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　There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation（通貨膨脹率）is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before the trip instead of after. This story may or may not be true. But inflation was almost that serious in Germany from July 1920 until December 1923. Prices went up so fast that by the end of 1923 they were 50 billion percent higher－a rise of almost 25000 / 40 a month.

　　There was so much paper money, and it had so little value, that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman told the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500 000 mark notes（馬克）. She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed（搶奪） her. He didn't take her money, though, he threw it away and took the basket in stead.

　　At first workers demanded to be paid every day. But as the situation be came worse, they had to be paid twice a day. But they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale, but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers re fused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.

　　New policies（政策）ended the inflation in 1923, when the government introduced a new money. But about half of the German people lost every thing in those three and a half years.

　　1．People paid for a taxi ride before the trip because they________

　　　　A. did not want to carry so much money with them

　　　　B. had so much paper money that they wanted to spend them quickly

　　　　C. wanted to save money

　　　　D. were afraid of the taxi driver

　

　　2．According to the passage, in Germany the prices in 1920 were ________.

　　　　A. higher than those in 1923

　　　　B. lower than those in 1923

　　　　C. the highest in history

　　　　D. the lowest in history

　　

　　3．The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought _________

　　　　A. he couldn't buy a piece of meat with the money

　　　　B. the basket was more valuable than the money

　　　　C. the basket was what he needed most

　　　　D. the money was of no value

　　

　　4．The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they be lieved that _______

　　　　A. the money could not buy potatoes

　　　　B. the money might lose its value

　　　　C. the potato was too expensive

　　　　D. the potato was valuable

 

 

Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan．After all, there are no

children begging on the streets in major cities here．You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly letting out their complaints over the country’s economic decline．But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth highest rate of child poverty among developed countries．

She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a

week．Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class．

“They may not be on the streets begging or they may not be turning into criminals,but it’s

there．It’s just that we have to open our eyes and see,” Abe said．

Abe owes the increase in child poverty to the country’s changing demographics（人口統計）,

struggling economy and high social security premiums（保險費）．She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work．The number of single mothers has increased．The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn．Social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the edge of poverty．

Abe says studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

（OECD ） point to rising poverty in Japan before the global economic crises in 2008．But the Japanese government and the public refused to acknowledge it until then partly because of the shame associated with poverty．

“It was very unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty,” said

Abe．“Even though OECD Japan announced it in Japanese, Japanese media didn’t make it into the articles．”

Abe says new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has taken one important step to help alleviate

（緩解） the problem．Next year, his Democratic Party of Japan plans to double monthly child care allowances given to families．

But Abe wants the government to expand its financial help even more．She wants it to simplify

the process to apply for public assistance and provide educational grants for students struggling to pay for tuition at high schools and colleges．The country now only offers loans．

Abe also says the government must act quickly because she says the problem will only get

worse in the next few years．

1.The passage is intended to _______．

     A．report the result of the studies conducted by OECD

     B．tell us about the increase in Japanese child poverty

     C．prove that Japan is no longer a developed country

     D．introduce Aya Abe, a senior government researcher

2.It seems to be hard to associate Japan with poverty because _______．

     A．no children are seen begging in the streets of main cities in Japan

     B．its citizens never complain about the country’s economic decline

     C．it is one of the few wealthiest countries in the world

     D．its government and public refused to acknowledge it

3.According to Abe, several things contribute to the rising child poverty except_______．

     A．high social security premiums           

     B．the increase of the number of single mothers

     C．the decrease of the salary for young fathers  

       D．the expansion of three-generation households

4.Why was it unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty?

       A．The Japanese public didn’t think it true．         

       B．It was forbidden by the Japanese government．

       C．The Japanese public regarded it shameful to be poor．

       D．OECD Japan had already announced it in Japanese．

5.Which of the following is NOT the author’s suggestion for alleviating this problem?

     A．Doubling monthly child care allowances given to families．

     B．Expanding government’s financial help even more．

     C．Providing educational grants for poor students．

     D．Simplifying the process to apply for public assistance．

 

 

A little stream flowed down from a high mountain far, far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through countless obstacles. I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But when she decided to start her journey, she found herself gradually disappearing into the mud and sand. After numerous tries, she found it was all in vain and was very upset. “Maybe it’s my destiny(命運) ! I’m not destined to reach the vast ocean in the legend, ” she murmured sadly to herself.

At this time, a deep voice came, saying, “If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river.”

It was the voice of the desert. Unconvinced, the little stream replied, “That’s because a breeze can fly, but I can’t.”

“That’s because you stick to what you are. If you’re willing to give it up, and let yourself evaporate （蒸發） into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach your destination,” said the desert in its deep voice.

The little stream had never heard of such a thing. “Give up what I am now and disappear into the breeze? No! No!” She could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be self-destruction to give up what she was now?

“How do I know if this is true?” asked the little stream.

“The breeze can carry the vapor across the desert and release it as rain at an appropriate site. The rain will form a river again to continue its course,” answered the desert very patiently.

“Will I still be what I am now?” asked the little stream.

“Yes, and no. Whether you’re a river or invisible vapor, your inner nature never changes. You stick to the fact that you’re a river because you don’t know your inner nature,” answered the desert.

Deep down, the stream vaguely remembered that before she became a river, it was perhaps also the breeze that carried her halfway up a high mountain, where she turned into rain and fell onto the ground and became what she was now. Finally the little stream gathered her courage and rushed into the open arms of the breeze, which carried her to the next stage of her life.

Perhaps you can try asking yourself these questions: What is my inner nature? What is it that I cling （緊抓） to? And what is it that I really want?

1.When reaching the desert at first, the little stream was ________ to cross it.

A．upset  B．confident    C．pessimistic  D．hesitant

2.The desert suggests that the stream ________ in order to cross the desert.

A．change its form            B．disappear into the desert

C．stick to what it is D．turn to another stream for help

3.Finally the stream successfully crossed the desert with the help of ________.

A．the rain       B．the desert   C．the breeze  D．the mountain

4.In the text the writer compares the stream to ________.

A．the Truth     B．the courage   C．the course of life      D．the obstacles in life