Trying to Find a Parther
One of the most striking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people inbterviewed,one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.
Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships?Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love? Or are we making it harder for ourlves?
It is certainly the ca today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships.Women no longer rely upon partners for economic curity or status.A man doesn't expect his spou to be in sole charge of running his houhold and raising his children.
But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.
In theory,finding a partner should be much simpler the days.Only a few generations ago,your choice of soulmate （心上人） was constrained by geography,social convention and family tradition.Although it was never explicit,many marriages were esntially arranged.
Now tho barriers have been broken down.You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any ba
r in any city on any given evening.When the world is your oyster （牡蛎）,you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.
But it ems that the old conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint:the tyranny of choice.
The expectations of partners are inflated to an unmanageable degree:good looks,impressive salary,kind to grandmother,and right socks.There is no room for error in the first impression.
We think that a relationship can be perfect.If it isn't,it is disposable.We
work to protect ourlves against future heartache and don't put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship.Of cour,this is complicated by realities.The cost of housing and child-rearing creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life partnership.
31.What does the recent poll show?
A.It is getting more difficult for a woman to find her husband.
B.It is getting increasingly difficult to start a familyl.
C.It is getting more difficult for a man to find his wife.
D.It is getting increasingly difficult to develop an intimate relationship with your spou.小提琴怎么学
32.Which of the following is NOT true about a contemporary married couple?
天津楼市新政 A.The wife doesn't have to rai the children all by herlf.
B.The husband doesn't have to support the family all by himlf.
C.The wife is no longer the only person to manage the houhold.
D.They will receive a large sum of money from the govemment.
33.Which of the following was NOT a constraint on one's choice of soulmate in the old days?
鲜明的近义词 A.The health condition of his or her grandmother.
B.The geographical environment.
C.The social convention.
D.The family tradition.
34.Which of the following is NOT expected of a partner according to this passage?
A.Good looks.
B.An impressive career.笼子里的他
领导梯队读后感
C.A high salary.
D.A fine n of humor.
35.The word"sustain"（paragraph 2）could be best replaced by
A."reduce".
B."shake".
C."maintain".
D."weaken".
第二篇
Milovic's Death
白发图片
Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milovic was found dead last Saturday in his cell at the Hague-bad International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.The 64-year-old had been on trial there since February 2002.
Born in provincial Pozarevac in 1941,he was the cond son of a priest and a school teacher.Both of his parents died when he was still a young adult.The young Milovic was"untypical",says Slavoljub Djukic,his unofficial biographer.He was"not interested in sports,avoided excursions（短途旅行）and ud to come to school dresd in the old-fashioned way-white shirt and tie."One of his old friends said,he could"imagine him as a station-master or punctilious（一丝不苟的）civil rvant."
Indeed that is exactly what he might have become,had he not married Mira.She was widely believed to be his driving force.
At university and beyond he did well.He worked for various firms and was a communist party member.By 1986 he was head of Serbia's Central Committee.But still he had not yet really been noticed.
It was Kosovo that gave him his chance.An autonomous province of Serbia,Kosovo was home to an Albanian majority and a Serbian minority.In 1989,he was nt there to calm fears of Serbians who felt they were discriminated against.But instead he played the nationalist card and became their champion.In so doing,he changed into a ruthless （无情的）and determined man.At home with Mira he plotted the downfall of his political enemies.Conspiring（密谋）with the director of Serbian TV,he mounted a modern media campaign which aimed to get him the most power in the country.
He was elected Serbian president in 1990.In 1997,he became president
of Yugoslavia.The rest of the story is well-known:his nationalist card caud Yugoslavia's other ethnic groups to fight for their own rights,power and lands.Yugoslavia broke up when four of the six republics declared independence in 1991.War started and lasted for years and millions died.Then Western countries intervened.NATO bombed Yugoslavia,and he eventually stepped down as state leader in 2000.
Soon after this,Serbia's new government,led by Zoran Djindjic,arrested him and nt him to face justice at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Hague.
36.Where did Milovic die?
A.In a bament.
B.In a prison.
C.In Kosovo.
D.In his own country.
37.Which of the following is NOT true of the young Milovic?
A.He dresd in a pretty old-fashioned way.
B.He was not interested in sports.
C.He often avoided excursions.
D.He was extremely ambitious.
38.All of the following persons changed his fate in one way or another except
A.Mira.
烁组词
B.his parents.
C.Zoran Djindjic.
D.the Director of Serbian TV.
39.Why was Milovic nt to Kosovo in 1989?
A.To handle economic issues.
B.To drive the Albanians back to their own country.
C.To remove the Serbians' fears of being discriminated against.
D.To launch an attack against his political enemies.
40.What happened in 1991?
A.Yugoslavia broke up.
B.Western countries intervened.
书愤陆游 C.NATO bombed Yugoslavia.
D.Milovic was arrested.
第三篇
The World Cup
This summer's World Cup competition will e teams competing to play the world's best football.But the football they play will not all be of the same kind.The fans expect different styles of play from Brazil,Germany,or Italy.
What makes Brazilian football Brazilian?Our style of playing football contrasts with the Europeans becau of a combination of qualities of surpri,accuracy and good judgment.This style has won Brazil five world cups.Yet many Brazilian fans only count four of the victories.In 1994,the team abandoned this style for modern,scientific training and tactics.The team won the cup,but in a boring way.
The ltalians think differently."To many ltalians,the score 0-0 has a glorious quality,suggesting perfection,"says the British football writer Simon Kuper.In the ltalian culture,the idea of face is very i
mportant.This is why ltalian teams are traditionally built around strong defences.The Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff once said that ltalian teams never exactly beat you.It's just that you often lo to them.
In Holland,there is a tradition of decision making through argument and discussion.It is a society where everybody is expected to have a point of view."Every Dutch player wants to control the game,"says Arnold Muhren."You play football with your brains and not your feet."
"A Dutch player argues,"says Simon Kuper."An English player obeys his superior.He is a soldier."The qualities valued in English football are military-strength,aggression and courage.This can make for exciting football.But it also means that the English find it difficult to u skillful players.David Beckham is usually criticized for his failure to defend-despite
