51. Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of ______.
A. observing her school routine
B. expressing her satisfaction
C. impressing her classmates
D. preserving her history
52. What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?
A. A dull night on the journey.
B. The beauty of the great valley.
C. A striking quotation from a book.
D. Her concerns for future generations.
53. What does the author put in her diary now?
A. Notes and beautiful pictures.
B. Special thoughts and feelings.
C. Detailed accounts of daily activities.
D. Descriptions of unforgettable events.
54. The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is ______.
A. to experience it
B. to live the present in the future
C. to make memories
D. to give accurate representations of it
B
Mothers and daughters go through so much—yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠).
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s: both have full-time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read. They also love to travel—in fact, they often take trips together. But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条), Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls. Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished. Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s. For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together. Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork. Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy. Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long-hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother-daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other. A written account in two voices, Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.
55. Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
A. They both have gone through difficult times.
B. They have strong emotional ties with each other.
C. They have the same joys and pains, and love and bitterness.
D. They both have experiences as daughter, mother and writer.
56. The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
A. something rare but not pleasant
B. something that cannot be imagined
C. something expensive but not necessary
D. something that can only be enjoyed by boys
57. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A. The content of the book.
B. The purpose of the book.
C. The influence of the book.
D. The writing style of the book.
58. How are women’s lives explored in this book?
A. In a musical form.
B. Through field research.
C. With unique writing skills.
D. From different points of view.
C
We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.
Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.
59. What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?
A. The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.
B. Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.
C. WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.
D. Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.
60. Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?
A. A lot of effective diet pills are available.
B. Body image has nothing to do with good food.
C. They have been made fully aware of its dangers.
D. There are too many overweight people in the world.
61. The example of Finland is used to illustrate ______.
A. the cause of heart disease
B. the fashion of body shaping
C. the effectiveness of a campaign
D. the history of a body-conscious country
62. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Actions or Excuses?
B. Overweight or Underweight?
C. WHO in a Dilemma
D. No Longer Dying of Hunger
