高考英语第二轮复习讲义（阅读理解）及训练03 人物故事和传记（答案）.docVIP

2013高考英语二轮复习讲义（阅读理解）及训练03：人物故事和传记（答案） 小试牛刀--------阅读理解 In the United States ,the biggest change in spending has been in the amount（数目）spent on food ,which ha decreased（减少）from 46% of the total family budget（预算）in 1901 to 19% of present day totals .This is due to the fact that people are now able to buy more and better foods at lower prices. As a result of the growth in fastfood restaurants (for example, McDonad’s or KFC), more people are also eating out. Thus about 30% of today’s food budget goes on meals eaten outside the home while a hundred years ago it was only 3%. At the beginning of the 20th century, few people owned their homes (only around 19% of working families )and cars (at $ 1,000 per car this was well above the average family income of $ 650 per year) , as most people were unable to borrow money. But there was a rapid rise in both home and car ownership during the mid-1900s. Free time increased considerably following the shortening of the working week, i. e. from six days to five ,and from ten hours to eight hours a day. In fact, the working day couldn’t be too long, otherwise people wouldn’t have the time to spend their money. The amount of a family’s budget spent on outside entertainment ,such as parties, films and concerts has increased from just under 6% in Ford’s day to about 9% today. On the other hand, we spend only a quarter of what our great-grandparents paid for reading materials. It is difficult to see how our spending patterns may change in the future. We already know that our population is aging and this will have an effect on the amount of money we spend on medical care. 56. What is the subject discussed in the text? A. Changing patterns in spending. B. Changes in family planning. C. Decrease in food demand. D. Increase in family income. 57. What is the immediate cause for people to have more time to enjoy life? A. The development of the fast food industry. B. The improvement of living conditions. C. The reducti