If Thelma Richards continues to pay $917 a month, every month, for the foreseeable future, she’ll pay off her student loans by the end of 2042. The problem is, by then she’ll be 87 years old. “I don’t think I’m going to live that long,” she says, laughing. “I’m not joking!” Richards, 65, who lives in Little Falls, N.Y., represents a growing number of older Americans, who are now more likely than ever to hold student debt well into retirement age. According to a January report from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the number of Americans aged 60 and older carrying student debt doubled in the past five years.
The rapid rise in older Americans taking on student loans has two main causes. The first is that parents and grandparents are co-signing loans to support the younger generation. The second is that older Americans are increasingly taking student loans for themselves. With blue-collar jobs decreasing, people in their 40s and 50s are going back to school to acquire new skills.
Richards, for example, who worked as a waitress while raising three children as a single mom, went back to college in her 40s to earn a degree in occupational treatment. While her new profession produces a higher income and health care benefits, it has also left her with a lifetime of debt. Trends leave older borrowers in a bind. They have less time in the workforce and are more likely to become ill, often in a weaker position to pay back loans. Making monthly payments on a fixed income is also more difficult than it is for younger borrowers, whose incomes are more likely to grow.
According to the CFPB report, more than a third of those aged 60 and older with student debt had given up medical care to afford their loan payments. And there’s no way out. Robert Farrington, the founder of the website the College Investor, says one main piece of advice for older borrowers is simply to avoid any loan that isn’t repayable in 10 years. “Remember,” he says, “if you don’t pay, they’ll come after you.”
1.How much should Thelma Richards pay from 1st April 2030 to 31st December 2050 for the student loan according to the passage?
A.Approximately $129,300 B.Approximately $140,300
C.Approximately $217,300 D.Approximately $228,300
2.For whom do Americans take student loans according to the passage?
A.Children. B.Grandparents.
C.The government. D.Themselves or kids.
3.Which of the following is NOT a reason why it is difficult for Americans to pay off student loans?
A.The banks are too greedy. B.They easily become ill.
C.Some have to attend school. D.Their work time is reduced.
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Student Loan Cannot Be Paid in America
B.The Government Should Reduce Student Loan
C.Retirees Shoulder a Bigger Share of Student Debt
D.Student Debt is the Biggest Trouble in America
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
If Thelma Richards continues to pay $917 a month, every month, for the foreseeable future, she’ll pay off her student loans by the end of 2042. The problem is, by then she’ll be 87 years old. “I don’t think I’m going to live that long,” she says, laughing. “I’m not joking!” Richards, 65, who lives in Little Falls, N.Y., represents a growing number of older Americans, who are now more likely than ever to hold student debt well into retirement age. According to a January report from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the number of Americans aged 60 and older carrying student debt doubled in the past five years.
The rapid rise in older Americans taking on student loans has two main causes. The first is that parents and grandparents are co-signing loans to support the younger generation. The second is that older Americans are increasingly taking student loans for themselves. With blue-collar jobs decreasing, people in their 40s and 50s are going back to school to acquire new skills.
Richards, for example, who worked as a waitress while raising three children as a single mom, went back to college in her 40s to earn a degree in occupational treatment. While her new profession produces a higher income and health care benefits, it has also left her with a lifetime of debt. Trends leave older borrowers in a bind. They have less time in the workforce and are more likely to become ill, often in a weaker position to pay back loans. Making monthly payments on a fixed income is also more difficult than it is for younger borrowers, whose incomes are more likely to grow.
According to the CFPB report, more than a third of those aged 60 and older with student debt had given up medical care to afford their loan payments. And there’s no way out. Robert Farrington, the founder of the website the College Investor, says one main piece of advice for older borrowers is simply to avoid any loan that isn’t repayable in 10 years. “Remember,” he says, “if you don’t pay, they’ll come after you.”
1.How much should Thelma Richards pay from 1st April 2030 to 31st December 2050 for the student loan according to the passage?
A.Approximately $129,300 B.Approximately $140,300
C.Approximately $217,300 D.Approximately $228,300
2.For whom do Americans take student loans according to the passage?
A.Children. B.Grandparents.
C.The government. D.Themselves or kids.
3.Which of the following is NOT a reason why it is difficult for Americans to pay off student loans?
A.The banks are too greedy. B.They easily become ill.
C.Some have to attend school. D.Their work time is reduced.
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Student Loan Cannot Be Paid in America
B.The Government Should Reduce Student Loan
C.Retirees Shoulder a Bigger Share of Student Debt
D.Student Debt is the Biggest Trouble in America
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
If the project ________ by the end of this month is delayed , the company is sure to pay a large sum of money for it .
A. completed B. completing
C. to be completed D. having completed
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
All the students in this school are required to____ at least two lectures on how to study every month.
A. attend B. take park in C. join in D. go in for
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Heaviest snow in half a century hit the south of the country. It snowed continuously for half a month, _______the railways, highways, and runways in the airfields. Ice wrapped and paralyzed（使瘫痪）the power and communication system. Many people were_______in railway stations, bus stations and airports, and_______in cars, buses and trains. Governments and people did everything they could to fight the snow_______, resulting in the good news that no one was killed from_______and hunger. Gradually, trapped people all went back home_______. While fighting the snow, people forgot their_______until a moving story of a swallow couple was widely_______on the Internet.
Being hungry and cold, the swallow couple tried to fly_______people's home to warm themselves, but every house was closed________. They jumped and flapped their wings to________the attention of the people inside the house, but failed. The wife’s body was________, she could not move any longer. The husband came near and wrapped his wife with his wings. He lost his________soon because of his opened wings. The couple died in the end.
The next morning, the housemaster went to the balcony to________his flowers because of concern and saw a________swallow outside the window pane. Touching it, he found that they were two________together. Moved to tears, he took them in, giving them some________, but in vain. He found a small cardboard box, laid them in and________them in the back garden.
In my hometown, in the countryside, a swallow family lives in the________of my house. I wonder if they will come back this spring________they did.
1.A. protecting B. maintaining C. blocking D. keeping
2.A. restricted B. stuck C. surrounded D. persuaded
3.A. even B. still C. yet D. nevertheless
4.A. disturbance B. occurrence C. incident D. disaster
5.A. cold B. disease C. poverty D. thirsty
6.A. merrily B. safely C. excitedly D. exhaustedly
7.A. family B. distant relatives C. parents D. animal friends
8.A. broadcast B. written C. spread D. identified
9.A. into B. through C. beyond D. across
10.A. tightly B. early C. secretly D. quickly
11.A. pay B. attract C. resist D. keep
12.A. injured B. lifted C. frozen D. broken
13.A. heat B. strength C. direction D. eyesight
14.A. water B. plant C. dig D. check
15.A. dead B. drunk C. lively D. lovely
16.A. touching B. embracing C. living D. lying
17.A. warmth B. food C. kindness D. fruit
18.A. left B. sheltered C. buried D. threw
19.A. roof B. basement C. window D. wall
20.A. when B. as C. unless D. if
高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Price continued to rise ______ pay was still low, with the result ______ the government became increasingly unpopular.
A. when; that B. while; which C. when; which D. while; that
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Reading articles like that, if ________, will do harm to you.
A. continued B. continues C. continuing D. to continue
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Taking this kind of medicine, if ________, will do harm to health.
A. continue B. continued C. to continue D. continuing
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Jerry wanted to continue his studies through college after his graduation from high school; so every morning he never failed to read the classified ads in the newspaper. He scanned even the smallest ad, hoping to find one company needing the services of a high school graduate.
His patience paid off for early one morning he read an ad which said: “An executive wants boy to assist him in his office. He should at least be a high school graduate.”
Jerry cut the ad and quickly took a bath. He put on a clean suit, brushed his short hair neatly, and after asking permission from mother, he proceeded to the office which advertised the ad. When he reached the place, he saw that it was filled with young people. His heart beat faster for he felt he had a very slim chance to be selected.
Very soon the office became empty and Jerry found himself being briefed by the executive. He was asked to report at eight o’clock the following morning. After Jerry left the office, the manager asked the executive, “What made you select that boy who did not have a single recommendation?” “That is where you are mistaken,” explained the executive. “Before entering this office, he wiped his feet and closed the door quietly. It shows he is careful. I noticed that he stood instantly and offered his seat to an old man who entered the office. His act shows that he is kind and considerate boy. He took off his cap when he entered the room and answered my questions promptly indicating that he is polite and gentlemanly.”
“Do you know that I purposely laid a book on the floor to find out what these applicants will do?” the executive continued. “This boy picked it up and placed it on the table while the rest stepped on it. Does this not show that this boy is orderly? While the others pushed and jostled each other in their desire to be interviewed first, this boy waited quietly instead of pushing and crowding as the rest did. I noticed, when I talked to him, that his clothes were clean. Of course, he had no letter of recommendation, but the things that he did counted more than a dozen letters of recommendation. Furthermore, I really do not believe in written recommendations. I judge a person’s character by the way he behaves spontaneously, because I believe that the training of a person will always show in whatever he does and in whatever place he is.”
“Now, I hope you are convinced why I selected that boy among the other applicants even if he does not have a single written recommendation.”
1.What did Jerry feel when he arrived at the office?
A.He was completely disappointed.
B.He was quite astonished by what he saw.
C.He was afraid he wouldn’t be admitted.
D.He felt empty because he didn’t have a recommendation.
2.How can the character of a person be shown according to the executive?
A.By one’s recommendation. B.By his actions.
C.By others’ comments on him D.By his determination.
3.What words can best describe Jerry?
A.Responsible and well-mannered B.Polite and strong-willed
C.Ambitious and gentlemanly D.Thoughtful and spontaneous
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Never Judge a Book by Its Cover B.Observation Is the Best Teacher
C.Seeing Is Believing D.The Best Recommendation
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Languages will continue to diverge. Even if English were to become the universal language, it would still take many different forms. Indeed the same could happen to English as has happened to Chinese: a language of intellectuals which doesn’t vary hugely alongside a large number of variations used by local peoples.
We will continue to teach other languages in some form, and not just for reasons of practical use. Learning a language is good for your mental health; it forces you to understand another cultural and intellectual system. So I hope British education will develop a more rational approach to the foreign languages available to students in line with their political importance. Because so many people believe it is no longer important to know another language, I fear that time devoted to language teaching in schools may well continue to decline. But you can argue that learning another language well is more exhausting than, say, learning to play chess well—it involves sensitivity to a set of complicated rules, and also to context.
Technology will certainly make a difference to the use of foreign languages. Computers may, for instance, relieve the hard work that a vast translation represents. But no one who has seen a computer translation will think it can substitute for live knowledge of the different languages. A machine will always be behind the times. Still more important is the fact that no computer will ever get at the associations beyond the words associations that may not be expressed but which carry much of the meaning. In languages like Arabic that context is very important. Languages come with heavy cultural baggage too—in French or German if you miss the cultural references behind a word you’re very likely to be missing the meaning. It will be very hard to teach all that to computer.
All the predictions are that English will be spoken by a declining proportion of the world’s population in the 21st century. I don’t think foreign languages will really become less important, but they might be perceived to be— and that would in the end be — a very bad thing.
1.According to the text,we can infer that Chinese _______.
A.is a language full of cultural background
B.is narrowly used by local peoples
C.will be regarded as important as English
D.will soon become the universal language
2.Which of the following best describes the author’s opinion ?
A.Foreign languages should be taught for political importance.
B.Learning another language is just like learning to play chess well.
C.British education lacks a rational approach to the teaching of foreign languages.
D.Learning a language need to know a country’ cultural and intellectual system.
3.Why can the computer translation make a difference to the use of foreign languages?
A.It can replace for live knowledge of the different languages.
B.It can always keep the pace with the times in the translation.
C.It can reduce the hard work that a vast translation represents.
D.It can express the implied meaning beyond word associations.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Learning foreign languages is a challenging job.
B.Learning a language is good for your mental health.
C.Cultural background blocks the understanding of a language.
D.Computers play an important role in learning foreign languages.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
It ________ every day so far this month. I can't tell you if it ________ tomorrow.
A. rained; rains B. is raining; shall rain
C. has been raining; rains D. has rained; will rain
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析