Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. March 11th marks the second anniversary of the tsunami that killed 18,500 people in Japan. Good news is scant. Almost 315,000 evacuees still 1 in cramped temporary housing, and need new 2 . A different kind of suffering weighs on about 20m people (a sixth of the 3 ) at this time of year which, though less than anguish-filled, is not trivial. 4 late February until May they 5 pollen allergies, mostly 6 by Japanese cedar, or sugi, trees. Usually the affliction, entailing sneezing, eye irritation and huge medical bills, is shrugged off—it can’t be helped. 7 a way could be found to ease the allergies that could also 8 rebuild homes. It would involve thinning out the sugi and other conifer plantations that 9 about 40% of Japan’s forest, most of which are now 10 as uneconomic. The timber could be used to restore and beautify lost villages. The sugi were planted across Japan after the war as material to 11 destroyed cities and 12 . Sugi, straight and tall, are 13 for construction. But after taxes fell, imported wood put the sugi foresters out of business. The higher they grow, the more pollen the magnificent, abandoned trees emit. Officials say some owners, many now in their 70s, reject 14 to plant new ones that emit less pollen 15 the payback is too long. As a result, 16 Kevin Short, a columnist for the Daily Yomiuri, an English-language newspaper, "immense clouds of yellow-green sugi pollen dust 17 down onto the urban areas, like some amorphous monster out of a science-fiction movie." 18 Kiyohito Onuma of the Forestry Agency says his sneezing wife and children often ask him to do more to 19 the problem, the public pressure is muted. Partly this is because the sugi have always 20 near temples and shrines, and are part of national folklore.
A. led
B. taken
C. caused
D. eased
Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. March 11th marks the second anniversary of the tsunami that killed 18,500 people in Japan. Good news is scant. Almost 315,000 evacuees still 1 in cramped temporary housing, and need new 2 . A different kind of suffering weighs on about 20m people (a sixth of the 3 ) at this time of year which, though less than anguish-filled, is not trivial. 4 late February until May they 5 pollen allergies, mostly 6 by Japanese cedar, or sugi, trees. Usually the affliction, entailing sneezing, eye irritation and huge medical bills, is shrugged off—it can’t be helped. 7 a way could be found to ease the allergies that could also 8 rebuild homes. It would involve thinning out the sugi and other conifer plantations that 9 about 40% of Japan’s forest, most of which are now 10 as uneconomic. The timber could be used to restore and beautify lost villages. The sugi were planted across Japan after the war as material to 11 destroyed cities and 12 . Sugi, straight and tall, are 13 for construction. But after taxes fell, imported wood put the sugi foresters out of business. The higher they grow, the more pollen the magnificent, abandoned trees emit. Officials say some owners, many now in their 70s, reject 14 to plant new ones that emit less pollen 15 the payback is too long. As a result, 16 Kevin Short, a columnist for the Daily Yomiuri, an English-language newspaper, "immense clouds of yellow-green sugi pollen dust 17 down onto the urban areas, like some amorphous monster out of a science-fiction movie." 18 Kiyohito Onuma of the Forestry Agency says his sneezing wife and children often ask him to do more to 19 the problem, the public pressure is muted. Partly this is because the sugi have always 20 near temples and shrines, and are part of national folklore.
A. endure
B. ensure
C. enable
D. entitle
Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. March 11th marks the second anniversary of the tsunami that killed 18,500 people in Japan. Good news is scant. Almost 315,000 evacuees still 1 in cramped temporary housing, and need new 2 . A different kind of suffering weighs on about 20m people (a sixth of the 3 ) at this time of year which, though less than anguish-filled, is not trivial. 4 late February until May they 5 pollen allergies, mostly 6 by Japanese cedar, or sugi, trees. Usually the affliction, entailing sneezing, eye irritation and huge medical bills, is shrugged off—it can’t be helped. 7 a way could be found to ease the allergies that could also 8 rebuild homes. It would involve thinning out the sugi and other conifer plantations that 9 about 40% of Japan’s forest, most of which are now 10 as uneconomic. The timber could be used to restore and beautify lost villages. The sugi were planted across Japan after the war as material to 11 destroyed cities and 12 . Sugi, straight and tall, are 13 for construction. But after taxes fell, imported wood put the sugi foresters out of business. The higher they grow, the more pollen the magnificent, abandoned trees emit. Officials say some owners, many now in their 70s, reject 14 to plant new ones that emit less pollen 15 the payback is too long. As a result, 16 Kevin Short, a columnist for the Daily Yomiuri, an English-language newspaper, "immense clouds of yellow-green sugi pollen dust 17 down onto the urban areas, like some amorphous monster out of a science-fiction movie." 18 Kiyohito Onuma of the Forestry Agency says his sneezing wife and children often ask him to do more to 19 the problem, the public pressure is muted. Partly this is because the sugi have always 20 near temples and shrines, and are part of national folklore.
A. homes
B. shelters
C. areas
D. places
The country’s biggest challenge now is the plight of lower-income Americans, who are under severe and sustained economic pressure. Today, America resembles a tale of two cities. Those who own homes or stocks have benefited from the recovery in these asset classes and are moving up again. But 40% of working-age families earn $40,000 a year or less. Generally they live within 250% of the official poverty level, which is the eligibility threshold for food stamps. Indeed, judging from current trends, half of today’s 20-year-olds will receive food stamps during their adult lives. More broadly, median household income is still 8% below the precrisis level, and those who have not completed college are seeing declines in anticipated lifetime earnings compared with their peers with college degrees. This is the primary economic challenge. If a third of the population has little purchasing power, it will be hard to achieve the desired rate of long-term growth. The U.S. needs to improve the work skills of this group, strengthen the social safety net and increase the number of young Americans receiving a full college education. Although doing more to relieve the financial burdens of working Americans is good economics, it is also, and perhaps more important, a matter of values. For much of the 20th century Americans strove, with much success, to build a fairer and more inclusive society. But today, too many working families are living paycheck to paycheck or even in outright poverty, while the toeholds (客服困难的方法) to economic stability become fewer and farther between. With the economy’s near and medium term economic outlook strong, now is the time to remove the barriers that are keeping hardworking Americans walking a far too thin financial line. The biggest challenge that America faces is ______.
A. financial crisis
B. high divorce rate
C. economic pressure
D. lower-income group