ReadingComprehensionPractice__2.doc

Reading Comprehension Practice 2
Passage 1
Marriage is still a popular institution in the United States, but divorce is becoming almost as "popular". Most American people get married, but at the present time, fifty percent of American marriages end up in divorce. However, four out of five divorced people do not stay single. They get married a second time to new partners. Sociologists tell us that in the next century, most American people will marry three or four times in one life-time. Alvin Toffler, an American sociologist, calls this new social form serial marriages. In his book Future Shock, Toffler gives many reasons for this change in American marriage. In modern society, people's lives don’t stay the same for very long. Americans frequently change their jobs, their homes, and their circle of friends. So the person who was a good husband or wife ten years ago is sometimes not as good ten years later. After some years of marriage, a husband or wife can feel that their lives have become very different, and they don’t share the same interests any more. For this reason, Toffler says, people in the twenty-first century will not plan to marry only one person for an entire lifetime. They will plan to stay married to one person for perhaps five or ten years, and then marry another. Most Americans will expect to have a "marriage career" that includes three or four marriages.
1. The word "institution" (line 1) most probably means ______.
A. a social practice B. a social organization C. a state law D. an established habit
2. In the United States _____.
A. marriage is less popular than divorce now B. remaining single is becoming more and more popular now
C. divorce is as popular as it was D. remarriage is getting more popular now
3. The percentage of remarriage among divorced Americans is _____.
A. fifty percent B. eighty percent C. forty percent D. ninety percent
4. One of the reasons for the change in American marriages is _____.
A. difference in interests B. difference in making friends
C. difference in choosing jobs D. difference in family background
5. In the twenty-first century, American's attitude towards remarried people will be _____.
A. suspicious B. critical C. fussy D. approving

Passage 2
Criticism has been increasing for years about the Jack of civility (礼貌) on the part of some parents who take an intense interest in their youngsters' sporting activities. Evidence is seen in a recent headline in the Christian Science Monitor: "Stiffer Penalties for Head-Butting (用头撞人) the Referee (裁判员)". The article goes on to detail how adults of the baby-boomer generation seem prone (易于) to express their distress at official rulings in youth sports through physical attacks on officials.
It's apparently not unknown for a referee to face a drawn gun or to be run off the road following a game. As to why there is increasing violence on the part of parents, it is suggested that the trend reflects a total increase in sports violence among players, coaches and fans. Rage is a fairly routine thing on the roads, in offices, in schools and seemingly anywhere you turn today, why not?
At the same time, though, society is increasingly "zero-tolerant" of misbehavior of any sort, be it real, perceived or even threatened. Kids barely out of kindergarten become media sensations as they face serious charges for threats (恐吓) or other conduct that might have been dismissed (对待，处理) with a scolding in an earlier era. So it shouldn't come as any great surprise that punishments now await those who attack sports officials. Fourteen states now have specific laws protecting sports officials, and another 14 states are preparing similar rules to enforce (强制) spectator (观众) conduct.
Some youth leagues now require parents to sign "good-behavior" agreements if they are to attend events. But organizations representing officials are pushing for more legislative (立法的) protections. What might have been a wrist-slapping misdemeanor (不良行为) is now serious thing, with violators of new laws facing as many as three years in prison and stiff fines. It seems either that or players, coaches and fans will be left to judge their own games.
6. What is being discussed in the article?
A. Young players tend to attack sports officials.
B. Parents of young players are eager to use violence on sports officials.
C. Sports officials are losing their jobs.
D. Youngsters are less willing to listen to their parents.
7. According to the article, why are some parents becoming violent towards referees?
A. The parents have more money than before. B. They are baby boomers.
C. They love their children. D. They have seen others use violence.
8. What do some youth leagues ask parents to do?
A. Pay money to watch games. B. Use less violence.
C. Ask their children to obey the rules. D. Promise not to use violence before watching a game.
9. According to the writer, what might happen if the situation remain unimproved?
A. Fewer people would love to watch games. B. Fewer youngsters would love to play games.
C. Fewer referees would love to continue their jobs. D. Less money would be earned by the leagues.
10. What does the word "wrist-slapping" probably mean?
A. Scolding. B. Beating. C. Hitting. D. Teaching.

Passage 3
The world population growth rate is expected to decline in the 1990s, falling from 1.8% currently to 1.5% in the year 2000, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. However, total population will increase by one billion during each of the next three decades.
"Global population has been estimated at 5.2 billion people for 1989. Seventy-five percent of the earth's inhabitants live in developing nations, and that proportion is projected to reach over 80% by the year 2020," says the Census Bureau.
"Even with a reduced growth rate, population increases continue to be large because the population itself is so large, "points out the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). The United Nations' high, medium, and low forecasts for the world's population are based on specific assumptions about fertility and mortality（死亡率). For instance, if mortality continues to decline and current family-planning programs and other socioeconomic policies continue to lower fertility, the world's population could stop growing after reaching about 10-11 billion people in the latter half of the next century. If fertility declines at a faster pace, world population could stop growing in 2040 at 8 billion. But if fertility declines at a slower pace, the population will grow until 2130 at 14 billion, according to PRB.
Rural-to-urban migration (移民), combined with natural increase, is leading to a disproportionate (不成比例的) growth in urban population, especially in developing nations, says PRB. In 1950, only three cities had populations over 10 million. Now there are11 such cities, and that number is growing.
Currently, 41% of the world's population live in urban areas. In 2020, this proportion is expected to increase to 60%. Urban populations in developing countries are growing at twice the rural rate, according to the Census Bureau. But rural populations in the Third World are still growing faster than urban populations in industrialized nations.
11. Which of the following would the author agree with when the article was written?
A. The world population would continue to grow. B. The world population would begin to decline.
C. The world population would remain the same. D. The trend of population growth was unknown.
12. According to the estimation of the Census Bureau mentioned in the second paragraph, what percentage of people would be living in developed countries in 2020?
A. 20% B. 30% C. 70% D. 80%
13. According to the article, the population in the ____ will grow at the fastest speed.
A. urban areas in developing countries B. rural areas in developing countries
C. urban areas in developed countries D. rural areas in developed countries
14. The words "fertility" and "mortality" in the third paragraph respectively mean ______.
A. "death" and "birth" B. "health" and "wealth" C. "wealth" and "health" D. "birth" and "death"
15. The key word in the article is _____.
A. death B. health C. population D. birth

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