57. Subscribers of TOKNO W would get __ A. free birthday presents B. full refund within 28 days
C. membership of the TOKNOW club D. chances to meet the experts in person
B
When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are burdened with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there's a growing body of evidence suggesting that today's young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt—and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.
More than 20% over spent their income by more than $1.0.0 every single month. Since they haven't built up their credit histories yet, it's a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.
Although many young people blame \as a barrier to saving money, most of then aren't knocking back $20 drinks in trendy (时尚的）lounges. They're struggling with much more daily financial demands.
To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next pay day. This obviously isn’t sustainable in the long run, and it's going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they'll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or
box of spaghetti (意式面条）they bought a decade earlier.
A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they're slower at paying it off. \what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future,\findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can't pay off their credit cards.\
Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. \people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that pay off rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks., 58. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A. Many young Americans will never be able to pay off their debts. B. Credit cards play an increasingly important role in college life. C. Credit cards are doing more harm than student loans. D. The American credit card system is under criticism.
59. Why do young people have to pay a higher interest on their credit card debt? A. They tend to forget about the deadlines. B. They haven't developed a credit history. C. They are often unable to pay back in time. D. They are inexperienced in managing money.
60. What does Lucia Dunn think might be a risk for the credit card issuing banks? A. They go bankrupt as a result of over-lending. B. They lose large numbers of their regular clients.
C. Their clients leave their debts unpaid upon death.
D. Their interest rates have to be reduced now and then. 2013年12月六级
C
Tens of thousands of ancient pictures carved into the rocks at one of France’s most important tourist sites are being gradually destroyed. Scientists and researchers fear that the 36,000 drawings on rocks in Mont Bego in the French Alps are being damaged so rapidly that they will not survive for future generations.
The mountain, believed to have once been a site for prayer, is scattered (散布) with 4,000-year-old drawings cut into bare rock. They include pictures of cows with horns, cultivated fields (耕地) and various gods and goddesses. But as the popularity of the site increases, the pictures are being ruined by thoughtless graffiti (涂鸦).
Jean Clottes is the chairman of the International Committee on Rock Art. He says, “People think that because the pictures have been there so long they will always continue to be there. But if the damage continues at this rate there will be nothing left in 50 years.”
He describes seeing tourists stamping on the drawings, wearing away the rock and definition (清晰) of the artwork as they do so. Some visitors, he says, even cut off parts to take home as souvenirs. “When people think they can’t take a good enough photograph, they rub the drawings to get a clearer picture,” he said. “The drawings are polished by the weather, and if the sun is shining and the visitors can’t see them properly they simply rub them to make them look fresher.” Other researchers describe how people arrive carrying long sticks with sharp ends to scratch (刮) their own drawings, or even their names, in the rocks.
But experts are divided over the best way to preserve the drawings. Henry de Lumley, director of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, believes that the only way to save the site is to turn the whole mountain into a “no-go” area, preventing the public from going there except on guided tours. Otherwise, he says, not only will the site be completely destroyed but important research work will be reduced.
Clottes disagrees, “The measure suggested by Henry de Lumley is the most severe, and while it is the most effective, it is also certain to bring about protests from people who live there,” he said. “The site was classified as a historic monument years ago by the Ministry of Culture, and we must do as much as possible to save what is there.”
David Lavergne, the regional architect, also wants to avoid closing the site. “Henry de Lumley’s idea isn’t ideal,” he said. “Our department feels that the best solution is to let people look at the site, but because the area is very big it is difficult to prevent visitors from damaging it. I would prefer that everyone was able to look at it, but the main problem is money. We do not have the funds to employ the necessary number of guards. We may have to consider charging a fee. It doesn’t seem to be possible to get the government support.”
In Nice, Annie Echassoux, who also worked on researching the site, is alarmed that as the mountain becomes easier to reach — tourists can now avoid the three-and-a-half-hour walk by hiring vehicles — the damage will increase rapidly. She thinks that the only solution is to rope off the area and provide guides. “You can’t say the plan can’t go ahead because there is no money,” she said. “That is not good enough. Money must be provided because the Ministry of Culture has classified this area as a historic site. If we don’t take steps, we will be responsible for losing the drawings for the next generation.”
61. Jean Clottes says that people who visit the mountain____.
A. do not believe the drawings are old. B. believe they are allowed to paint there C. think the drawings should be left alone D. think the drawings will not disappear 62. Henry de Lumley is eager to ____.
A. set up research projects B. protect public rights C. keep out individual visitors D. ban traffic in the area 63. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Mont Bego, scattered with gods and goddesses, is a place for worship. B The old drawings are being ruined mainly by natural forces. C. Currently, admission to the site with the old drawings is free.
D. Now tourists have easier access to the mountain due to public transport. 64. This passage about Mont Bego is intended to ____.
A. advertise the closing of the site B. warn visitors about the dangers of the site C. encourage scientists to visit the site D. describe fears for the future of the site
D
John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose.
His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like.
When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting --7:00 PM at the Great Central Station in New York. “You’ll recognize me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel.” So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he’d never seen.
I’ll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, and her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, attractive smile curved her lips. “Going my way, sailor?” she murmured.
Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly accompanied me and upheld my own.
And there she stood Her pale，plump face was gentle and sensible，her gray eyes had a warm
and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.
This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. I’m Lieutenant (中尉）John Blanchard，and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?”
The woman’s face broadened into a tolerant smile. “I don’t know what this is about, son,” she answered, “but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street She said it was some kind of test!”
It’s not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive, “Tell me whom you love,” Houssaye wrote, “And I will tell you who you are.”
65. The underlined phrase “intrigued” in Paragraph 2 means “______”.
A. satisfied with B. fascinated by C. encouraged by D. frustrated with 66. How did John Blanchard know of Miss Hollis Maynell? A. They lived in the same city.
B. They were both interested in literature. C. John came across Hollis in a Florida library. D. John knew Hollis’s name from a library book.
67. Hollis refused to send Blanchard a photo because _____ . A. she bought true love is beyond appearance B. she wasn’t confident about her appearance C. she was only a middle-aged woman
D. she had never taken any photo before they knew 68. What was the real Miss Hollis Maynell like? A. She was a plump woman with graying hair. B. She was a slightly fat girl, with blonde hair
C. She was a young, pretty girl wearing a green suit D. She was a middle-aged woman in her forties.
69. When Blanchard went over to greet the woman, he was_____ . A. disappointed but well-behaved B. excited and confident C. annoyed and bad-mannered D. shocked but inspired 70. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? A. Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover B. The Symbol of Rose C. Love is Blind D. A Test of Love 第四部分任务型阅读（共10小题；每小分，满分10分）
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One problem with much personality research is that it examines and rates whatever traits the researchers are interested in at the time: conscientiousness, emotional stability and so on. But when we describe someone in real life, we don't consider an array (大量) of personality
measures; instead, we focus on a few distinctive traits that sum up the essence of the person. One is particularly anxious, another is consistently reliable, yet another is a “live wire”. While we might hesitate to characterize individuals along every personality dimension, we can accurately identify them by their key characteristics.
In research at Stanford University, Daryl Ben and Andrea Allen tested this idea by first asking college students if they were consistently or only occasionally friendly and then asking their parents and friends how friendly the students were. Ben and Allen observed how the students acted under two specific conditions: how much they spoke among a few people and how quickly they started up a conversation with strangers. The researchers found that students who considered themselves consistently friendly were indeed more likely to be friendly in both circumstances than were those who rated themselves only occasionally friendly. Beyond that, the friendliness ratings by parents and peers of the students who were consistently friendly were very similar to the students' self-ratings and predicted accurately how they would act in two conditions. It seems that we can judge ourselves accurately and that others can rate us very well on traits that serve as our trademarks.
To predict how someone will behave in a given situation, we must match requirements in the situation with the trademark characteristics of the person involved. People who are strongly of one type or another should react predictably in a given situation, while the behavior of the other more diffuse（分散的）personalities is hard to anticipate. Ben and David formalized this approach in their ‘ideal’ matching strategy.
The two psychologists suggest that certain 'ideal' approaches to life can be described and used to predict behavior under certain circumstances. If we then measure how close to this ‘ideal type’ any actual person is, we should be able to anticipate the likelihood that this person will behave in a certain way. For example, people adopt very different strategies in a game called 'The Prisoner's Dilemma', which is often used in psychological experiments. In it, participants must choose to be cooperative or competitive. Bern and Charles Lord of Princeton University found that students’ playing styles could be accurately predicted from roommates assessments of them. Those rated as most negative and unhelpful in life usually employed a competitive strategy rather than a cooperative one.
Ideal Personality Matching Strategy Passage outline Introduction Supporting details In real life, (71)________ not measured in every personality dimension, individuals can be accurately identified through their key traits. Survey (73) _________ Findings Research ? Asking college students if they were; always friendly. ? Asking their parents and peers about their (72) _______. ? How much they spoke in (74)_______ groups. ? How quickly they started to (75)________to strangers. ?Students, self-rated as only occasionally friendly, are (76)______ likely to be friendly in both situations. ?Friendliness ratings by parents and peers (77) ______to the students’ self-ratings. The approach to (78)________ Matching what is (79)_______ in the situation with one's behavior characteristics and making it formalized.