2 . Hundreds of friends on Facebook can’t replace a handful of close friends in real life, a study has found. In a recent study, researchers discovered that people with only a few friends were at least as happy as those with far more if many of theirs were online.

Social media, the researchers said, has encouraged younger people to have larger but more impersonal networks of “friends”. But instead of trying to amass friends, they added, a better cure for loneliness might be spending time with those you’re closest to.

Scientists from the University of Leeds did their study using data from two online surveys on 1,496 people by a non-profit research organization. People taking part in the study showed their ages, the make-up of their social networks, how often they had different types of social interactions, and their own feelings of well-being. They included details of how often and how they interacted (交流) with families or neighbors, and whether they included people who provided services to them in their networks.

The number of close friends someone had appeared to be the only thing which influenced how satisfied they were with their social life.

“Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,” said Dr Wändi Bruine de Bruin. Actually, it's often the younger adults who admit to having a bad opinion of their friends.

If you feel lonely, it may be more helpful to make a positive connection with a friend than to try and seek out new people to meet.

1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “amass” in Paragraph 2?

A．Play the role of.	B．Think highly of.
C．Take advantage of.	D．Increase the number of.

2. What can be learned from the scientists’ study?

A．Scientists did one online survey on 1,496 people.

B．People surveyed mentioned new forms of social networks.

C．People surveyed showed their ways to interact with families.

D．The number of friends was the only cause of people’s happiness.

3. What makes people happy in social life?

A．Living alone.

B．Having close friends.

C．Having good appearance.

D．Making as many friends as possible.

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To advise us to make friends online.

B．To show us the importance of friends.

C．To present us with the findings of a study.

D．To tell us the problems causes by loneliness.

5 . A mix of anxiety rising in my chest and a voice at the back of my mind shouting ‘what’s wrong with me?’ –it’s how I’ve felt about rejection my whole life.

The earliest rejection I can remember was on my first day of school. I started the term late due to illness and the teacher asked the class who would play with me at break. The silence was deafening. Now, a bit of online dating sees us rejected by half the town before we've even started our day. There's not a break at work. Is there a worse feeling than hitting the final slide on your presentation, boldly asking 'any questions?' and looking around the room to see everyone on their phones?

We need to build resilience. For me, this has come in two stages. First, I spent time listening to the voice of fear that saw each rejection as proof that there was something wrong with me. When I analysed it, I could see it was rarely about me. Perhaps the guy I was talking to was too busy to reply. It was likely that the magazine I'd sent a passage to already had an article on that topic. Now, I assume it's about me 20 per cent of the time - and I can live with that.

The other thing I do is practice rejecting. Because I hate rejection, I shy away from being the rejector, which means I either please people or avoid tricky situations. Instead, I've come up with a few lines for when I want to say no: 'That sounds great but it's not for me; thank you for asking but I decline; it was lovely but I think we should leave it there.' It's never pleasant to reject a person but there is a kind way to do it. With resilience and clarity, we can see the plus sides of rejection: it frees us up to do something else, be with someone else and be happier. We can't complain about that.

1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The examples of the author's being rejected.

B．The experiences of the author's online dating.

C．The reasons of the author's lateness for school.

D．The feelings of the author's being ignored at work.

2. What did the author find after analyzing the reason of rejection?

A．He could live with it.	B．It was partly about him.
C．He did something wrong.	D．It had nothing to do with him.

3. What might be the author's advice when you reject others?

A．Do it with resilience and clarity.

B．Come up with a few pleasant lines.

C．Please others or avoid tricky situations.

D．Show your kindness and don't complain.

4. What is one of the benefits of rejection?

A．It enables us to live.	B．It gives us more time.
C．It has some plus sides.	D．It does something else.

6 . Recently I’ve had two good roles on television. But when I was just getting started in theater work 17 years ago, I never thought I’d make it. Back then I was recovering from surgery and had been off work for six months. Even worse, as a single mother with three youngsters, I had no place to live in. I felt hopeless.

One Sunday morning I saw actor Robert Young on the television talking about his faith: Believe yourself! If we confidently take that first step, well take the next, until we reach our goal.

The first step was scary. After I went working part-time, I looked for an apartment. The ones I saw were either too expensive, or I couldn’t raise my children in them. I knew a house, not an apartment, was more suitable for me. However, after seeing several houses, my confidence was shaken. I found two seemed right, but when I was about to make an offer, someone else had ordered.

I remembered a saying, “When one door closes, a better one opens.” I wouldn’t just sit staring at the closed one but got up and struggled on. In a real estate (房地产) agent, I found a small house with proper price. To buy it, I had to borrow $ 3,000 for a down payment and get a mortgage (按揭). Common sense argued that a mortgage for a single mother working part-time was impossible. But I had enough self-confidence without following common sense.

After getting the house, my new self-confidence grew. Later , when I began filling small parts in television productions, that self-confidence showed. I'd always played the role as the director wanted. Now I find myself freer to interpret (演绎) it.

Self-confidence has made it through life. Trouble can be scary at first, but each time I take that step, I believe I will win the next.

1. How did the author feel when entering television industry at first?

A．Hopeful.

B．Embarrassed.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Aggressive.

2. Why does the author mention her experience of finding a house?

A．To show the value of self-confidence.

B．To share her different life experiences.

C．To introduce her toughest part of life.

D．To tell us her ways to get over difficulty.

3. What mainly helped the author perform well in her later acting?

A．Her sense of confidence.	B．The difficulty in her life.
C．The director’s good direction.	D．Her success in her first attempt.

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Appear on the Stage	B．Struggle with Life
C．Stick to Your Plan	D．Believe in Yourself

7 . Whether it is for a special festival, to express thanks or to just let someone know that you care about them, giving gifts is a common custom. The purpose of giving gifts may be similar, but the tradition varies from country to country. A gift of respect in one place may be considered rude in another. Take a look at three unique gift-giving traditions.

India

If you’re invited to someone’s home in India, you should bring a small gift, whether it’s a box of chocolates or some flowers. Gifts shouldn’t be wrapped (包裹) in black or white colors. because they are considered unlucky. Instead, use bright colors such as green, red or yellow. When giving money for any occasion, it should have an odd number (奇数) value. That’s believed to bring good luck. Instead of receiving a gift with both hands, Indians generally only use their right hand because left hands are considered unclean.

Japan

For most Japanese, the ritual (礼节) of giving presents is more important than the gifts themselves. The correct way is to present or receive gifts with both hands. Every gift should be wrapped. That’s because uncovered gifts are considered disrespectful. To show politeness and thanks, those who are receiving the gift may turn it down once or twice before finally accepting it. Gifts should be given in pairs, but four should be avoided just like in China. Lucky numbers also include eight. Eight is said to bring prosperity.

Native America

While it may be common for guests to prepare gifts for hosts, this is different in Native American communities. From weddings to birthday celebrations, guests are the ones who receive gifts. Gifts are usually homemade arts and crafts that are made by hand to show love, respect and appreciation.

1. What kind of gift would you bring to an Indian home?

A．Some chocolates in a green box.	B．Flowers wrapped in black paper.
C．Sixty dollars in a yellow envelope.	D．Seventy-five rupees wrapped in white paper.

2. Why don’t Japanese accept a gift at once?

A．To get another better gift.	B．To be more polite and thankful.
C．To refuse one’s kindness.	D．To be more outgoing and active.

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To list some attractive festivals.	B．To compare some countries.
C．To recommend some formal gifts.	D．To introduce some gift-giving traditions.

8 . Optimism (乐观) doesn’t mean paying no attention to things that cause stress. But when bad things happen, optimistic people are less likely to be unhappy about themselves and more likely to see the bad things as something that lasts a short time.

A new research has found a direct connection between optimism and healthier diet and exercise behaviors, as well as better heart health, a stronger immune system (免疫系统), better lung function, and lower death risk. “Optimistic people, regardless of sex, often have goals and the confidence to reach them,” Lee said. “Those goals could include healthy habits that contribute to a longer life.”

Studies find only about 25% of our optimism is controlled by our genes (基因), and the rest is up to us. It turns out we can actually train our brain to be more positive. Researchers studied the brains of monks (僧侣) and found surprising results: Tens of thousands of hours of meditation(冥思) had changed the function (机能) of their brains, which support positive qualities. And that may be key in producing the effect on the body.

There are simple mental exercises to develop an optimistic attitude. One of the most effective ways to increase optimism is called the “Best Possible Self” method. That is to imagine ourselves in a future in which we have achieved all our life goals. And keeping a diary in which we list the positive experiences we had can also help shape our attitude. Taking a few minutes each day to write down what makes us thankful can improve our view on life, too.

1. What is the meaning of Lee’s words?

A．Goals can lead to confidence.

B．Better lung function lowers death risk.

C．Optimism is connected with length of life.

D．Sex should be taken into consideration when studying optimism.

2. Why are the brains of monks studied?

A．To lengthen their life.

B．To improve their brains’ function.

C．To prove optimism can be learned.

D．To show genes’ connection with optimism.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．How to be a positive person.	B．How to make people thankful.
C．What to write about in a diary.	D．What to do to achieve the goals.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A science magazine.	B．A guidebook.
C．A novel.	D．A diary.

9 . 54-year-old Abdul has a special job. He has been working as a living statue (活体雕像) for over three decades, standing perfectly still for six hours a day and resisting people' s attempts to make him move or smile, anything that proves he is a living person.

Abdul, known as “India's Statue Man”, has been performing his daily routine ever since 1985, soon after getting a job as a security guard. His boss had recently traveled to the UK, where he was So impressed by the statue-like members of the Royal Guard outside Buckingham Palace that he wanted to do something similar back home. So he had his guards receive three months of training, where they would sit perfectly still for around four hours. They weren't allowed to talk or smile, eat, drink, or even shoo away a fly if it sat on their faces. In the end, Abdul proved the best of the group, So he got the strange job.

Abdul isn't the only person in the world acting as a living statue, but what makes him special is the fact that he can do it for as long as six hours without even blinking his eyes. Once, a $ 155 prize was put up for anyone who can make him move a muscle. But try as they might, no one has ever succeeded. Actually, Abdul tries to move about as much as he can in his spare time, and only eats healthy home-cooked food, to keep his body in shape. But he claims yoga has been the biggest help. In the 32 years, Abdul has become a famous person in India and other Asian countries. Many Bollywood stars have come to witness this living statue and try to finally make him move, but none have succeeded.

Abdul earns about 10,000 rupees ($ 156) a month, which is enough to support his family, but definitely not enough to encourage his children to follow in his footsteps. It's just too stressful and taxing on the body. “Despite all the hardship and health problems, I love my job and I am thankful to people for the love and respect they have showered on me” he says, “When the time comes, I want to die playing a statue.”

1. What is Abduls daily routine?

A．Proving to be a living person.	B．Performing as a living statue.
C．Smiling at his customers.	D．Keeping his body in shape.

2. Why could Abdul get the strange job given by his boss?

A．He had his special ambition.	B．He was most familiar with the job.
C．He stood out among the group.	D．He knew the boss more than others.

3. What does Abdul do in his spare time?

A．He eats a lot of snacks.	B．He practices yoga for 12 hours a day.
C．He cooks for his family.	D．He always moves a lot.

4. How does Abdul feel about his job according to the text?

A．It's satisfying.

B．It's overpaid.

C．It's boring.

D．It's instructive.

10 . Black rhinos(犀牛) have terrible eyesight. Even so, these African giants easily fend off hungry predators such as lions and hyenas. Their basic body plan has proved to be good enough to survive on African grasslands full of large predators, being very large, thick-skinned, big sword-like horns.

But those protective traits(特征) are no match for humans with guns. Today the species is critically endangered largely due to poaching. But the rhinos may have an unlikely ally against poachers: the red-billed oxpecker. The chatty, sociable birds often hang out on the backs of rhinos, feasting on parasitic ticks(寄生虫).And actually, research has shown that the tick is the favorite diet of an oxpecker.

The birds also get nutrients by picking at sores on the rhinos’ bodies. Victoria University of Melbourne behavioral ecologist Roan Plotz suspected that the rhinos put up with this indignity because the oxpeckers make loud alarm calls whenever they see humans approach, giving the rhinos an early warning to flee.

To test whether the oxpeckers do, in fact, act as noisy lookouts, Plotz and his team implanted(植入) radio transmitters in the rhinos’ horns. This didn’t hurt the rhinos and allowed the researchers to track the animals.

“And approach them undetected, when the oxpeckers were on the back and when the oxpeckers were not on their backs, to get an idea of if the birds do alarm them and if the rhinos do listen.”

The researchers found that rhinos without oxpeckers detected an approaching human only 23 percent of the time, at an average distance of 27 meters. But when oxpeckers were present, the birds alarmed the rhinos 100 percent of the time. And they detected the human 61 meters away on average. And the more oxpeckers on the scene , the greater the detection distance.

“It makes sense because the more eyes you have on your back, looking out for you, the more chance that they can pick up anything coming. There can be no doubt that the rhino is listening on the oxpecker alarm call.”

1. What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph mean?

A．Defend against.	B．Feed.
C．Hide from.	D．Attract.

2. Why do the birds hang on the back of rhinos?

A．To protect rhinos from poachers.

B．To seek protection from rhinos.

C．To find food over the rhino’s body.

D．To let rhinos carry them around.

3. What do the researchers find?

A．Rhinos have poor eyesight.

B．The birds alarm and rhinos listen.

C．There are many ticks on rhinos.

D．The birds have sharp eyes.

4. What can best describe the relationship between the birds and rhinos?

A．They protect each other from dangers.

B．They are food source for each other.

C．They depend on each other for survival.

D．They have win-win partnership.