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A

Among various programs， TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style. But no two shows are more opposite in content， while at the same time standing out above the rest， than the Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey shows.

Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”. The topics on his show are as surprising as they can be. For example， the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love， sex， cheating， and hate， to a different level. Clearly， the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society， yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other peoples lives.

Like Jerry Springer， Oprah Winfrey takes the TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality of life. Contents are from teaching children lessons， managing work week， to getting to know neighbors.

Compared to Oprah， the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully， this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.

Clean as it is， the Oprah show is not for everyone. The shows main audiences are middle-class Americans. Most of the people have the time， money and ability to deal with lifes hard problems. Jerry Springer， on the other hand， has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love， relationship， sex， money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the shows exploitation.

1. Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant， people who watch the shows ___ .

A. remain cold to them

B. show disbelief in them

C. are ready to accept them

D. are willing to solve them

2. What is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show？

A. The National War. B. Street accidents.

C. A new type of robot. D. Social medical system.

3. What is the special point of the Jerry Springer show？

A. It talks about the improvement of society.

B. It points out the dark sides of society.

C. It pours poisonous waste into society.

D. It has an instructive end.

4. We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ___ .

A. exploit the weaknesses in human nature

B. have become the only ones of its kind

C. appear at different times of the day

D. attract different kinds of people

B

Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today？ Many people wrongly believe that when people get old， their families place them in nursing homes. They are left there in the hands of strangers for the rest of their lives. Their grown-up children visit them only occasionally， and more often， they do not have any regular visitors. Actually this is not true. In fact， family members provide over 80 percent of the care that elderly people need.

Professor Samuel Preston， a social scientist， studies how the American family is changing. He reports that by the time the average American couple reaches 40， they have more parents than children. This statistic（數(shù)據(jù)）shows the change in lifestyles and responsibilities of aging Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents some time after their own children have grown up. Moreover， because people today live longer than people did years ago， family members must provide long-term care. These facts also mean that after caregivers provide for their elderly parents， who will finally die， they will be old and may require care， too. When they do their children will probably take care of them.

Psychologists and social workers have found that all caregivers share a common characteristic： they believe that they are the best person for the job for different reasons. One caregiver said that she had always been close to her mother. Another was the oldest child in the family. In other words， they all felt that they could do the job better than others. Social workers interviewed caregivers to find out why they took on the responsibility of caring. They discovered three reasons. Many caregivers believed that they had an obligation（義務(wù)）to help their relatives. Some stated that helping others made them feel more useful. Others hoped that by helping someone now， they would get care when they became old and dependent.

5. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that in the US ___ .

A. old age is a lonely time

B. the nursing home staff treat the old well

C. people in nursing homes receive frequent visits

D. family members are trying to care for the elderly

6. The average middle-aged couple in the US ___ .

A. have to care more for their parents than the children

B. depend on their childrens aid in caring for the elderly

C. spend more time taking care of their parents than before

D. spend more time with their children than with their parents

7. What does the underlined word “do” in Paragraph 2 refer to？

A. Die B. Become old

C. Provide D. Require care

8. The common characteristic of caregivers is that ___ .

A. they are the oldest children in their families

B. they have professional skills in caregiving

C. they believe themselves to be the best

D. they are close to their parents