PassageOne Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage. Children are a delight. They are our future. But sadly, hiring someone to takecare of them while you go to work is getting more expensive by the year. Earlier this month, it was reported that the cost of enrolling an infant or small kid at a childcare center rose 3% in 2012, faster than the overall cost of living. There are now large strips of the country where daycare for an infant costs more than a tenth of the average married couple's income. This is not necessarily a new trend, but it is a somewhat puzzling one. Theprice of professional childcare has been rising since the 1980s. Yet duringthat time, pay for professional childcare workers has stood still. Actually caregivers make less today, in real terms, than they did in 1990. Considering that labor costs are responsible for up to 80% of a daycare center's expenses,one would expect flat wages to have meant flat prices. So who's to blame for higher childcare costs? Childcare is a carefully regulated industry. States lay down rules about how many children each employee is allowed to watch over, the space care centers need per child, and other minute details. And the stricter the regulations, the higher the costs. If it has to hire a caregiver for every two children, itcan't really achieve any economies of scale on labor to save money when other expenses go up. In Massachusetts, where childcare centers must hire one teacher for every three infants, the price of care averaged more than $16,000 per year.In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infants, the price of care averaged less than $5,000. Unfortunately, I don't have all the daycare-center regulations handy. But I wouldn't be surprised if as the rules have become more elaborate, prices haverisen. The tradeoff ( 交换 ) might be worth it in some cases; after all, the health and safety of children should probably come before cheap service. But certainly, it doesn'tseem to be an accident that some of the cheapest daycare available is in the least regulated south. 1. What problem do parents of small kids have to face? A) The ever-rising childcare prices. B) The budgeting of family expenses. C) The balance between work and family. D) The selection of a good daycare center. 2. What does the author feel puzzled about? A) Why the prices of childcare vary greatly from state to state. B) Why increased childcare prices have not led to better service. C) Why childcare workers' pay has not increased with the rising childcare costs. D) Why there is a severe shortage of childcare professional in a number of states. 3. What prevent childcare centers from saving money? A) Steady increase in labor costs. B) Strict government regulations. C) Lack of support from the state. D) High administrative expenses. 4. Why is the average cost of childcare in Mississippi much lower than in Massachusetts? A) The overall quality of service is not as good. B) Payments for caregivers there are not as high. C) Living expenses there are comparatively low. D) Each teacher is allowed to care for more kids. 5. What is the author's view on daycare service? A) Caregivers should receive regular professional training. B) Less elaborate rules about childcare might lower costs. C) It is crucial to strike a balance between quality and costs. D) It is better for different states to learn from each other. Passage Two Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage. Alex Pang's amusing new book The Distraction Addiction addresses those of uswho feel panic without a cellphone or computer. And that, he claims, is pretty much all of us. When we're not online, where we spend four months annually,we're engaged in the stressful work of trying to get online. The Distraction Addiction is not framed as a self-help book. It's a thoughtful examination of the danger of our computing overdose and a historical overview of how technological advances change consciousness. A "professional futurist", Pang urges an approach which he calls "contemplative ( 沉思的 ) computing." He asks that you pay full attention to "how your mind and body interact with computers and how your attention and creativity are influenced by technology." Pang's first job is to free you from common misconception that doing two things at once allows you to get more done. What is commonly called multitasking is,in fact, switch-tasking, and its harmful effects on productivity are well documented. Pang doesn't advocate returning to a preinternet world. Instead, heasks you to "take a more ecological ( 生态的 ) view of your relationships with technologies and look for ways devices or media may be making specific tasks easier or faster but at the same time making your work and life harder." The Distraction Addiction is particularly fascinating on how technologies havechanged certain field of labor—often for the worse. For architects,computer-aided design has become essential but in some ways has cheapened the design process. As one architect puts it, "Architecture is first and foremost about thinking... and drawing is a more productive way ofthinking" than computer-aided design. Somewhat less amusing are Pang's solutions for kicking the Internet habit. He recommends the usual behavior-modification approaches, familiar to anyone who has completed aquit-smoking program. Keep logs to study your online profile and decide whatyou can knock out, download a program like Freedom that locks you out of your browser, or take a "digital Sabbath ( 安息日 )" ; "Unless you're a reporter or emergency-department doctor, you'll discover that your world doesn't fall apart when you go offline." 6. Alex Pang's new book is aimed for readers who ________. A) find their work online too stressful B) go online mainly for entertainment C) are fearful about using the cellphone or computer D) can hardly tear themselves away from the Internet 7. What does Alex Pang try to do in his new book? A) Offer advice on how to use the Internet effectively. B) Warn people of the possible dangers of Internet use. C) Predict the trend of future technological development. D) Examine the influence of technology on the human mind. 8. What is the common view on multitasking? A) It enables people to work more efficiently. B) It is in a way quite similar to switch-tasking. C) It makes people's work and life even harder. D) It distracts people's attention from useful work. 9. What does the author think of computer-aided design? A) It considerably cuts down the cost of building design. B) It somewhat restrains architects' productive thinking. C) It is indispensable in architects' work process. D) It can free architects from laborious drawing. 10. What is Ales Pang's recommendation for Internet users? A) They use the Internet as little as possible. B) They keep a record of their computer use time. C) They exercise self-control over their time online. D) They entertain themselves online on off-days only.