The tea gardens in Sri Lanka are actually large estates(種植園). The best tea usually comes from plants grown on high grounds, the cool hilltops with rows and rows of tea plants. The plants are about one metre apart. The plant is often pruned so that it remains only 60 to 90 centimetres high. Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots, or young leaves. It is from these shoots that the best tea is got.

Practically all the tea pickers are women. The estates prefer to employ women pickers because they are more careful. Their thin fingers can easily remove the twin leaves and new shoots from the plant, which are the parts used for processing(加工) tea. The pickers carry large baskets into which they throw their pickings. A skilled worker can harvest between 9 to 14 kilogrammes of tea leaves a day. Usually new shoots can be picked from the plants about every ten or fifteen days.

       Processing tea shoots into the familiar dry tea leaves requires great care and skill .There are various methods of processing depending on the type of tea required .For black tea ,the young green leaves are first spread out o shelves to dry. This process removes much of its water and the leaves become soft. After this ,the leaves are passed through heavy rollers .This operation will press the leaves for juices which give the tea both its colour and taste .Then the leaves are spread out on floors and left to ferment （發(fā)酵）under wet conditions. Fermentation develops the rich taste of black tea .The fermented leaves are then dried with a hot-air blower until they become rolled-up black leaves .The final step is to sort and grade them before the black tea is ready for sale to countries all over the world.

68．In the first paragraph ,the word “pruning” means       .

       A．regular cutting of the plants

       B．frequent watering

       C．regular use of chemicals

       D．growing the plants high in the mountain

69．One of the reasons why women are employed to do the picking is that        .

       A．they work harder than men do in the picking

       B．they can throw their pickings more easily into the baskets

       C．their fingers fit them better for the job.

       D．they can more easily find the twin leaves.

70．How many processing steps are mentioned in the last paragraph?

       A．Three.                 B．Four.                   C．Five.                   D．Six.

71．What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

       A．To introduce various methods of tea processing.

       B．To persuade readers to buy tea from Sri Lanka.

       C．To tell a story that had happened in the tea gardens.

       D．To inform readers of tea growing ,picking and processing.

Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs. The latest government report shows that their share of non-farm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September, 2009.
The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year’s financial crash. On the one hand more women have entered the labor market over the years, and on the other hand the economic recession (衰退) has hit men harder than women. In October the unemployment rate for men was almost 11% compared to 8% for women.
Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts. For example, manufacturing (制造業(yè)) and building lost more jobs last month. But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth. Both of those industries employ high percentages of women.
Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned. Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn. And a recent study from the University of California, Davis, reveals that women hold fifty-one percent of well-paid management and professional jobs. Yet the study also shows that men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at most companies. The results have remained largely unchanged for five years.
Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their families. Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women. She found that they all value their independence and many enjoy having the power of control, though not all want it. But they even feel more pressure and worry. That is partly because of cultural expectations that working women should still take care of the children. Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened.
【小題1】Which of the following is a reason why women have a larger share of jobs?

Every ten years there is a national census （人口普查）to count the number of people. The Census Office asks every household to answer questions on a census form.

The census counts...

● the number of people in each area

● the numbers of men and women and whether they are single, married, widowed or divorced

● how many children there are, how many teenagers, people in their twenties, thirties, forties... retired people and so on

The census counts people by...

● the kind of housing they live in

● the country in which they were born

● the kind of job they do and how they travel to work

Some uses of the census:

Housing: to work out present and future needs we must know how people are housed now, and the sizes and ages of their families.

Hospitals, schools and other local services: the size of annual grants made by the Government to these services depends largely on the numbers and needs of people in the area. Many of the figures come from the census.

Planning: the census shows how many people have moved from one area to another and how the local workforce is changing. This information is used when factories, offices, shops, public transport and places for leisure are being planned.

In strict confidence

The census is taken in order to provide figures about the nation as a whole; it does not give information about any named person, family or household.

Names and addresses are needed to take the census accurately, but they are not fed into the computer.  After the census, the forms are locked away and will not be released to anyone outside the Census Office for 100 years.

The answers you give on your census form will be treated in strict confidence. NO one outside the Census Office will see your completed form.  Everyone working on the census is sworn to secrecy and can be charged if he or she improperly reveals information.

1.The writer is mainly ________ in this passage.

A．persuading people to support census

B．giving information about the importance and practice of census

C．showing the government’s determination in conducting census

D．warning people not to provide inaccurate information

2.The census is not interested in ________.

A．how many houses you have               B．how old you are

C．what your job is                         D．how much money you have

3.The census shows the changes that have taken place regarding ________.

A．the size of hospitals in the area

B．the types of public transport in the area

C．the number of people who work in the area

D．the use of power in the area

4.The following statements are true except _________.

A．the information is not fed into a computer

B．the census gives information about the whole country

C．the people who don’t work on the census will not see the completed forms

D．it is illegal for people to disclose the confidential information on census

Dear Sir,

I have to travel every day from Souk Road to the airport． Two buses travel along their route (路線): the number 49 and number 16． But by the time the number 16 bus reaches Souk Road it is always full, so I can’t get on it． I have to wait for the number 49, because sometimes there are empty seats on it．

The timetable says that there are buses from Souk Road to the airport every ten minutes． If this is so, why do I have to wait half an hour for a bus nearly every day?

The regulations say that if there are empty seats on a bus, the bus must stop at every stop where people are waiting． Why do the half-empty buses go straight past me when I am standing at the bus stop?

The regulations say that no bus may carry more than 40 seated passengers  and 20 standing passengers． Yesterday I was the first to get off the bus when it reached the airport． I counted the other passengers as they got off． There were 129 of them．

It is clear that our bus companies break the regulations and think little of their passengers． Can nothing be done to make your service  better?

Yours

Tired passenger

1.The writer has to take Bus No.49 because      ．

2.How long does the writer usually have to wait for a bus?

3.The regulations say that each bus may carry       passengers at most．

4.From the passage we can see that      ．

Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs. The latest government report shows that their share of nonfarm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September.
Not only have more and more women entered the labor market over the years, but the depression has been harder on men. In October the unemployment rate for men was almost eleven percent compared to eight percent for women.
Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts. For example, manufacturing and building lost more jobs last month. But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth. Both of those industries employ high percentages of women.
Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned. Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn. And women hold fifty-one percent of good-paying management and professional jobs.
Yet a study released Thursday said men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at the four hundred large companies in California. The results have remained largely unchanged in live years of studies from the University of California, Davis.
Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their family. Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women. She found they all valued their independence and many enjoyed having the power of control, though not all wanted it.
But they also felt pressure, worry and guilt. Partly that was because of cultural expectations that working women will still take care of the children. Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened.
The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year’s financial crash. Now, a judgment has been reached in the first case involving charges of criminal wrongdoing on Wall Street.
Last week, the government lost its case against two managers at Bear Stearns, the first investment bank to fail last year. A jury found Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of lying to investors.
The hedge funds they supervised lost their value in two thousand seven. But jurors said there was no clear evidence that they meant to mislead investors.
The Justice Department continues to investigate other companies.

1. 1.

   Why is the unemployment rate for men higher.

   1. A.
      Because there are more men workers in industries.
   2. B.
      Because many industries mainly employing men now don’t need so many workers.
   3. C.
      More and more women take the place of men.
   4. D.
      Because health care and temporary employment services don’t employ men.
2. 2.

   It can be inferred from the passage that __________.

   1. A.
      women haven’t got complete equality as men
   2. B.
      only by becoming the main earners in their family can women gain a high position
   3. C.
      all women now value independence and the power of control
   4. D.
      taking care of children is now shared by men and women
3. 3.

   Which of the following is TRUE?

   1. A.
      Men hate that women earn more money.
   2. B.
      It is commonly believed that women should take care of children.
   3. C.
      The job market has recovered from the effect of the financial crisis.
   4. D.
      Now women working full time earn more than men.
4. 4.

   Why does the government accuse two managers?

   1. A.
      They contributed to the financial crash.
   2. B.
      They led a corrupt life.
   3. C.
      They lied to investors.
   4. D.
      A jury found them misleading investors.