sports().

A、before he was nine years old

B、when he was 16 years’ old

C、when he was 24 years old

D、before his parents passed away

(4)、The word “decathlon” in Paragraph 3 probably means ().

A、jumping

B、five track and field events

C、throwing

D、ten track and field events

(5)、Which of the following is NOT TRUE？

A、In 1912, Thorpe went back to finish his college education.

B、Thorpe won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympic Games.

C、Thorpe once played on a baseball team for money.

D、In 1950, Thorpe was named the greatest American football player.

A.expect

B.inspect

C.suspect

D.doubt

阅读理解：根据文章内容，完成选择题。

Lilian Hanson, a college students, expects to graduate in about two years. What makes Mrs. Hanson different from her classmates is her age—73 years. She has been studying at college, a few courses at a time, for 27 years.

When Lilian Hanson graduated from high school, she went to the bank to borrow money for the further education. The banker gave her no encouragement. He didn't think that a country girl should borrow money to go to college. He thought she should be at home doing work in the house or around the farm. So Lilian Hanson went home and raised a family of nine children instead of going to college. Mrs. Hanson never forgot her dream of getting a higher education. When her children were grown, she tried again.

She finds the hardest part of going back to school at her age is to sit in class for long periods of time. Because she is not as quick as she used to be, Mrs. Hanson often gets up and walks around classes to keep from getting stiff (僵硬). At the beginning of a course in using the computer, the other students all stood up to give her a warm welcome when she introduced herself and explained why she was there and what her aims were.

1. Mrs. Hanson couldn't go to college immediately after she graduated from high school because{A; B; C}.

A. she hadn't got enough money

B. she was a country girl

C. the banker ordered her not to borrow money

2. Mrs. Hanson wanted to borrow money from the bank{A; B; C}.

A. to support her family

B. because she was 73 years old

C. to further her education at college

3. In the college, what makes Mrs. Hanson different from her classmates is{A; B; C}.

A. the fact that she is poor

B. that she has a family of nine children

C. that she is 73 years old

4. The computer students welcome Mrs. Hanson warmly because {A; B; C}.

A. she had got an excellent result in the exam

B. she was good at telling funny stories

C. they were deeply moved by her spirit

5. Mrs. Hanson is the sort of person who{A; B; C}.

A. cares for study very much

B. likes to borrow money from the bank

C. tries to save money for her family."

A.black old leather

B.leather old black

C.old black leather

A.are

B.is

C.have

D.has

Mr. Smith has ____gone out to meet all old friend.

A. just

B. once

C. yet

Section A(2016年6月英语四级卷2真题及答案)

Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.

Contrary to popular belief, older people generally do not want to live with their children. Moreover, most adult children _provide____(27)every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as was the case in the "good old days", and roost older people do not feel __abandoned___(28).

About 80% of people 65 years and older have living children, and about 90% of them have _frequent____(29)contact with their children. About 75% of elderly parents who don't go to nursing homes live within 30 minutes of at least one of their children.

However, __merely___(30)having contact with children does not guarantee happiness in old age. In fact, some research has found that people who are most involved with their families have the lowest spirits. This research may be __ biased___(31), however, as ill health often makes older people more _dependent____(32)and thereby increases contact with family members. So it is more likely that poor health, not just family involvement, __dampens___(33)spirits.

Increasingly, researchers have begun to look at the quality of relationships, rather than at the frequency of contact, between the elderly and their children. If parents and children share interests and values and agree on childrearing practices and religious ___commitment __(34)they are likely to enjoy each other's company. Disagreements on such matters can ___understandably__(35)cause problems. If parents are angered by their daughter's divorce, dislike her new husband, and disapprove of how she is raising their grandchildren, ___chances _(36)are that they are not going to enjoy her visits.

A.abandoned

B.advanced 年老的;先进的

C.biased 有偏见的

D.chances 机会;偶然

E.commitment 承诺，保证

F.dampens 潮湿;丧气

G.dependent 依赖人的

H.distant 遥远的，冷漠的

I.frequent 频繁的

J.fulfillment 履行，实行

K.grant 同意

L.merely 仅仅

M.provide 提供

N.understandably 可理解地

O.unrealistically 不切实际地