Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England. Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say. And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called “wash-up” earlier this month — the rush to legislation before parliament was dismissed. Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most frustrating omissions of the curriculum.

　　As the Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) points out, the good habits of young children do not last long. Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends. By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft(透支) as a way of extending their spending power. Pfeg predicts that these young people will “find it much harder to avoid the serious unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school.”

　　The UK has been in the worst financial recession(衰退)for generations. It does seem odd that — unless parents step in — young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university. In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools, while 3% said it was a job for parents.

　　61. The passage is mainly about _____________.

　　A. how to manage school lessons

　　B. how to deal with the financial crisis

　　C. teaching young people about money

　　D. teaching students how to study effectively

　　62. It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that __________.

　　A. the author complains about the school education

　　B. pupils should not be taught to add up and subtract

　　C. students have been taught to manage their finances

　　D. laws on financial education have been effectively carried out

　　63. The website and the consumer campaigner joined to _________.

　　A. instruct the pupils to donate their pocket money

　　B. promote the connection of schools and families

　　C. ask the government to dismiss the parliament

　　D. appeal for the curriculum of financial education

　　64. According to Pfeg, ___________.

　　A. it is easy to keep good habits long

　　B. teenagers spend their money as planned

　　C. parents are willing to pay the debt for their kids

　　D. it will be in trouble if the teenagers are left alone

　　65. A poll is mentioned to ___________.

　　A. stress the necessity of the curriculum reform

　　B. show the seriousness of the financial recession

　　C. make the readers aware of burden of the parents

　　D. illustrate some people are strongly against the proposal

　　二輪復習閱讀練習答案：

　　61-65 CADDA

　　高考英語二輪復習閱讀練習2：

　　Europeans should try to stay indoors if ash from Iceland's volcano starts settling, the World Health Organization warned Friday as small amounts fell in Iceland, Scotland and Norway.

　　WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein said the microscopic(微小的) ash is potentially dangerous for people when it starts to reach the Earth because inhaled(吸入) particles can enter the lungs and cause respiratory problems. And he also said Europeans who go outside might want to consider wearing a mask.

　　Other experts, however, weren't convinced the volcanic ash would have a major effect on peoples' health and said WHO's warnings were "hysterical." They said volcanic ash was much less dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution. Volcanic ash is made of fine particles of fragmented volcanic rock. It is light gray to black and can be as fine as talcum powder. During a volcanic eruption, the ash can be breathed deep into the lungs and cause irritation even in healthy people. But once it falls from a greater distance — like from the cloud currently hovering above Europe — its health effects are often minimal, experts say.

　　"Not all particles are created equal," said Ken Donaldson, a professor of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, "In the great scheme of things, volcanic ash is not all that harmful." And he said most Europeans' exposure to volcanic ash would be negligible and that only those in the near districts of the Icelandic volcano would likely be at risk.

　　Dr. Stephen Spiro, a professor of respiratory medicine and deputy chair of the British Lung Foundation, said the further the particles travel, the less dangerous they will be. "The cloud has already passed over northern Scotland and we haven't heard of any ill effects there," he said. Spiro said to wear masks or stay indoors to avoid volcanic ash was "over the top" and "a bit hysterical."

　　60. The text is mainly about .

　　A. the effect of volcanic ash

　　B. the health risk of volcanic ash

　　C. the disadvantages of volcanic ash

　　D. the opinions on health risk of volcanic ash

　　61. Which one is true according to Paragraph3?

　　A. The volcanic ash’s effects on Europeans were little.

　　B. The ash caused irritation even in healthy people.

　　C. Other experts thought WTO’S warnings were useful.

　　D. The volcanic ash was more dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution.

　　62. The underlined word “hysterical” in Paragraph4 most probably means .

　　A. amazing B. practical C. valuable D. overstated

　　63. What can we learn from the passage?

　　A. The volcanic ash wouldn’t be harmful to people.

　　B. All experts thought the volcanic ash did great harm to our health.

　　C. People close to the volcano would likely be at risk according to some experts.

　　D. Europeans should stay indoors because Iceland's volcano starts settling.

　　二輪復習閱讀練習答案：

　　60.D. 主旨大意題。本文主要就火山灰對人的健康的危害問題世衛組織和其他專家給出不同觀點。A太籠統;B不能體現不同的觀點;C與文章內容無關;D符合題意。

　　61. A. 細節理解題。第三段最后一句可知A是正確的;由第三段中During a volcanic eruption……in healthy people.可知B錯誤;由第三段中Other experts, however, weren't convinced…… cigarette smoke or pollution可排除C D。

　　62. D. 詞義猜測題。由上文中volcanic ash is not all that harmful和下文中only those in the near vicinity of the Icelandic volcano would likely be at risk可知D正確, 夸大的，言過其實的。

　　63.C. 由第三段 But once it falls from a greater distance….. effects are often minimal和第四段中 only those in the near vicinity of the Icelandic volcano would likely be at risk以及第五段中 the further the particles travel, the more diluted and less dangerous they will be可知C正確。ABD觀點表達絕對。