By saying "spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable" （Line 1-2, Para.3),

rted a debate over the wisdom of spending billions of dollars to keep nearly 2 million people locked up. According to statistics, the United States ends 1999 with 1983084 men and women in prisons. That shows an increase of nearly 840,000 prisoners during the 1990s and makes the United States the country with the highest prisoner population in the world. With the cost of housing a prisoner at about $20,000 a year the cost in 1999 for keeping all these prisoners behind bars is about $39 billion.

Some experts argue that the money is well spent, saying the cost of keeping prisoners behind bars doesn't seem much in comparison in the 1990s coincided with (与……相一致) a steady drop in the US crime rates. It is reported that serious crime has decreased for seven years in a row. "There are noticeable number of people who don't do crimes because they don't want to go to prison," they say.

There is a heated debate among American experts because ______.

A．America has put 2 million people in prison

B．the cost for housing a prisoner keeps rising

C．billions of dollars has been spent on prisoners

D．the prisoner population is the largest in the world

Passage Two

America put more people in prison in the 1990s than in any decade in its history. That started a debate over the wisdom of spending billions of dollars to keep nearly 2 million people locked up. According to statistics, the United States ends 1999 with 1983084 men and women in prisons. That shows an increase of nearly 840,000 prisoners during the 1990s and makes the United States the country with the highest prisoner population in the world. With the cost of housing a prisoner at about $20,000 a year the cost in 1999 for keeping all these prisoners behind bars is about $39 billion.

Some experts argue that the money is well spent, saying the cost of keeping prisoners behind bars doesn't seem much in comparison in the 1990s coincided with (与……相一致) a steady drop in the US crime rates. It is reported that serious crime has decreased for seven years in a row. "There are noticeable number of people who don't do crimes because they don't want to go to prison," they say.

36. There is a heated debate among American experts because ______.

A. America has put 2 million people in prison

B. the cost for housing a prisoner keeps rising

C. billions of dollars has been spent on prisoners

D. the prisoner population is the largest in the world

"How was your weekend？"

This question comes up at workplaces all over the United States every Monday morning as people greet each other. It is another way of saying, "How did you spend your leisure time？"

In the Unites States the way people spend their leisure time is an important part of their identity. Perhaps everybody does nearly the same thing all day in the office or the factory, but leisure time is what makes people distinct and reveals who they are.

For many people, leisure time means going somewhere -- to a museum, a concert, a restaurant, or a baseball game. Or it means doing something such as playing volleyball, backpacking, swimming, singing in a chorus (合唱), or playing in a park with their children. For other people, free time means staying home with wonderful sources of entertainment, such as VCR, stereo or cable TV with dozens of channels. Others pursue creative activities such as cooking, gardening, and home improvement. The latest stay-at, home activity is "surfing (冲浪) the net" -- that is, looking for information and entertainment on the Internet.

In the United States, leisure time is big business. Enormous amounts of money are spent by competing enterprises that make and sell the goods and services that people use in their free time. In fact, shopping itself is an important leisure time activity. Spending a day at a giant mall has become, for some people, as interesting as spending the day at museum or amusement park.

People in the United States are ultimately not much different from others in what they do in their leisure time. The real difference may lie in the energy, time, money, and sheer enthusiasm that they devote to it.

Why do Americans often greet each other by asking "How did you spend your leisure time？"

A．Because they are interested in the different pastime activities.

B．Because leisure time is what makes people different from each other.

C．Because they are bored with the job they have done for the whole week.

D．Because everybody does the same thing all day long.

with his brother over in New York. He was coming back with a heavy heart. It was not just that it was the end of a wonderful holiday; it was not just that he invariably suffered badly from jet lag; it was that Monday mornings always began with a team meeting and, over the months, he had grown to hate them.

Martin was aware that colleagues approached these meetings with hidden agendas; they enjoyed game-playing, and he knew that people were not being honest and open. The meetings themselves were bad enough—but then there was all the moaning afterwards. “The usual people say the usual things.” “I could have improved on that idea, but I wasn’t going to say.” “I was thinking of making a suggestion—but I couldn’t be bothered.”

As this morning’s meeting began, Martin braced himself for the usual moroseness (闷闷不乐) and monotony. But, as the meeting progressed, he became aware of a strange background noise. At first, he thought that he was still hearing the engine noise from the aircraft that had brought him back to London—he had had to sit over the wing and the noise was terrible. But, as he concentrated on the noise, it became a little clearer.

He realized—to his amazement—that he could hear what his colleagues were thinking as well as what they were saying. As he concentrated still harder, he found that he could actually hear what they were thinking at the same time as they were speaking. What surprised him, even more than the acquisition of this strange power, was that he discovered that what people were saying was not really what they were thinking. They were not making clear their reservations. They were not supporting views which they thought might be unpopular. They were not contributing their new insights. They were not volunteering their new ideas.

Martin found it impossible not to respond to his new knowledge. So he started to make gentle interventions, based more on what he could hear his colleagues thinking than on what he could hear them saying. “So, John, are you really saying …？” “Susan, do you really think that？” “Tom, have you got an idea on how we could take this forward？” He was aware that his colleagues were unsettled by how insightful these interventions were. They looked at him mystified.In truth, he felt rather proud of his newly-acquired talent.

Given more confidence now, Martin forgot his usual misery at participating in such meetings and began making comments of his own. However, he became aware that some of his colleagues were looking at him totally confused.One or two even had a gentle smile playing on their lips. Only gradually did it dawn on them—he could hear their thoughts and they were not really saying what they were thinking.

As the meeting progressed, Martin became aware of changes to the tone and style. of the event. It was clear to him now that, one by one, each member of the meeting was learning how to hear the thoughts of all the others and this was subtly changing how they interacted with one another. The game-playing started to fall away; people started to speak more directly; views became better understood; the atmosphere became more open and trusting.

The meeting ended.As people left the room, Martin found that he could still hear what they were thinking. “That was the best meeting we’ve ever had.” “All meetings should be like that.” “In future, I’m going to say what I think.”

46. Why did Martin hate the team meetings？（）

A. His colleagues were making stories.

B. His colleagues complained too much.

C. His colleagues pretended to be friendly.

D. His colleagues held back their true feelings.

47. Which of the following is nearest in meaning to “braced himself for” in Paragraph 3 ？（）

A. prepared himself for B. adapted himself to

C. concemed himself about D. persuaded himself into

48. With the strange power of being able to hear what others were thinking and saying, Martin realized that______.（）

A. he had been cheated

B. he was lucky to know the truth

C. people didn’t mean what they said

D. people were unwilling to work there

49. Which of the following can be expected at future team meetings？（）

A. Everyone will be cooperative. B. Everyone will be straightforward.

C. Everyone will be respectful. D. Everyone will be considerate.

50. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage？（）

A. A Mysterious Power B. A Meeting of Minds

C. Trust Means All D. Unity Is Success

udget，his clients trusted him completely and he made them feel secure. In exchange they paid him very well. We had a nice life then. At that time，my yoga studio(瑜伽馆)was just starting to make a profit，and I had recently decorated it. At last，I was in control of my working life and poured my heart and soul into making it succeed.

When we first met，I fell hard for Christopher right away. although I wouldn't call it love. I'd never been with a man who was prettier than I was，but after a while I got used to this. and it didn't bother me so much. I was recovering from a broken heart and needed something to help me move on. If it wasn't love，it was good enough，and when he asked me to marry him I jumped at the chance. knowing that it might be my last.

Things started out so well. I was working steadily and Christopher was patiently climbing up the ladder in his department. Then，without any warning，one gray winter afternoon in year five，he just upped and left his desk at the bank，handed in his resignation，and came home and told me he wanted to start an interior design business.

He has always loved mixing and matching，and has a real eye for color，texture，and shape，but the idea of turning a hobby into a business wasn't something we had ever discussed. I thought the stress of his job was becoming too much and perhaps he would take a few months off over the spring and summer to relax and get the idea out of his system. I didn't believe he could be serious. But once he had a few clients，he began to draw up plans，ordering catalogues and turning our empty workshop into a kind of makeshift studio with all of his sketches pinned to the wall. After spending a lot of time and money on all of this preparation，and really doing quite a nice job of it,he called each client in turn and apologized，saying he wouldn't be able to design their living spaces after all.

As a financial planner，Christopher______.

A．paid his clients very well

B．was trusted by his clients

C．was making his yoga studio profitable

D．could make his family's budget balanced

udget，his clients trusted him completely and he made them feel secure. In exchange they paid him very well. We had a nice life then. At that time，my yoga studio(瑜伽馆)was just starting to make a profit，and I had recently decorated it. At last，I was in control of my working life and poured my heart and soul into making it succeed.

When we first met，I fell hard for Christopher right away. although I wouldn't call it love. I'd never been with a man who was prettier than I was，but after a while I got used to this. and it didn't bother me so much. I was recovering from a broken heart and needed something to help me move on. If it wasn't love，it was good enough，and when he asked me to marry him I jumped at the chance. knowing that it might be my last.

Things started out so well. I was working steadily and Christopher was patiently climbing up the ladder in his department. Then，without any warning，one gray winter afternoon in year five，he just upped and left his desk at the bank，handed in his resignation，and came home and told me he wanted to start an interior design business.

He has always loved mixing and matching，and has a real eye for color，texture，and shape，but the idea of turning a hobby into a business wasn't something we had ever discussed. I thought the stress of his job was becoming too much and perhaps he would take a few months off over the spring and summer to relax and get the idea out of his system. I didn't believe he could be serious. But once he had a few clients，he began to draw up plans，ordering catalogues and turning our empty workshop into a kind of makeshift studio with all of his sketches pinned to the wall. After spending a lot of time and money on all of this preparation，and really doing quite a nice job of it,he called each client in turn and apologized，saying he wouldn't be able to design their living spaces after all.

As a financial planner，Christopher______.

A．paid his clients very well

B．was trusted by his clients

C．was making his yoga studio profitable

D．could make his family's budget balanced

in school，though reluctantly—using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic devices, according to a new study.

Those ages 8 to 18 spend seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting，or the half hour they talk on their cellphones. And because so many of them are multitasking—say, surfing the Internet while listening to music—they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours.

The study's findings shocked its authors, who had concluded in 2005 that use could not possibly grow further, and confirmed the fears of many parents whose children are constantly tethered to media devices. ① It found, moreover, that heavy media use is associated with several negatives, including behavior. problems and lower grades.

Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Boston who directs the Center on Media and Child Health, said that with media use so ubiquitous, it was time to stop arguing over whether it was good or bad and accept it as part of children's environment, “like the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they

eat.”

Contrary to popular wisdom, the heaviest media users reported spending a similar amount of time exercising as the light media users. Nonetheless, other studies have established a link between screen time and obesity.

While most of the young people in the study got good grades, 47 percent of the heaviest media users—those who consumed at least 16 hours a day—had mostly C's or lower, compared with 23 percent of those who typically consumed media three hours a day or less. The heaviest media users were also more likely than the lightest users to report that they were bored or sad, or that they got into trouble, did not get along well with their parents and were not happy at school. The study could not say whether the media use causes problems, or, rather, whether troubled youths turn to heavy media use.

“This is a stunner,”said Donald F． Roberts, one of the authors of the study. “In the second report, I remember writing a paragraph saying we've hit a ceiling on media use, since there just aren't enough hours in the day to increase the time children spend on media. ② But now it's up an hour. ”

阅读以上文章，回答 87～92 题

第 87 题 It can be inferred that young Americans probably __________．

[A]are not allowed to use electronic devices in school.

[B] prefer a smart phone to a computer or television.

[C] want to buy the newest electronic devices.

[D] are all very good at sending texting.

(A) to spend (B) to spending (C) of spending (D) spending

They prefer to _______ the rest of the morning walking in the garden.

A. spending

B. spent

C. be spending

D. spend