Normally when I pop in to see my parents, my mum bursts out of the house with a big smile. Not today. "Your brother," she says, "he's showered twice this afternoon. Does he know how much it costs to run this house?" Are we limiting water now? I didn't think the recession(蕭條) had got that bad. My poor brother is a boomerang kid. Like 60 percent of guys immediately after university, he's back at home. Graduating ￡15,000 in debt and faced with unpaid internships(實(shí)習(xí)期) or low wages thanks to the flooding of the market with graduates, a lot of twenty some things simply don't have the necessary income or parental support to live independently.
Three years after getting their degree, most graduates are still not earning above the average salary. They have a near 50 percent tax burden, thanks to student loan repayments and council tax on top of income tax and national insurance. Unless you have parents who can afford to finance what is effectively a second home for them, returning to the parental nest is often the only affordable option.
The boomerang effect is becoming even more pronounced thanks to the recession. One in four of those losing their job during the downturn is under 25. Only 13 percent of final-year students have jobs. Home is the only place many are going: 111,000 16-29 year olds moved back home in 2008, five times the average of previous years.
Boomeranging is bad news. It poses serious problems for parents' finances. They've already supported their children through university, topping up loans with handouts, averaging ￡12,300 in total, to keep twenty somethings afloat. Now their retirement savings are being eaten away by continuously dependent children.
It’s bad for the returning kids too. Ambitious young people will be left frustrated, seeing their university peers from more wealthy backgrounds excel only because parents' money was there to support them through the initial period of poverty wages. Those living in rural areas are further disadvantaged by lack of access to cities where most new jobs are located. Half of all young people now feel they will not achieve their goals. Research by the Prince's Trust reveals that one-quarter of all 16-25 year olds are regularly down or depressed. And depression does not help self-motivation, the very trait needed to seek out job opportunities.
【小題1】In paragraph 1, the mother’s criticizing her son for showering too often shows _________.

A．the price of water has increased
B．she thinks her son is selfish
C．her son is an economic burden
D．she wants to have a shower herself
【小題2】What is the boomerang mentioned in the passage?
A．A person earning low income.
B．A person who has heavy tax burden.
C．A youth who cannot get parental support.
D．A youth returning to parents after graduation.
【小題3】According to the passage, which of the following does NOT contribute to the tax bill of most young graduates?
A．National insurance. B．Income tax.
C．Council income. D．Student loans.
【小題4】Who is comparatively most affected by the recession according to the passage?
A．Those who haven’t completed their university studies.
B．Those who are supported through by their parents.
C．Those who can have access to the urban facilities.
D．Those who were born into the well-off families.
【小題5】Which is the best title of the passage?
A．Global Recession
B．Boomerang Kids
C．Unemployment Rate
D．Falling Incomes


【小題1】C
【小題2】D
【小題3】C
【小題4】A
【小題5】B

解析

練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

If you want to stay young, sit down and have agood think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise and as a result, we are aging unnecessarily soon.

    Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the

process of aging could be slowed down.With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University,

he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and jobs.

Computer technology enabled the researchers to get right measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect and emotion, and determine the human character. Contraction (收縮) of the front and side parts as cells died was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not clear in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple remedy (補(bǔ)救) to the contraction normally associated with age using the head.

    The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in towns. Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking (萎縮) brains as farm workers, bus drivers and shop assistants.

    Matsuzawa's findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. "The best way to keep good blood circulation is through using the brain," he says, "Think hard and engage in conversation. Don't rely on pocket calculators."w

The team of doctors wanted to find out ______.

A. why certain people age sooner than others   B. how to make people live much longer

C. the size of certain people's brains          D. the people with more intelligence

On what are their research findings based?

A. A survey of farmers in northern Japan.

B. Tests performed on a thousand old people.

C. The study of brain volumes of different people.

D. The latest development of computer technology.

Matsuzawa thinks that _______.

A. our brains grow as we grow older

B. the front section of the brain does not shrink

C. sixty-year-old people have better brains than thirty-year-olds

D. the contraction of brains is connected with brain exercise

According to the passage, which people seem to age slower than others?

A. Farmers.     B. Lawyers.     C. Government workers.     D. Shop assistants.w

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Winter depression (or winter blues) is a common affliction (折磨) for those who live in our northern climate. Its clinical name is seasonal affective disorder (or SAD) and up to 5% of the population (especially in northern states) may suffer from it. Seasonal affective disorder is characterized by feelings of sadness and depression that occur in the winter months when the temperatures drop and the days grow short . The depression is often associated with excessive eating or sleeping and weight gain. Women are twice to three times more likely to suffer from the winter blues than men.

    There are many effective treatments for winter depression, some of which you can do to help yourself. Increasing your daily exposure to as much natural light as possible can be helpful to many. Any time that you have the opportunity to gain access to more sunlight in the winter months, you should try to do so. Taking walks throughout the day (even if you don’t normally do so), sitting next to a south-facing window at your office, in a classroom, or at home will increase your sunlight exposure. Exercising next to a window or outdoors (when possible) is another activity that can help.

    Although it may be difficult to do, maintaining your schedule and lifestyle will help to keep the depression at bay. A regular pattern of sleep is the most important thing to maintain. It may be helpful, for instance, to have your bedroom lights on a timer to turn on a half-hour before you wake. This may help in waking at a regular time every morning, when it is still dark outside in the winter months.

    Light therapy has shown to be an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder. While you can purchase expensive, specialized light therapy lighting fixtures for your home or office, some inexpensive alternatives are also available. Another lighting technique to try is to replace commonly used light bulbs in your home with brighter full spectrum (also known as broad spectrum) light bulbs. While more expensive than regular light bulbs, these bulbs provide light that is similar to natural sunlight.

    If none of these techniques seem to help your depressive symptoms, you should consider consulting your family physician or a mental health professional. The winter blues are a form of depression and can be readily treated w ith medications or psychotherapy when other self-help methods aren’t effective. Don’t be afraid to talk about this condition with a professional; it’s nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. With a little effort, the winter blues can be beaten

What do we know about winter depression?

A. It is very common where the weather is cold.

B. It may lead to weight gain.

C. It occurs when the temperatures drop.

D. It seldom affects men.

What is the most important factor in the therapy introduced in the second paragraph?

A. Exposure to natural light.

B. Sports in winter months.

C. Outdoor activities.

D. Sunlight through the window.

What does “to keep the depression at bay” mean in the third paragraph?

A. To shorten the duration of the depression.

B. To use light to resist the depression.

C. To keep the depression manageable and minimal.

D. To delay the occurrence of the depression.

For winter depression, light therapy ___________.

A. is much more effective than other kinds of therapy

B. is so expensive that some may not be able to afford it

C. encourages people to do outdoor exercises

D. needs specialized bulbs to replace ordinary ones

We can infer from the passage that __________.

A. self-help methods do not work 100% of the time

B. medications or psychotherapy is much more effective

C. mental health professionals don’t recommend self- help methods

D. most people prefer self-help methods to medications

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”，the film has never been，in the full sense of the word，silent．From the very beginning，music was regarded as a necessary accompaniment（伴奏）；when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896，they were accompanied by piano on popular tunes． At first，the music played bore no special relationship to the films；an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient．Within a very short time, however the incongruity of playing lively music to a serious film became apparent，and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film．

As movie theaters grew in number and importance．a(chǎn) violinist would be added to the pianist in certain cases，and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras（管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)）were formed．For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra，and very often the qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces．Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown （if indeed，the conductor was lucky enough to see them then），the musical arrangement was normally improvised （臨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備） in the greatest hurry．

To help meet this difficulty，film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments．In 1909，for example，the Edison Company began issuing（發(fā)行）with their films such suggestions of mood as “pleasant”，“sad”，“l(fā)ively”．The suggestions became clearer，and so appeared the musical sheet containing indications of mood，the titles of suitable pieces of music，and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next．

Certain films had music especially composed for them．The most famous of these early special scores（樂(lè)譜）was that composed and arranged for D．W Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation．which was shown in 1915．

 

66．Who did the most in the development of movie music?

A．Conductors．           B．Pianists．

C．D．W Griffith          D．Film companies．

67．It can be inferred from the passage that          ．

A．there were no movie music composers at the very beginning．

B．the Edison Company had its own orchestras．

C．movie music is a kind of music with a history of one hundred years．

D．conductors paid much attention to the mood of a film．

68．The underlined word “incongruity” in Paragraph l most probably means“         ”．

A．being different              B．being inharmonious

C．being dull                     D．being unwise

69．In the writer’s opinion

A．the skill at playing music is more important than the taste in the mood of a film

B．the taste in the mood of a film should be basically important

C．a(chǎn) pianist is more important than a violinist when accompanying

D．a(chǎn) conductor is more important than a pianist when accompanying

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”，the film has never been，in the full sense of the word，silent．From the very beginning，music was regarded as a necessary accompaniment（伴奏）；when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition，in the United States in February 1896，they were accompanied by piano on popular tunes．At first，the music played bore no special relationship to the films~ an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient．Within a very short time，however，the incongruity of playing lively music to a serious film became apparent，and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film．

As movie theaters grew in number and importance，a violinist would be added to the pianist in certain cases，and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras（管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)）were formed．For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra，and very often the qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces．Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown（if indeed，the conductor was lucky enough to see them then），the musical arrangement was normally improvised（臨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備）in the greatest hurry．

To help meet this difficulty，film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments．In 1909，for example，the Edison Company began issuing（發(fā)行）with their films such suggestions of mood as “pleasant”，“sad”，“l(fā)ively”．The suggestions became clearer，and so appeared the musical sheet containing indications of mood，the titles of suitable pieces of music，and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next．

Certain films had music especially composed for them．The most famous of these early special scores（樂(lè)譜）was that composed and arranged for D．W Griffith's film Birth of a Nation，which was shown in 1915．

1．Who did the most in the development of movie music?

A．Conductors．                 B．Pianists．

C．D．W Griffith                   D．Film companies．

2．It can be inferred from the passage that _________．

A．there were no movie music composers at the very beginning．

B．the Edison Company had its own orchestras．

C．movie music is a kind of music with a history of one hundred years．

D．conductors paid much attention to the mood of a film．

3．The underlined word "incongruity" in Paragraph I most probably means “_________”．

A．being different                           B．being inharmonious

C．being dull                                 D．being unwise

4．In the writer's opinion，_________．

A．the skill at playing music is more important titan the taste in the mood of a film

B．the taste in the mood of a film should be basically important

C．a(chǎn) pianist is more important than a violinist when accompanying

D．a(chǎn) conductor is more important than a pianist when accompanying

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Everybody is happy as his pay rises. Yet pleasure at your own can disappear if you learn that a fellow worker has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he is known as being lazy, you might even be quite cross. Such behavior is regarded as “all too human”, with the underlying belief that other animals would not be able to have this finely developed sense of sadness. But a study by Sarah Brosnan of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well.

The researchers studied the behaviors of some kind of female brown monkeys. They look smart. They are good-natured, co-operative creatures, and they share their food happily. Above all, like female human beings, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of “goods and services” than males.

Such characteristics make them perfect subjects for Doctor Brosnan’s study. The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens (獎(jiǎng)券) for food. Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for pieces of cucumber. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate and connected rooms, so that each other could observe what the other is getting in return for its rock, they became quite different.

In the world of monkeys，grapes are excellent goods (and much preferable to cucumbers). So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was not willing to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber. And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either shook her own token at the researcher, or refused to accept the cucumber. Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other room (without an actual monkey to eat it) was enough to bring about dissatisfaction in a female monkey.

The researches suggest that these monkeys, like humans, are guided by social senses. In the wild, they are co-operative and group-living. Such co-operation is likely to be firm only when each animal feels it is not being cheated. Feelings of anger when unfairly treated, it seems, are not the nature of human beings alone. Refusing a smaller reward completely makes these feelings clear to other animals of the group. However, whether such a sense of fairness developed independently in monkeys and humans, or whether it comes from the common roots that they had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question. w.w.^w..c.#o@m

66. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Only monkeys and humans can have the sense of fairness in the world.

B. Women will show more dissatisfaction than men when unfairly treated.

C. In the wild, monkeys are never unhappy to share their food with each other.

D. Monkeys can exchange cucumbers for grapes, for grapes are more attractive.

67. The underlined statement “it is all too monkey” means that ________.

A. monkeys are also angry with lazy fellows

B. feeling angry at unfairness is also monkey’s nature

C. monkeys, like humans, tend to be envious of each other

D. no animals other than monkeys can develop such feelings

68. Female monkeys of this kind are chosen for the research most probably because they are ____.

A. more likely to pay attention to the value of what they get    

B. attentive to researchers’ instructions

C. nice in both appearance and behaviors

D. more ready to help others than their male companions

69． Which of the following conclusions is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Human beings' feelings of anger are developed from the monkeys.

B. In the research, male monkeys are less likely to exchange food with others.

C. Co-operation between monkeys stays firm before the realization of being cheated.

D. Only monkeys and humans have the sense of fairness dating back to 35 million years ago.

70. What can we infer about the monkeys in Sarah’s study?

A. The monkeys can be trained to develop social senses.

B. They usually show their feelings openly as humans do.

C. The monkeys may show their satisfaction with equal treatment.

D. Co-operation among the monkeys remains effective in the wild.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案