Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directons: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A),B),C) and D). You should secide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

Educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world. Women's education may be unusual territory for economists. but enhancing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics. with its emphasis on incentives(激励), provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived of an education.

Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into someboby else's family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school - the prophecy(预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle(恶性循环) of neglect.

An educatied mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle.

21. The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is ______.
A. rewarding B. troublesome C. expensive D. labor-saving

22. By saying “... the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling...”(Lines 4-5,Para 2),the author means that _______.
A. girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach
B. girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home
C. girls will be capalbe of realizing their own dreams
D. girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys

23. The author believes that a vicious circle can turn into a virtuous circle when ____.
A. women care more about education
B. parents can afford their daughters' education
C. girls can gain equeal access to education
D. a family has fewer but healthier children

24. What does the author say about women's education?
A. It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.
B. It will yield greater returns than other known investments.
C. It is now given top priority in many developing countries.
D. It deserves greater attention than other social issues.

25. The pasage mainly discusses _____.
A. unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries
B. the major contributions of educated women to society
C. the economic and social benefits of educating women
D. the potential earning power of well-educated women.

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Psychiatrists(精神病专家) who work with older parents say that maturity can be an asset in child rearing - older 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 theire limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. 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 Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kds. But he's also worried that his enery will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bkes with his athletic fifth grader. but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps(午睡) to keep up his energy.“My body is aging,”says Metcalf.“You can't get away fro that.”

Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work withe middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. “They worry they'll be mistaken for 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.

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 usband, Randy, had twins.“We both wanted children,” says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what the 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.”

26. Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing?
A. Older parents can better balance their resources against children's demands.
B. Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.
C. Older parents are often better prepared financially.
D. Older parents can take better care of their children.

28. The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that ____.
A. many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
B. taking afternoon naps is a good way to naintain energy
C. older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
D. older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children

29. What's the biggest fear of older parents according to

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