Happy birthday!Do birthdays really make people happy？Of course they do．Birthdays celebrate the day we were born．Besides，that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity-or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we're getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the miracle of growth in others，as well．For instance，seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans，like people in most cultures，growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old？That's a different story．
Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American culture．Most Americans like to look young，act young and feel young．As the old saying goes，"You're as young as you feel．"Older people joke about how many years young they are，rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young，or at least"young at heart"．
Many older Americans find the"golden years"to be anything but golden．Economically，"senior citizens"often struggle just to get by．Retirement at age 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition，medical care and housing．Some even experience age discrimination （歧視）．In 1987，American sociologist Pat Moore dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely-even cheated and robbed．However，dressed as a young person，she received much more respect．
Unfortunately，the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why？People are living together．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged"baby boomers"are rapidly entering the groups of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles （皺紋） are"in"．Marketing experts are already noticing this group of consumers （消費(fèi)者）．
（1）The main idea of the third paragraph is BB．
A．the golden years can make the old earn lots of money
B．many old people in America are leading a hard life
C．the old in America have to retire at the age of 65
D．American social security benefits are not good
（2）From the last paragraph we know that the underlined word"in"can be replaced by DD．
A．serious
B．bad
C．disappearing slowly
D．growing fast
（3）From this passage we can know CC．
A．in America，growing up is not a wonderful process
B．in America，growing up is as wonderful a process as growing old
C．in America，growing up is a wonderful process，while growing old is not
D．in America，growing old is a wonderful process，while growing up is not
（4）What should be mentioned in the following paragraph？ CC
A．The public will change their attitude towards old people．
B．People will provide more services to the old in their communities．
C．Companies will soon produce more goods for old Americans．
D．The government will pass laws to ensure the benefits of the people．
【答案】B；D；C；C
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：23引用：1難度：0.7
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1．All routes to STEM （science，technology，engineering and mathematics） degrees run through calculus （微積分） classes.Each year，thousands of college students take introductory calculus.But only a small number ultimately complete a STEM degree，and research about why students abandon such degrees suggests that traditional calculus courses are one of the reasons.With scientific understanding and innovation increasingly central to solving 21st-century problems，this loss of talent is something society can ill afford.
Math departments alone are unlikely to solve this dilemma.Several of the promising calculus reforms were spearheaded by professors outside of math departments.STEM faculty are prioritizing cooperation across disciplines to transform math classes to cultivate a diverse generation of STEM researchers and professionals.
This is not uncharted territory.In 2013，life sciences faculty at the University of California，Los Angeles，developed a two-course sequence that covers classic calculus topics，but also emphasizes their application in a biological context.Creating this course，Mathematics for Life Scientists，wasn't easy.The life sciences faculty involved，none of whom had a joint appointment with the math department，said they turned to designing the course themselves after math faculty rejected their request for cooperation.
In Ohio，Wright State University's Engineering departments also revised math offerings.Rather than changing the content of the calculus course，they focused on preparing students for calculus by emphasizing "engineering motivation for math." The approach enhanced opportunities for students with weaker math backgrounds to succeed in engineering and doubled the average graduation rate of engineering students without reducing the average grade of graduates.Math learning is fundamental to all STEM fields，but the opposite also appears to be true.
（1）What problem is mentioned in paragraph 1？
A．Increasing STEM dropout rate.
B．The reform of calculus courses.
C．Shrinking admission to STEM majors.
D．The shaken belief in the role of calculus.
（2）What does "spearheaded" in paragraph 2 probably mean？
A．challenged
B．evaluated
C．cancelled
D．initiated
（3）What do we know about the calculus course reform according to the text？
A．STEM departments made calculus content easier to improve students' grades.
B．Math departments sought cooperation with STEM counterparts to urge reforms.
C．Placing calculus learning in specific STEM contexts is a workable approach.
D．Removing calculus is the key to increasing graduation rate of STEM students.
（4）What does "the opposite" in the last paragraph refer to？
A．The STEM fields may be the foundation of other science subjects.
B．The STEM fields may be central to making math learning effective.
C．Math learning may set barrier for science study in the STEM fields.
D．Math learning may make way for science study in the STEM fields.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:30:2組卷：23引用：3難度：0.5 -
2．I once thought that outer beauty is the only factor to become a great person.When I was young，I read many kinds of books，most of which described characters who are handsome or beautiful.So I think that being beautiful is the only way to become a success.
As I grew up，the story of my best friend made me realize that outer beauty was not so important to make a person successful.She is so beautiful a girl that every classmate liked to chat with her，but she was very arrogant（傲慢）.In her opinion，she could get all she wanted because of her beauty，but all of her friends left her one by one!Only then did she come to know the importance of the beauty in a person's heart，which changed her attitude and she made friends again.
Turning on TV，we can see many advertisements，most of which seem to give us a feeling that，physical attractiveness is the most important thing. There seems to be a boom in plastic surgery.It is surprising that more and more people，especially girls and women，try it like the first man-made beauty in China，Hao Lulu.It is a common sense that attractive people can easily find work.Most good-looking guys，usually get higher scores in the job interviews.But what is real beauty？I want to say that is inner beauty because those who have beauty in their soul are really beautiful persons.
As is known，the beauty judged with eyes is temporary，so we should concentrate on inner beauty.And if we make the efforts to make our minds beautiful，we'll live a happier life.
（1）Why did the author want to have a good appearance when she was young？
A．Because she wanted to follow the example of her friend.
B．Because she wanted to be one of the characters in the book.
C．Because she wanted to get higher scores in the job interviews.
D．Because the successful characters in the books she read were attractive.
（2）Why did the writer refer to her friend's story？
A．To show how beautiful her friend was.
B．To show how important outer beauty is.
C．To show the importance of inner beauty.
D．To show how terrible to be a beautiful girl.
（3）What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean？
A．Surgery is becoming more and more popular.
B．More and more people pay attention to outer beauty.
C．More people can afford the price of doing plastic surgery.
D．The living standard has been improved over the past years.
（4）Which of the following covers the passage best？
A．Inner beauty is the real beauty.
B．How do attractive persons become successful？
C．The key factor to find a good job is being attractive.
D．Plastic surgery is the best way to make a person more beautiful.
（5）What do we know from the passage？
A．If you are too beautiful，all your friends will leave you out of envy.
B．If you have a good appearance，you must get higher scores in the job interviews.
C．Without the TV advertisements，there wouldn't have been a boom in plastic surgery.
D．Those who have good appearances should also develop the beauty in their hearts.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：12引用：2難度：0.6 -
3．You run into the grocery store to quickly pick up your item.You grab what you need and head to the front of the store.After quickly sizing up the check-out lines，you choose the one that looks fastest.You chose wrong.People getting in other lines long after you have already checked out and headed to the parking lot.Why does this seem to always happen to you？
Well，as it turns out，it's just math that is working against you.A grocery store tries to have enough employees at the checkout lines to get all their customers through with minimum delay.But sometimes，like on a Sunday afternoon，they get super busy.Because most grocery stores don't have the physical space to add more checkout lines，their system becomes overburdened.Some small interruption - a price check，a particularly talkative customer---will have downstream effects，holding up the entire line behind them.
If there are three lines at the store，these delays will happen randomly at different registers（收銀臺(tái)）.Think about the probability.The chances of your line being that fastest one are only one in three，which means you have a two-thirds chance of not being in the fastest line.So it's not just in your mind：Another line is probably moving faster than yours.
Now，mathematicians have come up with a good solution，which they call queuing theory，to this problem：Just make all customers stand in one long snaking line，called a serpentine line，and serve each person at the front with the next available register.With three registers，this method is about three times faster on average than the more traditional approach.This is what they do at most banks，Trader Joe's，and some fast-food places.With a serpentine line，a long delay at one register won't unfairly punish the people who lined up behind it.Instead，it will slow everyone down a little bit.
（1）What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph？
A．Queuing in a line.
B．A shopping experience.
C．A rush in the morning.
D．Cutting in a line.
（2）According to the article，what may cause delays in checking out？
A．The lack of employees in the grocery store.
B．Some unexpected delays of certain customers.
C．The increasing items bought by customers.
D．A worsening shopping system of the store.
（3）What is the solution given by mathematicians？
A．Employing more workers for checking out.
B．Limiting the number of queuing people.
C．Making only one line available.
D．Always standing in the same line.
（4）What's the principle behind the queuing theory？
A．To pursue the maximum benefit.
B．To leave success or failure to luck.
C．To avoid the minimum loss.
D．To spread the risk equally among everyone.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:30:2組卷：2引用：2難度：0.5
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