2007年成人高等学校招生考试高中起点英语模拟试题

　　四、阅读理解（共15小题；每题3分，共45分。）

　　阅读下面短文，然后根据短文的内容从每小题的四个选择项中选出最佳的一项。

　　A

　　Women nowadays are stronger and smarter than they were 50 years ago， and they can expect to live longer. Japanese women， for example， can expect to live 82 years， which is the longest in the world. Just 50 years ago， Japanese women could expect to live only 54 years.

　　Many women are working today. In Japan， 75% of women are working now， compared to 37% 50 years ago. The reason why so many women are working is that they're getting more education these days. The rate of Japanese women going to junior college and universities is higher than the rate for men. In 1947， the average Japanese woman got married at the age of 23. Today， the average age is 26. At the same time， divorce has increased by 50%.

　　As for having babies， today the birth rate is only 1.5 babies for each woman. Fifty years ago， the birth rate was much higher， 4.5 babies.

　　In a recent survey， Japanese women were asked whether they would choose to be a man or a woman in the future life. 65% said they would prefer to be born again as a woman. In 1960， only 27% said they would want to be a woman again in the future. This suggests that nowadays more Japanese women are happier with their lives.

　　36. The rate of women who are working now has increased by ______ percent compared with 50 years ago.

　　A. 37

　　B. 38

　　C. 50

　　D. 75

　　37. More and more women are working in Japan because _______ .

　　A. they have to raise their family

　　B. they don't have anything else to do

　　C. they have more education than before

　　D. they want to be independent

　　38. It can be inferred from the survey that _______ .

　　A. more Japanese women would like to be a woman

　　B. more Japanese women want to receive more education

　　C. more Japanese women want to be independent

　　D. more Japanese women are satisfied with their present lives

　　B

　　William Shakespeare was born more than 440 years ago and spent his childhood in his hometown， Stratford-on-Avon. Little was known about his childhood though many stories are told， some of which may be true. He probably went to Grammar school at Stratford. At thirteen he had to leave school as his father became poorer at one time. So William had to make his own living. At the age of eighteen he married a farmer's daughter.

　　Not long after he left Stratford for London. London was growing rapidly. All kinds of people could be found in it， and here Shakespeare met travelers， students， and scholars， and he was very interested in the stories they told. He also met writers and actors. He soon found some work in a theatre. Before long he became an actor and writer of plays too. There were a few theatres in London. One of the most famous of these was called Globe. Shakespeare himself became one of the owners of this theatre. His became famous as a writer of plays soon after. He made use of the writing of others and found ideas in the old poems of Chaucer. By his gift he turned all these old stories into great works of his own. Shakespeare wrote no fewer than thirty-seven plays in his life. Now his works are loved and studied all over the world.

　　39. William Shakespeare lived in _______.

　　A. the 17th century

　　B. the 14th century

　　C. the 16th century

　　D. the 19th century

　　40. William had to leave school because _______.

　　A. He tried to find a job in London

　　B. He was tired of the life in the school

　　C. He had to marry a farmer's daughter

　　D. His father was too poor to give him enough money

　　41. William was famous for his ______.

　　A. stories

　　B. plays

　　C. poems

　　D. acting

　　42. Shakespeare became known to many people _______.

　　A. after he became an owner of a theatre

　　B. after his thirty-seven plays were written

　　C. after he found a job in London

　　D. after he tried to be a good actor