（整理版高中英語）高三英語星級階梯閱讀練習二星級4

1、高三英語星級階梯閱讀練習 二星級 4afew laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. but in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled - to $1.01 per pack - smokers have jammed telephone “quit lines across the country seeking to kick the habit.this is not a su

2、rprise to public health advocates. theyve studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.the only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears

3、to the message. tobacco taxes improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. yet the rate of taxation varies widely.in manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation,

4、 a pack of marlboro light kings cost $10.06 at one drugstore wednesday. in charleston, s.c., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation, the price was $4.78.the influence is obvious.in new york, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys -13.8%, far below the national avera

5、ge. by comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in kentucky. other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.hal rogers, representative from kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income americans “who choose t

6、o smoke.thats true. but there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place. as for todays adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel bette

7、r.46the text is mainly about_.athe price of cigarettes bthe rate of teen smoking cthe differences in tobacco tax rate dthe effect of tobacco tax increase 47what does the author think is a surprise?asome states still keep the tobacco tax low.bteen smokers are price sensitive.ctobacco taxes improve pu

8、blic health. dtobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise.48the underlined word "deter" in paragraph 3 most probably means .abenefit bremove cdiscourage dfree49rogers attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of .atolerance bsympathy cdoubt dunconcern50what can we learn from

9、the last paragraph? athe new tax will be beneficial in the long run. blow-income americans are more likely to fall ill. cfuture generations will be hooked on smoking. dadults will depend more on their families.bin a world with limited land, water and other natural resources, the harm from the tradit

10、ional business model is on the rise. actually, the past decade has seen more and more forests disappearing and the globe becoming increasingly warm. people now realize that this unhealthy situation must be changed, and that we must be able to develop in sustainable (可持續(xù)的) ways. that means growth wit

11、h low carbon or development of sustainable products. in other words, we should keep the earth healthy while using its supply of natural resources. today, sustainable development is a proper trend in many countries. according to a recent study, the global market for low-carbon energy will become thre

12、e times bigger over the next decade. china, for example, has set its mind on leading that market, hoping to seize chances in the new round of the global energy revolution. it is now trying hard to make full use of wind and solar energy, and is spending a huge amount of money making electric cars and

13、 high-speed trains. in addition, we are also seeing great growth in the global markets for sustainable products such as palm oil (棕櫚油)， which is produced without cutting down valuable rainforest. in recent years the markets for sustainable products have grown by more than 50%. governments can fully

14、develop the potential of these new markets. first, they can set high targets for reducing carbon emissions (排放) and targets for saving and reusing energy. besides, stronger arrangement of public resources like forests can also help to speed up the development. finally, governments can avoid the huge

15、 expenses that are taking us in the wrong direction, and redirecting some of those expenses can accelerate the change from the traditional model to a sustainable one.the major challenge of this century is to find ways to meet the needs of a growing population within the limits of this single planet.

16、 that is no small task, but it offers abundant new chances for sustainable product industries.51the traditional business model is harmful because of all the following except that _ . ait makes the world warmer bit makes growth hard to continue cit brings severe damage to forests dit consumes natural

17、 resources52what can we infer from paragraph 2? ahigh-speed trains are a low-carbon development. bchina is the leader of the low-carbon market. cchina lacks wind and solar energy. dpalm oil is made at the cost of valuable forests.53to fully develop the low-carbon markets, government can _ . acut pub

18、lic expenses bencourage energy conservation cdevelop public resources dforbid carbon emission54we can learn from the last paragraph that businesses have many chances to _ . amake full use of natural resources bexplore new natural resources cdevelop sustainable products ddeal with the major challenge

19、55what is the main purpose of the passage ? ato introduce a new business model. bto advocate sustainable development. cto predict a change of the global market. dto compare two business models.cpsychiatrists who work with older parents say that maturity (成熟) can be an asset資產 in child rearing - olde

20、r parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. but raising kids takes money and energy. many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active c

21、hild. dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents' biggest, and often unspoken, fear. having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, “end up retiring much later. for many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.henry metcal

22、f, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. but he's also worried that his energy will give out first. sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. lately he's been taking afternoon naps to

23、 keep up his energy.“my body is aging,says metcalf.“you can't get away from that.often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at.“they worry they'll be mistaken for

24、 grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school,says joann galst, a new york psychologist. but at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one:“that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their child,she says

25、.many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. after marrying late and undergoing years of fertility (受孕) treatment, marilyn nolen and her husband randy, had twins.“we both wanted children,says marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. the twins have given the couple

26、 what they desired for years,“a sense of family. kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives.“the dads are older, more mature,says dr. silber,“and more ready to focus on parenting.56why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an

27、asset in child rearing?aolder parents can better balance their resources against children's demands.bolder parents can take better care of their children. colder parents are often better prepared financially.dolder parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.57what does th

28、e author mean by saying "for many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream" in paragraph 1?athey can't obtain the retirement benefits they have dreamed of.bthey can't get full pension unless they work some extra years.cthey have to go on working beyond their retirement age.dthey are reluctant to retire when t