1、Passage 2 A Change in Womens LifeThe important change in womens life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on womens economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usua
2、lly left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full
3、-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and int
4、erests on each of them. （154 words）Passage 3A Popular Pastime of the English PeopleOne of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what they do with their non-working time.Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to England in
5、 spring, summer, or autumn are likely to see gardens all the way along the railway lines. There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings of every kind
6、 have brilliant window boxes and sometimes baskets of flowers are hanging on them.But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden, then a widow box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each others gardens is a popular pastime with the E
7、nglish. （144words.）Passage 4British and American Police OfficersReal policemen, both in Britain and the U.S., hardly recognize any common points between their lives and what they see on TVif they ever get home in time. Some things are about the same, of course, but the policemen do not think much of
8、 them. The first difference is that a policemans real life deals with the law. Most of what he learns is the law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a lawyer, and whats more, he has to put i
9、t into practice on his feet, in the dark and, running down a narrow street after someone he wants to talk to. Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He will spend most of his working life arranging millions of words on thousands of forms abo
10、ut hundreds of sad, ordinary people who are guilty or not of stupid, unimportant crimes. （177words）Passage 5Living SpaceHow much living space does a person need? What happens when his space needs are not met? Scientists are doing experiments on rats to try to determine the effects of overcrowded con
11、ditions on man. Recent studies have shown that the behavior of rats is greatly affected by space. If rats have enough living space, they eat well, sleep well and produce their young well. But if their living conditions become too crowded, their behavior and even their health change obviously. They c
12、an not sleep and eat well, and signs of fear and worry become clear. The more crowded they are, the more they tend to bite each other and even kill each other. Thus, for rats, population and violence are directly related. Is this a natural law for human society as well? Is enough space not only sati
13、sfactory, but necessary for human survival? These are interesting questions.（147 words）Passage 6The United NationsIn 1945, representatives of 50 nations met to plan this organization. It was called the United Nations. After the war, many more nations joined. There are two major parts of the United N
14、ations. One is called the General Assembly. In the General Assembly, every member nation is represented and has an equal vote. The second part is called the Security Council. It has representatives of just 15 nations. Five nations are permanent members: the United States, Russia, France, Britain and
15、 China. The 10 other members are elected every two years by the General Assembly. The major job of the Security Council is to keep peace in the world. If necessary, it can send troops from member nations to try to stop little wars before they turn into big ones.It is hard to get the nations of the S
16、ecurity Council to agree on when this is necessary. But they did vote to try to stop wars. （156 words）Passage 7PlasticWe use plastic wrap to protect our foods. We put our garbage in plastic bags or plastic cans. We sit on plastic chairs, play with plastic toys, drink from plastic cups, and wash our
17、hair with shampoo from plastic bottles! Plastic doesnt grow in nature. It is made by mixing certain things together. We call it a produced or manufactured material. Plastic was first made in the 1860s from plants, such as wood and cotton. That plastic was soft and burned easily. The first modern pla
18、stics were made in 1930s. Most clear plastic starts out as thick, black oil. That plastic coating inside a pan begins as natural gas. Over the years, hundreds of different plastics have been developed. Some are hard and strong. Some are soft and bendable. Some are clear. Some are many-colored. There
19、 is a plastic for almost every need. Scientists continue to experiment with plastics. They hope to find even ways to use them! （160 words）Passage 8Display of GoodsAre supermarkets designed to persuade us to buy more? Fresh fruit and vegetables are displayed near supermarket entrances. This gives the
20、 impression that only healthy food is sold in the shop. Basic foods that everyone buys, like sugar and tea, are not put near each other. They are kept in different aisles so customers are taken past other attractive foods before they find what they want. In this way, shoppers are encouraged to buy p
21、roducts that they do not really need. Sweets are often placed at childrens eye level at the checkout. While parents are waiting to pay, children reach for the sweets and put them in the trolley. More is bought from a fifteen-foot display of one type of product than from a ten-foot one. Customers als
22、o buy more when shelves are full than when they a half empty. They do not like to buy from shelves with few products on them because they feel there is something wrong with those products that are there. （166 words）Passage 9Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. His father owned
23、 a factory that made electrical devices. His mother enjoyed music and books. His parents were Jewish but they did not observe many of the religions rules. Albert was a quiet child who spent much of his time alone. He was slow to talk and had difficulty learning to read. When Albert was five years ol
24、d, his father gave him a compass. The child was filled with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle always pointed in the same directionto the north. He asked his father and his uncle what caused the needle to move. Their answers about magnetism and gravity were difficult for the boy to un
25、derstand. Yet he spent a lot of time thinking about them. He said later that he felt something hidden had to be behind things. （143 words.）Passage 10Private CarsWith the increase in the general standard of living, some ordinary Chinese families begin to afford a car. Yet opinions of the development
26、of a private car vary from person to person. It gives a much greater degree of comfort and mobility. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport, and hence no irritation caused by waiting for buses or taxis. However, others strongly object to developing private cars. They main
27、tain that as more and more cars are produced and run in the street, a large volume of poisonous gas will be given off, polluting the atmosphere and causing actual harm to the health of people. Whether private cars should be developed in China is a difficult question to answer, yet the desire for the
28、 comfort and independence a private car can bring will not be eliminated. （143words）Passage 11A Henpecked Husband and His WifeThere was once a large, fat woman who had a small, thin husband. He had a job in a big company and was given his weekly wages every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on
29、Fridays, his wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to buy his lunch in his company every day. One day, the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was listening to the radio and eating chocolates there.“You wi
30、ll never guess what happened to me today, dear,” he said. He waited for a few seconds and then added, “I won ten thousand dollars on the lottery!” “That is wonderful!” said his wife delightedly. But then she pulled a long face and added angrily, “But how could you afford to buy the ticket?” （148 words）Passage 12 A Young Mans PromiseOne day a
