Do not hesitate to accept invitations from Americans simply because you cannot invite th

完形填空Ahhh, summer. Time to relax. You cannot have complete rest if you ___1___it too seriously. But taking vacations seriously is exactly___2___we Americans seem to do. In the same way our kids' free time is now packed with activities, we adults have turned vacations into "active leisure." Anytime you try very hard to relax, that's active leisure. Our vacations___3___with an agenda, a purpose. We're visiting family, attending weddings, going camping, and making sure we ride that roller coaster-no matter how long the line is. We Americans are so active in our leisure___4___we commonly complain we need a vacation from our vacations. We leave home___5___; we come back exhausted. That's why many of us have decided not to go. Americans are___6___a few vacation days (14 days, on average) compared with other developed countries, but ironically, we don't even use them. The average American will leave four vacation days on the table this year, which adds up to a total 574 million days of___7___vacation. Our relationship to relaxation seems contradictory. We spend more money than anyone else in the world on leisure-fully one-___8___of our income-and yet at the same time we are No. 1 in the world at not taking vacations. One of the top reasons given for not taking a vacation is that it's too much extra work. We have to get___9___of our work in order to leave, and then we have to catch up on our work upon our return. The longer the vacation we take, the bigger the stumbling blocks appear. So only 14% of Americans will take a vacation two weeks or longer this summer. Bottom linE、it's simply become too stressful to relax. We Americans take our time off so seriously that you can now get a Ph.D. in leisure studies at Penn State and 17 other famous universities. That's right-a doctorate, not just a bachelor's. It's such an up-and-coming field in academe that there is an actual shortage of___10___educators. We don't have enough people to teach leisure. I am tempted to make a joke about this, but I don't want to get the wrath of the leisure scientists. They'll beat me up with chairs.

1)

A、take

B、make

C、bake

D、cake

2)

A、this

B、that

C、what

D、which

3)

A、go

B、arrive

C、leave

D、come

4)

A、these

B、that

C、those

D、this

5)

A、tired

B、tire

C、tiring

D、tires

6)

A、give

B、giving

C、gave

D、given

7)

A、take

B、taken

C、untaken

D、took

8)

A、three

B、third

C、thirds

D、thirty

9)

A、ahead

B、out

C、rid

D、clear

10)

A、qualify

B、qualification

C、qualifies

D、qualified

According to Ms Costa, how much Americans spend on leisure has been directly affected by salaries and ______.

Millions of Americans survive (生产) in low-paying jobs. The Working Poor (319 pages), by David Shipler, a Pulitzer-winning former reporter, shows just how barely they get by.

In his tour around the world of low-paying jobs, Shipler describes a kind of domino model of a downward cycle." Poor housing can worsen a child's illness, which leads to a call for a doctor, which results in a medical bill that cannot by paid, which ruins a credit record, which raises the interest rate on an auto loan (贷款), which results in the buying of a used car, which causes a mother to be late for work, which limits her pay raise and earning ability, which keeps her to poor housing, which worsens the illness, and so on."

What Shipler aims to do in the book is to produce a picture of all of those dominoes at once, the problems that keep the working poor on the edge of household disaster (灾难). As the conditions for the lowest-paid workers keep worsening, he writes," the low-paid employees have been testing the American belief in hard work."

To those who don't quite make it from paycheck to paycheck, convenience stores in poor neighborhoods lend money at interest rates of about of 20% for a two-week loan. If that can't be repaid, it's gladly rolled over—for another 20%. In the space of a few months, he or she owes twice as much in interest as he borrowed.

Shipler doesn't place all the blame on society. The people he meets often lack the soft skills that employers require, like showing up on time, following directions, even knowing how to comb their hair. To be sure, they need better schools and medical care, but they also need to know better than to use their hard-earned checks to get drunk and disorderly, or go in for ill-advised sex and foolish spending.

The main purpose of this text is to ______.

A．show how the poor can improve their living conditions

B．discuss the reasons why many Americans are poor

C．introduce David Shipler' s book about the poor

D．describe how a reporter has become a writer

Millions of Americans survive (生产) in low-paying jobs. The Working Poor (319 pages), by David Shipler, a Pulitzer-winning former reporter, shows just how barely they get by.

In his tour around the world of low-paying jobs, Shipler describes a kind of domino model of a downward cycle." Poor housing can worsen a child's illness, which leads to a call for a doctor, which results in a medical bill that cannot by paid, which ruins a credit record, which raises the interest rate on an auto loan (贷款), which results in the buying of a used car, which causes a mother to be late for work, which limits her pay raise and earning ability, which keeps her to poor housing, which worsens the illness, and so on."

What Shipler aims to do in the book is to produce a picture of all of those dominoes at once, the problems that keep the working poor on the edge of household disaster (灾难). As the conditions for the lowest-paid workers keep worsening, he writes," the low-paid employees have been testing the American belief in hard work."

To those who don't quite make it from paycheck to paycheck, convenience stores in poor neighborhoods lend money at interest rates of about of 20% for a two-week loan. If that can't be repaid, it's gladly rolled over—for another 20%. In the space of a few months, he or she owes twice as much in interest as he borrowed.

Shipler doesn't place all the blame on society. The people he meets often lack the soft skills that employers require, like showing up on time, following directions, even knowing how to comb their hair. To be sure, they need better schools and medical care, but they also need to know better than to use their hard-earned checks to get drunk and disorderly, or go in for ill-advised sex and foolish spending.

The main purpose of this text is to ______.

A．show how the poor can improve their living conditions

B．discuss the reasons why many Americans are poor

C．introduce David Shipler' s book about the poor

D．describe how a reporter has become a writer

回答题。

Some African Americans

Some African Americans have had a profound impact on American society, changing many people&39;s views on race, history and politics. The following is a sampling of African Americans who have shaped society and the world with their spirit and their ideals.

Muhammad Ali ( Cassius Marcellus Clay ) grew up a devout Baptist in Louisville, Kentucky, learning to fight at age 12 after a police officer suggested he learn to defend himself. Six years later, he was an Olympic boxing champion, going on to win three world heavyweight titles. He became known .as much for his swagger ( 趾高气扬 ) outside the ring as his movement in it, converting to Islam in 1965, changing his name to Muhammad Ali and refusing to join the US Army on religious grounds. Ali remained popular after his athletic career ended and he developed Parkinson&39;s disease, even lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

W. E. B. Du Bois ( William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ) was born in 1868. This Massachusetts native was one of the most prominent, prolific intellectuals of his time. As an academic, activist and historian, Du Bois co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) , edited "The Crisis" magazine and wrote 17 books, four journals and many other scholarly articles. In perhaps his most famous work, "The Souls of Black Folk", published in 1903, he predicted "the problem of 20th century (would be) the problem of the color-line".

Martin Luther King Jr. is considered one of the most powerful and popular leaders of the American civil rights movement. He spearheaded ( 带头；作先锋 ) a massive, nonviolent initiative of marches, sit-ins, boycotts and demonstrations that profoundly affected Americans&39; attitudes toward race relations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Black leader Malcolm X spoke out about the concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the early 1960s. He denounced the exploitation of black people by whites and developed a large and dedicated following, which continued even after his death in 1965. Interest in the leader surged again after Spike Lee&39;s 1992 movie "Malcolm X" was released.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black baseball player in the U. S. major leagues. After retirement from baseball in 1957, he remained active in civil rights and youth activities. In 1962, he became the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Which of the following is NOT true about Muhammad Ali? 查看材料

A.He never served in the army

B.He learned to fight at an early age

C.His popularity decreased after his retirement from boxing

D.He loves peace