(11)It’s estimated that one-third of the countries of the world are very rich, and two thirds are very poor. People in the richer countries don’t understand the great differences between them and those in the poorer countries. A very simple example is that a dog or a cat in North America is better than a child in the poorer countries. (12)A fisherman in South America may catch the fish which is made into pet food while the children in poor countries are not getting enough to eat for their bodies to grow properly. (13)Although a lot of the world’s natural resources come from these poorer countries, (14)it’s the richer countries that decide what kind of price they are ready to pay for these resources. And (15)the prices the richer countries get from their exports, however, are always rising. So they are getting richer and richer, and the poorer countries are getting poorer. What percentage do the poor countries account for in the world It’s estimated that () countries of the world are very poor.
Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage. Electricity was born at the dawn of the last century. From then on, households have been inundated with a flood of home electric goods. What is the impact of this home electric goods revolution It is argued here that the home electric goods revolution may liberate women from the home. And it is true that many households never hesitate a second to adopt this new technology or that, however, in fact many of the home electric goods which are advertised as liberating the modem woman tend to have the opposite effect, because they simply change the nature of work instead of eliminating it. Machines have a certain novelty value, like toys for adults. It is certainly less tiring to put clothes in a washing machine, but the time saved does not really amount to much the machine has to be watched, the clothes have to be carefully sorted out first, stains removed by hand, buttons pushed and water changed, clothes taken out, aired and ironed. It would be more liberating to pack it all off to a laundry and not necessarily more expensive, since no capital in vestment is required. Similarly, if you really want to save time, you do not make cakes with an electric mixer, you buy one in a shop. If one compares the image of the woman in the women’s magazine with the goods advertised by those periodicals, one realizes how useful a projected image can be commercially. A carefulbalance has to be struck: if you show a labor-saving device, follow it up with a complicated recipe on the next page; on no account hint at the notion that a woman could get herself a job, but in stead foster her sense of her own usefulness, emphasizing the creative aspect of her function as a housewife. So we get cake mixes (蛋糕粉) in which the cook simply adds an egg herself, to pro duce "that lovely homo-baked flavor the family love", and knitting patterns that can be made by hand, or worse still, on knitting machines, which became tremendously fashionable when they were first introduced. Automatic cookers are advertised by pictures of pretty young mothers taking their children to the park, not by professional women presetting the dinner before leaving home for work. Why does the author think a laundry, is not necessarily more costly than using washing machines
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. Video games have become increasingly popular in both arcades and the average American home. People of all ages and from all walks of life are enjoying hours of entertainment by feeding their time and quarters into these flashing, beeping machines. Many skeptics as well as prospective arcade owners have asked what it is that gives Pac Man, Centipede, and a multitude of other popular games their magnetic appeal to millions of players. As a video player myself, I believe there are many answers to that question but three are outstanding. Before a full-scale attack is launched against young video players for "throwing away" their quarters, one should first consider the rising costs of more traditional forms of entertainment. For instance, eighteen holes of miniature golf or ten frames of bowling will cost the player at least two dollars, and one movie costs four bucks. For just two dollars, a video player can get at least eight games, and the better he gets, the longer he can play. Compare that record with the game of miniature golf, where the better one becomes, the shorter amount of time he gets to play. Not only are the games less expensive than other forms of entertainment, hut they are also more in tune with the important issues of the day. Even those people who have never been interested in science are beginning to appreciate how much science influences our lives today. Video games, which are the products of advanced technology and uncontrolled imagination, have brought today’s youth closer than ever to the exciting world of science by games. In fact, there are even cartridges which teach garners how to program computers. It is exciting to be involved with the most up-to-date ideas of the day, and video games help provide people with the opportunity to be involved. Besides the fact that they help people to get involved in technology, video games also pro vide an outlet for the emotions and the ego. If a man gets frustrated with his boss, for example, he can go to the arcade after work to destroy enemy cruisers rather than drown his anxieties in liquor. Also, for those who feel they are not capable of excelling at anything, the games provide am. challenges which are easily mastered with patience and practice. It gives a person a good feeling to know that he has broken his own record or that of someone else. It is implied in the third paragraph that video games are appealing because ______.
A. they expand the gamers’ horizon of imagination
B. they help the players to keep up with the scientific world
C. they are the most convenient way of learning about science
D. they teach the players to write computer programs by themselves
With the exception of Lora, none of the students handed in their (assign) () on time.