2008年高考英语试题及参考答案(上海卷)(3)

University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at £3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.

In the research, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on

average £ 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just £ 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £ 10.000. Average debts for graduates are £ 12，363.

Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they arc to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."

Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweather, aged 15, from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.

72. Which of the following can be found from the five-year research project?

A. Students understand personal finances differently.

B. University tuition fees in England have been rising.

C. Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings.

D. The students' payback ability has become a major issue.

73. The phrase "to raise the ceiling" in paragraph 2 probably means "______".

A. to raise the student loans B. to improve the school facilities D. to lift the school building roofs

74. According to Stephen Moir, students_______.

A. are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues

B. should learn 10 manage their finances well

C- should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans

D. benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance

75. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Many British teenagers do not know money matters well

B. Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts.

C. Financial planning is a required course at college.

D. Young people should become responsible adults.

(D)

The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases. combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.

Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high

productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or S10 billion altogether.

Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels. The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there's no case for the government to pay to put the world's dinner into the gas tank.

Third, we urgently need to weather-proof die world's crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation hind to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.

76. An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.

A. cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year

B. aim to double the harvest in southern African countries In a year

C. decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices

D. give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds

77. With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.

A. it is not wise to change food crops into gas

B. it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank

C. we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way

D. biofuels should be developed on a large scale

78. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weal

B. A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor

C. The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.

D. It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.

79. In the passage, the author calls on us to______.

A. slow down but not to stop economic.

B. develop tree crops, grasses and wood products

C. achieve economic growth and political sta …… 此处隐藏：5886字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……