阅读理解训练（7）AAt one time it was the dream for many little girls to become a nurseToday, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2, 000, 000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten（= say that you will hurt somebody if they dont do what you want）the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes.One possibility is the fact that woman have greater career options （职业选择）. In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their options have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status（地位）. A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “merely a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered（劝 导）away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long drawn - out hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.21Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?A. Because the demand of nurses has been doubled.B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.22The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for_.A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the USB. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their studentsC. not asking the government to raise the nurses paymentD. persuading the students not to be nurses23The author wrote this passage in order to_.A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the USB. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problemC. tell us womens free choice of jobs todayD. call on women not to be nurses24Which of the following is true according to the passage?A. high school students think themselves too bright to be nursesB. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.参考答案2124 CDBD BOne thinks of princes and presidents as some of the most powerful people in the world; however, governments, elected or otherwise, sometimes have had to struggle with the financial powerhouses called tycoons. The word tycoon is relatively new to the English language. It is Chinese in origin but was given as a title to some Japanese generals. The term was brought to the United States, in the late nineteenth century, where it eventually was used to refer to magnates who acquired immense fortunes from sugar and cattle, coal and oil, rubber and steel, and railroads. Some people called these tycoons “capitals of industry” and praised them for their contributions to U.S. wealth and international reputation. Others criticized them as cruel “robber barons”, who would stop at nothing in pursuit of personal wealth.The early tycoons built successful businesses, often taking over smaller companies to eliminate competition. A single company that came to control an entire market was called a monopoly. Monopolies made a few families very wealthy, but they also placed a heavy financial burden on consumers and the economy at large.As the country expanded and railroads linked the East Coast to the West Coast, local monopolies turned into national corporations called trusts. A trust is a group of companies that join together under the control of a board of trustees. Railroad trusts are an excellent example. Railroads were privately owned and operated and often monopolized various routes, setting rates as high as they desired. The financial burden this placed on passengers and businesses increased when railroads formed trusts. Farmers, for example, had no choice but to pay, as railroads were the only means they could use to get their grain to buyers. Exorbitant (过高的) goods rates put some farmers out of business.There were even accusations that the trusts controlled government itself by buying votes and manipulating elected officials. In 189