职称英语《综合类A》真题精选六

Cities“Worse to Live in Than 20 Years Ago”
One thousand people were surveyed about a range of issues which affect cities,and the re-markable findings show that life in today's mega-cities is so stressful that at least two-thirds of those currently living in big cities would like to relocate to the countryside or a small town.
The stress of the getting from A to B in big cities is at the top of the list of problems.For many people,the daily commute to work is a source of frustration.40% of the people in the sur-vey have suffered from road rage while stuck in traffic on the way to work.The cost of public transport is also a serious problem.Many people think the price of underground and bus travel is too high and that they have to devote more than 10% of their salary to transport costs.
The general cost of living in cities is another problem.The high property prices in most big cities put buying a property out of reach of most first-time buyers.Many young people are priced out of the housing market,and have to take in lodgers to make ends meet,or rent over-priced flats miles away from the city centre .In London,for instance,the price of buying even a one-bedroom flat is so prohibitive that many have given up even considering putting money aside for a deposit.
Another issue facing people who live in cities is rising crime.Crime rates have rocketed in many big cities,and many say there are several dangerous no-go areas in their city.Fear of crime is on the increase-street crimes,such as mugging and assault,are now very common-and many are afraid of going out at night alone.
Many were also concerned by the lack of green spaces and play facilities for children.Most major conurbations（有卫星城的大都市）surveyed have a far smaller number of parks and gar- dens than a generation ago.Planning permission seems to have been given for an ever-greater number of supermarkets,office developments and apartments on sites where there were previously green spaces.Many of the respondents in the survey said they felt stressed and suffocated in the city,a problem which is compounded by pollution.
And finally,the majority of people in the survey were fed up with the constant noise pollu-lion—the roar of traffic , the sound of loud music blaring（发刺耳声）out of a neighbour's win-dow,and the constant sound of activity.It is not surprising,then,that the levels of stress-related illnesses among people who live in cities are higher than ever before .Big cities,once a mecca for ambitious people seeking fameJ and fortune,are now less and less popular among people of all ages .Perhaps the 21st century is set to be the century of the small town and the countryside.

Teaching Is“One of the Least Popular Jobs in the UK”
1.The UK government has just published a report on the future of secondary-school teaching (pupils aged 11-16),and the conclusion of the report is that many secondary schools now face great difficulties in finding people who want to be teachers.Since the 1980s,the number of grad-uates who say they would“seriously consider”teaching as a career has fallen sharply,from 64% in 1982 to just 17%today.The report suggests that urgent action needs to be taken in order to encourage more intelligent young graduates into teaching.
2.The main drawback of secondary teaching,according to the report,is the low salary.Earnings in teaching are much lower than in many other jobs,and this means that fewer and fewer young people decide to be teachers.Joanne Manners,24 is a good example:“I graduated in maths last year,and I was thinking of doing a teacher training course to become a maths teacher,but when I looked into the details , it became clear that teaching isn't a very lucrative（赚钱的）job these days .I saw I could earn twice as much if I worked in marketing or advertising,and so I decided not to become a teacher.”
3 .It's not just about the money,however.The survey concluded that another reason why people don't want to be teachers is that some teenagers behave very badly in school.A lot of schools have problems with discipline,and it seems clear that children do not have the same respect for teachers as in the past.Here's the view of Dave Hallam,an accountant from London:“I think parents are to blame .They should have stricter rules with their children at home and also teach their children to have more respect for teachers.”
4.“I love teaching;it's my passion.I've been a secondary-school teacher of Spanish for ten years now,and although it's a very demanding job,it's very satisfying.When I see my students passing their Spanish exams,or singing along to Spanish pop songs,It makes me feel so proud.” Says Brian Jones,who works in a secondary school in London.So what does he think the government should do to encourage more people to become teachers?“My view is that the government should reduce the burden of work on teachers.I find that I always have too much work to do.”
5.The report is clear that the problem of teacher shortage is a very serious one.It says that the government should raise teachers' pay significantly,to catch up with workers in other professions.It also suggests that the government could launch a nationwide publicity campaign,with some advertisements on TV and in the newspapers,to show the positive sides of teaching to young people.Another solution could be set a maximum number of hours per week that teachers can work,in order to reduce stress on teachers.“Hopefully,”the report concludes,“these solutions can improve the poor image of secondary teaching,and increase the number of young people who want to become teachers in the future.”

Is There a Way to Keep the Britain's Economy Growing
In today's knowledge economy,nations survive on the things they do best.The Japanese design electronics while Germens export engineering techniques.The French serve the best food and Americans make computers.
Britain specializes in the gift of talking.The nation doesn't manufacture much of anything.
But it has lawyers,stylists and business consultants who earn their living from talk,talk and more talk.The World Foundation think tank says the UK's four iconic（标志性的）jobs today are not scientists,engineers,teachers and nurses.Instead,they're hairdressers,celebrities,management consultants and managers .But can all this talking keep the British economy going?The British government thinks it can.
Although the country's trade deficit was more than￡60 billion in 2006,UK's largest in the postwar period,officials say the country has nothing to worry about.In fact,Britain does have a world-class pharmaceutical（制药的）industry , and it still makes a small sum from selling arms abroad.It also trades services-accountancy,insurance, banking and advertising.The government believes Britain is on the cutting edge of the knowledge economy.After all,the country of Shakespeare and Wordsworth has a literary tradition of which to be proud,Rock“n”roll is an English language medium,and there are billions to be made by their cutting-edge bands.In other words,the creative economy has plenty of strength to carry the British economy.
However,creative industries account for only about 4 percent of UK's exports of goods and services .The industries are finding it hard to make a profit,according to a report of the National Endowment for Science,Technology and the Arts .The report shows only 38 percent of British companies were engaged in“innovation activities”,3 percentage points below the EU average and well below Germany(61 percent)and Sweden(47 percent).
In fact,it might be better to call Britain a“servant”economy-there are at least 4 million people“in service”.The majority of the population are employed by the rich to cook,clean,and take care of their children.Many graduates are even doing menial jobs for which they do not need a degree.Most employment growth has been,and will continue to be,at the low-skill end of the service sector-in shops,bars,hotels,domestic service and in nursing and care homes.

The Sandwich Generation
Today people often look forward to their middle age as a time when they will be able to take things easier.After their children are grown,they expect to enjoy the life they have worked hard to create .However,the reality is often very different.In middle age,many people discover that they have two ongoing responsibilities:one is to look after their aging parents,and the other is to help their young adult children deal with the pressures of life.Around the world,there are mil-lions of people who are“sandwiched”in between the older and the younger generations.Some-times there may be two or three generations living in the same household-a situation that is corn-mon in many Asian countries and in some parts of Europe .In other cases,a couple may be taking care of parents and children,but they do not live with them.
There are two important reasons for the rise of the sandwich generation.First,people are liv-ing longer than they used to.In the early nineteenth century,the average life expectancy for adults in the United States,for example,was about 40,whereas today people live to an average age of 75 .Therefore,children are taking care of their parents over a longer period of time.The see-ond reason is that these days,young adults often live with their parents for a longer time than they did in the past.This is often for financial reasons.It's also more common for today's young adults to return home during or after college if they need financial or emotional support.
Young adults feel sandwiched between their financial responsibilities and their desire to enjoy life .They may have to cover expenses that their parents cannot.They may have to manage their parents' financial and legal affairs.They may have to prepare for their parents' future needs,such as special medical care or a move to a nursing home.This can be a traumatic（长期困扰的）ex-perience for everyone.
Caring for adult children presents challenges as well,and caregivers have to resolve important questions:How can financial responsibilities be shared among members of the household?How can household chores be shared?What is the best way to ensure everyone's privacy?Successfully cop-ing with these issues can avoid a lot of stress for the whole family.
The financial and emotional pressures on the sandwich generation can be overwhelming.However,this time in life also has its rewards.It can be a time to rediscover the special qualities of one's parents or children.It can also provide a valuable opportunity to spend more time with them.However,in order to survive this difficult period in their lives,the members of the sand-wich generation must remember that they also need to pay attention to their own needs and look af-ter the quality of their own lives.They can't be totally selfless.

What's Killing the Bats?
First it was bees .Now it is bats.Biologists in America are working hard to discover the cause of the mysterious deaths of tens of thousands of bats in the northeastern part of the country.
Most of the bats affected are the common little brown bats(Myotis lucfugus),but other species, such as the long-eared bat,the small-footed bat,the eastern pipistrelle,and the Indiana bat have also been affected.In some caves,more than 90 percent of the bat populations have died.
One possibility is disease.A white fungus（真菌）known as fusarium has been found on the noses of both living and dead bats.However,scientists don't know if the fungus is the primary cause of death,a secondary cause of death,or not a cause at all,but the result of some other conditions.
Another possible cause is a lack of food.For example,bats typically eat a large number of moths（蛾）,and in some states such as New York,the number of moths has been declining in recent years.If bats can't eat enough food,they starve to death.
Still other scientists believe that global warming is to blame.Warmer temperatures in recent years have been waking up hibernating（冬眠）bats earlier than usual.If bats break their hibernation at the wrong time,they might not find their expected food sources.The weather might also turn cold again and weaken or kill the bats.
Scientists might not agree on the causes of the bat die-off,but they do agree on the consequences.Bats are an important predator of mosquitoes;a single brown bat can eat 1,000 or more insects in an hour.They also eat beetles and other insects that damage plant crops.If there aren't enough bats,damage will be great from the insects they eat.
While bats live a long time for their size-the little brown bat can live for more than 30 years-a female bat has only one baby per year,so bat populations grow slowly.Many bat species in the United States are already protected or endangered.
How can you help?Do not disturb sleeping or nesting bats.If you discover bats that seem to be sick or that are dead,contact your local Fish&Wildlife Department with the details.However,be careful not to touch the animals.

Gorillas Have a Word for it
Koko is the first gorilla to have been taught sign language .With a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words,she is the first to prove we share a world with other intelligent beings who feel emo-tions,look forward to celebrations and also have a sense of humour.
The 30-year study of Koko has redefined science's concept of gorilla intelligence.______(46)But what had not been recognised by the scientific community was that gorillas have the abil-ity to learn a language and have complex emotions.
Koko lives in the Santa Cruz mountains in North America,in a wooded spot overlooking a valley._______47)She has a barrel on which she likes to sit when“talking”to humans—goril-las feel more secure when they can look down on others—while her toys are spread everywhere.In addition she has an outside enclosure where she spends her days when it is not raining.
It is her conversations with her teacher,Dr.Penny Patterson,that are inspiring.Patterson explains:“The reality of my discovery is that our abilities as humans,our skills,sensibilities and emotions are very similar to the great apes._______(48)”
When she began teaching Koko sign language,placing the little fingers of the one-year-old gorilla into the correct positions for“drink”,“eat”,“more”,and rewarding her with food,Dr.
Patterson had no idea how quickly Koko would learn.“At first,it seemed Koko was using sign language as a tool to get something,”says Patterson.“It became the kind of reward system that you could expect of a cat or a dog.But early in her training,she began to combine signs that made me think she was capable of more.”_____(49)For example,she didn't know the word for“ring”,so she combined the signs for“ finger”and“bracelet”to express it.
Dr.Patterson continues:“Koko loves babies and young people.And when she is asked what gorillas like best,she always says‘Gorilla love eat,good '.”One of Patterson's favourite stories demonstrates Koko's sense of humour.______(50)
From the age of three,Koko shared her accommodation with Michael who was intended as a mate .However,Michael died suddenly two years ago of a heart attack.“Koko went into a depres-sion following Michael's death,”says Patterson.“She would sit for hours with her head hung low, looking upset.”
Dr.Patterson asked her if she was looking forward to moving to Hawaii,where Patterson is raising money to build a gorilla refuge.Koko signed“Yes”,provided she could have curtains in her new home!

The Beginning of America n Literature
American has always been a land of beginnings._____(51)Europeans“discovered”
America in the fifteenth century,the mysterious New World became for many people a genuine hope of a new life,an escape from_____(52)and persecution,a chance to start again.We can say that,as nation,America begins with that hope.When,______(53),does American literature begin?
American literature begins with American experiences.Long before the first colonists ar-rived,before Christopher Columbus,before the Northmen who“found”America about the year 1,000,_____(54)Americans lived here.Each tribe's literature was______(55)woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land._______(56)kind of experience,one filled with fear and excitement,found its expression in the reports that Columbus and other explorers________(57)home in Spain,French and Eng-lish.In addition,the journals of the people who lived and died in the New England wilderness tell unforgettable tales of hard and sometimes______(58)experiences of those______(59) years.
Experience,then,is the key to early American literature .The New World______(60)a great variety of experiences,and these experiences______(61)a wide variety of expressions by an even wider variety of early American writers.These writers,included John Smith,______ (62)spent only two-and-a-half years on the American continent.They included Jonathan Ed-wards and William Byrd,who______(63)of themselves as British subjects,never______(64)a revolution that would create a United States of America with a literature of its own.Ameni-can Indians,explorers,Puritan ministers,frontier wives,plantation owner-they are all the______(65)of the first American literature.