? ?One of the most striking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people interviewed, one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.
? ?Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships? Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love? Or are we making it harder for ourselves?
? ?It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships. Women no longer rely upon partners for economic security or status. ?A man doesn’t expect his spouse to be in sole charge of running his household and raising his children.
? ?But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.
? ?In theory, finding a partner should be much simpler these days. Only a few generations ago, your choice of soulmate (心上人) was constrained by geography, social convention and family tradition. Although it was never explicit, many marriages were essentially arranged.
? ?Now those barriers have been broken down. You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening. When the world is your oyster (牡蛎) ,you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.
? ?But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint: the tyranny of choice.
? ?The expectations of partners are inflated to an unmanageable degree, good looks, impressive salary, kind to grandmother, and right socks. There is no room for error in the first impression.
? ?We think that a relationship can be perfect. If it isn’t, it is disposable. We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don’t put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship. Of course, this is complicated by realities. The cost of housing and child-rearing creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life partnership.

Which of the following is NOT true about a contemporary married couple?

A:The wife doesn’t have to raise the children all by herself. B:The husband doesn’t have to support the family all by himself. C:The wife is no longer the only person to manage the household. D:They will receive a large sum of money from the government.

You might guess that experienced drivers have fewer accidents, but research from insurer AXA has revealed that they are more law-abiding and honest, too. A poll of 2 000 drivers in the UK found that those who have been behind the wheel for eight years or more had not only caused half as many accidents in the last year as less experienced drivers, but were also less likely to have broken the law or lied to their insurer.
Experienced drivers were half as likely to have been caught using a mobile phone while driving within the last year; and a third as likely to have been caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or to have been convicted of dangerous driving. They were also a fifth as likely to have been convicted of driving without a seatbelt.
Dishonest behavior appears to be much more common among newer drivers. The UK’s experienced drivers have always been an attractive group for insurers, but the much lower risk they present is rarely fully reflected in their premiums. This is why AXA has entered the direct car insurance market with a product that rewards them with a no-claims discount of up to 90 percent--far higher than anything else on the market. Only those drivers who have been claim-free for eight years or more will be eligible, which could offer large savings for around a third of motorists.
AXA’s research has enabled it to tailor not only the pricing to these expert drivers, but the service, too. AXA Car Insurance will offer a courtesy ear whenever yours is out of action due to accident, fire or theft, not just while it’s being repaired. The survey found they wanted higher service levels too, so customers will be able to change their policy details online or track a claim at any hour of the day or night, every day of the year.
Many drivers wrongly assumed they were insured if they were injured in accidents that are their faults. To plug the gap, AXA has introduced Driver Injury Cover,which pays up to ￡1 million for medical treatment and loss of earnings for an additional annual premium of ￡34.99--less than ￡3 a month.
Cocky newer drivers do appear to be somewhat overconfident. A third of those who’d been on the road for between only one and two years claimed they were already experienced drivers, and that rose to a half among those who’d been driving for just one more year. But, as AXA’s survey demonstrates, they have still got a lot to learn., they will need to be driving for at least five more years before they can take advantage of that 90 per cent no-claims discount.
Why does AXA reward experienced drivers

A:Because AXA wants to warn new drivers. B:Because experienced drivers seldom apply for premiums. C:Because expert drivers have been an attractive group for insurers. D:Because new drivers doesn’t need the reward.

Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D．
Text 1

What does "broken Britain" refer to according to the text

A:Britain is falling apart with several territories becoming independent. B:The image of Britain is deteriorated in the world. C:Britain now is suffering from moral degeneracy. D:Britain is broken away from European Union.

Passage One
We have no idea about when men first began to use salt, but we do know that it has been used in many different ways throughout the history.
For example, it is recorded in many history books the people who lived over three thousand years ago ate salted fish. Thousands of years ago in Egypt, salt was used to preserve the dead.
In some periods of history, a person who stole salt was thought to have broken the law. Take the eighteenth century for an example, if a person was caught stealing salt, he would be thrown into prison. History also records that only in England about ten thousand people were put into prison during that century for stealing salt! About one hundred and fifty years ago, in the year 1553, if a man took more than his share of salt, he would be thought to have broken the law and would be seriously punished. The offender’ s ear was cut off.
Salt was an important item on the dinner table of a king. It was always placed in front of the king when he sat down to eat. Important guests at the king’ s table were seated near the salt. Less important guests were given seats farther away from it.

Thousands of years ago in Egypt, salt was used（）

A:to punish people who had broken the law B:to keep dead bodies from decay C:to keep fish alive D:to make chemicals

One day Jack’s wife was cleaning out a closet(壁橱).
"Look at all these umbrellas," she said to Jack. "There are eight and they are all broken. "
"I’ll take them to the umbrella shop and have them mended," Jack said.
Jack took the eight umbrellas to the shop and left them there. "They’ll be ready tomorrow," the shopkeeper said.
That evening Jack went home from the office by bus as usual. He sat next to an old woman.She had an umbrella on the floor near her.
When the bus reached his stop, he picked up her umbrella and stood up. "Hey!" the womansaid. "That’s my umbrella! "
"I’m sorry," Jack said, and at the same time he gave the umbrella to her. "I wasn’t thinking. Please excuse me. "
The next day he got back the umbrellas from the umbrella shop and got on the bus.
As he sat down, a voice behind him said, "You certainly have a successful day !"
He turned around and saw the woman whose umbrella had almost been taken by him the day before.
Jack’s wife found______umbrellas in the closet.

A:eight broken B:broken eight C:eight new D:new eight

A

I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke (唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the English I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as "broken" English. But feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken", as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perception (认识) of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s "limited" English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reason I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the English I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as "broken", and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.

Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3（）

A:Americans do not understand broken English. B:The author’s mother was not respected sometimes. C:The author’ mother had positive influence on her. D:Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.

Unlike wires,synthetic ropes do not give audible_____of pending failure and may not exhibit any broken elements before completely parting

A:broken B:slack C:track D:sign

Unlike wires,synthetic ropes do not give audible_____of pending failure and may not exhibit any broken elements before completely parting

A:broken B:slack C:track D:sign"