When Gina Garro and Brian Duplisea adopted 4-month-old Andres from Colombia last month, they were determined to take time off from work to care for him. Though Garro’s $ 40,000 salary will cover their mortgage, the couple will have to freeze their retirement accounts, and pray that nothing goes wrong with the car. "It takes away from your cushion and your security," says Garro. "Things will be fight. ’ The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act was supposed to help families like Garro’s, offering a safety net to employees who want to take time off to nurture newborns, tend to their own major illnesses or care for sick relatives. But while the law guarantees that workers won’t lose their jobs, it doesn’t cover their paychecks. One survey last year showed that while 24 million Americans had taken leaves since 1999, 2.7 million more wanted to, but couldn’t afford it. That may change soon. In response to increasing demands from voters, at least 25 states are now exploring new ways to offer paid leave. One possibility: tapping state disability funds. A handful of states — New York, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island and Hawaii — already dip into disability money to offer partial pay for women on maternity leave. But that doesn’t help dads or people caring for elderly parents. New Jersey and New York may soon expand disability programs to cover leave for fathers and other caretakers. Thirteen states, including Arizona, Illinois and Florida, have proposed using unemployment funds to pay for leave. Massachusetts has been especially creative. When the state’s acting governor, Jane Swift, gave birth to twin daughters in May, she drew attention to the issue with her own "working maternity leave": she telecommuted part-time but earned her usual full-time salary. Even before Swift returned to work last week, the state Senate unanimously passed a pilot plan that would use surplus funds from a healthinsurance program for the unemployed to give new parents 12 weeks off at half pay. Another plan, proposed in the House, would require employers to kick in $ 20 per worker to set up a "New Families Trust Fund". Businesses would get tax credits in return. This week Swift is expected to announce her own paid-leave plan for lower-income mothers and fathers. Polls show widespread public support — another reason Swift and other politicians across the country have embraced the issue. Still, not everyone’s wild about the idea. People without children question why new parents — the first group to get paid leave under many of the proposed plans — should get more government perks than they do. Business groups are resistant to proposals that would raid unemployment funds; several have already filed suit to block them. As the economy slows, many companies say they can’t afford to contribute to proposed new benefit funds either. Business lobbyists say too many employees already abuse existing federal family-leave laws by taking time off for dubious reasons or in tiny time increments. The proposed laws, they say, would only make matters worse. For Garro and Duplisea, though, the new laws could make all the difference. As Melina fixes a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, Duplisea hugs a snoozing Andres against his T shirt. "We’re trying to do the right thing by two kids, and we have to sacrifice," Duplisea says. In Massachusetts and plenty of other states, help may be on the way. When Garro says "It takes away from your cushion and your security", she means ______.
A. it makes her feel insecure
B. it takes up her money for health insurance
C. it plunges her family into financial trouble
D. it uses up her family savings
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Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions. Now listen to the news. Which of the following indicates the exact sequence of the places Sarkozy will visit
A. Windsor Castle—Westminster Abby—Royal Gallery.
B. Royal Gallery—Westminster Abby—Windsor Castle.
C. Westminster Abby—Windsor Castle—Royal Gallery.
D. Westminster Abby—Royal Gallery—Windsor Castle.
When Gina Garro and Brian Duplisea adopted 4-month-old Andres from Colombia last month, they were determined to take time off from work to care for him. Though Garro’s $ 40,000 salary will cover their mortgage, the couple will have to freeze their retirement accounts, and pray that nothing goes wrong with the car. "It takes away from your cushion and your security," says Garro. "Things will be fight. ’ The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act was supposed to help families like Garro’s, offering a safety net to employees who want to take time off to nurture newborns, tend to their own major illnesses or care for sick relatives. But while the law guarantees that workers won’t lose their jobs, it doesn’t cover their paychecks. One survey last year showed that while 24 million Americans had taken leaves since 1999, 2.7 million more wanted to, but couldn’t afford it. That may change soon. In response to increasing demands from voters, at least 25 states are now exploring new ways to offer paid leave. One possibility: tapping state disability funds. A handful of states — New York, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island and Hawaii — already dip into disability money to offer partial pay for women on maternity leave. But that doesn’t help dads or people caring for elderly parents. New Jersey and New York may soon expand disability programs to cover leave for fathers and other caretakers. Thirteen states, including Arizona, Illinois and Florida, have proposed using unemployment funds to pay for leave. Massachusetts has been especially creative. When the state’s acting governor, Jane Swift, gave birth to twin daughters in May, she drew attention to the issue with her own "working maternity leave": she telecommuted part-time but earned her usual full-time salary. Even before Swift returned to work last week, the state Senate unanimously passed a pilot plan that would use surplus funds from a healthinsurance program for the unemployed to give new parents 12 weeks off at half pay. Another plan, proposed in the House, would require employers to kick in $ 20 per worker to set up a "New Families Trust Fund". Businesses would get tax credits in return. This week Swift is expected to announce her own paid-leave plan for lower-income mothers and fathers. Polls show widespread public support — another reason Swift and other politicians across the country have embraced the issue. Still, not everyone’s wild about the idea. People without children question why new parents — the first group to get paid leave under many of the proposed plans — should get more government perks than they do. Business groups are resistant to proposals that would raid unemployment funds; several have already filed suit to block them. As the economy slows, many companies say they can’t afford to contribute to proposed new benefit funds either. Business lobbyists say too many employees already abuse existing federal family-leave laws by taking time off for dubious reasons or in tiny time increments. The proposed laws, they say, would only make matters worse. For Garro and Duplisea, though, the new laws could make all the difference. As Melina fixes a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, Duplisea hugs a snoozing Andres against his T shirt. "We’re trying to do the right thing by two kids, and we have to sacrifice," Duplisea says. In Massachusetts and plenty of other states, help may be on the way. Business groups do not support ______.
A. the idea of paid leave
B. the federal family-leave laws
C. use of unemployment funds for paid leave
D. cut in pay for women on maternity leave
New and bizarre crimes have come into being with the advent of computer technology. Organized crime has been directly involved; the new technology offers it unlimited opportunities, such as data crimes, theft of services, property-related crimes, industrial sabotage, politically related sabotage, vandalism, crimes against the individual and financially related crimes... Theft of data, or data crime, has attracted the interest of organized criminal syndicates. This is usually the theft or copying of valuable computer program. An international market already exists for computerized data, and specialized fences are said to be playing a key role in this rapidly expanding criminal market. Buyers for stolen programs may range from a firm’s competitors to foreign nations. A competitor sabotages a company’s computer system to destroy or cripple the firm’s operational ability, thus neutralizing its competitive capability either in the private or the government sector. This computer sabotage may also be tied to an attempt by affluent investors to acquire the victim firm. With the growing reliance by firms on computers for their recordkeeping and daily operations, sabotage of their computers can result in internal havoc, after which the group interested in acquiring the firm can easily buy it at a substantially lower price. Criminal groups could also resort to sabotage if the company is a competitor of a business owned or controlled by organized crime. Politically motivated sabotage is on the increase; political extremist groups have sprouted on every continent. Sophisticated computer technology arms these groups with awesome powers and opens technologically advanced nations to their attack. Several attempts have already been made to destroy computer facility at an air force base. A university computer facility involved in national defence work suffered more than $2 million in damages as a result of a bombing. Computer vulnerability has been amply documented. One congressional study concluded that neither government nor private computer systems are adequately protected against sabotage. Organized criminal syndicates have shown their willingness to work with politically motivated groups. Investigators have uncovered evidence of cooperation between criminal groups and foreign governments in narcotics. Criminal groups have taken attempts in assassinating political leaders... Computers are used in hospital life-support system, in laboratories, and in major surgery. Criminals could easily turn these computers into tools of devastation. By sabotaging the computer of a life-support system, criminals could kill an individual as easily as they had used a gun. By manipulating a computer, they could guide awesome tools of terror against large urban centers. Cities and nations could become hostages. Homicide could take a now form. The computer may become the hit man of the twentieth century. The computer opens vast areas of crime to organized criminal groups, both national and international. It calls on them to pool their resources and increase their cooperative efforts, because many of these crimes are too complex for one group to handle, especially those requiring a vast network of fences. Although criminals have adapted to computer technology, law enforcement has not. Many still think in terms of traditional criminology. Which of the following can be labeled as a politically motivated sabotage of a computer system
A. Sabotage of a university computer.
B. Sabotage of a hospital computer.
C. Sabotage of computer at a secret training base.
D. Sabotage of a factory computer.
In the United States the first day nursery was opened in 1854. Nurseries were established in various areas during the (31) half of the 19th century; most of (32) were charitable. Both in Europe and in the U. S. , the day-nursery movement received great (33) during the First World War, when (34) of manpower caused the industrial employment of unprecedented numbers of women. In some European countries nurseries were established even in munitions plants, under direct government (35) . Although the number of nurseries in the U. S. also rose (36) , this rise was accomplished without government aid of any kind. During the years following the First World War, (37) , Federal, State, and local governments gradually began to (38) a measure of control in the day nurseries, chiefly by (39) them and by inspecting and regulating the conditions within the nurseries. The (40) of the Second World War was quickly followed by an increase in the number of day nurseries in almost all countries, as women were again (41) to replace men in the factories. On this (42) the U.S. government immediately came to the support of the nursery schools, (43) $ 6,000,000 in July, 1942, for a nursery-school program for the children of working mothers. Many states and local communities (44) this Federal aid. By the end of the War, in August, 1945, more than 100, 000 children were being cared (45) in daycare centers receiving Federal (46) . Soon afterward, the Federal government drastically (47) its expenditures for this purpose and later (48) them, causing a sharp drop in the number of nursery schools in operation. However, the expectation (49) most employed mothers would leave their jobs at the end of the War was only partly (50) .
A. latter
B. late
C. later
D. last